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Wednesday, 8 June, 2022 I 8 Dhul-Qadah, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 339 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

political stability must for Economic rEvival, strEssEs pm g

Reiterates call for ‘Charter of Economy ’ for growth through unalterable policies

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Staff RepoRt

RIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday underscored the need for a "charter of economy" to put the country back on the path to progress and prosperity, saying economic stability interlinked with political stability.

Addressing businessmen during a pre-budget conference held here in Islamabad, Premier Shehbaz stressed that he is asking for a prudent and comprehensive approach for an economic turnaround.

Reiterating his call for a Charter of Economy, said it was high time all the stakeholders joined hands to formulate an unalterable policy framework for making the country achieve agrobased and export-oriented growth.

The conference gathered agriculturists, information technology experts, businessmen, investors and agriculturalists from across the country, who shared their proposals with the government relating to their respective areas.

“All of us will have to move together.

The government will need guidance from the stakeholders and experts. The government will form a task force on agriculture and exports for formulating comprehensive plans,” he said.

The prime minister said owing to the limited time, the incumbent government was focusing on short- and medium-term plans.

Citing the successful economic growth of Bangladesh, he said being rich with immense resources, human talent and dedication, Pakistan could also achieve excellence through efficiency and modern techniques.

He thanked the experts for giving their input during the over six-hour long session. The prime minister said owing to the non-execution of plans, Pakistan lagged behind while other nations like India excelled by following their development plans.

He said in 1991, Pakistan’s rupee was stronger than the Indian currency but in the current scenario, there was no comparison between the two. Pakistan lagged behind because the develop-

Govt aims at fiscal consolidation, to present progressive budget: Miftah

ment plans remained unexecuted, he added. “It is up to the government to execute these suggestions. We have to convert them into reality. This will not be realized until there is political stability,” he remarked.

The prime minister called for providing modern facilities in the villages to uplift the living standards of the people and discourage massive urbanization.

He said the idea of Danish Schools also served the same purpose of imparting high-quality education to the students living in rural areas.

Shehbaz Sharif said the agriculture could turn around Pakistan by enhancing the yield of cotton, wheat and other crops, and mentioned the

Owing limited time, govt focusing on short and medium-term plans

country ’s $4.5 billion import bill of palm oil which could be reduced through local production.

He said though the provinces got the maximum chunk of the NFC (National Finance Commission) award after the 18th Amendment, the federation could make comprehensive plans in collaboration with the provinces.

He told the gathering that despite the passage of years, the people of Gwadar were deprived of drinking water and electricity. “Is this how the nations are made?” he questioned and said the deep-sea port was also losing its depth for silting which would impact the movement of heavy ships.

He said being an agricultural country, Pakistan would import three million tons of wheat during the current year.

The prime minister also lamented the unnecessary delay in the completion of the last of four LNG plants initiated by the PML-N government which should have been completed in March 2020. “We have to give an impetus to the export-based industry. It is all about integration. The government will focus on enhancement of exports to bring in employment and prosperity,” he commented.

Coming to the foreign policy, he said the incumbent government was yet repairing the ties with friendly countries, including China and Turkey as their projects faced unnecessary impediments in the past.

World must tell Taliban it’s going in wrong direction: German FM

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Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail on Tuesday said the government was determined to present a progressive budget, with special focus on fiscal consolidation to bring down the budget deficit below 5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Addressing a day-long Pre-Budget Business Conference, the minister said an effective strategy had been evolved to achieve the GDP growth up to 6 percent and control inflation with strategic measures. The conference was convened to provide a platform to agriculturists, information technology (IT) experts and businessmen to share and exchange their proposals with the government on IT, agriculture, business, textile and exports. Miftah said the incumbent government had to take difficult decisions to put the economy on track, and it could take more drastic measures if required to improve it. He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came into power in a difficult situation, and it would leave it in a much better condition on the completion of its government tenure. “You are all with us, we will leave it in a better position,” he said while addressing the audience. The minister said the current government had re-engaged Saudia Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates and other friendly countries, and it would hopefully help improve the situation in the country. He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had realized the situation being faced by the downtrodden segments of the society and accordingly directed the quarters concerned to make plans for providing maximum relief to them before hiking petrol prices. He said the government would provide stipend to around 14 million people, approximately one third of the country’s population. Miftah expressed pleasure over the presence of stakeholders in the consultative gathering to take collective decisions at the critical juncture and lead the country towards a better future. He assured the participants that the government would take all sectors along. The minister said the government had inherited the economy in a bad situation, as the country witnessed the third highest inflation rate after Argentina and Turkey. He said during the four years of Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf government, some 20 million people went below the poverty line and 0.6 million lost their jobs. Every year, he said, around two million people joined the labour market and the country needed around 6 percent economic growth rate to absorb them.

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He said in order to boost exports, there was a need to establish export industrial zones where land should be provided to the industrialists without any cost through a merit-based formula.

He said he had assigned the Information Technology Ministry a target of 15 billion IT exports during the next two years as India’s IT exports had touched $200 billion.

He said in wake of the limited fiscal space available to the government, the projects of national importance should be executed through a public-private partnership, including the exploration of gas and renewable energy.

Mentioning the annual deficit of $2.5 billion by the sick entities, the prime minister said the government could save the huge amount by offloading the “dead wood”.

Referring to some difficult financial decisions made by the government, he said, despite knowing their political cost, the coalition parties unanimously went for the decision-making in the national interest.

He said in order to support the poor people against inflation, the government was disbursing Rs 2,000 each to deserving families under the Benazir Income Support Programme.

Calling for the elite to sacrifice, PM Shehbaz Sharif hinted at taxing the real estate sector and encouragement of vertical construction to spare land for agricultural use.

MORE INSIDE

Miftah backtracks on another petroleum price hike claim STORY ON BACK PAGE

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for the international community to send Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership the message that it is heading in the wrong direction.

“Our influence on what happens inside Afghanistan is very limited. It depends on the Taliban making rational choices in their own economic interest, and that is not what they are doing right now,” said Baerbock while Addressing a joint press conference along with her Pakistan counterpart, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, during a visit to Islamabad, warning of a humanitarian disaster brewing in the country.

“It is not the Afghan people’s fault that their government was overthrown by the Taliban,” she said on Tuesday at a joint news conference with her Pakistani counterpart, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Baerbock added that Germany and Pakistan have restructured their system for bringing Afghan refugees to Germany via Pakistan to

make it faster and that over 14,000 Afghans who are particularly at risk have been able to travel to Germany over the past months.

Zardari said Pakistan always advocated for holding dialogue and the use of diplomacy as tools for the pursuit of peace in the world.

The foreign minister referred to the Ukraine conflict and said Pakistan had a firm position that it should not be dragged to any conflict. Pakistan is a developing country, but it always advocated that international laws should be adhered to, he said, adding that all world conflicts should be resolved through peaceful means. Replying to a question, Zardari maintained that the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine could not be ignored and stressed that Pakistan would continue to advocate for dialogue and diplomacy as means in the pursuit of peace. The foreign minister said Pakistan always emphasised the adherence to UN principles and its charters and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries.

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Free fuel facility to president, PM, other officials challenged in LHC STORY ON PAGE 02

Country suffers up to 16 hours of load shedding as shortfall reaches 6,099MW STORY ON BACK PAGE

Imran says ‘govt trying to put me behind bars on trumped-up charges’ STORY ON PAGE 03

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Wednesday, 8 June, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

PFMA AnnOunCES tO StOP FLOur SuPPLy In PunjAB MArkEtS

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HE All Pakistan Flour Mills Association has announced a strike against the behavior of the food department and district administrations, under which all flour mills in Punjab will not grind flour from Wednesday.

Tahir Malik, the chairman of PFMA Punjab, informed that an attempt was made by the district administration to arrest Mian

Anjum Ishaq, former chairman of the association, from a flour mill in Faisalabad.

Asim Raza, another former chairman of the association, informed that admission of assistant or deputy commissioners in flour mills would not be accepted under any circumstances.

“We will not even run the government’s subsidized flour scheme,” he announced.

According to the information available to Profit, a meeting of the association was to be held a week ago in which the group leader of

Free fuel facility to president, PM, other officials challenged in LHC LahoRe iNP

Free fuel quota to the president, prime minister, ministers and government officials was challenged in Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday. A single bench of the high court comprised of Justice Shahid Karim heard petition of Shehbaz Akmal Jindran against free petrol, electricity and gas quota for the president, PM, ministers and government officials. “In view of the economic situation of the country, providing this facility is violation of the Article 25,” according to the petition. The petitioner requested for the court order to terminate the facility of free petrol, electricity and gas quota to the president, PM, governor, ministers and other beneficiaries of the facility.

The bench directed the petitioner to submit relevant documents to the court. It is pertinent to mention here that after massive hike in prices of petroleum products in the country, it has become a public demand to terminate free fuel facility to officials, government employees and other beneficiaries of the facility.

the association Asim Raza Ahmad and chairman Punjab Tahir Hanif Malik were also present. It was decided in the meeting that the mill owners would protest against the checking of flour mills started by the food department and district administration and would not supply flour in the market.

It is pertinent to mention here that checking of flour mills is going on all over Punjab and in many raids, heavy fines have been imposed on flour mill owners.

Four days ago, Deputy Commissioner

Multan had sealed five flour mills and imposed fines on disruption in supply of low cost flour. Similarly, last month, the Assistant Commissioner of Shujaabad had launched a major crackdown on wheat hoarders, which resulted in the recovery of about 8,000 bags worth over Rs20 million and notices were also issued to the owners of private warehouses and flour mills.

A senior official of the food department informed Profit that the Punjab government has ordered a complete audit of flour mills

CNG industry unveils plan to save fuel import bill by $2.1bn ahmad ahmadani The CNG industry on Tuesday unveiled a plan of saving $2.1 billion worth fuel import bill per annum and 50 percent reduction in public transport fares by providing cheap gas for motor vehicles if the government gives go ahead to the private sector to import LNG. Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha, Group Leader All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) during a media briefing said foreign remittance worth approximately $2.1 billion dollar per annum can be saved under the head fuel import bill while a 50pc cut in public transport fares is also possible only if the government allows Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import by the private sector for the CNG industry. Similarly, there would be 53

percent cheaper LNG at CNG stations even if the government withdraws all subsidies on petrol.

Furthermore, LNG imports by the private sector would also help reduce the circular debt that crosses Rs2,000 billion in the energy sector.

The consumers had paid Rs16 billion during the last five years on account of capacity payments during the last five years to the Gas Port LNG terminal which has been running on average 70 percent capacity.

Gas Port has an LNG terminal with 750 mmcfd gas whereas the government has 600 MM LNG allocation whereas it has 150 mmcfd capacity in hand but government companies had made it impossible to utilize this capacity.

These revelations were made by

Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha, Group Leader All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) during a media briefing which was held on Tuesday.

Paracha said he wanted to present this plan before the incumbent government to put the country’s economy on track, save the foreign exchange reserves by approximately upto $2.1 billion dollar annually under the head fuel import bill and to provide massive relief to the general public in the form of 50 percent cut in the public transport fares, creating job opportunities and minimizing the environment pollution by ensuring gigantic reduction in the carbon emissions with the use CNG as a fuel for motor vehicles. The government should allocate at least 100 MMCFD gas to the

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GhuLam abbaS

LAHORE: Motorists flock to a filling station following reports about another increase in prices of petroleum products. Zubair MehfooZ

K-electric seeks massive hike in power tariff inp K-Electric, the sole power utility in Karachi, on Tuesday submitted a request to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) seeking another hike of Rs4.86 in tariff under fuel adjustment charges.

According to the request, the power utility has requested an increase of Rs4.52 for January to March 2022, and rupee 0.36 for April.

The national power regulator will take up the KE’s plea for a hearing on June 12, 2022.

The increase will reflect in the bills of customers for June 2022.

On May 27 NEPRA notified an increase in

power tariff for K-Electric by Rs4.83 per unit under fuel adjustment charges for the month of March against demand in the hike of Rs5.27 per unit.

Recently, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved an Rs7.91 increase per unit of electricity.

According to a notification issued by NEPRA, the government had increased the basic tariff per unit of electricity by Rs7.91. The per-unit price was increased from Rs16.91 to Rs24.82, which is a 47% hike in prices.

NEPRA said that the price hike was made due to an increase in fuel prices and increases in the cost of production. The new rates would be applied from July 2022, it added.

Govt asked to tax tobacco products for revenue, public health Staff RepoRt The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) has asked the government to increase tax on tobacco products as it is the most effective strategy to safe public health and generate revenue.

The local NGO organized a program titled “Tobacco Taxation: Big source for huge Revenue” at a time when Pakistan has seen unprecedented hike on petroleum, gas and electricity prices and government is struggling to keep the subsequent rise in cost of commodities in check.

Malik Imran Country lead for Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his cabinet members have repeatedly stated that the government won’t shy from taking unpopular decisions to strengthen Pakistan’s economy.

In order to fill the state’s coffers, government has

CNG sector till the commencement, said Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha.

“We can provide 53 percent cheaper gas on CNG stations for public transport if compare the prevailing petrol price with the start of LNG import by private sector,” said Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha, adding, “ Revival/expansion of the CNG sector can generate thousands of new employment/job opportunities while the use of CNG as an alternative fuel for motor vehicles is equivalent to having an environmental benefit of 152.63 million trees per annum.”

Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha also said that CNG is still cheaper than prevailing petrol price while its price will be cheaper than petrol price if the private sector is allowed to import LNG for the CNG sector of the country.

SBP allows DFIs to participate in OMOs

Auto industry for maintaining policy incentives under AIDEP As the government seems to be trying to end incentives/ subsidies under the pressure of the IMF, the local auto industry asks the government to maintain policy incentives announced in the Automotive Industry Development and Export Plan (AIDEP) 2021-26. As per the auto industry sources, the industry has requested the government to uphold AIDEP policy incentives for small cars, Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Battery Electric Vehicles for the policy period from 2021-26. It is worth adding here that the core objectives of AIDEP 2021-26 include promotion of new technology, competition in small segments, and export initiation.

The local auto industry believes that it is time for the industry to support policy initiatives amid the current economic challenges being faced by Pakistan. The AIDEP 2021-26 also provides incentives for Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) to attract investment in new technology and this was the reason Toyota announced a $100 million investment in this regard. Other brands are also planning to invest in new technologies. An auto industrialist, who did not want to be named, claims that certain quarters are objecting to the incentives for HEV/BEV in the policy though they have enjoyed the same benefits under the ADP 2016-21 for at least 7 years on different products. The government should ensure uniform application of various taxes across the auto industry and there should be no windfall gain/change in market share due to any quantitative control measures. Policies need consistency and this was quite evident when the government held the policy incentives for 5 years in ADP 2016-21 international investors from Japan, Korea, Europe and China observed the consistency and invested in Pakistan. It is pertinent to mention here that post mandatory deletion program three auto policies were announced.

by the food department to ensure supply of low cost and quality flour to the people.

According to the said officer, crackdown has been started against flour mills in Lahore as well for misappropriation of flour supply and audit of mills has also started.

“The department has also issued the show cause notices to 6 flour mills in Lahore while by taking actions against the illegal transport of flour and wheat, three vehicles have been seized and an FIR has also been registered,” he said.

tried raising petroleum prices and reducing imports but one of the biggest sources of revenue remains untapped.

Imran alluded to tobacco taxation which has remained stagnant in Pakistan for the last 4 years.

He mentioned that the use of tobacco causes annual an economic burden of 615 billion which is 1.6% of Pakistan’s GDP. On the other hand, the revenue generated from the tobacco industry is 120 billion.This situation calls for an immediate increase because in Pakistan, tobacco products are being sold at lower rates compared to other South Asian countries Khalil Ahmed Dogar, Program Manager, SPARC said the there’s no justification for not raising taxation on tobacco products which are non-essential and hazardous items and cause 170,000 deaths every year.

On an average, Pakistani smokers spend 10% of their average monthly income on cigarettes. Due to cheap

and easy affordability nearly 1200 children begin smoking every day in the country. A struggling economy such as Pakistan can’t afford this much loss of precious human and finance resources. Therefore tobacco products should be heavily taxed as it is the most effective strategy to safe public health and generate revenue.

Shariq Mahmood Khan, CEO, Chromatic Trust, stated the according to the government all of the price increment decisions have been taken in the light of Pakistan’s international commitments. Mr Shariq stated that Pakistan is a signatory of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which has repeatedly recommended Pakistan to increase taxation on tobacco products in accordance to inflation.

The government needs to implement this recommendation which will not only generated much needed revenue but also reduce tobacco consumption.

As per a notification filed by the State Bank of Pakistan – ‘DMMD (Domestic Market & Monetary Management) Circular No. 11 of 2022’ – The State Bank has allowed all Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) to participate in Open Market Operations (OMOs). The circular clearly mentions that the permission has been granted specifically to facilitate DFIs in their liquidity management. OMOs are regulated primarily on the basis of State Bank’s ‘DMMD (Domestic Market & Monetary Management) Circular No. 12 of 2017,’ which allows ‘All Scheduled Banks and Primary Dealers’ to take part in OMOs. The circular add’s DFIs to the two considering that such institutions are government owned and operated, and require OMOs (Repos and Reverse Repos) to manage liquidity. OMOs are one of the Monetary Policy Tools used by the State Bank of Pakistan to inject or withdraw funds in and from the economy as per its liquidity requirements, via the purchase or sale of eligible financial instruments. The State Bank, essentially conducts OMOs to keep the Money Market Overnight Repo Rate (MMORR) close to the SBP Target Policy Rate. As per Circular no. 12 2017, in case of OMO (Injections), SBP lends funds to Scheduled Banks or Primary Dealers against eligible collateral to address liquidity shortage in the system.

Cement despatches declined by 15.85pc in May 2022 Staff RepoRt Cement despatches declined by 15.85 percent in May 2022.

Total Cement despatches during May 2022 were 3.32 million tons against 3.94 Million tons despatched during the same month of last fiscal year. According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement despatches by the industry during the month of May 2022 were 3.15 million tons compared to 3.2 million tons in May 2021, showing reduction by 1.6 percent. Exports despatches suffered massive decline by 76.97 percent as the volumes reduced from 746,550 tons in May 2021 to 171,915 tons in May 2022. In May 2022, North based cement mills despatched 2.57 million tons cement in domestic markets showing a reduction of 5.16 percent against 2.71 million tons despatches in May 2021.

South based mills despatched 576,385 tons cement in local markets during May 2022 that was 18.28 percent higher compared to the despatches of 487,311 tons during May 2021. Exports from North based mills massively declined by 64.42 percent as the quantities reduced from 203,625 tons in May 2021 to 72,450 tons in May 2022. Exports from South also reduced by 81.68 percent to 99,465 tons in May 2022 from 542,925 tons during the same month last year. During the first eleven months of current fiscal year, total cement despatches (domestic and exports) were 47.62 million tons which is 8.8 percent lower than 52.22 million tons despatched during the corresponding period of last fiscal year. Further analysis indicate that domestic uptake reduced by 1.83 percent to 42.65 million tons from 43.45 million tons during July-May 2021 whereas exports during the same period declined by a massive 43.32 percent to 4.97 million tons from 8.77 million tons during July-May 2021.

02-03 NEWS 8 JUNE_Layout 1 6/8/2022 1:35 AM Page 2

Wednesday, 8 June, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

Imran says ‘govt trying to put me behind bars on trumped-up charges’

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ORMER prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has said come what may his party’s movement for “real freedom” would not stop until the coalition government led by PML-N announced the date of early elections.

“They [government] are trying to put me behind bars on trumped-up charges so that this movement could be stopped,” he said while addressing his party’s lawyers forum at his Banigala residence in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Reiterating his allegations that the incumbent rulers came into power through a ‘foreign conspiracy’, the PTI chairman asked his supporters to brace themselves up for any situation if he got

arrested on ‘fake’ first information reports (FIRs).

“Come what may this movement for real freedom will not stop till the announcement of early elections,” he added. Speaking about money laundering case against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Imran said the accused became the judge in his own case.

“You have to stand up for the rule of law… ensuring rule of law is the responsibility of lawyers and judiciary.”

He also lashed out at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for holding up notification of MPAs on reserved seats of Punjab Assembly, saying the move was aimed at protecting the government of Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz.

“If they [ECP] fill vacant reserved

seats, he [Hamza] would lose the majority,” he said.

Imran also alleged that the ECP was working hand in glove with the ruling PML-N to rig next elections. “No matter what they do we will win the elections,” he maintained.

Speaking about rising fuel and electricity prices, Imran said he had never witnessed such skyrocketing inflation in the history of the country.

“When they will go in public they will hear these two slogans “thieves and traitors”.

Speaking about the derogatory remarks made by India’s ruling BJP party’s leaders against Holy Prophet (PBUH), Imran urged the PML-N government to take “strict action” against New Delhi.

“I urge this government to cut diplomatic and trade ties with India and take a stand against them like Arab countries are boycotting their products,” he added. Imran said due to the “flawed policies” of the incumbent government, international rating agency Moody’s downgraded Pakistan outlook from stable to negative.

“The credit rating of WAPDA has also been downgraded and now we will not be able to get loans to build dams… they [government] are the biggest threat to national security.”

The former premier said his government was toppled despite the fact that it steered the country out of multiple crises including Covid-19 pandemic and left the country’s GDP growth at 6 per cent.

Pakistan issues 163 visas to Sikh pilgrims new deLhi

Massive wildfire breaks out in Islamabad

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A massive fire broke out on Tuesday in the forest in Sector H-12 of Islamabad and reached the surroundings of NUST University. According to the rescue team, fire is spreading speedily while more fire brigades have been called to douse the blaze. Taking notice of the forest fire in the capital, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to take emergency measures. The prime minister stressed immediate steps to evacuate the people from the affected areas. He directed the mobilization of fire brigade on an urgent basis to extinguish the fire and urged the Ministry of Climate Change to present a comprehensive strategy to prevent such incidents in Islamabad and Margalla hills.

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President Arif Alvi approves reconstitution of national Economic Council app President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday approved the reconstitution of the National Economic Council (NEC) under Article 156 of the Constitution. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be the chairman of NEC while the chief ministers of all provinces will be the members.

From the federal side, the members include Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar and Communication Minister Asad Mehmood. The names of Awais Leghari (Punjab), Senator Nisar Khuhro (Sindh), Taimur Khan Jhagra (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Noor Muhammad Dummar (Balochistan) have been approved for NEC. The deputy chairman planning commission, secretary finance, secretary of economic affairs and secretary of planning division will attend the meetings on special invitation.

PML-Q, PtI MPAs granted bail in PA ruckus case

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Pakistan High Commission, on the eve of Martyrdom Day of Guru Arjun Dev Jee, Tuesday issued 163 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to participate in the annual festival to be held in Pakistan from June 8 to 17. The issuance of visas was covered under the framework of the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines 1974. Every year, a large number of Sikh Yatrees from India visit Pakistan to observe various religious festivals/occasions. The visas issued from New Delhi were in addition to the visas granted to Sikh pilgrims participating in these events from other countries, a press release issued by Pakistan High Commission said. Charge d’ Affaires Aftab Hasan Khan said: “Pakistan takes immense pride in preserving sacred religious places and providing necessary facilitation to the visiting pilgrims.” During the visit, the pilgrims would, inter alia, go to Panja Sahib, Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib.

They would enter Pakistan on June 8 and return back to India on June 17.

NEWS

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LAHORE: Hundreds of activists of Tahafuz Namoos-e-Risalat Mahaz chant slogans against BJP leaders over making blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) during a demo outside press club. Staff Photo

PAC seeks details of salaries, assets of NAB staffers iSLamabad Staff rePort

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) members on Tuesday were briefed in detail regarding the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) affairs including the recoveries made by the bureau.

The meeting was held here at Parliament House with its Chairman MNA Noor Alam Khan in the chair.

Acting NAB Chairman Zahir Shah informed the committee members that there were three types of recoveries, adding that the bureau had its account in National Bank and its audit could be made any time. He said that the amount of those cases which were not decided yet was also deposited in the account in question and therefore the amount could not be given to anyone until a final decision of relevant cases.

He said all the money used to be deposited in the Federal Consolidated Fund until 2008 after which the law was changed.

Zahir Shah said that the whole amount was in the current account and NAB did not use any single rupee

of this amount. The Director General of Federal Audit said that a comprehensive audit of NAB has been conducted and its report has been submitted to PAC. While demanding records of the NAB employees, PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan asked for details of salaries, privileges and period of employment. He directed the NAB employees to submit details of their assets within a period of one month.

The PAC chief ordered the officers of NAB to declare their assets as well as the assets of their children, siblings and parents.

“Send your close relatives the same questionnaire that you send to other suspects,” Noor Alam Khan asked the NAB officers.

The PAC also sought details of vehicles used by the NAB officers were also sought.

He also directed the accountability bureau for audit of the Rs820 billion recoveries made by it.

The meeting was also attended by Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, MNA Syed Tariq Hussain, MNA Sahida Akhtar Ali, MNA Wajiha Qamar, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla and other members of the committee.

Over 8.2m overseas Pakistanis registered with NADRA newS deSk Over 8.2 Overseas Pakistanis registered with National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and the government was committed to provide maximum facilities to expatriates and their families on top priority.

An official source told APP here on Tuesday that due to the prudent policies of the incumbent regime, all diaspora Pakistanis could get their passport online and CNIC within short time.

He said that due to the new policies Overseas Pakistanis could get more benefits at their home through online without visiting to different offices for their passport, CNIC or any other legal assistance.

He informed that 20,498 employee working with NADRA, however, 760 Registration centers including 10 for Overseas Pakistanis, 10 mega centers, 222 mobile registration vans, 3 data centers and over 1000 services were providing to the people.

He said that new mobile APPs were under process to facilitate to the expatriates within hours including

Four terrorists killed in IBOs in Balochistan, North Waziristan iSLamabad Staff rePort

Security forces have killed four terrorists in two separate Intelligence-Based Operations in Balochistan and North Waziristan. “On 6 June 22, based on information of presence of a group of Terrorists in general area Parodh Mountains, near Nushki, Balochistan, Security Forces conducted an operation to apprehend them,” said ISPR. “Once the troops started clearance operation in the

area, terrorists tried to escape from their hideout and opened fire onto security forces. Two terrorists belonging to BRA including Nadeem and Shahzad Alam have been killed in ensuing exchange of fire,” the statement said.

These terrorists were involved in recent security incidents in Kharan and surroundings besides planting of IED on a Security forces convoys.

In addition, arms and ammunition have also been recovered which were intended to be used by the terrorists for disrupting peace and security in the area.

Security forces, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan, said the statement.

Separately, the security forces killed two terrorists in an IBO in general area Hassan Khel, North Waziristan District, on reported presence of terrorists.

During intense exchange of fire, 2 terrorists got killed.

Weapons and ammunition was also recovered from the killed terrorists. The killed terrorists remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces.

Pre-arrest bails of eight Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Punjab Assembly members, and four officials of the assembly secretariat, were confirmed on Tuesday in the PA brawl case. The accused had allegedly attacked former acting PA speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari, affecting the assembly’s proceedings, damaging equipment and creating chaos on April 16. The said session was fixed for the election of Punjab’s chief minister. Additional District and Sessions Judge Yaseen Mohal heard the petitions and dismissed the pre-arrest bail of accused MPA Malik Nadeem Abbas Bara who was not present during the court’s proceedings. The judge, however, confirmed the bails of MPAs Muhammad Rizwan, Ali Raza, Amar Yasir, Shehbaz Ahmad, Mahindar Singh and others. From the PA secretariat, Muhammad Khan Bhatti, Anayat Ullah Lak, Amir Habib and Akbar Nasir were granted bail. The counsel for the accused implored the court that the aforementioned MPAs were innocent with FIRs lodged to humiliate them. The counsellor added that a ‘conspiracy’ was hatched by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and executed through former deputy speaker Mazari. The counsel also contended that police officials were called into assembly chambers and the PTI and PMLQ’s representatives were removed. “They were restrained from taking part in the election. False allegations had been levelled against them and a concocted story had been woven against the MPAs,” he added. However, the law officer told the court that the accused persons were involved in creating anarchy in the assembly on election day. He added that the former deputy speaker Mazari was attacked while “the whole nation watched the episode on their television screens.” The prosecutor claimed that the assembly’s administration was under control of the former PTI government. While the petitioner’s stance was strongly opposed with a request to dismiss their bail petitions, the judge after hearing detailed arguments first reserved and then announced the decision to confirm bail. digital NICOP, passport renewal or new registration for passport, death certificate, power of attorney, Roshan digital accounts, land record, succession certificates online biometric verification for overseas family members, PIA Repatriation initiatives to ring Pakistanis back during Covid-19, Complaints registration cell, he said that these were the major initiates for Overseas Pakistanis.

Through the Roshan digital account daily million of rupees remittances submitted in the account of government, he added.

He said the incumbent government has taken milestone steps for the welfare and development of expatriates in the history of the country.

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04 NEWS

WORLD SHOULD take nOte Of RiSing iSLamOpHOBia in inDia

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NEwS DESk

OREIGN Secretary Sohail Mahmood has called upon the P-5 countries to take cognizance of the recent abhorrent development, the growing hate speech, and the rising tide of Islamophobia in India.

The foreign secretary also recalled the special responsibility of the P-5 countries regarding the maintenance of international peace and security and upholding of the principles enshrined in the UN Charter.

The foreign secretary individually met

the Envoys of the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council (P-5) to apprise them of the derogatory and offensive remarks made by two senior officials of India’s ruling party BJP, against the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Foreign Office Spokesperson said in a press release on Tuesday. The foreign secretary underscored that the BJP’s perfunctory and token disciplinary action against its spokespersons would not assuage the hurt they had caused to the Muslims worldwide.

Noting the clear and consistent pattern of state-sanctioned persecution of Muslims

in India, Sohail Mahmood said that the failure of the BJP leadership and the Indian government to unequivocally condemn the recent sacrilegious comments was yet another proof of the impunity enjoyed by ‘Hindutva’ zealots. He stressed that India must be urged to take decisive and demonstrable actions against those responsible.

“India should also be held accountable for stifling the rights of its religious minorities, especially its Muslim population, and urged to ensure full protection of their fundamental rights and freedoms,” he added.

Protest held in Muzaffarabad against

BJP’s blasphemous remarks A protest demonstration was held against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Indian government for making blasphemous remarks against Islam and Muslims.

The protest was organized by Pasban-eHurriyat. A large number of people gathered at Old Secretariat and marched towards Burhan Wani Chowk chanting slogans against BJP spokesperson Nopur Sharma and media head Naveen Kumar Jundal for making insulting remarks against the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Speakers on the occasion said that the

Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Narendra Modi in India is engaged in terrorist activities against Islam and Muslims under an organized conspiracy.

The speakers termed the Arab countries’ “India boycott campaign” as the right step in the right direction.

Pasban-e-Hurriyat Chairman Uzair Ahmad Ghazali, Hafiz Bilal Ahmad Farooqi, Syed Hamza Shaheen, Usman Ali Hashim, Muhammad Shahid, Dr Muhammad Manzoor, Sher Ali Afghani, Faisal Farooq, Muhammad Aimal Farzam and others were also present on the occasion.

British Airways temporarily suspends Pakistan operations ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Sindh police use air ambulance to transfer injured colleague kARACHI Staff RepoRt

For the first time in the history of Sindh police, an air ambulance was arranged on the order of provincial police chief, Ghulam Nabi Memon, for a sub-inspector who was critically wounded in an encounter with heavily armed bandits in interior Sindh on Tuesday. Sub-Inspector Nabi Buksh was hit in an exchange of fire with bandits in the Kashmore district and shifted to Karachi.

The doctor of a local hospital recommended a ventilator to save the policeman’s life after which Memon ordered the use of the air ambulance. According to doctors, the official now is out of danger after receiving timely medical assistance. Memon had recently been appointed as the Sindh inspector general. He had previously served as Karachi police Chief.

karachi to get turkish cultural centre kARACHI aNadolu ageNcy

A Turkish cultural centre will be established in Karachi to promote Turkish art, language, culture, and history.

The centre will be established by the Yunus Emre Institute, said an official statement on Monday. A memorandum of understanding will soon be inked between the Turkish Consulate and the Karachi district government, the statement added. Turkish Consul General in Karachi Cemal Sangu and Karachi Commissioner Iqbal Memon visited the city’s historic Burns Garden, where the Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center is supposed to be established. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Sangu said the two sides are finalizing the requirements for the establishment of the centre. The centre, he said, would not only help in promoting cultural activities in the cities, but also provide opportunities to the researchers, teachers and students to drill down on the Turkish history and culture. Karachi will be the second Pakistani city after Lahore to have a Turkish cultural centre. Yunus Emre is a Turkish folk poet and Sufi who lived in Anatolia from the mid-13th century to the first quarter of the 14th century. The Yunus Emre Institute is a non-profit organization founded in 2007 to promote Turkish culture, language, and arts across the world. It has expanded to 66 countries, signed agreements with more than 400 universities, and provided 3.5 million Turkish language diplomas worldwide.

British Airways Tuesday announced a temporary suspension of direct flights between Islamabad International Airport and London’s Heathrow Airport due to “operational reasons”, without elaborating. According to a Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) statement, the services of the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom on one of the two destinations — the other being Lahore — it resumed covering in 2019 after a decade-

long hiatus will remain suspended from June 15 to June 30.

It stopped operating direct flights between Lahore and Heathrow on completion of the duration of the agreement — which it reportedly did not seek to renew — in February. On Tuesday, the statement, however, rejected “baseless and fake” press reports claiming the airline grounded its planes indefinitely due to unavailability of fuel.

“The station manager of British Airways at Islamabad airport informed the [authority] that flights to Islamabad will

continue to operate until June 15,” stateowned Associated Press of Pakistan quoted the authority as saying. The PCAA further said it has also taken a report from the supplier of jet fuel at Islamabad airport who confirmed “there is no shortage of fuel and storage tanks are full of [fuel]”. The airline will soon resume its services, the regulator added.

The authority said the British Airways management would soon issue a clarification in this regard, adding that “local management of British Airways at Islamabad is in coordination with Airport

Manager PCAA Islamabad.” According to aviation journalist Tahir Imran Mian, the airline “just like many other airlines have staff shortage” which forced it to suspend operations.

“That is [wreaking] havoc to aviation business as a whole [and] in Europe specifically,” he said. British Airways resumed flights to the country in 2019, over a decade after they were suspended in the wake of the 2008 truck bombing of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad which killed at least 54 people and wounded 270.

One dead in Lahore corporate centre blaze Balochistan

cabinet slashes ministers’ fuel quota by 50pc

LAHORE ahmad Saad

One person died and another was wounded on Tuesday when a fire broke out in the basement of a corporate centre in the Queen’s Road neighbourhood of old Lahore. Five fire engines were dispatched to Rehman Plaza after the Rescue 1122 was called at about 12:46 pm, the agency’s Public Relations Officer Farooq Ahmad told Pakistan Today. He said part of the basement of the multi-storey building was alight.

Once the teams reached the site, they found out that 23 people were trapped on the second and third floors of the building. Ahmad said they were able to rescue 21 of them.

Two people received burns before firefighters put out the blaze. They were shifted to nearby Sir Ganga Ram Hospital where one of them succumbed to his wounds. A view of the rescue and fire trucks assembled on Queen’s Road to douse the fire.

A second Rescue 1122 official said teams were able to extinguish the fire at about 2:20 pm, but added the cause of the fire was under investigation.

Images and videos posted on social media

QUETTA NewS deSk

showed smoke billowing into the air and flames lapping part of the roof.

Police have advised people to avoid the area around the building which houses, among other businesses, a branch of the state-owned National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).

According to Ahmad, 16 vehicles — including five fire engines, four ambulances and a truck with a snorkel ladder — and 50 rescuers took part in the operation. Shahid Waheed Qamar, Lahore district emergency officer, supervised the operation.

IHC turns down request for SC consultation over NAB chief appointment ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday dismissed a petition suggesting consultation with the chief justice for the appointment of the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah took up the petition. “How can a court dictate the process for the appointment of the NAB chief?” he wondered.

“This is the prerogative of the Parliament and not the courts,” he observed and dismissed the petition.

“Your petition is rejected.”

The petitioner’s counsel complained that the Supreme Court’s decision in this regard was not implemented. The petition was filed by one Muhammad Fahad who maintained the top court had ordered making amendments in Section 6 of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Amendment Ordinance, 2021, and holding consultation with the top judge.

The provincial cabinet of Balochistan on Tuesday reduced fuel quota and other incentives of the provincial ministers by 50 percent, as part of the national austerity measures being adopted by all provinces in the wake of current hike in petrol price. “The decision was taken to control the additional and expenses and lessen the burden on the national exchequer”, said the Balochistan government spokesperson Farah Azeem Shah. She claimed that the provincial government has been pursuing a policy of a concerted strategy to improve the living standards of the people and provide relief to them.

“The fuel quota and other incentives of the provincial cabinet have been reduced by 50% to reduce the expenditure”, Farah said, adding in-principle approval has been given to provide subsidy, increase the import price of wheat by Rs. 200 and create three new districts including Hub, Karizat and Osta Mohammad. She noted that a committee had been formed to hand over 170 water supply schemes to WASA department to meet the water demand of the Quetta city, besides a water supply scheme had also been approved for Pirkoh, Dera Bugti district. She further said that the provincial government was taking all possible steps to provide health, education, employment and water supply facilities to the people of the province which would improve the living standards of the people. “The government has also approved amendments in the selection process and identification of projects in the PSDP to achieve the goals of rapid and sustainable development in the province”, she maintained.

Moot calls for sustainable solutions to climate change ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Humanitarian and development organisation Pak Mission Society (PMS) on Tuesday observed the Word Environment Day with a national conference titled “Only One Earth” for sustainable solutions to climate change.

Addressing the gathering, PMS Chairman Dr. Samson Griffin said that climate change was an imminent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies, future generations and the planet.

Speaking on the occasion, Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Director General Farzana Altaf said that all government departments were not only committed to tackling climate change and global warming through long-term development plans but also enhancing international cooperation in various fields, including research and development,

transferring technology and capacity building.

Earlier, a panel discussion deliberated on renewable energy, solid waste management, climate education, green entrepreneurship and climate finance.

The event concluded with a joint resolution wherein the participants agreed that all government as well as other local stakeholders would design and implement plans aimed at achieving 60 percent clean energy by 2030.

It was also decided that efforts would be made to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and use of coal for energy, reduce other fossil fuel consumption, adopt environment-friendly renewable energy measures for all, and repeal laws and policies that obstruct energy efficiency and renewable energy use while working to ensure that environmental and social impacts of such measures are effectively and equitably managed.

The resolution stressed the need for best practices of waste management which involve collecting, sorting, treating, recycling through a nationwide government-led campaign and promoting public-private partnerships.

It also called for a climate inclusive curricula for all educational institutions to prepare future generations for climate adversities and viable solutions, trans-

parency in how climate funds received by the country trickle down to the most vulnerable frontline communities, reduction in deforestation and promotion of forestation, working with the corporate sector for climate-friendly actions besides supporting civil society in addressing climate change and mobilising communities to incorporate climate action in all humanitarian and development projects.

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LonG Queues At petroL puMps Due to expeCteD hiKe in petroL priCes islamabad

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stAFF RePoRt

EOPLE thronged at fuel stations in panic after Finance Minister Miftah Ismail hinted at another fuel price hike earlier in the day.

As per details, a large number of people rushed to various fuel stations in major cities to get the fuel tanks filled as panic created after media reports of another hike in fuel prices.

Large queues were seen at the petrol pumps and people were desperate to get the fuel before an expected hike.

People were seen lined up at petrol filling stations across several cities — including Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi — to get the essential commodity at a cheaper rate as they feared that they would get petrol at a costly rate after the hike.

The recent hike in fuel prices has cre-

ated problems for the masses who are already facing a crunch economic situation.

A representative of the petrol pump association told media that the supply has been stopped and tankers have lined up outside oil depots for refilling.

The official asked the OMCs to restart the supply of petroleum products as if the reserves of the petrol pumps run out, then businesses will be severely affected.

“We are in talks with oil supply companies regarding the matter,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chairman Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) Abdul Sami Khan told that the reserves of the pumps are running shortly after “Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced another probable hike in petrol prices”.

He maintained that the supply to the petrol pumps had not stopped yet, but due to the rush at the filling stations, their reserves might be exhausted soon.

Washington accuses Moscow of trying to ‘intimidate’ US media in Russia wasHington AFP

The United States on Monday accused Russia of trying to “intimidate” American correspondents in Moscow, who were summoned by the Russian foreign ministry and threatened with reprisals because of US sanctions.

“The Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs summoned your colleagues to quote ‘explain to them the consequences of their government’s hostile line in the media

sphere,'” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in Washington.

“Let’s be clear, the Kremlin is engaged in a full assault on media freedom, access to information and the truth,” he added, slamming what he called “a clear and apparent effort to intimidate independent journalists.” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova threatened at the end of May to expel Western media if YouTube continued to block the department’s weekly briefings.

On Friday, she again accused Washing-

ton of “targeting for repression Russian media” inside the United States.

“They are doing everything to make it impossible for Russia media to work,” she said, adding that “if they don’t normalize the work of Russian media on US territory, there will be forceful measures as a consequence.” She said the US media representatives were “invited” to the Russian foreign ministry on Monday.

Price said Moscow was reacting to the blacklisting a month ago of three Russian television channels — Pervy Kanal,

Rossiia-1, and NTV — as part of international sanctions in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. He accused Moscow of “false equivalence” in comparing independent US journalists to the sanctioned Russian media, whom he described as “propaganda arms of the Russian government.” “The United States continues to issue visas to qualified Russian journalists, and we have not revoked the foreign press centre credentials of any Russian journalists working in the United States,” he said.

World must tell Taliban it’s going in wrong direction: German FM Continued from page 01 He observed that ramifications of conflict in Europe in the shape of the Ukraine conflict were also felt in Pakistan in the shape of increasing prices of fuel and food. He reiterated that Pakistan called upon immediate cessation of hostilities and immediate initiation of peaceful dialogue.

He said considering the plight of people in Ukraine, Pakistan had dispatched four planeloads of humanitarian aid. Pakistan remained concerned about the wellbeing of the people of Ukraine, civilian casualties, and a mass exodus of refugees.

The foreign minister said Pakistan wanted to engage with all its neighbours.

Pakistan played an important role in establishing the diplomatic ties between China and the US and it would continue to play a role of a bridge, he said.

About the Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, he said he had been vociferously raising the rights violations in the disputed region during his engagements at the global fora and in his meetings with his counterparts of various countries including the US secretary of state.

Zardari warned that the situation in Kashmir had been fast deteriorating due to provocative steps of India that was trying to undermine the Muslim majority by marginalising and turning it into minority through illegal measures.

The foreign minister said the international community must immediately take notice of the increasing incidents of persecution of minorities and rising tide of Islamophobia in India.

Zardari, citing the recent provocative and sacrilegious statements by the BJP leaders, said that such outrageous and highly condemnable statements had hurt the sentiments of Muslims all over the world. He said it was a proof that India had turned into a fascist country and it was no longer a secular India, but dominated by Hindutva ideology.

The foreign minister said Pakistan wanted peace with India, but it required a rational approach from the other side, adding with such irrational steps by India, the space for peace was being squeezed.

He reiterated: “The peace in South Asia was contingent upon peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue.”

He said that Pakistan and Germany enjoyed a close and long-standing cordial cooperation based upon mutual respect and driven by bilateral ties and shared interests.

He said both the countries were also close partners in the European Union context.

Zardari said German had been Pakistan’s largest trading partner in EU and its fifth world export destination.

Last year, he said Pakistan’s exports to Germany stood around $2.5 billion while imports were at $1.3 billion. Germany was also the seventh-largest direct investor in Pakistan. Zardari said Pakistan always emphasized upon and supported a peaceful and stable Afghanistan contributing to the regional progress and development and connectivity.

He stressed upon the international community to focus on the humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people who had been facing a financial crises. A UN report had indicated that about 97 per cent of Afghan population had been pushed below the poverty line and faced immediate danger of hunger and starvation.

At the same time, the foreign minister, stressed that Afghan government must

come up to the expectation of the international community with regard to upholding of the human and women’s rights and take effective steps against terrorism.

He urged the international community to actively engage with the Afghan government to avoid humanitarian crises in Afghanistan, adding releasing of its foreign assets would help its sagging economy.

The foreign minister also enumerated Pakistan’s efforts for the safe evacuation of foreigners in the earlier phases after the Taliban took control of the country.

Zardari said Pakistan had faced the brunt of terrorism and extremism in Afghanistan and it was in the world’s interest to ensure peace in Afghanistan, so that no terrorist activities could take place in that country.

He said it was important for the international community to engage with the new rulers of Afghanistan.

The foreign minister said Pakistan had been a victim of terrorism from the groups operating in Afghanistan, adding they were concerned about the consequences of the humanitarian crises unfolding on their borders.

PANAH urges GB govt to help protect youth from non-communicable diseases islamabad News Desk

Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) on Tuesday urged the Chief Secretary of Gilgit-Baltistan to play his role to curb rising heart disease, diabetes, cancer and protect the youth of the area from non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

In a meeting, PANAH delegation led

by Sanaullah Ghumman, General Secretary, Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) visited Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Munawwar Hussain, Consultant Global Health Advocacy Incubator,

Food Policy Program was present on the occasion, said a news release.

The delegation briefed the Chief Secretary GB that one of main causes of increasing NCDs were excessive use of sugary drinks. “In order to save the young generation in particular, the sale of unhealthy items in educational institutions should be banned, so that the burden of diseases can be reduced”, they said.

The main purpose of the PANAH visit was to learn about the health problems of the people of GilgitBaltistan, to meet the policy makers for the prevention of diseases and their

causes, and to provide information on PANAH efforts, suggestions, studies and opinions to control the diseases.

The PANAH delegation met to Chief Secretary, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Mohi-ud-Din Ahmad Wani, Food Secretary Safdar Ali Khan, Muhammad Musa, Additional Secretary Health, Deputy Commissioner Osama Majeed Cheema.

The Chief Secretary appreciated the efforts of the PANAH and said that giving a healthy life to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and the young generation was their top priority, adding, “for which we have taken positive

CmYk

steps and more work will be done”.

Later the Association held an important seminar was organized by PANAH on the occasion of “World Food Safety Day” at Hunza in collaboration with the Provincial Nutrition Focal Person, Gilgit-Baltistan Health Department.

The seminar stated that World Food Safety Day was organized every year under the auspices of PANAH like the rest of the world. The aim is to draw attention to the dangers of health hazards posed by food, to detect them, to manage them and to improve human health.

NEWS

05

Dua Mangi Case: Absconder Zohaib Qureshi arrested from Kandhkot news desk Dua Mangi and Bisma abduction case wanted absconder, Zohaib Qureshi was arrested in injured condition following encounter with police here on Tuesday. According to police, the police signaled a suspicious car to stop at Karampur road but the accused opened fire at the police party, “After an exchange of fire Zohaib Qureshi, a most wanted accused, was arrested” police said. Six mobile phones and other things were recovered from the possession of the accused. “The accused has been involved in kidnapping for ransom and other crimes,” police officials said.

Dua Mangi Case: Karachi Police in February informed an anti-terrorism court (ATC) that the CNIC of Zohaib Qureshi, who escaped from police custody, has been blocked. The police officials submitted the report in the court regarding the escape of Zohaib Qureshi and measures taken to apprehend him during the proceeding. His Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) has been blocked and his name is placed at the Exit Control List (ECL).Zohaib Qureshi was fled from City Court police custody on January 27. The court had issued non-bailable warrants for Zohaib Qreshi in high profile Dua Mangi and Bisma kidnapping cases.

Govt aims at fiscal consolidation, to present progressive budget: Miftah Continued from page 01 However, negative growth during the PTI regime led to unemployment and increase in poverty. When the incumbent government took over, he said, around Rs 5,600 billion deficit was projected, and it was making concerted efforts to bring it down to Rs 5,200 billion. The minister said there was average deficit of Rs 1,650 billion per annum during the PML-N’s last tenure, and it rose to Rs 5,600 billion in just three and a half years of the PTI government. The deficit had risen from 6.5 percent to 9.1 percent of the GDP in the PTI regime, he added. He said average debt taken by the PTI government stood at Rs 5,177 billion whereas the PML-N government had taken Rs 2,132 billion, which was utilized for building power plants and other infrastructure. The total debt taken by 19 prime ministers during the last 70 years was Rs 24,952 billion, whereas the PTI government took around Rs 20,000 billion, which was around 80 percent of the total debt. The minister said around Rs 1,072 billion power subsidy was given during the current year whereas the circular debt went up to Rs 500 billion, taking the total power sector losses to Rs 1,600 billion. He said the petroleum sector was also given Rs 81 billion subsidy while it had a circular debt of around 400 billion. Likewise, the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd was facing losses of Rs 200 billion and the Pakistan State Oil of Rs 500 billion.He said the country needed about $41 billion for debt payment of $21 billion over the next 12 months and building foreign exchange reserves up to $18 billion. He said the government re-engaged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and expressed the hope that the agreement would be signed soon. Miftah said the government had to enhance the petrol prices under compulsion, as otherwise, it would have to incur a loss of Rs 120 billion per month – three times more than its expenditures. He lamented that the country had become an importer of sugar and wheat, contrary to the fact that two commodities were exported during the last PMLN government.

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06 COMMENT

The Progressive/Moderate Battle in the Democratic Party

Under the shadow of IMF Budget-making exercise

T

he PMl(N)-led coalition government faces serious challenges on the economic front. As the government prepares the budget, it is required to cope with a fast-growing deficit that has surged from Rs 2,565 billion in the first nine months to Rs 5,000 million in June. After total revenue clocked in at Rs 6,000 billion, only Rs 1,000 billion will be left with the government to utilize. The Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for the next fiscal year has already been halved to Rs 480 billion under the iMF’s instructions while the government is required to set Rs7,200 billion as the revenue target for 2022-23. As things stand there will be nothing left in the national kitty after repayment of debt and instalments.

The ambitious revenue target requires a meaningful reduction in government expenditure. On Tuesday the federal government belatedly ordered a 40-percent reduction in the fuel quota for all government employees, including cabinet members. The federal cabinet also decided to restore Saturday as a public holiday in an effort to save electricity. This is a good beginning but much more needs to be done. Not everybody in the government however seems to be convinced of the need for austerity.

A report tells of the Religious Affairs Ministry having finalized a list of 200 employees for free hajj this year which would cost Rs170 million of the taxpayer’s money.

There is a need to put the major burden of new taxes on the rich rather than the common man who is already finding it difficult to make both ends meet. There is also a need to reduce indirect taxation. instead of putting most of the burden on the salaried employees, attempts should be made to bring the extra-large trading community under the tax net. The real estate sector, which has continued to evade even minimal levels of taxation, should be made to pay the dues. Similarly agriculture should be brought under the tax net. All these sectors continue to enjoy tax immunity because they have strong lobbies in political parties. it is time the coalition comprising nine political parties puts party interests behind to bring the entire section of he population with taxable incomes under the net. This alone can rid the successive governments of the humiliation of begging friendly countries for loans or seeking the painful help of the Fund.

Pro-Israeli PACs are pouring in money to defeat progressives ‘soft’ on Israel

washington watch Dr James J Zogby

W

hile the GOP’s internal battle is all about Trump and Trumpism, the conflict playing out on the Democratic side is between the party’s moderate and more progressive wings, and comes in two distinct forms.

The first manifestation of the internal Democratic conflict is between candidates who seek to broaden the appeal of the party beyond what has come to be defined as its “base,” and those who believe the path to victory is simply to expand the turnout among that “base vote.”

This was on display in Pennsylvania where the popular progressive lieutenant governor, John Fetterman, a supporter of Bernie Sanders, was running against a moderate congressman, Conor lamb. Fetterman’s agenda matched that of Sanders on most issues, except one; Fetterman is not opposed to fracking, an industry that is popular in the state. And Fetterman’s persona is as compelling as his progressive politics. At 6’ 8”, with a shaved head, he looks more like a professional footballer or wrestler than a politician. he also has a direct plain-spoken approach that is appealing to the very middle-class, non-college educated white ethnic voters whom Democrats have long ignored. lamb, on the other hand, looks like a congressman out of central casting—

Ex-servicemen’s claims Time for an ISPR clarification

i

T could have only happened in Pakistan’s upside down, tail wagging the dog, topsy turvy polity. exservicemen, supporters of former prime minister imran Khan, claimed at a press conference in islamabad the other day that the army chief had assured them of conducting polls in 90 days’ time.

We are a praetorian state, yes, and we know how the cookie crumbles here. But here are ex-servicemen proudly claiming that the army chief had promised them to do something that is otherwise the function of, first, the civil government and then, that of the election commission.

There is no love lost between them and the present army chief, but this wasn’t some sort of expose that they were trying to pull off. No, here their objection is to him not doing so despite claiming he would.

The retired servicemen are, by definition, civilians.

Technically, the military has no control over them and they should be allowed to say their piece. But the iSPR should certainly clarify its position on this issue. if several retired two and three-star officers are making some claims, these would gain some traction in the marketplace of ideas. The iSPR should clarify the position of the army chief. lastly, some amusing footage and videos coming out from the protest of the former military officers outside the press club in islamabad. When reporters started questioning them about their careers and the political role that they had played during it, they were turtles on their backs. What twisted the knife was these were very targeted, individualised questions by reporters who had done their research about individual generals. The retired generals couldn’t face any of the questions that even novice politicians would have handled with ease.

None of the generals had seen battle, it would appear.

The experience of the Shia community mirrors that of all who disappear

syeDa mehDiya ali

P

akistan is a developed independent state but its political scenario and security measures have always remained under question. Due to the recent political clash in the country, the houses of multiple political activists were raided in the middle of the night in the attempt of their arrest which was highly condemned not only by the general public but also by the authorities, and immediate actions were taken by the courts.

This situation might have been unpredictable for some, but was it something new? Not at all. Sadly, in our country, we have quite a history of forced arrests in the past by law enforcement agencies against people belonging to different ethnic and religious backgrounds. Can one imagine the pain of a 60-year-old man whose house was raided on a deep night when he and his family were peacefully sleeping? how would he have felt when they arrested his 25-year-old only son, without any warrant, and the son then never returned? how would that woman hsae felt who just got married and her husband went missing? What is she supposed to do?

The Shia community is one of the prominent re-

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami M. A. Niazi

Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

gressives in Congress, the pro-israel lobby AiPAC helped launch new political action committees (PACs). Already this year, these PACs have spent over $10 million in just a few races trying to defeat progressives.

What’s ironic is that while the sole purpose of these PACs has been to defeat “enemies of israel,” never once do they mention this in their advertising campaigns. Most of their expenditures have been for advertising that smeared the reputations of the progressive candidates, accusing them of being too radical, not supportive of President Biden, or just not “real Democrats.” And while they accuse the progressives of being “not real Democrats,” large donations to these PACs have come from Republican billionaires and the largest of these PACs has also endorsed over 100 Republicans, most of whom were supporters of Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen.

To date, the record is mixed. The anti-progressive side has thus far won three competitive races and lost two, including an important contest in Western Pennsylvania in which they spent over $3 million in negative ads to tear down a charismatic black state legislator who eked out a victory last week. in another of these contests, the progressive, whom the PACs spent millions to oppose, is in a virtual tie and a recount is underway.

While, for better or worse, Trump and fear of alienating his base has created a fragile unity among Republicans, Democrats are struggling to find the basis for unity between its progressive and moderate wings. The problem for Democrats is that the influx of millions of dollars in dark money expenditures may help defeat a few progressives who support justice for Palestinians, but it’s also deepening splits within the party.

And until Democrats can unify around an approach that broadens their base with a progressive agenda that appeals to both what they currently identify as their base and those white working-class voters they have long ignored, they will continue to have trouble winning in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin. With this in mind, the outcome of this year’s internal conflicts in both the Republican and Democratic parties will not only determine which party controls the Congress, but also set the stage for 2024.

The writer is President of the Arab American Institute

Culture of forced disappearance

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

well groomed, polished, and a bit too careful. in fact, the main theme of lamb’s campaign was that he was “more electable” than Fetterman.

Many establishment Democrats favored lamb.

They continue to believe that a combination of a liberal social agenda and courting what they call “the Obama coalition” (i.e., Black, latino, Asian, young, and educated women voters) is the path to victory.

As a result, Democrats have been losing elections in Midwestern states and have handed white working-class voters to Republicans on a silver platter.

Fetterman, on the other hand, courted that Democratic base, but expanded it by making it clear to white voters that he’d also fight for them. Fetterman decisively won the primary with more than twothirds of the vote. in neighboring Ohio, another Democrat, Congressman Tim Ryan, also courted working class voters and won a clear victory. like Fetterman, Ryan made it clear that he understood their concerns with the loss of jobs and the dislocation they were experiencing in a changing economy. Both Fetterman and Ryan will likely face Trump-endorsed candidates in November. Should they win, it not only would help ensure Democratic control of the US Senate, but also will demonstrate that Trump and the GOP’s hold over white workingclass voters can be broken— but only if Democrats pay attention to them and their needs.

There is another, more convoluted way that the Democrats’ moderate/progressive internal debate is playing out this year. Polling now demonstrates that more liberal Democrats are no longer attached to israel. While the Democratic establishment insists that their party is unified behind israel, more liberal Democrats are more favourable to Palestinians and conditioning aid to israel. This has played out in a few contests in the last two election cycles, with progressive congressional candidates defeating more mainstream supporters of israel.

This year has seen an increase in the number of progressives challenging moderate Democrats in congressional elections. While the views of most of these progressives are more balanced on israel-Palestine than their opponents, the issue has not been central to any of these contests. instead, they have debated progressive concerns like Medicare for All, arresting climate change, and free public education.

Concerned with stopping the advance of pro-

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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ligious minority groups in Pakistan that has been reported to be suffering from such conditions for many decades now and despite their repeated pleas in court and multiple peaceful protests, marches, and sit-in protests spread over several days, no definite measures have been yet taken in this regard.

People of the Shia community feel victimized by the forced disappearance of its members. After many protests, pleas, and requests made to the authorities, dead silence is all that they had received as an answer in return. According to the data gathered by one of the Shia community organizations iSO (imamia Students Organization), this forced disappearance could be dated back to 2005 when it all started. By then there were individual cases of disappearance being reported in different areas of the country but ever since then it never stopped and it was by 2015 when this disappearance evolved on a mass level and has been reported by officials to be at its peak by 2019.

As per the data compiled by iSO approximately 160 Shias were reported missing in 2018. in 2019, after protests and sit-ins made in different areas of Pakistan some recoveries were made yet the cases of the missing people ranges up to 140. Recently, eight new cases were also reported missing in only the last two weeks.

All the forced arrests have the same pattern of disappearance: at night. Families of missing persons claim that their beloved ones were arrested by police and law enforcement agencies, but neither were they taken to any jail nor were they ever presented before a court. Among these cases are some who have been missing for many years now that and whose parents have died waiting, but they never returned, and those who did return never talk about what had happened to them or where they were taken People feel rage and anger towards institutions as those responsible for the protection of the citizens of the country are responsible for their misery and deprive them of their constitutional rights. leaders of the Shia organizations took a stand along with the families of missing persons and filed a plea in court. Yet after years of repeated hearings

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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the court could take no satisfactory steps it seems that the court itself has had its hands bound in this regard. Or maybe authorities don’t feel these cases are as of equal importance as the arrest of Shireen Mazari, a member of the national assembly, upon whose daylight arrest the court opened its gates even at night.

This situation has developed a feeling of mistrust between the community and governmental institutions and doesn’t seem to get any better any soon. No matter which political party is in power the issue of missing persons remains unchanged.

During the tenure of the PTi government, human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari claimed she would get abill passed in this regard and ensure the community gets them justice but no practical measures were ever taken.

Authorities claim doubt of the involvement of these missing persons with religious groups in Syria, lebanon, or iran who made recruitments to safeguard sacred places from Daesh but among these missing cases, many don’t have any travel history at all. Also, no evidence of their involvement in any illegal activity or affiliation with any extremist group was ever found.

The people of the community demand restoration of law and seek justice from the court. All they want is the recovery of their beloved. it is such pain for a mother whose grown-up son is abducted in front of her eyes. What is the fault of the children who were raised without a father only because their father was forcibly disappeared? Would these children be ever able to trust the law? it has been demanded repeatedly to present the missing persons in court and bring them to sight even if they had committed any crime as it is their constitutional right to plead before the judge. The institutions should change their strategy of investigation. instead of getting people missing they should be taken into custody in a legal manner and presented before the court along with the evidence of the actions they are being accused of. Victims’ families should have the right to meet their beloved and constitutional rights should not be taken away.

The writer is a freelance columnist

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

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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

Plight of people MY beloved country is in the grip of numerous dire problems ranging from crushing inflation to unbearable load-shedding. Unfortunately, our leaders, who tout to be the champions of democracy are adamant not to sit together to cooperate for the sake of the country. They are so self-absorbed that their hubris stops them from having any empathy for people.

While people suffer immensely, they rush to foreign countries to get treatment for minor illnesses or waste public money on visits to meet their party leaders abroad. While out of power they make tall claims of changing the destiny of the country through their experienced team, but when they get their hands on power, thy completely forget about people.

Their personal gains take precedence over any public concern. For example, our newly elected Prime Minister went to london along with his entourage to meet his brother Nawaz Sharif who was convicted by the court and is not returning to the country due to fear of jail time.

The democracy in our country has been hijacked by a few families who have their members in one party or the other. No matter which party is in power, we see similar faces occupying important positions. While i was writing this letter, my helper Zafar from village Jafar, Tehsil Fateh Jang, District Attock returned from leave and informed me that due to prolonged dry hot weather, their village has run out of drinking water. They must fetch water from other villages miles away, but unfortunately, there is no government department or politicians who would be willing to come to the rescue of people in villages like Jaffar. i wish the newly installed government would pay a bit of attention to the plight of people who have been crushed under the burden of multiple problems.

RAJA SHAFAATULLAH ISLAMABAD

Cost of a snap and a mistaken signal Does Pakistan understand the reality of the new dynamics of Afghan politics?

shaZia anwer cheema

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he former indian envoy to Afghanistan stated on the recent development of the Taliban-india relationship that New Delhi withdrew from Kabul because of security concerns but india maintains ties with the Afghan people and continues to support them. “we were looking for a propitious time”. in the meantime, the Taliban realize that an economically dented Pakistan cannot be useful in economic terms so they are browsing and apparently going for the more beneficial options.

Their move is well planned and calculated, on one hand, they are giving the gesture that they are a sovereign state and on another a clear message that their diplomatic ties are beyond their religious doctrine. This also explains their political maturity as former Pakistani Ambassador Abdul Basit even suggested that they must open an academy for diplomatic studies and Pakistani diplomats must join it.

Pakistan’s foreign representative in a press briefing last gave a statement that india is acting as a spoiler which, according to me, is an uncalled-for statement and should have been avoided because india is sending humanitarian aid and that aid is a spoiler, can be a correct statement in the past but not at the moment. The Taliban already are offended by our bold gestures and claims that Pakistan has nothing to do with their victory (fall of Kabul), they rightfully consider their victory, hard-earned only by them. These loaded statements and gestures from Pakistan are a double edged sword; on one hand they are offending the Taliban by claiming a share in their victory, and on the other is the understanding by the Afghan political opposition that Pakistan chose a clear side, out in the open. in reality, Pakistan must acknowledge both the efforts of the Taliban and Afghan political parties and must refrain from signalling its involvement in the Taliban government via pictures or statements.

Former indian envoy to Afghanistan Gautum Mukhopadhaya in an interview said that recent indian alignment with the Taliban has two bases; 1. india wants to reassure the Afghan people that it has not left them and its support for the Afghan people will continue, 2. india is seeing the beginning of domestic resistance against the Taliban within the Afghan population and is monitoring the Afghan political regrouping; he then gave the example of the Dostum meeting in

Turkey and NRF in Tajikistan.

The majority of non-Pashtuns always consider Pakistan a spoiler and we must understand today’s Taliban are a multi-ethnic group comprising a large number of non-Pashtuns from northern Afghanistan. They are also in the interim cabinet of the Taliban. When the Taliban captured Panjshir valley, a wrong signal went out of Pakistan, claiming that Pakistan helped the Taliban to get hold of this strategically important valley that had always been out of the control of the Taliban in the past. This wrong signal created serious problems for the Taliban who gave sacrifices to enter this bottleneck valley neighbouring Tajikistan.

This signal was so strong that Tajikistan and iran both blamed Pakistan for intervening in Afghanistan’s political scenario physically and giving an opportunity to india to malign Pakistan. When certain quarters of Pakistan indirectly claimed that Pakistan helped, Farsi, Tajik, and Uzbek speaking groups within the Taliban were very annoyed because they took hold of northern Afghanistan through ethnic, political, and martial engagements with several groups of Kunduz, Nuristan, and Panjshir valley.

Tajikistan and iran have been very much involved in northern Afghanistan for ages due to linguistic, cultural, and ethnic proximity because northern Afghanistan comprises Farsi-speaking Tajik, hazara Shia, Uzbek ethnic groups, and Turkish-lineage tribes.

Turkey, iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan strongly criticized the Taliban’s interim government during the islamabad OiC conference and Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi who is interim Minister of Foreign Affairs was not included in photo session of the OiC conference though this OiC session was a special session for the Afghanistan crisis.

Today’s Taliban interim government, being a multi-ethnic ruling group, wants to have working relations with everybody and Pakistan is not the only priority for them. Their relations are edgy with Tajikistan which is hosting all antiTaliban groups but even then Taliban have not closed doors for talks with Tajikistan. in an interview of Afghan Defence Minister Mullah Yaqub (who is the son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar) with an indian channel broadcast on June 3, he expressed willingness to send Afghan army personnel to india for military training, saying they “don’t have any issue with it”.

On May 27, in an interview with an indian television channel, Taliban leader Anas haqqani,

who is a brother of acting interior minister Sirajuddin haqqani, stated Taliban had urged india to reopen its mission in Kabul and re-establish its links with the Afghan people as before, without entertaining any security-related fears.

Pakistan must think carefully and re-evaluate its foreign policy toward Afghanistan, the clear indication from Pakistan that Afghanistan is a sovereign country will be a good start. i am not saying that Pakistan thinks otherwise but the unfortunate point is few naïve gestures are ruining the entire paradigm. The amount of toll Pakistan has paid for the Afghan people no one on earth can pay and a few metric tons of wheat and some bundles of medicine can never suffice for it but Pakistan must understand that Afghans do not seem in the mood to acknowledge Pakistan’s sacrifices in current time and space. india already has done enough damage by brainwashing Afghan youth so any hasty click or statement will further muddy our waters. india is openly admitting that their relationship is only with the Afghan people not with any regime and it is also counting on political upheavals which are being engineered in different pockets, meaning if the Taliban know the fact that india is praying on humanitarian crises and waiting for their regime change and then still decides to shake hand with india, then let it be.

We must remember that Pakistan has not recognized the interim government of the Taliban for several reasons but the reality is simple— Pakistan is not different from the USA or india or Tajikistan or iran as it has also not recognized the Taliban as a legitimate government. Does Pakistan have any moral leverage over others? i think diplomatically not.

The former government could recognize the interim government of the Taliban when they captured the whole of Afghanistan after the fall of northern Afghanistan but the government of PTi lost this opportunity, providing an exceptional opportunity for india for telling Afghans that Pakistan is not as good for them as they thought before.

India is openly admitting that their relationship is only with the Afghan people not with any regime and it is also counting on political upheavals which are being engineered in different pockets, meaning if the Taliban know the fact that India is praying on humanitarian crises and waiting for their regime change and then still decides to shake hand with India, then let it be

The writer is a Prague-based author, columnist, and foreign affairs expert who writes for national and international media. She is a doctoral student and researcher in semiotics and philosophy of communication at Charles University in Prague. She can be reached at her: Twitter @ShaziaAnwerCh Email: shaziaanwer@yahoo.com

Hermetic technology ACCORDiNG to a report shared by Asian Development Bank Pakistan can save up to $1.3 billion annually in post-harvest losses. inadequate storage facilities is the primary reason for losses in staple commodities such as rice, corn, wheat, red chilies, pulses, and Canola. Pakistan produces approximately 27 million tons of wheat per annum which is valued at US$7.4 Billion. however, the country has less than 6 million tons of storage capacity, which means that the remaining quantity of wheat is stored under unregulated conditions leading to a minimum 10 percent loss of the remaining commodity which is accounted for at $740 Million.

The stockists and middlemen try to stock the commodity but eventually due to inadequate storage facilities, abrupt weather changes, and high humidity due to the monsoon leads to growth of fungus, aflatoxin, and infestation. Due to high infestation, excessive phosphine tablets are used as fumigants which are poisonous in nature and has been a leading cause for health issues such as Anemia and diarrhea specifically for women in Pakistan. if the farmers were able to store their commodity for an additional two-to-three-month they can increase their income by 20-40 percent.

Moreover, a saving of 15-20 percent on post-harvest losses can decrease the cost of production for end consumers considerably. To solve this problem Kissan Gudam launched hermetic technology. hermetic technology is developed by international Rice Research institute (iRRi) and international Maise and Wheat improvement Center (CiMMYT) along with University of hohenheim. hermetic technology works on the principles of airtight jar. hermetic properties allow no exchange of moisture or any gases from the ambient environment. This creates a high CO2 and low oxygen environment which prevents life inside the cocoon without any use of chemicals and allows to store commodity organically for up to 12 years consistently.

FARHAN TAHIR LAHORE

Cholistan needs help ChOliSTAN, a desert located in south Punjab of Pakistan having a human population of 0.2 million and a cattle population of 1.2 million is going through an extreme drought due to low rainfall and canal water flow.

People and animals are dying of hunger and thirst. This drought has evoked the displacement of people from the desert along with their animals but those who do not have any financial assistance are stuck in the drought. People living in Cholistan are striving for their survival and the protection of their animals. Almost 200 of the livestock have been killed by water scarcity. Cattle is the backbone of the economy of Cholistan, there is not any other major resource which can contribute to the economy of the area and this drought is worsening the economy by killing the only major resource cattle. Not only this, but the water scarcity is spreading the desert area to over tens of thousands of acres of land which did not receive adequate rainfall. All these years, the government of Pakistan has not paid any attention to the development of this deserted area of Punjab. This area is still as it was fifty years ago; no safety and precautionary measures have been taken, to protect it from any upcoming drought. People have suffered for years; their life and livestock are at stake and still there is no hope for any betterment and development. even now, enough light is not being shed on this issue; the general public has little to no idea about what is happening in Cholistan. This oblivion of the public is one of the reasons why the government and media are not addressing this issue the way it should be addressed. Now is the time to raise our voice for the people of Cholistan.

ZAIRA BATOOL LARKANA

Green revolution The scorching sun we face these days is a pure reflection of the “you reap what you sow” proverb. The pace with which we are cutting trees and our ozone layer depletion is increasing day by day. We need to take steps as quickly as possible before it gets uncontrollably dangerous. As deforestation is done before constructing roads or any other infrastructure, then there should be strict rules to plant double or at least the same number of trees. Secondly, publicly it must be encouraged to plant trees outside their houses. There must be such green activities in schools also. For instance, every student in every class should be assigned a project to plant and grow a tree throughout their school life. These kinds of steps will help us same humans as well as animals from these heatwaves.

RIMSHA MUSHTAQ SUKKUR

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Wednesday, 8 June, 2022

08 WORLD VIEW

FOreigN miNisTer’s respONse TO Us ambassaDOr: a sTOry FOr all The wrONg reasONs daily STar kamal ahmEd

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N May 31, our diplomat-in-chief, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, sent a message to diplomatic correspondents in Dhaka suggesting what questions they should ask the uS ambassador. by the time his message was transmitted to journalists, the uS ambassador’s press event, DCAb talk, was over, and the minister’s note ended up as a story itself. It couldn’t be ascertained whether the message was a government advisory or a tutorial note as there was no official explanation about it following the publication of the story.

It was a story for all the wrong reasons. Contents of his note suggest that he was unhappy – perhaps angry, too – at the uS ambassador’s public comments on the state of democracy, human rights, press freedom and sanctions on Rab. He wrote, “Please, you (the newsmen) ask the uS envoy why they cannot stop such extrajudicial killings in their own country. Secondly, about 100,000 uS citizens go missing every year. Even children are deprived of reuniting with their Hispanic parents. Ask the uS about their problems, not about bangladesh.” In his message, Mr Momen added, “It is not the responsibility of the uS to rule our country and

Delayed response: On govt’s stern action against hate speech

its development. If the uS wants freedom of press, why have they censored the Russian television channel Rt? If they want accountability, why are the uS security forces or police not punished or held accountable for killing more than 1,000 citizens, mostly black and Hispanic, every year?”

Questions suggested by Mr Momen also included, “… if their electoral process is fair, why don’t young Americans believe in their election system and why is there a low turnout among young Americans? Why is there a 25 percent voter turnout in each election? Is it a participatory electoral process?” these questions, based on half-truths or questionable facts, coming from none other than a person who has spent more than one-third of his career in the uS, are quite shocking. the foreign minister made his stay in the uS a special point when he met Secretary of State Anthony J blinken on April 4, saying, “I always have some indebtedness to you, because when I was homeless, jobless, and stateless, it is the uS that provided me a home and a job, and I am thankful for that.” Do we have to believe that he is incapable of differentiating between missing persons and enforced disappearances? the voting statistics he has cited is also far from the truth as the official records show that the lowest turnout in the uS presidential election was 49 percent posted in 1996. In the last presidential election, the turnout was 62 percent.

cording to international standards, wouldn’t it be wiser to respond with expressing commitment to follow such standards? trying to find justification of a discredited election through pointing out flaws in other countries’ elections exposes desperation to deflect the issue. the same is true when attempts were made to counter issues of human rights abuses, press freedom and accountability by raising questions about intentions and making wild allegations of conspiracies to destabilise the government. It also contradicts assertions by other functionaries of the government that it has been reviewing disputed legislations like the Digital Security Act (DSA) to ensure that it does not become a tool to harass journalists. the news about the foreign minister’s suggested questions to reporters was especially troublesome as he has already earned some notoriety for his diplomatic language. His characterisation of Indo-bangla relationship or comments about seeking help from India to bring an end to the uS sanctions on Rab and importing oil from Russia can be cited here as examples. one may wonder whether these words are advancing our cause and brightening our image abroad, or harming it instead.

Kamal Ahmed is an independent journalist and writes from London, UK. His twitter handle is @ahmedka1

a few islamic nations forced modi govt to do what 200 million indian muslims couldn’t IF SENTIMENTS OF INDIAN MUSLIMS MATTERED, THE LIKES OF NUPUR SHARMA AND NAVEEN JINDAL WOULD BE SACKED AS AND WHEN THEY MAKE A HATEFUL COMMENT, NOT AFTER GLOBAL CONDEMNATION

The Government could have avoided the hate speech issue if the BJP had acted early Hindu Editorial

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HE Government’s decision to take a stern view of hate speech targeting religious beliefs, to distance itself from comments made by two spokespersons of the bharatiya Janata Party (bJP), and to assert India’s traditional values of tolerance and respect for all religions is both welcome and reassuring for those within the country increasingly concerned about the increase in such speech. the ruling bJP’s move to suspend the spokespersons for comments made on a television channel and twitter, respectively, is also a significant departure from the past, and would represent an inflection point in the debate over growing communalisation, if it were not for two factors. the first, that the Government chose to react to the hate speech, targeting Islam and the Prophet Muhammed (PbuH), more than a week after these were first broadcast. the second, that its reactions, and the bJP’s action appeared to follow statements made by foreign governments, beginning with Qatar, and then Kuwait, Iran, Pakistan, bahrain, the united Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Jordan, the Maldives as well as by the 57-member organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the powerful six-member Gulf Cooperation Council. However, the Government continues to ignore Indian organisations and groups that have expressed concerns about the statements made. It is possible that the Government chose to respond to Qatar with more alacrity as the VicePresident of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, was beginning a three-day visit to the country. It is also significant that the Government was moved to act with sensitivity in this case, unlike its reaction just a week ago to the united States government’s release of a report on religious freedom in India, where it slammed the u.S. for playing “vote bank politics”. Some concern about a possible “street reaction” across West Asia, where more than eight million Indians live and work, may have also prompted the reaction, particularly after social media users shared the offending comments widely across the region.

Regardless of the reasoning, the statement issued by the Embassies in Doha and Kuwait, which said that the Government accords the highest respect to all religions “in line with our civilisational heritage and strong cultural traditions of unity in diversity” reflects some introspection within the establishment and the ruling party, and the line that has been drawn must be adhered to across society. there is also a case for similar introspection to be made within the media, particularly news television channels that appear to have turned prime time viewing into a prize-fight, encouraging the most radical voices to spar verbally every evening and engage in blatantly extremist hate speech. While the right to free speech must be upheld, and nobody should be allowed to threaten violence, the Government would have avoided the entire controversy if it had acted according to the law, and immediately engaged with the issue before it snowballed into an international incident.

Questions suggested by Mr Momen were nothing new, rather a repetition of unverified claims made by some politicians in their public speeches. but political speeches are quite different from the statements made by people steering diplomacy for their country. one may wonder whether he has minutely followed recent statements and comments by uS diplomats, including Ambassador Peter Haas, as they now frequently admit the challenges they are facing at home in relation to press freedom and elections. Ambassador Haas, on May 24, told editors and senior journalists in Dhaka that the uS was not perfect when it came to having a free press.

Quoting from the most recent Reporters Without borders World Press Freedom Index, he said the uS had ranked 42nd out of 180 countries, which, according to him, was far from the top. He added, “Frankly, the united States needs to do better.” there were admissions, too, about the difficulties the uS is facing regarding elections, especially the allegations of fraud made by former President Donald trump and his followers in the Republican Party. the biggest problem with these statements, aimed at deflecting the focus of alleged violations of human rights and democratic principles by pointing out failures of others, is that it is a futile exercise and, to some extent, counterproductive. When Ambassador Haas or any other Western diplomat emphasises on a credible election ac-

PrinT Zainab SikandEr

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hate-spewing, shrill spokesperson of the bharatiya Janata Party has managed to do what more than 200 million Muslims in India couldn’t: bring the Narendra Modi government and the bJP face to face with criticism of rampant Islamophobia in India’s political discourse. the government had so far blithely ignored Indians’ effort to bring to its notice the surge in hatred and antiMuslim violence in the country. but now, led by international pressure, it is forced to address the issue.

Nupur Sharma, now a former bJP spokesperson, and Naveen Kumar Jindal, the party’s former Delhi media in-charge, single-handedly managed to damage the shiny image of Modi and his party in front of Islamic nations who had been conferring the highest civilian honours on the Prime Minister for forging strong ties with the Arab nations. While a host of nations have condemned the remarks, three of them — Iran, Qatar, Kuwait — have summoned Indian envoys. the suspension of Sharma and the expulsion of Jindal following international pressure is no small matter.

Nupur Sharma’s abominable remarks on Prophet Muhammad (PbuH) and his wife angered Muslims around the world. And external affairs minister S. Jaishankar’s wit won’t come to the rescue this time. Abusing India’s Muslims as jihadis, stone-pelters or uncouth Covid super spreaders can be brushed off as “internal matters”, but attacking Islam and its authoritative head, the Prophet (PbuH), will become a global discussion.

MESSAGE TO INDIAN MUSLIMS IS CLEAR: the sad reality is that the sentiments of India’s Muslims make no difference to the Modi government. If they did, Nupur Sharma and her likes would be sacked as and when they make a hateful comment, not after the matter draws international condemnation and ridicule.

Muslims have repeatedly expressed outrage at the blatant flouting of their basic human rights on issues such as food, clothing, marriage and places of worship.

Yet, the Modi government has turned a deaf ear and a blind eye towards their concerns. there has been no healing touch, like the ones extended to the Sikh community, who were branded as ‘Khalistanis’ following their agitation against the Centre’s farm laws. Modi chose to commemorate the revered Guru tegh bahadur at Red Fort in April, the same venue where the Nishan Sahib was unfurled during the protest.

In fact, every time an international entity has spoken for the human rights of minorities in India, the government has brazenly rejected the claims. Case in point, Jaishankar’s retort to uS Secretary of State Antony blinken’s recent comments on a “rise in human rights abuses” in India. Even the oIC’s statement raising the Hijab row and “demolition of Muslim property” has been dismissed by the government as “communal mindset”. this heavy-handed approach of not accepting the reality of the barrage of hate that the Muslim community of India is facing on a daily basis has precipitated in its worse form on ground. ‘Dharam sansads’ led by prominent Hindu seers and attended by hundreds of people give genocidal calls and ask Hindus to weaponise themselves against Muslims. bollywood celebrities like Akshay Kumar spread misinformation perpetuated by the Hindu groups about the Indian education system being more focussed on Mughal emperors and not covering Hindu kings adequately.

SILENCE NURTURES THE ECOSYSTEM: the rise of ministers in the bJP who have had a sordid history of hate speech has further nurtured this ecosystem of hate. Kapil Mishra, Anurag thakur, Sadhvi Pragya, Giriraj Singh, tejasvi Surya are just some of them. the Modi government’s complicit silence when

National embarrassment Arab outrage wake-up call to atone for extremism, hatred Tribune Editorial

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bout 10 days ago, PM Narendra Modi had described his government’s eight years in power as a tenure that did not allow Indians to hang their heads in shame. All right-thinking Indians — whether they live in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries or back home — have been forced to hang their heads in shame and offer a public apology on behalf of the just-suspended bJP national spokesperson, Nupur Sharma, and now-expelled Delhi media cell head Naveen Jindal. both are accused of denigrating Islam and its Prophet (PbuH). this is an important moment in the bJP’s journey, when it has to stop and wonder what it has become; for, the Grand Mufti of oman has termed it the ‘ruling extremist party in India’. Qatar’s

media networks allow party spokespersons to make personal, hateful, divisive and unfounded remarks to earn quick but cheap fame has also made matters worse.

Navika Kumar, Group Editor of times Network, is a classic example of the prejudiced moderator who has never been pulled up for conducting such debates.

In the controversial debate which has now become an international matter, the discussion was whether the Gyanvapi mosque has a shivling in its sanctum sanctorum. While the channel itself debated between the ‘fountain lobby’ and those that believed that the mosque housed a ‘shivling’, at no point was the anchor seen intervening, muting the mic or denouncing Nupur Sharma’s offensive remarks. Instead she was seen defending Nupur Sharma in another debate.

Navika Kumar and many like her are complicit in compounding this bigotry and Islamophobia in India on a daily, or rather hourly, basis. And no disciplinary action has been taken by the telecom Regulatory Authority of India on such channels and news anchors.

Many are calling the sacking of Nupur Sharma an eyewash. the government of India has sent a rather tragic message to its own citizens and the world: that it cares only about the economic interests. Also, foreign advocacy on India’s minorities— be it for Sikhs or Muslims—has only exacerbated the divisive beliefs and mounting majoritarianism and political polarisation. the fact that foreign intervention has worked has only diminished the standing of the Indian government.

It is unfortunate that Muslims of India are now under the impression that their problems will only be heard if other Muslim nations speak on their behalf. two weeks ago, I had urged in an open letter to PM Modi to stop his Hindutva brigade from running amok or else it will only come back to bite him and his government, and hurt Indian interests in the process. It seems it has all happened a little too soon.

The author is a political observer who tweets @zainabsikander.

Deputy Emir abruptly cancelled the official lunch for visiting Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and summoned the Indian envoy, seeking a public apology; and so did Kuwait and Iran, while the entire Arab world erupted in religious indignation. the GCC countries are important not just for the trade worth $87 billion that they offer or the opportunities they give to Indian expats, but also for the political legitimacy that they lend India with their steadfast friendship and goodwill. All that has been jeopardised and the nation embarrassed while our Vice President was visiting West Asia. the grave wound that the bJP leaders have inflicted on the West Asian psyche and thereby to the Indian cause will take a long time to heal. A call for boycott of Indian goods is a sign of extreme displeasure in the Arab society where people do not talk out of turn or irresponsibly. Now, they are pointing at the growing extremism and hatred in India. this national humiliation was waiting to happen because the bJP had turned hatred against Muslims into a prime-time pastime. From a political mobilisation ploy or a vote-catching trick, hate speech had got mainstreamed and normalised by bJP’s spokespersons and tV anchors alike, who harangue viewers into stupefaction. the Arab outrage is a wake-up call for our society to atone for the hatred that has seeped into our midst.

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Wednesday, 8 June, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS 09 Tele-heAlTh fACiliTies key To disseminATing informATion regArding mATernAl, Child heAlTh

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hABiBmeTro Bank hosts farewell for outgoing Turkish Ambassador ihsan mustafa yurdakul ISLAMABAD: HABIBMETRO Bank hosted a farewell dinner in honor of the outgoing Turkish Ambassador H.E. Mr. Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul at the Turkish Embassy. The event also celebrated the first anniversary of HABIBMETRO’s Diplomatic Enclave Branch. Speaking at the event, H.E. Mr. Yurdakul said, ‘This is a very emotional night for me. My four-and-a-half years in Pakistan are coming to an end as I move forward with wonderful memories made here in this beautiful and welcoming country. I would like to thank HABIBMETRO for hosting this gathering here tonight and congratulate them on a successful first year of operations of their Diplomatic Missions branch.’ Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Mohsin Ali Nathani, President & CEO, HABIBMETRO Bank said, ‘H.E. Mr. Yurdakul will be greatly missed in Pakistan. He leaves behind a legacy of great work and community engagement. I am grateful to him and Mrs. Yurdakul for giving us the opportunity to host this farewell event at the embassy premises and to also celebrate the first anniversary of our Diplomatic Enclave branch on this occasion.

The Turkish Embassy was our first client in this branch and therefore it is even more befitting to celebrate our first anniversary here with their team. We are grateful for the patronage extended by the Turkish & other embassies, which has contributed to the successful journey of our Diplomatic Missions Unit.’ PReSS ReLeASe

fauji fertilizer Company successfully culminates Csr endeavors worth rs5.5m

Press release

INISTER for Science and Technology, Agha Hassan Baloch said on Tuesday that Tele Health facilities play an important role in the dissemination of information regarding Maternal and Child health issues by providing guidelines and are educating about the health-related problems.

He stated this while addressing as a chief guest at the inauguration of a Tele- Health facility in CIS Technology Park, Islamabad. The Federal Minister emphasized the need to transform the health delivery sector of the country by using digital infrastructure to ensure connectivity among health profession-

als and patients to provide consultative services to the latter. Agha Hassan Baloch said it was high time that the preventive healthcare system should be focused to provide free advice to the people and improve the quality of care in the country. While appreciating the commitment, and devotedness of the Prime Minister for the less developed areas he said the government of Pakistan is committed to providing equitable health facilities to the population living in the remote areas of Pakistan via free of cost medical advice to people under the Tele Health program.

He said that Balochistan suffers from the highest incidence of preventable deaths among mothers, children and young infants and to improve the health care system is the top priority and vision of the Akhtar Jan Mengal

and BNP is focusing on prevailing health problems in Balochistan. We are introducing new plans and schemes which educate women and their families on family planning and safe motherhood. He added He further said we can reduce Maternal and infant mortality rates by early detection and treatment of obstetric and newborn complications. He appreciated the mobile unit and said that putting our resources and hard work in the right place will surely result in something considerable. He emphasises all platforms working for telehealth in the country to provide medical relief to the mother and children in the distant areas of Balochistan. Mr Jamal Nasir Chief Operating Officer CIS Technology Park gave the presentations about already established BHUs for Tele Health in collaboration with PPIH,

PARC chief inaugurates peach post harvest processing machinery ISLAMABAD Press release

Pakistan being an agricultural country produces about 15.0 million tons of fruits and vegetables annually. This sector contributes about 12% to the national GDP, but its export volume remains relatively low. The estimated postharvest losses of fruit and vegetables in the country range between 25-35%, which are very high and need to be checked.

In this regard, Agricultural Engineering Institute (AEI), NARC, PARC organized a demonstration of peach processing machinery line. Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Ali, Chairman PARC was chief guest of the event. Dr. Itmtiaz Hussain Deputy Director General NARC, Engr. Zulfiqar Ali DG (AED) PARC, Scientists of PARC/ NARC, farm machinery professors from Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi and other stakeholders participated in the event.

Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Ali, Chairman PARC said that post-harvest processing of fruit and vegetable is very important, and need of the hour. Fruit and vegetable growers can increase the export volume of the country by post harvest processing technology and increase their income

as well. A few farmers can install this processing line with collaboration and can earn better income. He emphasized on the indigenization of this technology along with other processing technologies for value addition of fruits and vegetables at farmer’s field level. He also directed to demonstrate this technology to farmer’s at large scale for its promotion and awareness among end users. He added that these interventions should be tested for other fruits and vegetables, such as plum, apple, apricot, guava, citrus, potato and capsicum. With these interventions, the shelf-life of fruits will be increased that will enhance the export volume from Pakistan.

Dr. Hafiz Sultan Mahmood Director of the institute briefed the participants about the importance of postharvest processing project in the country. He said that about 30-35% fruits and vegetables are waisted due to lack of postharvest technology. By introduction of this postharvest processing technology, fruit/vegetable growers can reduce 25-35 % losses of the fruit and vegetables.

Dr. Imtiaz Hussain, Deputy Director General NARC suggested that private machinery manufactures should be taken on-board during field demonstrations of the technology for commercialization of this processing machinery.

Commander Qatar Emiri Air Force Calls On Air, Naval Chiefs

ISLAMABAD Press release

Major General (Pilot) Jassim Mohammad Ahmed Al-Mannai, Commander Qatar Emiri Air Force called on Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force in his office today. On the arrival of Commander Qatar Emiri Air Force, a smartly turned out contingent of Pakistan Air Force presented the Guard of Honour.

During the meeting, both the dignitaries discussed matters of professional and joint interest.

While appreciating professionalism of Pakistan Air Force, Major General (Pilot) Jassim Mohammad Ahmed Al-Mannai acknowledged PAF’s rising indigenous capacity in aviation industry.

Major General (Pilot) Jassim Mohamed Ahmed Al-Mannai, Commander Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) called on Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi at Naval Headquarters, Islamabad.

Upon arrival, Commander Qatar Emiri Air Force was received by Chief of the Naval Staff.

During one-on-one meeting between the dignitaries, matters of mutual interest including bilateral collaboration and regional security were discussed.

The Naval Chief expressed satisfaction over defence ties between Pakistan and Qatari Emiri Armed Forces. The visiting dignitary appreciated and acknowledged Pakistan Navy’s efforts and commitments in support of collaborative maritime security in the region.

BankIslami sponsors Freelance Fest 2022 KARACHI Press release

BankIslami, Pakistan’s leading Islamic financial institution, sponsored the Freelance Fest 2022 - one of the most comprehensive conferences on freelancing in the country. The two-day event included keynote speeches, panel discussions and training sessions regarding the gig economy and a blended line up of Pakistan’s most noted members of the freelancing community, regulators,

ministry working with Planning Commission, provinces to devise growth strategy: Cheema ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister of National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema addressed the Prime Minister’s pre-budget conference on agriculture on Tuesday. Tariq Bashir Cheema said that Ministry of National Food Security and Research has worked closely with the Planning Commission and all provinces to devise a 3-Year Growth Strategy for sector development and improve food security. The strategy has four main pillars i.e., enhancement of farm productivity and famer profits, development of climate-smart agriculture by adopting regenerative agricultural practices, self-sufficiency and import substitution and value-addition and agro-processing. Federal Minister said that the crop and livestock productivity in Pakistan is less than 50% of the economic potential. Farmer profits are generally low and highly variable. Higher and focused investments in research and development, rapid mechanization, and adoption of climate-smart regenerative agricultural practices will significantly decrease cost of production, increase farmer profits, and save more than half of irrigation water and chemical inputs. Tariq Bashir Cheema said that we need to focus on genetic improvements for highyielding crop cultivars, ensure adequate and timely supply of inputs (water, seeds, fertilizer, pesticides) and announcement of support price, at least, 3 months before start of cropping season while minimizing post-harvest losses and improvement in processing and packaging techniques.

CPPCA granted market operator licence Press release

Pres release

Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC) under its CSR budget has successfully completed its social welfare projects at Sadiq Abad Goth Machi in three phases. The company truly believes that provision of healthcare, education and basic facilities is mandatory not only the responsibility of the government but other benefactors and private ) industrial sectors must also step in to ensure the cause of community uplift. The project worth 5.5 million has been completed in 3 programs. In the first phase, machines were provided to skilled widows at a cost of Rs. 5 lac. Cheques have been distributed to a widow for her daughter's higher education, dowry items, including the provision of lifesaving medicines to the local Rural Health Center for treatment. In the second program, a project of construction of two classrooms at the cost of Rs. 25 lac has been materialized. In the third program, Dr. Babar Ali, MS, Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Sadiqabad, was provided with Biomedical Equipment at a cost of Rs. 25 lac. Resident Manager, Brig (R) Talat Mahmoud Janjua further stressed that the company will continue with it's mission of community development and social welfare in future as well.

that includes BHU Duki Nasarabad, BHU shadoband Gawadar, BHU Chowki Jamali, BHU Ashkan Rodini Mastung, BHU Wahdat Colony Quetta, BHU Washuk, BHU Habib Zai, BHU Bakhtiyarabad, BHU Kataghari Punjgour, BHU Lohi Lasbela, DHQ Musakhail, RHC Chagai, RHC Haji Sher, MCH Sohrab, DHQ Dera Bugti and mobile Unit Quetta.

The list of districts for Phase 3 of TeleHealth services was also shared with the Minister for Science and Technology including RHC Nasai Killa Saifullah, RHC Manjo Shori Naseerabad, BHU Jahangirabad Kohlu, BHU Khan Alam Zhob/Sherani, BHU jangal Kharan, BHU Pandhran Kalat, BHU Ghrumi Harnai, BHU Hiroonk Kech, RHC Mekhtar Loralai, RHC Jhao Awaran and in Districts Khuzdar, Barkhan and Noshhki.

bankers, and the academia to collectively share insights on how each of these support the future of work in Pakistan. The event was also attended by leadership from the public and private sectors to discuss the role of developing economic sector in the nation’s future.

Topics covered in the Freelance Fest included financial lifecycle of a contingent workforce; the legal, policy and regulatory future of the gig economy; a safety-net for the independent workforce; freelancers’ perspective to leading a new world of

work; freelancer today, founder tomorrow; re-inventing the talent supply chain for online enable work; freelancing leading to agency; freelancing platforms versus independently; and the future of global e-commerce. Additionally, there were also various product launches. Commenting on the occasion, BankIslami President & CEO, Syed Amir Ali noted, “Hundreds of millions of dollars can be earned via the gig economy, and the evolving economic and regulatory climate should bring confidence in the freelancers of Pakistan. Events like

Freelance Fest are essential for the youth to not only be able to learn from the best in the industry, but find the path to success while being able to troubleshoot any obstacle novice freelancers face. Leaders from across relevant industries shared their knowledge and the visionary freelancers have had the chance to create lasting connections with their peers and the knowledge giants gracing the event. We are extremely pleased to be an important part of this outstanding opportunity, and look forward to seeing the resultant change.”

In a landmark decision that will usher in a new era of competition and help address the woes of the power sector, the Authority has granted the market operator licence under CTBCM to the Central Power Purchasing Agency (Guarantee) Limited (the CPPA-G). The market operator will be responsible to administer its operations, standards of practice and business conduct of market participants in accordance with the market commercial code approved by the Authority.

The commencement of the CTBCM under the amended NEPRA Act of 2018 is one of the landmark achievements for the power sector of Pakistan. The introduction of CTBCM, i.e. wholesale electricity market was originally conceptualized under the WAPDA Strategic Plan prepared in 1992 for unbundling of the power sector. However, the idea did not turn into reality until NEPRA approved CTBCM in December 2019 (High-Level Design) and November 2020 (Detailed Design). Under the approved CTBCM implementation roadmap, the relevant regulations were approved and notified within due timelines of 18 months. Further, all the critical actions including deployment of IT system, operationalization of market departments (MIRAD) in DISCOs etc. were also completed within the record 18 months.

The CTBCM will tremendously improve the governance of the power sector through institutional reforms, improved procurement and payment discipline, utilization of merchant generators without take-or-pay contracts, bilateral contracting by DISCOs based on demand forecasts and capacity obligations gradually moving away from sovereign guarantees, KE integration into central despatch resulting in billions of rupees of saving, deployment of IT and OT tools, automation of business processes, capacity building of human resources, etc. The successful implementation of the CTBCM has the potential to turn around the overall technical, financial, commercial, and legal climate of the power sector.

Further, large consumers will now be able to purchase electric power from the suppliers of their choice at the cheaper and bilaterally agreed rates rather than purchase from DISCOs at regulated tariff.

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FORIGEN NEWS

Chinese FM slaMs Us Media report Faking ‘Chinese Military base’ in CaMbodia

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aGEnciEs

HINESE Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian has slammed a US media report that claimed China was building an exclusive military base in Cambodia, criticising the US for spreading disinformation of other countries while maintaining a strong military presence around the world and flexing its military muscle.

Cambodia had already replied to such incorrect US report, but the US side turned a deaf ear to its explanation and, instead, continued to make malicious speculations, smear and attack and even threatened to suppress Cambodia over the issue. That is typical bully behaviour, Zhao said.

Zhao reiterated that China and Cambodia are strategic partners. The two countries cooperate in various fields in an open and transparent manner, which not only benefits the two countries and their

people, but also sets up an example of building a new type of international relationship and building a community of shared future, he noted.

On the contrary, the US owns about 800 military bases around the globe and its military expenditure is more than the total of the next nine top-spending countries; the US has been established for nearly 250

years, but was not at war for only 16 of them; the US always interferes in other countries’ domestic affairs and sends warplanes and warships to show off, Zhao pointed out.

“Anyone on this planet can tell who is destroying global security and stability and spreading misinformation,” Zhao noted.

In 2020, the US spent $778 billion on

its military, more than the next nine topspending countries combined, according to media reports. Zhao’s remarks came as The Washington Post, citing unnamed Western officials, claimed on Monday that China is secretly building a naval facility on the northern portion of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base on the Gulf of Thailand for the exclusive use of its military.

The Cambodian Embassy in Washington has refuted such claim in a statement to The Washington Post, saying that it “strongly disagrees with the content and meaning of the report as it is a baseless accusation motivated to negatively frame Cambodia’s image.”

The Embassy added that Cambodia “firmly adheres” to the nation’s constitution, which does not permit foreign military bases or presence on Cambodian soil.

“The renovation of the base serves solely to strengthen the Cambodian naval capacities to protect its maritime integrity and combat maritime crimes including illegal fishing,” the statement said.

UK’s wounded Johnson presses on despite Tory rebellion LonDon AFP

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson lauded the loyalty of his cabinet and vowed to “get on with the job” on Tuesday after surviving a confidence vote of his Conservative MPs that has still left him severely weakened.

The beleaguered leader has insisted that Monday evening’s dramatic ballot, which saw 211 Tory party lawmakers support him remaining prime minister but 148 vote against, was a “conclusive”

death of three sisters spotlights india dowry violence

result. “Thank you… everybody for all your good work yesterday, which was a very important day because we’re able now to draw a line under the issues that our opponents want to talk about,” he told his team of two dozen or so top ministers and officials.

“We’re able to get on with talking about what I think the people in this country want us to, which is what we are doing to help them.”

But most critics and commentators disagreed, arguing that Johnson’s authority has been hugely undermined and his days in Downing Street are numbered.

The Times called him “a wounded victor” while his former employers at the Daily Telegraph branded it “a hollow victory that tears Tories apart”.

The vote — just over two years after the Brexit architect won a landslide general election victory — was brought after a string of scandals that have left the Conservative party’s standing in tatters.

Chief among them was the “Partygate” controversy over lockdown-breaking events at Downing Street, which caused public outrage and saw him become the first serving UK prime minister to have broken the law.

Graft-accused Gupta brothers face extradition to South Africa from UAE

nEW DELHi

JoHannEsbUrG

AFP

AFP

Before the three sisters and their children were found dead in a well, they left a message blaming the family they had married into. Kalu, Kamlesh and Mamta Meena were victims of a dispute over dowries, the often hefty sums Indian parents pay to marry off their daughters. The sisters had wed brothers from the same household and lived under the same roof, but suffered constant violence from their husbands and in-laws, according to the trio’s grieving relatives. They were abused constantly, they say, including when their father failed to meet demands for more money. All three were found dead last month near their marital home, a village on the outskirts of Jaipur, along with Kalu’s four-year-old son and infant child.

Both Kamlesh and Mamta were pregnant.

“We don’t wish to die but death is better than their abuse,” read a message on WhatsApp left by one of the sisters after their disappearance, a cousin said. “Our in-laws are the reason behind our deaths.

We are dying together because it’s better than dying every day.” Authorities are investigating and currently treating the deaths as suicides, a senior police officer in Jaipur told AFP. The sisters’ distraught father, Sardar Meena, said life had been a living hell for his daughters, whose husbands banned them from pursuing their education and constantly harassed them for more payments. “We had already given them so many things, you can see them in their home,” he told AFP, counting off the beds, television sets and refrigerator he provided to the family. “I am the father of six girls, there is a limit to how much I can give,” added Sardar, who earns a meagre income as a farmer. “I had educated them and just doing that was difficult.” Police have arrested the three husbands, their mother and a sister-in-law on charges of dowry harassment and spousal abuse. AFP‘s attempts to contact the men’s family were unsuccessful.

‘Dignity of the family’ India outlawed the practice of paying dowries more than 60 years ago, and harassment or extortion over the payments is a criminal offence.

Two Indian-born brothers who allegedly wove a web of corruption across South Africa have been arrested in Dubai and face extradition, in a landmark step in Pretoria’s anti-graft fight.

Dubai police confirmed Tuesday they had arrested Atul and Rajesh Gupta after receiving a so-called red notice from Interpol, and were coordinating with the South African authorities for their extradition. South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority confirmed the contact but refused to give details. “Extradition is a complex process involving many role players, including the executive,” said spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga. The arrests bring a glimmer of hope that the alleged masterminds behind South Africa’s darkest corruption scandal will face prosecution after years of legal fog and delay.

The two tycoons are accused of paying bribes for state contracts and wielding influence over ministerial appointments

in a scandal that clouded former president Jacob Zuma’s administration and eventually forced him from office.

By one estimate, several billion dollars were lost to the South African economy as a result of their activities. After Zuma resigned in February 2018, his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa took over. Ramaphosa vowed to make the fight against graft the cornerstone of his presidency. But prosecutions have been rare, public scepticism runs deep and Ramaphosa himself is now fighting accusations of scandal. The Guptas came to South Africa in 1993, eventually building a sprawling empire in mining, computer technology and media. Some members of their family were granted South African citizenship.

But the pair and other family members fled the country shortly after a judicial commission, launched in 2018, started probing “state capture” — the alleged looting of state assets — and the brothers’ influence over the ruling African National Congress (ANC). After arduous investigations, Chief Justice Raymond

Zondo this year published a report that described how the brothers became intertwined with the highest levels of government and the ANC. The family befriended Zuma to the point where they influenced cabinet appointments, and infiltrated state-owned enterprises, where they secured some of the juiciest contracts, it said.

Zuma “would do anything that the Guptas wanted him to do for them,” Zondo said in his report published this year. Zuma was last year jailed for 15 months for refusing to testify before the investigators.

He was released on parole, having served just two months of the term. An independent investigator estimated that the cost of the Guptas’ alleged illicit activities in South Africa could be as much as 50 billion rand ($3.2 billion) over the years.

Their current arrest is however for fraud and money laundering in connection with a 25-million rand contract paid to a Gupta-linked company, Nulane Investment, for an agricultural feasibility study in the central Free State province.

China ascends global innovation ranking aPP China ranks 12th in the 2021 edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) report released by the World Intellectual Property Right Organization (WIPO), moving up 22 spots from 2012, said Wang Gang, the head of China’s Science and Technology Ministry. It marks China has entered the rankings of innovative countries in the world, Wang Gang said. Investment into research and development across society has grown from 1,030 billion yuan (about $154.8 billion) in 2012 to 2,790 billion yuan in 2021, Wang said. High-tech enterprises in China have increased from 49,000 over a decade ago to 330,000 in 2021, while research and development investment accounts for 70 percent total investment among Chinese firms, Ecns.cn reported. In addition, high-tech enterprises account for more than 90 percent of companies listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange and Sci-Tech Innovation Board of Shanghai Stock Exchange, Wang said.

eU to require single charger for all smartphones to combat electronic waste bELGiUM AFP

The EU member states and parliament on Tuesday agreed the text of a law imposing a standard charger for smartphones and tablets sold in the bloc, in a blow to Apple.

For most portable devices the requirement for charging via a USB Type-C port will come into effect from late 2024, the European Parliament’s press service said. The EU believes a standard cable for all devices will cut back on electronic waste, but iPhone juggernaut Apple argues that a onesize-fits-all charger would slow innovation and create more pollution. The bloc is home to 450 million people, some of the world’s richest consumers, and the imposition of the USB-C as a cable standard could affect the entire global smartphone market. “This new law will make the lives of European consumers easier and will be better for the environment,” said MEP Andrey Kovatchev, one of the negotiators. “It is time to put an end to the piles of cables that we all have in our drawers and save about 11,000 tonnes of electronic waste per year,” he said. Consumers currently have to decide between phones served by three main chargers: “Lightning” for Apple handsets, the micro-USB widely used on most other mobile phones and the newer USB-C that is increasingly coming into use. That range is already greatly simplified from 2009, when dozens of different types of chargers were bundled with mobile phones, creating piles of electronic garbage when users changed brands. In making its proposal last year, the EU said the current situation remained wasteful and that European consumers spent approximately 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion) annually on standalone chargers they bought separately. The European Commission had long defended a voluntary agreement it made with the device industry that was set in place in 2009 and saw a big reduction in cables, but Apple refused to abide by it.

Apple, which already uses USB-C connectors on some of its iPads and laptop computers, has insisted any legislation to force a universal charger for all mobiles in the European Union is unwarranted.

Korea’s Yoon picks veteran diplomats to help bolster ties with mighty neighbours Mian abrar New South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has picked veteran diplomats to help boost ties with three major regional and one global player – China, Japan, Russia and the United Nations.

Yun Duk-min, a former chief of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, was tapped for ambassador to Japan, while former presidential secretary for foreign affairs Chang Ho-jin was named ambassador to Russia.

Hwang Joon-kook, former ambassador to Britain, was named ambassador to the United Nations.

For China, Yoon has appointed Chung Jae-ho, 62, a professor of international relations and director of the Institute for Chinese

Studies at Seoul National University. Chung was nominated by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol as the new ambassador to China on Tuesday.

This new envoy, who has a good grasp on Chinese language following periods of study and work in China, raised expectation for China-South Korea ties during his tenure. Yoon naming Chung as the new ambassador to China shows how the new administration is attaching great importance to its relations with China, Chinese observers said. But they also warned that challenges lie in South Korea’s internal politics and pressure from abroad, which sometimes would drive diplomats’ behavior.

According to South Korean media, Chung is an expert in China’s political economy who has studied US-China relations,

receiving his Master’s degrees in Chinese history and Chinese politics from Brown University in the US. He received his doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan.

After serving as an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan in 1987, he served as a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and as a research fellow at the University of Hong Kong. He served as the director of the Chinese Research Center and the director of the Institute of International Studies at Seoul National University.

Chung and Yoon graduated from the same high school.

Lü Chao, an expert on the Korean peninsula issue at the Liaoning Academy of Social

Sciences, told media on Tuesday that Chung is known as a scholar who has expertise in China affairs and international relations and he is expected to serve for the China-South Korea relation affairs with more rational and independent thinking.

The observer expressed his hopes for the new envoy to know more about the real China and real Chinese public during his tenure, to avoid being deceived by malicious and groundless smears against China, and to make the real China known to more people in South Korea and the rest of the world. Lü said that Yoon had made tough remarks toward China during the election campaign which has sparked public worries not only among Chinese observers but also in business communities in South Korea.

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SPORTS 11

KrAMArIC PeNAlty resCues CroAtIA AgAINst FrANCe

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AgENcIES

NDREJ Kramaric scored a late penalty as Croatia salvaged a 1-1 draw at home to world champions France on Monday that left both teams still chasing a first win in the Nations League.

Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot fired France ahead on 52 minutes in Split as coach Didier Deschamps selected an inexperienced side without star forwards Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema.

Croatia equalised seven minutes from time when Andrej Kramaric won and converted a spot-kick. “We did some good things taking into account all the changes. We were ahead and we could have got the second goal.

It’s a shame we gave them the equaliser with the penalty,” Deschamps told M6.

“Of course the result doesn’t fully satisfy me. But there’s tiredness to factor in and

with all the other matches I’m forced to make changes. It’s an ideal preparation for the World Cup.” France and Croatia have just one point apiece in League A, Group 1. France were beaten 2-1 by Denmark in their opening game at home last week, while Croatia crashed to a 3-0 loss to Austria.

Denmark top the section on six points after defeating Austria 2-1 in Vienna in a game that was delayed Monday by an hour and a half because of a power outage.

On a night Luka Modric earned his 150th cap for Croatia, Deschamps handed a number of fringe players the chance to make an impression before the World Cup starts in Qatar in November.

But it was experienced defender Presnel Kimpembe who raced back to block as Ante Budimir hesitated to shoot with team-mate Lovro Majer also in position for a tap-in.

Christopher Nkunku, coming off a bril-

FIFA World Cup trophy lands in Pakistan

liant season with RB Leipzig, dinked the ball home over Dominik Livakovic but was adjudged offside on the half-hour.

Intense heat will test Pakistan, West Indies in ODI series MULTAN

NEWS DESk

the AssociAteD PRess

The FIFA World Cup trophy arrived in Pakistan on its one-day tour and was received by country’s women football team captain Hajra Khan at the airport in Lahore. The trophy will be unveiled in a hotel in Lahore, while former French footballer Christian Karembeu is accompanying the trophy. The football fans will be able to take pictures with the trophy. The 2022 Qatar World Cup will start on November 21 and culminate with the final on December 18. The trophy has visited nearly 50 countries till now and will next head to Saudi Arabia after Pakistan.

Indus Motor’s champion summits North America's tallest Mount Denali ISLAMABAD PR

In his quest to conquer the world’s Seven Summits, the 24-yearold Pakistani mountaineer, Asad Ali Memon, scaled the 20,310 feet high Mount Denali in Alaska and proudly waved the Pakistani flag atop North America’s highest mountain, the 3rd most prominent and 3rd most isolated peak on Earth, after Mount Everest. Earlier this year, IMC signed on Asad Ali Memon for the Denali climb, under its CSR program Concern Beyond Cars. Asad is an emerging and a high potential sportsman from Larkana, Sindh. Since the beginning of his mountaineering career in 2016, he has summitted several peaks in Pakistan and internationally, setting a world record in 2021 when he climbed the Kilimanjaro and back in 20 hours. Upon completion of his Seven Summits Challenge dream, he will be the third Pakistani to do so. The Seven Summits Challenge is a mountaineer’s ultimate dream that entails climbing the seven tallest mountains in each of the world’s seven continents. With this successful climb – the fourth in the Seven Summits Challenge Asad is already more than half way done. His earlier climbs include the tallest mountains in Europe in 2019, South America in 2020 and Africa in 2021. In an emotional video message from the Denali summit, Asad profusely thanked the people of Pakistan, for their prayers all along and, in particular, Indus Motor Company for its support to make the Denali expedition possible. He said, “It is this love and support that fuels my will and passion to conquer the toughest peaks on Earth.” He went on to insert a peg marking the completion of his climb on the 6,190m high summit. Commenting on Asad Ali Memon’s achievement, IMC Chief Executive, Ali Asghar Jamali congratulated the young mountaineer and said, “This is thrilling news, Alhamdolillah.

Moussa Diaby was then denied by Livakovic as he burst towards goal down the right, with Aurelien Tchouameni’s long-

Intensive heat will test the fitness of players when Pakistan hosts the West Indies in the three-match limited-overs international series starting Wednesday.

The temperature is expected to top 45 degrees Celsius (113 F) this week in Multan, and organisers have pushed back the starting time for games to 4:00 pm to offer some respite. Players will be given ice collars and vests during stoppages in play, and extra water breaks to keep them hydrated. “We’ll try to make the guys understand what they have to do personally to hydrate themselves properly both before, during and after the games,” West Indies coach Phil Simmons said Tuesday.

“The heat is going to be extreme, (but) Pakistan are playing in the heat, too, so it’s going to be an even contest when we start the day. How we deal with it before, during and after is going to help us a lot.” The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) relocated the series to Multan from Rawalpindi last week because of the uncertain political situation in the

country. The opposition, led by former prime minister Imran Khan, is planning rallies in Islamabad, which is adjacent to Rawalpindi. West Indies are coming off a 3-0 series win over the Netherlands last week at Amstelveen, where their top order scored prolifically. Shamarh Brooks, Shai Hope and Kyle Mayers scored centuries while Brandon King made 91 not out in the second game. The spinners — Akeal Hosein and Hayden Walsh Jr. — took the bulk of the wickets, combining for 12. West Indies will be strengthened by the return of Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd, who both missed the series against the Netherlands because of visa issues. Both players were to join the team in Multan late Tuesday.

“That series was good in a way because it gave guys a chance to settle in as a team,” Simmons said. “It’s a young team.

It’s a case where we needed to play properly. We needed to keep improving and we did that during the series, so it was a good preparation.” The ODI series in Pakistan was postponed last year after a Covid-19 outbreak in the West Indies squad during the preceding Twenty20 se-

ries. Pakistan has spent a week in Lahore, where the weather is similar to Multan.

Captain Babar Azam hoped the players were well prepared.

“Definitely, it is hot, but we are having a conditioning camp and acclimatising to the weather,” Azam said. “As a professional, you have to handle these situations. We do go out to other countries to play, and even during our time in the UAE, we used to face similar temperatures. I think it won’t be a problem.”

Pakistan has a strong top order with the likes of left-handers Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman opening the innings.

Babar, in the middle order, is in the form of his life and has scored prolifically in all three formats of the game.

Vice-captain Shadab Khan and all-

Qasim Akram wants to be next Babar Azam of this world LAHORE News Desk

Babar Azam, world’s number-one batter in white-ball cricket and Pakistan’s all-format captain, has a huge fan following around the world. Former Pakistan U19 captain Qasim Akram is also one of Babar’s admirers and wants to follow in his footsteps so that he can also make a meaningful impact in the game.

“I idolise Babar Azam as a batter,” Qasim told PCB website, adding: “He is an articulate batter and I want to be the next Babar Azam of this world.”

Qasim also hails from his idol’s hometown in Lahore, where his father works in a pre-loved clothing shop. After captaining Pakistan in the West Indies tournament, he has remained Babar’s teammate in Central Punjab and HBL PSL franchise Karachi Kings.

“It was an unforgettable experience for me to have such a great mind around. I have learnt from him how to build an innings, play cover-drives and improve pull-shots.”

The 19-year old scored 203 runs and took 10 wickets in six matches of the ICC U19 World Cup 2022. While representing Central Punjab in the National T20 2021-22, he took 11 wickets. Qasim scored a half-century in the HBL PSL 2022 for

Karachi Kings, while in the Pakistan Cup 2021-22, he scored 285 runs and grabbed 10 wickets from 10 outings.

“Babar has performed wherever he has played and I regularly follow his batting skills. So, I feel fortunate enough to share the dressing room with him. As a world number-one batter, he has set such high standards in Pakistan cricket that I would like to meet.”

The middle-order batter and off-spinner is also among 107 players who are part of the PCB Pathways Programme. The four-week camp for the players’ is likely to start in the second week of June in Muridke, which is in line with PCB’s strategy to invest in young players.

“PCB Pathways Programme is a great initiative where the young cricketers will receive a stipend of PKR30,000 per month and also earn 100 per cent educational scholarship, which will not only help them but also their families,” Qasim said.

Qasim, with his off-spin bowling, has to date picked 14 wickets from nine first-class matches and is hoping to prolong his career like Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.

“I follow how Shoaib Malik and Mohammed Hafeez have extended their careers as all-rounders. I am presently working to improve my off-spin skills.”

ReuteRs

Britain’s Emma Raducanu said she will not rush into a decision over appointing a permanent coach as she begins preparations for the grasscourt season ahead of Wimbledon, which commences later this month.

The 19-year-old has been without a full-time coach after splitting with German coach Torben Beltz in April.

“I want to take my time with this deci-

sion,” Raducanu told reporters on Monday.

“Nothing has changed. I still have the same people, good people, around me. I don’t want to rush into anything.

“Personally, I think I know what I’m doing. I’m trusting what I’m doing and the work I’m doing. I’m still 19 and I’ve already won a Grand Slam so I can take my time and put things in place because I know my motivation isn’t any less.”

Raducanu shot to stardom last September when, as a qualifier, she stormed to the

US Open title, becoming Britain’s first female Grand Slam champion since Virginia Wade in 1977. She has struggled since winning her maiden Grand Slam, but the Briton said she was “not being so hard” on herself despite the sky-high expectations that accompanied her early success.

“I’m really enjoying my time right now and also just really believing in the work I’m doing,” Raducanu said.

“I don’t think anyone would say, ‘I wish I didn’t win a Grand Slam at 18’ be-

rounder Mohammad Nawaz are returning to the ODI team from injuries. Pakistan also has a formidable fast bowling attack with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali all performing well in the English county championship.

“We already have openers who are doing well and they are the priority, and you always make your best ones your priority,” Azam said. “These games are crucial for us, and to build a team you have to give players consistent chances.”

Squads: Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zahid Mahmood.

West Indies: Nicholas Pooran (captain), Shai Hope, Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Shermon Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Anderson Phillip, Rovman Powell, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr.

5-member international mountaineers’ team summits KP’s highest peak SWAT News Desk

A five-member group of the International Skiing Mountaineers have reached the summit of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s highest peak, Falak Sar, which is 5962 meters above sea-level, in Kalam valley of Swat District. Upon their return from the peak, the mountaineers performed a demonstration of Skiing on the natural resort of the Falak Sar (also known as Falak Sair). The five -member group comprises of the skiers from the USA, UK, France and Slovenia including two women. This five -member group of mountaineers was led by US mountaineer Tom Grant. Other mountaineers included UK’s Beth Haley, France’s Aaran Rolph and Bine Zalohar, while Juliet Willman is from Slovenia. The mountaineers started their journey to peak from Kalam on May 18 and returned to Kalam on June 1st. This was the first group of foreign climbers to summit Swat’s highest and most difficult Falak Sar peak. Arriving at Kalam, the Kalam Hotel Association and social activists gave a warm welcome to the skiers and they were dressed in traditional Swati shawls and hats. Speaking to the media on the occasion, the mountaineers said that it took them fourteen days to summit the peak. “All the colleagues had pledged that they would not return without reaching the summit of the peak and we are very happy that we succeeded in this adventure,” Tom Grant said.

Raducanu says she will not rush decision on new coach LONDON

range drive punched away by the Croatia goalkeeper.

Rabiot broke the deadlock when he was played in by a superb ball from Wissam Ben Yedder, sweeping clinically inside the near post for only his second international goal.

Substitute Antoine Griezmann saw a shot repelled by Livakovic shortly before Croatia were awarded a penalty following a VAR review after it was initially overruled for offside.

Mike Maignan saved at the feet of Luka Sucic, but Jonathan Clauss caught Kramaric from behind, the Hoffenheim striker calmly rolling in from the spot after a lengthy wait to review the incident. Nikola Vlasic threatened to snatch a first win for Croatia over France in nine attempts, but Maignan got down sharply to turn behind.

Griezmann was then unable to take advantage of a miskick by Josip Juranovic in the closing moments as he dragged wide.

cause that is what I set out to do when I started playing tennis — and I did that.

“For that to happen very soon definitely comes with a lot of challenges but managing, learning and growing through the adversities that I have faced — I would much rather have that, learn from those experiences and keep building and progressing.”

Raducanu, who was eliminated in the second round of the French Open, will face Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic in the Nottingham Open on Tuesday.

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bilawal advocates resolution of conflicts through dialogue, peaceful means

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oREIGN Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Tuesday said that Pakistan always advocated for holding of dialogue and use of diplomacy as tools for pursuit of peace in the world.

Addressing a joint presser along with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, the foreign minister referred to the Russian-Ukraine conflict and said Pakistan had a firm position that it should not be dragged to any conflict.

Pakistan was a small and developing country, but it always advocated that international laws should be adhered to, he said, adding that all world conflicts should be resolved through peaceful means.

Replying to a question, Bilawal maintained that humanitarian crises in Ukraine could not be ignored and stressed that Pakistan would continue to advocate for dialogue and diplomacy as means in the pursuit of peace.

The foreign minister said Pakistan always emphasised upon the adherence of UN principles and its charters and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries.

Bilawal observed that ramification of conflict in the EU in shape of Russian-

Ukraine conflict were also felt in Pakistan in the shape of increasing prices of fuel and food. He reiterated that Pakistan called upon immediate cessation of hostilities and immediate initiation of peaceful dialogue.

He said considering the plight of people in Ukraine, Pakistan had dispatched four planeloads of humanitarian aid.

The foreign minister said Pakistan remained concerned about the well-being of the Ukrainian people, civilian casualties, massive exodus of refugees.

The foreign minister said Pakistan wanted to engage with all its neighbours.

Pakistan played an important role in establishing the diplomatic ties between China and the US and it would continue to play a role of bridge, he added.

About the Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIoJK) issue, he said that he had been vociferously raising the Indian atrocities during his engagements at the global fora and in his meetings with his counterparts of various countries including the US secretary of state. The foreign minister warned that the situation in IIoJK had been fast deteriorating due to provocative steps of India that was trying to undermine the Muslim majority by marginalizing and turning it into minority through illegal steps.

The foreign minister said the interna-

german fm cuts short pakistani tour after tested positive for covid-19 ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock cut her visit to Pakistan short after being tested positive for the coronavirus. In a statement issued by her ministry, Baerbock took a test after she noticed that she had lost her sense of taste at lunch. A rapid antigen test she took in the morning had been negative, it added. Baerbock, who met earlier Tuesday with her Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad, has cancelled all further dates of the trip, which also included stopovers in Greece and Turkey, the ministry added. However, it is unclear when she will return to Germany. German news agency quoted ministry spokesman Christofer Burger as saying that a member of Baerbock’s family had tested positive on Saturday, but the minister had had little contact with that person and had tested herself frequently since then. It is pertinent to mention here that the German Foreign Minister arrived in Islamabad on a two-day visit to hold talks with Pakistani leadership on matters of mutual interests.

govt restores saturday holiday in public sector NewS DeSk A federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday approved restoring Saturday as a public holiday in order to “save electricity”. Addressing a press conference following the cabinet meeting, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that restoring Saturday as a holiday would have an annual impact of $386 million and a $77 billion impact on the import bill. She said that the power ministry had recommended changing Friday to a work-from-home day, adding that the prime minister had created a committee to gauge the efficiency of this measure and inform the cabinet about it in its next meeting. The meeting further contemplated the early closure of markets to maximise the use of daylight. The information minister added that Premier Shehbaz would hold a meeting on Wednesday with traders and the business community to take them into confidence before making a decision regarding the closure of markets. She also said that the prime minister has approved a 40 per cent reduction in the fuel quota for all government employees, including cabinet members.

“If people are being asked to make sacrifices and go through hardships then so should the cabinet.

The change has started from within the cabinet to reduce burden on the public,” she said. Furthermore, the cabinet meeting would ratify the decisions of the Economic Coordination Committee on June 3, and a plan for load shedding would be presented by the Power Division. The information minister added that the cabinet meeting was briefed on ways to reduce load shedding and better the energy situation.

tional community must immediately take notice of the increasing incidents of persecution of minorities and rising tide of Islamophobia in India.

Bilawal citing the recent provocative and sacrilegious statements by the BJP leaders, said that such outrageous and highly condemnable statements had hurt the sentiments of the Muslims all over the world.

He said it was a proof that India had turned into a fascist country and it was no longer a secular India, but dominated by Hindutva ideology.

The foreign minister said Pakistan wanted peace with India, but it required a rational approach from the other side, adding with such irrational steps by India, the space for peace was being squeezed.

The foreign minister reiterated “The peace in South Asia was contingent upon peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue.”

The foreign minister said that Pakistan and Germany enjoyed a close and long standing cordial cooperation based upon mutual respect and driven by bilateral ties and shared interests.

He said both the countries were also close partners in the European Union context. Bilawal said German had been Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the EU context and its fifth world export destination. Last year, he said Pakistan export to

Germany stood around to $2.5 billion while German import remained at $1.3 billion. Germany was also the seventh largest direct investor in Pakistan. The foreign minister said Pakistan always emphasized upon and supported a peaceful and stable Afghanistan contributing to the regional progress and development and connectivity. He stressed upon the international community to focus on the humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people who had been facing a financial crises.

A UN report had indicated that about 97 per cent of Afghan population had been pushed below the poverty line and faced immediate danger of hunger and starvation.

At the same time, the foreign minister, stressed that Afghan government must come up to the expectation of the international community with regard to upholding of the human and women’s rights and take effective steps against terrorism.

He urged the international community to actively engage with the Afghan government to avoid humanitarian crises in Afghanistan, adding releasing of its foreign assets would help its sagging economy. The foreign minister also enumerated Pakistan’s efforts for the safe evacuation of foreigners in the earlier phases after the Taliban took control of the country.

Miftah backtracks on another petroleum price hike claim NewS DeSk Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Tuesday said that government may increase the prices of petroleum products in coming days.

While addressing the pre-budget seminar on Tuesday, the finance minister said, “petroleum prices will further go up in coming days”.

“As per the commitment given by former finance minister Shaukat Tarin to the IMF, per litre price of diesel should be Rs300 and that of petrol Rs270,” Ismail said.

It maybe noted that in the recent tweet on Tuesday Miftah denied talking about petroleum prices.

In addition federal minister Marriyum Aurangzeb in a recent tweet

also denied of any increase in petroleum prices.

The finance minister in the prebudget seminar further added that PTI government took loans worth Rs20,000 billion in 3.8 years, the highest loan amount took by any government in the history of Pakistan.

“PM Shehbaz-led coalition government took tough decisions to save country from financial crisis,” Ismail said, adding that PML-N will provide relief to people before leaving government or completion of tenure.

“The government will provide targeted subsidy to 80 million Pakistanis earning less than Rs40,000 for the next one year,” he added.

He once again reiterated that government has no plan to declare finan-

cial emergency. “After two increases in petrol prices, we are out of the financial crisis,” said Miftah Ismail.

It is pertinent to mention here that the federal government increased the prices of petroleum products by Rs60 per litre within a span of a week after the IMF refused to release a $1 billion tranche, demanding reversal of subsidies on fuel and electricity.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had asserted that the federal government has increased the prices of petroleum products with a heavy heart.

Shehbaz Sharif said his predecessor Imran Khan had set a trap for his government by decreasing the prices of petroleum products after assessing that the no-confidence vote against him was going to succeed.

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country suffers up to 16 hours outages as shortfall reaches 6,099mw INP The electricity shortfall in the country has reached upto 6,099 MW with total power generation hovers around 19,901 MW, and total demand stands at 26,000 MW – necessitating prolonged power outages across the country. It may be noted that the government had announced to reduce the load shedding of electricity from Tuesday to three and a half hours. According to the power division, at least 4,193 MW of electricity is being generated from water, whereas, the government’s thermal plants are generating 1,261 MW of electricity. The total electricity generation by the private sector power plants is 11,565 MW, whereas, at least 1,347 MW of electricity is being generated from wind power plants and 118 MW from solar plants.

The bagasse-based power plants are generating 181 MW of electricity while the nuclear fuelbased power plants are generating 1,236 MW of electricity. Meanwhile, up to 16 hours of electricity load shedding is being carried out in different parts of the country. Power load shedding is also being carried out for at least six hours in Islamabad, whereas, the duration of load shedding is longer in areas with high losses. Due to the power outages, citizens are unable to work. People have said that government is unable to fulfill their promises and should work on their promises rather than giving statements.

hamza, Zardari agree to field joint candidates for punjab by-polls LAHORe Staff RepoRt

Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday developed a consensus to field joint candidates for the upcoming by-elections to 20 Punjab Assembly seats. Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz called on PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House Lahore. Both the leaders discussed the prevailing political and economic situation of the country with special focus on the upcoming by-elections to 20 seats of Punjab Assembly. Provincial Minister Ata Tarar, Malik Ahmed Khan, Khawaja Salman Rafique and Imran Goraya assisted the Punjab chief minister during the meeting while the former president Asif Zardari was flanked by Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah, Sharjeel Memon, Dr Asim Hussain, Syed Ali Haider Gilani and Syed Hassan Murtaza during the meeting. Earlier, the former president congratulated Hamza Shehbaz on assuming the post of Chief Minister Punjab. on the occasion, describing PPP as an ally, Hamza Shehbaz said the discussion process with PPP will continue to further improve

LHC asks Hamza to explain why he shouldn’t be booted out LAHORe Staff RepoRt

Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday served notices on Hamza Shehbaz after the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) requested it to declare illegal his chief ministership and prevent him from acting in that capacity.

The court also summoned AttorneyGeneral Ashtar Ausaf Ali and Punjab Advocate General Shahzad Shaukat.

Shehbaz was elected as the province’s new chief executive on April 16 after a chaotic session of the Punjab Assembly where legislators of the PTI and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) scuffled with one another.

He polled 197 votes — including from 24 PTI parliamentarians, two independents and the lone Rah-i-Haq Party lawmaker — while his opponent, Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, a joint candidate of the PTI and Q League, failed to secure a single vote from the assembly since the two parties boycotted the voting process.

However, on May 23, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) removed the membership of 25 PTI lawmakers — including five elected on seats reserved for women and minorities — who had defected and voted for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president in the election for the office of Punjab chief

minister on April 16.

Acting on a petition jointly moved by Zainab Umair, Shamsa Ali and Umul Banin Ali, PTI lawmakers in Punjab Assembly, Justice Shujaat Ali Khan heard the initial case in his chamber.

Their counsel Azhar Siddique said that after the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution, which deals with defection by parliamentarians, the position of defecting PTI lawmakers in Punjab had become clear.

“Hence, after subtracting the votes of the defecting lawmakers, Hamza no longer

holds the majority to remain as the chief minister of the province,” he noted.

Responding to Siddique, Assistant Advocate General Tayyab Jan, representing the Punjab government, objected to the petition and demanded that it should be dismissed instantly.

He pointed out that the petitioners also had the option to launch a no-confidence vote in Shehbaz in the Punjab Assembly.

The court adjourned the case until June 20.

DE-SEATING OF DEFECTORS: The de-notification of the MPs came shortly

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

after PTI approached the top electoral body to issue a notification of the latter’s decision to de-seat dissident legislators on charges of crossing the floor under Article 63-A of the Constitution.

Article 63-A provides that MPs who defect could lose their seats if they then vote against their party, but the government aims to find out whether that also applies before they cast their votes.

It reads that an MP can be disqualified on grounds of defection if they “vote or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the parliamentary party to which he belongs, in relation to the election of the prime minister or chief minister; or a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or a money bill (budget) or a Constitution (amendment) bill”.

With these 25 lawmakers no longer members of the assembly, Shehbaz, who won for the chief minister with the help of the dissident legislators, has lost his majority in the Punjab Assembly, raising questions about the status of his government.

Shehbaz got 197 votes in the chief minister’s election but is now left with the support of 172 members in the house. A candidate requires the support of at least 186 lawmakers in the 371-member House to be elected as the chief minister.