Epaper_23-01-07 KHI

Profit

IMF teaM due In PakIstan to decIde Fate oF nInth revIew: PM

to finance its imports. as of now, the government has been unable to secure bilateral loans and the resumption of the imf program, seems to be the only way forward to break the deadlock of forex inflow.

according to the finance minister, the delay in the 9th review of the imf has been caused by an unsatisfactory assessment of the flood rehabilitation program by the government.

Business community should support energy conservation plan prime minister shehbaz sharif on friday appealed business community to support the government’s recently announced energy conservation plan marking the early closure of markets and restaurants, to ensure judicious use of national resources and reduce the import bill.

Bumper crop in Rabi season likely, but concerns loom large

Profit rePort

Profit rePort Shahzad Paracha

Primeminister shehbaz sharif said on friday that a delegation from the international monetary fund (imf) would travel to pakistan in two to three days to finalise the ninth review.

the prime minister stated this while addressing the inaugural ceremony of hazara electric supply company (hesc) on friday.

during his address, the premier said that he had spoken with the managing director of the international monetary fund (imf), kristalina georgieva, the previou night. he said that he assured the md that the current government wished to fulfill the terms of the agreement which had been shattered by the previous government.

he said that pakistan would try its best to fulfil the terms of the imf agreement, while simultaneously highlighting the destruction brought by last year’s catastrophic floods.

the premier further said that he asked georgieva to dispatch a delegation to pakistan in order to complete the ninth review of the imf programme. “she told me that an imf team will arrive in pakistan in two to three days.”

the prime minister office said that the managing director international mone-

tary fund ms. kristalina georgieva called prime minister muhammad shehbaz sharif over telephone and expressed her deep sympathy and concern on the human and material losses due to the recent floods and reiterated her commitment to help pakistan in this difficult period.

the prime minister thanked the managing director for her concern on the fallout of the floods and extended an invitation to the m.d to participate in the climate resilient pakistan conference at geneva.

m.d thanked the p.m for the invitation but explained that as the imf board meetings had been prefixed for 9th and 10th of January, she will only be able to join the conference virtually.

the prime minister assured the m.d imf that pakistan is committed to successfully completing the ongoing imf programme and thanked the m.d for her understanding and empathy of the challenges that pakistan has been facing. Why the urgency?

on thursday, pakistan recorded its lowest level of foreign reserves, since april 2014. the state bank of pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves were clocked at an alarmingly low level of 5.58 billion. causing pakistan’s import cover to drop to less than a month according to experts.

in such trying times pakistan is in dire need of valuable foreign exchange reserves, not only to pay off its debts but also

“i appeal to the business community to extend their support to the government (for energy conservation). this will reduce the oil import and bring down the dollar rate which would later be spent on the country’s progress including agriculture and medicine,” the prime minister said addressing a ceremony for the establishment of hazara electric company here.

covering a total area of over 16,774 square kilometers, the new company would cater to the needs of around 726,000 consumers across haripur, mansehra, abbottabad, battagram, torgarh, kohistan upper, kohistan lower and kolai plus.

the prime minister said any difficulty faced by a nation necessitated collective action and expressed the hope that the traders from across the country would take part in this “jihad” to save the national resources.

referring to his telephonic interaction with imf managing director kristalina georgieva on thursday, the prime minister assured that, unlike its predecessor, the incumbent government would abide by its commitments with imf without further burdening the masses.

however, he also sensitized the imf head over the country’s economic condition adversely affected by the worst floods and made it clear his government had already taxed the rich but could no more burden the poor.

the finance division is hopeful that the country’s agricultural sector will see positive returns from the rabi season off the back of favourable conditions created by the prime minister’s kissan package announced in the wake of last year’s devastating floods. in its monthly report for the end of the last year, Q-block reported that for rabi season 2022-23, the wheat crop has been sown on an area of 20.77 million acres. “the input situation is expected to remain favourable due to incentives announced in kissan package 2022 that will boost agriculture productivity,” reads the report. the better input situation is expected to increase crop production in rabi season. according to irsa the irrigation water supply recorded at 6.32 maf for november 2022 against last year’s supply of 5.50 maf, increased by 0.82 maf. during Jul-nov fy2023, the agriculture credit disbursement increased by 35.9 percent to rs 663.9 billion from rs 488.5 billion compared to corresponding period last year. during rabi 2022-23 (november 2022), urea and dap off-take stood at 583 thousand tonnes (1.6 percent higher than november 2021) and 236 thousand tonnes (7.5 percent higher than november 2021).

Devastation

the last year had seen climate-change driven floods seriously impacting the country’s agriculture and threatening its food security. already a net importer of food, pakistan’s self-sufficiency struggles continue to climb a steeper and steeper hill. the biggest news this year not just in agriculture but in the entire country and possibly the world this year were the floods in pakistan. in

short, climate change has resulted in a gargantuan increase in the amount of monsoon rainfall that sindh and balochistan have seen this year. the two provinces saw the highest amount of water fall from the skies in living memory, recording 522 and 469 per cent more than the normal downpour this year according to the met department.

the economic impact alone has been devastating. all in all, according to the latest report of the post-disaster needs assessment (pdna), pakistan needs at least $16.3 billion for post-flood rehabilitation and reconstruction. the pdna report, released by the representatives of the government and the international development institutions, calculated the cost of floods at $30.1 billion –$14.9 billion in damages and $15.2 billion in losses.

Kissan package

the kissan package was announced only a few months ago by prime minister shehbaz sharif in the wake of the floods. under this subsidy scheme, the government will give rs10.6 billion loans to small farmers across the country while small farmers of flood-hit areas would get loans worth rs 80 billion. in addition to the interestfree and subsidised loans, subsidies will also be given on farm imports such as fertilisers, electricity, seeds, and even tractors. if implemented correctly, the package will have a wide-reaching impact in helping farmers affected by this year’s floods back on their feet. by the end of december 2022, the government announced that they had managed to disburse agricultural loans worth rs 663.9 billion in the month of november to flood-hit farmers in dire need of recuperation.

Establishment not ‘neutral’ on trust vote in Punjab: Imran

contacted,” said the pti chief, adding that the mpas are being asked to ditch punjab cm in the vote of confidence.

former prime minister and pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti) chairman imran khan said friday that the establishment is not acting neutral on the vote of confidence for punjab chief minister (cm) pervaiz elahi.

talking to a delegation of court reporters in lahore today, imran khan said that pti and its allies are preparing for the vote of confidence if the court issues such an order to the punjab cm. he alleged that the establishment is seemingly not acting neutral on the vote of confidence. “our people are being approached and so far, three mpas have informed us about being

khan said that pti and pakistan muslim league Quaid (pml-Q) are political allies and pervaiz elahi has his own stance regarding former army chief general (retd) Qamar Javed bajwa.

he said that pervaiz elahi cannot ask pti leadership to change its stance. khan clarified once again that his political party is not fighting the establishment but struggling to get justice.

the pti chief told the court reporters that no dialogues will be held with the ‘thieves’. he vowed that pti will immediately organise local government (lg) polls after coming into power.

he reiterated his allegations against the former army chief and said that gen (retd) bajwa did not consider corruption wrongdoing and all corruption cases were dissolved.

commenting on the horse trading ahead of the vote of confidence, he said that turncoats will not get any support from the nationals anymore.

imran khan said that pti will not step back from its narrative and they will continue to expose those people who are the reason for crisis in the country.

the delegation of the court reporters includes abid khan, ibadul haq, Zainul abideen, abdul rehman, muhammad Waqas, arshad ali, muhammad ashfaq salman awan, shakir awan and faisal khan.

LAHore Staff rePort

Miftah: bol ke lab azaad hain tere

Dar, President AIIB discuss donors’ conference being held in Geneva

Maryam Nawaz in good condition after throat surgery in Geneva: Aurangzeb

Jamadi

Sani, 1444

g post-disaster assessment says pakistan needs at least $16.3b for post-flood rehabilitation and reconstruction

CCLC approves proposed safety standards of vehicles

g says terms of agreement to be fulfilled in light of flood destruction

g appeals to business community to support govt’s energy conservation plan

President for camPaign to mainstream differently-abled PeoPle

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

PRESIDENTDr Arif Alvi Friday reemphasized the need of making accelerated nationwide efforts to create an enabling environment and ensuring allinclusive participation of persons with physical and mental disabilities in all spheres of society as dignified and respected members.

The president expressed these views while chairing a meeting on the facilitation of persons with disabilities (PWDs) here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Zakat, Ushr, Social Welfare, Special Education and Women Empowerment Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Anwar Zeb Khan, Special Assistant to Sindh Chief Minister for the Department of Empowerment of DAP, National Database Registration Authority Chairman Muhammad Tariq Malik, senior officials of the Federal Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Social Welfare Departments of Punjab, Sindh, KP & Balochistan, Elementary and Secondary Education Department of AJK, Labour and Human Resource Development Department of Punjab, and representatives of NAVTTC, Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal, Directorate of Special Education, Islamabad, NIRM, WHO and NADRA.

Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Khalid Khursheed Khan also attended the meeting through video-link.

During the meeting, the president asked the Federal Ministry of Education and Professional Training (FEPT) to play a lead role and come up with a proposal on national curricula for providing targeted and quality education and market-oriented skills to differently-abled people (DAPs) in a systematic manner in consultation with all stakeholders including provinces, international organizations, NGOs and private sector to provide a definite and agreed upon world class direction for the educational institutions both at the public and private sectors, besides determining teacher to differently-abled- students ratio in schools.

He also emphasized enlisting of skills which could be imparted to the DAPs keeping in view their disability which might also include sign language, braille, software development, setting of businesses and selling the products and services online, besides creating a repository of DAP-compliant material containing SOPs, skill enlistment, disability specific reading, research and reference material and should be made accessible to DAPs around the country.

He underlined the need to develop an accelerated system for the mass registration of PWDs around Pakistan so that definite data could be obtained for planning and other interventions.

KP cm terms merger of erstwhile fata as turning point

PESHAWAR Staff RepoRt

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan has termed the merger of erstwhile FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as a turning point in the development and prosperity of the tribal people. He was addressing a meeting of the elected public representatives from the newly merged districts here at Chief Minister’s House, Peshawar. Former federal minister for religious affairs Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, provincial ministers Anwar Zeb and Iqbal Wazir, other members of National and Provincial Assemblies from NMDs attended the meeting. Addressing the participants, the Chief Minister said that the provincial government has successfully completed the merger process despite numerous challenges. “In most of the merged districts, the provincial government had to start from zero because no attention was paid to the development of these areas in the past,” he said and added that a new era of development has been started in the merged districts by introducing special development programs for redressing the decades-long deprivations of the tribal people.

WaPda to establish smart schools in diamer: cs gb

GILGIT Staff RepoRt

Chief Secretary Gilgit Baltistan Muhiudeen Wani said our request to Chairman WAPDA regarding the establishment of Smart Schools in district Diamer along with provision of free of cost evening coaching to 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th class students of Diamer has been approved in lieu of CSR in BOD meeting under Chairmanship of Chairman WAPDA who was highly appreciative of the initiatives of GB government in domain of Education & IT. In an official statement to media, he said that we are thrilled to announce that our efforts have borne fruit and from 9th of January, 842 students of the said classes will be provided free of cost evening coaching by KIPS which would play a big part in improving the result of Government schools and will lead to better prospects for students in regard to securing admission in top universities of Pakistan. Moreover, 10 High-Tech Smart Schools with all the technological gadgets and trainers will soon be part of District Diamer which would improve the quality of learning & education in the region which has been far too deprived in this regard.

The president appreciated NADRA for its outreach for the registration of DAPs across the country and emphasized that Authority should introduce a nationwide user-friendly telephonic information and registration system for the DAPs and their family members to create data on location and nature of disability and later with the help of the relevant departments issue them Disability Cards while ensuring maximum facilitations to the DAPs. The data so created would help the governments to develop authentic and meaningful policies, strategies and actions plan for mainstreaming of the DAPs as full and dignified members of the society.

He emphasised developing out-ofthe-box solutions for complete registration of the PWDs as the number of currently registered persons with NADRA around 600,000 was low as compared to the estimated number of the

DAPs in Pakistan which might exceed 20 million.

The president emphasized consultation by provinces, NGOs, private sector, NAVTTC, TEVTA, chambers of commerce and ndustry and other stakeholders with International Labour Organization (ILO) and other relevant international entities to seek their knowledge and expertise to finetune the database, develop world class curricula, enlistment of disability relevant skills, adopt world’s best practices for mainstreaming of the DAPS, their barrier free movement providing them assistive technologies and world class synthetic body parts, enacting new laws and improving the existing ones, and fulfilling the quota of the DAPs jobs.

He said a comprehensive and allinclusive media campaign involving social and conventional media should be launched to impart education and information to the DAPs with respect to their rights and to educate the family members, the neighbourhood and the general society regarding their responsibilities and obligations towards the DAPs after setting in place the DAPs-oriented and responsive systems like the DAPs mapping in different areas with regard to their disability and skill level, the enlisting of advantages and incentives offered to them, and concrete employment opportunities open to them in the public and private sectors.

Honorary Consul General of Morocco calls on Administrator Karachi

KARACHI Staff RepoRt

Administrator Karachi Dr. Syed Saifur Rahman on Saturday said that there are friendly relations between Pakistan and Morocco and the locals also consider the people of Morocco as their friends and sympathizer.

“The mutual relations between the two countries should be further expanded. A road in Karachi will be attributed to Morocco and the Moroccan city of Casablanca is proposed to be a sister city of Karachi,” the Administrator said on the occasion of a meeting with the Honorary Consul General of Morocco Ishtiaq Baig, who met Administrator Karachi Dr. Syed Saifur Rahman in his office on here.

The Administrator Karachi said that like the beautiful and modern city of Morocco, Karachi will also be developed and they would welcome Morocco’s cooperation in this regard.

He said that relations between Pakistan and Morocco in various fields will increase, adding that Morocco imports sports goods and surgical items from Pakistan in large quantities.

CM Punjab

Speaking on the occasion, Honorary Consul General Morocco Ishtiaq Baig said that the world’s first university was established in Morocco and Pakistan had openly supported Morocco’s independence.

He said that Tariq bin Ziyad has also been from Morocco. He said that a street in Casablanca has been named after Pakistan and Moroccan people respect Pakistanis immensely, more than 70 families from Morocco have settled in Karachi.

Ishtiaq Baig said that Moroccan people respect their parents very much, when the king of Morocco called the team to play the semi-final of the World Cup, all the players came to the ceremony with their mothers, which can be seen there. The Administrator expressed good wishes for the King of Morocco on behalf of the citizens of Karachi. On this occasion, the Consul General invited the Administrator Karachi to visit Morocco.

Administrator Karachi also presented Consul General Ishtiaq Baig with the emblem of KMC.

balochistan Home minister chairs first meeting of commission on missing Persons

QUETTA Staff RepoRt

Balochistan Minister for Home and Tribal Affair Mir Ziaullah Langu presided over the first meeting of the Commission on Missing Persons (CMPs) on Friday. The meeting was attended by, Provincial Finance Minister Zmarak Khan Achakzai and members of the provincial assembly Zabad Riki and Malik Naseer Shahwani. Additional Chief Secretary Home Zahid Saleem gave a detailed briefing to the meeting saying that the Commission was formed on November 17, 2021 on the orders of the Balochistan High Court (BHC). The purpose of setting up the commission was to review the case of each missing person and take measures for his recovery. During the briefing, The Additional Secretary said that the procedure for support and assistance to the relatives of the missing persons would be clearly considered. The commission would take measures to help the families of the missing person who were not involved in terrorist activities. The meeting decided to call for a detailed list of missing persons from relevant quarters. The minister said the Commission would meet the families of the missing persons saying that the high-power parliamentary Commission made every possible effort to support the families of the missing persons.

aid agencies provide 20.5m dollars to KP government

PESHAWAR aziz BuneRi

Foreign Aid agencies have provided 20.5 million US dollars loan to cash strapped Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. The provincial Finance Department has said that the KP government has achieved the already set targets on the ongoing development projects as a result, the province was a provided another installment of 20.5 million US dollars debt in mid-December. After this approval, it took two in to transferring the funds and now two and a half million dollars i.e. Rs5.66 billion have been received by the provincial government. The transfer of loan is considered a positive step for the province which is suffering from financial crisis. The fund will also be used for the release of development funds and grants, including salaries of employees. According to the sources of the Finance Department, due to the ongoing "cold war" between KP and the federal government, development programs of the province have been severely affected as the center has stopped the province funding since the removal of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government through a no-confidence motion. The province was also unable to pay salaries to its employees and was relying on loans from the State Bank and other commercial banks.

Hong Kong signs moU with Pakistan on education cooperation

BEIJING Staff RepoRt

Staff RepoRt

Talking

He further said that the coalition government had taken effective steps to improve the country’s economy and saved it from heading towards default. He dismissed the false propaganda that the country was facing the risk of default. He said that due to the prudent economic policies of the coalition government, the economic condition of the country was improving.

The governor said that Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and his economic team were working day and night to get the country out of economic crisis. He added, “Due to efforts of the coalition government, our friendly countries have indicated their full cooperation and support to deal with the economic crisis, which is a positive development and a big achievement.”

Members of National and Provincial Assembly Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, Khawaja Imran Nazir, Nawab

Meanwhile, Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman while paying homage to the officers of Counter Terrorism Department, who were martyred in a firing incident by the terrorists near Khanewal recently, said that our law enforcement agencies and armed forces are rendering sacrifices in war against terrorism, their blood will not be wasted. He said that along with the military and political leadership, the entire nation is on the same page in uprooting terrorism. Governor Punjab prayed for the officers who were martyred in this incident of terrorism.

The Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training of Pakistan to enhance education collaboration. The MOU provides a framework to facilitate strategic education collaboration between Hong Kong and Pakistan and covers mutually beneficial initiatives, including the exchange of expertise and experience, exchange of educational literature, teaching aids and demonstration materials, as well as exchanges of scholars, teachers, experts, students and other education personnel, according to an official press release, China.org.com reported on Friday. Choi Yuk-lin, education secretary of the HKSAR government, said that the MOU marks the beginning of a new phase of close cooperation between Hong Kong and Pakistan in the area of education. The HKSAR government has signed nine MOUs with countries along the Belt and Road to date, which demonstrates the HKSAR government’s commitment to and effort in enhancing the internationalization of education as well as strengthening educational ties and exchanges with the Belt and Road countries, Choi said. “I am confident that the MOU will facilitate more comprehensive exchanges and collaboration in education between the two places,” she said.

Dr Syed Saifur Rehman said that the way Pakistani fans have encouraged the Moroccan team in the semifinals of the World Cup held in Qatar is proof that the citizens of Pakistan love Morocco.

LAHORE

Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman said on Friday that chief minister Punjab would have to take a vote of confidence as it was a constitutional requirement, otherwise, he would lose the office.

to a delegation of former provincial ministers and parliamentarians at Governor House here, he said that the chief minister had been asked to take a vote of confidence according to the constitution and law.

Sher Waseer Malik Muhammad Riaz, Mian Fida Hussain Watto, Rana Abdul Rauf Ghazali, Saleem Butt, Hina Parvez Butt, Samira Komal, Faisal Hayat Jabwana and Mufti Intikhab Alam were among those who met the governor in separate meetings.

will have to get vote of confidence: governor

PaKistan cUstoms officers ’emPloy litigation to misUse seized veHicles’

ISLAMABAD Shahzad paRacha

tHEofficers of custom department across the country are reportedly resorting to the dishonest tactics of filing frivolous petitions and appeals before the courts in order to retain in their possession for longest possible periods the seized vehicles actually under their personal use or in the use of their friends and families.

Sources disclosed that despite petrol rising above rupees two hundreds a litre, and the country facing a grave economic situation, FBR's custom officers continue filling the luxury seized vehicles like V8, Lexus and Prado with government funded petrol and keeping such vehicles in their personal and private uses under the garb of frivolous petitions and appeals filed just to delay the vehicles' release to their lawful owners even after court orders.

anti-tank landmine defused

SIALKOT Staff RepoRt

The bomb disposal squad defused a high intensity Indian-made anti tank landmine recovered from village Charind in the jurisdiction of Sadar Pasrur police station.

In a case in which the custom department had not released a vehicle despite lower courts' orders for its release and had resorted to frivolous litigation to keep the vehicle in their possession and private use for the longest possible period, the apex court where the case ultimately landed imposed on custom department a fine of fifty thousand rupees for its frivolous litigation, wondered how the big vehicles could be smuggled into the country like match boxes concealed inside pockets and called DG custom intelligence Faiz Ahmad to explain why the vehicle had not been released despite lower courts' orders for its release to the lawful owners.

At the time, Supreme court was hearing this case, the court might not be knowing that a number of senior customs officers had in their possession and private use a luxury lexus and several other luxury vehicles the owners of some of which might have been dragged by him or his predecessors in

frivolous litigation with the same ulterior motives, a litigation similar to the one now brought before the apex court.

Sources wondered how the vehicles which the custom department seized under the charge of smuggling could become lawful once these were grabbed by the custom officers themselves and brought under their own personal and private uses or the uses of their friends and families.

Sources said that in many of the cases like the one now heard by the apex court, an untold story of public misery and the custom department's administrative excesses remains hidden in the background.

The day courts come to know how the custom department's officers themselves change the laws, issue SROs and indulge as accomplices in the large scale smuggling, that day will begin the true justice in deciding the smuggling cases.

The officers from bottom to top of the department of custom intelligence created to

keep vigilance on and prevent such smuggling extort massive amounts of bribe money in return for keeping their hands off such smuggling from custom stations and highways.

The best proof of the collusion of FBR's top hierarchy in the offence of smuggling is their zero performance in securing convictions of smugglers and in identifying to the special judge customs the smugglers and their properties for proceedings under the Prevention of Smuggling Act, 1977, sources added.

23 new Corona cases reported in last 24 hours: NIH

ISAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Khurram Niazi said Sadaqat Ali, a resident of village Charind, found the landmine and informed the police. On information, the bomb disposal squad defused it and took it into custody as well. The deputy commissioner said that according to an initial report of the Civil Defence, the landmine was Indian-made which contained four to five ounces of highly sensitive explosives.

capital’s air pollution goes high amid inclement weather

ISLAMABAD: The federal capital’s air quality on Friday was reported unhealthy amid inclement weather posing vulnerable age groups comprising children, women and the elderly at risk of contracting respiratory ailments. Air pollution in the metropolis remained high since the onset of the fall season as prolonged dry weather, increased vehicular traffic, garbage and wood burning continued to surge. The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) daily air quality report indicated heightened ratio of air pollutants, recorded above permissible limits, and the air quality was unhealthy. The Agency is responsible to ensure the protection of the environment under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997. The hazardous air pollutant particulate matter of 2.5 microns (PM2.5), which was a hazardous atmospheric contaminant, remained beyond 70 micro grammes per cubic meter on average which was higher than the NEQS of 35 mic-programmes per cubic meter and denoted the air quality unhealthily. Staff RepoRt

Health officials on Friday said that 23 new Coronavirus cases were reported during the past 24 hours across the country.

As per data shared by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the case positivity ratio is 0.59 percent while 22 patients were in critical condition.

No death was reported from the Coronavirus in the last 24 hours while 3,910 Covid-19 Corona tests were conducted.

Around 242 tests were conducted in Islamabad, 760 in Lahore and 513 in Peshwar with reports of two, six, and three confirmed cases

respectively.

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 subvariant of Covid-19.

The minister said that there was a surveillance system at all entry points of the country including airports.

He said,” 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 subvariant 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.

Pak-UK relations based on shared culture of democracy: NA Speaker

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Friday said Pakistan and the United Kingdom (UK) enjoyed cordial relations based upon a shared culture of democracy and a parliamentary form of government.

He expressed these views during his meeting with Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle on the sidelines of the 26th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth (CSPOC ) in Canberra, Australia. The speaker said these ties could be further strengthened by enhancing parliament-to-parliament contacts.

Discussing the innovative initiatives introduced by the parliament of Pakistan, he said it had been at the forefront

to guide the nation on the path of progress of development.

He informed that it was the first Green Parliament, the first in the region to establish a parliamentary caucus on child rights, first to open the doors for those who were real pillars of democracy like women, children, minorities, and the transgender community on the occasion of diamond jubilee celebration.

He also said this year parliament of Pakistan also enacted a record number of legislations besides fighting successfully the case of climate justice for Pakistan.

House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle expressed solidarity with the flood-affected people of Pakistan.

He said enhancing parliamentary contacts was pivotal to learning from parliamentary experiences.

He also said innovative parliaments were essential prerequisites to tackling global challenges.

Govt urged to continue energy sector reforms via privatization

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has given policy recommendation to government of Pakistan to improve the energy sector and to resolve the outstanding issues being faced by the sector.

A latest report published by the ADB titled “CAREC Energy Outlook 2030” recommended to continue energy sector reforms via privatization and develop competitive markets further.

The shift towards a competitive energy market for both electricity and natural gas should continue, with clearly adopted legislation to ensure efficient implementation.

It also recommended to gradually decrease energy subsidies for generation and distribution. This can potentially be achieved by revising the existing tariff structure to allow higher returns for T&D companies, thereby decreasing circular debt while enabling larger infrastructure investments. The revised subsidy strategy for power consumers devised in 2021 is an important step in this direction.

“Continue the expansion of and support for the renewable energy sector. The tremendous potential for solar PV and wind power generation should be developed rapidly. A transition away from thermal generation would reduce both emissions and supply risks, decreasing the country’s dependency on imports”, the report added.

Introduce carbon pricing, specifically an emissions trading scheme. Carbon pricing is an effective policy instrument to mitigate GHG emissions, mainly by passing the cost of emitting to the emitters and thereby giving them financial incentives to reduce their emissions. Launching the National Committee on Establishment of Carbon Markets in December 2019 was the first step in this direction.

The report further proposed to introduce a detailed energy plan for the energy sector that establishes concrete actions and measures. The successful adoption of a detailed energy plan for the energy sector will improve transparency and help guide private investors in their search for investment opportunities.

Clearly define resource categories to ensure proper

development. Categorizing hydropower as a renewable energy resource is crucial for the successful implementation of further projects, and for attracting more investment via incentives for renewable power projects.

The report recommended to establish development plans for the transmission sector and rural electrification. One of the key challenges is high T&D losses, which is also a primary cause of circular debt in the market.

“The successful implementation of the country’s transmission line development plan will provide a defined strategy toward the reduction of losses. In addition, strategy planning for the electrification of rural regions is of great importance, as it will introduce more customers to the grid and enable further economic development”, the report added.It also proposed to further introduce energy efficiency policy measures in consumption sectors via building codes and relevant legislations. While an energy efficiency policy with a strong development goal has been established, further implementation of related rules and secondary legislation is required to ensure sufficient progress during the implementation stage.

Sources further said FBR enjoyed massive authority of making rules and issuing SROs which the high ups of customs have been massively misusing for their personal gains.

Adding a matching accountability to the FBR's massive authority, sources said, could begin a new smuggling free and crime free era in the history of country's revenue administration. Few cases like the one in which apex court has fined the custom department will then land before the courts.

Junaid safdar says he won’t be participating in political activities

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Ousted premier Nawaz Sharif’s grandson Junaid Safdar, while confirming that he had moved to Pakistan, insisted on Friday that he won’t be participating in any political activities. In an Instagram post today, he said that he has moved to Pakistan purely to be of service to his parents, family and community.“ “I will not be participating in any political activity, nor have I any interest in politics for now,” Junaid said, adding that he was loving the winters in Lahore and had missed them. His clarification comes after several reports said Junaid would be helping his mother and PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz in the upcoming general elections. Junaid has primarily remained out of the spotlight. Last year, he was in the headlines last year for his extravagant wedding event in Pakistan. Maryam and her father have left for a week-long trip to Geneva. The visit coincides with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s attendance at the UN-led donors conference, where the premier will appeal to the international community for assistance for post-flood rehabilitation. Earlier, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Maryam would be returning to Pakistan in the third week of January.

UN dUty boUNd to imPlemeNt reSolUtioNS oN KASHmir, SAyS bArriSter SUltAN

MUZAFFARABAD Staff RepoRt

AZADJammu and Kashmir (AJK)

President Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry has said that the United Nations was duty-bound to implement its road map on Kashmir to get the dispute resolved peacefully in line with the wishes of Kashmiri people.

He expressed these views while addressing a book launching ceremony here on Thursday. The ceremony was attended and addressed by former Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Sardar Atique Ahmad Khan, Convenor All Party Hurriyat Conference

Mehmood Ahmed Sagar, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Abdul Rashid Turabi, Former Minister Farzana Yaqub, Ershad Mahmud, Altaf Hussain Wani and several others.

The book on the history of the heroic struggle for the right to self-determination of people of Jammu & Kashmir resisting brutal oppression in Indian Occupied Kashmir, was written by eminent scholar & senior Hurriyat leader Muhammad Farooq Rehmani.

Speaking on the occasion, the AJK President while highlighting the dangerous dimensions of the Kashmir dispute said that it was high time that the international community should use its diplomatic clout to solve the problem on the basis of the right of self-

determination.

He said that the Hindu supremacist regime led by Modi was hellbent on turning India into a Hindu Rashtra. Referring to massive human rights violations being committed by the Indian troops in occupied Kashmir, he said that the trigger-happy Indian forces involved in war crimes should be held accountable. He however maintained that despite unleashing havoc in the region India can not succeed to achieve its nefarious designs in the region.

Lauding the Kashmiris’ sacrifices, he said that the people of Kashmir have kept the flame of freedom burning by offering sacrifices of their precious lives.

The president while reiterating his commitment to highlight the Kashmir cause both at the national and international level said, “We assure the people of Illegally Occupied Kashmir that we are with them in this struggle for freedom”.

Barrister Chaudhry said that all the actions India had taken on Kashmir since 5th August 2019 have pushed the region into a quagmire of uncertainty, lawlessness and instability.

Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry congratulated Hurriyat leader Muhammad Farooq Rahmani on the publication of his book and termed it a significant contribution to the history and resistance literature.

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter has paid rich tribute to the martyrs of the Sopore massacre.

The APHC-AJK organized a conference, today, on the anniversary of the martyrs of the Sopore massacre under the chairmanship of Convener Mahmood Ahmed Saghar.

Addressing the conference, Hurriyat leaders said that it was on this day in January 1993 when Indian troops massacred innocent people in Sopore and set hundreds of shops and houses on fire. He added that the great sacrifices of the martyrs were a valuable asset of the freedom movement, which the Kashmiris would protect at all costs.

The Hurriyat leaders said that India had failed to suppress the freedom spirit of the Kashmiris with all its brutal tactics and tyranny. They said that India should shun the path of oppression and realise the ground realities of the occupied territory and give the Kashmiris their birthright to self-determination.

The Hurriyat leaders maintained that durable peace and development in the region was not possible until the lingering Kashmir dispute was resolved in accordance with the United Nations resolutions and the will of the Kashmiri people.

Besides Mahmood Ahmed Saghar, Ghulam Muhammad Safi, Altaf Hussain Wani, Sheikh Abdul Mateen, Hassan Bana, Muhammad Hussain Khateeb, Sanaullah Dar, Zahid Safi, Raja Khadim Hussain, Mian Muzaffar, Adeel Mushtaq Wani, Zahid Ashraf, Gulshan Ahmed, Ashfaq Balwal, Sheikh Abdul Majid and Imtiaz Wani addressed the conference.

At the end of the function, prayers were offered for the elevation of ranks of the martyrs of Kashmir and former

Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Qazi Hussain Ahmed.

On the occasion, the APHC-AJK leaders expressed their grief and sorrow over the deaths of Hurriyat activists Nasrullah Khaki and Muhammad Umar, and expressed solidarity with the bereaved families.

Raja Najabat urges world powers to take solid steps for Kashmir solution Mirpur, January 06 (KMS): The Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Self-Determination Movement International, Raja Najabat Hussain has urged the world powers to take solid steps for settlement of the Kashmir dispute.

According to Kashmir Media Service, Raja Najabat Hussain addressing a function in Mirpur in connection with Kashmiris’ Right to Self-Determination Day said a comprehensive strategy and policy should be formulated and the Kashmiris, who are the main parties to the dispute, should be given a role to implement it and take it forward.

He said as a Kashmiri he appeals to all the national leadership, the heads of all national institutions and the heads of all decision-making bodies to take the Kashmiri leadership, Hurriyat leadership and other Kashmiris into confidence regarding the Kashmir dispute and take a solid decision according to the requirements of the time.

Raja Najabat Hussain said the people of Pakistani and Kashmir want to complete Pakistan by liberating the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir from Indian yoke. Strong and stable Pakistan could effectively advocate the Kashmir cause at international level, he added.

He maintained that lacs of Pakistanis and Kashmiris were living abroad and reiterated the pledge to make Pakistan a prosperous country. He said that the Kashmir freedom movement would be taken to its logical end at every cost.

MUZAFFARABAD Staff RepoRt

Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan has said that climate change was the biggest threat the world has ever faced.

Referring to the deadly floods that drowned half of Pakistan recently, the PM said that the floods that wreaked havoc in Pakistan last summer speak volumes about the catastrophic impacts of climate change.

He said that Azad Kashmir was also facing severe climate challenges, due to its peculiar landscape. Flash floods, cloudbursts and rising temperatures in Azad Kashmir , he said, were the result of fastmelting glaciers in the Himalayas.

“Melting glaciers have a direct effect on the region’s climate and environment”,

he said, adding that the Government of Pakistan should provide funds to the Government of Azad Kashmir to mitigate climate change impacts effectively.

The PM said that the temperature of other cities, including the capital city Muzaffarabad, has increased rapidly in the past few years, which is having harmful effects on the population and environment.

He said that it was unfortunate that no lessons whatsoever has been learned from the deadly earthquake of 2005.

“Rotten material is still being used in the construction process”, he said, adding that all concerned departments and authorities have been strictly instructed that there will be no compromise on substandard constructions.

He said that Pakistan is one of the countries affected by climate change. “Dur-

QUETTA

Staff RepoRt

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Agha Hasan Baloch has said that the educated skilled workforce of Balochistan has full potential to play it positive role in the uplift of the country and Balochistan province.

He expressed these views while addressing the opening ceremony of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) and COSAT University Gwadar Campus, organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

He said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and party leader Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal want real development in the province. The success of CPEC depends on the development of people of Gwadar, especially fishermen.

He said that the Technical Training Center for Precision Mechanics and Instrument Technology, Gwadar project built at a cost of more than 1200 million will provide better opportunities to the youth here to acquire modern

education and technical skills.

The Federal Minister further said that the objectives of the project include the development and generation of technical know-how in the field of precision mechanics, instrument technology and die and mold technology.

The Technical Training center will also provide consultancy services to the local industry on designing mechanical products, jigsaws and fixtures which will help in skilling the local community, increasing exports and creating employment opportunities.

The Federal Minister for Science and Technology noted that after Quetta, COSAT University is starting the teaching process in Gwadar in the next two months so that the people of Gwadar, especially the children of fishermen, can get modern education.

Similarly, to provide higher education facilities to more than 1,400 students by the end of 5 years, the government is announcing its new plan

“COSMAT University Islamabad will talk to the federal government for building a campus in Gwadar, Balochistan. The total cost of

which is 2400 million rupees.

Initially, bachelor-level degree programs will be started in the fields of computer sciences, engineering, business administration and basic sciences. The project will be completed in 48 months.

By the time the project is completed, 400 students will start graduating from the CUI Gwadar campus annually.

He said that our effort is to give priority to the children of locals and fishermen of Gwadar on 65 vacant posts of the Gwadar campus. Earlier, according to the vision of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Federal Minister inaugurated a very successful project of the National Institute of Oceanography, which will cost a total of three hundred million.

The objectives of the project are competence and self-sufficiency in marine research to achieve self-reliance.

The center will serve as a national center for advising Balochistan and the federal government on marine technology transfer and sustainable development of marine resources.

mela Noor Shah begins today

MUZAFFARGARH Staff RepoRt

LARKANA Staff RepoRt

Hundreds of boys and girl students of various schools of Larkana are constantly holding protest demonstrations separately in and outside their respective schools while holding placards and shouting slogans here on Friday against lethargic and lukewarm attitude of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) authorities who have issued a notification to charge each student of Rs1100 from 9th class and 2600 from 10th class poor students despite the fact that Sindh Government has declared free education upto matric in the province.

These students belonged to Government Pilot Higher secondary School, government Model English School, Government Municipal Higher Secondary School, Government Saint Joseph High School, Government Girls Higher School,

Government Little Folks School, Government Deeni Madressa High School, Government High School, Kanga village, Rahim Bughio village and other schools of Naundero etc. They shouted slogans against the BISE authorities which had daringly and openly violated government directives for their nefarious designs.

Agitating students Farhat Abbasi, Muntazir mehdi, Kabir Memon, Sachal Jamali, Almas Bhutto, Yasra Soomro, Sawera Jatoi and others said that free textbooks are supplied to them by the government along with free education but this time BISE is charging Rs1100 from each 9th class students and Rs2600 from 10th class students as annual fee which is criminal act despite free education across Sindh. They said that if the BISE did not withdraw its arbitrary decision then so many students will be deprived of their basic right to education and remain illiterate as their parents cannot pay them because of flood devastation.

A number of people have started arriving at Kot Addu district along with their herds of camels to join a four-day traditional festival, Mela Noor Shah, that would open with a camels’ fight on Saturday, Jan 7. Hazrat Baba Noor Shah Qalandar Mela is held annually at Noor Shah Tilai area of Kot Addu and attracts a large number of spectators besides herds of camels from across Pakistan who are skillful in camels’ fight. Camels decorated with ornaments and flowers were paraded before a crowd as people performed ‘Bhangra’ to the beat of drums on Friday. While there were many who expressed concerns that the fight would be like exposing the animals before the risk of injuries, the owners of camels said they spend huge on preparing camels for the fight adding that camels’ fight was a part of their culture for a long and people enjoy it. However, people of the area disputed their claim of the practice being part of the culture and added that not only it was risky for animals but would also lure many to indulge in illegal betting on camel fights.

ing the terrible earthquake of 2005, a large number of deaths were also caused due to poor construction”, he said.

He said that it was unfortunate that the political leadership at that time played politics to protect their interests when the whole world stood at our doors with millions of dollars in hand to build devastated cities on modern foundations.

“We are grateful to all the countries and institutions that helped the Kashmiri people in the recovery and reconstruction after the earthquake of 2005”, the PM said.

He said that the government was going to bring a big change in its policy to improve the existing cities and to build new cities. “Practical steps will be taken soon to utilize the services of experienced and professional town planners”, the PM added.

PPP will fully participate in municipal polls: Ghani

KARACHI Staff RepoRt

Sindh Minister Saeed Ghani on Friday announced that his ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) will participate fully in the municipal elections of Karachi and will be successful. PPP will have mayors in both the major and most populated cities of the province, Karachi and Hyderabad, he said while addressing a press conference in Karachi on Friday. The the provincial minister said though his party in Sindh province cannot extend the date of the elections and make delimitations as it is not their authority. Ghani said that the issue of constituencies is in the Sindh High Court.

Baloch skilled workforce to act as catalyst for development of country: Baloch Larkana students continue protest against BISE fees

APHC-AJK pays tribute to martyrs of Sopore massacre

PM AJK terms climate change as serious threat to world

Elahi chairs UoG convocaTion, okays kEy projEcTs for varsiTy

guJrAt Staff RepoRt

THE7TH convocation of the University of Gujrat (UoG) was held here at Hafiz Hayat Campus on Friday with Punjab Chief Minister Ch Pervaiz Elahi chairing the ceremony and approving a few key development projects costing hundreds of millions of rupees for the varsity.

Ch Pervaiz Elahi, who is the cofounder of the institution, during his address on the occasion, expressed his satisfaction over the progress made by the university in all these years.

“I am really happy to know that a 62 per cent of the students at the varsity are girls from Gujrat and various adjoining districts,” he said.

“It is my firm conviction that a country or a nation cannot make any progress without investing in education,” he declared.

He told the students amid a loud cheer of applause that

sBp’s undeclared ban on imports continues to affect business activities: piaf

LAHore Staff RepoRt

The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations

Front (PIAF) has stated that the government’s strict import policy along with high cost of doing business owing to multiple increases in fuel cost and energy tariffs have almost halted the industrial production, as the Central Bank’s undeclared ban on imports continued to affect the business activities in the country. PIAF Chairman Faheemur Rehman Saigol observed that the State Bank of Pakistan has announced to relax some restrictions on imports pertaining to HS Code Chapter 84, 85 and certain items of Chapter 87 but practically nothing has changed, as trade and industry continued to face hurdles in imports as well as exports shipment proceeds. In a joint statement along with senior vice chairman Nasrullah Mughal and vice chairman Tahir Manzoor, Faheem Saigol said that the industry needs a supply chain to run the whole economy, adding that the big industries require raw material all the time. He said that the economy of Pakistan needed to boost exports for which it is important that the SBP should further relax import restrictions and adopt a more lenient import policy as many export-oriented industries have to import raw materials and intermediate goods to produce the finished products. The State Bank’s decision severely affected the pharmaceutical, auto, plastic, mobile phone, engineering and textile industries negatively. The most concerned are those industries whose consignments have reached at the port and are being asked by the suppliers to pay the bill but the banks are still creating hurdles on behest of the State Bank. Though importers have the money but are unable to send the amount to them. Those who import goods under Cash Against Document are of the view their clients are getting angry with them as they are not able to make payment timely.

The PIAF Chairman said that the collection at the import stage contributes almost 50 percent of the total revenue collection. However, the restricted imports policy is badly affecting the tax collection of the country as the loss in revenue collection at the import stage has reached almost to over Rs.50 billion monthly. He said that if the imports are not further relaxed, the contractionary policy will further impact the revenue collection in the coming months.

that

He

pus, the chief minister was warmly received by Prof. Dr Shabbar Atiq along with his team of senior academics and administration officials.

During a meeting at his office, the vice chancellor briefed the chief minister about the various educational activities as well as the progress and achievements made by the varsity in the field of research and development.

Later, he was led to the venue of the ceremony in front of the Quaid-e-Azam Library. He conferred degrees upon 2000 graduates from various departments. He also awarded gold medals to 158 toppers from various departments.

Pride of Gujrat member European Parliament for life Lord Wajid Khan was conferred upon an honorary doctorate of philosophy in recognition of his struggle for human rights and support to the just cause of Kashmiris fighting Indian oppression. An oath ceremony was conducted for the NSMC graduates of 2012-17 and 2013-18 sessions.

Earlier,

Bumper crop in Rabi season likely, but concerns loom large

contInueD froM pAge 01

The amount of loans disbursed is expected to go up to Rs 800 billion by the end of December. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Minister for Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema said that the agriculture loan was the component of Prime Minister Kissan Package

of Rs 1,819 billion to revive Pakistan’s agriculture sector, particularly restoring the agriculture of areas affected by catastrophic floods during monsoon season. However, it is worth mentioning here that this is as far as it can and should go. The scale of the problem faced by our agricultural sector will not be fixed by any subsidy package.

At most, any subsidy will provide temporary relief. For too long the state has allowed the country’s agriculture to suffer and have offered only stop-gap solutions such as subsidy packaged. We have been papering over the cracks for so long that our entire agrarian economy has grown dependent on subsidy packages.

TIP pinpoints PPRA violations in procurement of laptops under PM Scheme

ISLAMABAD Shahzad paRacha

The Transparency International (TI), Pakistan has pointed out PPRA violations in procurement of 100 thousand laptops under Prime Minister Laptop Scheme 2022-23. According to a letter available with this scribe, the International Transparency Pakistan Chapter wrote a letter to Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Chairman, Higher Education Commission on Friday.

The TI Pakistan mentioned in the letter that the organization has received a complaint against the violation of PPRA Rules 2004, in the invitation of bids Tender ID HEC-0230, procurement of 100,000 laptops for Prime Minister Laptop Scheme 2022-23.

The TIP said that the complainant has made allegations that the procuring agency restricted bidders to submit bids security in the form of Bank Draft/ Pay Order, which is in violation of rules.

The PPRA permits bidders to

submit bids security from an insurance company having at least AA rating from PACRA/JCR in favour of the Employer.

The TIP has said that the market price of a laptop available for university students ranging from Rs 75,000 to 90,000 in the country Whereas, in this tender, the estimated price of a laptop is Rs 108,000 which is higher, considering 100,000 laptops to be procured. Based on the authenticity of the submitted documents, prima facie, it appears that the allegations are correct, said in the letter.

The HEC has violated PPRA Rules 2004, for disallowing bidders to submit bids security from an insurance company having at least AA rating from PACRA/JCR in favour of the Employer, due to the fact that a Procuring agency when engaged in procurement of works, shall use the standard form of bidding documents prescribed by the Pakistan Engineering Council.

The Bid Security shall be, at the option of the bidder, in the form of Deposit at Call or a Bank

Guarantee issued by a Scheduled Bank in Pakistan or from a foreign bank duly counter-guaranteed by a Scheduled Bank in Pakistan or an insurance company having at least AA rating from PACRAIKR in favour of the Employer valid for a period 28 days beyond the bid validity date.

The TI further said that the estimated cost Rs.108,000 per laptop is very high. The market price ranges from 75K to 90K which are listed prices, and for bulk supply, the prices are normally reduced by suppliers as bulk supply between 25 to 35 percent.

The violation of any of the PPRA Rules may amount to misprocurement as per Rule 50 of the PPRA Rules 2004, mentioned in the letter.

The TI Pakistan has recommended to the Chairman HEC to look into the allegations and if found correct, re-invite the tender and the PC-1 may be prepared based on the market prices which may result in saving of Rs.5 billion on this project.

Chinese foundation distributes relief supplies to flood-hit families in Pakistan

BeIJIng Staff RepoRt

China Foundation for Rural Development (CFRD), collaborating with Tencent Charity Foundation (Tencent Foundation), distributed relief supplies to flood-affected people in Pakistan.

Up to now, 1,900 units of relief materials have been distributed, including 1,900 food packages, 1,700 cold-resistant tarpaulins, 1,700 quilts, and 1,700 blankets, benefiting more than 13,000

people from 1,900 flood-affected families in Ghizer, Hunza and other areas in Gilgit Baltistan, CEN reported on Friday.

Months after unprecedented floods ravaged Pakistan, vast swathes of cropland and villages remain under water, while nearly 10 million girls and boys remain in need of immediate, lifesaving support, said UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA) earlier this month. As per the report, millions of people are still exposed to floodwater or living close to flooded areas. Many families

are still living in makeshift tents alongside the road or near the rubble of their homes. Through such activities, “we stand by our Pakistani brothers and sisters,” a source from CFRD said.

At the end of 2022, CFRD also donated flood relief assistance to the Pakistan Federation of Chambers and Commerce and Industry (FPCCI).

Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, President of FPCCI said that FPCCI will ensure the successful implementation of food and other relief goods distribution projects

with the support from CFRD. The Chinese government and the people of China have made a substantive contribution to Pakistan’s relief and rehabilitation efforts, he added.

Established in 1989, China Foundation for Rural Development (formerly China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation) is one of the largest charity organizations in China for poverty alleviation.

At present, CFPA has implemented long-term projects in Myanmar, Nepal, Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Sudan.

na body on safron recommends faTa house islamabad’s handing over to kp govt

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The National Assembly Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) on Friday discussed the issue of FATA House Islamabad and recommended to the Ministry of Interior to handover the possession to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and submit the report to the Committee accordingly.

The Committee which met here at Parliament House with MNA Muhammad Jamal ud Din in the Chair, was of the view that FATA House was the property of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government after FATA merger. On the issue of non-inclusion of students from Deeni Madaaris as well as students from Erstwhile FATA into Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme, the Committee was informed by the Chairman HEC that 9500 laptops given to the FATA students under the Laptop scheme.

The Chairman HEC further informed that Deeni Madaaris do not come under the policy and the HEC only awards laptops to the university students.

The Committee recommended to the Chairman HEC to sit together with the Management of Wafaq-ulMadaaris to amend the existing policy and also include Deeni Madaaris students in the said laptop scheme.

The Committee recommended that the DEO Tribal District South Waziristan would be invited in the next meeting for briefing explaining the reasons of not submitting the feasibility report and PC-I of establishing of 39 boys and girls primary schools under ADP No. 389/210339 in South Waziristan.

Earlier, the DEO South Waziristan has given the assurance in the previous meeting of the Committee that the PC-I of the said schools of South Waziristan would be submitted to the Education Department, Government of KP as soon as possible.

The Committee further recommended to the District Education Officers (F/M) of Tribal District South Waziristan to submit the PC-I of the above-mentioned schools within one week to Elementary and Secondary Education Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar and submit back report to the Committee accordingly.

Technical fault disrupts power supply in six feeders

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Power supply to six feeders connected to 132 kV Taimoor Shaheed Grid Station will remain be suspended from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm due to a technical fault at T3 transformer.

GSO teams have already started work to clear the fault, said IESCO spokesperson in a statement issued here Friday. The affected feeders include China Chowk, Supermarket, Pak Secretariat 3 Pak Secretariat 4 and State Life. The IESCO apologized for the inconvenience to the consumers.

during a meeting with

Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shabbar Atiq, he had given approval for the construction of a girls hostel at a cost of Rs420 million, eight buses for student pick-and-drop at a cost of Rs150 million, in addition to the construction of a state-of-the-art IT lab

will cost Rs40 million.

also threw some light on an ambitious development plan for Gujrat city aimed at making it a true centre of excellence.

upon his arrival at the cam-

Mystery persists

THE proceedings of the Joint Investigation Team’s investigation into the attempted assassination of PTI chief and former PM Imran Khan have not shed much light on the attempt itself, but show that the assassination attempt may well degenerate into a political football, with opinions about the investigation corresponding directly with political affiliation. For a start, the JIT itself is controversial. PTI supporters feel it is perfectly fair and objective. PTI opponents believe it is unfair and inclined too much towards Mr Khan and his version of events, because the PTI controls the Punjab government, and formed the JIT. PTI supporters claim Mr Khan was attacked as a result of a conspiracy by the PM, the Interior sinister, two A4rmy officers serving in the ISI, and the then COAS. This, they say, is shown by the confession of the assailant which was videotaped. However, the accused’s lawyer has denied the confession, and has said the videotape was inadmissible. He has claimed that the attempt was actually staged by Mr Khan himself because of the failure of his Long March. Those are the major points of disagreement: actually, there seem to be sharp disagreements on every point. It is virtually a wonder that everyone agrees there was an attempt on Mr Khan.

At one level, it should not matter that the victim was an ex-PM. It should be enough that he is a citizen of the country. However, it cannot be gainsaid that the investigations into the assassinations of PM Liaquat Ali Khan and ex-PM Benazir Bhutto have gone nowhere, and have failed to identify who was behind the attempts. This should not be repeated in this case. The possibilities should be identified clearly, and even if the trial court does not convict the accused, there should have been a high probability of guilt. Whether the cause be religious conviction, as claimed by the accused in his nowimpugned statement, or a conspiracy by the upper echelonsof power, those responsible midst be punished, and any negative thinking must be rooted out, and protocols established to make a PM’s or ex-CM’s security impregnable.

As a first step, the JIT must be reconstituted so that it has the consent of all political forces. Even if the subsequent investigation is rejected by one or more of the political parties (as is more likely than not), the prior agreement will at least convince the public that the truth has been brought out.

FROM 2004 to 2006, when social media platforms such as Facebook, Youtube and Twitter, began their existence one after another, no one had thought that the media would attain a position strong enough to offer an alternative platform to electronic media.

The passing of the 18th Constitutional Amendment to the Constitution in 2010 was abhorred by non-democratic characters. Resultantly, they planned to introduce an alternative political platform to undo the amendment. The fact that around 60 percent of the population was the youth afforded a cogent idea to the characters to influence the country’s trajectory and achieve their target. With its amenable benefits, the youth was available as a target population.

In 2014, the project ‘Alternative Politics’ registered its birth. Social media was deployed to target the youth to claim their share in politics. Spreading disinformation and venting propaganda were used as the main tools to mobilize the youth. Both features were borrowed from the hybrid warfare concept. Nevertheless, the non-democratic characters midwived the project which saw daylight in July 2018. Both before and after the general elections, wealth bridged the gaps to transform a hodgepodge into a political party.

Whereas 2022 witnessed the drop scene of the project ‘alternative politics’, 2023 has so far seen the inversion and implosion of the project in the face of those who launched it and those who were its beneficiaries. Now, the same social media is enthralled with audio leaks of dissolute dialogues and video leaks of debauched dances. Together, both audio and video leaks have wallowed the project of ‘alternative politics’, whether or not it was in the name of making a new State of Madina (Riyasat-e Madina). With that, the desire to fight the fifth-generation hybrid war – the non-kinetic military manoeuvres– through the facility of the youth is also approaching a dead end.

Social media’s power

Social media has been misused to delude the youth

Pakistan’s society more than Pakistan’s enemy. Social engineering has nonplussed the mind of the youth, which have turned their guns on their sponsors in retribution for deceiving. Tit for tat! In Urdu, it is called Tamasha Lagna: an entertainment show is going on. See for yourself the obscured faces of piety.

One consequence of the tamasha might be a law to bring social media under stern regulation, or simply ban social media. That is, to sweep realities under the carpet. It also means that the coming days would be full of a war of attrition between the ashamed and the shamers. In an effort to subdue the other, both would attack the stronghold of the other.

Run by a renowned journalist Ahmad Noorani, the website Fact Focus– an attempt to offer factual, data-driven investigative stories to empower Pakistani citizens– has made its mark. Noorani has given a new (but real) meaning to the power of social media. That is, instead of misleading people by disinformation and propaganda, provide them with information supported by facts (both rolled into one, called truth). This is what the real service of society is and this is what is required to be done by a journalist. Otherwise joining one camp to tout its message to earn money has tarnished the image of both journalism and commentary.

Whereas journalists such as Matiullah Jan, Umar Cheema and Azaz Syed have developed a strong verbal communication power, Noorani has come up with the strength of displaying power. Noorani writes on his website and displays all relevant facts.

dances, the tabla -and- thumka duo. Lately, social media has also revealed that, in an effort to project Pakistan’s soft image, the soft image of many characters has gotten loosened. Certainly, power corrupts. Wealth corrupts. Together, both corrupt absolutely.

In the service of the state, one’s amassing wealth in billions in no small feat. Nevertheless, it is known that the lessons of uprightness, decency, and fair-play are meant for the downtrodden, the masses, who should keep on paying taxes to shore up the suprastructure banking on the omnipotence of tabla -and- thumka for its existence.

People, who admire social media for being an alternative platform to electronic media to seek and spread truth, must get ready for defending this demand or need of theirs to the hilt. They may not be supported much by electronic media which views social media as its (financial) competitor. If society values truth, it must speak for the existence of a powerful social media, and not an attenuated, subjugated one

The other day, Cheema narrated the story of how he was picked up in September 2010 and tortured in an effort to intimidate him. He spent six hours in the captivity of masked men, who advised him to stop criticizing the government in his news feed to an English-language daily. He was told that, in case of disobedience, he would face consequences worse than this time. Certainly, the abduction by the state machinery was an attempt to hush up a voice of truth. Such attempts of abduction are contemptuous. The faces behind such attempts are the villains that the state is harbouring. Their acts are crimes against society and the state. They need to be brought to justice.

Social media’s power to deconstruct a false narrative and supplant it with facts is both praiseworthy and worrisome. Praiseworthy, because it serves society; worrisome, because it is despised by the ruling class. Efforts are underway to subdue social media.

Yousaf Nizami Editor

M. A. Niazi Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor

Within the context of the fifth-generation hybrid war, it is not known how many cyber-attacks the defenders have repulsed; however, it is known that, supported by artificial intelligence, the tools of disinformation and propaganda have impaired

Proponents of the hybrid war must learn valour from this kind of journalist, who is respected in society more than those journalists who have earned millions in the name of serving the cause of ‘alternative politics’. Noorani has denounced the path which blends power with wealth, whether or not wealth is earned by legitimate means. When the defenders of Pakistan’s ideological boundaries get busy in amassing wealth, the task is consigned to the warriors of the hybrid war, which has consumed millions of the taxpayers’ money in songs and

People, who admire social media for being an alternative platform to electronic media to seek and spread truth, must get ready for defending this demand or need of theirs to the hilt. They may not be supported much by electronic media which views social media as its (financial) competitor. If society values truth, it must speak for the existence of a powerful social media, and not an attenuated, subjugated one.

The writer can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo.com

Climate Justice among ‘South Global’ Countries

south’ countries, due to global warming.

GHGs, better known as greenhouse gases. trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere. The sun shines through the atmosphere, heating the earth’s surface. During the dark hours, the earth’s surface cools, lets heat go back into the air. But some part of the heat is trapped by the GHGs in the air. That’s what maintains the earth’s temperature at a moderate 14°C (57°F).

Let’s jump back tothe 18th century, when a dramatic shift occurred in human history and the Neolithic Revolution was supplant by the Industrial revolution. It started from Great Britain and spread to the rest of the world like wildfire. It completely changed the living fashion by shifting hand labour to machines, fueled by new sources of energy.

With the birth of the industrial epoch, human beings have been releasing great quantities of GHGs into the air. The burning of fossil fuels like natural gas, coal and oil - mortals significantly contribute to the amounts of carbon dioxide and other GHGs in the air, add to the rise in earth temperature.

For instance, in the 18th century, there were 280 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the air, but by 2005, the level had risen to 380 ppm. With the passage of time -as the energy usage of the world’s nations expanded, it caused the rise in earth’s temperature. So basically global warming is linked with human intervention which enhance greenhouse effects.

So who is mainly responsible for this? And why does climate justice ‘matter?

Industrial Revolution - an initiative by western world. So its main beneficiaries were ‘global north’ countries and its heavy losses were faced by ‘global

As said “climate change is hitting the poor first and worst” the periphery countries are more vulnerable to climate change and global warming than core countries. The inequality was on the basis of geography and level of development. The power of ‘north global’ countries in bargaining in the global economy has a great influence on the ‘south global’ countries.

The rich countries with plenty of resources. like the USA, Japan, Canada and other Western countries, are responsible for releasing 50 percent of earth- warming GHGs from fossil fuel and industry over the past 170 years. On the other side, the Developing countries with limited financial resources— faced the brunt of climate droughts, floods, famines, storms, sea level rise and deaths— contribute only eight percent of carbon dioxide emissions.

Climate justice recognises the disproportionate impact of climate change on low income countries. They are thr people and places less responsible for this problem. Climate justice is a ‘just transition’ of economies based on fossil fuels to an equitable, renewable energybased system.

Most vulnerable to climate change are people of communities. So climate justice places an ethical challenge. Its advocates are people from the global south and within rich countries.

So here the question is how to combat global warming. What we can do is end reliance on fossil fuels; practise sustainable agriculture: organic farming, better forestry management; adopt a sustainable transportation habit and start use renewable energy sources.

The most recent example is Pakistan’s 2022 flood disaster which affeced more than 33 million people and claimed the lives of more than 1500 people. Pakistan is responsible for less than one percent of the world’s planetwarning gases, yet it is the eigth most vulnerable to climate crises. Hence, south global countries contribute a little but suffered a lot. That is the reason why climate justice matters.

Climate justice mainly deals with two issues: 1. whether countries are contributing their ‘fair share’ in reducing global emissions. For this purpose the Paris Agreement was adopted by 196 countries at COP’ 21 but it does not create an obligation for signatory countries to submit their intentions to decarbonise through NDCs—Nationally Determined Contributions. There is no official way of driving up the contribution to the global effort. The advocates of climate justice argue that developed nations are often the target of criticism, but contributions are coming from emerging economies India and China too. 2. Where the financing came from to support climate change mitigation and adaptation in poor countries. The ’Paris Agreement ‘affrimed the importance of financial support from developed to developing countries. However, a promise to jointly mobilise $100 billion in Climate finance from rich to poor

countries by 2020 was not met.

After innumerable fits and starts, COP’27 witnessed a win for climate. The conference agreed to set up a fund for ‘loss and Damage ‘caused by global warming, which is a key demand of many developing countries. Pakistan fought hard to include loss and damage in this agenda.

Pakistan, the most affected by devastating floods, became the voice for all the countries facing climate risks.

Reports published by IPCC, the International Panel on Climate Change, on 28 February 2022, claimed that human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and has affected the lives and livelihood of millions.

So here the question is how to combat global warming. What we can do is end reliance on fossil fuels; practise sustainable agriculture: organic farming, better forestry management; adopt a sustainable transportation habit and start use renewable energy sources. So all the nations have to put collective efforts to deal with this severe matter because climate change is a collective problem that needs collective action.

The

writer is a freelance columnist

The attempt on Imran Khan should not be a political football

ManaM Jahangir

Dr Qaisar rashiD

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

‘Climate change is hitting the poor first and worst’

The Lebanon-Israel Maritime deal and Hezbollah

The deal is about security as much as fuel

the USA.

In endorsing the deal, Israel’s defence establishment says “we were on the verge of war with Hezbollah”. Now it is impossible for Hezbollah to open hostility toward Israel. Although this is the worst time for Hezbollah to go to war because it has sent 4,000 to 8,000 armed men to Iran to support widespread protests against Israel’s government.

If it’s about deterrence, Israel just split them by paying protection money to its opponents.

has waged a months-long war with Israel.

Editor’s mail

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

From academia to business

AN EU-funded Erasmus project titled “Transforming Academic Knowledge to Develop Entrepreneurial Universities in Pakistan (TakeUp)” provided us the opportunity to learn entrepreneurial coaching in University of Saarland, Germany, for changing the approach from academia-based research to business development. It was an opportunity to understand the fundamentals and strengths to develop successful business ventures by facilitating students.

A team equipped with high motivation, enthusiasm and liberty, besides strong entrepreneurial mindset, is vital to bring incremental improvements to convert business ideas into a successful business venture with financial backing by the universities and the government. Strong industry-academia linkages are required to understand the issues and challenges associated with the real business world relating to business operations right from input to output and production to distribution. Collaborations between the academic community and the business sector can speed advancement. The establishment of partnerships with knowledge consumers and the mobilization of resources to supplement public research funding may be facilitated by collaborative engagement with industry. Companies provide academic originators with access to their internal capabilities in order to promote their ideas. In addition, some firms provide research space in incubators where entrepreneurs can gain access to instruments, reagents, instructional programs, and introductions to other investors at a low cost.

One of the most important and basic approaches is to divert academia from theoretical to practical by connecting the industrial knowledge and experiences into the curriculum. Students should be facilitated to pitch their ideas on the relevant platforms and convince the potential funding sources to support business ideas in the initial stages. Most startups fail because there is no market for their product. In most cases, researchers spend their time developing items that no customer wants. The largest concern is the lack of consumer communication and product design.

All prototypes should be prepared using the fabrication lab facilities. Fabrication lab staff should be highly skillful to guide the students about the various aspects of prototypes development. Support from other key departments like, business administration and management, material laboratories, computer sciences and cyber securities, is pivotal to work on ideas related to high-tech industry, such as automotive, smart engineering equipment, medical as well as cyber security equipment industries.

THE 1983 Israel-Lebanon Peace Accords established diplomatic relations after Israel expelled the Palestine Liberation Organization from its northern neighbour. Syria immediately abrogated this new peace, even though it was a treaty under international law. The agreement signed did not have “an Arab leader and an Israeli leader sitting down, but was a paper-document agreement between the US and Israel and the US and Lebanon, and Lebanon” signed in the same room of the Israelis.

On the security front, the noticeable threat from Hezbollah is considered a decisive factor. Hassan Nasrallah’s leadership gave security assurances to the Israeli leadership that the shock field would not be attacked. The entire deal was vetted by the group’s top officials before it was approved, marking a reversal in years of Hezbollah’s hardline stance in border negotiations with Israel. However, the question is whether Hezbollah’s conciliatory position will be maintained. The movement currently lacks popular support in Lebanon and Hezbollah will be eager to exploit the country’s fragile political situation using its resistance rhetoric against its political opponents and their dealings with Israel.

In any case, “Lebanon has no interference. The country occupied by Syria and Iran” does not have the ability to act in its own interest. Therefore, deterrence cannot work against an actor unlikely to have agency. “That applies to Hezbollah as well, if Iran, which founded, finances, arms and trains Hezbollah, supplies gas off the coast of Israel but it would not decide to threaten Fields because economics driving politics is not perceived in the Middle East.

Israel is concerned that Israel has now allowed significant financing of a terrorist organization, Hezbollah, that uses gas sales to Beirut to further Iran’s goals. Indeed, the new deal may provide an incentive for Hezbollah and Iran to sabotage gas development by using threats of sanctions to force concessions from Israel and

As for the US guarantee of Israel’s security, this is said to be part of the exchange of letters. American support for the Jewish entity depends on the fact that “Israel carries its weight” as an ally of the USA. Israel supports the US stance on the issue of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and on China’s growing threat to Taiwan.

Israel’s willingness to chart its own course, as then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposed the Obama Administration’s Iran nuclear deal in a 2015 speech to Congress, told Gulf States like the United Arab Emirates who can trust Israel. He added that this helped open the door to the Ibrahim Accord. The Lebanon deal could undermine that notion.

Israel is going to become a natural gas export hub, with lines connecting Persian Gulf producers and Israel to Europe. Instead, it seems likely that Israel will continue to rely on natural gas exports through Egypt and Jordan rather than develop its own infrastructure.

The offshore gas deal may be good for Israel economically; it could turn out bad strategically. The question is how the Hezbollah leader, Nasrullah, is reading the situation. If Nasrallah understood the deal to mean the Israelis had accepted his threats and were not ready to confront Hezbollah, it would also speed up the schedule for the next conflict

Before a deal was sealed, Hezbollah had promised to block any Israeli attempt to drill at Karish, Eastern Mediterranean, an underwater gas field near the disputed border between the two countries. Earlier this year, the Israeli army shot down several drones sent by Hezbollah as warnings to tamper with the Karish site, fueling fears of heightened tensions if the talks fail. srael has achieved in security, economy, diplomacy and energy. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday that his group was backing down on the gas issue. Now that the naval deal had been reached, he said in a televised address: “The resistance mission is complete and all Hezbollah’s extraordinary actions have ended.” A Hezbollah spokesman said this meant that Hezbollah forces, which had been temporarily placed on full alert, were no longer preparing for a close battle. “This deal is a concession if you look at it from the Israeli point of view,” said Sarit Zahawi, a former military intelligence officer, describing it as a “moral and psychological victory” for Hezbollah. In my understanding, it is a time buying strategy, the deal may not stop the war, but it possibly will help postpone the next conflict.

University of Saarland is playing its role as an entrepreneurial hub with all basic facilities ranging from facilitation, guidance to provide inhouse facilities to develop prototypes. The university is well renowned for producing successful spinoffs directly contributing to the country economically as well as by producing job opportunities. The universities may become successful in developing entrepreneurial mindset as well as the system support may prove helpful in producing successful business ventures due to the favorable ecosystem.

Pakistani universities can also progress in the same way by adding some efforts and motivation. All-out support by the universities should be available for students working on their startups to keep students motivated, help them resolve their issues and overcome the challenges faced during the idea’s maturation stages. Availability of high-tech fabrication labs will be more helpful and beneficial for motivation as it is used to develop prototypes to visualize the actual version of the ideas to test its functionality and the problem being faced during the development phases.

Dr HammaD ISmaIl anD SHaHzaDa BaBar UnIvErSIty of GUjrat, GUjrat

Colonising Kashmir

THE Kashmir cause was seriously hurt during a meeting between the leaders of Pakistan and the United States on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2018-19. The Aug 5, 2019, act of Indian parliament, abrogating the autonomous status of India-occupied Kashmir, were to legalise the unlawful occupation for the preceding 74 years.

But this could have been questioned, and still can be, as it triggers the applicability of a number of international rules and laws. This unlawful act in a bid to fool the world to establish India’s relationship with occupied Kashmir has transitioned into fully settled Indian Union Territory. Indian action is a serious violation of jus cogen (customary principles) and norms of international law.

Now a fresh move by India and Israel to allow the latter to develop agricultural farms in occupied Kashmir is not only alarming, but proves India’s design of settler-colonialist agenda promoted by Israel through New Delhi in the occupied valley.

Then Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid hailed the agreement as a political achievement, saying: It is not every day that an enemy country recognizes Israel in a written agreement in front of the international community as the beginning of a new era. But the Lebanese government has also emphasized that the deal, reached after more than a decade of negotiations, does not signal a normalization of relations with Israel and is less important than agreements that established full diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Israel. In Israel, the deal has been variously portrayed as a historic achievement that will boost regional prosperity and stability, or as a shameful capitulation to threats from the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which

A former Israeli general, Yaakov Omidor, Netanyahu’s national security adviser, stated that “there is no question that Israel has capitulated” on where the border should be. Nonetheless at least in the short term, Israel needs to get the fuel out of the deal. The main conflict between Israel and Hezbollah was not over gas but over Hezbollah’s ideology, weapons production and pro-Iranian agenda.

According to Amedor (a fellow at the conservative-leaning Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and Washington Strategy) the offshore gas deal may be good for Israel economically; it could turn out bad strategically. The question is how the Hezbollah leader, Nasrullah, is reading the situation. If Nasrallah understood the deal to mean the Israelis had accepted his threats and were not ready to confront Hezbollah, it would also speed up the schedule for the next conflict.

The writer has a PhD in Political Science and can be reached at akramzaheer86@yahoo.com

The people of Kashmir have not forgotten the plebiscite promise by the UN after obtaining consent from Pakistan and India in 1949. Efforts should be made to seek legal remedy to put pressure on India to honour the commitment to hold plebiscite and grant the Kashmiris their inherent right to self-determination.

alI aSHraf KHan KaraCHI

Extravagance

THE recent addition to the already bloated federal cabinet of a country on the verge of financial default needs to be seen in its true perspective. For doing nothing, which involves staying at home and watching TV, or appearing on TV to make mindless conversations, or travel in free stateprovided flag cars when on ground and first class luxury when by air, for free boarding and lodging in five-star hotels, for free office, staff, waiters, drivers, gardeners, security, for free medical and for numerous other free entitlements and non-entitlements, every idle and non-value-adding cabinet minister costs Pakistan about Rs5 million per month.

This translates into Rs385 million per month for the current cabinet, and Rs4.62 billion for one year. This is just about the amount required to pay Rs10,000 extra to compensate every one of the thousands of exploited sanitation workers in the country who are currently not being paid even their due minimum legal wage of Rs25,000.

The federal government should cut down its truckload of ministers, and bring the cabinet strength down to 15 or even lesser.

naEEm SaDIQ KaraCHI

Dr MuhaMMaD akraM Zaheer

WIll 2023 be a yeaR of economIc cRIsIs?

Project Syndicate

Multiple plausible scenarios may trigger what would qualify as an “economic crisis” in 2023. If the war in Ukraine escalates further, or tensions with China –for example, over Taiwan – intensify, supply chains may be affected, causing shortages and price increases. Cyberattacks can disrupt key infrastructure at any time and anywhere, with potentially significant repercussions. And since the financial system is as fragile, dangerous, and distorted as it has ever been (perhaps even more so), a crisis there is certainly possible. Regulators have repeatedly missed opportunities to reform the system since the 2007-2009 crisis, making it clear that “further crises will come.”

An enormous buildup of risks across the financial system – often ignored by regulators and investors, only to emerge suddenly– is concerning. Many European banks already appear quite weak. According to a 2018 study, “off-balance-sheet” debt levels have grown since 2007. A recent report shows that there is $65 trillion in hidden US-dollar debt in foreign-exchange markets – a much larger sum than prior to 2008 – and points to other risks. According to the world Bank, since 2000, the world’s poorest countries have been spending the highest share of their export revenues on debt-service payments to rich countries, and debt-related risks are rising in low- and middle-income economies as well. Central banks routinely intervene to calm turbulent markets, as the Bank of England recently did to prop up the government-bond (gilt) market and protect pension funds. But a crisis involving multiple jurisdictions and key institutions with unsustainable commitments may not be easily contained.

Any “new” crisis will ultimately be rooted in the ongoing, intertwined crises of capitalism and democracy. our economic system appears rigged and unjust, and many are rightly angry. when asked recently to write a short essay on “what has gone wrong with capitalism and how to fix it,” I argued that “financialized capitalism” has undermined, overwhelmed, and corrupted democratic governments, and that flawed narratives have created confusion and blocked reforms. Martin wolf, whose forthcoming book is entitled The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, expresses similar concerns. Unless and until we diagnose the problems properly and fix the rules of the game, our world will be in peril.

i am, frankly, not at all sure. There remain so many known unknowns out there, not to mention possible new developments that no one can predict. At the same time, after three years of the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the unexpected surge in inflation, we are all so scarred that we are probably not ready for positive surprises.

what would happen if a resolution is reached

on the Ukraine war? what if China’s exit from its zero-CoVID policy goes smoothly, enabling a sharp economic rebound? what if, on top of these developments, world trade suddenly rises sharply? If you throw in more effective action by monetary policymakers to rein in inflation – a probable scenario, in line with the latest central-bank forecasts – it is not difficult to imagine a large rally in global equity markets. I think the chances of this happening are not negligible.

of course, less sanguine scenarios are also probable. China’s exit from zero-CoVID could lead to more negative health outcomes, jeopardizing economic recovery and leaving political leaders in a quandary. Given some of the economy’s persistent underlying issues stemming from high debt leverage in propertyrelated sectors, Chinese stocks confront the running of the bears.

Likewise, inflation might not ease in line with central banks’ expectations, and the modest signs of a knock-on effect in labor markets – in the form of rising wages – start to become embedded in behavior. In these circumstances, short-term interest rates would almost certainly rise a lot more than currently expected. This would set the scene for a repeat of 2022, and could lead to a full-blown financial crisis. on balance, however, I find myself a bit more inclined toward the optimistic scenario.

Next year is shaping up to be a rough one for the global economy. weakening growth momentum across the board, the fallout from a series of selfinflicted policy wounds, and severe constraints on policymakers’ room for maneuver portend heightened risks of further economic pain and financial turmoil in 2023.

on a positive note, the world economy seems to have adapted to a series of unfavorable shocks over the last year, including a protracted war in Ukraine, volatile energy prices, and the disruptions from China’s draconian zero-CoVID policy. Inflation in the major economies seems to have stabilized, and is even showing signs of edging down.

To be sure, as the chaos arising from China’s attempted exit from zero-CoVID shows, policymakers are operating on a knife’s edge, with little margin for error. Nonetheless, an explosive worldwide economic or financial crisis does not seem likely, unless policymakers in any of the major economies act capriciously or orchestrate a major geopolitical flare-up. That said, some parts of the world are arguably already in crisis. Low-income countries have been hit hard by surges in food and commodity prices, the devastating effects of climate change, and limited access to foreign finance. Even in middle- and high-income economies, a combination of factors is hammering poor people’s living standards. whether or not a major crisis occurs in 2023, economic inequality – both within and across countries – is likely to deepen further, unless policymakers take resolute and constructive steps to rebuild consumer and business confidence.

Anat Admati is Professor of Finance and Economics at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Jim O’Neill, a former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and a former UK treasury minister, is a member of the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development. Eswar Prasad, Professor of Economics in the Dyson School at Cornell University, is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Rahul Gandhi is marching the entire length of India. I

him to find out why

know it is happening.

Each day began at 6am. In Rajasthan, in December, this meant it was pitch dark and bitterly cold. As we huddled in our shawls and jackets, our bodies warmed with the chants and slogans that began as soon as we set off. The first major break came at 10.30am at “camp”: here, hundreds of mattresses, quilts and pillows were laid out for the yatris to rest, with lunch served at an adjoining marquee at 12.

How does an opposition politician seize the initiative in India, a vast and populous country with an increasingly authoritarian ruling party and state? Rahul Gandhi has an answer, and it involves a pair of trainers.

Bharat Jodo Yatra, a “journey bringing India together”, is the name of a long march that Gandhi, a prominent member of the Indian National Congress party, has been leading from the country’s southernmost tropical tip to its icy north. He has covered about 1,900 miles (3,000km) so far, walking 12-15 miles every day, with hundreds of others drawn from his party, as well as civil society members and celebrities. Thousands line the route wherever the march passes to catch a glimpse of the famous politician and to show support. Since anyone is allowed to join, I decided to tag along for two days.

My journey began as soon as I alighted at Sawai Madhopur train station in Rajasthan. A young doctor, one of the yatris (marchers), had come to town to collect medicines needed at the camp, but was stranded. As we chatted in the car, he said he was deeply worried about the direction the country was taking and wanted badly to be part of something positive. This was the gist of what many other people said to me. No lofty ideological statements, but simple motivations such as: “we can do better than hate.”

why march? There is the historical resonance – Mahatma Gandhi famously marched against British rule in 1930; marching is part of the repertoire of Indian politics. But as Rahul Gandhi has argued, the real reason is that the streets are the only arena left for India’s opposition. That is, in an India where the Modi government has weaponised the police, courts, tax and other enforcement institutions to hound any critic; where big businesses compete to join the elite ranks of Modi’s billionaire cronies; and where the mainstream media have become a post-truth foghorn for government, marching en masse is the only way to make visible the fact that many disagree with the ruinous direction in which the government is taking India.

Predictably, the yatra has not been given attention by most of the mainstream media and many Indians away from its route, including in the international diaspora, do not even

Decry the merchants of death

PEACE ACTIVISTS TAKE ON THE PENTAGON AND ITS “CORPORATE OUTPOSTS”

desperate pleas begging the United States and NATo forces to stop bombing the hospital.

Dr. Liu’s sad observations seemed to echo in the words of Pope Francis lamenting war’s afflictions. “we live with this diabolic pattern of killing one another out of the desire for power, the desire for security, the desire for many things. But I think of the hidden wars, those no one sees, that are far away from us,” he said. “People speak about peace. The United Nations has done everything possible, but they have not succeeded.” The tireless struggles of numerous world leaders, like Pope Francis and Dr. Joanne Liu, to stop the patterns of war were embraced vigorously by Phil Berrigan, a prophet of our time.

for FY2023, but of that money, $858 billion is earmarked for the military (‘defense spending’) and an additional $45 billion in ‘emergency assistance to Ukraine and our NATo allies.’ This means that more than half ($900 billion out of $1.7 trillion) is not being used for ‘non-defense discretionary programs’—and even that lesser portion includes $118.7 billion for funding of the Veterans Administration, another military-related expense.”

The whole operation was like the military campaign of a mammoth, non-violent army. The walk resumed again about 3pm, ending at the day’s finish point marked by a giant helium balloon you could spot a kilometre away. women walked in crisp saris, men in the same clothes day after day – the variety of languages, backgrounds and temperaments was mind-boggling. It was a mini-India that seemed to be on the march. we all know this India exists, but rarely get to experience it first hand, all at once. on the second day, I walked alongside Gandhi. As in earlier encounters, I found him to be courteous and cerebral, eager for a back and forth conversation. we debated the usefulness of western political thought in furthering our understanding of Indian politics. It was possible to challenge him and disagree in a way you can’t with most Indian politicians – certainly not with Narendra Modi, who refuses to engage even with press conferences. with Modi, Indian citizens are given the shock and awe strategy of lavish stage-managed events. In contrast, the sight of Rahul Gandhi, unkempt beard and trainers, walking along surrounded by ordinary people makes for a compelling political image.

It is true, however, that the Congress party’s failure in recent years to win enough elections is also blamed on Gandhi. He has been accused of being a part-time politician, a reluctant and ineffective president of the party, dubbed “pappu” (a nickname for a young, naive boy) by his opponents.

In opposition, the party organisation had become increasingly moribund, its members demoralised. But the yatra, party workers say, has gone some way in addressing this. It has given the rank and file a sense of purpose, having organised this enormous roadshow, and suggests that the “pappu” label no longer fits. The Congress lost the Gujarat elections (in Modi’s home state) during the yatra but this did not seem to dampen spirits. The hard work of winning hearts and minds remains to be done.

The last time a yatra caught the imagination, it was the BJP’s LK Advani’s Rath Yatra atop a modified Toyota SUV in the early 1990s. Traversing the country, the procession left violence in its wake and led eventually to the destruction of the 16th-century Babri mosque by Hindu mobs.

The current Indian government’s ideology is built on its legacy. The yatris I walked with instead held up the image of an alternative India, one of compassion and solidarity. The question is which path the Indian population will choose to take?

Mukulika Banerjee is a professor at the London School of Economics.

taxpayers into the continued bankrolling of what could become worldwide annihilation.

How can we in the United States prevent the killing that goes on, in our name, in multiple wars, exacerbated by weapons made in the U.S.A? How can we resist the growing potential, acute scourge of a nuclear exchange as warring parties continue issuing nuclear threats in Ukraine and Russia?

DAYS after a U.S. warplane bombed a Doctors without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing forty-two people, twenty-four of them patients, the international president of MSF, Dr. Joanne Liu walked through the wreckage and prepared to deliver condolences to family members of those who had been killed. A brief video, taped in october, 2015, captures her nearly unutterable sadness as she speaks about a family who, the day before the bombing, had been prepared to bring their daughter home. Doctors had helped the young girl recover, but because war was raging outside the hospital, administrators recommended that the family come the next day. “She’s safer here,” they said.

The child was among those killed by the U.S. attacks, which recurred at fifteen minute intervals, for an hour and a half, even though MSF had already issued

“oppose any and all wars,” he urged. “There has never been a just war.” “Don’t get tired!” he begged people, adding, “I love the Buddhist proverb, ‘I will not kill, but I will prevent others from killing.’ ”

People who’ve embraced his message continue meeting at the Pentagon, as happened December 28 when activists commemorated the “Feast of the Holy Innocents.” Christians traditionally dedicate this day to the remembrance of a time when King Herod ordered the massacre of children under two years of age because of a paranoid belief that one of the recently born children in the region would grow up to oust Herod from power and kill him. Activists gathered at the Pentagon held signs decrying the slaughter of innocents in our time. They’ll protest the obscenely bloated military budget which the U.S. Congress just passed as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.

As Norman Stockwell of The Progressive recently noted, “The bill contains nearly $1.7 trillion of funding

By depleting funds desperately needed to meet human needs, the U.S. “defense” budget doesn’t defend people from pandemics, ecological collapse, and infrastructure decay. Instead it continues a deranged investment in militarism. Phil Berrigan’s prophetic intransigency, resisting all wars and weapons manufacturing, is needed now more than ever.

outraged by the reckless slaughter of innocent people in wars ranging from Vietnam to Afghanistan, Phil Berrigan insisted that weapons manufacturers profiting from endless wars should be held accountable for criminal activity. The weapons corporations rob people, worldwide, of the capacity to meet basic human needs.

The appallingly greedy Pentagon budget represents a corporate takeover of the U.S. Congress. As the coffers of weapons manufacturers swell, these military contractors hire legions of highly paid lobbyists tasked with persuading elected officials to earmark even more funds for companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon United, and General Atomics. According to militarists, stockpiles of weapons must be used up, in order to justify more weapons manufacturing. Media complicity is necessary, and can be purchased, in order to frighten U.S.

one step we can take involves both political and humanitarian efforts to hold accountable the corporations profiting from the U.S. military budget. Drawing on Phil Berrigan’s steadfastness, activists worldwide are planning the Merchants of Death war Crimes Tribunal scheduled to be held November 10 to 13, 2023. The Tribunal intends to collect evidence about crimes against humanity committed by those who develop, store, sell, and use weapons to commit crimes against humanity. Testimony is being sought from people who’ve borne the brunt of modern wars, the survivors of wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Gaza, and Somalia, to name but a few of the places where U.S. weapons have terrified people who’ve meant us no harm.

“we render you, corporations obsessed with war profiteering, accountable; answerable!,” declares the Reverend Dr. Cornel west on the Tribunal’s website.

on November 10, 2022, organizers of the Merchants of Death war Crimes Tribunal and their supporters served a “subpoena” to the directors and corporate offices of weapons manufacturers Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon United, and General Atomics. The subpoena, which will expire on February 10, 2023, compels them to provide to the Tribunal all documents revealing their complicity in aiding and abetting the United States government in committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, bribery, and theft.

Kathy Kelly, a peace activist and author, cocoordinates the Ban Killer Drones campaign and is board president of World Beyond War.

ProGreSSive kATHY kELLY

Guardian MukuLIkA BANERJEE

Dr

joined

ANAT ADMATI

ESWAR PRASAD

JIM O’NEILL

corporate corner

ChINESE CAr CoMPANy To LAUNCh NEw ModEL IN PAKISTAN ThIS yEAr

BEiJiNG StAff rePort

AChinese car company will launch its new brand and new model in Pakistan this year. In 2023, two significant updates, one new variant, and one new model will also be released. In another major development, it will launch its new brand OMODA C series this year.

Punjab Minister for Law & Parliamentary Affairs addresses seminar at UMT

The company namely Chery has held the top spot in the export of Chinese passenger car brands for 19 years, with 10 overseas KD plants and exports to more than 80 countries and regions, as well as 1,500 overseas sales and service outlets, CEN reported on Friday.

From January to November 2022, its cumulative vehicle sales reached 1,127,300 units, up 32.6% year on year. By entering the European Union, North America and other markets, it is estimated that its overseas (outside China) sales volume will reach 2 million by 2030.

In 2022, two models, namely Tiggo8 pro and Tiggo4 pro-SOP, were built and launched in Pakistan, gaining the trust of over 3,000 customers in around six months.

The company will use the Pakistan market as the initial strategic base and gradually cover the entire South Asian market through long-term operations to further achieve the Chery SA strategy.z

According to Felix Hu, country di-

rector of Chery Automobile in Pakistan, in its Phase-1 plan, which is focused on the Pakistan market, Chery will roll out its latest product lineup including ICE, NEV, PHEV, etc. to reach 20,000 units sales and exhaust production by 2024.

It will expand capacity to 50,000 units and establish Pakistan as an export base covering some other South Asian countries such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka from 2024 to 2026. In its Phase-3 plan, Chery will set up the "TRANSSION"ť of R&D center in South Asia, and strive to reach the sales target of 100,000 units in 2027.

During the Q&A session, questions were raised by the Pakistani media regarding Chery's expectations for the

Balochistan to ensure security for conduct of digital census: CS

QUETTA

APP

Lahore University of Management and Technology (UMT) School of Law and Policy organized a seminar on "Efficiency of Legislative Process in Pakistan" in which the Provincial Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Khurram Shahzad Virk addressed the audience. Rector UMT Dr. Asif Raza, Director School of Law and Policy Dr. Kashif Imran Zaidi, faculty, staff and students participated in the seminar. Rector UMT Dr. Asif Raza welcomed Mr. Khurram Shehzad Virk at UMT and said that organizing such events for students is very important for their learning. All schools of UMT are producing the best leaders in various departments including law, he added. He stressed that students should work hard so that their own and their parents' hard work pays off. Dr. Asif Raza congratulated the students on getting quality education in Pakistan's number 1 private university UMT. Pr

National Foods to be biggest attraction at KEF

KARAcHi: Karachi Eat Festival (KEF) is back again. Celebrating the 10th Eat Festival anniversary. Present at the festival with aroma of mouth-watering food, the gigantic stall of National Foods is a showstopper. The food giant is going guns blazing with something for everyone. Presenting the ‘new and improved’ Bombay Biryani Karachi Khaas’ made especially for the palate of Karachiites, it is being introduced for the first time ever, guaranteeing the best-inclass chatkharedar biryani. This is a must try! Accentuating the taste buds further with the Condiments variety, the people will get to enjoy custard filled puffs, corn dogs and spiral fries with ketchups and mayonnaise. Being the leading food manufacturer of Pakistan, National Foods always brings innovation and fusion food to give a global taste. Prepared with National Foods products, the recipe for each product shall be available at the stall at the touch of a QR Code. Pr

If UK can do it, so can Pakistan

Despite several warnings and graphic images of the harm that smoking does, 9 out of 10 people will continue to smoke combustible cigarettes while being aware of the harm that it poses to their health, and this is a problem. Smokers worldwide are faced with the same dilemma everyday as they continue smoking. Traditional public health interventions have contributed to significant improvements in the nation's health over the years. And some countries are well on their way to shifting to less harmful alternatives. Among these countries is the UK where the adult smoking prevalence in 2016 was 15.5% and they aim to bring it down to 5% as a part of their national health goals to become some-free by 2030. Pr

Balochistan Chief Secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili on Friday said the provincial government was taking steps to ensure the best security arrangements for the successful conduct of the digital census.

He expressed these views while presiding over a highlevel meeting regarding preparations for conducting the seventh digital census in the province.

Additional Chief Secretary Interior Zahid Saleem, Secretary Local Government Dostain Khan Jamaldini along with military officials and all Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners participated in the meeting through video link.

The chief secretary said the federal government was going to conduct a digital census for the first time in the country saying that the Census was very important in any country because it provides information about population size, economic condition and migration, in the light of this.

He said the provincial government would conduct the census in the province at the appointed time with full responsibility and all necessary arrangements to be made to ensure its transparency.

He said the census was a constitutional obligation and to complete it everyone has to perform their duty with full honesty and transparency, because this census process would play a key role for the planners.

The current census is an important step towards setting goals for the future development process and giving a new dimension to the development journey and on the basis of this, the beginning of

the coming journey will be determined, he said.

He said if the census process was conducted on the right lines, it has many advantages, so the census data was correct, and then it would not destroy the rights of any class and could not create a feeling of deprivation in any class.

When each province and each region will be included in the development process of the country according to their population, so there will be a sense of unity in the whole country, he noted.

He also directed that all deputy commissioners should hold DICC meetings in their respective districts.

Jazz receives 7 awards at Global diversity, Equity Inclusion Awards 2023

iSLAMABAD:

strived to position ‘Diversity, Equity & Inclusion’ DEI as a strategic asset to excel in the market. This has helped Jazz create a better workplace which thrives on sustainability. Jazz is also the signatory to the global Women’s Empowerment Principles, a set of Principles offering guidance to businesses on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and community. Pr

Floods: A crisis of systemic mismanagement

AhmEd Arif PirAchA

The Flood Crisis in Pakistan, by wiping out crops and destroying arable land, has systematically exploited some of the significant structural inadequacies of not only the agricultural sector but of the state as well. This has put many provinces on the brink of a food crisis, especially in Sindh: where the flood has resulted in the loss of 364 Billion Rs/- worth of crops and livelihoods. Though the flood is caused by natural torrential rain, it has brought to

light the failure of the emergency response systems of multiple provinces, disproportionately affecting regions of the southern Indus delta. It is expected that Islamabad take this into consideration, but from the view of an average citizen, it is easy to see Islamabad as one of the root causes of these problems.

The agricultural industry of Sindh produces most of the staple foods of Pakistan, which form the diets of almost everyone in the Indus Delta; 70 Billion Rs worth of Rice and 20 Billion Rs/- of Sugar cane

have been lost and can not be recovered, this situation can prop up a food crisis and a famine like situation putting the entire province at risk of starvation. The destruction of transportation infrastructure and the salinization of fields further abets the possibility of a Nationwide famine and inflation of the basic commodities. It is easy to assume that the flood has created new problems, though instead, it has exacerbated previous inadequacies in the way we as a state deal with emergencies.

Sindh produces 30% of the Cot-

ton Output of Pakistan, after the floods we saw the government go on a spending spree, importing twice the amount of exported cotton. The state has shown irresponsibility by letting Sindh run to ruin, even before the flood many saw their livelihood at risk, seeing the largest increase in prices and inflation that Pakistan has ever seen, over a twelve-month period. Floods, economic mismanagement, and political deadlock became the trifecta for perfect breeding conditions of a state of affairs such as this.

Even as the land in Sindh slowly

overall Pakistani vehicle market in 2023, the impact of import letter of credit restrictions on the local supply chain, and the frequency of it's model updates in Pakistan.

In response to a question about the development prospects of electric vehicles in Pakistan and Chery's considerations in this regard, Qi Jie, director of Chery Automobile in South Asia market, highlighted that Chery has always been committed to building an industry-leading E0X platform and the key technical advantages of new energy, intelligent connected technology and automatic driving.

He also revealed that new energy vehicles would be launched in the Pakistani market in 2024.

USC reduces price of premium brands ghee on all utilities stores across country

Premium brand (dalda) ghee has been reduced to Rs 12 per kg . While the prices 5 kg tin has also been reduced by Rs. 50 /kilograms. 1 kg of Premium brand ghee (dalda) will now be available onRs 500 per kilogram instead of Rs.512/kg. While 5 kg tin will be available in 2530 rather than 2580. The New prices have been applied immediately. It is clear that no terms apply for purchase of other items other than subsidized items nor any password needs. One-Time Password (OTP) has been temporarily abolished for the un Targeted subsidy customers, now they can get subsidy by just showing the original and valid identity cards. Only targeted subsidies (Registered customers of the Benazir Income Support Program) will send their ID Cards number to 5566 to get one-time password for the purchasing of subsidized items. Subsidy is being given only on wheat flour, sugar, ghee, pulses and rice. In addition to subsidized items, hundreds of items of other standard brands are also available at affordable prices than market. Pr

Indiscriminate operation being carried out to eliminate electricity theft

iSLAMABAD: Electricity theft is destabilizing the country's economy and institutions, and in thisregard, indiscriminate operations against electricity thieves and their facilitators are in full swing in all operation circles of IESCO. During the month of December 2022, IESCO Operation, M&T and surveillance teams caught 3670 meters during checking out of which 3635 meters were found slow, 28 meters were taking direct power supply while 7 meters were tampered. On the basis of slow meters and electricity theft, fines of 41.52 millions have been imposed on the concerned consumers against charging 1.76 millions units and applications have also been registered in the concerned police stations for legal action. IESCO management requests its esteemed customers to support IESCO in this national campaign and if you see anyone in your vicinity stealing electricity or assisting it, immediately report it to the concerned IESCO SDO, helpline number 118 or Chief Executive complaint and Monitoring Cell IESCO Islamabad on phone number 051-9252933-34. Your name will be kept confidential. Pr

goes past the point of recovery, and many lose the opportunity to practise any form of agriculture, the state saw fit to negotiate austerity measures with the IMF. Islamabad can not expect to make promises to the people of Sindh and Pakistan alike, while they continue to add fuel to the fire. In this time of hopelessness, politicians have found solace in exploiting the crisis for their political agenda by adopting a policy of ‘You reveal mine and I reveal yours’ (The Business Standard) further deepening the political divide on an issue

that was supposed to unite everyone. The prime minister is not absolved from this, and if Islamabad wants to see a second term then they need to act for the greater good of the state. To stop focusing on international collaboration and amend the structural problems that exist within the state, to begin with. In a time of crisis, the people harken towards the man sitting in the chair of the Prime Minister, but if that man chooses to live in an ignorant bliss it is a disservice not only to the people of Sindh but the people of Pakistan.

Jazz, Pakistan’s leading digital operator and a part of the VEON Group, bagged 7 awards at the Global Diversity, Equity Inclusion Benchmarks (GDEIB) Awards 2023. The company received the ‘Best Practices’ award for its visionary efforts in implementing DEI as a strategy when it comes to learning and development, communications, community integration, government relations and philanthropy initiatives. Jazz believes in cultivating trust, and acceptance to promote and contribute to creating an inclusive world. “Inclusivity has always been at the heart of all our policies and being recognised for our holistic D&I initiatives towards empowering the workplace renews our vigour as we move forward in our journey towards promoting diversity and inclusion at Jazz,” said Sanam Sheikh, Chief People Officer, Jazz. The GDEIB are the standards for organizations around the world to help these companies determine strategy and measure progress in managing diversity and fostering inclusion. Jazz has always valued and upheld diversity and has

LAHORE: PPP City Vice President Ch Muhammad Riaz, Omar Sharif Bokhari, Faiza Malik, Amjad Jutt, Rana Jameel Manj, Sonia Khan, Mian Ayub and others cut a cake to mark 95th birth anniversary of party founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto at the house of Ashraf Khan. StAff Photo

China, TurkmenisTan elevaTe Ties To Comprehensive sTraTegiC parTnership

Turkmenistanis one of the biggest suppliers of natural gas to China and a key country of the China-Central asia Gas Pipeline project.

till June 2022, the China-Central asia Gas Pipeline has delivered more than 400 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China over the last 12-plus years, according to PipeChina West Pipeline Company. On the one hand, the pipeline helped replace the use of 532 million tonnes of coal during this period, equivalent to the reduction of 8.8 million tonnes of harmful substances and 568 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. On the other hand, the project’s company has provided more than 22,000 jobs and trained some 110,000 local employees in turkmenistan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) holds a welcoming ceremony for visiting turkmen President serdar Berdimuhamedov, prior to their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, January 6, 2023. /Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) holds a welcoming ceremony for visiting turkmen President serdar

Berdimuhamedov, prior to their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, January 6, 2023. /Xinhua “natural gas cooperation is the cornerstone of China-turkmenistan relations, and greater cooperation in this area serves the strategic and long-term interests of both countries,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting turkmen President serdar Berdimuhamedov, calling for expanding energy cooperation on

a priority basis.

Lifting ties: Friday marks the 31st anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and turkmenistan while the two presidents announced the decision to elevate the China-turkmenistan relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in Beijing. it holds great significance for the two leaders to draw up a comprehensive plan for the future development of China-

turkmenistan relations, Xi said. the Chinese president urged the two sides to continue to expand the breadth and depth of cooperation, in order to create underpinnings for bilateral relations with tangible cooperation outcomes. since 2011, China has remained turkmenistan’s largest trading partner for 10 years in a row. Xi also told his turkmen counterpart that China will support more capable Chinese companies in investing and doing businesses in turkmenistan. according to China Customs statistics, from January to august in 2022, bilateral trade between the two sides reached $6.9 billion, an increase of 52.4 percent year on year, of which Chinese imports were $6.36 billion, a year-onyear growth of 50.1 percent, and exports of $540 million, representing an 87.3percent expansion year on year.

aside from fostering energy cooperation, the two countries also close people-to-people exchanges. the turkmen side now offers Chinese language courses in its primary and secondary schools, and there are more than 1,400 turkmen students studying in China. Xi stressed the two sides should accelerate the establishment of cultural centers in each other’s country, complete the building of Luban Workshops as early as possible.

US House adjourns after failing yet again to elect new speaker

Deaths spike as Denmark battles ‘triple epidemic’

DenMarK agencies

around 1,400 people died in Denmark during the last week of 2022, at least 30% higher than estimates, according to the country’s infectious diseases agency. the state serum institute (ssi) said the ongoing “triple epidemic” – flu, respiratory syncytial virus (rsV), and COViD-19 – was possibly the biggest factor, having particularly impacted Denmark’s elderly population.

“it’s a steeper curve than we usually see, and it surprises us a little bit. We usually see a higher mortality in the winter months, but the figures show that right now there is higher mortality than there usually is at this time of year,” Lasse Vestergaard of the ssi said in a statement on thursday.

While December’s last week also saw more hospitalizations for flu, the increase was not as high as previous weeks, the ssi reported, but warned that flu cases are likely to increase in the coming weeks. at the same time, there was a decline in rsV cases and hospitalizations, but the “level is still high compared to the seasons that preceded COViD-19,” the health agency said.

From 157 in the previous week, the number of COViD-19 infections decreased to 115 per 100,000 people, with a drop recorded in all regions and age groups, except infants, according to the ssi.

the u.s. House of representatives voted to adjourn again on thursday with no speaker elected, after the House republican leader kevin mcCarthy lost an 11th round of voting for the gavel. the voting propelled the House to a level of dysfunction not seen since the turbulent era just before the Civil War, raising questions about the party’s ability to wield power.

after the 11th ballot, the House adjourned for the third time this week and lawmakers will reconvene at noon on Friday.

mcCarthy’s opponents say they do not trust him to fight for the deep spending cuts and other restrictions they want to impose on President Joe Biden and the Democratic-controlled senate.

But some republicans held out hope of an agreement after ballot between mcCarthy and at least some of the 20 hard-line conservatives who have opposed his candidacy in ballot.

at least 200 republicans have backed mcCarthy in each of the votes this week. Fewer than 10 percent of republican lawmakers have voted against him but they are enough to deny him the 218 votes needed to succeed Democrat nancy Pelosi as speaker.

republicans won a slim 222212 House majority in the november midterm elections, meaning mcCarthy cannot afford to lose the

support of more than four republicans as Democrats united around their own candidate.

Because of its inability to choose a leader, the 435-seat House has been rendered impotent – unable even to formally swear in newly elected members let alone hold hearings, consider legislation or scrutinize Biden and his administration.

as speaker, mcCarthy would hold a post that normally shapes the chamber’s agenda and is second in the line of succession to the presidency behind Vice President kamala Harris.

He would be empowered to frustrate Biden’s legislative agenda and launch investigations

into the president’s family and administration in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. the inability to agree on a leader also raises questions about whether republicans will force a government shutdown or risk default later this year in a bid to extract steep spending cuts. some of the holdouts say they expect mcCarthy or any other republican leader to take that approach.

if mcCarthy ultimately fails to unite republicans, they would have to search for an alternative. Possibilities include no. 2 House republican steve scalise and representative Jim Jordan, who have both backed mcCarthy.

World food prices hit record high in 2022

basket of food commodities, fell to 132.4 points in December, a 1.9 percent drop from november. it was also one percent lower than in December 2021.

World food prices fell for a ninth month in a row in December but hit their highest level on record for the full year in 2022, un data showed Friday.

Food prices soared to a monthly record high in march after russia invaded agricultural powerhouse ukraine, a major supplier of wheat and cooking oil to the world.

But prices have dropped since then, with more relief brought by a deal brokered by turkey and the united nations in July that lifted a russian naval blockade on ukrainian grain exports.

the Food and agriculture Organization said Friday its price index, which tracks the monthly change in international prices of a

But the index was 14.3 percent higher overall in 2022 compared to the previous year as it reached an all-time high of 143.7 points.

“Calmer food commodity prices are welcome after two very volatile years,” FaO chief economist maximo torero said in a statement.

“it is important to remain vigilant and keep a strong focus on mitigating global food insecurity given that world food prices remain at elevated levels,” he said.

torero said many staples are near record highs, with prices of rice rising and “still many risks associated with future supplies”.

World prices of maize were 24.8 percent higher on average in 2022 than in 2021, according to the FaO. Wheat was 15.6 percent more expensive.

But maize prices fell in December, mostly due to “strong competition” from Brazil, the FaO said.

Wheat was also down for the month “as ongoing harvests in the southern hemisphere boosted supplies and competition among exporters remained strong”.

the FaO’s vegetable oil price index reached a new record high in 2022 but fell 6.7 percent month-on-month in December to its lowest level since February 2021.

Dairy and meat prices hit their highest levels since 1990, the agency said. While meat prices fell 1.2 percent in December, those of dairy rose 1.1 percent for the month.

russia orders 36-hour ceasefire, accuses ukraine of shelling

russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his troops to stop fighting along the entire frontline in ukraine after the head of the russian Orthodox Church called for a truce on Orthodox Christmas, celebrated in early January.

However, ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the proposed 36-hour ceasefire, calling it a trick. His adviser, mikhailo Podolyak, said russia “must leave the occupied territories – only then will it have a ‘temporary truce’.”

russia and ukraine continued to attack each other’s positions in the country’s east, with no sign they would observe such a ceasefire when it was set to go into force. kyiv said moscow was focusing its offensive in the Bakhmut area of the Donetsk region. u.s. President Joe Biden responded to Putin’s offer by saying it was a sign of desperation. “i think he’s trying to find some oxygen,” he said. russia’s ambassador to the u.s. anatoly antonov, responded by accusing Washington of being “set on fighting with us ‘to the last ukrainian’.”

the u.s. is set to send weapons to ukraine worth about $2.8 billion in a joint agreement with Germany, announcing a new delivery of armored fighting vehicles to kyiv after France made a similar offer this week. Putin told türkiye’s President recep tayyip erdogan that russia is ready for peace talks, but only when kyiv acknowledges russia’s integration of ukrainian territory, a demand kyiv has rejected as “fully unacceptable.”

erdogan said his government was ready to take on mediation duties but un chief antonio Guterres said serious peace negotiations were still far off.

Belarus President alexander Lukashenko visited a military base where russian troops and equipment have just arrived. minsk announced it would be receiving more weapons from moscow, raising concern that Belarus could once again be used as a staging post to launch an attack on ukraine from the north. at least 452 children have been killed and 877 injured during the conflict, according to the ukrainian prosecutor general’s office.

Heavy fighting despite Putin’s ceasefire order Heavy fighting continued in ukraine’s east despite russian President Vladimir Putin ordering a unilateral 36-hour ceasefire along the ukrainian frontline to mark Orthodox Christmas. On Friday morning –Christmas eve for russians and many ukrainians –russian shells hit the eastern city of kramatorsk, the city’s mayor said.

“kramatorsk is under fire. stay in shelters,” mayor Oleksandr Honcharenko posted on social media, without giving details of the damage.

moscow had ordered the break in fighting to begin at 1200 hours, without saying what time zone they were referring to. in moscow, that would have meant 0900 Gmt. in a surprise, last-minute announcement on thursday, Putin gave the order for russian troops to observe a ceasefire from Friday to run through the russian Orthodox Christmas eve and Christmas Day. ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the proposal, saying moscow’s goal was to use any break in the fighting to slow kyiv’s gains and bring in more of russia’s forces.

“they now want to use Christmas as a cover, albeit briefly, to stop the advances of our boys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunitions and mobilized troops closer to our positions,” Zelenskyy said in his thursday night video address.

“What will that give them? Only yet another increase in their total losses.” agencies

Paris agencies

Beijing agencies

New ZealaNd, PaKisTaN share hoNours as seCoNd TesT eNds iN draw

KARACHI Staff RepoRt

THEtwo-Test series between New Zealand and Pakistan ended in a winless stalemate after the drawn second Test at Karachi’s National Stadium on Friday.

Chasing 319 for victory on a dramatic final day, Pakistan reached 304-9 when bad light stopped.

Sarfaraz Ahmed topscored for the hosts with a counter-attacking 118, while spinner Michael Bracewell was pick of the New Zealand bowlers, claiming 4-75. The opening Test, also played in Karachi, ended in a draw as well.

‘Kaptaan, Leader, Legend’: Cricketers rejoice Sarfaraz’s final-day ton Pakistan cricket team players were all over the moon after Sarfaraz Ahmed scored a century on the final day of the second Test between Pakistan and New Zealand on Friday. The wicket-keeper batsman achieved the feat on his hometown after making a

comeback to the national team with a gap of almost four years. It was his first hundred since 2014, and fourth overall.

Pakistan required 319 at the start of the day five with two wickets down. Sarfaraz stayed determined throughout the day despite fall of wickets, steering Pakistan closer

Pegula stuns tearful swiatek, sakkari also crashes in united Cup semi-finals

SYDNEY agencieS

A “helpless” Iga Swiatek was left in tears after Jessica Pegula stunned the world number one Friday with Greece’s sixth-ranked Maria Sakkari also crashing to defeat in the semi-finals of the inaugural United Cup. Less than two weeks before the Australian Open, Poland’s Swiatek had no answers to the American’s powerful serve and searing returns, crashing 6-2, 6-2 in a deflating 71-minute defeat in Sydney. “She played I think a perfect match, and it was pretty hard for me to find any spot where I could come back, because she really didn’t let me do that,” said Swiatek. “I just knew that I felt kind of helpless today, because physically and mentally I wasn’t able to kind of show up even, and problem-solve,” she added of why the tears came. “So it’s always hard when you lose, especially when you’re playing for the team and your country. So I was just sad. But, you know, it’s not the first time I cried after a lost match.” Men’s world number 19 Frances Tiafoe then put the United States on the cusp of Sunday’s final when he swept past Kacper Zuk 63, 6-3. Tiafoe was initially supposed to play Daniel Michalski, but he pulled out with illness. Italy took an early advantage in their semi-final against Greece, with a fired-up Martina Trevisan upsetting Sakkari 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-5 in a gruelling 3hr 14min epic. “Oh my god, it was a great battle today, I’m really, really happy,” said the 27thranked Italian who clocked one of the biggest wins of her career. “My team was incredible, they gave me a lot of energy. It was amazing.”

Lorenzo Musetti faces Greece’s Stefanos Sakellaridis in the men’s singles rubber later Friday.

hamza Khan advances to British Junior open quarterfinals

ISLAMABAD agencieS

Pakistan’s Hamza Khan won two back-to-back matches to book his quarter-final berth in the Boys U-19 category of the British Junior Open Squash Championship in Birmingham, the UK on Friday. According to information made available here by Pakistan Squash Federation, in the first fixture, Hamza downed Lazlo Godde in straight games 11-4, 11-9, 11-5. In the third round, he edged passed Joachim Chuah in an exciting contest by a scoreline of 12-10, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6. In the quarterfinals, Hamza will compete against Omar Azzam of Egypt. Hamza’s compatriots Noor Zaman and Ashab Irfan could not reach the quarter-final stage. Noor lost to Yassin Shohdy after a five-game epic battle by a game score of 8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-13, 7-11, while Ashab Irfan was handed defeat by Rowan Damming 13-11, 7-11, 10-12, 511. In Boys U-13 category, Nouman Khan and Ahmed Rayyan Khalil displayed stunning performances to advance to quarterfinals.

to victory. Following are the tweets from Sarfaraz’s former and current teammates celebrating his achievement.

Happy with Sarfaraz’s performance but Rizwan is our first choice: Shahid Afridi Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s interim chief selector Shahid Afridi has backed Mo-

hammad Rizwan over Sarfaraz Ahmed as the prime wicketkeeper of men’s national team.

“I’m very happy that Saifi has made a comeback and given such amazing performance, but Mohammad Rizwan is available and he is our main wicket-keeper in both T20Is and ODIs,” said Afridi in a press conference on Thursday. Sarfaraz Ahmed was not included in the 16-member ODI squad announced by the selection committee for the three-match series against New Zealand in Karachi. While answering a question regarding Sarfaraz’s non-inclusion, Afridi said they’ll consider him only if Rizwan in unavailable. “God forbid if Rizwan gets injured or if he’s tired, we’ll then consider other options. Let’s not mix someone’s Test performance with that of limited overs,” he said.

The former cricketer said they are also considering other wicket-keeping options in limited overs. “We have (Mohammad) Haris and we’re grooming him,” he said.

“He’ll be sent on Pakistan A tours. He’s a very good option in T20Is if Rizwan is not available.” Three uncapped players

Najam Sethi takes a dig at Jay Shah for unilaterally presenting ACC’s structure

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee’s Chairman Najam Sethi slammed President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Secretary

of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Jay Shah for announcing announced the pathway structure and cricket calendar for 2023-24.

Jay Shah on Thursday revealed men’s and women’s tournaments of the upcoming two years, including the

2023 Asia Cup groups where Pakistan and India are placed together.

Najam took a dig at Shah for “unilaterally” taking the decisions without any consultation and discussion, as Pakistan have to host the Asia Cup this year before the World Cup in India.

“Thank you, Jay Shah for unilaterally presenting ACC’s structure & calendars 2023-24 especially relating to Asia Cup 2023 for which Pakistan is the event host.”

Najam concluded his tweet by asking Shah to present the Pakistan Super League (PSL) schedule.

Remember, Pakistan and India have been at odds after Shah stated that India will not go to Pakistan for the Asian event. Former chairman Ramiz Raja responded that Pakistan will not go to India for ICC World Cup 2023 if India pull out of Asia Cup 2023 in Pakistan.

PP Youth Talent Hunt Women Hockey League begins in colourful ceremony

PESHAWAR agencieS

Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif Youth Talent Hunt Women Hockey League was kicked off in a colorful opening ceremony at Abdul Wali Khan Sports Complex here Friday.

However, the matches of the League continued from January 3 before all the five teams from Bannu, Mardan, Swat, Hazara and Pesahwar comprising 125 players went through camps, followed by the League matches and among all 125 players, 18 members teams for each of the Region was shortlisted under a selection committee including Mubashar Ahmad, Tanveer Ahmad, Qazi Najam Ur Rehman and Ijaz Ahmad Khan Daudzai.

The Prime Minister Youth Talent Hunt Hockey Brand Ambassador Momina Ilham formally inaugurated the League. It is for the first time that such a vital step was taken and an international hockey player Momina Ilham opened the Women Hockey League as the chief guest.

She was accompanied by nominee of the Higher Education Commission Iftikhar Alam, Deputy Director of Sports and Coordinator of Prime Minister’s Talent Hunt Youth Program for KP Mariyyah Sameen Jan, DSO Charsadda Tahsinullah Khan, Tanveer of UET Lahore, Mubasher Saeed of Karachi University and other personalities were also present.

On this occasion, all the players

presented a March Past while the girls of Government Girls High School Daulatpura presented a magnificent performance.

In the last day matches, Peshawar defeated Hazara, in which international hockey player Momina Ilham scored a magnificent hat-trick. In this way, Peshawar won against Hazara with three goals to zero. In the second match, they also beat Swat. Nishiman, Shazia and Kainat Nimat scored goals on behalf of Bannu.

Advisor to Prime Minister for Youth Program Sheza Fatima and Special Assistant to Prime Minister Amir Muqam have said that in the light of the special instructions of the Prime Minister, the Youth Talent Hunt Program and the Women Hockey League would continue up till January 10, 2023.

Under the supervision of KP Coordinator and Deputy Director of Sports Mariyyah Sameen, a training camp

was organized for one hundred and twenty five players who appeared in the trials from five regions including Bannu, Peshawar, Swat, Mardan, and Hazara.The inaugural function of Provincial Hockey League under Talent Hunt Youth Sports League was held at Abdul Wali Khan Sports Complex, Charsadda. The Talent Hunt Youth Sports League is a unique project run under the Prime Minister’s Youth Program organized by the Higher Education Commission in collaboration with universities.

In the Friday matches, the strong teams of Peshawar and Mardan played at goal-less draw despite some good inroads made by the forwards of Peshawar and Mardan teams. So far, Peshawar and Mardan won both of their two matches each while Bannu and Hazara won a single match against Swat and a very young Swat team lost all their matches in the League.

have been added to the limited-overs squad including Kamran Ghulam, Tayyab Tahir and Usama Mir. Afridi, however, suggested that the newcomers should only get a chance if the series outcome is apparent after the first two ODIs. “We have so many seniors in the team and we can’t have them warming the bench while junior youngsters play,” he said. “But if we win the first two successive ODIs, we’ll consider giving them a chance.”

Pakistan’s vice-captain Shadab Khan has been ruled out of the ODI squad for the upcoming series due to injury.

“I spoke to Shadab and while he sounded reluctant. He said he could play the ODIs against NZ,” Afridi said.

“I asked him to take the ball next morning and see where he stands. He bowled today morning and was not feeling comfortable in his finger, so we are resting him and giving Usama Mir a chance.”

Pakistan will play three ODIs against New Zealand starting from Jan 9 to Jan 13 at National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.

Cricket Center, MTG record victories in 20-K Cup T20 Cricket Tournament

Staff RepoRt

Cricket Center Club and Model Town Greens recorded victories on the second day of the 20K Cup 2023 T20 Cricket Tournament against their respective opponents here at Model Town Greens ground on Friday. The first match of the day proved a low-scoring affair, where Cricket Center comfortably overpowered Yu Slim Cricket Club by 7 wickets. Cricket Center won the toss and elected to ball first. Their decision paid divided as Cricket Center bundled out Yu Slim Club for 81 in 15.4 overs, thanks to excellent bowling by Qaiser Ashraf 3-14, Adnan Rasool 3-12 and Said ur Rehman 2-10.

From Yu Slim Club, only Safeer Azam (32) and Aamer Jamil (24) could cross the double figures. Cricket Center replied strongly and chased the required target in just 12 overs for the loss of just three wickets. Anaz Mehmood hammered unbeaten 21 runs off 22 balls while Tariq Nawaz struck 13-ball 19 runs and Basit Ali contributed with 18 runs off 21 balls. Only Awais Munir (2 for 20) and Haider Butt (1 for 9) bowled well for Yu Slim Club. Adnan Rasool was named player of the match. The second match of the day was a one-sided affair, where Model Town Greens outclassed P&T Gymkhana by a huge margin of 61 runs. Model Town Greens decided to bat first after winning the toss and posted a mammoth total of 171 runs on the board for the loss of 8 wickets in allotted 20 overs. Mirwais Khan was top scorer from the winning team as he played 25 ball to smash superb 41 runs while other key contributors were Awais Zafar (35) and Usman Khalid (29) and Waleed (17). From P&T Gymkhana, Adan Mir claimed 4-35 and Asad Raza 3-30.

P&T though started their run-chase well but the outstanding bowling by Model Town Greens bowled very tightly and restricted their opponents to 110 all out in 19.1 overs.

Muhammad Ishaq top-scored with 42 runs while Ali Razzaq and Ahmed Bhatti scored 12 runs each. Mirwais Khan bowled brilliantly and grabbed 3 wickets for 26 runs while Ahmad Arif bagged 3 for 19 runs and Usman Khalid 2 for 15. For his all-round performance, Mirwais Khan emerged as man of the match. The event is being played to pay homage to Col Fateh Sher Khan. On Saturday (January 7), the only match of the day will be played between Golden Star Cricket Club and Pindi Gymkhana at 11:00.

LAHORE

MIfTAh: boLKELAbAzAAdhAINTErE

pRofIt RepoRt abdullah niazi

ITis embarrassing, really, for the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N). In their short stint in government, they have had two finance ministers in power, both of whom have made it their life’s mission to knock down the other.

Of the two, one has been justified in his anger and dignified in his criticism. And we’ll give you a hint, that wasn’t Ishaq Dar. In a recent appearance on a podcast, former finance minister Miftah Ismail pointed towards the familial relationship between Ishaq Dar and the PML- N supremo Mian Nawaz to explain his dismissal from office. In the nicest way he possibly could, Miftah Ismail clearly made it known his displeasure at how he was treated and his exit from office managed.

Let us go back to when he first came to office, and the shadow he had to compete with. Here’s the rub: Unenviable as it was, Miftah’s position was in trouble from day one. Despite the very tough road ahead of whoever was finance minister, Ishaq Dar was gunning for the position. And in the minds of the PML-N leadership, living up to Dar was always going to be a challenge. It is testament to his towering intellect and

economic prowess that an entire school of economics popularly known as ‘Darnomics’ has popped up and become a household name in Pakistan. Dar, to his credit, is not one for false modesty and has been seen publicly accepting and acknowledging the services of Darnomics to the country.

Indeed, Miftah was not alone. The shadow of Darnomics hung long and dark on all of us. The obsession with a strong rupee, the failure to regularise the taxation system, and unsustainable and inequitable growth are all legacies of Ishaq Dar’s previous stint in the topseat at Q-block.

When Mifta Ismail first came to office, he had a tough path to follow. He had to fight in the cabinet to raise petrol prices and slash the subsidy on fuel. The dollar was still crashing. And from a very weak position in government, it was his responsibility to coax and cajole a (justifiably) irate IMF back to the negotiating table.

While he did a commendable job, he was constantly harangued by certain sections of his own party. The Darnomics vision of the economy was what mattered to the PML-N’s top cadre. Making tough economic decisions was not on their agenda. They wanted policies that would provide short-term relief and pro-

Maryam Nawaz in good condition after throat surgery in Geneva: Aurangzeb

ISLAMABAD staff report

vide them strength on the campaign trail. After all, the average voter does not understand the nuances of economic policy. They just care about the bottom line.

For a while, the prime minister persisted with Miftah. But all that while, Dar was out there whispering in the ears of Mian Nawaz that if he was given his old post back, he could wrestle the dollar to its old price and even slash petrol prices, and maybe just win the PML-N the next election. And when the PTI and Imran Khan gained back control of the Punjab and swept the by-elections in the country, it was Miftah’s head on the chopping block.

For a while, Miftah bided his time. He acted as the good soldier and allowed Dar to come in and do his thing. The problem was, despite trying it from ten different directions, Dar has neither been able to control the dollar nor petrol prices. Suddenly, the PML-N has found themselves in a position where they are unable to provide short-term relief and too stubborn to take the tough decisions that are needed to put the country’s economy back on track. With this bleak picture, it is no wonder that Miftah has been growing bolder and speaking more freely. He stands a man vindicated, and even a dignified man can’t help but gloat a little and say “I told you so.”

Dar, President AIIB discuss donors’ conference being held in Geneva

Thousands march Wana against rising terrorism

WANA staff report

Thousands of people in South Waziristan’s headquarters –Wana took to the streets on Friday against the recent wave of terrorism and demanded immediate restoration of peace in the region.

The protest comes as terrorism is again rearing its head in the country, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. People from all walks of life including political workers, social activists, traders and youth attended the peace march. Holding white flags and placards, the participants chanted slogans in favour of peace and against the fresh wave of terrorism in the region, particularly in the tribal districts.

Leaders of PPP, PTM, PML-N and AWP addressed the rally. They said the government was responsible for establishing safety and security in the region, asserting that terrorism was not acceptable at any cost. The speakers noted that there was an increase in attacks on security personnel in Wana, while ordinary citizens were being kidnapped for extortion. They complained that the government had failed to control the situation and warned that protests in the area would continue until a police force was constituted to eliminate both the “good and bad Taliban” from the area. Talking to a private News Channel Awami National Party leader Ayaz Wazir — who also attended the protest, said no one was safe in Wana, from political leaders to traders, tribal leaders and contractors. “Today, thousands of people have taken to the streets to demand peace. We won’t sit quietly until the government guarantees peace,” he added.

ISLAMABAD Mian abrar

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Ishaq Dar in an online meeting with President Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), Mr. Jin Liqun on Friday discussed with issued of bilateral interests.

The federal minister extended felicitations to the President AIIB for assuming second term as bank’s President and stated that the Bank to continue to progress in future under his able leadership. He highlighted deep rooted friendship between the Bank and Pakistan for supporting Pakistan in difficult times.

The Finance Minister highlighted the economic outlook of the country and said that the present Government inherited week economic legacy but is focusing on fixing things in right direction and is introducing reforms in all sectors to achieve economic growth and development. He said that due to pragmatic measures

taken by the government, the country is destined for progress and development.

Ishaq Dar also apprised the President AIIB of damages caused by the floods in Pakistan and its impact on the economy of Pakistan. The forthcoming Donor’s Conference in Geneva was also discussed in the meeting. The Finance Minister also extended invitation to the President AIIB to visit Pakistan in 2023.

The President AIIB lauded the relationship between Pakistan and the AIIB and appreciated Pakistan for being an excellent member of the AIIB. The President appreciated the economic policies and reforms of the present government for social uplift of the masses. He highlighted the role of AIIB in infrastructure development projects and investment and extended AIIB’s complete support and cooperation to Pakistan.

The Finance Minister thanked the President AIIB for his continuous support to Pakistan for the sustainable economic development of the country.

Verdict reserved on MQM plea: Karachi LG polls will not be delayed at any cost: CEC

KARACHI staff report

The Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday reserved the verdict on the MQM petition challenging the voters’ lists to be used during the forthcoming local government elections in Karachi.

The MQM has raised objections to the voters’ lists under which the local government elections in Karachi would be held.

During the hearing, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja remarked that the commission would not let the Karachi LG polls to be delayed.

The MQM lawyer said that the use of old voters’ lists during the forthcoming local government elections in Karachi was against the law. The CEC remarked that the MQM used to move to the courts in the past against the delimitations of constituencies.

“Why doesn’t the MQM bring all the issues together? If the party has another issue, it should bring it before the commission so that we will decide all cases together,” the CEC said.

Sikandar Raja said that the LG polls were going to be held using the same voters’ lists on which the MQM had already contested the 2018 elections and byelections.

The MQM lawyer raised another point that on April 29, the election commission was incomplete. The CEC wondered that in its application, there was no mention of incomplete election commission. He told off the lawyer asking him to stick to his point and stopped beating about the bush.

“There is no way that the elections will be delayed. They will not be deferred at any cost,” the election commissioner remarked.

Sindh Additional Advocate General Fouzi Zafar requested the commission to allow him one-week more time to present his arguments on the case.

But the commission abolished the Sindh government’s right of presenting arguments over its ill-preparation of the case.

The Jamaat-i-Islami representative told the commission that every possible effort was being made to delay the polls but he requested the ECP to make sure that the LG elections would be held on Jan 15.

ECP Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal said that with every passing day, people keep becoming eligible for vote. If the ECP accepts the MQM plea, then it could never be able to conduct elections in the country, he said adding that as per the law, only those people could cast their votes whose names were registered at the time of election schedule release.

The ECP DG law beseeched the commission to reject the MQM plea. He argued that voters’ lists constantly keep updating with the passage of time. It was made clear in the ECP press release that the LG polls would be held as per the old voters’ lists, he added.

CCLC approves proposed safety standards of vehicles

For the first time in Pakistan’s history, major stakeholders of the automotive sector have agreed to develop a consensus over the safety standards of some components of the locally assembled vehicles. The Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases (CCLC) on Friday approved the proposed safety standards.

According to reliable sources, CCLC, which met here on Friday, has discussed and approved the agenda item of safety standards in vehicles including Electric Vehicles (EVs) which would now be sent to the federal cabinet for ratification.

As per an official source, the committee discussed a list of standards of various parts, developed by Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) in

consultation with all stakeholders, which included the manufacturers/assemblers, parts manufacturers, Engineering Development Board (EDB) an arm of Ministry of Industries, Ministry of Climate Change and others. Earlier there have been differences among the stakeholders over the safety standards being developed by PSQCA, an organization of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

As per documents exclusively available with this scribe, the PSQCA, in the first phase has developed a standard of at least eight items out of around 30 parts which needed to be developed under an international agreement signed by Pakistan.

The safety standards developed so far are almost the same as are approved internationally, an official informed.

During the meeting the members of the

committee also asked PSQCA and other stakeholders to develop standards for remaining parts of the vehicles in other phases, sources informed.

According to available documents, in the first phase, PSQCA developed / adopted the standards for Child Restraint System (PS:5574 and PS:5575), Safety Belts (PS:5578 and PS:5579), Air Bags (PS:5576), Electric PowerTrain for electric vehicles (PS:5550 and PS:5551) and Helmet for Riders (PS:1402)

As per the draft proposal, the CCLC has been requested to approve inclusion of the proposed standard (quality) in the mandatory items of PSQCA, which already has 166 food and nonfood items in its basket to inspect and certify.

The safety standards were being developed for the first time in the country

after strong direction by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which on June 15, 2022 had expressed serious concern on lack of safety features in automobile such as Airbags, Safety Belts, Child Restrain Lock System, Helmets and others.

The Chairman of the PAC had directed the concerned department and ministries to formulate standards for the safety features in automobiles and include them in the mandatory list of PSQCA.

Previously the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) had failed to develop the standard despite holding various meetings over developing a national standard for vehicles being manufactured/ assembled in the country.

On the direction of PAC, which had

taken notice of poor quality of local vehicles last month, the two ministries had later held meetings on the same issue. However, according to insiders, a consensus had not been made in this regard, for, what the sources claim, reluctance of local auto firms and EDB, regarding accepting the standards set by PSQCA.

Earlier it was informed that keeping in view the fact that the Government of Pakistan has acceded to the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) of United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the efforts are being made to either formulate local standards based on UN Regulation or directly adopt relevant international regulations. In this regard multiple technical committees of relevant stakeholders have been working.

pRofIt RepoRt

GhulaM abbas

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz was in good condition after her throat surgery in Geneva, which last for three hours. The minister, in a tweet, said the PML-N vice president had extended gratitude to the people, especially the party workers who had prayed and conveyed good wishes to her.