Epaper_23-01-03 LHR

r s 1 5 0 0 | Vo l X I I I n o 1 8 5 I 1 2 Pa g e s I la h o r e e d i t i o n

C i v i l , m i l i ta r y l e a d e r s r e s o lv e t o o b s e r v e ‘ z e r o t o l e r a n C e ’ f o r t e r r o r i s m

m i a n a b r a r

tHE Nat ona Security Committee on Monday reiterated its resolve to have zero tolerance for terrorism in Pakistan and reaffirmed its determinat on to take on any and al entit es that resort to vio ence Th s w ll be dealt with ful force of the state Pakistan’s secur ty is uncompromisable and the full wr t of the state wi l be ma ntained on ever y nch of Pak stan s territor y the Committee resolved

The 40th meeting of the Nationa Security Comm ttee chaired by Prime M nister Shehbaz Shar f, was attended by relevant federal cabnet members Chairman Jo nt Ch efs of Staff Committee a l ser v ces chiefs and heads of intel gence ser vices

The forum was apprised of the security situat on of the countr y with a particu ar focus on recent terrorist inc dents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Ba och stan, says a handout issued fol owing the meeting

The prime minister emphasized that the war against terrorism would be led by federa and provincial governments as per Nationa Act on P an n accordance w th Nationa Internal Secur ty Pol cy with peop e-centric socioeconom c development as a pr ority wh le the armed forces would prov de reso ute deterrence and secure conducive and enab ing env ronment He sa d the prov ncial apex comm ttees were be ng rev ved in full earnest and law enforcement agencies espec ally the counter-terrorism departments would be brought up to the required fight ng standards w th requisite capabilities The forum con-

c uded that no countr y wou d be allowed to provide sanctuaries and fac litat on to terrorists and Pak stan reser ved al r ghts in that respect to safeguard ng its peop e

The Committee underscored that comprehensive Nat ona Secur ty ’ revolved around economic secur ty and that sovereignty or dignity came under stress without self-suffic ency and economic independence

The forum undertook a comprehensive view of the ongoing economic situat on vis-àvis chal enges be ng faced by the common people of Pakistan, particu ar y the lower and m ddle-income classes

The finance m n ster briefed the forum about the economic stability roadmap of the government inc uding the status of discussions with internationa financial inst tutions explor ng other financia avenues based on mutual interests as wel as relief measures for common people In order to strengthen the economy the Committee agreed on undertak ng con-

crete steps inc ud ng import rationalization as we l as preventing llega currency outflows and hawala business

The emphas s w ll be specia ly made to improve agricultural output and manufacturing sector to ensure food security, mports substtution and employment t was reso ved that people-centr c econom c po icies w th trick e-down effects on common people wou d remain a priority It was also agreed to involve a l stakeholders for consensus to rea ise effective and fast-track economic recover y and road map

Whi e taking into account the efforts for mitgating the cha lenges of 33 mi lion f ood-affected people, the forum resolved to mob lize a l resources for their rehabi itation and reconstruction n coordinat on w th the provinc a governments and mu ti atera f nancial nst tutions The Comm ttee also appreciated the ongoing re ief efforts led by the prime minister and federating units

Ca b in et likely t o a p p rove M P ’s Ta x D irect or y 2 0 2 0

I S L A M A B A D s h a h z a d P a r a c h a A c c o r d i n g t o c r e d i b l e s o u r c e s t h e Fe d e r a l C a b i n e t i s l i ke y t o a p p r o v e t h e Pa r l i a m e n t a r i a n s Ta x D i r e c t o r y 2 0 2 0 a t t o d a y s m e e t n g F B R h a s b e e n p u b l s h n g Ta x D r e c t o r e s o f p a r a m e n t a r a n s f o r t h e l a s t e g h t t a x y e a r s T h e t a x d i r e c t o r y u s u a l l y c o n t a i n s t h e t a x d e t a l s o f m e m b e r s o f t h e N a t i o n a l A s s e m b y, S e n a t e a n d a l p r o v i n c i a l a s s e m b l i e s T h e d i r e c t o r y n c u d e s t h e n a m e, C N I C, C o n s t t u e n c y, N o r m a l I n c o m e, Pr e s u m pt i v e I n c o m e A g r i c u l t u r a I n c o m e I n c o m e Ta x Pa i d S h a r e o f Ta x Pa i d b y A O Ps ( A s s o c i a t o n o f Pe r s o n s ) , w h i c h t h e t a x p a y e r h a s l i s t e d T h e m e e t i n g o f t h e f e de r a C a b n e t, c h a r e d b y t h e Pr m e M n i s t e r S h e h b a z S h a r f i s t o b e h e d o n t h e 3 r d o f J a n u a r y T h e Fe d e r a l B o a r d o f Re v e n u e e a r e r s e n t a s u m m a r y t o t h e f e de r a c a b i n e t T h e a p p r o v a l o f s a i d s u m m a r y b y t h e

f e d e r a l c a b n e t w i l r e s u l t i n t h e p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e Pa rl i a m e n t a r i a n s Ta x d i r e c t o r y 2 0 2 0 T h e F B R f i r s t p u bl i s h e d a Pa r i a m e n t a r a n s Ta x D r e c t o r y i n t a x y e a r 2 0 1 3 S i n c e t h e n i t h a s p r o v e d t o b e a n i n t e g r a l p a r t i n t h e B o a r d s a t t e m p t s a t s h o w c a s i n g t r a n s p a r e n c y i n t a x g o v e r n a n c e D s c r e p a n c e s n t h e t a x r e c o r d s o f p a r l a m e n t a r i a n s h a s e d t o v a r i o u s p o l t i c a l c a mp a i g n s i n t h e p a s t A s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e Ta x d i r e c t o r y 2 0 2 0 a r e m p o r t a n t c a s e s n c u d i n g t h e To s h a k h a n a r e f e r e n c e, a g a n s t t h e P T I l e a d e r I m r a n K h a n I n a d d it i o n t o t h e d i r e c t o r y t h e B o a r d o f I n v e s t m e n t ( B o I ) i s a l s o e x p e c t e d t o b r i e f t h e c a b i n e t o n r e g u l a t o r y r u l e s T h e M n i s t r y o f N a t i o n a l H e a l t h S e r v c e s w i l l a s o p r e se n t t h e s u m m a r y o f r e d u c t i o n o f 2 0 m e d c i n e s, a s p e r s o u r c e s T h e f e d e r a l c a b i n e t w i l l a s o b e n f o r m e d a b o u t t h e d e c i s i o n s t a ke n i n t h e N a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y C o m m i t t e e T h e h i g h e s t d e c i s o n m a k i n g f o r u m w l a l s o c o n s i d e r t h e l a w a n d o r d e r s t u a t i o n a l o n g w i t h t h e p o l t i c a l s i t u a t i o n o f t h e c o u n t r y

ISLAMABAD

G h u l a m a b b a s

Inflation continued to soar in December 2022 prov ng the forecast of the fnance ministr y wrong which had been c aim ng that inflation was on a dec ining trend The countr y registered a CPI inflation of 24 5% n December 2022 on a year-on-year (YoY) basis This marked a 0 49% increase compared to the Consumer Pr ce Index (CPI) registered in November 2022

If there was a poll for publ c gr evances n 2022 r sing pr ces and inf at on would be at the top of the ist The calendar year 2022 saw record inf at on over the course of its 12 months and the last month of the year was no different

In a recent y issued report the fnance m n str y had claimed that the inf ation rate wou d decrease and remain between 21 to 23% n the remaining month of the current fisca year

According to the Statistical Office urban inflation increased 21 6% yearly in December 2022 as compared to an increase of 21 6% n the previous month and only 12 7% in December

2021 The rura CPI increased 28 8% on a year-on-year basis in December 2022 as compared to an ncrease of 27 2% in the prev ous month and 11 6% in December 2021

Core Infl aTIon: The core inf at on (exc uding the food and energy components) a so increased over the previous month Core nflation as a ru e of thumb, is a good indicator of the inf at on caused by endogenous factors that have tt e to do with the international commod ty prices

Between 2010 to 2022 YoY core inflat on averaged 7 6% with the h ghest reading of 14 9% in October 2022, and the lowest of 3 4% n Sept 2015 The core nflation rate for December was up by 14 7% as compared to December 2021

According to the inf ation bu let n the urban core CPI increased by 14 7% on a YoY basis in December 2022 against an increase of 14 6% in the prev ous month and 8 3% n December 2021 Likewise, the rural core CPI increased 19% on a YoY bas s in Dec 2022 as compared to 18 5% n the last month On a month-on-month basis, urban core inf ation is up by 1 2% and rura by 1 5%

fooD Infl aTIon: Food nflat on has over a third (34 58%) weightage in the CPI basket and is the commodity that hits a l and sundr y YoY Food inf ation was recorded at 35 5% n December against 31 16% in November 2022 In October 2022, food inf ation was at an a l-time high of 36 24%

In a span of one month the prices of fresh fru ts increased by 13 4%,

g W a r a g a i n s t t e r r o r i s m t o b e l e d b y f e d e r a l , p r o v i n c i a l g o v t s a s p e r N A P

g N o c o u n t r y t o b e a l l o w e d t o p r o v i d e s a n c t u a r i e s , f a c i l i t a t i o n t o t e r r o r i s t s

ISLAMABAD

K h o K h a r a c c u s e s G e n B a j wa o f a i d i n G i m r a n ’ s o u s t e r

ISLAMABAD

has termed it a regime change conspiracy hatched by his political rivals with the alleged support of the former army chief In an interview with Voice of America,

a i m s o f p o l i t i c a l victimisation saying a lot of evidence has emerged of General Bajwa colluding with the incumbent rulers to topple the PTI-led government Terming the extension in the tenure of Gen (retd) Bajwa by former PM Imran as

sc issues notices in Balochistan gov t’s appeal in appointment of special assistants

ISLAMABAD t lt p

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued notices in the provincial government of Balochistan’s appeal against the Balochistan High Court (BHC) verdict on appointment of special assistants to the provincial chief minister A threemember bench headed by Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan conducted hearing of the Balochistan provincial government appeal The TLTP learnt that during the hearing Justice Mazahar Ali said that the case has become infructuous as the Balochistan government which had filed the appeal is no more in power The additional advocate general contended that though the case pertains to the previous government, but in this case the high court had set aside the law The AAG said that the apex court has already passed a judgment in a similar case of the Sindh government The AAG Balochistan informed that the BHC did not issue notice to the advocate general under Rule XXVII which is must He requested the Court to suspend the high court verdict At this, Justice Ijaz questioned that when the BHC had declared the law null and void then what they suspend However, the bench after hearing the arguments issued notices In April 2020, the BHC had declared the Appointments of Special Assistants to the Chief Minister Balochistan Act, 2018, null and void and the appointments of six special assistants to the Balochistan chief minister unconstitutional The high court had also ordered the special assistants to the chief minister to return all incentives they received from the government except their salaries In the petition Advocate Kakar argued in the court that the act was contradictory to the law of the land and, therefore, it should be set aside

federal gov t authorit y to tax immoveable proper t y challenged in Lhc

LAHORE t lt p

The authority of the federal government to tax immovable property has been challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC) According to the details, the court issued a notice to the federal government, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and other parties to the response The TLTP learnt that the court also issued a 27A notice to the Attorney General for Pakistan for assistance to the LHC in this petition Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza heard the applications of Mohammad usman Khalid and others and also ordered the consolidation of all the applications in this regard Muhammad Mohsin Virk Advocate and other lawyers appeared on behalf of the petitioners and took a stand that after the 18th Amendment of the Constitution of Pakistan, the federal government does not have the authority to tax immovable property The lawyers of the petitioners took a stand that it is the authority of the provincial government to fix a tax on immovable property It was requested the court annul the initiative of the federal government to impose a tax on immovable property and order the federal government to stop tax on the immovable property till the final decision of the case

Imran

ISLAMABAD

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday alleged that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

Chairman Imran Khan consistently changed his narratives which were nothing but packs of lies to mislead the people Imran Khan has been changing his narratives like weather (since his ouster from power),” she said in a news statement while responding to the PTI chief ’s remarks in the media The minister

historic, Khokhar claimed in the interview that the establishment had influenced the then-government’s decision in this regard

Referring to the three amendment bills c o n c e r n i n g t h e t e n u r e s o f t h e s e r v i c e s c h i e f s a n d c h a i r m a n j o i n t c h i e f o f s t a ff committee, he said that all politicians had t o v o t e i n f a v o u r o f t h e l e g i s l a t i o n a f t e r Bajwa ‘maneuvered’ the process

All politicial parties voted in a favour of extension and the bill was passed within 12 minutes Bajwa influenced the process,” he claimed

I t i s u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t , d u r i n g o u r ( P P P ’s ) g o v e r n m e n t ’s t e n u r e a l l t h i n g s t o o k p l a c e , i n c l u d i n g p o l i t i c a l v i c t i m i s a t i o n , h e s a i d d u r i n g t h e interview

“ N o t o n l y w a s t h e r e p o l i t i c a l v i c t i m i s a t i o n , w e w e r e a l s o s e r v i n g a s m o u t h p i e c e s E v e r y o n e i s a w a r e t h a t i f t h e r e i s p o l i t i c a l v i c t i m i s a t i o n o f P T I , w h e r e i t i s c o m i n g f r o m a n d w h o i s c a r r y i n g i t o u t P o l i t i c i a n s l e n d i n g t h e i r s h o u l d e r s ( t o s u c h a c t s ) , I t h i n k t h i s w i l l hurt democracy,” he said

Significant Drop: 12 fresh Covid-19 cases reported in 24 hours

ISLAMABAD

s tA f f r e p o r t

Health officials on Monday said that 12 new Coronavirus cases were reported during the last 24 hours across the country

As per data shared by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the case positivity ratio is 0 39 percent while 11 patients were in critical condition

No death was reported from the Coronavirus in the last 24 hours while

3,062 Covid-19 tests were conducted Around 195 tests were conducted in Islamabad with four confirmed cases at ratio of 2 05% while 771 cases reported in Lahore with six confirmed cases at ratio of 0 78%

Meanwhile, Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Abdul Qadir Patel said that the government has strengthened the role of Border and Health Services in Pakistan to deal with any sub-variant of Covid-19

T h e c h a l l e n g e s t h at m ove g r ow t h

As we leave behind 2022, the year ahead awaits us to embrace the future This year was challenging for the automobile industry, which made me realize that every year has unique, unanticipated challenges I believe that growth comes when you welcome challenges, as they provide opportunities to adapt, evolve, and excel Nonetheless, we accomplished more than expected due to our customer-first approach We used every challenge as an opportunity to do something better for our growing markets and give our customers the absolute best

As you all know, we have had a very unprecedented year From LC restrictions, dollar fluctuations production constraints changes in government regulations, and automotive policies These challenges affected the auto industry as a whole, but strategic maneuvers were established at the same time to counter them in a way that would not affect the customers or have any compromise on quality Hyundai is reaching new heights Not only is our network growing exponentially, but at the same time, we are succeeding as a brand at every turn Whatever the challenge we have done our best to meet the growing demands of our customers

The minister said that there was a surveillance system at all entry points of the country including airports He said that there will be rapid tests and screening of passengers at all airports He said that the situation was completely under control and asked the general public to avoid listening to rumors He added that the Corona case passivity ratio was just 0 3 to 0 5 in the country while 90 percent of the country’s population already got the CoVID-19 vaccine “An efficient system with a proper

management team is fully functional in the country to remain vigilant and is ready to make an emergency plan to deal with any sub-variant of Covid-19,” the minister added He said that Border and Health Services Pakistan was ensuring the implementation of international health regulations

He said that in case of any untoward situation the health system was fully prepared to deal with any sub-variant of the omicron variant of CoVID-19 including BF 7 in the country

sc fixes hearing of suo motu notice in arshad sharif murder for jan 5th

ISLAMABAD

The Supreme Court (SC) has fixed the hearing of the suo motu notice of the killing of senior journalist Arshad Sharif A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court (SC) headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) umar Ata Bandial will hear the suo motu notice of the killing of Arshad Sharif on January 5 The hearing will begin at 1:00 pm After taking suo-motu notice on December 6 the top court had ordered the special joint investigation team (JIT) to submit the probe report A five-member larger bench including CJP Justice umar Ata Bandial Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar heard the case on December 6, CJP Justice umar Ata Bndial had ordered to register the murder case of senior journalist and former anchorperson Arshad Sharif who was killed in Kenya in the month of September

Taliban urge dialogue af ter S ana hints at cross-border ac tion against T TP

ISLAMABAD/KABUL

M o n i to r i n g r e p o r t

The Taliban government of Afghanistan condemned a provocative statement from the minister of interior indicating Islamabad may engage in cross-border action against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group saying it damaged the good relations between the two neighbouring nations

“The Ministry of National Defense considers as provocative and baseless recent speeches of the Pakistani Interior Minister about the presence of TTP in Afghanistan and their possible attack inside Afghanistan, Kabul said in a statement

Tensions have mounted, in particular, due to the growing TTP attacks targeting security forces in the months since the Taliban takeover in 2021 Pakistan s use of crossborder airstrikes is tied to the trajectory of the TTP in Afghanistan and Islamabad’s growing frustration with the

Taliban’s failure to restrain the group Since its resurgence a few years ago, the TTP has strengthened its bases in Afghanistan to attack Pakistan especially in areas where the Taliban’s territorial influence as an insurgency was significant After taking over the country, the Taliban gave the TTP de-facto political asylum The TTP has used its improved political status in Afghanistan to step-up crossborder attacks and is now regularly sending fighters into Pakistan Last week, in an interview with Express News, Rana Sanaullah Khan said Pakistan may target TTP hideouts in Afghanistan if its Taliban rulers did not take any action against the group Afghanistan is our brotherly country and we will first talk to them to dismantle the TTP hideouts and hand over the group’s members to Pakistan, the minister had said But Kabul, in its latest statement, claimed it was in possession of “proof” of TTP bases inside Pakistan and such “claims by Pakistani officials harm good relations between two brotherly neighbouring countries”

css officers obser ve pen-down strike against salar y discrimination

ISLAMABAD g h u l A M A b b A s

said Imran Khan claimed that it came to his knowledge last summer that Shehbaz Sharif would become prime minister which was contrary to his earlier statements He (Imran) used to say that he even could think Shehbaz Sharif becoming the country’s chief executive Imran Khan had already failed to materialize his plan to default the country, and he should better introspect on his four-year government s performance from 2018 to April 2022

“Ironically, foreign agent Imran Khan who had robbed Toshakhana and

traded off national interests for diamonds, had the audacity to question what wrong he had committed,” she remarked Marriyum said Imran Khan acted like a dictator and took autocratic steps against his opponents on false allegations, however, not a single allegation was proved Now the time had come that Imran Khan would have to answer for his wrongdoings, she added The minister said astonishingly Imran Khan had all of a sudden started commenting on the actions taken by former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa from 2021 to April 2022

officers of various government departments organized a pen-down strike at federal secretariat Islamabad on Monday that even led to the delay of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting until Wednesday The government performance suffers as CSS officers start pen-down strike over executive allowance discrimination led by the officers of Planning Commission, grade 17-22 officers belonging to other groups including the Information education etc gathered at the P-Block Pak-Secretariat and held a protest rally up to the Q-Block against elimination of discrimination in Executive Allowance Since almost all officers of the Planning Commission were observing the pen-down strike several official meetings have been suspended and the situation is less likely to change on Tuesday (today) too as the same is planned Addressing the protesting officers Manan Khan, Abdul Sattar and Jabbar Alam, highlighted that the issue has remained unresolved since July, 2022 “We have unanimously resolved to observe full pen-down strike for January, 2023 till issuance of committed notification by the Finance division to eliminate this discrimination,” the speakers said The officers announced that all meetings including the Departmental Development Working Party (DDWP, Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and ECNEC will be boycotted The distortion was created on 19, July 2022 after the federal cabinet decided to grant an executive allowance equivalent to 150 percent of the Basic for officers of grade 17-22 serving in the federal secretariat However on July 17, 2022 the finance ministry notification allowed this facility only to the officers of oMG group and the PAS group The grant was restricted to

Challenges are a part of life that is crucial for success They hone us towards betterment, and it provides clarity to the things that matter most to us In our case, our customer base is always our top priority We stand by our vision for the progress of humanity by connecting people with quality time And for that we strive to do better, to get better, to improve and excel in every space possible May this year bring a lot of hope and joy and drive us as a nation toward strength May 2023 create equal opportunities to do great things for those we love and for humanity as a whole

“Why had he offered a life-time extension to the former army chief while the latter had hatched a plot against him,” she questioned It was Imran Khan who had conferred the best commander award on him, she added Marriyum said it was beyond comprehension why did Imran Khan not keep the people informed when the former army chief was resisting the accountability process At the same time, he had surprisingly kept Tayba Gul hostage at the Prime Minister ’s House for blackmailing the former National Accountability Bureau chairman

officers of other groups such as the economists group, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, etc

u T S P o K E N former PPP senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has accused ex-army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa of influencing a no-trust motion in April to oust former prime minister Imran Khan from power Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted through a parliamentary vote of noconfidence in April but the PTI chairman

i h c a c c e p t s e c p ’ s a p p e a L f o r h e a r i n G i n LG p o L Ls c a s e

December 28 (2022) was never challenged

tH E Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday accepted intra-court appeals of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the Federation with regard to the local government elections in Federal Capital

A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the ICAs against the decision of a single-member bench of ordering the ECP to hold LG elections on December 31

The ECP s counsel Mian Abdul Rauf argued that the institution had postponed the elections due to increase in the number of union councils and that its notification of

mwm decides not to suppor t per vaiz elahi in trust vote

LAHORE

s tA f f r e p o r t

The ECP’s director general law said the Commission announced its decision regarding the union councils on December 27 and the December 28 notification was based on it Mian Abdul Rauf said the two houses of the Parliament had approved the bill (regarding increase in the number of uCs)

The additional attorney general said even the notification dated December 19 was also not challenged The chief justice remarked that the two sides were not coming towards the constitutional questions, and asked them to take time until the day after tomorrow for preparation

The court observed that the ECP was supposed to conduct elections on December

31 as the single-member bench had only voided the Commission’s decision regarding polls

It further observed that the ECP had to give a new election schedule under the new law as well The ECP s lawyer said the department would issue a new schedule if the elections were held in 101 uCs

The ECP s advocate prayed the court to suspend the decision of single member bench The court asked the ECP’s lawyer to tell an appropriate and practical way that whether the institution could conduct elections in 101 uCs or not

The ECP’s DG said he update the court in that regard after taking the instructions The court then adjourned the hearing till January 9

SHC stops police from re -arresting Gill on sedition charge

s tA f f r e p o r t

In an important development regarding the vote of confidence to the Punjab chief minister Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) has decided not to vote for Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, it has been learnt on Monday According to the party sources the MWM Political Council has taken the decision after consultation The MWM spokesperson said that serious reservations had been expressed on some of the steps taken by the Punjab chief minister “MWM Member of Punjab Assembly Syeda Zahra Naqvi will not give the vote of confidence to Pervaiz Elahi he said “The decision of not giving the vote of confidence to the Chief Minister of Punjab has been taken in the light of the instructions of the party leadership,” he added

normalcy returns after political agitation in Gwadar

QUETTA

s tA f f r e p o r t

Balochistan Chief Secretary (CS) Abdul Aziz ugaili on Monday chaired a high-level meeting to review the current situation of Gwadar with the aim to look into the issues of public importance and maintain peace in the area Additional Chief Secretary Home, Department of Fisheries, Department of PHE, Department of Sports Department of Information Secretary and CEo QESCo attended the meeting while Commander Makran, Director General GDA and Deputy Commissioner Gwadar were present through video link The Chief Secretary was briefed in the meeting about the law and order situation and other issues regarding the current situation of Gwadar by the authorities of the relevant institutions The concerned official maintained that commercial centers petrol pump banks and shops have opened in Gwadar city Mobile telephone service has been restored in Gwadar and tourism is gradually recovering The work of unloading wheat from the ship anchored at Gwadar port and its transportation is going on Secretary Fisheries Department said that action was taken to strictly prevent illegal trawling, and a joint patrol involving a gunboat is going on

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday prevented police from arresting Shahbaz Gill, a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader, for a second time on sedition charges pressed against him for

criticising the powerful military

The order was issued during a hearing on the plea moved by Gill to quash the cases registered against him in Karachi

During the hearing, the petitioner s lawyer pleaded with the court to stop the police from arresting Gill until the final

C h Per vez Elahi inaugurates new building of PA

LAHORE

s tA f f r e p o r t

Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi here on Monday inaugurated the new building of the Punjab Assembly According to official sources, Dua was offered after inauguration of the building Ch Pervez Elahi said that there was a capacity of 500 parliamentarians in new Punjab Assembly building keeping in view the need of next 100 years He said that Ayes lobby had been made for 200

decision in the case Gill submitted in the petition that police had registered three cases against him at several police stations, and requested the court to dismiss them At this, the bench stopped police from arresting Gill and adjourned the hearing The one-time chief of staff to

former prime minister Imran Khan also urged the court for an immediate hearing of the plea, which was turned down by the bench It may be noted that on December 22, a district and sessions court in Islamabad issued a bailable arrest warrant for Gill over his prolonged absence in the same case

sindh cm’s protocol officer, foreign guests mugged in Karachi

persons and Noes lobby for 200 persons There was a capacity of 800 persons for speaker chamber officers, media and visitors, he added The Chief Minister said that offices had been made in Secretariat building for ministers and leader of the opposition He further said that there was a facility of three committee rooms, one conference room, library and cafeteria in new building of Punjab Assembly besides a parking facility for 400 cars Punjab Assembly Speaker Muhammad Sibtain Khan Provincial Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed and others were also present

Granting bail to Swati welcoming but will he get justice, asks PTI leadership

ISLAMABAD

s tA f f r e p o r t

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leadership (PTI) on Monday welcomed the Islamabad High Court s (IHC) decision of granting bail to PTI Senator Azam Swati but they said that the case put a question mark on our justice system that how a 75-year-old senator was taken across country to face over several dozens of FIRs despite being subjected to the worst mental and physical violence

The PTI leaders stated that granting bail to Senator Swati was simply a partial justice until those who attempted to break his courage be held accountable PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in his

reaction said that Azam Swati was finally released and they all, of course, were happy and satisfied about it However, He stated that it was a question mark on our justice system that how a 75-year-old senior citizen faced hardships to get justice despite being subjected to the worst mental and physical violence In his reaction PTI Central Secretary General Asad umar Azam Swati said that PTI Senator finally got bail, but he raised question will he get justice?

PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhary reacted that Azam Swati was granted bail, but the black mark that the case put on the face of our justice system cannot be washed away He said that attempts were made to break the courage of the old lion, but he stood firm

The protocol officer of the Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah along with his foreign guests were mugged in Karachi on Sunday The incident took place in the vicinity of the Joharabad police station in Karachi Four armed dacoits on two motorcycles surrounded citizens in a street The victims also included Sindh CM’s protocol officer Masroor Warsi Warsi was reportedly present with his guests from Canada when he got mugged Moreover, the dacoits also looted mobile phones, cash and valuables from 10 to 12 people present in the local hotel A case was registered at the Joharabad police station

Lahore multan motor way section closed due to fog

LAHORE s tA f f r e p o r t

Lahore Multan Motorway from Faizpur to Nankana has been closed due to fog A spokesperson said the LahoreSialkot Motorway M11 closed due to heavy fog The official stressed that unnecessary travel should be avoided and motorists should use foglights while travelling

B ook Review: Urdu and Nor thern Pak istani Languages

SyED AfSAR SAjID

‘Languages

of Northern Pakistan Essays in memory of Carla Radloff

Editors: Joan L G Baart Henrik Liljegren, and Thomas E Payne

Publishers: Oxford University Press Pakistan

‘Farzand-e-Urdu Syed Ruhul Amin

Compiler: Dr Shabbir Ahmad Qadri

– Publisher: Izzat Aademy, Gujrat

Carla Faye Radloff (1949-2012) a famed American linguist, in whose memory the anthology of essays titled Languages of Northern Pakistan’ has been compiled and published, was a career member of SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics) International

Her association with Western Asia dates back to 1982 whereafter in 1986, she switched over to SIL International ‘Carla made invaluable contributions to dialect survey and the study of bilingualism and language use in Pakistan, to the methodology of sociolinguistic sur-

vey in general, and also to the linguistic study and documentation of the Shina language of Gilgit, Pakistan ’ She worked as SIL’s team leader in northern Pakistan from 1999 to 2006

The second book titled Farzand-e-urdu is an anthology of complimentary essays authored by academics and scholars of urdu language and literature to highlight the services of well-known litterateur and urdu enthusiast Syed Ruhul

Amin, to the cause of urdu as a (1) literary language, (2) lingua franca, and (3) national language

‘Languages of Northern Pakistan This book is a unique collection of papers on the languages and cultures in the northern areas of Pakistan and the surrounding regions In a single volume the editors have compiled the work of a variety of national and international scholars, long concerned with the linguistic aspects of the many languages discussed here

The three editors of the book happen to be linguists and researchers of good fame Dr Tariq Rahman has written the foreword to the book highlighting its important features According to him ‘most of the chapters (in this volume) are by scholars and about the subjects to which Carla dedicated her working life the languages of northern Pakistan

In the preface to the book, the editors have referred to the abounding cultural and linguistic diversity in the mountainous northern areas of

Pakistan and the adjoining regions in Kashmir and northeastern Afghanistan

The imminent threat of modernization has tended to endanger the organic vitality so to say of these cultures and languages Hence, the imperative need for documenting and describing’ them Thus the volume is intended to present ‘a cross section of current ongoing work focusing on languages of northern Pakistan’

The book contains twenty articles related to the syntactical mechanics usages and linguistics of Burushaski, Kalasha, ormuri, Wakhi, Domaaki, Gojri, urdu, Shina and Neelam Valley languages/dialects Authors of these articles include names like Gregory D S Anderson Paul Arsenault Alexei Kochetov, Joan L G Baart, Jeremy Hawbaker, Elena Bashir, Peter E Hook Fazal Amin Beg John Mock Mir Ali Wakhani, Georg Buddruss, Almuth Degener, Jan Heegard, Nabaig Wayne E Losey Beate Lubberger, Carla F Radloff, Thomas E

Payne, Tariq Rahman, Khawaja A Rehman, Ruth Laila Schmidt, Hugh van Skyhawk Richard F Strand Bertil Tikkanen, and Claus Peter Zoller ‘Fa r z a n d-e-U r d U’

The book comprises an anthology of articles and reviews pertaining to the person and work of Syed Nurul Amin, a famed urdu scholar, column writer, and enthusiast Dr Shabbir Ahmad Qadri himself a distinguished litterateur, has compiled the work which includes a teeming variety of essays reviews commentaries, letters, profiles and dialogues relating to its illustrious protagonist Mahmood Sham Dr Saeed Ahmad, Muhammad Najmul uroos Faruqui and Dr Shabbir Ahmad Qadri have added introductory notes to the volume explaining its raison d’etre etc

Dr Jamil Jalibi Dr Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, Dr Farman Fatehpuri, Iftikhar Arif, Dr Waheed Qureshi, Dr Syed Moinur Rahman Dr Moinuddin Aqeel, Prof Sharif Kunjahi, Dr

Rashid Amjad, Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik, Dr Tahir Taunsvi, Dr Anwaar Ahmad Dr Aslam Adeeb Dr Syed Shahid Hassan Rizvi, Dr Saeed Murtaza Zaidi, Dr Syed Shabihul Hassan Dr Rubina Tareen Dr Abdul Karim Khalid, Dr Aqeela Bashir, Dr Rabia Sarfaraz, Dr Abdul Aziz Malik Prof Majid Mushtaq

Prof Kalim Ehsan Butt, Farrukh Zahra Gilani, Prof Munirul Haq Ka’abi Dr M Fakhrul Haq Noori Dr Sadaf Naqvi, Dr Salim Akhtar, Justice (R) Dr Javed Iqbal, Syed Afsar Sajid Dr Najeeb Jamal Dr Riazul Haq Tariq, Riaz Mufti Advocte, Dr Muhammad Iqbal Shahid, Sa adia Raashid Malik Nawaz Ahmad Awan, Khalid Yazdani, Rauf Zafar, Khalid Mehmood Saqib, Tariq Sultanpuri Shahzad Beg et al are some noted contributors to the volume In their write-ups, commentaries interviews and reviews they have soulfully lauded the works and achievements of Syed Ruhul Amin as a zealous but committed advocate of Urdu as a national language

KARACHI

ISLAMABAD s tA f f r e p o r t

M o R e f o R e i g n i n v e S T M e n T a f T e R C o v i D R e S p o n S e M e a S U R e S o p T i M i S aT i o n : e C o n o M i S T

ISLAMAbAD X n h ua

S China has optimised its Covid-19 response measures, a lot of foreign businesses and investors start to invest in the country, a Pakistani economist told Xinhua in an interview I see a lot of foreign investment coming into China to play their role to enhance their trade and of course, they will be having relatively much lower operating cost in China ” said Badiea Shaukat an economic consultant at the Sustainable Development P o l i

based think-tank Shaukat said that policy optimisation had been a requirement of the hour since the whole world was in dire need of trade especially in the tech and health sector

Kaira dismisses bankruptcy ‘rumours’

ISLAMAbAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

a ddress the international demand to a signifi c a n t e x t

Shaukat said China’s optimisation in Covd-19 response measures would result in significant growth of Chinese exports while supporting the country to increase employment opportunities, warm up consumption and control the inflation rate

China’s digital economy ranking second worldwide, has been a major growth engine for the country which is likely to boost the overall economic activity in 2023 he said

Shaukat said the world is becoming increasingly dependent on digital networking and financial inclusion and China has a well-established digital system

According to a recent report by the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies, the value of China’s digital economy reached about $6 3 trillion in 2021, accounting for 39 8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product

So with new policies in place, we will see a huge boost and significant contribution from the Chinese digital economy towards the whole world s digital economy

Highlighting the global food and climate crises, Shaukat noted that China is paying special attention to enhancing investments in these sectors to mitigate their impacts internationally

He said that due to the pandemic and many conflicts the rising food prices internationally is a major concern for the world The growth in the Chinese economy would help control the international price hike especially food inflation

Abstention from UN vote on Palestine exposed India’s ‘c ulpabilit y ’ in K ashmir : Pakistan

UNITeD NATIONS

S ta f f R e p o R t

Q a m a r Z a m a n K a i r a , a d v i s e r t o t h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r o n K a s h m i r a n d G i l g i t - B a l t i s t a n h a s d i s m i s s e d r u m o u r s o f P a k i s t a n ’s b a n k r u p t c y a n d a s s u r e d t h e e c o n o m i c s i tu a t i o n i s e x p e c t e d t o i m p r o v e i n a f e w w e e k s ’ t i m e ” Ta l k i n g t o a T V s t a t i o n , K a i r a u r g e d t h e f o r m e r p r i m e m i n i s t e r , I m r a n K h a n t o p l a y h i s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r o l e b y s t a y i n g i n p a r l i a m e n t a n d r e m a i ni n g p a r t o f t h e p o l i t i c a l p r o c e s s Ta l k i n g a b o u t t h e p o s t p o n e m e n t o f l o c a l b o d i e s e l e c t i o n s i n I s l a m a b a d , h e s a i d t h a t i mp l e m e n t i n g t h e c o u r t ’s d e c i s i o n t o c o nd u c t t h e e l e c t i o n s i n 2 4 h o u r s w a s a l m o s t i m p o s s i b l e A d a y e a r l i e r , M i n i s t e r f o r I nf o r m a t i o n a n d B r o a d c a s t i n g M a r r i y u m A u r a n g z e b c a s t i g a t e d K h a n f o r p o s t i n g a “ s e n s e l e s s ” t w e e t o n t h e e v e o f N e w Ye a r K h a n i s a s t r a n g e p e r s o n h a v i n g n o f e e li n g s f o r h a p p y o c c a s i o n s t h e m i n i s t e r c l a i m e d A p e r s o n l i k e h i m w h o d i d n o t k n o w h o w t o s h a r e o t h e r s ’ h a p p i n e s s a n d s o r r o w h o w w o u l d h e t h i n k a b o u t t h e b e t t e r m e n t o f 2 2 0 m i l l i o n p e o p l e , s h e h a d q u e s t i o n e d

Dedicated Securit y Unit for BRT under consideration

PeShAWAr

S ta f f R e p o R t

K h y b e r P a k h t u n k h w a M i n i s t e r o f Tr a n s p o r t a n d M a s s Tr a n s i t M a l i k S h a h M u h a m m a d K h a n o n M o n d a y w h i l e c h a i r i n g a h i g hl e v e l m e e t i n g , c o n s t i t u t e d a c o m m i t t e e t o s u g g e s t t h e r a i s i n g o f a d e d i c a t e d p o l i c e u n i t f o r t h e s e c u r i t y o f B u s R a p i d Tr a n s i t ( B RT ) a n d p a s s e n g e r s T h e m e e t i n g d i sc u s s e d t h e s e c u r i t y o f p a s s e n g e r s t r a v e l i n g t h r o u g h B RT a n d i t s s t a t i o n s a n d t h e 2 7 - k m B RT r o u t e a n d c o n s i d e r e d t o e s t a b l i s h e d s p e c i a l s e c u r i t y u n i t c o m p r i s i n g p r i v a t e s ec u r i t y a n d p o l i c e o f f i c i a l s O n t h e o c c a s i o n , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s o f t h e m e e t i n g p r e s e n t e d v a r i o u s s u g g e s t i o n s a n d f i n a l l y f o r m e d a c o m m i t t e e t o b e h e a d e d b y M D U r b a n M ob i l i t y A u t h o r i t y a n d c o m p r i s e d o f r e p r e s e nt a t i v e s o f t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f H o m e A f f a i r s a n d Tr i b a l A f f a i r s , D i r e c t o r a t e o f Tr a n s p o r t , S e c r e t a r i a t , P o l i c e D e p a r t m e n t a n d Tr a f f i c P o l i c e t o f o r m i t s o w n p o l i c e u n i t f o r B RT T h e c o m m i t t e e w o u l d c o m e u p w i t h s o l ut i o n s t o e n s u r e e f f e c t i v e s e c u r i t y f o r p a s s e ng e r s t r a v e l i n g i n B RT S p e a k i n g o n t h e o c c a s i o n t h e m i n i s t e r s a i d t h a t i t w a s t h e r es p o n s i b i l i t y o f t h e p r o v i n c i a l g o v e r n m e n t t o p r o v i d e s e c u r i t y t o t h e p e o p l e , a d d i n g t h a t t h e s u c c e s s f u l e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f m e g a p r o je c t s l i k e B RT w a s n o l e s s t h a n a b l e s s i n g f o r t h e p e o p l e a n d a l l p o s s i b l e s t e p s w o u l d b e t a k e n t o f u r t h e r i m p r o v e B RT s e r v i c e s i n c l u d i n g s e c u r i t y T h e m e e t i n g w a s a tt e n d e d b y M D U r b a n M o b i l i t y A u t h o r i t y, S P C i t y, S S P Tr a f f i c , Tr a n s Tr a n s p o r t a n d o t h e r o f f i c e r s o f l i n e d e p a r t m e n t s

India s abstention on a landmark United Nations resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s prolonged occupation of Palestine reflected its drive to pursue the Jewish nation’s model of demographic engineering in disputed Jammu and Kashmir to turn its Muslim majority into a minority Pakistan said

The decolonisation committee of the United Nations on Friday adopted a draft Palestinian resolution asking that the World Court urgently weigh in on Israel s “prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory”, which it said were violating the Palestinians right to self-determination

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem areas that Palestinians want for a state in a 1967 Middle East war US-sponsored negotiations stalled in 2014

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said in

a statement that 98 countries supported the resolution, 52 abstained including India and 17 voted against “India’s abstention derives from its own policies of occupation in Jammu and Kashmir, usurpation of Kashmiri lands demographic change and denial of the right to self-determination the precise issues of the Israeli occupation on which the General Assembly has sought an advisory opinion from the ICJ Pakistan s UN Ambassador Munir Akram said in an interview with the Associated Press of Pakistan

Israeli culpability in Palestine will also confirm India’s culpability in [occupied Kashmir],” the Pakistani envoy added

The resolution Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem calls on the ICJ to determine the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination” as well as of its measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status” of the city of Jerusalem

Punjab chapter of PML-N meets ahead of trust vote against chief minister

LAhOre

S ta f f R e p o R t

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has asked members of its parliamentary group in the Punjab Assembly to gather in Lahore before the contentious confidence vote against the chief minister and motions of no-trust it has moved against the speaker and his deputy

Reports citing sources said the prime minister is expected to chair a meeting of the parliamentary party in the first week of January to discuss the votes of confidence Shehbaz Sharif will also brief his MPs on the plan of action in the legislative assembly Suggestions on the political situation would also be sought from the PML-N lawmakers in Punjab Though the recent order

of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has provided an opportunity for stakeholders to review their political agendas the political turmoil seems to be far from over The ruling alliance in Punjab, the Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), intend to dissolve the legislature to force snap elections in the country In response, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government in the Centre is simultaneously throwing a gauntlet to the Punjab government to go ahead with its plan while making every effort to prevent the house from being dissolved The country, specially Punjab, has been embroiled in a political and constitutional crisis since November 26 when former prime minister Imran Khan announced at a public gathering he’d dissolve the parliaments in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

It also calls on the secretary general of the UN to present a report on the implementation of the resolution in the upcoming session of the General Assembly in September 2023 Ambassador Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s permanent observer to the United Nations hailed the nations that were “undeterred by threats and pressure” and voted in favour of the resolution

This vote comes one day after the new Israeli government was formed pledging to accelerate colonial and racist policies against the Palestinian people,” he said

The abstention from India which champions itself as a supporter of the Palestinian cause, was especially noted as it underlined its apprehensions about the implications of referral of the issues of occupation illegal settlements and demographic change to the ICJ

By revoking Article 35-A of the Indian Constitution in August 2019, the extremist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the floodgates of Israel-style settlements in Jammu and Kashmir as part of the ethnic cleansing of indigenous Muslim residents of the region

Seven killed in dumper-van collision near Khyber

Seven people, including women and children, were killed and five others injured in a head-on collision between a dumper-truck and a carry van on Indus Highway in Darra Adamkhel town of Khyber district on Monday Rescue 1122 medical team rushed to the accident site after ordered by District Emergency Officer

Syed Shoaib Mansoor They responded briskly and provided first-aid treatment to the injured The personnel of the Kohat’s Rescue 1122 shifted the bodies and the injured to a nearby hospital Condition of some of the injured was stated to be serious They were were referred to Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar

CSS officers obser ve pen- down strike against salar y discrimination

ISLAMAbAD

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Officers of various government departments organized a pen-down strike at federal secretariat Islamabad on Monday that even led to the delay of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting until Wednesday

T

crimination led by the officers of Planning Commission grade 17-22 officers belonging to other groups including the Information, education etc, gathered at the P-Block Pak-Secretariat and held a protest rally up to the Q-Block against elimination of discrimination in Executive Allowance Since almost all offi-

cers of the Planning Commission were observing the pen-down strike several official meetings have been suspended a n d t h e s i t u a t i o n i s l e s s l i k e l y t o c h a n g e o n Tu e s d a y ( t o d a y ) t o o a s t h e same is planned

Addressing the protesting officers Manan Khan, Abdul Sattar and Jabbar Alam, highlighted that the issue has remained unresolved since July 2022

July 2022 after the federal cabinet decided to grant an executive allowance equivalent to 150 percent of the Basic for officers of grade 17-22 serving in the federal secretariat

-

“We have unanimously resolved to observe full pen-down strike for January, 2023 till issuance of committed notification by the Finance division to eliminate this discrimination,” the speakers said The officers announced that all meetings including the Departmental Development Working Party (DDWP, Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and ECNEC will be boycotted The distortion was created on 19,

However on July 17, 2022 the finance ministry notification allowed this facility only to the officers of OMG group and the PAS group The grant was restricted to officers of other groups such as the economists group, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, etc

This decision led to a series of protests for almost six months and 07, December, 2022 after the assurances by the Senator Ishaq Dar Finance Minister that all matters would be resolved within a week that was by December, 14, 2022 Talking to the media one of the protesting officers said that possibly the top fi-

nance managers of the country must have assumed that the protest would finish by the end of December

Therefore we have decided to opt for the pen-down strike to tell the seniors that we have the same rights too,” the officer added

At the same time some officials confided that the Ministry of Finance might reverse the allowance or propose a reduction from 150pc to 100pc for officers of the Pakistan Administrative Service and OMG officers while granting a 100pc allowance to officers belonging to the economist, Foreign Office and information groups in the bureaucracy

“There are a total of 1,800 officers from grade 17 to 22 in the secretariat, some 1,200 have been granted 150 percent raise and only 600 are remaining,” said one officer

Khyber S ta f f R e p o R t

F r o m s m o k e o F c o r r u p t i o n s c a n d a l , s u m m i t B a n k e m e r g e s a s i s l a m i c B a n k i n g h o p e

Continued from baCk page

“We remain closely engaged with two undercapitalized private banks and are committed to ensuring compliance with the minimum capital requirements” the government says in the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies released late on Thursday night While the two banks were not named, it was clear that it was Silkbank and Summit Bank being referred to r i S e o F i S l a M i c b a n k i n g

Summit Bank currently has 195 branches, out of which 50 are already part of their Islamic Banking window Its assets and deposits stood at Rs 23 billion and Rs 20 billion, respectively The bank is not opening new branches of its conventional bank but converting its established branches

into Islamic banking branches The Islamic banking division of the bank made a profit of Rs 551 million by the end of September 2022 an impressive feat considering the bank’s otherwise dismal financial results

The decision to convert comes in the wake of a recent trend of growing Islamic Banking in Pakistan On April 28, the Shariat Court announced a verdict in a longpending declaring the prevailing interestbased banking system as against the Shariah and directed the government to facilitate all loans under an interest-free system The court had instructed the government to make laws within five years with regard to the implementation of Islamic banking within the country

The court had ruled that the federal government and provincial governments must

amend relevant laws and issued directives that the country’s banking system should be free of interest by December 2027 Faysal Bank s conversion from a conventional bank to a full fledged Islamic bank adds pressure on other conventional banks in the country that have appealed the court s decision

Even before the Shariat Court verdict, a sizable shift had been observed towards Islamic Banking in Pakistan According to data from the State Bank of Pakistan and Profit’s analysis of the financial statements of every single bank in the country, it accounts for about 20% of net new deposits between 2002 and 2019 Crucially for the industry, net new Islamic banking deposits hit approximately 30-35% of total industry net new deposits

And the rise has only grown since then

Islamic banking assets reached around 19 5% of total assets as of end June 2022, while share of deposits reached 20 5% On a year on year basis assets and deposits of Islamic Banking institutions were up by 41 4% and 27 0%, respectively by end June, 2022 The country currently has 22 Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) with a branch network of 4,086 branches, including 1,463 windows spread across 129 districts that provide Shariah compliant banking services IBIs include 5 full-fledged Islamic banking and 17 Islamic banking windows of conventional banks

The country currently has 22 Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) with a branch network of 4,086 branches, including 1,463 windows spread across 129 districts that provide Shariah compliant banking services

C lose c alls and abysmal lows – the economy in 2022

Continued from baCk page

And it would cost Pakistan hundreds of billions of rupees and send the fiscal deficit into orbit Khan still lost the vote But he left what the incoming government would describe as political landmines The biggest and most explosive of the lot: the petrol price subsidy S u b S i d i e S, p o l i t i c S, a n d the iMF

The incoming government and Finance Minister Miftah Ismail did not have the political capital to remove the cap and raise prices immediately after coming into power The delay was crippling Foreign exchange reserves continued to fall and consumption of fuel rose The current account deficit went haywire and the IMF programme, already off track due to broken commitments, became unavailable and, with it, so did linked funding from other multilateral and bilateral donors The single biggest stick point was removing the fuel subsidies, without which the programme would not come back

With the bells of default ringing loudly, taking tough economic decisions became unavoidable A month and half of delaying the move meant the government had to pass on the cost in a short period of time The first raise at the end of May, was a whopping 20% The next one a week later was another Rs 30 per litre In a matter of weeks the price of petrol stood at Rs 237 per litre – and diesel at Rs 247 – up from the 150 that Khan s populist move had frozen it at The IMF programme came back on track, but the burst of raises wreaked havoc, and were the biggest factor for a 196 Consumer Price Index (CPI) in September, indicating a 12% increase since April 2022

The move was necessary, but was costing the new government dearly in terms of politics, with a resurgent Khan riling up the masses Global prices have eased off considerably Pakistan, however, needs to maintain domestic prices because though global prices have fallen, it needs to make up revenues in the face of falling taxes with a slowing economy

Instead, the government replaced Ismail with the old hand of Ishaq Dar in September who pulled the handbrake on the reforms programme and immediately announced a slashing of prices He then announced another reduction a few weeks later in December The prices were once again a bone of contention with the IMF who wanted Pakistan to make up for lost revenues by keeping

prices high despite a global dip

That once again proved to be one of the factors that derailed the IMF programme, which stands delayed Right back where we started Oil its prices and associated politics, has been the biggest burden on our economy And whether or not we can do something about it may be answered early in 2023

Since the start of the crisis, Khan had stressed the need to import cheaper oil from Russia Progress on this was reported at the end of 2022 when the government announced that Russia had agreed to sell it cheaper Russian oil Whether or not this materialises will likely be determined in January 2023, when a Russian delegation will visit Islamabad, according to Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik

The G-7 countries have placed a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian oil imports; Russia refuses to accept the cap

In a nutshell: Pakistan cannot pay higher or risk the wrath of western countries; Russia may not want to sell at a lower price January could prove pivotal to set the tone for 2023, and whether Pakistan can escape the deadly oil-fuelled crises of 2022 e x p l o d i n g (d u a l) e xchange rateS

Amidst global intrigue, Pakistan had its own fair share of political upheaval in 2022 Aside from the government change, Pakistan has had three finance ministers in six months The real cost of the political uncertainty was borne by the economy

The exchange rate, which is determined by economic fundamentals and sentiment, dwindled throughout the year We began the year at Rs 176 to the US dollar We closed it at Rs 226 after a brief period of it touching Rs 240 But that’s the official rate In the real world, dollars are still available at around Rs 240 if you’re lucky

The decline in the supply of dollars and increase in its demand majorly for debt servicing and import payments depreciated the overall value of rupee by about Rs 50 against the greenback

So meteoric was the rise at one point that the dollar rose from Rs 183 in April to Rs 240 in July In simple terms due to lower reserves, lesser collection of tax, import-driven consumption in the last months of Khan s government – in a bid to inflate GDP growth numbers –there were more rupees in the economy than dollars That s why the economy came to near defaulting and the rupee depreciated by 33%

The State Bank s liquid foreign re-

serves for the year end close at $5 8 billion the lowest since 2014 With a stalled IMF programme and no clarity on where the external financing will come from Pakistan has tried everything to control imports, including official and unofficial bans and lengthy official procedures

That has created two different rates for the dollar One official, the interbank and the other in the open market which is what importers use There is always a difference between the two But the difference today is much higher than normal, indicating a huge policy problem, indicating the currency is not being determined by market factors, as agreed with the IMF on and oFF with the iMF

Other than reducing public confidence in the rupee, the political turmoil and the subsequent replacement of finance ministers had to see a tough time with the IMF as well

The PTI government resorted to the IMF back in 2019 and secured a $6 billion loan but failed to fulfil the economic reforms conditions, including meeting revenue targets by increasing petrol levy (see above) Similarly interest rates remained low relative to the overall economic situation, plateauing till March of 2022 lower than the inflation rate, which basically disincentive savings and pushed consumption The IMF programme faced delays It took months, and painful reforms, to bring the IMF programme on track by August 2022 Default fears subsided for the time being as an IMF bailout of $1 17 billion was secured by the end of August with two reviews – the seventh and eighth – cleared in one go Moreover, it was the time when Pakistan also projected to secure $38 billion through June 2023, enough to cover the $31 billion cover it needed for imports and other necessary obligations Immediately, the KSE index projected a 1 3% increase and many Middle Eastern investors showed interest in Pakistan

But the breather was short-lived With Dar’s return as finance minister –the sixth finance minister in four years and third in six months – Pakistan and the IMF came to an impasse again over the ninth review There were multiple reasons – and one of them involved yet another extraneous challenge thrown at Pakistan: historic floods that wreaked havoc across the country in August 2022 The IMF and Pakistan developed differences over the damages caused by floods (discussed later in the story) that pushed the IMF review meeting scheduled for early December According to

sources, the disagreement was on how much of the reconstruction should be booked in the next budget and other associated issues

With the IMF money stuck no a major chunk of promised financial help from friendly countries is yet to materialise including the $3 billion financing that Dar had claimed would arrive in December Pakistan has repaid $1 billion Sukuk bonds three days ahead of its maturity, which should have put to bed fears of default But the future still doesn t look too bright: According to PBS, there is no improvement in the foreign exchange reserves from July to November due to a fall in exports The dollar outflow was controlled by limiting the Letter of Credit (LCs) for a good last five months of 2022 but the reserves dropped to its lowest $5 8 billion, the lowest since 2014, with an import cover of just 1 16 months The figure essentially means that the economy does not even have two months before it reaches the state of default hiStoric FloodS

Amidst the on-going fiscal crisis, there was the added pressure of unprecedented floods that submerged a huge portion of Pakistan’s territory and affected 33 million people The human cost was catastrophic but it also added to the ongoing economic stress, increasing costs and slowing down growth

According to the World Bank the total damages and economic losses caused by the floods stood at over $30 billion of which agriculture which contributes a quarter to the overall economy, has taken a hit of $5 billion Categorically 70% of onion rice and corn harvest was damaged which affected the supply and increased prices Some breakdown is as follows: prices of pulses increased 114%, prices of onions increased by 90% and 81% increased was noted types of ghee and cooking oil according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics The textile sector, which makes up to 50-60% of Pakistan s exports also suffered tremendously One-third of the cotton crop was damaged, causing 100 small fabric and garment producing mills to shut down The overall impact on the was a slow-down in growth of about 2%

The rebuilding and relief costs estimated by the World Bank is about $16 billion of which as of December only $4 billion has been received what the expertS Say

If you ve read the piece till now you’re probably sulking in depression, and the next year doesn’t promise any cure either experts believe

S enate body furious over absence of energy minister, CEO K-Elec tric

leased

Continued from baCk page

Over the matter of billing of 1,400 agricultural tubewells that fall under the service territory of K-Electric, Dada invited the members to visit them and conduct their own surveys

The committee also directed the implementation of the deployment of 20% engineers to all DISCOs and recommendation to IESCO LESCO and PESCO to implement the policy by the last week of January The committee members also

expressed anger on MEPCO’s refusal and directed the power division to approve the implementation of the quota from the board of MEPCO within a week The committee believed that implementation of promotion policy for graduate engineers from LS-II to SDO in all DISCOs is necessary for the improvement of DISCOs

Senator Syed Shibli Faraz asked for an update about the introduction of star rating in electric fans aimed at manufacturing energy-efficient products to

which power division was recommended to provide the update within two days

The committee also expressed reservation on the matter of recovering money from GE amounting to Rs 10 8 billion, in light of letters issued by the power division, and maintenance amount P O $ 32 million regarding damage of 747MW (GT-14) as well as action against BoD, GHCL & BoD, GENCO-II The chairman committee questioned how P O $32 million was re-

The

IBIs include 6 full-fledged Islamic banking and 16 Islamic banking windows of conventional banks Islamic banking assets reached around 19 5% of total assets as of end June 2022, while share of deposits reached 20 5% On a year on year basis, assets and deposits of Islamic Banking institutions were up by 41 4% and 27 0%, respectively by end June, 2022 S b p’S r o l e

The encouraging part for a bank like Summit will be that the SBP is keen on promoting Islamic Banking The recent granting of a licence to Faysal aside, the central bank’s governor in his fir annual report made special mention of the rise of Islamic Banking

“The Islamic banking industry has made significant contributions to the overall growth of the banking sector during the review period Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) have shown more accelerated growth and better performance in recent years as compared to conventional banking segment, which reflects the acceptability of Islamic banking and its potential to promote financial inclusion” reads the report

inflation jumps in dec’22 despite finance ministr y claims

Continued from page 01

Similarly, furnishing and household equipment maintenance charges went up by 29 23%, health charges by 17 45% , Clothing and footwear costs increased by 17 1%, and education charges were higher by 10 9% against 11% in November 2022

The prices of washing soap/detergents/matchbox were up by 46 6%, stationery 46 6%, construction input items 30 6%, motor vehicle accessories 29 4%, solid fuel 28 6%, woolen readymade garments 24 12%, household servant 20 5% and construction wage rates increased by 13 7% over a year, in December 2022

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI), another indicator of grassroot level inflation, also increased by 27 1% in December 2022 against an increase of 27 7% in November 2022 and an increase of 26 2% in December 2021 The weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) also increased by 27 8% in the month under review as compared to an increase of 27 1% last month and 20 9% in Dec 2021 The average inflation in the first half of the fiscal year (July-Dec 2022/23) was recorded at 25 02% against only 9 8% in the same period of FY22 At mid-year, inflation rates present a gloomy tale of hardship for Pakistanis as wage rates fail to follow suit October 2022 recorded the highest amount of inflation after the OPEC crisis of 1973-74

JdW sugar mills completes two-million share buyback

Continued from baCk page

IFC sold its stake through the market which was then bought by the bank This meant that the buyback did not create the value for the company’s share as it was initially expected to create 2022: t h e y e a r o F S h a r e b u y b a c k S: In 2022, many major companies on the PSX announced share buybacks The share prices of many profitable and established companies took a huge hit This made their valuations attractive But due to a lack of institutional and foreign investors in the market the sponsors of these companies decided to take advantage of the decline in share prices and buy back their own companies’ shares It started with NETSOL in May (2 million) followed by Maple Leaf Cement (25 million), then Lucky Cement (10 million), JDW Sugar Mills (2 million), then BAFL (200 million), and finally ENGRO (70 million)

Continued from baCk page

After becoming a

in 1979, KSB Pakistan received its first

1997,

moved

to become the

Company in Pakistan

1980 and measures

/ annum and Non‐ferrous of 100 Tons/ annum A Rapid Quenching Heat Treatment Furnace is also available for special grades which is capable of manufacturing sophisticated automotive component castings namely for leading automobile manufacturers including Indus Motor Company, Honda Atlas, Nissan Diesel Trucks and Perkins & Massey Ferguson Pvt Ltd apart from pumps & valves castings The single largest shareholding in the company is by its parent company M/S, KSB SE & CO, KGaA, which holds 58 89% of the shareholding The rest of the shareholding is all free float owned by local investors institutions, and banks

and stressed that the amount should be recovered, recommendations implemented and a report be submitted to the committee within one week

meeting was attended by Senators Fida Muhammad Syed Shibi Faraz, Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, Zeeshan Khanzada, Haji Hidayatullah Khan and Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi Officials from the power division, K-Electric, Privatisation Commission and other attached departments were also in attendance

2022 and the ‘new normal’

2022 will be remembered as the year that Pakistan saw a Prime Minister ousted by Parliament through a no-confidence motion for the very first time That event proved seminal, for it led not only to an apparent violation of the constitution by the Mr Khan and others, but it also led to a seminal confession by cOAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa that the Army had become neutral, thus admitting by implication what was common knowledge: that it had routinely interfered in politics One result was that it led to the convulsions in the Punjab, which meant that 2022 could well be called The Year of Three cMs (Usman Buzdar, Hamza Shehbaz and ch Pervez elahi), just as the year 68 is called the Year of Four emperors in Roman history it perhaps epitomises the instability of the country that there has been no settling down, and the chief Ministership is once again in dispute, and before the Lahore High court Behind Mr Khan’s ouster was the parlous state of the economy That has not changed 2022 has seen the rupee hit record lows against the dollar, and a global energy and foodstuff crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, with the conflict now dragging on with no end in sight As if that was bad enough, Pakistan also faced an exceptionally devastating monsoon flood, which some have rated the worst in its history The bottom line is that the economy has not stabilized

Unfortunately for Pakistan’s citizens, none of these crises show any sign of resolving themselves in 2023 even if an emergency is imposed, and federal elections postponed, and even if the PTi cannot dissolve the Punjab and KP Assemblies, there seems no way of putting off provincial elections, so the year will be an election year Unfortunately, elections between two parties which are at daggers drawn, but neither of which seems to have any solution to the economic problem, are not likely lead to stability At the same time floods are likely to be as bad as this year ’s because of climate change There is also a new covid wave engulfing china it has spread to the USA, as well as neghbouring india The government must prepare to face the pandemic at the same time as the floods it is not a good outlook, and it is only the human sprit, and divine intervention, that will enable the country to surmount 2023 After all, that is how it got through 2022

Fe W will regret the passing of 2022 it has seen soaring inflation and falling real incomes in a global cost of living crisis it has seen rising interest rates, a strong dollar and widespread difficulties over debt: according to the iMF 60 percent of low-income countries are in debt distress or at high risk of being so it has seen falling asset prices and heightened volatility in markets it has seen the failure of the cOP27 conference to bend the curve of emissions of greenhouse gases downwards it has not even seen full recovery from the dire outcomes of the covid pandemic especially among the world’s poorest people ’ An excerpt from a recent The Financial Times published article Glimmers of light in a terrible year by Martin Wolf

After almost two years since the start of the covid19 pandemic, the early days of 2022 had shown the build-up of signs of a waning coronavirus onslaught and its mutations, and back then a couple of months into the global supply shock, all exposing the deep flaws in the globally dominant neoliberal policy framework, not to mention the main existential threat in the shape of climate change fast unfolding, it was no less than writing on the wall that to maintain life as we know it needed a ‘new normal’

Apparently, it had become quite a dominant view point that the ways of greed, and profit over people mindset, in an overall environment of market fundamentalism rule all, were not the sustainable and inclusive ways, that the proponents of neoliberalism had so vehemently championed over the last couple of decades

Yet, despite the realization that the world could not return to this neoliberal setting as the pandemic gave way to some semblance of a routine life, unfortunately the ‘new normal’ has continued to remain the main theme in major policymaking arenas in both individual countries and overall globally

Aziz-ud-Din

M A Niazi Joint Editor

On the contrary, just into the last week of February, Russia invaded Ukraine, which accentuated the already difficult global supply shock; not only sending strong signals of famine, for instance, to a number of

parts in Africa, but overall increasing the scarcity and price of mainly food and energy At the same time, neoliberal policy still remains the dominant guiding post sadly, with not much progress made on regulation and overall greater role of governments in general

A recent The Guardian published article ‘The pendulum swung against globalization in 2022 – and that s no bad thing by Larry elliott pointed out in this regard ‘This was supposed to be the year when things returned to normal After the collapse of activity during the months of lockdown in 2020 and the supply bottlenecks of 2021 the hope was that 2022 would call time on an era of seemingly permanent crisis it hasn’t quite turned out like that ’

On the economic front the same recipe meant that overboard monetary tightening for instance led to significant capital flight in developing countries, on one hand and increased the impact of imported inflation at the back of stronger US dollar, and also because inflation reduction required a significant boost in aggregate supply that high cost of capital did not allow

The unnecessarily high interest rates kept by developing countries in general, and in Pakistan specifically firstly in order to wrongly chase foreign portfolio investment (FPi) or ‘hot money’), rather than keeping the cost of capital low, and giving boost to exports and allowing greater public investment and aggregate demand to attract foreign direct investment (FDi) instead Secondly, the policy rate was significantly raised under a mistaken thought process that it was aggregate demand that was mainly responsible for inflation, when clearly the main determination of inflation was and remains aggregate supply shock, a strong dollar increasing the imported inflation component, and higher cost push inflation

Overboard monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve –a similar move made by many other major central banks globally, in addition to the same by a number of developing countries as indicated above –resulted in significant strengthening of the dollar, which increased external debt repayments on one hand, exacerbating the already difficult debt sustainability situation of developing countries like Pakistan, while high policy rate domestically added to these difficulties in terms of much greater domestic debt repayments So, on one hand, diminishing impact on foreign exchange reserves, making it difficult to service debt, and make necessary imports in terms of essential everyday items and also those used in producing exports, and on the other higher domestic debt repayments were squeezing already scarce fiscal space with developing countries

For Pakistan, reduced fiscal space, in addition to high inflation, low economic growth, and in turn revenues further reducing the fiscal space in addition to a difficult debt repayments situation, has brought all the more difficult choices in terms of catering the needs of millions of people who have lost their livelihoods –while a large number of people also lost their lives –in the wake of the catastrophic flooding; which cost the economy around $30 billion

The unnecessarily tight monetary policy stance in a number of major Western capitals, meant that in-

U S s a n c t i o n s o n I r a n a n d t h e i r i m p a c t

iran’s

Si n c e the iranian revolution in 1979, The USA and iran have had hostile relations including diplomatic This was due to iran’s actions, which included the hostage crisis, proxy wars and support for non-State actors such as Hamas and Hezbollah Since then, there have been unfriendly ties between the two countries because of Washington s action including Saddam Hussein s support for an attack on iran However, once the orthodox iranian revolutionaries were defeated in the 1990s, the islamic administration developed ties with several european nations, as well as china and india, and the former USSR They discussed the oil and gas arrangements However, the USA s and iran s ties remained tense and antagonistic; US oil companies were barred from lucrative petrodeals, and the Bush administration designated iran as part of the Axis of evil

Furthermore, the nuclear programme of iran also affected the relationship of both states iran claimed that iran s nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes and also according to the iAeA states can keep nuclear weapons for peaceful purposes but due to the interests of the USA, it has imposed sanctions on iran which affected the iranian economy and as a result of the sanctions iran was unable to establish its hegemony in the region

The Joint comprehensive Plan of Action, also referred to as the iran nuclear Deal or iran Deal is a nuclear programme agreement between iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United nations Security council china France Russia the United Kingdom, and the United States plus Germany) together with the european Union that was reached in Vienna on

and the quantity of existing rotators has decreased by 66% The iAeA can examine offices announced as undeclared it can utilze iran’s atomic production network and all uranium mines and manufacturing plants

These hostile relations became much more serious during the Trump Administration in 2018, Trump withdrew from the Joint comprehensive Plan Of Action (JcPOA) and that relations have deteriorated and that iran’s economy is suffering because of severe economic sanctions Trump tweeted in July 2019 that iran had erred by shooting down a US military surveillance drone that had entered its airspace on 20 June 2019

Furthermore, Trump claims that the agreement was one-sided and that the deal was never made Trump also made a statement in 2018-2019 to increase sanctions against iran The USA has used Unilateral sanctions to weaken iran due to its nuclear weapons Sanctions against iran influenced the entire Middle east, and heightened tensions Trump’s goal was to Halt iran’s nuclear programme and to stop it supporting Shia against Sunnis across the region

US sanctions initially targeted investments in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries as well as transactions with the islamic Revolutionary Guard corps and exports of refined petroleum products it covered banking and insurance activities, domain name registration, web hosting for corporate endeavours and shipping (including with the central Bank of iran) Subsequent Un resolutions have increased sanctions against iran

Iran has a reputation for being both overconfident and insecure , and it has long sought to defend itself from potential foreign inter ventions and meddling. It is more defensive than offensive to oppose Iran obtaining nuclear weapons because it would pose a challeng e to Israel, a longestablished heg emonic force in the region

flation– which was otherwise significantly determined by aggregate supply shock for although more so for developing countries, but also significantly for developed countries– remained at very high levels in the developed world as well during the current year According to the same Guardian published article, Larry elliott pointed out in this regard ‘For most western countries 2022 was the year when cost of living pressures hit a 40-year high, prompting the US Federal Reserve, the european central Bank and the Bank of england to slam on the brakes Threadneedle Street’s monetary policy committee met eight times in 2022 and raised interest rates each time ’

A significant move towards a new normal could have vociferously ushered in a move towards a non-austerity, and non-neoliberal policy, meaningfully incentivized a significant shift towards a much-needed green and resilient economic transition, catered to reducing income and wealth inequalities by making economic and political processes more inclusive– increasing in turn the impact of public opinion on public policy– and pushed towards decreasing poverty; where after for a number of decades before the pandemic, absolute poverty reportedly saw an increasing trend globally

On the contrary, apart from mainly a set of bright policy options presented under the Bridgetown initiative’, the same neoliberal, austerity, and procyclical policy mindset has continued to remain rampant during the current year This policy needs to end immediately, mainly given the window of opportunity to meaningfully reverse the onslaught of climate change– especially in terms of limiting the rise in average global temperature since the start of the industrial Revolution, to remain below 1 5°c– is fast closing; under a number of scenarios there may not be more than a decade to achieve this goal Hence it is essential that 2023 should mark the beginning, and in a deep way, of a much-needed new normal

The writer holds PhD in Economics degree from the University of Barcelona, and previously worked at International Monetary Fund Prior to this he did MSc in Economics from the University of York (United Kingdom), and worked at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Statistics (Pakistan) among other places He is author of Springer published book (2016) The economic impact of International Monetary Fund programmes: institutional quality macroeconomic stabilization and economic growth’ He tweets @omerjaved7

omy expanded quickly in 2016, by 12 5 percent, after the nuclear accord was signed But the reprieve only

while

The Biden Administration argued and demonstrated its willingness to re-join JcPOA in order to remove mistrust and normalize relations between the USA and iran so that iran won t approach other powerful nations and pose a danger to the USA Biden consistently promised during the campaign to re-enter the iran nuclear deal that President Obama signed in 2015 and President Trump abandoned in 2018 in a September 2020 op-ed Biden stated, “if iran returns to strict compliance with the nuclear deal, the United States would rejoin the accord as a starting point for follow-on negotiations ” We will endeavour to enhance and expand the parameters of the nuclear deal with our partners, while simultaneously taking care of other pressing matters

F r o m a l l o f t h e s e f a c t o r s , i t c a n b e i n f e r r e d t h a t mistrust and conflicting interests strained the relations h i p s b e t w e e n t h e t w o s t a t e s a n d t h a t b o t h s t a t e s utilised their resources to oppose one another in order to protect their respective national interests However, in the Middle east both powers were competing for hegemony under the influence of “offensive realism ” iran appears to succeed in this endeavour, though, as it pursues nuclear power

iran has a reputation for being both overconfident and insecure, and it has long sought to defend itself from potential foreign interventions and meddling it is more defensive than offensive to oppose iran obtaining nuclear weapons because it would pose a challenge to israel a long-established hegemonic force in the region The best course of action for the USA and its allies would be to continue the talks and maintain contact with iran so that the West could get used to the concept of an iranian nuclear state and come to an understanding with it The sanctions should be eased, though, as they generally upset locals but pose little threat to iran s programme, which is growing more successfully

T h e A u t h o r d i d h e r g r a d u a t i o n f

‘

July 14, 2015 JcPOA deal required the balance (weakening) of Half of iran’s 20% enhancement of uranium and the suspension of improvement surpassing 5% There will be no greater advancement of improvement plants or heavy water reactors in Arak no new improvement destinations; no going back over or advancement of going back over Offices; no new taxes;

economy is crumbling after years of US sanctions and Tehran insists Washington must suspend those restrictions before the two sides can return to nuclear talks Due to the sanctions iran’s economy contracted an estimated 4 9percent% in 2020, steadily shrinking since 2017 According to estimates, iran s economy dropped by 4 99 percent in 2020, extending a negative trend that started in 2017 The islamic Republic’s econ-

lasted for a short

D

The effec ts of the 2023 epidemic remain

Yousaf Nizami Editor

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

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Ahmad Joint Editor

Te r r o r i s m a n d t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f N A C TA , N S A O f f i c e a n d N A P

their families This regrouping was apparently the result of talks Pakistan initiated with the TTP on the advice of the Afghan Taliban The public had no option just to accept what the state was doing and what the state was claiming censorship during the PTi era discouraged independent journalists from report5ng the situation from the ground and TTP reclaimed areas it lost during several military operations in Swat Valley as well in the erstwhile FATA region

i have reasons to believe that the PTi government took security as a top priority and institutions that were responsible for follow-ups and keeping an eye on the situation like nAcTA and the office of the national Security Advisor (nSA) to the Prime Minister were almost non-operational

Once upon a time there was an office of national Security Advisor (nSA) to the Prime Minister in Pakistan and i remember that this office used to work as a link among security organizations, media men, think tanks, academicians, and writers Once headed by Lt Gen (retd) nasser Janjua who fought and won the war against terrorism and against separatists in Balochistan, used to hold deliberations, background discussions seminars talks and conferences to get maximum input from the public and to get feedback as well as suggestions

Power struggle amid growing pover t y

T H R O U G H O U T the course of human history, mankind has seen many changes in the realms of living standards, agriculture, culture and civilisation as well as in terms of socio-economic religious and political domains nonetheless, actual progress is something that has remained a mirage The world may be flaunted as a place where everything has become achievable and possible but reality suggests otherwise The other side of the picture features fissures that continue to push the so-called advanced world towards the edge

For instance most developed countries like the United States and Russia, pose existential threat to the world at large because they appear to be in some sort of never-ending arms race nuclear weapons have sown the seeds of destruction that may hit us any time in recent times, the Ukraine crisis has forced Russian President Vladimir Putin to talk about possible use of nuclear weapons and keeping them on high alert as a threat to Western powers On its part, the West responded with threats of retaliation and consequences is this a scenario indicative of human progress? Only a twisted mind can make such a claim

Moreover, the world is caught up in territorial disputes that have the potential to destroy the world wherein humanity might perish it is a common observation that strained relations between Pakistan and india, largely due to the Kashmir dispute, represent a flashpoint that may trigger a nuclear war between the two neighbouring countries

Other such cases include the nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and, indeed, the israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle east Unresolved issues like these are warnings that the world needs to adopt a progressive outlook rather than living on the edge of this knife or that Moving on, have the humans succeeded in eradicating chronic diseases like say cancer and diabetes? Lately a single virus later called covid, left the whole world crippled The horrible consequences of that single virus and its various mutations touched every aspect of life, and touched it negatively For months all major actors of the international community got down on their knees and accepted their defeat against that virus That in a critical sense exposed the net worth of the progress humans claim to have made Furthermore climate change is a pestering wound that has caused flare-ups in the shape of disasters, like flash floods, droughts, tsunamis, landslides, earthquakes, avalanches, hurricanes and other means that continue to perpetuate the cycle of huge mass displacement grinding poverty, agricultural losses, social nuisance, environmental degradation and economic consequences

Ec O n O M i c A L LY in the intensive care Unit (iUc) socially and politically in a chaotic phase after Project imran backfired and thereafter was abandoned; Pakistan is again trying hard to kill the multi-headed serpent of terrorism Last Friday the supreme body of Pakistan that looks after the security dynamics of the country started three-day deliberations in islamabad headed by prime minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif to review economic, social, and strategic security The supreme body, also known as national Security committee (nSc), is a component of the civil and military leadership of the country chaired by the Prime Minister The committee can ask anybody to join the meeting if needed

The recent meeting was attended by federal ministers ishaq Dar, Ahsan iqbal, and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while chairman Joint chiefs of Staff committee Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, chief of Army Staff (cOAS) Gen Asim Munir and other service chiefs were also present The committee was briefed about economic conditions regional security Afghanistan terrorism and reemergence of the TTP Available information from insiders indicates that the new cOAS is quite clear-headed and that we cannot compromise our security to protect the interests of anybody if it is so, i trust that Pakistan shall think only about Pakistan instead of compromising its security to benefit Afghans in the future Pakistan fought against terrorism effectively through Operation Zarb-e-Azb which was followed by Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad everybody who has an interest in security dynamics knows the foreground background and result of these operations, therefore there is no need to go into detail about them The results were positive and security forces almost cleaned the country and Pakistan became a normal state to live in However, it was short-lived and we saw things were not normal as the state was telling us by the end of 2020 Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) slowly but surely started coming back to Afghan-Pakistan border areas and then the situation became out of control by the beginning of the year 2022 when Swat Valley made an SOS call through huge public protests against the TTP regrouping

However, the state had been telling them there was no need to worry and some TTP members had arrived back from Afghanistan to rejoin

Without going into details about what happened in the past 40 years we understand that after the massacre of children in Army Public School Peshawar the state understood that the sword that was cast and crafted in the Jihad era of the mid-1970s was now slaughtering their own children and was not confined only to common people; so the state decided to think otherwise and the national Action Plan (nAP) was formed and it was decided that the national counter Terrorism Authority (nAcTA) that was formed in 2009 would be monitoring authority of the nAP

A revised nAP was formulated by nAcTA and approved by the government in 2021 now, the revised nAP is the main pillar of the government s policy initiatives against extremism and terrorism What nAcTA is doing can be judged by the fact that if someone visits nAcTA s website can find the last three news that are; “change of command of national coordinator nAcTA” publishing date July 2, 2018 national Dialogue on Preventing Violent extremism Programming in Pakistan: challenges, Lessons Learned and Way Forward” publishing date October 23 2021 and nAcTA & Shaoor Foundation Organized Vice chancellors conference at Peshawar” publishing date April 22, 2022

i think the above references are enough to know the pace of work and initiatives taken by nAcTA in the last four years According to the term of reference of nAcTA, it is a federal authority to formulate counter-terrorism and counter-extremism strategies nAcTA is responsible for doing research about the causes of extremism and terrorism, and publishes it periodically and makes liaison with international bodies to facilitate cooperation in relevant fields in reality, nAcTA has no contact with the media, no regular briefings given to media about threats and scope of work and no information on what nAcTA has done so far since the latest wave of terrorism that started last October You can find in the record the last annual report that is the annual report for 2020 You can find the nAcTA Watch for June 2020 and June 2021 You cannot find any Pakistan Journal of Terrorism Research on the nAcTA website though i believe they uploaded one in June 2020 Meanwhile the national Action Plan (nAP) looks as if it has been napping since 2018 if you talk about initiatives taken by the provinces to mitigate terrorism in simple words nothing concrete is done by civilian authorities to control terrorism in Pakistan, and as a result, we are facing the rise of the TTP again in Pakistan

General Janjua knew the currents and undercurrents and threads of terrorism in Pakistan because he also served in Swat and led operations against terrorism and his successful handling of Swat operations was the reason that the then Prime Minister Mian nawaz Sharif placed him in Balochistan as commander Xii corps also known as Quetta corps, because Balochistan was burning and separatists were gaining a stronghold There is no need to go into details about the successes of General Janjua because his work had been appreciated by friends and foes and he became a buddy of youth and common people who were victims of terrorism and he left Baluchistan as the most trusted friend of Balochis He was a catharsis center for everybody who was a victim or concerned about extremism in Baluchistan in one of his interviews with this writer he said believed in seeking closure of conflict instead of winning it because he does not want to give a sense of losing to anybody who is a stakeholder in the issue His desire to make Balochistan a hub of economic activity by making Balochistan a focal point for trade is known to everybody He resigned on 27 June 2018, when Pakistan had as caretaker Prime Minister Mr Justice (retd) nasir-ul-Mulk

Many friends had been asking him the reasons for his resignation that he never shared with anybody but i could feel that the system was not ready to accept a straightforward and blunt person after Mian nawaz Sharif was removed i could also smell that former cOAS Gen Qamar Bajwa had not had very cordial interaction with him After the removal of Mian nawaz Sharif from the PM Office, General Janjua was confined to his office practically with no resources, staff, or desire of civil and military leadership to utilize his expertise He wanted to work but the state had something else in its mind

We thereafter saw that the office of nSA had been non-operational till Moeed Yusuf was brought from the USA to hold this sensitive seat and he failed to get trust and respect from regional stakeholders like the central Asian republics as well as from the then Afghan leadership He might have had no connection with people on the ground therefore his work looked just on the surface

i am of the view that there is a dire need of revamping the entire system responsible to manage terrorism-related issues if the multiparty government is really serious to mitigate the nonserious and nonsensical strategy the PTi government had about the issue of clamping terrorism in Pakistan

The writer is an international award winning journalist who has been in the field since 1988 and appears in national and international media as analyst and political scientist

For instance Pakistan despite contributing even less than one per cent to the phenomenon of global warming, has to face difficult times and is at the mercy of major climate change culprits The world community has yet to map out a plan to de-carbonise and turn to a carbon-free economic order that may be functional and acceptable at the global level in short, there is a long distance to travel before actual progress can be claimed Before judging the book by its cover it is important to realise that cosmetic changes do not mean progress A tangible improvement must show positive results For example, the world is stuck in the yoke of hunger and grinding poverty that lead to huge losses annually but the international community takes deeper interest in maintaining hegemonic control of a few mighty powers over the rest of the world

ABDUL QADEER SEELRO LARKANA

Parents and dreams

i am the first girl from my whole tribe to have acquired higher education, earned a master ’s degree in english from the University of Karachi and currently preparing to be part of the central Superior Services (cSS) All this has been possible only because of my parents who defied the conservative norms of society and supported me through thick and thin Ours is a conservative tribe where it is believed that girls may go morally corrupt by getting education, especially higher education Tribal elders believe that the sole purpose of a woman’s existence is to get married, raise children, cook and wash dishes As such, it is ‘unwise’ to waste money on their education That being so, a woman pursuing a career is simply unimaginable; a taboo i am blessed to have parents who stood by my side i urge every parent to do the same and let their daughters acquire education in order to fulfil their dreams We must not deprive our daughters of what is as simple as the basic right to education

NAZMEEN KHAN KARACHI

Lecturers’ salaries

i n March 2021, the Project Management Unit (PMU) of the Higher education Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had appointed more than 250 lecturers for various colleges of the newly-merged districts on a contract basis initially for six months

However, owing to the lack of lecturers in these colleges, the hired staff of PMU got two consecutive extensions in their service and the second extension expired in October 2022

All such lecturers are now performing their duties without any extension Almost all the said colleges have sent their extension summaries to the PMU and it is expected that a third extension will soon be granted

A bigger problem is that the salaries are never paid when due The last salary disbursement took place in June 2022 it has been more than six months that we, the lecturers, have not received our salaries How can people focus on the standard of education when they are being made to perform their duties without the promised compensation?

Like any other citizen, teachers, too, have families to feed and look after Under the prevailing circumstances, one is not able to afford even the hostel expenditure in the respective colleges it is only natural that employees deliver better when they get their wages on time

The reason behind the issue is probably that the funds are controlled by the federal government When we approached the KP s Higher education Department, we were told by the authorities that the previous federal government had stopped the funds for the project One wonders why the federal government did that when the provincial government also belonged to the same political party Our survival is at stake, and all concerned should resolve the issue at the earliest

RAFIUDDIN MEHSUD WANA

a Letter from Prometheus

agha Iqrar harOOn

BLOOMBeR G a N d R E a s K L U T H

yO U may well know someone you, perhaps? who is stoic epicurean skeptical or cynical That’s because these four adjectives represent philosophical and psychological shortcuts for coping with a confusing frustrating and even infuriating world, just as they did when they came into use more than two millennia ago But their meaning has been corrupted and therein lies a tale

The terms first bubbled up at a time that was, in a psychological sense, remarkably similar to our own This was the so-called Hellenistic or Greek-like period which lasted about three centuries, from Alexander the Great, who died in 323 BC, to the Roman Emperor Augustus It was a time of rapid change artistic experimentation and cosmopolitan openness; but also of exhaustion, decadence and pessimism It was a jaded age when democracy seemed in retreat and empires on the advance Personal participation in public life appeared either pointless and dangerous or, on the contrary, more imperative than ever

It was also a time when people from the Greek world to Judea and India there were plenty of contacts among them began asking themselves the same questions we have today: How, given this mess all around me, should I act? Where do I find pleasure? How do I avoid pain? What ultimately matters?

The main hive of inquiry was Athens It had lost a war against sparta and another against Philip II of Macedon and was no longer as independent democratic or heroic as it had been a century earlier Its three greatest philosophers socrates, Plato and Aristotle were gone Their legacies loomed large but a new generation of thinkers was ready to move on They included colorful characters such as Pyrrho, w h o a c c o m p a n i e d A l e x a n d e r o n h i s c a m p a i g n t o I n d i a T h e r e , h e e n c o u n t e r e d t h e g y m n o s o p h i s t s “naked wise men” in Greek, or what we now know as y o g i s T h e y m i g h t a l s o h a v e b e e n e a r l y B u d d h i s t s w h o s e s a g e , s i d d h a r t h a G a u t a m a , h a d d i e d p e r h a p s just a century before

Influenced by everyone from socrates to these Ind i a n s , P y r r h o r e a l i z e d t h a t w e r e a l l y c a n ’t e v e r k n o w a n y t h i n g f o r s u r e a t a l l F a r f r o m d e s p a i r i n g o v e r t h a t insight, he felt that it offered the only way out of mise r y I t ’s s u r e l y b e t t e r t o w i t h h o l d j u d g m e n t t h a n t o f a l l f o r t h e l a t e s t d r i v e l J u s t t h i n k o f t o d a y ’s c o n s p i r-

ZENO REAC TED AG AINST THAT ESC APISM LIKE THE OTHERS, HE WANTED TO TR ANSCEND

CULTURE, KEEP THINGS SIMPLE AND STAY SERENE BUT TO ZENO THAT MEANT NOT WITHDR AWAL BUT ENG AGEMENT, NOT SECLUSION BUT AC TIVE PARTICIPATION. ZENO THOUGHT THE KE Y WAS VIRTUE, AND THEN MAINTAINING IT WHILE DOING ONE’S DUT Y MARRYING, VOLUNTEERING, ENLISTING, RUNNING FOR HIGH OFFICE AND SO ON

a c y t h e o r i e s so Pyrrho and his followers actively savored the ironies and contradictions that come from fake “knowledge ” As socrates and the yogis had done, and as Zen Buddhists would later do as far afield as Japan, Pyrrhonists came up with paradoxes on purpose, to snap us out of our mental fog often humorously and ease us to serenity and tranquility In this way they became skeptikoi, people who were forever looking for, but never settling on, truth

If this early skepticism was more of an attitude than a dogma so was cynicism which developed at the same time My favorite proponent of it was another naked wise man, Diogenes

L i k e t h e y o g i s o f I n d i a D i o g e n e s y e a r n e d t o b e free from material worries and the complexities and vanities of social convention so he stripped litera l l y d o w n t o t h e s i m p l e s t l i f e p o s s i b l e H e l i v e d scantily clad in a barrel, defecated in public and gene r a l l y b e h a v e d a s s p o n t a n e o u s l y a s t h e d o g s a r o u n d him In that sense he became kynikos dog-like o r c y n i c a l Yo u c o u l d p i c t u r e h i m t o d a y a s a r a d i c a l hippie, ascetic or degrowther

Diogenes also cut up the other mental straitjackets humans enjoy strapping themselves into Nationality, for instance Dogs are neither Athenian nor American or Chinese and neither was Diogenes I’m a “citizen of the world,” a cosmopolite, he told anybody who asked Whence our cosmopolitanism

The story goes that Alexander once came to see the revered sage I’ll grant you any wish, the great conqueror offered the dog man lazing beside his barrel Thank you, Diogenes replied; in that case please step aside and out of my sunlight “If I were not Alexander, I would wish to be Diogenes,” the King of Macedon and Persia, Pharaoh of Egypt and Lord of Asia later reflected Around a few corners, a man named Epicurus largely kept to himself while tending his garden He believed that all of nature including us is made of indestructible atoms, a hunch science has confirmed It followed that

there is no afterlife for us as souls, only for those atoms, which will reassemble in some other form How then, should we deal with all this suffering while our atoms are in their present arrangement?

By reducing pain, of course, and maximizing pleasure Careful! I know what you’re thinking But Epicurus defined pleasure and pain largely as Buddhists do If you gorge on food and booze or overindulge your lust, you ll soon have bigger problems and are really preparing your own future suffering so moderation, and indeed abstention, is the key Epicurean pleasure is having good conversation with your friends in your garden with no more than some barley cakes and water

For Epicurus as for Pyrrho, Diogenes or Buddhists, the real goal the highest pleasure was therefore n o t h e d o n i s m b u t r a t h e r t r a n q u i l i t y, e q u a n i m i t y a n d peace of mind But this also implied, above all for the Epicureans a withdrawal from the world to an inner and private realm

A man named Zeno reacted against that escapism Like the others he wanted to transcend material culture, keep things simple and stay serene But to Zeno that meant not withdrawal but engagement, not seclusion but active participation Zeno thought the key was virtue, and then maintaining it while doing one’s duty marrying, volunteering, enlisting, running for high office and so on since that kind of participation politics, basically will inevitably get you in trouble, Zeno added that the way to maintain virtue and cope with the consequences was self-discipline, of body as of mind The equanimity he preached also had an analog in Eastern philosophy, as found in the Bhagavad Gita s warrior ethic of Arjuna for example And because Zeno developed these thoughts in the market of Athens while pacing back and forth with friends through a stoa a columned portico his philosophy became known as stoicism

There’s an unmistakable zeitgeist running through t h e s e f o u r H e l l e n i s t i c p h i l o s o p h i e s a n d t h e i r A s i a n analogs The tone is individualistic, worldly-wise and

weary, but not dejected It’s the same attitude that inspired the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible, written at the same time in Judea by an author who knows that “there is nothing new under the sun,” that all is ultimately in vain, and yet that the way to live is, therefore, to do good, help others and enjoy life Echoing Epicurus, Ecclesiastes even recommends drinking beer with your friends

But the next two millennia did these philosophies gross injustice It started on a good note during the Roman empire, when Hellenistic ideas found their greatest expression in men like Lucretius Cicero and seneca But from then on, it was all downhill right into our own time It s as if we d always had Twitter and Facebook and their trolls took those subtle ideas and dragged them through the mud

In modern usage, skeptics nowadays have a whiff o f n a y s a y i n g c u r m u d g e o n s s t o i c s m i g h t s t i l l s o u n d b r a v e b u t a l s o c a l l o u s , u n c a r i n g , p a s s i v e o r n u m b C y n i c s a r e u s u a l l y g r u m p y p e o p l e , l i k e j o u r n a l i s t s , who assume negative motives everywhere and all the time Epicures have become wine snobs at best, or else hedonistic patrons of seedy wellness spas with names like well Epicure

The ancients deserve better, because they still have so much to tell us Viewed through our lens, Pyrrho, Diogenes Epicurus and Zeno were really avatars of Existentialism, Naturism, New-Ageism and just about every other modern -ism we think we ve just discovered In essence they anticipated positive psychology the study of human flourishing as popularized more recently by authors like Martin seligman

These old Greeks can comfort us because they struggled with the same hard questions we’re still asking: No matter how bad it gets out there, what makes life worth living? What makes us thrive as human beings? And by the way, what should I do now?

Andreas Kluth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering European politics

Is it him? That shiny bald head, manicured beard, and gradient “I’m a celebrity” sunglasses are unmistakeable A four-minute clip of Andrew Tate, a controversial figure who is known for making vulgar and inflammatory statements about women, has infiltrated the intimate boundaries of my smartphone through a forwarded WhatsApp video Prior to this, I’ve actively avoided researching or discussing Tate, despite his notoriety on social media – I d hate to give any more airtime to the self-proclaimed misogynist who is already one of the most frequently googled people on the internet

But this time I give in, and a quick search leads me to the original video, posted on YouTube a year ago by a male self-improvement podcast that hosts Womanizer Wednesdays” In the three-hour interview Tate spews some twisted and simplistic statements about Islam in his apparent attempt to praise the religion Those sharing his content – particularly older men who aren’t on social media – may be oblivious to the fact that Tate is a controversial and notorious misogynist, and that he was arrested on Thursday in Romania on suspicion of rape and human trafficking (after a very satisfying Twitter exchange with Greta Thunberg) Along with

his brother, Tate has been under investigation for the kidnapping of two young women and participation in a criminal group that sexually exploits women

Unfortunately, Muslim men have flocked to Andrew Tate’s throng of virtual followers since his conversion to the faith two months ago Many are thrilled that a popular, unfiltered Western kickboxer-turned-influencer has good things to say about Islam Though some are ignorant of Tate s rise to fame, and his worrisome, antiwomen sentiments others are aware of his past but claim that his conversion to Islam means he is “forgiven” for past sins and awarded a clean slate

In the wake of Tate’s conversion corners of Twitter have witnessed heated debates among Muslims about how we cannot judge a fellow brother in Islam, and how we must welcome him to the faith and assume the best of him in accordance with our religious ethics But as a Muslim woman who believes Islam treats females with dignity and honour I can’t help but take it personally and feel hurt and disrespected when confronted with a Tate quote or endorsement – or a forwarded WhatsApp video

Let me explain In a podcast interview last year Tate stated: “I am absolutely sexist, and I’m absolutely a misogynist

During the #MeToo movement in 2017 Tate tweeted his belief that rape victims bear some responsibility for being assaulted, and was then banned on the app (he was recently reinstated after Elon Musk’s takeover) In August 2022, he was banned from TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube for violating the hate speech policies and community guidelines of these platforms

Among countless controversial moments, Tate has said that women “belong to men” and should “shut the f*** up have kids sit at home be quiet and make coffee” I can’t bring myself to type out some of his more colourful comments about my gender, many of which are highly offensive and frankly quite frightening to

read as a woman

Tate’s discourse, replete with curse words, derogatory descriptions of women, and overall misogynistic ideology, has appealed to disenfranchised and radicalised males whose idea of manhood is linked with the subjugation of women Unfortunately, his opinions share some overlap with interpretations that extremist factions often wrongly attribute to Islam – the sort of hyper-patriarchy that is practised by groups like the Taliban, but does not reflect the religion practised by the majority of Muslims today

The warped interpretation of “Islam” that Tate subscribes to is not the one that I strive to practise and embody and I’d argue that his conversion did a great disservice to Muslims My religion is already heavily scrutinised for its patriarchal interpretations by ultra-conservatives and the last thing it needed was a very vocal misogynist to declare his allegiance to it It’s an embarrassment to be honest; something to be swept under the rug not celebrated or boasted about Yet many Muslim men did celebrate following Tate’s conversion – a reaction that only disrespects women and validates violence against them

In one video, Tate discusses finding an “Islamica** wife to keep alongside a pile of rocks in case she gets fresh” alluding to the violent and archaic practice of stoning shocked and disturbed by the fact that there are men in our communities who would quote Tate rather than unequivocally denounce him, Muslim women have been vocal about the dangers Tate’s popularity poses to our communities Yousra Imran author of Hijab and Red Lipstick, wrote that his conversion was a “blow” to Muslim women, and that she was both “wary” and “sceptical” of his motivations for aligning with Islam I suspect that it is white Islamophobic and Orientalist misperceptions of Islam as being a religion that permits violence towards women that are the basis for Tate s conversion she wrote

In an article for Muslim Matters, Maryam Amir, founder of Qariah – an app that centres the voices of female Quran reciters – clarifies that it isn’t his conversion that’s problematic, but the way some Muslim men have jovially reacted to it she points out that the identity and platform that Tate has built for himself contradict the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) tradition of honouring and empowering women stating The Prophet is associated with uplifting women Contrast this with Andrew Tate, whose brand is associated with men who harm and objectify women

A recent piece published by The Muslim Vibe dissects the ways in which Tate is certainly not an ideal role model for Muslims – from his arrogance and use of abusive language to his excessive materialism

Thankfully, there are male Muslim scholars who are speaking up too Bilal Ware for instance has been outspoken against the trumpeting of Tate and his conversion His recent Instagram post states: “The ‘Muslim manosphere has become a preserve for emasculated intimidated men to play tough by bullying women This is not Islam ” Even underneath this post, however, there are a slew of Muslim men defending Tate s Muslimness Ugh

Despite these efforts to highlight the discrepancies between Tate’s platform and Islam, videos of his rants are still racking up views I can only hope that his much-publicised arrest in Romania will finally discredit him, and raise more mainstream awareness about his dangerous, misogynistic ideology, which is at total odds with Islam If they have any sense at all, his Muslim supporters will distance themselves from the man they previously placed on a pedestal – especially if he is found guilty of the acts on suspicion of which he has been arrested

“Muslims are the only people who defend their religion – they defend their beliefs, they refuse to be mocked I respect people for sticking up for what they believe in,” states Tate in the aforementioned year-old video that was forwarded to me on WhatsApp While Tate was referring to violence-inciting stereotypes, this statement ironically resonated with me I suppose he’ll respect me for refusing to sit back while he makes a mockery of Islam and for defending my faith which bears no semblance to the ideology he promulgates Oh wait, I m a woman – and if anything is clear, it s that Tate has no respect for my gender

L M

A MAN NAMED

MATERIAL

Independent H a f s a L o d i

This is what Andrew Tate’s arrest means for Muslim women like me I C A N O N LY H O P E T H AT T H I S W I L L F I N A L LY D I S C R E D I T H I M , A N D R A I S E M O R E M A I N S T R E A M AWA R E N E S S A B O U T H I S D A N G E R O U S , M I S O G Y N I S T I C I D E O LO G Y T H AT ’ S AT TO TA L O D D S W I T H I S L A M

PeshaWar s ta f f r e p o r t

FEDERAL Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Manpower Sajid Hussain Turi on Monday said the government was empowering women through imparting skilled and vocational training to provide them better employment opportunities within the country and abroad

He was addressing a tool kits and certificate awarding ceremony here among female participants of “Programme Migration for Development (PME)”, a joint initiative of GIZ-Support for TVET Sector of Pakistan (STVSP) KP-TEVTA GIZ- global and the Ministry of Overseas Pakistan

and Human Resource Development

The Minister said that in order to enable unemployed people to get better and profitable employment opportunities, it was necessary to make them skilled as per the demand of the local and international markets

He said that the ministry was introducing various programs to provide maximum opportunities to the people to become skilled, which have yielded encouraging results, adding that it was part of PPP manifesto and vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto to empower women

He said that PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and chairman Bilawal Bhutto were also playing their imperative role in this regard, adding that practical steps are being taken to em-

46 Pakistani organizations won Annual GDEIB awards 2022

Islamabad

46 Pakistani organizations have won the Global Diversity Equity and inclusion Benchmarks annual award 2022 According t o d etails, HR Metrics conducts Global Diversity, E q u i t y & I n c

i o n B e n c h m a r k s ( G D E I B ) awards on annual basis through a merit-based process in which organizations are given the opportunity to disclose their diversity equity a n d i n c l u s i o n a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s w i t h r e f e re n c e t o G l o b a l D E I B e n c h m a r k s s t a n d a r d s , with a focus on social and economic impact on relevant stakeholders

Zahid Mubarik, CEO HR Metrics and Board Director The Centre for Global Inclusion USA announced jury result of GDEIB awards Based on year 2022 assessment, total 46 organizations have won the GDEIB awards among them Habib Bank Ltd (HBL) is declared as Pakistan most inclusive company 2022 Based on 6 years cumulative score Nestlé Pakistan stands at the top Year 2022, top 10 companies are Engro Fertilizers Limited, Engro Vopak Terminal Limited, METRO Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd Engro Polymer & Chemicals Ltd, Nestlé Pakistan Ltd , Bank Alfalah Limited, HBL MicroFinance Bank Ltd, Engro Energy Limited Pakistan Tobacco Company, and Standard Chartered Pakistan Overall winner companies are Jazz, AGP Limited, Aga Khan University Faysal Bank Limited Soneri Bank Limited, Allied Bank Limited, HRSG, Engro Corporation Limited, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited, Abacus Consulting Technology Limited, Novo Nordisk Pharma

AIOU

Rector NUST Engr Javed Mahmood Bukhari conferred cash prizes and certificates to as many as 53 awardees for the Year 2020 and 2021 for winning Best Researcher, Best Innovator and Top Performer awards In his address, Rector NUST emphasized that the faculty members are integral part of the university, who are continuously contributing towards achieving research and academic excellence, which is reflected in international rankings and increased national and international collaborations He urged the faculty members to keep up with the fast-changing requirements of the academia as well as inculcate civic and moral values in the students Earlier in his welcome remarks, Pro-Rector RIC-NUST Dr Rizwan Riaz appreciated the contributions of NUST researchers in uplifting NUST to its current standing He maintained that NUST takes pride in its high achievers and acknowledges their meritorious accomplishments He further said that our faculty has helped us grow NUST ecosystem to heights unparalleled in Pakistan; an ecosystem that is now internationally recognised p r

ploy skilled Pakistanis abroad and for the purpose special attention was being paid to skill development of youth and women of tribal districts Turi said that tribal districts were far behind in the development process and tribal women have immense potential which needed to be tapped to provide them better employment opportunities to support their families Sajid Hussain Turi, thanked the German Government for the support provided and urged the pass-outs for the utmost utilization of the skills for income generating activities and socioeconomic development of the region He further stressed upon the similar demand-oriented skills building interventions for the deprived youth of the

province with special focus on women participation

He said the ministry was finalizing agreements with Saudi Arabia South Korea, Japan and many other countries for supply of skilled manpower Later the minister awarded certificates to 55 females from district Kurram over completing training in dress making and cooking The trainees were given vocational training with decent level of working capital, toolkits and entrepreneurial sessions were also organized to motivate them for self-employment

(Private) Limited, National Bank of Pakistan, Greenstar Social Marketing (Guarantee) Limited JS Bank Ltd Hashoo Foundation U Microfinance Bank Ltd, United Bank Limited (UBL), TPL Properties Limited, TPL Corp Ltd , Foodpanda Habib Metro Bank Mobilink Microfinance Bank, Martin Dow Group, Bayer Pakistan Private Limited, Philip Morris Pakistan, PepsiCo Pakistan Jubilee Life Insurance Feroze1888 Mills Limited, Nishat Mills Limited (Apparel Division), Telenor Pakistan, Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited ACT Engineering Services Pvt Ltd, Roots Millennium Education Group Pakistan, FINCA Microfinance Bank Ltd and Millennium Institute of Technology and Entrepreneurship Global DEI Awards will be presented to CEOs of winner organizations on 6 March 2023 at Pearl Continental Hotel Karachi Jury for GDEIB Awards comprised of leading global DEI experts including Lynda White, President Mcleod White Montreal Canada Former Board Chair The Centre for Global Inclusion USA, Karen Francis PhD Vice President and Chief Diversity Equity Inclusion Officer American Institutes for Research USA, Moneeza Usman Butt, Partner KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co Pakistan Saad Amanullah Khan Chairman of Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan, Dr Jawad Syed, Professor of Organizational Behavior and Leadership at the Suleman Dawood School of Business Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and Zahid Mubarik CEO HR Metrics Awards were assessed on merit-based scoring method including Best Practice, Progressive, Proactive, Reactive, and Inactive

admissions to commence from Januar y 15

Islamabad p r

Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is commencing admissions of Spring 2023 semester (first phase), throughout the country including AJK and GB on January 15 2023

The admissions of matriculation, middle-

tinue till February 21, 2023, while admissions in BS (face to face), MS, MPhil and PhD programs will be open from January 15 to February 15, 2023

Aadmissions in the second phase will be offered from March 1 2023 AIOU has extended its educational network for overseas Pakistanis and now Pakistanis residing in any country of the world or any international student can get admission in matriculation, inter-

mediate and I Com programs to enhance their educational qualification

These admissions are offered through online management system All academic activities ranging from admission to issuance of certificate/ degree will be managed through online system

Prospectuses and admission application forms for all the programs will be available online on the university website (www aiou edu pk) on January 15 2022

Admission in BS (face to face), MS/MPhil and PhD programs can only be applied via online system whereas admission application forms for matriculation, intermediate and I Com can be submitted manually as well as via online mode In case of online submission of admission application form, the candidates are not required to dispatch printed application form to the university

Bank Alfalah disbursed PKR 308 million for flood-impacted communities in 2022

KarachI

p r

Bank Alfalah, one of the largest commercial banks in Pakistan, with the purpose of empowering people so that they shape their own path in life despite all odds has spent PKR 308 million for flood-impacted communities When floods hit significant parts of the country, Bank Alfalah came to the forefront with a determination to help rebuild affected areas and formulated a two-phase plan of redeveloping communities in a sustainable, equitable and financially inclusive way Earlier in August 2022 Bank Alfalah’s Chairman, His Highness Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, and the Board of Directors had graciously approved USD 10 million (PKR 2 Billion) to help with the extensive relief and rebuilding efforts

KarachI

p r

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Women Wing President and Chairperson Sindh Assembly s Standing Committee on Home, Ms Faryal Talpur has said that the PPP has always stood and strived for the women rights and empowerment in Pakistan She was speaking as a Chief Guest at a Social Protection Convention, which was arranged by Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) at Arts Council Karachi on Monday where 100 families of orphan girls were distributed payments through a newly launched Orphans and Widows Supporting Program (OWSP) Ms Faryal Talpur counted many firsts on women-led initiatives by the Pakistan Peoples Party from First Women Bank to Women Police Station to Lady Health Workers Program which started during the first and second tenures of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and were successfully continued and mainstreamed in Pakistan For this she added that the most recent initiative on empowering the women economically by the Sindh Government was the handing over of 25 acres land to the landless women farmers (Hari’s) in Sindh “Only educated, skilled and economically stable women could stand equal and empowered , she added She recalled another women empowerment initiative of 'Women on Wheels', launched from the same venue by her in Karachi that has become a national program and is most popular among young girls, as the drivers of future and their own fate She said that another women centered and led initiative – Pink Taxis by Sindh Government is being launched soon in Karachi, which would travel to other parts of the province

Memon contradic ts fake news against Asif Zardari

from Rawalpindi to Karachi which was baseless as his all cases were being heard in Rawal Pindi and none of the cases had been transferred to Karachi

The Sindh Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon said that now a days there was a trend of fake news in the country and false news were spread in such a way that it seemed to be true

He said that in a recently published article false news was spreaded against the former President of Pakistan Asif Zardari that under NRO all his cases had been transferred

He was talking to media persons on the reception given by him to newly-elected office bearers and members of governing body of Press Club Hyderabad at Rawal House, Hyderabad today

He said that they (PPP) did not make any kind of deal and if there was a deal then cases of PPP leadership and its workers would have been closed

He said that the PDM was formed by the People s Party and it was a good decis i o n b y n o t r e s i g n i n g a t t h a t t i m e , o t h e rwise Imran Niazi would still be the Prime M i n i s t e r H e s a i d t h a t F a w a d C h a u d h r y had accused him and Nasir Shah of horse trading, " I have not spoken to any member of PTI , he said He said that PTI had always done the politics of lies this was also a fake news and added that PTI s job was t o b l a m e p e o p l e H e s a i d t h a t t h e a u d i o leak had come in which Imran Khan was saying that five members were bought

He said that the rehabilitation work of the flood victims had been started and the c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e h o u s e s o f t h e v i c t i m s would be started very soon

Sharjeel Inam Memon said that the People's Party was always ready for the local body elections He said that for the first time in the country s history, two million families affected by the flood/ rains would be given money to build their own houses while farmers who cultivated wheat in the flood-affected areas were being given Rs 5,000 per acre

NUST honours its top -per forming researchers, innovators

I s l a m a b a d: In recognition of the commitment of faculty members excelling in research and innovation National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) held the Research & Innovation Excellence Awards ceremony

hyderabad

Ms Far yal Talpur lists revolutionar y initiatives on women empowerment by the PPP

Abdul Qayyum

,Ph D Scholar of International Relations

A n g e r i n r u s s i A A s s c o r e s o f t r o o p s k i l l e d i n o n e o f w A r ’ s d e A d l i e s t s t r i k e s

kYIV ag e N c i e s

rUSSIA acknowledged on Monday that scores of its troops were killed in one of the Ukraine war ’s deadliest strikes, drawing demands from nationalist bloggers for commanders to be punished for housing soldiers alongside an ammunition dump

Russia s defence ministry said 63 soldiers had died in the fiery blast which destroyed a temporary barracks in a former vocational college in Makiivka, a twin city of the Russian-occupied regional capital of Donetsk It said the accommodation had been hit by four rockets fired from US-made HIMARS launchers, claiming two rockets had been shot down Kyiv said the Russian death toll was in the hundreds though pro-Russian officials called this an exaggeration

Russian military bloggers, many with hundreds of thousands of followers said the huge destruction was a result of storing ammunition in the same building as a barracks, despite commanders knowing it was within range of Ukrainian rockets

Separately, Ukraine said on Monday it

had shot down all 39 drones Russia had launched in an unprecedented third straight night of air strikes against civilian targets in Kyiv and other cities

Russia’s defense ministry said Monday that 63 Russian soldiers have been killed by a Ukrainian strike on a facility in the eastern Donetsk region where military personnel was stationed Ukrainian forces fired six rockets from a HIMARS launch system and two of them were shot down, a Russian defense ministry statement

The strike using a U S -supplied precision weapon that has proven critical in enabling Ukrainian forces to hit key targets, delivered a new setback for Russia which in recent months has reeled from a Ukrainian counteroffensive

The Ukrainian military has not directly confirmed the strike, but tacitly acknowledged it The Strategic Communications Directorate of Ukraine s Armed Forces claimed Sunday that some 400 mobilized Russian soldiers were killed in a vocational school building in Makiivka and about 300 more were wounded That claim could not be independently verified The Russian statement said the strike occurred in the area of Makiivka” and didn’t mention the vocational

school Meanwhile,

The

itschko

Klitschko said 22 drones were destroyed over Kyiv, three in the outlying Kyiv region and 15 over neighboring provinces

E n e rg y i n f r a s t r u c t u r e f a c i l i t i e s w e r e damaged as the result of the attack and an explosion occurred in one city district them a y o r s a i d I t w a s n ’t i m m e d i a t e l y c l e a r whether that was caused by drones or other

m u n i t i o n s A w o u n d e d 1 9 - y e a r- o l d m a n w a s h o s p i t a l i z e d , K l i t s c h k o a d d e d , a n d emergency power outages were underway in the capital In the outlying Kyiv region a “critical infrastructure object” and resid e n t i a l b u i l d i n g s w e r e h i t , G o v O l e k s i y Kuleba said

Russia has carried out airstrikes on Ukrainian power and water supplies almost weekly since October

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of energy terrorism” as the aerial bombardments have left many people without heat amid freezing temperatures Ukrainian officials say Moscow is “weaponizing winter” in its effort to demoralize the Ukrainian resistance

U k r a i n e i s u s i n g s o p h i s t i c a t e d We s tern-supplied weapons to help shoot down R u s s i a ’s m i s s i l e s a n d d r o n e s , a s w e l l a s send artillery fire into Russian-held areas of the country

Moscow’s full-scale invasion on Feb 24 has gone awry, putting pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin as his ground forces struggle to hold ground and advance He said in his New Year ’s address to the nation that 2022 was a year of difficult necessary decisions ”

taliban gov t seeks economic self-sufficiency

tries”

Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Islamabad on Monday once again strongly condemned the “hideous terrorist action tantamount to state terrorism on the third anniversary of the assassination of Lieutenant General Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps along with his companion Abu Mahdi alMuhandis and several of their retinues

An official statement by the embassy said that the “act of terrorism against an official and high-ranking military staff of the United Nations (UN) member state was an obvious breach of international law, Geneva Conventions and military customs and regulations

“This action, being an act of crime and an act of aggression is considered to be a great threat to the peace and security of the world and the region,” added the press statement

The press release further stated that by assassinating “one of the greatest and veteran commanders to fight against terrorism and extremism the United States (US) enervated the axis to combat against Takfiri groups and now the region is engaged in the negative consequences emerging from the lack of a proficient and

“The so-called preventive assassination was categorically meant to eliminate a competent and triumphant force but soon after it proved to be a miscalculation strategic illusion exercised by an awkward quasi-politician prompted by associate elements and facilitated by hypocrites, stated the press release

T h e e m b a s s y a l s o s a i d t h a t t h e s t a t e t e r r o r i s m r e v e a l e d t h e d o u b l e s t a n d a r d s e v e n i n t h e d e f i n i t i o n a n d

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

“Examples of this kind of double standard and hypocrisy by the US are galore in the contemporary history of the international community ” stated the press statement

It furthered, Nowadays, the people of the region are affected by the miscalculations, strategic errors, interventions and opportunism by the exterior coun-

The embassy also said that no nation like Iran and Pakistan has ever been affected by the plague of terrorism and it continues to exist It furthered that terrorism is the common pain of the two Muslim nations and “a lot of pure blood” has been shed on this path

Now three years passes since the unmanly assassination of Gen Soleimani, Iran is still resolute to hold the committers supporters and assistants of this brutal crime accountable and to prosecute them in a fair and equitable court of justice the statement added

While further condemning the action the statement read, “This action is regarded as an international criminal act indictable in the international tribunals, International Criminal Court (ICC) being one the scope of the mechanism of which the US escaped some two decades ago in order to evade accountability under such crimes and to provide impunity for the committers of the international crime as such”

However the Islamic Republic of Iran will officially use its political, legal and international capacities in order to take action and prosecute and indict the perpetrators of this hideous crime through recognised legal mechanisms,” the statement concluded

We will start a national self-sufficiency programme we will encourage all government administrations to use domestic products, we will also try to encourage people through mosques to support our domestic products he told “We will support any item which can help us for self-sufficiency ” Another part of their strategy was to boost trade and foreign investment he said “Those who were importing items to Afghanistan from abroad, they are asking us to provide opportunities for investing in Afghanistan and they want to invest here instead of importing from abroad,” he said He said that countries including Iran, Russia and China were interested in trade and investment

He added some of the projects under discussion were Chinese industrial parks and thermal power plants with involvement from Russia and Iran Already facing a lack of formal recognition and sanctions hampering the country’s banking sector, investors are faced with growing security concerns after attacks on foreign targets in Kabul claimed by the militant Islamic State group An attack on a hotel catering to Chinese businessmen last month which badly hurt several foreigners, could prompt some to re-think investing, a leading member of the Chinese business community has said

supply chains stable and unimpeded

Ushering in the new year of 2023, a retrospect of the previous year is precious For both the world and China, the outgoing 2022 is critical in bridging the past and the future

Successfully convened the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China embarked on a Chinese path to modernization China has made coordinated progress in COVID-19 response and in economic and social development China s GDP for the whole year is expected to exceed 120 trillion yuan

Since the onset of COVID-19, China has always been committed to a people-first and life-first philosophy When the pandemic was at its worst, China mobilized all resources to protect the lives and health of every single person at all costs and achieved great success in pandemic prevention and control China has kept both the COVID infection rate and the fatality rate way lower than figures of other major countries

Keeping the COVID situation in check, China has been able to maintain its own economic growth and made important contribution to keeping the global industrial and

In 2021, China’s trade in goods exceeded 6 trillion US dollars, hitting another record, and this figure grew by 9 9% yearon-year in the first three quarters of 2022 China continues to provide quality products with good prices to the world Its enormous market has also provided bigger and bigger opportunities to the international community Facts have proved that China’s COVID response and policy have been sciencebased, correct and effective

Moreover China promoted the building of a community of common health for mankind It took the lead in making vaccines an international public good providing 2 billion doses of vaccines and a large amount of anti-pandemic materials to the world We are proud that Pakistan is the first country to receive the vaccine gifted by the Chinese government and military China has formulated and implemented COVID policy based on realities and the changing conditions

With medical systems fortified, new variants getting tamer and 90 percent of its population get vaccinated, China recently announced new measures to optimize its anti-pandemic policies which include the removal of measures to control the number of

enhanced More Pakistani students are welcomed to China for further study More delegations and business groups will pay on-site visit to Pakistan naturally The facilitation of investments between China and Pakistan will be resulted Our bilateral cooperation, including the CPEC projects would enjoy more robust energy that will bring more benefits to the two peoples

As the world’s second largest consumer market, second largest source of foreign investment and a major trading partner of over 140 countries and regions, China stays committed to promoting high-level opening up and accelerating efforts to foster a new development paradigm The year 2023 marks the tenth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative Going forward China will continue to carry out science-based and targeted COVID response measures, and actively promote high-quality development with global vision, contributing to world economic recovery, and bring more opportunities to China-Pakistan cooperation

The best way to embrace the future is to create an even brighter future With joint efforts and iron brother like Pakistan on our side, I am full of confidence and hope for the New Year!

The author is Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan He tweets @AmbNong

Russia deployed multiple exploding drones in another nighttime attack on Ukraine officials said Monday as the Kremlin signaled no letup in its strategy of using bombardments to target the country s energy infrastructure and wear down Ukrainian resistance to its invasion

barrage was the latest in a series of relentless year-end attacks including one that killed three civilians on New Year ’s Eve

On Monday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Kl-

said that 40 drones “headed for Kyiv overnight All of them were destroyed according to air defense forces

IsLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

stalwart commander”

kABUL ag e N c i e s

The Taliban administration will encourage “self-sufficiency” and wants international trade and investment, the acting Commerce Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi said as Afghanistan faces isolation and suspension of some humanitarian operations over restrictions on women

international flights and further restoration of people-to-people exchanges We consider it necessary to further facilitate the flow of personnel between China and other countries, ensure stable and smooth industrial and supply chains and foster new drivers for global development New COVID policy will expedite the

reached between leadership of the two countries during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ’s visit to China The JWG meetings under the CPEC framework and the annual

C o n w ay C e n t u r y l i f t s n e w Z e a l a n d t o 3 0 9 - 6 v s Pa k i s ta n i n s e C o n d t e s t

oPENER Devon Conway led New Zealand’s early domination of Pakistan on day one of the second Test in Karachi with a knock of 122, before the hosts struck back in the final session to limit their opponents to 309-6 at stumps on Monday

Electing to bat first, the visitors started strongly as Conway stitched together partnerships of 134 and 100 with Tom Latham and Kane Williamson respectively in front of a modest crowd at the National Stadium Conway, who scored a total of 110 runs in the first Test hit 16 boundaries and one six in his 191-ball knock to notch his fourth century in Test cricket

Pakistan were finally able to stem New Zealand’s flow in the final session as they took five wickets, with Agha Salman claiming the scalps of Conway Henry Nicholls and Daryl Mitchell Tom Blundell was on 30 unbeaten with Ish Sodhi at the close Conway and his opening partner Tom Latham (71) added a second successive century stand before Naseem Shah brought the lone success when he had Latham trapped leg before wicket of a full delivery after lunch as New Zealand reached a solid 226-1

at tea Conway was unbeaten on 120 off 179 balls and former captain Kane Williamson, who scored an unbeaten 200 in the drawn first Test, reached 29 at the break Conway and Latham shared 134 runs on a wicket which had some grass and tempted Pakistan to include an extra fast bowler and go with only one specialist spinner Abrar Ahmed

Both lefthanded opening batters dominated the pace and spin in the first session to produce 119 runs and even showed aggression against Abrar ’s mystery spin after Tim Southee won the toss and elected to bat

Left-arm fast bowler Mir Hamza twice came close to gaining a breakthrough in his return spell before lunch, but first Latham successfully overturned onfield umpire Alex Wharf ’s lbw ruling and then Pakistan went for an unsuccessful leg before wicket TV referral against Conway before he also completed a half-century Hasan Ali, in his return to Test cricket, twice found the edges of Conway’s bat in successive overs after lunch only to see the ball fall short of Abdullah Shafique in the slips and then Saud Shakeel couldn t hold onto a sharp chance in the gully while diving full length to his right

Conway completed his century off 156 balls with 13 fours and a six with a flick of

PCB issues update on Haris rauf, shaheen afridi’s progress

Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday issued an update regarding the fitness progress of the team’s fast bowling mainstays Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf “Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi will resume his rehabilitation under the national men s team s medical staff in Karachi from today,” said PCB in a media release It added, “While providing Shaheen top-notch care, this move will allow the medical staff to track his progression and pave way for his smooth return to action ” Meanwhile, the interim selection committee and team management have invited right-arm fast bowler Haris Rauf to be assessed by the team’s medical staff so a decision on his availability for the three One-Day Internationals against New Zealand to be played next week can be made Pakistan will play a three-match ODI series against New Zealand commencing on January 9 in Karachi The left-arm pacer Shaheen has been undergoing rehabilitation after he landed awkwardly and sustained knee discomfort in the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup, and, subsequently, missed the ongoing home Test season Haris, on the other hand, sustained a quad injury during the first Test against England in Rawalpindi which led to his exclusion from the remaining two matches before the New Zealand Test series

national spor t Climbing Championships conclude

ISLAMABAD

Ag e n c i e s

National Sport Climbing Championships, organized by the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Islamabad, and featuring speed, bouldering, and lead concluded here on Monday Mir Abu ZarFaiz, who earned four medals set a new national record of speed 7:31 seconds while Zaheer Ahmed, Saifuddin, Huzaifa Imran, Mushahid Shah Umar Bilal Zafar and Yasir Shahzad also earned positions in the championships The award ceremony was held at AIMs Education System where its chairperson decorated the climbers with medals While addressing the athletes, he highlighted the importance of sports and stressed the need to attract more children and youth towards climbing and other outdoor pursuits President of Alpine Club of Pakistan Abu Zafar Sadiq appreciated the performance of the climbers and assured that ACP would continue to hold competitions and training for athletes despite financial challenges being faced by the Federation Sadiq announced that the Kids National Sport Climbing Championship would be held on 15th January 2023 in Islamabad

Hamza to midwicket and ran three while Williamson also kept the bowlers at bay with his determined batting

Earlier, Latham and Conway completed their half centuries before lunch and provided New Zealand a solid start

Both batters motored New Zealand to 63 inside the first hour and batted aggressively against fast bowlers Naseem Shah and

Hasan Ali, who made comebacks to Test cricket

Conway used his feet well once the lone specialist spinner Abrar Ahmed was introduced as early as in the ninth over Conway raised New Zealand’s half-century with a six against the mystery spinner over wide midon as Pakistan struggled to get through the defenses New Zealand, on its first Test tour

to Pakistan since 2002, had made a strong bid to chase down 138 in the last hour of the first Test of the two-match series last Friday after Pakistan captain Babar Azam made a daring declaration Poor visibility halted the Black Caps at 61-1 in the eighth over to draw the game

Hasan was recalled having last played for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in July and missing the 3-0 whitewash at the hands of England last month

Naseem also returned after fully recovering from the shoulder injury that sidelined him from the last two Tests against England and the first Test against the Black Caps New Zealand made one change, playing fast bowler Matt Henry in place of Neil Wagner

Friday’s draw broke both team’s fourmatch losing streaks, which included 3-0 losses for each against England

The Pakistan Cricket Board was forced to organize both Test matches in Karachi due to weather concerns in Multan where winter smog and fog have delayed flights and may have disrupted hours of play

Pakistan is languishing at No 7 on the ICC world Test championship table while New Zealand has endured even more disappointment and is eighth despite beating India in the inaugural WTC final at Lord’s last year

PSG without Messi, Neymar suffer first loss of season

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), without World Cup winner Lionel Messi and Neymar, lost for the first time in any competition since March 20 last year when they were defeated 3-1 at Lens Lens deserved their win, said PSG coach Christophe Galtier Lois Openda scored one and set up another as Lens, who have only lost once in Ligue 1 this season closed the gap on PSG at the top to four points after 17 rounds

We are happy to be four points behind ” said Lens coach Franck Haise “This victory proves that we can beat anyone in this championship PSG s last loss was more than nine months ago when they fell 3-0 at Monaco in Ligue 1, although that still left them 12 points clear at the top of the table

On Sunday at Lens, PSG were without Messi and suspended Brazilian Neymar but Kylian Mbappe the Golden Boot winner in Qatar, received a rousing welcome from the Lens fans as he warmed up Galtier said he hoped French fans would give Messi a similar reception

“He’s going to join us on January 3, in 48 hours said Galtier I hope Leo will be well received He won the most beautiful trophy by being very good We

know he s a great and decisive player so we hope he’ll be well received obviously ” “Kylian worked had,” said Galtier He showed a very good attitude ” “Leo and ‘Ney’ were not there but that is no excuse ” Lens took the lead after five minutes when PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma blocked an effort from Massadio Haidara to Przemyslaw Frankowski who scored Hugo Ekitike replied three minutes later, swinging hard as Brice Samba dived to gather a cross and driving the ball through the Lens goalkeeper ’s grasp Lens took control after 28 minutes Seko Fofana won possession on the edge of his own box drove through a couple of chal-

lenges then measured a pass between the PSG central defenders to Openda Lens pressed from the start of the second half and in the 48th minute won possession deep in the PSG half The ball reached Openda in the box, his backheel left the defence flat-footed

The

They have dubbed the games Celebration Week’ in English as a nod to the

Central Punjab win Pakistan Cricket Cup

According

255, Central Punjab

back to claim the last five Balochistan wickets for 55 runs to dismiss the defending champions for 204 in 42 3 overs Fast bowler Ali Shafique destroyed Balochistan’s middle-order by dismissing Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (4) Asad Shafiq (0) and Haris Sohail (8) to finish with impressive figures of 7-2-17-3 Ali was well supported by fellow fast bowler Mohammad Ali who came back strongly in his final spell to claim the wickets of Bismillah Khan and Yasir Shah to end with figures of two for 31 Left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar snapped up the wickets of Imran Butt (30) and Amad Butt (seven) to end with two for 32

Bismillah Khan fought a lone battle for Balochistan and finished as the top-scorer with 70 from 77 balls His innings was studded with eight fours Together with Mohammad Junaid (27), Bismillah put on 65 runs for the sixth wicket after Balochistan had slipped from 60 for no loss to 84 for five Earlier, batting first after winning the toss, Central Punjab failed to fully capitalise on a 61-run first wicket partnership between Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Faizan to be dis-

L e f t - a r m s p i n n e r M o h a m m a d J u n a i d w a s t h e w r e c k e r- i n - c h i e f o f C e n t r a l P u n j a b ’s b a t t i n g w h e n h e p i c k e d u p t h e w i c k e t s o f A h m e d S h e h z a d Q a s i m A k r a m , Z a f a r G o h a r, U s a m a M i r a n d M o h a m m a d A l i t o f i n i s h w i t h i m p r e s s i v e f i g u r e s o f 1 0 - 0 - 5 6 - 5 F a i z a n s c o r e d 3 7 r u n s f r o m 3 3 b a l l s w i t h t h r e e f o u r s a n d t w o s i x e s b e f o r e f a l l i n g t o K a s h i f B h a t t i , w h o added the scalp of Junaid Ali (one) to finish with figu r e s o f t w o f o r 3 6

At 65 for two in 13 1 overs, Ahmed Shehzad was joined by top-scorer Tayyab Tahir and put on 80 runs for the third wicket before Junaid dismissed Ahmed and Qasim Akram off successive deliveries to reduce Central Punjab to 145 for four in 27 5 overs Ahmed contributed 61 from 87 balls with three fours and a six

Tayyab, in association with Zafar Gohar (30), then carried the score to 195 before his run-out in the 37th over derailed Central Punjab s progression as the last five wickets tumbled for the addition of 59 runs in 71 balls – thanks to a 31-ball 34 by captain Aamer Yamin with two fours and a six

While Tayyab Tahir was adjudged player of the final, Amad Butt of Balochistan was declared player of the Pakistan Cup By virtue of winning the title Central Punjab received a winners cheque of PKR 5 million, whereas Balochistan had to settle with the cash award of PKR 2 5 million

In

the

did just enough to beat Brest 1-0 and tighten their grip on fourth place Angers remain anchored to the bottom after suffering a ninth straight loss falling 2-1 to visiting Lorient who broke their own run of six games without a victory Winter youth sports festival ends With colorful celebration: The two-day Winter Youth Sports Festival concluded with a colorful New Year Celebration including a grand Musical Show, Firework, specifically for families here at Hayatabad Sports Complex There were hundreds and thousands of families attending the grand New Year Night Show followed by Bonfire fireworks besides enjoying traditional food at the stalls specially setup to facilitate the families The Festival is jointly organized by Directorate Youth Affairs, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Administrator Hayatabad Sports Complex and Directorate General Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

national spor t Climbing Championships conclude

ISLAMABAD

Ag e n c e s

N a t i o n a l S p o r t C l i m b i n g C h a m p i o n s h i p s , o rg a n i z e d b y t h e A l p i n e C l u b o f P a k i s t a n I s l a m a b a d a n d f e at u r i n g s p e e d , b o u l d e r i n g , a n d l e a d c o n c l u d e d h e r e o n M o n d a y M i r A b u Z a r F a i z , w h o e a r n e d f o u r m e d a l s s e t a n e w n a t i o n a l r e c o r d o f s p e e d 7 : 3 1 s e co n d s w h i l e Z a h e e r A h m e d , S a i f u d d i n , H u z a i f a I m r a n , M u s h a h i d S h a h , U m a r B i l a l Z a f a r, a n d Ya s i r S h a h z a d a l s o e a r n e d p o s i t i o n s i n t h e c h a m p io n s h i p s T h e a w a r d c e r e m o n y w a s h e l d a t A I M s E du c a t i o n S y s t e m w h e r e i t s c h a i r p e r s o n d e c o r a t e d t h e c l i m b e r s w i t h m e d a l s W h i l e a d d r e s s i n g t h e a t hl e t e s , h e h i g h l i g h t e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f s p o r t s a n d s t r e s s e d t h e n e e d t o a t t r a c t m o r e c h i l d r e n a n d y o u t h t o w a r d s c l i m b i n g a n d o t h e r o u t d o o r p u r s u i t s P r e s id e n t o f A l p i n e C l u b o f P a k i s t a n A b u Z a f a r S a d i q a p p r e c i a t e d t h e p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e c l i m b e r s a n d a ss u r e d t h a t A C P w o u l d c o n t i n u e t o h o l d c o m p e t i t i o n s a n d t r a i n i n g f o r a t h l e t e s , d e s p i t e f i n a n c i a l c h a ll e n g e s b e i n g f a c e d b y t h e F e d e r a t i o n S a d i q a nn o u n c e d t h a t t h e K i d s N a t i o n a l S p o r t C l i m b i n g C h a m p i o n s h i p w o u l d b e h e l d o n 1 5 t h J a n u a r y 2 0 2 3 i n I s l a m a b a d

KARACHI t h e A s s o c i At e d p R e s s

PARIS Ag e n c i e s

and allowed Alexis Claude Maurice to take a touch and score from close range

French league normally takes the holiday season off but with matches to make up following the World Cup, it played one round immediately after Christmas and another on Sunday and Monday

English tradition of Boxing Day games, but many fans are suspicious or hostile Among protest banners unfurled by fans in an almost empty stand at Nantes, where the home team beat Auxerre 1-0 was one that complained that the league and broadcasters were killing them

Monaco Aleksandr Golovin smashed in

only goal from outside the penalty area as the home team

KARACHI s tA f f R e p o R t

LAHORE Ag e n c i e s

Central Punjab defeated Balochistan by 50 runs to win the Pakistan Cup 2022-23 title at Karachi’s State Bank Sports Complex on Monday

to the information made available here by the Pakistan Cricket Board Defending

fought

missed for 254 in 48 2 overs, including losing their last eight wickets for 109 runs

F r o m s m o k e o F c o r r u p t i o n s c a n d a l , s u m m i t

B a n k e m e r g e s a s i s l a m i c B a n k i n g h o p e

abdullah niazi

aFTER a cautious return to public attention at the start of 2022, one entire year later Summit Bank has decided to convert itself into a full-fledged Islamic Bank and gain an Islamic Banking License from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)

Just a few days ago, Faysal Bank announced that it had completed its conversion to a full-fledged Islamic Bank indicating the increasing significance of Islamic Banking in Pakistan’s financial services industry

It is interesting to note that Faysal Bank had initially made the plan to convert to a full-fledged Islamic Bank back in 2015 and has finally achieved the feat nearly eight years later Around the same time, in 2016, Summit Bank had also taken a conversion plan under consideration but the board ended up deciding on merging Sumit with

Sindh Bank instead Had they gone with the plan, Summit along with Faysal may have completed its journey by now summiT’s recenT reemergence:The bank’s misfortunes began a few years ago In 2018, following a highly p u b l

to release its financials prompting raised eyebrows In 2019, the bank once again failed to release its financials and as a result of this non-compliance shifted to the defaulters segment of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)

Following the demotion at the stock exchange, the bank made a feeble attempt to correct course by releasing their 2018 financials in 2020, but for a third consecutive year failed to call an Annual General Meeting (AGM)

And a full-blown money laundering investigation initiated by the FIA and NAB following a scandal involving political big-

wigs such as Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur was not the extent of their troubles The bank was also facing constantly rising pressure from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) over its inability to fulfil regulatory requirements due to a deteriorating financial condition In response, it very much appeared that Summit Bank had wilfully buried their head in the sand and were trying to ride the tide of the scandal out Then at the end of 2021 the bank released three years worth of financial statements and the picture was not pretty noT a preTTy picTure: Summit is not a very profitable bank In fact, it has posted a net profit after taxation only twice, in 2014 and 2015 in the past 10 years that too a small one, Rs217 and Rs 230 million respectively In the 2019 results that were released in October 2021 the bank recorded its greatest loss yet, at Rs9 4 billion But it wasn t that far off from the preceding year s loss of Rs8 7 billion

Senate body furious over absence of energy minister, CEO K-Electric

made by the committee in its previous meeting

The Senate standing committee on power has expressed its serious displeasure over the absence of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), K-Electric and Minister for Energy (Power Division) from the meeting

The Senate committee met on Monday under the chairmanship of Senator Saifullah Abro to discuss various issues of K- Electric These included the inception of the company, complete procedure including tendering process of privatisation of K-Electric, ownership and achievements made so far, the development sector plan and projects along with their tendering process and investments made as well as complete details of correspondence made with the power division regarding the installation of new power plants and the implementation status of the nine recommendations

At the outset of the meeting, the committee expressed its displeasure over the non-participation of Syed Moonis Abdullah Alvi, CEO, K-Electric in the meeting

The chairman said that in the previous meeting, the CEO was instructed to attend and brief the committee If such hooliganism happens it will not continue,” he said, adding that he will use the option of summoning him through the police However after the mutual consensus of those present, the Senate panel wrote a letter to the Chairman Senate with the request to issue a summon notice to the CEO The panel also unanimously decided to move a privilege motion against him

More concerns were raised over the absence of the Federal Minister for Energy The committee wrote an on-spot letter to the Chairman Senate regarding the minister s absence and was of the

JdW sugar mills completes two-million share buyback

MuhaMMad raafay Khan

JDW Sugar Mills Limited (JDWS) has completed a share buyback of 2 million shares The company made the announcement to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday The buyback was authorised through a special resolution passed by the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the company held on November 03, 2022 The buyback period was supposed to start from November 11, 2022 until May 02 2023 However no purchase was made until December 28th, the last week of the previous year The buyback was done hastily with just three transactions on three days not far from each other The first purchase was on December 28, 2022 when it bought 600,000 shares The second purchase took place only two days later on December 30th for 600,000 And then on Monday, the company bought back 800,000 shares and completed its buyback of 2 million shares During the day, JDWS share price touched a high of Rs 440 but the day closed at Rs 407 a decline of almost 7% On December 28, when the first share buyback transaction happened the share price also hovered near Rs 440 but continued to decline in the following week This share price decline goes contrary to the expectation where such buybacks are supposed to increase the value of the share Even though the share price decline is unclear, it is possible that something similar to what happened with Bank Alfalah last week might be the case, when it completed its buyback In the case of Bank Alfalah, a significant shareholder of the bank namely International Finance Corporation (IFC) which had almost 15% shareholding, was given a partial exit through the buyback

opinion that its privilege was undermined by his continued absence despite being called several times

T h e c h i e f m a r k e t i n g a n d c o m m un i c a t i o n s o ff i c e r o f K - E l e c t r i c , S a d i a D a d a , w a s r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e C E O a n d r e p e a t e d l y s a i d t h a t s h e w a s r e a d y t o answer all questions, but the committ e e b e l i e v e d t h a t a p e r s o n f r o m m a rk e t i n g w a s n o t e l i g i b l e t o g i v e a briefing regarding development plans a n d i n v e s t m e n t s m a d e f r o m 2 0 0 6 t o the present

The chairman further said that the energy sector is in a shambles due to poor performance and incompetent workers and reiterated questions regarding the 1,434 agricultural tubewells in Lasbela, and 28,000 tubewells which are being run by QESCO and inquired about the letters to the FIA and NAB and their inquiry report

The committee raised more questions on details of the K-Electric contract and circular debt which has not

The information released during this time was also rich in details about the corruption scandal that had rocked the bank’s boat so badly In a notification from the same period, the bank informed that Abdullah Hussein Lootah had sent an offer letter to Summit Bank asking for 51% voting shares and new ordinary shares through fresh equity injection The board agreed to handing over 5,976,000,000 ordinary shares without right to Lootah and also increased the authorised capital from Rs 28 billion to Rs 90 billion

This is the same Abullah Lootah who was mentioned in the ongoing fake accounts case of 2018, involving former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur The fake accounts case involves alleged money laundering worth billions of rupees through 32 bank accounts which were opened in five banks Of those accounts, 15 were opened in Summit Bank The IMF gives a warning

After three years in the wilderness, it seemed Summit Bank was trying to edge its way back into the mainstream and make something of itself While the financial statements were late, following all of these mandatory disclosures, the PSX has also moved them up from the defaulters segment to its “normal counter” – meaning the bank’s stocks are up for trading once again However, in May 2022, Profit s then editor and senior journalist Khurram Hus a i n r e p o r t e d i n a n e x c l u s i v e s c o o p t h a t the government has committed to the IMF t h a t S u m m i t B a n k a n d S i l k b a n k w i l l b e s e n t i n t o “ r e s o l u t i o n ” b y M a y 2 0 2 3 i f they don t complete the first stage of their r e c a p i t a l i z a t i o n p l a n b y M a r c h o f t h e s a m e y e a r I f t h i s h a p p e n s , t h e s e b a n k s c o u l d b e t h e n e x t t o b e f o r c i b l y r e s t r u ct u r e d o r e v e n s o l d o ff a l t o g e t h e r l i k e

KASB Bank was in 2015

ksB pakistan suspends production due to 'impor t restrictions'

MuhaMMad raafay Khan

been resolved as yet Senator Fida Muhammad said that K-Electric’s contract with the national grid expired in 2015, and eight years have gone by but it hasn’t been renewed

The committee members initially restrained K-Electric from giving a briefing in the absence of the company’s CEO The committee’s chairman however, gave the chief marketing officer a chance to speak and inquired about KElectric’s investment of Rs 475 billion on various projects – which the official failed to answer

The committee also called for a briefing on the problems of Karachi s electricity consumers

Dada informed the members of the committee about investments made till date since privatisation and added that K-Electric continued to invest even during those years in which it sustained heavy financial losses

Close calls and abysmal lows –the economy in 2022

Pr ofit rePort

L A H O R E

Even compared to the unchartered territories of the COVID years, 2022 was a wild ride for Pakistan and the global economy Two years into the pandemic, the global economy gradually gained pace Factories restarted schools opened back to full capacity, small vendors finally got business again and the engine of modern global capitalism was reignited

While this was the world we all longed for at the peak of the Covid lockdown in 2020, the reopening of the global economy brought with it a raft of financial challenges A resurgence of demand in the beginning of 2022 pushed up global commodity prices inflation and ultimately, towards the end we find ourselves talking about a recession

While the nature of the crisis faced by the international economy has changed at the end of the year, Pakistan ultimately is faced with similar challenges to those confronting it at the start of the year

The year hardly had any winners, but, for Pakistan, the situation was compounded by the added toxic ingredient of political uncertainty The biggesT crisis in one word: oil

One of the biggest sources of economic shock to the world was global energy prices Many would

argue that, for Pakistan, it was the single biggest – particularly when you add all the politics of oil prices As economic activities gained momentum after lockdown was lifted in the remaining countries of the world, the international market for oil also experienced a surge in prices as demand increased Below is the graph of oil prices per barrel in the international market The price shock was first observed in the last quarter of 2021 as demand for oil increased and kept increasing at an increasing rate But then came the biggest extraneous factor that threw everything off: In March Russia, the biggest provider of energy to Europe, invaded Ukraine, which is also one of the biggest providers of grains to the world source: Trading economics

Consequently Pakistan also received its first shock in the last quarter of 2021, pushed by the fundamentals of the global market and greeted 2022 at Rs 145 per litre for petrol It seemed unreal back then But little did we know what was in store for us would make Rs 145 look like the good old days More on that later

Fast forward to February 24 2022 when Russian troops invaded Ukraine, opening the chapter to one of the great crises of modern history (interestingly, Pakistan’s then prime minister Imran Khan faced the awkwardness of being in Moscow the day this happened) The United

States and its European allies imposed sanctions and embargoes on Russia, the second largest oil producer in the world, and the energy supplier to Europe’s biggest economies Europe basically ran on Russian oil and gas Now they wanted to get it from elsewhere

The effect of the threat can be seen in the graph above when the crude oil prices in the international market increased steeply to nearly $123 per barrel by the beginning of March from about $96 the night before the invasion – indicating a 33% increase in just a couple of weeks The hike represented the highest price of crude oil in the last 14 years

The timing could not have been worse for Pakistan where compounding the crisis, petrol prices became the focal point for populist politics In the end of February when the world was facing a massive oil price shock, former PM Khan slashed petrol prices by Rs 10 per litre, removing the petrol development levy (PDL), the essential tax on oil But more importantly he imposed a price cap on prices for the rest of the financial year Why? In short the subsidy was a populist measure in the wake of a looming vote of no confidence The subsidy would prove to be a political move that was difficult for the incoming government to undo

KSB Pumps Company Limited (KSBP) has decided to temporarily suspend its Hasanabdal plant operations from January 02, 2023, the company announced to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday the first working day of the new year The notice read, “Due to import restriction, KSB Pakistan has temporarily suspended the plant operations at Hasanabdal till further notice w e f January 02, 2023 ” The import restrictions, placed in May of last year after the change of government had led to the closure of operations of many of the end customers of KSBP These restrictions also impacted the clearance of consignments of raw materials and components necessary for the company’s production operations The lack of demand in the market made it superfluous for the company to continue its production plant at Hasanabdal, its sole factory in the country The company says it will resume operations as soon as the market situation improves and staff may be readily recalled on short notice KSBP is a major supplier to a variety of industries but since the manufacturing sector has taken a hit recently owing to an economic downturn, the company has been facing demand challenges Its major clients in the automotive industry, such as Suzuki, Millat Tractors, and Indus Motors, have all reduced production citing economic challenges and lack of demand Suzuki announced its first plant shutdown for 2023 after a string of nonoperational days last year Similarly Toyota also shut down production in December last month Similarly, Balochistan Wheels and Millat Tractors have also had nonoperational days In other sectors Kohinoor Spinning Mills temporarily shut down citing the worst crisis faced by the textile industry in December Another leading textile company Nishat (Chunian) Limited, also closed almost a quarter of its production last month Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited (FFBL) also closed its Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) Plant temporarily Suraj Cotton Mills also reduced its production by 40% in the last month of the previous year Sales for the third quarter of KSBP were Rs 1,204 million, an increase of 35% compared to the same period last year Although the results for the last quarter have not been made public yet, it is likely that they are not very promising in light of the demand challenges The company also posted a quarterly Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 8 26 million, an increase of over 120% compared to the same period last year

company profile: KSB Pumps Company Limited (a KSB group company) was incorporated in Pakistan in 1959 and has been listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited since 1979

The company is a subsidiary of KSB SE & Co KGaA, a German multinational, and is principally engaged in the manufacture and sale of industrial pumps, valves, castings and related parts and after market services The factory of the Company is situated at Hazara Road Hassanabdal

The Company also has regional offices located in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Multan KSB Pakistan has led the pump valve and system solutions market in the country for over six decades in addition to exporting its products to foreign markets It specialises in six market areas i e General Industry, Mining, Energy, Building Services, Petrochemicals / Chemicals and Water

iSlaMabad A H m A d A H m A dA n S E n At E