Epaper_23-01-17 LHR

PM Shehba z urgeS IndIan PreMIer to reSolve K aShMIr through talKS

The

The prime minister in an nter view w th Al Arabiya news channe , sa d My message to the Ind an leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Mod s that let us sit down on the table and have ser ous and sincere talks to resolve our burning issues l ke Kashmir

In Kashmir f agrant human rights v olat ons were taking place day n and day out, he said, add ng India had usurped any semblance of autonomy given to the Kashm r s according to Art cle 370 of the nd an Const tution The autonomy was revoked in August 2019

Minorities n Ind a were being persecuted he said adding This must stop so that message can go around the globe that India is ready to have talks

Shehbaz sa d India and Pak stan were neighbours and they had to live with each other

“ It s up to us to l ve peaceful y and make progress or quarre with each other and waste t me and re-

sources We have three wars with India and t only brought more m ser y poverty and unemp oyment to the people We have learnt our lesson and we want to l ve n peace prov ded we are able to resolve our genuine problems

“ We want to alleviate poverty, achieve prosperity and provide education and hea th facilit es and employment to our peop e and not waste our resources on bombs and ammunition that is the message I want to give to Prime M n ster Mod , ” he added

We are nuc ear powers armed to the teeth and if God forbid a war

breaks out who will live to te l what happened, he remarked

He said the eadership of the United Arab Emirates could play an mportant ro e to br ng Ind a and Pakstan together add ng he would ho d talks w th the ndian leadership w th the sincerity of purpose

He said Saud Arab a was a fr endly and brother y countr y and they had unique brotherly relat ons for centuries

Before Pakistan came into be ng and car ved out of Ind a, mi lions of Muslims had brotherly re ations w th Saudi Arab a and they were visiting Makkah and Medina, he recalled

He said Sheikh Mohammed b n Zayed was an affectionate brother and great supporter of Pak stan and wanted the people of Pakistan to progress and become prosperous Sheikh Zayed A Nahyan was also a great friend of Pak stan and Pak stan was in his sou Leadersh p of Pakistan and Gulf countries have resolved to cooperate with each other in the realm of trade and culture and project Islam as a rel gion of peace and shun all forms of terror sm We are working together as strategic partners

The pr me minister said Pak stan s w o e s a n d d i f f c u l t e s w o u d n o t h a v e d e c r e a s e d w i t h o u t t h e t a n g ib l e a n d s u b s t a n t i a l s u p p o r t o f t h e b r o t h e r l y G u l f c o u n t r e s a n d S a u d i A r a b i a, w h o w e r e r e l i a b l e a n d t r u s t w o r t h y p a r t n e r s

He said the Pakistani nation was res lient and brave, and it would stand on its own feet by promot ng trade and investment

To a question, he said sur v va of the world lied in co-existence and what was happening in eastern Europe had devastated the world and commodity prices had sky rocketed

Urban Sindh LG polls: PPP leads as opposition cries foul of ‘mass rigging’

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI

S ta f f R e p o R t

The PPP emerged the biggest w nner with 93 seats and the Jamaat-i- slami (JI) close second with 86 seats n the second phase of the Local Government elections n Karachi and Hyderabad marred w th a legat ons of massive r gging and vote fraud

According to the complete resu ts the PTI was a distant third w th 40 seats fol owed by the PML-N with seven seats The Election Commiss on of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday released the fina consolidated results of all 235 union councils in Sindh’s Karachi divis on after close to a 30hour wait amid PTI and JI cr y ng fou Pol ing in the provinc a cap tal was held on Sunday for the posts of cha rman and vice chairman

The electoral body said the rema ning results wil be released by night and acknowledged that the process was a comp icated one and required t me to prepare the result of one un on council

The elections have been marred by electoral irregularities, r gging al egations ow voter turnout and an unusual delay in resu ts from polling stations, with many cal ng for stronger measures to ensure the safety of public off cia s

The PTI accused the PPP, prov nc al administration and the tribuna of m sconduct and r gging warn ng of

a strong reaction if any attempts were made to tamper with the election results

Jamaat-e- slam echoed s milar reser vations and allegations, with its Karach ch ef Naeem ur-Rehman holding a press conference in Karachi and threatening to stage sitin protests if the results of the local body elect ons were not announced on time He al eged that some deputy comm ss oners were working in favour of the Sindh government and nter fer ng n the process JI Karachi ch ef Hafiz Naeem c aimed that h s party secured the biggest number of seats He a leged that eight seats were g ven to the PPP saying that the JI had the signed Form 11s of those UCs to prove it

He cla med that the party s total seats were actua ly 94 and it had appea ed for a recount in 10 seats

The Grand Democratic Al ance (GDA) the key contestant in Hyderabad and rura d stricts of the province re ected the electoral process and demanded immediate inter vention” of the state institutions Sindh M n ster and Pres dent of Pak stan Peop e s Party (PPP) Karachi D vis on Saeed Ghan cla med that PPP had won over 100 Union Councils/Un on Committees of the metropo is during the second phase of loca government e ect ons as per the unoff cia results

Whi e addressing a press confer-

ence in a Comm ttee Room of the Sindh Assemb y, he said that after the announcement of comp ete results they were in better position to nomnate their own Mayor

PPP Karach Div sion s Genera Secretar y Javed Nagor and others were also present on the occas on Saeed Ghani said that the citzens of Karach expressed their confidence n PPP n the previous day elections and PPP had emerged as a sing e argest party in the c ty He a so felic tated Jamaat-e-Isami (JI) s Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, saying that JI seemed to be runnerup in the race for the elections according to the unoff cia results

The elect ons on Januar y 15 came under question when the two part es al eged that the results were deliberate y being delayed However ear ier n the day, the commiss on defended the delay, insist ng the process of prepar ng and releasing resu ts for each un on council (UC) was complicated and time-consum ng Prov ncial Elect on Commissioner E az Anwar Chauhan clar fied that each UC cons sts of four wards and around 20 pol ng stations and the f na result of a UC remains incomplete if a resu t sheet of even one polling station is left

Senior lawyer Latif Afridi killed in PHC bar room shooting

PESHAWAR

Former Supreme Court Bar Association president and senior lawyer Latif Afr di was kil ed during firing ins de the Peshawar H gh Court (PHC) bar room on Monday, accord ng to the po ice He was moved to the Peshawar Lady Reading Hosp tal immediate y after the inc dent where he succumbed to his injuries during medical treatment faci ity s spokesperson Muhammad Asim said Meanwhile Sen or Superintendent of Police Kashif Abbass stated that Afridi was sitting with other lawyers n the PHC bar room when a gunman opened fire at him “ The po ice have arrested the accused and identif ed h m as Adnan Afridi the off cer said reveal ng that the attacker was related to Afrid He stated that a smal weapon, an dent ty card and a student card have been recovered from the attacker Abbassi further said that the po ice suspected the attack was carr ed out because of “ persona enm ty ” The attacker s cousin Aftab Afrid an ant -terrorism udge in Swat was killed n a firing incident last year Latif Afridi and his family members were nominated in the case but were later acqu tted by an anti-terror sm court in Swabi On the other hand, the Peshawar High Court Bar Assoc ation termed the incident a security lapse and questioned how a man w th a weapon managed to reach the bar room t s pertinent to mention that the PHC bar room s ocated inside the premises of the high court Tight security s regular y deployed at the entrance of the PHC and people are only al owed to enter upon showing their identity cards Prime Min ster Shehbaz Shar f expressed deep sorrow and grief over the “ brutal k ll ng of the senior lawyer I pray that the bereaved fam ly bear this loss with fortitude The worsening law and order s tuat on in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is alarm ng, the PM noted, add ng that the provinc al government should take immediate measures in this regard Former presdent Asif A i Zardari condemned the murder of Afridi and said he was a strong supporter of democracy and a staunch opponent of extremism The kil ing of martyr Abdul Latif Afr di s ver y unfortunate the PPP leader said in a tweet Meanwhi e former SBCA president Ahsan Bhoon expressed shock at the murder of the senior lawyer and said Afr di had always raised his voice for people deprived of r ghts “ He was a part of the students union n his young days and later he joined the ANP Bhoon said adding that the slain lawyer had also suffered tough times dur ng martial law in ex-d ctator Ayub Khan s tenure The exSCBA pres dent said Afr di was a strong advocate of democracy “ He resisted al ant -democrat c forces throughout his life The Lahore H gh Court Bar Assoc at on (LHCBA) and the KP Bar Counci a so condemned Afrid ’s k ll ng in strong words

Korean multinational to sell entire 75% stake in Lotte Chemical Pakistan to Lucky Core Industries

In desperate bid for cotton, textile manufacturers turn to US Ambassador

Barrick Gold sets 2028 as target for first production from Reko Diq

Imran hints at returning to Parliament

ISLAMABAD

RIME M n ster Shehbaz Sharif Monday asked Ind an Pr me Min ster Narendra Modi to ho d serious and sincere talks to resolve burn ng issues inc uding Kashmir

PM said the Un ted Arab Emirates was a second home for m llions of Pakistanis and as prime minister he had undertaken a successful vis t to the countr y

B A R R i c k G o L D S eT S 2 0 2 8 A S TA R G eT f o R

f i R S T P R o D u c T i o N f R o M R e ko D i q

of 2024 said Mark Bristow in a news release on Monday

Corporation Chief

Bristow said that the company had set 2028 as the target for starting the first production from the giant coppergold mine Reko Diq in Balochistan

It was also planning to complete the Reko Diq feasibility study update by the end

The chief executive’s statement came in the backdrop of the completion of the legal processes and definitive transaction agreements last month

According to the press release Reko Diq will be operated by Barrick, which owns 50% of the project, with Balochistan holding 25% and three Pakistani state-owned enterprises sharing the remaining 25% The

shareholding structure is in line with Barrick’s policy of benefit-sharing partnerships with its host countries

As part of a three-day project review that started in Quetta, Bristow, accompanied by senior Barrick executives, met with Balochistan chief minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and other provincial leaders to brief them on the extensive social and economic development opportunities that would be generated by the mine, which is expected to

have a life of at least 40 years

The meeting was attended by a wide spectrum of provincial stakeholders and leaders including opposition leader Malik Sikandar Khan (JUI-F) and leaders of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Jamiat Ullema Islam (JUI-F) Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI), and Awami National Party (ANP) After the meeting, Bristow and the chief minister signed a memorandum of agreement which specifies the timetable for the

Abid Minto shocked, grieved on brutal murder of L atif Afridi

Top PML-N brass meets to decide interim chief minister Punjab

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has summoned a consultative meeting at his Model Town residence in the provincial capital tonight to discuss the names proposed by Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi for the post of caretaker chief minister of Punjab Top leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) including federal ministers Ishaq Dar Ahsan Iqbal Khawaja Saad Rafique, Azam Nazir Tarrar, Malik Ahmed Khan, and Ata Tarrar were present at the meeting Elahi had announced the names of Ahmed Nawaz Sakhera Naseer Ahmed Khan and Nasir Saeed Khosa as the nominees for the post after they were approved by PTI chairman Imran Khan It is likely that one of the three names will be chosen for the slot The chief minister had also issued a notification for the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly, which did not come into effect as the governor did not sign the summer sent by the former Elahi has also spoken about a possible merger of two allies parties, saying that Imran Khan had asked Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) to merge with the PTI and Moonis Elahi also thinks it should be done

LHc seeks reply on plea seeking voting rights to overseas Pakistanis

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has sought a response from the federal and Punjab governments on the plea seeking the provision of voting rights to overseas Pakistani Justice Shahid Karim of LHC heard the petitions against of International Lawyers Association Punjab against the non-provision of voting rights to overseas Pakistanis After initial arguments, the Lahore High Court (LHC) sought a reply from the federal and Punjab governments and other concerned The association in its plea stated that overseas Pakistanis send foreign remittances to the country and denying the right to vote to them is a violation of basic rights The court pleaded to pass an order to provide voting rights to overseas Pakistanis

Shujaat makes last ditch effor t to scuttle merger of Par vez-led fac tion of PML- Q with PTI

PML-Q into the PTI and said that his party s decision would surface after their consultative meeting scheduled to be held on Monday (today) to thrash out the proposal

disbursement of committed funds to the province including advance royalties and social development funds, ensuring that the people of Balochistan start earning benefits from the project well before the mine goes into production The agreement provides for an initial payment of $3 million this month

Barrick is working to set up community development committees to identify priority projects focused on food security, environmental management, and access to education, healthcare, and potable water

In Islamabad Bristow met with Minister of State (Petroleum Division) Musadik Malik and reaffirmed Barrick’s goal to be a partner to Pakistan for decades to come and to contribute meaningfully to the development of the country’s highly prospective mining sector

Sherr y to highlight Pakistan’s climate resilience, development at Davos

ISLAMABAD

a p p

Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman will highlight Pakistan’s climate resilience and development agenda at the World Economic Forum annual meeting starting from January 16 at Davos, Switzerland

In a last ditch effort to deter merger between PML-Q f a c t i o n l e d b y C h a u d h r y P a r v e z E l a h i i n t o P a k

Shujaat Monday suspended the membership of Elahi and others and also issued show-cause notices to the fellow party leaders

The show-cause notice a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today, said that Shujaat summoned an emergency party meeting after taking note of Elahi s remarks on Sunday night

A day ago, Elahi addressed a possible merger of the

At another point, Elahi was more candid in his response, saying his son Moonis Elahi also wanted both parties to merge and proceed in politics with a consensus “Any such merger will strengthen the party, Elahi had said

The show-cause notice said that the meeting of senior PML-Q leaders took “strict notice” of Elahi’s comments

An explanation of your unconstitutional and illegal action has been sought ” the notice reads It said that the PML-Q, as a political party, has its own identity, vote bank, party discipline and manifesto which were all violated by Elahi s comments

Ishaq Dar assures expor ters on impor t of raw materials

A c c e s s o r i e s t o m e e t t h e i r E x p o r t r e q u i r e m e n t s

The minister s engagements include a packed calendar of high-level meetings with political leaders, corporate executives, international organizations climate action practitioners media and plenary forums on climate, environmental, economic and social issues, said a press release on Monday Sherry would attend the annual signature Pakistan Breakfast as the chief guest organized by the Pathfinder Group where she would talk about the challenges which were faced by Pakistan due to acute climate stress The minister would also participate in the high-level meetings of the Global Risks Advisory Board, and Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders (IGWEL) During her visit, she would underscore the need for urgent climate action in this decisive decade to get back on track toward the 1 5°C temperature target set under the Paris Agreement Similarly, she would also highlight Pakistan’s Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework (4RF) programme in multilateral meetings

PML-N MPAs blame Rana Sana, Atta Tarar for defeat in PA

LAHORE

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Affairs Senator Ishaq Dar has announced all-out support for exporters, promising government’s help to them for importing raw materials In a tweet uploaded on Monday, Ishaq Dar said export industry w a s o n e o f h i g h e s t p r i o r i t i e s o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t H e f u r t h e r s a i d f i v e z e r o - r a t e d e x p o r toriented sectors and all other exporters will be given complete facilitation for import of raw material, parts and accessories to meet their export requirements

E x p o r t I n d u s t r y i s o n e o f H i g h e s t P r i o r i t y o f o u r G o v t F i v e ( p r e v i o u s l y ) Z e r o R a t e d E x p o r t O r i e n t e d S e c t o r s & a l l o t h e r E x p o r t e r s w i l l b e g i v e n c o m p l e t e f a c i l i t a t i o n f o r i m p o r t o f R a w M a t e r i a l , P a r t s a n d

T h e f i n a n c e m i n i s t e r ’s t w e e t c a m e a m o n g desperate efforts by import-based sectors to seek help from other sources than the government

One such example was of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Patron-in-Chief Gohar Ejaz who had written a letter to the American ambassador in Islamabad requesting him to arrange loan of two billion dollars for Pakistan to import cotton from the US Gohar Ejaz also urged the US government to announce concessional loans for Pakistan’s textile industry Moreover, the US government should devise a strategy to provide easy credit for importing cotton from the US since the textile industry in Pakistan is facing a shortage of 10 million cotton bales this year due to country’s economic slowdown the letter says

The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) MPAs on Monday blamed Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Malik Ahmed Khan and Special Assistant to the prime minister Atta Tarar for defeat in the Punjab assembly According to re, the PML-N lawmakers engaged in a verbal spat at the party meeting The PML-N MPA and a former senior provincial minister lambasted the trio but especially took to task SAPM Atta Tarar for PML-N s defeat in the Punjab assembly He pointed at the Ata Tarar and said that the people who are sitting in the gallery are the reason behind the defeat and their miscalculations and wrong planning resulted in Pervaiz Elahi’s successful vote of confidence The federal interior minister was also sitting in the gallery

The PML-N Punjab MPAs walked out of the meeting as a protest sources added

L H C s t ay s a r r e s t w a r r a n t s f o r I m r a n a n d a i d e s o ve r c r i t i c i s m o f E C P b o s s

ISLAMABAD

The Rawalpindi bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) suspended the bailable arrest warrants issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, its secretary general Asad Umar and senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry

Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan Monday heard the PTI leaders’ plea against the warrants, suspending them while directing the ECP to continue with its contempt proceedings against the trio

The warrants had been issued by a fourmember ECP bench headed by member Nisar Durrani, last week for their failure to appear at

the hearing for a contempt case They came after the Supreme Court “allowed” the tribunal to continue its proceedings against the three politicians in the case

During the proceedings on Wednesday, Ali Bukhari and Anwar Mansoor lawyers representing the politicians, informed the court that their clients, Chaudhry and Umar, would not be able to attend the hearing due to medical reasons Bukhari said that Chaudhry’s mother is currently hospitalised in Lahore, and he is with her while Umar s doctor had advised him against traveling to Islamabad

The leadership of the opposition party, most notably Khan have been criticising the “partisan” conduct of the commission and Raja since its government was removed in April Khan in particular has criticised Raja

describing him as a “puppet” of the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance and biased against his party

The party has repeatedly demanded Raja step down, saying it cannot trust the results of polls conducted under his leadership

Following numerous instances of Khan targeting the commission in his speeches, the ECP in August issued notices to the three over passing “inappropriate remarks” and levelling allegations against the commission and its members

It said Khan had used “insulting and indecent language” against Raja in rallies on July 12 18 21 27 August 4 and 8

According to the Election Act 2017, Section 10 titled “Power to punish for contempt states the election commission

may exercise the same power as the high court to punish any person for contempt of court and the Contempt of Court

Ordinance 2003 (V of 2003) or any other law pertaining to contempt of court shall have effect accordingly

ISLAMABAD

BA R R I C K Gold

Executive Mark

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Mr Abid Hassan Minto, Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and Lahore High Court Bar Association and Founding President of Awami Workers Party (AWP) Pakistan, has expressed his deep sorrow at the shocking death (being reported in the media as targeted murder) of Mr Latif Afridi Mr Minto has lamented over the security situation of the country where even even a leading lawyer is not safe within the four-walls of a Bar Room located in a High Court Mr Minto has also asked for an urgent inquiry in to the matter at the highest level in order to dig up the motives behind this heinous murder of one of the most vocal Democratic and Human Rights voices in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

ISLAMABAD

M A i N

c o L D , D R y w e AT H e R e x P e c T e D

N M o S T PA R T S o f c o u N T R y

MA I N Ly cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country, while very cold in Balochistan, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan

Frost is likely to occur over plain areas of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, upper Sindh, Pothohar region and Kashmir during morning hours Windy weather conditions are also likely in plain areas

Temperatures of some major cities recorded on Monday morning Islamabad, Gilgit and Muzaffarabad two degree centigrade Lahore and Peshawar four

Karachi ten, Quetta minus five and Murree minus two degree centigrade

According to Met Office forecast for Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, very cold and dry weather is expected in Srinagar Jammu Pulwama Anantnag and Shopian, partly cloudy and very cold in Leh and Baramula

Temperatures recorded Srinagar

Pulwama, Anantnag and Baramula minus one degree centigrade, Jammu six, Leh minus twelve and Shopian zero degree centigrade

in the early morning hours while windy weather

S B P i s s u e s N O C s fo r e s t a b l i s h i n g d i g i t a l b a n k s

five (05) digital banks licenses SBP statement said here on Monday

The Framework was the first step toward introducing full-fledged digital banks in Pakistan Digital banks are expected to provide all the banking services through digital means without any need for their customers to visit the bank branches physically In response to SBP’s Licensing and Regulatory Framework for digital banks, SBP received twenty (20) applications from a diverse range of interested players such as commercial banks, microfinance banks, electronic money institutions, and Fintech firms by March 31, 2022 Further, several foreign players including venture capital firms already operating in the digital banking space also expressed

their interest to venture into the Pakistani market directly or in collaboration with local partners

The five (05) applicants were selected after a thorough and rigorous assessment process as per the requirements of the Framework The applicants were assessed on various parameters that included fitness and propriety experience and financial strength; business plan; implementation plan; funding and capital plan; IT and cyber-security strategy and outsourcing arrangements etc Further all the applicants were given the opportunity to present their business cases to SBP Going forward, each of these five (05) applicants will incorporate a public limited company with Secure rights and the Exchange Commission of Pakistan

LHc hears challenge to taxes on ex-governor’s foreign proper ties

LAHORE: In a hearing on Monday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) took up a petition from former Punjab governor Syed Ahmad Mehmood challenging the capital value tax imposed on his properties abroad Justice Jawad Hassan heard the plea and directed the federal and Punjab governments, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to provide an answer The court also decided to consolidate the petition with other similar petitions The former governor, a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart from southern Punjab, argued that he already pays taxes on his properties in Pakistan and that taxing his foreign properties is unfair and against the law He asked the court to declare the federal government’s imposition of the tax on foreign assets null and void S ta f f R e p o R t

kP Governor hints at not signing summar y for dissolution of kP Assembly

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor, Haji Ghulam Ali has hinted at not signing the summary of dissolution of the provincial assembly if sent by Chief Minister KP Talking to the media here on Monday, he said: Like Governor Punjab, he would also not become part of the process of dissolution of the provincial assembly On Sunday Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mehmood Khan announced to send the summary of the dissolution of the KP assembly to the Governor on Tuesday Haji Ghulam Ali said he would play a positive role in the appointment of a caretaker government set up in the province S ta f f R e p o R t

M asood K han honoured with D r. M ar tin Luther K ing Legac y Award for diplomac y, int ’l ser vice

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, was honoured Sunday with Dr Martin Luther King Jr Legacy Award for Diplomacy and International Service’ in recognition of his commitment, leadership and service

The award named after the leader of he American civil rights movement in mid-50s, was conferred on the Pakistani envoy at the 31st International Salute to the Life and Legacy of the late Dr King convened by Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural and Minority Medicine (IAMMM)

The ceremony held ay Willard InterContinental Washington D C , was attended by more than 150 guests, including US lawmakers, diplomats, entrepreneurs community leaders and educationists from Washington and across the United States, according to a Pakistani embassy s press release

PTI MPA Amjad Afridi remanded into police custody

S ta f f R e p o R t

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday handed over Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Amjad Afridi to police on two-day physical remand

Afridi along with his two brothers was arrested in Karachi for allegedly possessing a weapon and ballot papers during the vote count in the second phase of local government (LG) elections

ATC Karachi has also sought a medical report of PTI MPA from the police till January 18 PTI leader – named Amjad Afridi – was arrested in Karachi on Sunday for “waving weapon and possessing ballot book The police have also shared the video of Amjad Afridi’s arrest In a statement, the police said the PTI leader threatened the polling staff and interfered in official work “He [Afridi] also exhibited weapons and was possessing ballot books,” the police added

S enate passes SBP (Amendment) Bill-2021 with majority vote

The Senate on Monday passed The State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2022 with a majority vote despite the treasury’s opposition

The bill, tabled by Mohsin Aziz of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was passed through the vote count

The bill sailed through a majority vote of 26 against 20 while 02 legislators abstained State Minister of Finance and Revenue opposed the Bill saying let’s not change the law as the constitution not allowed this

The bill seeks to rectify unjustified and inequitable credit lending that has been the long-standing demand of the

smaller provinces The bill will ensure that the minimum credit/lending of commercial banks to the private sector for establishing industry and commercial activities in smaller provinces is at par with those provinces total deposits

According to the statement of objects and reasons, the private sector of smaller provinces of the country especially Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had a long-standing demand to eliminate improper, unjustified and inequitable credit/lending by the commercial banks in their provinces which is leading to continuous deprivation disparity and slow progress of industrialization and commercial activities in those provinces Senate Standing Committee on

Finance in its report laid in the Senate on March 10, 2021, observed that commercial banks can not be forced to extend loans unless a law exists that demands the same, hence, recommended bringing legislation in this regard Moreover the Senate of Pakistan on May 31, 2021, also unanimously passed a resolution demanding immediate and result-oriented steps including the introduction of new legislation or amending the present laws/rules/regulations to ensure that the minimum credit /lending of the commercial banks to the private sector for establishing industry and commercial activities in the smaller provinces is at par with those provinces total deposits in the banks

Senator Mushtaq Ahmed moved five bills including the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (The Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2022) (Amendment of Article 203D of the Constitution); the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan [The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2022] (Amendment of Article 19 of the Constitution); the International Islamic University Ordinance, 1985 [The International Islamic University (Amendment) Bill 2022]; the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 [The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2022]; the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order, 1979 [The Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order (Amendment) Bill 2022]

conditions may occur in plain areas During the last 23 hours very cold and dry weather prevailed over most parts of the province Light Rain occurred at isolated places in Mohmand and Dir Rain Recorded (in mm): Ghalanai 03, Dir 01

The maximum and minimum temperatures recorded in centigrade at different stations of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were as Peshawar City 18/02, Chitral 06/-1 Timergara 15/00 Dir 12/-6 Mirkhani 08/-2, Kalam 05/-15, Drosh 06/-3, Saidu Sharif 13/-3, Pattan 11/04, Malam Jabba 03/-7 Takht Bhai 18/00 Kakul 13/02 Balakot 14/02, Parachinar 10/-7 Bannu 15/00, Cherat 07/00, D I Khan 23/04 The lowest temperatures recorded in the province were -15C Kalam and -10C in Tirah valley of Khyber district

customs seizes laptops, mobile phones, wrist watches

QUETTA

Collectorate of Customs Balochistan claimed to have seized laptops mobile phones and wrist watches in two different operations conducted in yaru area of district Pishin in Balochistan province on Monday According to a statement issued by the spokesperson for Collectorate of Customs Balochistan, large quantity of laptops, mobile phones and expensive wrist watches were recovered from the hidden cavities of ten-wheeler truck and Fielder vehicle in two different operations conducted in yaru area of district Pishin Value of the seized goods was reported to be Rs 9 crore Spokesperson said that operations were conducted by the staff of Collectorate of Customs Balochistan under the supervision of Inspector Farhan Malik and Inspector Bashir Wazir in compliance with the directives of Collector Enforcement, Quetta, Sami-ul-Haq

Japanese gov t extends loan for Punjab Transmission Grid Stations Project

ISLAMABAD

The Japanese Government has extended the project loan effective period upto 31 December 2024 of the ongoing loan project “Punjab Transmission and Grid Stations Project (Phase I)” The loan agreement was signed on 3rd May 2008 under which Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided a project-based loan of Japanese yen 11 943 billion (approx US$ 119 1 million) In this regard, the letter of amendment of the loan agreement has been signed between JICA Headquarters Tokyo Japan and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Government of Pakistan Additionally, JICA also accepted the utilization of the remaining project loan amount for flood response said a press release issued here by the Japanese Embassy in Islamabad on Monday The extension of the loan utilization period will enable National Transmission and Dispatch Co Ltd (NTDC) to utilize the remaining balance for the procurement of necessary materials as replenishment of essential materials in NTDC Warehouses which were urgency utilized for repair and maintenance of national transmission lines affected in the devastated flood 2022 across Pakistan The main objectives of this project were to improve the reliability and quality of power supply through the reduction of outages and voltage fluctuation and to meet the fast-growing load demand by strengthening transmission systems in Punjab province Through JICA support, NTDC has built one 500 kV grid station in Rahim yar Khan, a 500/220 kV grid station at Faisalabad West along with an associated transmission line, and a 220kV GIS grid station at Shalamar, Lahore along with associated transmission lines The newly constructed 500/220 kV grid station at Faisalabad West along with the associated transmission line will be expected to be operationalized soon Furthermore, the substations and transmission lines constructed under JICA supported project contributed to mitigating the capacity ratio of neighboring substations and transmission system

ISLAMABAD

KARACHI

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

WASHINGTON S ta f f R e p o R t

The coveted award is conferred annually as part of the commemorative celebrations in honour of the late Dr King’s birthday, which is celebrated on January 15 Ambassador Masood Khan was also nominated as the Honorary Chairman of Martin Luther King International Salute

KARACHI

I C T P Pay R S 1 2 24 M T o Fa M I L I e S o F

M a R T y R e d a N d d e C e a S e d P e R S o N N e L

Similarly, Rs 17 5 million was also distributed among families of Shuhada, deceased officials and other police personnel for welfare

ISLAMABAD Capital Territory Police (ICTP) on Monday paid amount of Rs 1224 million to the bereaved families of martyred and deceased employees admissible under PM Assistance Package

The policemen in the Federal Capital have added a golden chapter in their history, written with blood of their martyrs The courageous role played by the police has won millions of hearts as the brave custodians of law and order They prevented many disasters by taking timely action against criminal elements Several police officials and Jawans of Islamabad police sacrificed their lives during performing duty

According to police spokesman For the compensation to the families of martyred personnel, an amount of Rs 1,224 million was paid to the families of martyers (Shuhada) and deceased employees under PM Assistance Package which has been previously pending for last eight years

a b a d f o r c e a t p r e s e n t

Among other initiatives for the personnel of the force, the major steps to boost the morale include increase in salary of 9 500 officers as well as in DA Allowance & Ration Allowance; 30 gallantry awards for ICP Police Officers from Constable to IGP; promotions of five SP temporary basis, 14 Inspectors, 28 Sub-Inspectors, 33 ASIs; sanction for establishment of first ever National Police Hospital at a total cost Rs 5 864 billion; ehealth system introduced for police officials to ensure their fitness by reducing health related risks and awarding of law & order and executive allowance

LHC hears ex-governor’s plea against taxes on his proper ties abroad

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has conducted hearing on a petition of former Punjab governor Syed Ahmad Mehmood against the capital value tax imposed on his properties abroad Justice Jawad Hassan heard the plea of the former governor and sought an answer from the federal and Punjab governments the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Commissioner of Inland Revenue The TLTP learnt that the court directed to club the plea with other petitions The former governor had challenged the federal government’s move to tax his foreign properties “I own properties in Pakistan and abroad,” he said in his plea I am paying tax in the country Taxing the property abroad is unfair and against the law,” he added S ta f f R e p o Rt

F o g c l e a r s , m o t o r w a y s r e - o p e n f o r t r a v e l

ISLAMABAD: The National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) have declared all motorways under their jurisdiction safe for travel after several days of poor visibility due to dense fog An official from NHMP told APP that the fog had caused multiple road closures and delays, but now clear weather was providing clear and unobstructed views for drivers He stated that various sections of the Motorway including M-1, M-2, M-3, M-4, M-5, M-11, M-14, and Sawat Expressway are now open for traffic S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan, Afghanistan trade dips 12 percent in one month’s time

S h a h z a d pa R ac h a

Pakistan and Afghanistan bilateral trade has dipped (12%) from $171 million to $149 million in December 2022 According to details, the bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan recorded $149 million in December 2022 which was $171 million in November 2022 thus showing a decline of 12 percent However, Both countries’ trade increased by 25% in comparison to December 2022 to December 2021

It is pertinent to note that Pakistan and Afghanistan trade was $119 million in December 2021 which reached to $149 million in December 2022 however a declining trend is being recorded in bilateral trade between both countries Pakistan has exported goods like Cement, Rice, fresh fruits, medicines, confectionery items, dairy products slag tableware household articles plastics worth $149 47 million to Afghanistan in December,

2022 On the other hand, Pakistan imported goods worth $57 Million from Afghanistan which included cotton, tomatoes, Coal, chromium, Iron scrap

Recently, Pakistan and Afghanistan have also discussed the possibility of a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and there are chances that both countries sign PTA in coming months which will boost trade

Body-worn c ameras dispense reliable data to Motor way Police

safety and have become a valuable tool for law enforcement, he maintained

Talking about the fog situation, he said that when air temperature becomes 2 to 2 5 degrees higher than the surface temperature, the moisture suspends in the air and causes fog, adding that it mostly affects plain areas of Punjab and Sindh having agricultural lands and high water usage

Takari Safar Rind, companions join BNP-M

QUETTA

S

Balochistan National Party-Mengal, while condemning raid at the residence of MPA Mir Babu Rahim Mengal central leader of BNP (Mengal), has called on the authorities to get the incident probed It was stated by Malik Abdul Wali Kakar Acting President Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) while addressing a press conference at Quetta Press Club here on Monday with Takari Safar Khan Rind who announced to join BNP-Mengal along with companions Kakar said that Balochistan National Party is the party of martyrs the foundation of which was strengthened by Sardar Attaullah Mengal with his understanding and sacrifices He added that BNP (Mengal) was going to protest outside the office of Sui Southern Gas Company on Tuesday (today) against the gas outages in Balochistan, including Quettta He condemned the assisination of Latif Afridi Advocate in the Bar Room of Peshawar High Court Welcoming Takari Safar Khan Rind, his relatives and friends on joining BNP (Mengal), he said that joining the party by new friends would help further organise the party On the occasion, MPA Akhtar Hussain Langove, MPA Shakeela Naveed Dehwar and other leaders of BNP (Mengal) were also present

ex-governor’s plea against taxes on his proper ties abroad

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday conducted hearing on a petition of former Punjab governor Syed Ahmad Mehmood against the capital value tax imposed on his properties abroad Justice Jawad Hassan heard the plea of the former governor and sought an answer from the federal and Punjab governments the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Commissioner of Inland Revenue The court directed to club the plea with other petitions The former governor had challenged the federal government’s move to tax his foreign properties “I own properties in Pakistan and abroad he said in his plea “I am paying tax in the country Taxing the property abroad is unfair and against the law, he added The court should declare the federal government’s imposition of capital value tax on the foreign properties of the federal government null and void,” he pleaded

Law yer shot dead in Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI

said that patrolling officers provide a 360-degree video with their body-worn cameras at the interval of half an hour “The data received from the different police beats in the control room is shared with the departments concerned and the public, he added

The DIG said bodycams help during traffic violations and accidents These cameras also aid in improving road

Besides motorways, local roads and provincial highways were also affected by fog in these areas Malik informed

Highlighting foggy weather prevails from December to March he urged commuters to avoid travelling during bad weather conditions If travelling is necessary, the commuters must reach their destination before dusk , DIG suggested

A lawyer who was returning home after leaving his children to school has been shot dead in Rawalpindi As per details Advocate Sheikh Imran’s vehicle came under gun attack in Dherri, Ahsanabad, Rawalpindi, the police said The assailants riding a motorcycle fled after the attack The lawyer succumbed to his bullet wounds The police in its initial investigation said the incident is looking like a targeted killing but the situation will become clear after a thorough investigation The body of the deceased has been moved to the hospital for autopsy

ISLAMABAD

While performing judicial function, the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) Chairperson Nilofar Bakhtiar has sought a comprehensive report from Islamabad Police relating to murder of a UK-Kashmiri national Farooq Ali in a hotel It is pertinent to mention that Section 11 of the NCSW Act 2012 empowers the Commission to summon any person for production of documents under the Civil Procedure Code 1908 The Commission has summoned SP Investigation with the concerned Investigation Officer of the Islamabad Capital Police (ICT) and conducted hearing of the matter Sources learnt that the NCSW twitted

exercised

Civil Court, presided by Chairperson @NilofarBkhtiar & called for record &

attendance of @ICT Police in the Ramada Murder case The police were directed to complete investigation & submit report at the earliest” In response to the complaint of Dr Rehiana Ali, sister of the allegedly murdered Farooq Ali, the NCSW Chairperson Nilofar Bakhtiar has summoned the Police officials in the case and conducted a preliminary hearing of the matter During the hearing Arif Anwar Baloch Secretary of the Commission and Legal Advisor Sharafat Ali Chaudhry were also present

The Commission summoned the ICT Police officials saying, “Dr Rehiana Ali has filed a complaint before the Commission regarding

murder of her brother at Ramada by Wyndham, Islamabad The Complainant has alleged that despite a lapse of nine months, the ICT Police has refrained from arresting and investigating effectively any suspect in this case and during the process of getting justice the complainant has faced harassment at the hands of various police officials”

During adjudication of the matter, Nilofar Bakhtiar expressed dismay over lackluster performance of the police terming the heinous crime as causing embarrassment for Pakistan’s justice system After a brief hearing the Commission asked the ICT Police to file a comprehensive report including a complete record of the case before the Secretary NCSW during the next date of hearing Later, the Commission adjourned the matter sine die

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

ISLAMABAD

LHC hears

“While hearing a complaint NCSW

powers of the

in-person

PA k - C H I N A b O R d E R T O O P E N T E m P O R A R I Ly f O R S I N O - PA k T R A d E

WH I L E the China Pakistan border at Khunjerab has been closed for all kind of trade handlings from December 1, 2022 as per annul closure schedule for four months, the land

route is being temporarily opened for trade on Tuesday (today) and Wednesday and in the next phase from 30 January to 10 February

According to officials at Gilgit Baltistan the temporary opening of the border is being arranged to facilitate shifting of heavy machinery required for development work on Diamer Bhasha Dam

The machinery would be sent to Pakistan via the Sost Border at Khunjerab pass Furthermore from January 30th to February 10th important supplies stuck in China will be allowed to cross into Pakistan Due to the closure of the Pakistan-China Border, important Pakistani supplies were stuck on the Chinese side

As per the officials the govern-

ment of Gilgit Baltistan had requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Chinese Embassy in Islamabad and other authorities concerned for opening of the border to open the Pak-Khunjerab border

It may be mentioned here that the only land route between Pakistan and China has been functional for a few months only last year after the

In desperate bid for cotton, tex tile manufac turers turn to US Ambassador

Continued from baCk page

As such the textile industry has also had its role to play in the balance of payments crisis as have all other industries Indeed the textile industry is just another in a sea of industries all of which are adrift after problems with LCs

As the letter itself admits, during the last couple of years major cotton import of Pakistan is from the US “Last year Pakistan imported 5 million bales of cotton worth $1 48 billion

with 1 7 million of those bales coming from the US As of today, contracts for the import of 1 2 million bales of cotton from the US would be the main source of import for the current year ” Continued pleas for help

Going to the US Ambassador is the latest in a series of cries for help from APTMA and the textile industry

The letter to Ambassador Blome was written on the 14th of January Two days before that on the 12th of January another letter signed by Gohar Ijaz and bearing the APTMA letter-

No talks with PTI for caretakers setup till August: Rana Sana

Continued from baCk page

When the tenure of the assemblies would end on Aug 16, 2023, he (Imran) will be part of the consultation as the leader of the opposition and then the decision of the caretaker would be made ”

Sending Shehbaz Sharif packing primary reason for PTI s NA return: Fawad

While Imran’s remarks regarding the PTI’s potential return to the National Assembly were in the context of discussing the caretaker setup, Fawad Chaudhry later clarified that the party’s return was linked with its plan to oust Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

When asked if the PTI has definitively decided to return to the National Assembly he told media adding, “the party aims to oust Shehbaz Sharif as the prime minister

He said the party was seeking legal opinion on how it could bind its MNAs to vote as per party policy in case of a no-trust move and if that can be achieved without joining the assembly It is pertinent to mention that while a bulk of the PTI MNAs had quit the parliament in April on Imran’s calls, a handful of dissidents, including opposition leader Riaz and Noor Alam Khan, had remained

We will take the decision [to return to the NA based on the advice],” Fawad said Fawad acknowledged that talks over a caretaker setup were also a reason to consider returning to the assembly but said that it was not a “top priority as ultimately the ECP will decide the new candidate and in all likelihood, they will decide as per the whims and wishes of the PML-N

head was sent to the finance minister Addressing Ishaq Dar, Mr Ijaz made the same argument the textile industry was a major exporter and needed its raw ingredient cotton to do so However, local cotton was not nearly enough Unfortunately the import of cotton has been severely restricted in the country Banks are not opening L/Cs or retiring cotton imports through CAD T h e i n d u s t r y i s r u n n i n g o u t o f cotton stocks and as a consequence o u r m i l l s h a v e e i t h e r s h u t d o w n o r

closure for over two years following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic Through the Chinese, as per a circular issued by Foreign Affairs office of Kashgar administration, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China on March 24 2022 the Hongqi Lafu port (Khunjerab dry port) was scheduled to be opened in April

H o w e v e r t h e b o r d e r t h r o u g ho u t t h e y e a r r e m a i n e d l a rg e l y c l o s e d a n d o c c a s i o n a l l y o p e n e d t h a t t o o f o r o n e s i d e t r a d e ( f o r i mp o r t f r o m C h i n a )

Pakistan had previously asked China to reopen the border to facilitate cross-border trade and people-topeople exchanges In a letter sent to

the Embassy of China in Pakistan the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated that the border was closed on December 1 2019 as per schedule due to the winter season, while its opening on April 1, 2020 was postponed due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic It may be mentioned here that apart from the prolonged closure of border for Covid-19 issue, the China-Pakistan border usually remains closed from December 1 till March 31 every year due to severe weather conditions, as per the bilateral agreement For the rest of the year however the border remains open for two-way movement of passengers as well as transportation of goods and

One window desks to be established for convenience of customers: IESCO Chief

w i l l s h u t d o w n i n t h e v e r y n e a r f uture if decisive and urgent action is n o t t a k e n , ” r e a d s t h e l e t t e r t h e exact same words sent to Blome two days later Back on the 22nd of December 2022 Gohar Ijaz had sent another letter from the APTMA platform to the prime minister That letter went into more detail noting the different problems the industry had faced beginning with supply chain disruptions, liquidity constraints debt energy shortage and a lack of expansion

Continued from baCk page

Furthermore, gold production is estimated to be 300 000 to 350 000 ounces on yearly basis for the first ten years (first phase) before increasing to 450,000 to 500,000 ounces following the planned expansion

In terms of the revenue mix, Copper again would account for the bulk of the revenue in this case 80 6% or $49 9 billion Whereas the mining of Gold would amount to 19 4% or $12 billion of the total revenue expected to be generated in the second phase

To sum it all up the Government of Pakistan would be able to generate an estimated average of $1 4 billion annually over the course of the first phase and an additional $1 7 billion over the next 35 years during the second phase of the project This would amount to a whopping $76 billion over the next 45-50 years

However some pressing issues concerning the logistics of the project need to be addressed Transportation of raw copper ore or gold from the mine to the port via road is wholly unfeasible for a long term project of such magnitude Taking the example of the Saindak silver mine located in Chaghai, the silver ore extracted from the mine has to be transported 1,127 km from the site to the port in Karachi by trucks That is absolutely ridiculous, as the costs associated with using trucks would have an adverse effect on the bottom line and overall feasibility of the project If a similar plan is on the table for Reko Diq, the margins of Barrick and the Government would significantly diminish for several reasons The time and cost of fuel associated with traversing such a long distance are huge, additionally the conditions of the road infrastructure further compound costs and increase potential losses from accidents

Imran hints at returning to Parliament

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If PML-Q contests the election with the symbol of bat then they will win I also want this coalition mechanism to end,” he further said In a bid to give his successor a taste of his own medicine following winning the trust vote in Punjab Assembly, Imran Khan on Saturday said that his party had decided to put Prime Minister Shehbaz to acid test through “different plans” including a confidence vote in parliament

The PTI chief announced the decision to turn

the tables on the prime minister in an interview with a local TV channel Certainly we will fully test him [Shehbaz Sharif] He tested us here [in Punjab] Now it’s his turn to face the music,” he said while responding to a question if his party can ask the premier to obtain a confidence vote The deposed premier, who was ousted from power in April last year via a vote of no-confidence moved by the then opposition, said a decision about the confidence vote date and other plans to put the incumbent government to the test will be taken by the party in today’s meeting

Urban Sindh LG polls: PPP leads as opposition cries foul of ‘mass rigging’

Continued from page 01

The PPP accused the PTI of violating the rules and going beyond all set rules to sabotage the peaceful process, mainly in Karachi

Unofficial results from Hyderabad put the PPP in pole position on the majority of seats, however, there was no official word as to who is leading the polls in Karachi All three major political parties Jamaat-i-Islami, PTI and PPP claimed they were leading the race in Karachi The ECP urged patience, saying that the results were being transferred to the offices of returning officers from all polling stations p p p w i n s i n h y d e r a b a d to o: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday announced the official results of 55 Union Committees (UCs) of Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC), out of 160 UCs According to the official results announced so far, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has secured the largest number of seats of chairman

and vice chairman of the UCs

The PPP is followed by Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) in second place

The PPP candidates have emerged victorious from 28 UCs, including 13 uncontested UCs The PPP has won from the following UCs 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59,60, 61, 62, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 101 105 131and 136

On the other hand, the PTI candidates have secured from 17 UCs namely 102, 103, 104, 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 120,121, 122, 132 and 133

Five UCs 79, 106, 123, 134 and 135 have gone in favour of independent candidates while Jamaat-e-Islami managed to bag just one UC number 124 The results of the chairman and vice chairman of four UCs including UC 17 118, 119 and 137 have not been announced so far, while the results of the wards of the same four UCs have been declared ‘eCp withholdinG results’: Mean-

while, Naeem ur-Rehman, the chief of the Karachi chapter of Jamaat-i-Islami, has claimed his party has emerged victorious in over 100 seats in the Sindh local government elections At a press conference early on Monday Rehman alleged the returning officers were “withholding results” and attempts were being made to rig them He urged the tribunal to take notice and stop the officers responsible for tampering the results Rehman stressed that his party had worked hard and been the only one to demand the elections praising the ECP when it fulfilled its responsibility However, he warned the PPP and ECP against depriving people of their rights and said the matter should be resolved within the next few hours Ji open to allianCe to seCure KaraChi Mayor offiCe: Separately in an interview on the Geo News programme “Geo Pakistan,” Rehman expressed a willingness to form alliances with other political parties if necessary

iSLamabad p r

On the instructions of Chief Executive IESCO Dr Muhammad Amjad Khan a meeting was called in charge of all operation circles of IESCO under the leadership of Chief Engineer Customer Services Jafar Murtaza and Chief Engineer Operation Muhammad Aslam Khan During the meeting expressed displeasure for delay in issuing of new electricity connections and for not providing correct information regarding new connections and it was decided that one window desks should be established in all operation offices and all types of information should be provided from one window desk for the ease and convenience of the IESCO consumers Apart from this an awareness campaign should be started for consumers through which they should be provided complete information about the documents and procedures required for new electricity connections All circle in-charges were warned to monitor the new connections directly and strict action to be taken against those officers and staff who are causing delay in release of new connections and within stipulated time as per NEPRA guidelines IESCO Chief Executive Officer Dr Muhammad Amjad Khan requested the electricity consumers to make demand notices or other payments in the concerned bank as no employee of IESCO is authorized to take any kind of cash For any kind of information or guidance IESCO consumers can contact IESCO Helpline No 118 concerned SDO Office or Chief Executive Complaint and Monitoring Cell Phone No 051-9252933-34

Senior law yer Latif Afridi killed in PHC bar room shooting

Continued from page 01

In a press release LHCBA President Sardar Akbar Ali Dogar and Vice President Sohail Shafiq Chaudhry said lawyers were not even safe inside the courts and bar rooms They also asked the government to ensure protection for the lives of lawyers Separately, the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) also condemned the incident in a press release LBA President Rana Intezar Hussain said terrorism had gripped the country again and lawyers were being frequently targeted Meanwhile, journalist Asma Shirazi asked who was responsible for the attack on the senior lawyer Meanwhile Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, & former President of the Honourable Supreme Court Bar Association and Lahore High Court Bar Association and Founding President of Awami Workers Party (AWP) Pakistan, Mr Abid Hassan Minto has expressed his deep sorrow at the shocking death of lawyer Latif Afridi Mr Minto has lamented over the security situation of the country where even even a leading lawyer is not safe within the four-walls of a Bar Room located in a High Court Mr Minto has also asked for an urgent inquiry in to the matter at the highest level in order to dig up the motives behind this heinous murder of one of the most vocal Democratic and Human Rights voices in Pakistan

iSLamabad G h u l a m a b b a s

Barrick Gold sets 2028 as target for first produc tion from Reko D iq

A national loss

AT the end of the day, it was a personal vendetta that did it not one of the several dictatorial regimes (four military, one civil) that he had consistently stood against, not a religious militant outfit that he had remained outspoken against, not one of the many exploitative special interest groups that he had spent his life campaigning against At the end of the day, it was a family feud that silenced this liberal lion of the Republic

With ‘lala’ latif Afridi’s demise, Pakistan has lost a liberal, secular, pro-democracy individual who had some qualities that the rest of his ideological cohort unfortunately lacks these days: he wasn’t feeblevoiced, and pulled no punches as far as espousing his ideals were concerned loud liberal voices, though rare, can still be found; what separated Afridi from the former was that his activism and sphere of influence wasn’t sequestered away in some pristine hotel conference hall or newspaper op-eds He was a feeton-the-ground activist, whether in the AnP, or the party’s legal wing, the Malgari Wakeelan, or bar politics, through which he became president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, or most recently, in the national Democratic Movement, a PTM-adjacent political party

Though he was a national figure, Afridi’s demise is going to be felt more strongly in the nation’s Pashtun belt, specially Khyber Pakhtunkhwa liberal voices in that region in particular have been stifled, either directly by the state, or by non-state actors that have now and then been given the run of the place, in between half-baked military operations now that the grand old man of liberal Pashtun activism is no more, the young and even not-so-young voices of reason from the legal fraternity in that region are without a worthy mentor lastly, one thing needs to be mentioned here Prima facie, yes, the violent incident is a personal vendetta and not retribution for his outspoken views against the military establishment or religious zealotry But even if so, the onus is on the provincial government This is not the first time a premeditated murder has been carried out on court premises during the current tenure of the incumbent government Social media graphics abound of police reforms in the province, but apparently not enough to prevent firearms to be smuggled into the premises of even the Peshawar High Court Shamefully lax

M a n s e e , m a n d o

B ehavioural evidence for shared ancestr y?

BI O l O g I S T S report that there is less than 5% difference between the genomes of human beings and chimpanzees The discovery of the DnA is of a relatively recent vintage, but the fact that there is a lot in common between Homo sapiens and monkeys (using the term loosely) was obvious all along, and hardly required such an elaborate parade of science Of course man shares many of his characteristics with other animals too He habitually keeps saying things he hears without giving them as much as a thought let alone after thinking them through The verb ‘parrot’ is an apt description of a great deal of what the average man says, often presenting it (and believing it to be) his own brilliant insight What is worse, it is a way of life for many to continually spew self-serving fiction and then start believing their own propaganda This expertise in regurgitating and reswallowing is reminiscent of cows, if one only replaces food with thoughts The ease with which human beings can be led by their noses is another reminder of how closely they resemble cattle

The well-known capacity for obstinacy on the part of many human beings is enough to give the most mulish of donkeys a real run for its money By eating excessively and generally living as if there is no tomorrow, many human beings manage to pull off a remarkably accurate impression of swine However, on account of man’s proclivity for imitating what he sees others doing, monkeys are the creatures that he bears most resemblance to

In fact, man’s capability of imitation can easily put the most imitative of monkeys to shame A cursory look back at the last few years alone ought to suffice to support this conclusion The ‘gangnum’ step, the dab, and the Kiki challenge, to name a few trends from the last decade – things that everybody just had to copy going further back, it was break dance steps that boys felt compelled to break into without any provocation or need of any sort whatsoever, and without the slightest regard to the oc-

casion Examples could be multiplied, but the bottom line is that a significant proportion of what the a v e r a g e m a n a n d w o m a n d o c a n b e c a t e g o r i z e d under the verb ‘ape’ Silly trends come and go of course But the most telling manifestation of monkey-like blind following is in the fashion and vanity industries as well as much of buying of goods and services that occurs in most other sectors The beneficiaries – the owners and those working for such industries – are not complaining neither are the advertisers who know that all they need to do to make their patrons happy is show the public a supermodel using some product and leave the rest to the monkey-instinct so dominant in them ladies are generally more insistent than men –usually to the extent of being obsessed – when it comes to ‘catching up’ with the others when it comes to buying things (Who says women cannot match or trump men in any discipline?) This imitation is not limited to what one would consider the usual suspects: items such as ovens furniture carpets jewellery, crockery, and what have you For even if it is something like a coat-hanger – an item that could not be more alien for the needs of Pakistan – they just have to buy if they happen to spot it in another woman’s house If they hear of somebody else’s chil-

dren taking Quran-recitation lessons online while their own children learn the skill in the traditional way, they find it hard to sleep until they have arranged for them an online teacher

Predictably, all this aping rarely comprises copying anything worthwhile; that is, anything that involves intellectual (or even physical) hard work Imitation of a supermodel would typically involve enthusiastically buying a piece of clothing worn by her but never extends to following her workout and diet regimen Similarly, hardly any man thinks it a good idea to imitate another by reading the Brothers Karamazov This selective imitation ensures that the whole imitation business is much worse in its effects than it would otherwise have been

There can be little doubt in the minds of even moderately obser vant souls, provided they are not given to blindly imitating the thoughts of their fellows, that human beings are busy imitating others much more frequently than the occasions when they can be said to be merely monkeying around.

There can be little doubt in the minds of even moderately observant souls provided they are not given to blindly imitating the thoughts of their fellows that human beings are busy imitating others much more frequently than the occasions when they can be said to be merely monkeying around This much is true as far as they are concerned, whatever their views may be regarding the validity of the biological evidence typically presented in favour of the claim that the human beings share common ancestry with chimpanzees

The author is a connoisseur of music, literature, and food (but not drinks) He can be reached at www facebook com/hasanaftabsaeed

An arrogant person is one who is characterised by an inflated sense of self-importance and a lack of humility In general arrogant people think that they are superior to others and act in a manner that reflects this belief Arrogant people may be overconfident presumptuous and prone to making others feel inferior They may also be unwilling to listen to others or consider other perspectives, as they believe that they already have all the answers Arrogant people can be difficult to be around, as their behaviour can be off-putting and unpleasant to others The origin of the concept of arrogance is difficult to trace as it is a multifaceted concept that has likely been present in various forms throughout human history It may be related to feelings of power and superiority, and may be driven by a variety of factors such as success wealth, or social status Ultimately, the origins of arrogance are complex and may be influenced by a variety of psychological social and cultural factors It is generally seen as a negative trait, as it can be off-putting and unpleasant to others People who are arrogant may think that they are superior to others and act in a manner that reflects this belief It is often viewed as a negative trait, as it can strain or damage relationships and make it more difficult for the individual

to work effectively in groups or achieve success

ArrogAnce And sociAl interAction: It is difficult to pinpoint the exact background or origins of arrogance as it is a complex trait that is likely influenced by a variety of psychological, social, and cultural factors However, some possible contributing factors to the development of arrogance may include: a A sense of power or superiority: People who feel that they are superior to others in some way like, intelligence, wealth, or social status may be more prone to arrogance b Success or achievement: People who experience a lot of success or achievement in their lives may become arrogant as a result, as they may begin to believe that their successes are due to their own inherent superiority rather than external factors c Insecurity or low self-esteem: Ironically, some people who feel insecure or have low self-esteem may compensate for these feelings by acting arrogant as a way of boosting their own ego and self-esteem d Social or cultural influences: Arrogance may also be influenced by social or cultural norms and values For example, some cultures may place a high value on individual achievement and success, which could contribute to the development of arrogance in people who are successful within that culture Overall the background of arrogance is likely complex and multifaceted, and may be influenced by a variety of different factors Arrogance can have a significant impact on social interactions as it is generally considered to be a negative trait that is off-putting and unpleasant to others People who are arrogant may have difficulty forming close relationships or bonding with others, as their behavior can be seen as self-centered and disrespectful They may also have difficulty working effectively in groups as they may be unwilling to listen to others or consider other perspectives In social situations, arrogant people may dominate conversations and make others feel inferior They may also be more prone to conflicts

as they may be unwilling to compromise or consider the needs and perspectives of others In general arrogance can make social interactions more difficult and less enjoyable for both the arrogant individual and those around them U n i v e r s A l i m pA c t s o f A r r o g A n c e: Arrogance can have a number of negative impacts on both the individual who is arrogant and those around them Some of the negative impacts of arrogance may include: Strained relationships: Arrogance can be off-putting and unpleasant to others and may strain or damage personal and professional relationships People who are arrogant may have difficulty forming close bonds with others, as their behavior can be seen as self-centered and disrespectful Decreased effectiveness: Arrogance can also have negative effects on an individual’s effectiveness in various settings For example, an arrogant person may be less able to work well in a team as they may be unwilling to listen to others or consider other perspectives They may also be less able to learn from their mistakes, as they may be too proud to admit that they are wrong Decreased likability: Arrogance can also make an

individual less likable to others People may be less likely to want to be around someone who is arrogant, as their behaviour can be seen as arrogant and disrespectful Decreased success: In the long run, arrogance can also have negative impacts on an individual’s success For example, people who are arrogant may be less able to form strong, supportive networks or gain the trust of others, which can be important factors in achieving success Additionally, arrogant behavior may alienate others and make it more difficult to achieve goals that require the cooperation of others It is generally seen as a negative trait that can be unpleasant and off-putting to others

e vA l U At i o n o f A r r o g A n c e: In general arrogance is seen as a negative trait that is harmful to both the individual who is arrogant and to society as a whole It is characterised by an inflated sense of self-importance and a lack of humility, and can be off-putting and unpleasant to others For the individual, arrogance can have a number of negative impacts It can strain or damage personal and professional relationships, make it more difficult to work effectively in groups, and decrease likability In the long run arrogance may also have negative impacts on an individual’s success, as it can alienate others and make it more difficult to achieve goals that require the cooperation of others In terms of its impact on society arrogance can also be harmful It can create conflict and divisions, as arrogant individuals may be more prone to conflicts and may be unwilling to compromise or consider the needs and perspectives of others Additionally, arrogance may lead to an unhealthy focus on individual success and achievement, rather than on the well-being of the community as a whole Overall, arrogance is generally seen as a negative trait that is harmful to both the individual who is arrogant and to society as a whole It is important for individuals to cultivate humility and a willingness to listen to and consider the perspectives of others in order to foster positive social interactions and contribute to a healthy and harmonious society

The writer is head of the political science department of the B N Mandal University Madhepura Bihar India and can be reached at rajkumarsinghpg@gmail com

Latif Afridi was a man apar t

Arrogance can also make an individual less likable to others. People may be less likely to want to be around someone who is arrogant, as their behaviour can be seen as arrogant and disrespectful

H A S A N A F TA B S A E E D

Yousaf Nizami Editor

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

M A Niazi Joint Editor

Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor

I s r a e l ’ s d o w n f a l l

FO R the past four decades, I have been a keen observer of Israel I taught scores of courses and wrote several books and hundreds of articles and essays, featuring the country s uniqueness I praised its democratic institutions, revered its untainted judiciary, admired its inner strength and ingenuity, applauded its discoveries in so many fields and marveled over its emergence as a technological powerhouse And despite all odds, Israel became a powerful country resolute committed to the rule of law, exemplifying freedom and democratic principles in a sea of autocratic nations The country earned the admiration of its friends and the envy of its foes, while realizing much of its founders’ dream despite their many ideological differences many of Israel s founding fathers, including Ze’ev Jabotinsky, Theodor Herzl, and David Ben-gurion, believed in a homeland for all the world s Jews with a democratic form of government, acknowledging that the Arab inhabitants of the land were there to stay But as the country grew and prospered and became a formidable military power, it began to lose sight of its founders’ vision and the core reasons behind its creation I have never shied away from intensely criticizing, when warranted, many Israeli governments who have pursued misguided and often counterproductive policies in the past now I am utterly at a loss for words to describe my revulsion about the makeup of netanyahu’s new government which is poised to pursue disastrous policies that will inflict a deadly blow to the values on which the country was built while setting the nation on an unparalleled, perilous path t h e c U r s e o f t h e o c c U pAt i o n: Israel s founding fathers could have never envisioned the country becoming an occupying power, subjugating millions of indigenous Palestinians, robbing them of their land, stifling their freedom destroying their farms and evicting them from their homes, and treating them with disdain and brazen inequality All while, nearly every day another young Palestinian is killed The Palestinians are not innocent by any measure, but what would Israeli Jews have done under such a ruthless occupation when as the Palestinians live with today, only hopelessness and despair remain the order of the day?

To think that the historically oppressed and persecuted Jews have become the oppressor defies every Jewish value and every human right and moral tenet that the Jews themselves have championed so assiduously over the centuries To be sure, the occupation is a curse from which Israel will suffer in the future just as much if not more than the Palestinians

would have never imagined that the country would one day be governed by a thoroughly corrupt prime minister who is on trial in three separate cases on charges of fraud bribery and breach of trust He put his personal interest above the country s and shamelessly pushed to realize his longheld dream of making Israel authoritarian with him at the helm, where Jewish supremacy reigns netanyahu formed the most racist, homophobic and far-right government in Israel’s history He divided and subdivided the ministries to appoint cronies and criminals like Shas Aryeh Deri Otzma Yehudit’s Itamar Ben-gvir and Religious Zionist’s Bezalel Smotrich to posts of which they have little or no knowledge at all only to satisfy their inflated egos and blind ambition Millions are appropriated for these newly established ministries which are bound to clash with one another as their functions and responsibilities either overlap or are loosely defined, which is a recipe for chaos

c r i p p l i n g t h e j U d i c i A ry: The founding fathers would have never fathomed that an Israeli government would seek to cripple the judiciary and especially the independence and authority of the Supreme Court netanyahu appointed Yariv levin to be the Justice Minister a methodical schemer who has been aiming for years to weaken the High Court’s independence levin is now planning under netanyahu’s instruction, to pass an “override clause to which most Israelis are opposed, that can overrule, even with a majority of one in the Knesset, any decision by the Supreme Court, which is considered the crown jewel of Israel’s jurisprudence, and give politicians greater weight over the appointment of judges

It is nothing shor t of tragic, however, that the newly-formed Netanyahu government is betraying ever y single principle of the countr y’s founders’ vision, to the detriment of the countr y.

The Supreme Court is the only institution with the power to restrain government actions and protect the democratic principles of the country now the government wants to usurp that power in order to undermine Israel’s democratic institutions with limited judicial recourse, as well as disrupt netanyahu s corruption charges without the Court’s interference

Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon put it succinctly when he said that netanyahu s proposals show “the true intentions of a criminal defendant” who is “ready to burn down the country and its values in order to escape the dock t h e d A m n i n g

q U e n c e s o f n e tA n yA h U ’

i l l - fAt e d g o v e r nm e n t: The founders of the State of Israel were dreaming of a country where Jews from the world over will live in harmony, and together forge a new society where democracy and equality reign supreme, where freedom of speech and religion are guaranteed, where human rights are zealously protected and where political differences are respected Instead, netanyahu has created anything but an egalitarian government; only one which is racist to the core d i r e p o l A r i z At i o n : The new government is polarizing the Israelis in every political social, and religious setting, discriminating against minorities, attacking secularism, rejecting feminists and lgBTQ persons and harassing

human rights organizations To be sure, netanyahu has singlehandedly undermined every pillar of Israel’s democracy His new government will be democratic in name only, fundamentally authoritarian, not unlike Poland, Hungary, and Turkey, with no scruples, fascist at the core, racist, and the most extremist right-wing government in Israel s history that will earn the country nothing but mockery, scorn, and contempt f o r f e i t i n g i s r A e l i-A r A b n o rm A l i z At i o n: The prospect of normalizing relations with other Arab countries will diminish completely as long as the occupation remains in force and as long as Ben-gvir (currently national Security Minister, whose focus will be on security in the West Bank and who will be eager to rain havoc on the Palestinians) and Smotrich (Finance Minister) are in the government Recently, the Saudi foreign ministry affirmed what it has been stating all along Saudi Arabia’s “solid stance of standing by the brotherly Palestinian people ” But now, leave it to the xenophobic Ben-gvir to exacerbate the conflict with the Palestinians making it impossible to reach an agreement, thus forfeiting the prospect of normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states that could have followed The cancelation of netanyahu’s visit to the United Arab Emirates was meant to send a clear message to netanyahu that his new government’s policy toward the Palestinians is totally unacceptable, and that every Arab state will land on the side of the Palestinians under any circumstances n U rt U r i n g A f i f t h c o l U m n: Instead of fostering social cohesiveness and encouraging Israeli Arabs to become an integral part of Israel s social and economic mainstream, the new government is poised to intensify discrimination against this constituency which represents more than 20 percent of the population Further alienation and discrimination against Israeli Arabs by the new government will nurture enmity from within, unquestionably precipitate social unrest, and increasingly push Israeli Arabs towards militancy, becoming a fifth column once a new major violent flare up between Israel and the Palestinians occurs, which will be only a matter of time under this chauvinistic government What netanyahu has done, to be sure, is nothing short of a political coup d état He is a master schemer, with no scruples, no morals, and no allegiance to the country for which millions of Jews have been yearning and dying for Instead of forging peace he is preparing the next generation of Israeli youth to fight the next war and sacrifice their lives on the altar of his ego and the egos of his fanatical gang netanyahu is dangerous, a menace to the future of the Jews in and outside Israel, and his government must speedily be toppled before it’s too late

Yes, under the new Israeli government led by autocrats, messianic zealots, and corrupt and power-hungry bigots Israel will be marching on a dark and sorry trail that will grow ever darker, obliterating its character as a democratic country and rendering it nothing but a pariah and an apartheid state It will be reviled by the international community, constantly on the defensive and living by the gun to survive

Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Centre for Global Affairs at NYU He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies alon@alonben-meir com

The ruins of Harappa have lessons for us

T H E Harappan Civilisation, considered to be one of the oldest and the most developed one in the Bronze Age, was a centre for art, culture and architecture For those who want to seek knowledge it has a lot to offer

While the Harappan civilisation may not provide answers to all our modern-day problems, studying its formation, rise and fall can certainly furnish some useful lessons for us The ruins at Harappa were dis-covered in the early 19th century by James lewis, better known as Charles Masson, but the site was excavated by Sir Alexander Cunningham some 50 years later

After the ancient city of Mohenjo Daro was discovered in the 1920s archaeological excavations started in a systematic manner at several sites, including Harappa which revealed clear evidence of planned communal living in cities dating back 2500BC

Sir John Marshall described the new-found civilisations thus: “never for a moment it was imagined that 5,000 years ago, before even the Aryans were heard of, the Punjab and Sindh, if not other parts of the subcontinent as well, were enjoying an advanced and singularly uniform civilisation of their own, closely akin but in some respects superior to that of contemporary Mesopotamia and Egypt

It is now established that a group of people from Africa reached parts of Asia and made South Asia a centre of modern human cluster

Around 7,000BC, some people from the Zagros mountains, in modernday Iran reached Balochistan and introduced agriculture and livestock

The population grew over time and spread to other parts, eventually laying the foundation of the Harappan Civilisation

growing internally and trading with nearby and faraway lands helped the people prosper materially as well as intellectually, as is reflected in their sense of town planning and architecture

And indeed trading must have happened because of surplus production and value addition Quite interestingly, no central places of worship have been found on the site The culture was largely urban with well-planned streets and impressive drainage and sewerage underlining effective governance in an era that we today consider primitive

The Harappan Civilisation is believed to have been at its peak around 3 000BC This however did not last long and it ended mysteriously

One theory says it was destroyed by the invading Aryans from the steppes of Central Asia who had better military prowess The other theory says Harappa may have been destroyed by natural disasters such as severe floods or drought In an age when we are facing natural disasters because of climate change, and economic hardships because of negative balance of trade, there is so much to learn from the rise and fall of the Harappan Civilisation In his book Early Indians, Tony Joseph has written that though science today has “given us much clear understanding of human prehistory around the world, these findings are often not palatable to political ideologies that derive their strength from some form of ethnic or religious identity and like to believe that their nations are pure rather than mixed” The reason for this brand of politics is best explained by Eric Hobsbawm a British scholar who said: Historians are to nationalism what poppy-growers are to heroin addicts: we supply the essential raw material for the market ”

DR KHATAUMAL MITHI

Rampant cheating

T H E regional tax office (RTO) in Hyderabad had conducted tests for various jobs on Dec 11 I also sat the tests Unfortunately, there was no proper management, and the invigilators were apparently busy looking after some special candidates

The papers were leaked and shared with certain candidates before the tests, and mobile phones were provided to them I complained to an invigilator and the supervisor as well about a candidate who was using a cellphone while the examination was in progress I was told not to worry and that his answer sheet would not be collected But the name of that candidate has been included in the list of qualified candidates These candidates shared videos and pictures of papers on social media, which is clear evidence of paper leaks and mobile phone usage at the test centre Also, no carbon copy of the mark sheet has been provided to any of the candidates There was no proper attendance sheet for the candidates The atten-dance of candidates was taken on blank pages by hand, leaving open the chance of manipulation now, the results have been declared without disclosing the marks obtained by the qualified candidates

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and all the other relevant authorities should cancel the test, and a committee should be formed for conducting it again in a proper transparent manner

AYAZ GUL DADU

Fearless criminals

S T R E E T crimes in Karachi are not a new phenomenon What is new and alarming is the spike in such incidents over the past few months Also new is the fearless brutality with which the street criminals are operating in the city, taking lives in broad daylight and fleeing the scene firing aerial shots

The criminals pounce on their prey without any fear as they know no one would catch them And nobody actually does Those caught by the police are released within days One wonders why and how

A few months ago, there were a few incidents in the city where those present on the crime scene retaliated grabbed a few culprits and dispensed mob justice on the spot That seems to have alerted the criminals, and they take no chances, killing people at the slightest of resistance In fact, mere hesitation in handing over the valuables is enough for them to pull the trigger There have been occasions when even a show of displeasure resulted in death Recently, there were four reported incidents within a week in which people were killed during snatching incidents The local administration, the provincial government and the law-enforcement agencies are all mere bystanders as people continue to live under constant fear and sheer helplessness All that the family elders can tell their younger ones is to protect their lives because they are precious for their families and friends more than any valuable item The material loss has basically become part of the cost of living in Karachi

All the relevant authorities need to really wake up and take the matter with the seriousness it deserves before it spirals completely out of control

endemic corrUption: Israel s founders

D r A l o N B E N m E i r

UnclE SaM conTrolling PhiliPPinES naTional inTErEST?

MAnilA tiMes d r M a r o F e r d n a n d Pa S i o n

Th E suspicious timing of the supreme Court declaring the Joint Maritime seismic Understanding (JMsU) as unconstitutional was questioned by one of our country’s top international law experts and Constitutionalist harry Roque Jr he urged the Office of the solicitor General to appeal to the court to “reverse its decision that could pose serious implications on national economic interests bilateral relations and security in the West Philippine sea (south China sea) ” his position is worth reprinting: “The supreme Court decision to nullify the JMsU is incompatible and inconsistent with the relevant provisions of Unclos the Philippines lacks sovereignty over the area covered by the JMsU, even if it falls under the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ)

The Philippines cannot enforce its Constitutional jurisdiction beyond its sovereign territory Thus, the 1987 Constitution should not apply to JMsU The Convention defines a coastal state’s sovereignty as extending beyond its land territory and internal or archipelagic waters to an adjacent belt of the sea called the territorial sea This territorial sea is limited to 12 nautical miles from the baseline of a coastal or archipelagic state like the Philippines We cannot exercise sovereignty over an EEZ, 200 nautical miles from the Philippine archipelagic baselines sovereign rights do not give the country supreme and absolute power over its EEZ but allow the Philippines to explore, exploit, conserve and manage natural resources within the zone ”

While exercising its rights and duties in the EEZ, the country is mandated by Unclos to have due regard to the rights and freedoms

of other states stressed UP Law Professor harry Roque The timing is also suspicious because the JMsU was already allowed to lapse in 2008 although then-President Arroyo reminded the public that “[t]he language [of the JMsU], it was without prejudice to the filing of a protest And since it was just a research survey, it does not affect the respective positions of the countries on issues related to the claim

The Philippines needs the resources in the West Philippine sea more than China, as the Malampaya is about to expire Philippine star ’s satur Ocampo says the JMsU is detrimental to Philippines national interest, but, like other forever-critics fails to mention that China has repeatedly offered 60 percent profit sharing in favor of the Philippines in the past (though this may not be the case in the future, as situation evolves); they are quiet on the Philippines only getting 10 percent in the Malampaya deal where American companies got the majority share, even without paying taxes

China has resolved 17 out 23 border disputes, with 12 out of 14 neighbors, which took decades of negotiations, but which were substantially peaceful And on several occasions, China even gave the greater area and concessions to the other party, in a study done by MiT s Taylor Fravel

US INTERFERENCE IN PH NATIONAL INTEREST: The Us Department of Agriculture (UsDA) is now warning that the Marcos government’s call for the importation of 22,000 metric tons of onions will benefit China The importation should be about whoever can offer the most affordable at the speediest delivery time to benefit our people Why can’t the Us help supply onions at better prices?

When China was donating medical sup-

plies and vaccines during the height of the pandemic, the Us-linked media constantly demonized China s vaccines, while not reporting that the Us were blocking deliveries or the adverse side effects of Western vaccines, only recently being exposed, but which data continue to be blocked from being provided to the public One Western brand, exposed for not having tested for efficacy versus transmission although selling billions of doses under representation that the doses were needed to prevent transmission claimed it had to do it due to the speed of science,” whatever that meant The CEO hid from investigations, and the great majority of information was redacted in the papers provided on research findings in an earlier iDsi Forum, Roque, who was the spokesman for then-President Duterte, also revealed that the Us forced Duterte to pardon Us Marine Lance Corporal Joseph scott Pemberton in exchange for vaccine delivery during the height of the pandemic This echoes similar experiences of several Latin American countries that reported Us vaccine companies were requiring military concessions, on top of complete immunity for any adverse impact of the vaccines even if efficacy problems or side effects came out due to the pharmaceutical makers, before vaccines were delivered Why didn t Rappler, inquirer and Philstar report this?

FAKE NEWS CONTINUES? The inquirer editorial, stratbase Group’s Dindo Manhit and UP Professor Richard heydarian, among others, continue to say the Philippines did not receive any benefits from China Did they fail to research, refuse to see, or worse ? We remind them of some of the benefits delivered in five years under Duterte: Manila’s two newest bridges, valued at over P8 billion, were donated by

Pakistan floods show we must shift the global financing system in the age of climate change

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

The United Nations secretary general António Guterres, stepped forward quickly to mobilise international support for relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction This month, the government of Pakistan and the UN co-hosted the international Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan to address climate resilience and adaptation, following the disaster i wholeheartedly support these efforts yet, in doing so, i urge the world to recognise that the traditional cycle of crisis followed by one-off mobilisations of support is no longer sufficient in an age when the frequency, scale and impacts of climate change continue to intensify and interlink with ongoing global economic, energy and food insecurity to further amplify their impact business as usual will not work

structive ways of defining and measuring the vulnerabilities of nation states

We are working closely with our member states to hone our Universal Vulnerab i l i t y i n d e x , w h i c h a s s e s s e s a c o u n t r y ’s real resilience to provide global financial i n s t i t u t i o n s w i t h a r e l i a b l e t r a n s f o r m ational tool with which to assess where the need is greatest R e c e n t l y, C o m m o n w e a l t h f i n a n c e m i n i s t e r s d i s c u s s e d t h e n e e d f o r i n s t i t utional financing to prioritise vulnerability This vulnerability dialogue overlaps with a vital debate around perceived injustices b o t h c u r r e n t a n d h i s t o r i c a l w h i c h sits at the heart of global climate politics and links the global finance agenda, as we o b s e r v e d a t t h e r e c e n t U N C l i m a t e C h a n g e C o n f e r e n c e C O P 2 7 i n E g y p t i n November 2022

China Billions in medical supplies vaccines donations and technology-transfers that helped save our frontliners dying like flies saved tens of thousands more deaths from a then high fatality infection, sped up our country s opening up by months and trillions to the economy largely unreported At the height of the pandemic, when the Us and other nations were hoarding supplies and vaccines China donated over 5 million vaccines, on top of over 50 million rushed-delivered, among many other assistance Aside from these donations China and Russia supplied weapons that allowed the Philippines to overcome the Marawi rebellion when the Us blocked including EU weapons at the time of our greatest need; we might have become an isis-dominated country collapsed by decades of war as happened with Us control of iraq and syria China became the largest buyer of Philippine goods even during the pandemic directly benefiting our farmers Bilateral trade with China reached $82 billion, almost 33 percent of Philippine exports Tourism in 2019 reached over 1 5 million, generating over P150 billion in annual income directly to our local economy Training thousands of Filipino engineers and helping double the reach of our broadband as well as speeds during the pandemic allowing us to work and meet from home and continue running the economy and allowing Filipinos to continue producing hundreds of billions of productive services a month, were Chinese providers and installers Over 100,000 Filipinos are reported to be working in Chinese companies in the construction, technology and related fields

MISLEADING OR BIASED SURVEYS:

The OCTA survey presents a bigger picture that shows the topmost concerns of the majority of Filipinos are in categories of economic jobs health and education in contrast, ADRi organized a forum on the day that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr was to return from his Beijing state visit highlighting a Pulse Asia commissioned survey to show Filipinos want to boost security ties with the Us and Japan Do these people forget or expect our people to forget that the Us and Japan bombed the Philippines to ashes, and made our country the most destroyed in WW2 and led to the loss of 1 million Filipinos? incidentally, ADRi’s forum “Philippine National interest was co-sponsored by the Us Embassy Will ADRi have a forum to study the wars funded by the Us like the Ukraine-Russia war where the Us has spent nearly a hundred billion dollars at the cost of countless useless lives lost, for what? For the right to install weapons aimed at Russia but not allowing the same in Cuba or Venezuela? Or the destruction left in iraq, Afghanistan and Libya?

Are these activities orchestrated to tie the hands of President Marcos and ensure the approval of five additional Us military bases in the Philippines? Roque also warned that the supreme Court decision “bound the hands of President Marcos in resolving the maritime disputes peacefully, adding what is at stake is the peaceful resolution of the south China sea disputes and ability of the people to benefit from the maritime resources

M i d d l e E a s t s t a t e s s e e k t o s t a v e o f f g l o b a l d o w n t u r n

Th i s is going to be a terrible year for the global economy The World Bank Global Economic Outlook, released last week, foresees a tilt toward recession, driven in part by the Ukraine war and a related downturn in the Us and Europe, which are projected to be drags on, rather than engines of growth

ing partners new oil production cuts and lagged effects of domestic monetary policy tightening ” There are good signs in religious tourism the government s capital spending, and in mining and metals, especially copper, where Riyadh expects an enormous rise in copper demand as a key conductor metal for renewable energy ”

T h e s e w e r e t h e w o r s t f l o o d s i n P a ki s t a n ’s h i s t o r y T h e a t y p i c a l l y h e a v y m o n s o o n s c o m b i n e d w i t h m e l t i n g g l ac i e r s o n t h e b a c k o f s e v e r e h e a t w a v e s i n a n o b v i o u s e x p r e s s i o n o f t h e c l e a r a n d p r e s e n t d a n g e r o f c l i m a t e c h a n g e , a n d w e r e a m o s t p a i n f u l r e m i n d e r t h a t g l o b a l i n a c t i o n o n c l i m a t e c h a n g e t o d a y i s a w i lf u l c h o i c e t o m a k e t o m o r r o w ’s c r i s e s e v e n w o r s e T h e p r i c e w i l l b e p a i d d i sp r o p o r t i o n a t e l y b y t h o s e w h o c o n t r i b u t e d t h e l e a s t t o i t s c r e a t i o n

T h i s i s t r u e i n P a k i s t a n , i t i s t r u e across india and Bangladesh and it is true a c r o s s C o m m o n w e a l t h c o u n t r i e s i n A f r i c a , t h e C a r i b b e a n a n d t h e P a c i f i c i t i s a t r u t h w h i c h f o r c e s u s t o a s s e s s t h e q u a l i t y o f o u r i m m e d i a t e r e s p o n s e w h e n

We n e e d t o c o m b i n e t h e g e n e r o s i t y o f p e o p l e a n d g o v e r n m e n t s w i t h a m o r e m o d e r n s k i l f u l i n s t i t u t i o n a l a p p r o a c h t h a t c a n e n a b l e c o u n t r i e s w i t h c o m p l e x v u l n e r a b i l i t i e s , f a c i n g p o t e n t i a l l y c r i pp l i n g c r i s e s a c c e s s t o t h e f u l l e s t r a n g e o f s h o r t - a n d l o n g - t e r m f i n a n c e m e c h an i s m s , b a s e d o n a h a r d - h e a d e d a s s e s sm e n t o f t h e i r r e a l v u l n e r a b i l i t i e s n o t o n t h e b l u n t m e t r i c o f G D P P a k i s t a n i s t h e e i g h t h m o s t c l i m a t ev u l n e r a b l e c o u n t r y i n t h e w o r l d y e t 1 7 2 countries sit below Pakistan in global GDP rankings This influences the scale and nature of financial support from global instit u t i o n s t h a t P a k i s t a n i s a b l e t o a c c e s s , whether in times of profound crisis, or in the vital long-term effort to build resilience and reduce the impacts of future crises

This is not only a problem for Pakistan, but also a problem for a host of our 56 countries The Commonwealth, alongside many organisations, including the UN, is attempting to drive more nuanced and con-

Many developing nations are asking the developed world to satisfy their demand for more urgent action: both through keeping promises made on climate finance for adaptation and mitigation, and through compensation to the most vulnerable countries which did nothing to cause anthropogenic climate change, but which have already suffered damage that cannot be undone inertia, in real-world climate action and in negotiations around finance which could unlock political progress works for no one

The situation in Pakistan has been both heartbreaking and urgent it has also been another wake-up call; a call which asks us what kind of world we are in and what kind of world we want in a just world where solidarity and empathy are active values, we would respond to such emergencies with the pace and urgency required and we would be honest with ourselves about the need for a more complete, more compassionate overall approach

Patricia Scotland KC is the secretary general of the Commonwealth

While China and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) fare better than the West in the bank s score the overall outlook is glum, or we should say more glum than just six months ago David Malpass, the World Bank president said that the coming year will be “particularly devastating” for the poorest countries, including those in the Middle East burdened by the lingering effects of the COViD-19 pandemic, as well as inflation, debt, and energy and food supply disruptions in addition, Western investment and development funds usually slotted for poor countries are being siphoned off to support Ukraine, which will likely also get the lion’s share of assistance when the war ends

While Middle East oil producers should muddle through, coming off a boom year in 2022, the region’s fragile states and economies including Lebanon, Tunisia, Jordan and those burdened by conflict including syria, Yemen Libya as well as the West Bank and Gaza may edge toward crisis or even collapse

Five economic trends we are tracking for 2023, which you may be missing, if you’re not reading Al-Monitor Pro: saudi Arabia moves into metals: The kingdom’s growth projections took a hit, from a robust 8 7% last year, to a projected 3 7% in 2023 and 2 3% in 2024, according to the bank, because of the deceleration in the kingdom’s major trad-

iran’s coming currency crisis: The World Bank revised down projected growth to 2 2% this year and 1 9% in 2024, the result of slower growth in trading partners and competition from discounted Russian oil, as well as a decline in domestic demand because of high inflation, unless there is a turnaround on prospects for the nuclear deal

Egypt banks on the suez Canal Egypt s growth rate is also projected to fall, from 6 6% in 2022 to 4 5% this year and 4 8% in 2024, in part the result of continued food and energy crisis as a result of the Ukraine war Cairo has been proactive however, in pressing ahead with reforms, agreeing with the iMF this month on a $3 billion financial support package including a “flexible exchange rate regime” and a reduced role for the military in stateowned enterprises

Algeria bullish on energy market The World Bank revised Algeria s projected growth rate upward to 2 3% this year supported by higher government public spending and windfall energy revenues of $50 billion in 2022 compared to $34 billion the previous year Algeria’s economy grew 3 75% last year

Oman invests in hydrogen Oman’s energy sector, with its emphasis on renewables and clean hydrogen, remains the key driver of the country s economic progress, according to salim Al Aufi, Oman’s minister of energy and minerals in an exclusive interview with AlMonitor this month Oman’s economy grew by 4 5% last year and is expected to grow 3 9% this year

Dr Mario Ferdinand Pasion is director of Phil-BRICS Strategic Studies and the chairman of Nationalist Filipinos Against Foreign Intervention

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T H E S E P E O P L E F O R G E T O R E X P E C T O U R P E O P L E TO F O R G E T T H AT T H E U S A N D

J A PA N B O M B E D T H E P

TO OVERCOME THE MARAWI R E B E L L I O N W H E N T H E U S B LO C K E D, I N C LU D I N G E U, W E A P O N S AT T H E T I M E O F O U R G R E AT E S T N E E D

MAil & GuArdiAn Pat r i c i a S c ot l a n d

Th E floods in Pakistan last year caused widespread carnage and affected the lives of millions Thousands of lives tens of thousands of homes and hundreds of thousands of livelihoods were destroyed by water, on an unimaginable scale More than 30 million people have been affected and more than half a million displaced

Al-Monitor

NBP awarded Global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Benchmarks (GDEIB) Awards in four categories

K a r a c h i: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has been recognized at the Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Benchmarks (GDEIB) Awards 2023 The Bank won a total of four awards in categories of Recruitment; Work-life Integration, Flexibility & Benefits; DEI Learning & Development and Community, Government Relations & Philanthropy NBP won the “Best Practice” award in the category of Flexibility and Benefits, whereas “Progressive” award in the other three categories The recognition reiterates National Bank of Pakistan s constant commitment towards promoting a culture of work and life balance learning, and development and of philanthropy, in a country where a diverse and inclusive culture needs to be practiced by all corporate entities Speaking about the achievement, Asma Sheikh, SEVP & Group Chief, Human Resource Management Group, NBP said, At the Bank, we believe in empowering all employees as well as ensuring that they have equal opportunities for growth and development p r

A b d u l M o e e d K h A n & G h u l A M A b b A s

G h u M M A n p r o M o t e d A s A i r M A r s h A l

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H E government on Monday promoted Air Vice Marshal Abdul Moeed Khan and Air Vice Marshal Ghulam Abbas Ghumman to the rank of Air Marshal, a PAF news release said Air Marshal Abdul Moeed Khan was commissioned in the General Duty Pilot (GD-P) Branch of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in December 1989

During his illustrious career, he commanded a Fighter Squadron Military Training Wing PAF Academy, Asghar Khan and Combat Commanders School, Mushaf

He also served as Commandant College of Flying Training and Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans) He held different portfolios as Principle Staff Officer, which included Director

Nadra Tasdeeq Service to greatly serve the cause of senior citizens: Mrs Farrukh Khan

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MNA and President of PML-Q Women’s

Mrs Farrukh Khan has lauded the launch of NADRA Tasdeeq Service saying that it would go a long way in removing the hassles faced by senior citizens during the bio-metric matching Mrs Farrukh Khan who had raised the matter for the first time during on a point of order in the National Assembly around a year back, said that the innovative solution under the Nadra Tasdeeq Service envisages alternate identity verification for senior citizens above 60 years of age

Under the initiative the senior citizens whose fingerprints have been lost due to age complications, will be asked artificial intelligence-based secret personal questions for identity verification to bypass bio-metrics

“Once correct answers are received, senior citizens will be deemed to have been verified especially during the bio-metric verification at banks,” Mrs Farrukh Khan said

Speaking on the occasion Chairman Nadra Tariq Malik had said that Nadra has received countless complaints from senior citizens that they face difficulties in verifying their fingerprints, especially in banks In view of this, NADRA has introduced an innovative AIbased solution, he added

Mrs Farrukh Khan said it was natural for people over sixty years of age to face problems

in bio-metric matching as skin elasticity decreases with ageing and fingerprints fade

“In such a situation, elderly people cannot be verified and they face difficulties in opening bank accounts or receiving money The chairman Nadra hoped that banks would conduct their KYC exercise for senior citizens smoothly through the new solution system by deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to generate questions from the personal data stored in the Nadra database,” she said

of Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military)

A i r M a r s h a l G h u l a m A b b a s Ghumman was commissioned in the PA F s G D ( P ) B r a n c h i n J u n e 1 9 9 0

During his illustrious career, he commanded a Fighter Squadron, a Flying Wi n

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President UMT visits S ecretar y General OIC H.E Mr. Hissein Brahim

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University of Management and Technology President Ibrahim Hasan Murad met with Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), H E Mr Hissein Brahim Taha at the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah Professor Sajjad Qamar was also present in this meeting During the meeting, Mr Murad briefed the Secretary-General on the activities of UMT and its achievements The two sides stressed the importance of enhancing the corporation between the University of Management and Technology, Islamic universities and OIC H E Mr Hissein Brahim Taha appreciated the dynamic vision of Ibrahim Murad and encouraged the UMT initiative to grant scholarships to students from the OIC member states, especially to the least developed countries Such initiatives would lead the youth of Muslim countries to pursue higher education, he said President UMT Mr Ibrahim Murad expressed his sincere gratitude for the warm reception by the Secretary General of OIC Mr Murad and Secretary General discussed potential collaboration opportunities between OIC and UMT They also exchanged viewpoints to promote a better understanding of Islamic values and culture around the globe Mr Murad also highlighted how combined efforts would support students from the OIC Member States and Muslim Ummah to acquire quality higher education

Effe c t i ve i m p l e m e n t at i o n o f T TS n e c e s s a r y to s to p i l l e g a l C i g a re t te M a n u f a c t u r i n g

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Despite the implementation of a technology-based surveillance system “Track and Trace system” to prevent losses to the national exchequer from illicit tobacco trade in Pakistan most of the illegal tobacco companies are yet to install the system

Pakistan's cigarette industry is one of the sectors with the highest rates of illicit trade and tax evasion According to industry statistics the illegal sale of cigarettes is costing the national ex-

chequer Rs 80 billion annually

Only 2 regulated cigarette companies are paying 98% tax on this sector while the other 40 companies together having 40 percent market share are paying only 2% tax

It is pertinent to mention that the premier Shehbaz Sharif, in a recent meeting, has directed officials to take immediate steps in order to combat smuggling and tax evasion in the tobacco industry, as well as to improve the tax collection system by utilizing modern technology and its better enforcement

However, more than 40 companies are registered with the Pakistan Tobacco Board, but so far only a few companies, have installed the track and trace system

It is worth mentioning here that the northern area of the country has become a hub for illicit production and trade of cigarettes Most of the companies involved in the illicit trade of cigarettes are based in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and KPK

Similarly, cigarette companies owned by influential people in KPK

are also causing damage to the national exchequer through the illegal production and sale of cigarettes

A c c o r d i n g t o e x p e r t s , t h e i l l i c i t trade in cigarettes is not only a burden o n t h e n a t i o n a l t r e a s u r y b u t a l s o an obstacle to the success of the gove r n m e n t ' s h e a l t h p o l i c i e s t o p r o t e c t public health

Without a uniform and effective implementation of the track and trace system across the cigarette industry, the desired results for the track and trace system cannot be achieved

Mashreq Bank successfully acquires Digital Banking license to commence operations in Pakistan

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Mashreq, one of the leading financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), announced today, the acquisition of a Digital Banking license, under the Digital Regulatory Framework issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Mashreq’s intention is to bring their digital expertise to Pakistan and further the interests of the SBP in the digital arena With the commencement of digital banking operations, Mashreq will usher in a team of bankers and engineers

with multicultural experience as well as its proven Neo banking capabilities and world class technology to address the evolving customers’ needs in Pakistan

With over five decades of expertise Mashreq is one of MENA’s best performing banks with an expanding presence in Europe Asia and the US Mashreq has always considered Pakistan to be an attractive financial destination owing to the unprecedented growth and turnaround of the country s banking sector in recent years Moreover, Mashreq’s excellence in the realm of cyber-

security and compliance is well known as it establishes a robust technological infrastructure and compliance strategy coupled with accomplished technical expertise and an effective risk management culture for each geography into which it expands

Ahmed Abdelaal – Group Chief Executive Officer Mashreq said: Our ingress into Pakistan’s banking sector with the digital banking solutions is indeed a seminal moment in Mashreq s strategic expansion plans I strongly believe we can capitalize on Pakistan’s existing robust financial infrastructure

to greatly enhance the banking experience by delivering customer centric solutions through our products and services ”

He further added: “Mashreq will, without a doubt prove to be a catalyst in leading the evolution of digital finance and the wider digital economy in Pakistan through the deployment of truly transformational banking platforms and solutions We want to thank SBP for providing the opportunity for Mashreq to gain a foothold in one of the most promising markets of the world ”

Fernando Morillo – Group Head of Retail

Bank, Mashreq said: “We look forward to exploring a new Pakistani chapter in our strategic expansion road map I believe that Mashreq’s vision is in tandem with the country s Digital Pakistan Initiative At Mashreq we applaud the efforts of SBP in laying down the foundation that has catalyzed the digitization of the country s banking sector transforming it as a whole Through this powerful synergy, we aim to create and deploy a digital ecosystem in the country with infrastructure and institutional frameworks for the rapid delivery of innovative digital services ”

General (Security), Director General (Welfare & Rehabilitation), Director General (Operations) and Air Officer Commanding, Northern Air Command Presently, he was serving as Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Air Defence) at Air Headquarters, Islamabad

He is a graduate of Combat Commanders School, Air War College, Karachi National Defence University and Air War College, Alabama United States He holds a Master s degree in Strategic Studies and a Bachelor's degree in War Studies He is a recipient

i n g S o u t h e r n A i r C o m m a n d

Presently, he was serving as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, National Aeros p a c e S c i e n c e a n d Te c h n o l o g y P a r k ( N A S T P ) w i t h a n a d d i t i o n a l c h a rg e o f D G C 4 I a t A i r H e a d q u a r t e r s I slamabad He is a graduate of Combat C o m m a n d e r s ’ S c h o o l a n d N a t i o n a l Defence University Islamabad

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ta f f r e p o r t

Wing

The city school system signs MoU with pearson-Edexcel Mr shahzad muhammad khan chief operating officer Ms khatryn booth,Director pearson school pr

Mr Kamran Tessori Governor Sindh and Mr Suleman Chawla, SVP FPCCI, are inaugurating the Pak-Iran Expo at Karachi s Expo Center Engr M A Jabbar, VP FPCCI; Mr Hassan Nourian, Consul General of Iran in Karachi and other high-ranking Iranian diplomats were also present on this historical occasion pr

U k r a i n e m i s s i l e t o l l r i s e s t o 3 6 , r U s s i a d e n i e s at ta c k

Dnipro, Ukraine: The toll from Russia’s devastating strike on a residential block in Dnipro rose on Monday to 36 as fears grew more bodies would be pulled from the rubble and the Kremlin denied responsibility

Emergency service workers with rescue dogs dug for survivors into the night Sunday in the wake of one of the deadliest recent attacks of Russia s nearly year-long invasion

“We’ve been working for 19 or 20 hours without sleep and without rest,” said Larysa Borysenko, one of the rescuers, whose team had found bodies but no survivors

Ukraine’s national police service gave the new toll in a statement while the head of Dnipropetrovsk region, Valentyn Reznichenko said two children were among the dead The fate of another 35 residents of the building is unknown,” he said, confirming that rescue operations were ongoing, some 40 hours after the strike

The Kremlin told reporters Monday its forces were not responsible for the attack and pointed to an unsubstantiated theory circulating on social media that Ukrainian air defence systems had caused the damage

The Russian armed forces do not strike residential buildings or social infrastructure

They strike military targets ” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky said late Sunday that search operations would go on as long as necessary and condemned Russian s cowardly silence over the attack The EU’s most senior diplomat Josep Borrell late Sunday described the strike as inhumane aggression and vowed there will be no impunity for these crimes ”

“The EU will continue supporting Ukraine, for as long as it takes, he added

The rising cost of the strike that ripped open the side of a housing block came as Russia and its close ally Belarus announced the beginning of new joint military drills Belarus, which has been a key ally to Russia throughout the conflict, allowed Moscow s forces to use its territory as a launching pad for its assault last February

Its defence ministry said in a statement the air force exercises would involve joint “tactical” flights and that every airfield in Belarus would be involved

The exercise is purely defensive in nature,” Pavel Muraveyko, first deputy state secretary of Belarus’s Security Council, said in remarks carried Sunday by the defence ministry Since Ukrainian forces pushed back

Russian troops from the north of the country Kyiv and its Western allies have been assessing the threat of another assault from Belarusian territory

The Institute for the Study of War, based in the United States, said in an analytical note Monday that the risk of a new offensive from Belarus was “low” and “the risk of Belarusian direct involvement was very low Meanwhile UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi was expected in Ukraine on Monday to deploy observer missions at nuclear power plants across the country that have been a key concern throughout Russia’s invasion “I’m proud to lead this mission to Ukraine where we re deploying in all of the country’s NPPs (nuclear power plants) to provide assistance in nuclear safety and security he said on Twitter Ukraine in recent weeks has been pressing Western backers to supply its forces with advanced tanks in particular the German-designed Leopard model

The UK this weekend pledged 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine which would make it the first Western country to supply the heavy tanks Kyiv has been calling for Peskov the Kremlin s spokesperson told reporters Monday that fighting in Ukraine would continue with or without the

deliveries These tanks are burning and will burn,” he said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in

over the last 24 hours

CHINA: China is ready to establish an effective working mechanism with the Arab side to accelerate cooperation projects, implement the outcomes of the first ChinaArab States Summit, and strive for early harvest, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Sunday He made the remarks at a joint press conference with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit after their meeting Qin called for jointly practicing the spirits of the Riyadh Declaration The Declaration emphasizes the maintenance of the international order based on international law and multilateralism, and the two sides should jointly uphold the spirits of the declaration, safeguard international fairness and justice, and protect the common interests of developing countries, he said Noting that the Outline of the Comprehensive Cooperation Plan Between China and Arab States covers eight major cooperation initiatives in areas including development support food security public health green innovation, energy security, inter-civilizational dialogue, youth development, and security and stability Qin said China is ready to implement the above cooperation initiatives S ta f f R e p o R t

Nepal began a national day of mourning Monday a day after a plane crashed while attempting to land at a newly opened airport, killing at least 68 of the 72 people aboard Rescue workers rappelled down a 300-meter (984 feet) gorge to continue the search Two more bodies have been found Monday morning

The army, police and rescue workers are also scouring the debris for the flight d a t a r e c o r d e r I t r e m a i n s u n c l e a r w h a t c a u s e d t h e c r a s h , t h e H i m a l a y a n c o u ntry’s deadliest airplane accident in three decades

A witness who recorded footage of the plane’s descent from his balcony said he saw the plane flying low before it suddenly veered to its left “I saw that and I was shocked I thought that today everything will be finished here after it crashes, I will also be dead,” said Diwas Bohora After it crashed, red flames erupted and the ground shook violently, like an earthquake, Bohora said “I was scared Seeing that scene, I was scared ”

Another witness said he saw the aircraft spinning violently in the air after it began descending to land watching from the terrace of his house Finally, Gaurav Gurung said, the plane fell nose-first towards its left and crashed into the gorge

Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft last made contact with the airport from near Seti Gorge at 10:50 am before crashing

The twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Nepal s Yeti Airlines was comp e t i n g t h e 2 7 - m i n u t e f l i g h t f r o m t h e capital, Kathmandu, to Pokhara, 200 kilometres (125 miles) west It was carrying 68 passengers, including 15 foreign nat i o n a l s , a s w e l l a s f o u r c r e w m e m b e r s , Nepal s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement

The foreigners included five Indians, four Russians, two South Koreans, and one each from Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France

The bodies are being kept in the Pokhara Academy of Health and Science, Western Hospital Gyan Khakda, a police spokesperson in the district, said 31 bodies have been identified and will be handed

over to family after officials finish postmortem reports The bodies of foreigners and those that are unrecognizable will be sent to Kathmandu for further investigation On Sunday, Twitter was awash with images that showed plumes of smoke billowing from the crash site, about 1 6 kilometres (nearly a mile) away from Pokhara International Airport The aircraft s fuselage was split into multiple parts that were scattered down the gorge Hours after dark scores of onlookers remained crowded around the crash site near the airport in the resort town of Pokhara as rescue workers combed the wreckage on the edge of the cliff and in the ravine below

Local resident Bishnu Tiwari, who rushed to the crash site near the Seti River to help search for bodies, said the rescue efforts were hampered by thick smoke and a raging fire “The flames were so hot that we couldn’t go near the wreckage I heard a man crying for help, but because of the flames and smoke we couldn’t help him,” Tiwari said

At Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, family members appeared dis-

traught as they waited for information

Nepal mourns af ter plane crash kills at least 68 C hina successfull y tests ultra-high-speed maglev trains

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal rushed to the airport after the crash and set up a panel to investigate the accident

”The incident was tragic The full force of the Nepali army and police have been deployed for rescue,” he said

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it s still trying to confirm the fate of two South Korean passengers and has sent staff to the scene The Russian Ambassador to Nepal Alexei Novikov confirmed the death of four Russian citizens who were on board the plane

Omar Gutiérrez governor of Argentina’s Neuquen province, wrote on his official Twitter account that an Argentine passenger on the flight was Jannet Palavecino, from his province

T h e F a c e b o o k p a g e o f P a l a v e c i n o s a y s s h e w a s a m a n a g e r o f t h e H o t e l S u i z o i n N e u q u e n c i t y S h e d e s c r i b e d herself as a lover of travel and adventure t o u r i s m P o k h a r a i s t h e g a t e w a y t o t h e Annapurna Circuit, a popular hiking trail i n t h e H i m a l a y a s T h e c i t y ’s n e w i n t e rn a t i o n a l a i r p o r t b e g a n o p e r a t i o n s o n l y two weeks ago

Dockers killed, kidnapped and corrupted by France’s drugs mafia

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China has successfully carried out a systematic test on a cutting-edge transportation system involving an ultra-high-speed maglev train running in a low vacuum pipeline

Three navigation tests have been completed in accordance with the test procedures, thanks to the use of a super-navigation vehicle All systems work normally when the speed exceeds 50 km per hour on the 210-meter test route

Researchers working on the project in Datong, Central China’s Shanxi Province indicate that they aim to build an ultra-high-speed mega transport system running in low vacuum pipelines by combining railway and aerospace technology read an earlier report

The team from the stateowned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) hopes they will eventually be able to operate maglev trains in a tube with extremely thin air – meaning

they would fly on the ground at speeds that rival planes The technology of maglev (also known as magnetic levitation) successfully eliminates friction, while operating the train in a low-vacuum pipeline reduces resistance and noise which are two main problems in train transportation

The experiment successfully completed at the beginning of 2023, which is the first full-scale

super-navigation experiment in China and has verified a series of key technologies, preliminatively verifying the correctness of the high-speed vehicle system and related coordination work

Besides the development of the maglev train was made possible, in part, by the rapid development of new industrial materials in China The maglev track, for instance, needs steel with low mag-

netic permeability, or a low response to a magnetic field – otherwise the track will generate eddy currents that cause a loss of energy during operation, according to media reports

T h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d p r omotion of the high-speed rail rem a i n a m a j o r p r i o r i t y i n C h i n a w h i c h a i m s t o c o n n e c t m o r e o f i t s v a s t t e r r i t o r y, i n c l u d i n g n o t only larger cities but also remote areas, to travel by train to reduce the time and expense for a larger group of people C u r r e n t l y, C h i n a o n l y h a s o n e m a g l e v l i n e i n c o m m e r c i a l u s e c o n n e c t i n g S h a n g h a i s P u d o n g A i r p o r t w i t h t h e L o n g y a n g R o a d s t a t i o n i n t h e city The 30 km (19 miles) journey takes about seven and a half m i n u t e s , w i t h t h e t r a i n h i t t i n g speeds of 430 kph (267 mph) Several new maglev networks are reportedly under construction, including one linking Shanghai and Hangzhou and another connecting Chengdu and Chongqing

They could be scenes straight from gangster movies, except all happened for real in the French port of Le Havre over the past year

A drug gang smashing its way out of the port in a lorry loaded with cocaine under police fire; another criminal band storming a depot inside the tightly-controlled zone to grab a hidden shipment of the drug And then there was the container cracked open in daytime traffic just outside the gates by a gang who set it on fire once they retrieved a cache of the white powder There is so much money to be made they do not think twice about taking big risks,” a police officer in the Channel port told AFP Le Havre is one of northern Europe s big five container ports And its vast cargo terminals where the River Seine reaches the sea have become the main point of entry for cocaine into France

A record 10 tonnes of the drug were seized on its quays in 2021 up 164 percent on the previous year as a vast wave of cocaine has poured into Europe from South America The explosion in the trade has led to a massive escalation in violence and

corruption in the port, most of it focused on the port’s 2 200 dockers the main target of the drug trafficking mafia ‘Price list’ of bribes: The dockers, organised under the banner of the communist union, the CGT, have long been the masters this world apart of giant cranes and mountains of multicoloured containers

“Not just anyone can get into the port of Le Havre, so to get the drugs out, the traffickers need accomplices most of all dockers ” a police source told AFP Several dockers have been jailed over the past few years for working with the drug gangs and the names of others have popped up in police wiretaps

One of them told his lawyer how he got entangled in the trade “Before I used to make 200 or 300 euros ($320) a month from selling (stolen) perfume or cartons of cigarettes One day some guys asked me to take some bags out (of the port) for 1 000 euros a bag

“It started like that,” he said

In fact, according to a “price list” discovered in 2017 the narcos were offering dockers up to 75,000 euros to help get a container out of the port, with 10 000 for the loan of a security badge and 50,000 for moving a container

h i n a i s r e a d y t o w o r k w i t h a r a b l e a g u e t o s t r i v e f o r e a r l y h a r v e s t : Q i n G a n g

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an interview with German media on Sunday that “recent pledges for heavy warfare equipment are important and I expect more in the near future Separately on Monday, Ukraine officials said that Russian forces had continued shelling the southern city of Kherson which was recaptured by Kyiv’s forces late last year

The regional governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said one woman was killed in an attack on a residential building and that Russian forces also damaged an empty children’s hospital In Crimea, the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 the Moscow-appointed official responsible for the military city Sevastopol said Russian forces had downed seven drones

POKHARA

A f g h A n i s tA n i n v i t e PA k i s tA n f o r o D i s e r i e s A f t e r A u s t r A l i A s n u b

AFGHANISTAN Cricket Board (ACB) contacted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after Cricket Australia (CA) cancelled the three-match ODI series According to reports, Afghanistan have expressed their desire to play three ODIs against Pakistan in UAE in March The PCB is considering the option of the threematch series after the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) concludes and before the New Zealand series Pakistan and Afghanistan are also scheduled to play three Super League matches in August It must be noted that Cricket Australia on Thursday pulled out of the three-match one-day International (ODI) series in March, citing Taliban moves to further restrict women s rights Due to restrictions placed by the Tal-

barca’s young stars hoping super Cup trophy is first of ‘new era’

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Barcelona’s young players, leading by teenage sensation Gavi, were at the heart of the club’s first trophy for nearly two years as they thumped rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup Gavi, 18, scored and fashioned two more in their 3-1 victory on Sunday including one for 20-year-old Pedri, while defender Ronald Araujo shackled Vinicius Junior and Alejandro Balde excelled on the other flank “A new era has started,” yelled an ecstatic Araujo as he ran back to the dressing room with his medal after wild celebrations on the pitch in Saudi Arabia The ushering in of a new start for Barcelona is the club’s fervent hope, after they lifted their first trophy in the 21st century without Lionel Messi being part of the squad

When the Argentine icon left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 after spending his whole career at the club, it shook Barca and the football world Deluged by debt, the Catalans spent big in the summer, a spree funded by mortgaging part of their future television income, among other methods They signed Robert Lewandowski, who also netted against Madrid in the Super Cup triumph in Saudi Arabia, as well as Jules Kounde and Raphinha among others Gradually the Barcelona team which conquered Europe in 2009, 2011 and 2015 is being dismantled, with only a couple of veterans remaining Xavi was one of the first to depart, leaving on top of the world after winning the treble in 2015, and now he has been working on reshaping a club which president Joan Laporta said was “almost dead” when he took over There is a young core to Xavi s team with Gavi and Pedri key to the reshaped midfield, while Araujo and Kounde are in their early 20s Balde, 19, has displaced veteran Jordi Alba at left-back more often than not this season, while hopes Ansu Fati can become the team s star still remain The 20-year-old forward scored a stellar volley against Real Betis in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final on Thursday, and is still rebuilding his game and his form after serious injuries ‘PrEsEnt and FuturE’: Gavi was particularly devastating against Real Madrid, operating from the left but coming inside to help Barcelona dominate the midfield Madrid defender Dani Carvajal was totally overwhelmed by the combination of the midfielder and Balde on the left wing “When you see (Gavi) compete like that, putting his soul out there he s a character that is contagious for the team, he has an innate capacity for leadership,” said Xavi “It comes from inside it s spectacular At 18 I have said it many times, but don’t let it stop, he has no ceiling this boy ” Busquets labelled Gavi a competitive animal while Laporta heaped praise on both him and Pedri “They are two players with both a present and a lot of future enthused Laporta They can give Barca glorious games and win many titles Pedri is a magician and Gavi is spectacular, the energy he has in every game and now with more patience, and goals ” A month ago Xavi said both Gavi and Pedri were better than he and former team-mate Andres Iniesta were at the same age

Melbourne

Teenager Shang Juncheng created a slice of history on Monday by becoming the first male Chinese player to win an Australian Open main draw singles match, a feat he called “huge” for his country

The 17-year-old qualifier, the youngest player in the men s draw, battled past Germany’s Oscar Otte 6-2 6-4 6-7 (2/7), 7-5 in nearly three hours to progress After saving two break points in the opening set he did not face another as he sealed the win on his third match point at Melbourne Park

His reward is a tough second-round encounter with either American 16th seed Frances Tiafoe or another German, Daniel Altmaier “I think it’s huge for Chinese men’s tennis You know, we have had really good players from the women s side but not really big Names in the men’s,” said Shang, who also goes by the name “Jerry”

S o I t h i n k w e a r e v e r y l u c k y t h a t I ’ m p a r t o f i t a n d I ’ m v e r y l u c k y t h a t I ’ m p a r t o f t h i s t e a m H o p e f u l l y, w e can do something big in the future In a d d i t i o n t o t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e r es u l t f o r C h i n a , S h a n g a l s o a c h i e v e d s e v e r a l p e r s o n a l m i l e s t o n e s a s i d e f r o m n o t c h i n g h i s f i r s t m a j o r w i n , h e a l s o e a r n e d h i s f i r s t t o u r- l e v e l w i n i n f o u r t r i e s

“I think overall this whole week was

different for me playing my first Slam every day I was pretty nervous getting on the court,” he said But at the same time it s one of the best moments I have had so far in my career, so I’m just very excited to be on the court, and everything is a learning process for me ” Shang is leading a historic Chinese charge in Melbourne with three male Chinese players competing at any Grand Slam main draw since the Open era began in 1968 He is joined by Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing

Seven Chinese also entered the women’s singles draw, led by the veteran

gymnasiums, middle and high schools, and parks The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) expressed disappointment and said the board will take the matter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) Afghanistan Cricket Board is extremely disappointed and saddened by the pathetic statement of Cricket Australia to withdraw from Afghanistan s home three-match ODI series in March and will officially write to the International Cricket Council about the issue, an ACB statement read

The board labelled the decision to pull out of the series “an unfortunate attempt to enter the realm of politics and politicise the sport” as it came after “consultation and potential enforcement from the Australian Government It is worth mentioning here that Afghan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq pulled out of the Big Bash League (BBL) after Australia cancelled the series, while Rashid Khan said he will “strongly consider” his future in the league

england coach bor thwick includes Daly and Cole in six nations squad

TwickenhaM

Twickenham United Kingdom: England coach Steve Borthwick has recalled veterans Dan Cole and Elliot Daly in a 36-man squad for the Six Nations announced on Monday But there was no place for experienced No 8 Billy Vunipola or wings Jonny May and Jack Nowell ahead of England s Six Nations opener at home to Scotland on February 4 Both prop Cole and utility back Daly fell out of favour under former coach Eddie Jones but have returned under Borthwick

England squad

Backs: Elliot Daly (Saracens) Owen Farrell (Saracens) Tommy Freeman (Northampton) Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish), Dan Kelly (Leicester Tigers) Max Malins (Saracens) Joe Marchant (Harlequins) Alex Mitchell (Northampton), Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Henry Slade (Exeter), Fin Smith (Northampton) Marcus Smith (Harlequins)

Freddie Steward (Leicester) Manu Tuilagi, (Sale), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester), Ben Youngs (Leicester)

Forwards: Ollie Chessum (Leicester), Dan Cole (Leicester) Ben Curry (Sale), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins) Ben Earl (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol), Jamie George (Saracens), Joe Heyes (Leicester), Jonny Hill (Sale) Nick Isiekwe (Saracens) Maro Itoje (Saracens), Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Lewis Ludlam (Northampton), George McGuigan (Gloucester) Bevan Rodd (Sale) Sam Simmonds (Exeter), Kyle Sinckler (Bristol), Mako Vunipola (Saracens) Jack Walker (Harlequins) Jack Willis (Toulouse/FRA)

coach: Steve Borthwick (ENG)

20-k Cup 2023: Mt Club, shahkamal, ludhiana register victories

Asked why Chinese women had traditionally always done better than men, Shang said: “It’s a complicated thing ””I think I’m not quite sure how to answer that, but I think physically it s a big step for us in men’s tennis ””But I think we’re on the right track right now Hopefully, we can do a better job in the Slams, in the three-out-of-five sets, and hopefully that can happen in the future ”

Model Town Club, Shahkamal Club and Ludhiana Club registered victories in the 20-K Cup 2023 T20 Cricket Tournament matches played here at different venues on Monday Model Town Club outwitted City Gymkhana by 88 runs in the 23rd match of the tournament here at the Moden Town Club Ground Model Town Club, batting first, scored 168 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the allotted 20 overs Arslan Bajwa played a superb knock of 45 runs of 30 balls while his teammates Irfan Rasheed (26), Danyal Ahmed (24) and Umaid Asif (12) also contributed significant runs in their team’s total For City Gymkhana, Saad Athar bowled brilliantly and grabbed 3-29 Usama Tariq 2-18 and Jahangir Mirza 1-40 City Gymkhana’s run-chase was badly hampered by outstanding bowling by Irfan Rasheed (3-22) Umaid Asif (3-15) and Hassan Rizwan (2-27) as they were bundled out for 80 runs in 17 overs Hussain Ali scored 13 and Usama Tariq 12 For his allround performance, Irfan Rasheed was declared player of the match

Rafael Nadal launched his Australian Open title defence with a four-set victory over Britain s Jack Draper on Monday, as home hope Nick Kyrgios quit through injury without hitting a ball

In the women s draw, top seed Iga Swiatek survived a tough examination while Jessica Pegula and teenage prodigy Coco Gauff were both emphatic winners on the first day of action

Spanish great Nadal, 36, had been in poor form by his sky-high standards, losing six of his last seven matches stretching back to defeat in the last 16 at the US Open In fast-rising Draper, 21, the 22-time Grand Slam champion faced a stern test to start his campaign at a sweltering Melbourne Park

Top seed Nadal recovered from a second-set wobble and a bizarre incident when a ball boy accidentally took his rac-

quet to defeat the 38th-ranked Briton 75 2-6 6-4 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena

Nadal, who recently became a father, faces American Mackenzie McDonald in round two “Very exciting new beginning just super-happy to be back at Rod Laver with a victory I needed, he said after grinding down Draper “Last couple of months have not been easy for me ” Nadal was on court when Australia s talented but temperamental Kyrgios called a hastily arranged press conference and announced that he was out of the tournament with a knee injury

“I’m devastated, obviously,” said the Wimbledon finalist, who was considered an outside bet to win a maiden Grand Slam crown “I’ve had some great tournaments here, winning the doubles last year and playing the tennis of my life probably going into this event

“I’m just exhausted from everything, and (it s) obviously pretty brutal he first Grand Slam of the year had al-

ready lost several stars in the build-up

Injured men’s world number one Carlos Alcaraz and two-time Melbourne champion Naomi Osaka who is expecting her first child are among the other players missing

Nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic who was detained and deported ahead of last year ’s tournament after refusing to get vaccinated for Covid, begins his title assault on Tuesday

Other winners on Monday included third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz and 11th seed Cameron Norrie, on a day of few shocks

Sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime saw off dogged Vasek Pospisil in an all-Canadian clash But 21st seed Borna Coric fell to Czech player Jiri Lehecka in straight sets In the women s draw hot favourite Swiatek was far from her fluent best against Jule Niemeier but got the job done, 6-4 7-5 Honestly I wanted to be focused on myself because I know that Jule serves

amazing and was really pushing, putting pressure on me ” said Swiatek who landed only 49 percent of her first serves

So I m pretty happy that I got through this match because the first round is always tricky, and I guess an opponent like Jule makes it even more tricky

“The Pole who is chasing an Australian Open crown to go with major titles at the US Open and Roland Garros, plays Camila Osorio of Colombia next

In-form Pegula blitzed 161st-ranked Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-0, 6-1 in a 59-minute romp to signal her intent

Fellow American Gauff was equally explosive in racing into the second round with a 6-1 6-4 thumping of Czech Kater i n a S i n i a k o v a T h e 1 8 - y e a r- o l d G a u ff n o w f a c e s a m o u t h - w a t e r i n g e n c o u n t e r a g a i n s t f o r m e r U S O p e n c h a m p i o n

Emma Raducanu It will be the first-ever meeting between Gauff and the 20-yearo l d R a d u c a n u t w o r i s i n g s t a r s o f women’s tennis

lahore s tA F F R e P o R t

iban-led government Afghanistan is the only full-member country without a func-

tioning women s team Girls are officially prohibited from attending universities,

Ag e n c i e s

Zhang Shuai who is ranked 22 in the world The retired Li Na remains China’s best-ever player after she won the French Open in 2011 and Australian Open three years later

ISLAMABAD

SOUTH Korean multinational

Lotte Chemical Corporation has agreed to sell its entire 75 01% stake the single largest one in Lotte Chemical Pakistan (LOTCHEM) to Lucky Core Industries (LCI) The deal will cost $156 million approximately 192 4 billion South Korean Won (KRW)

Lotte Chemical Corporation is the parent company of LOTCHEM Pakistan and holds 75 01% shareholding in the subsidiary This entire shareholding is being sold to Lucky Core Industries (LCI)

The announcement was first made by the chemical giant and subsequently announced to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) by LOTCHEM and LCI on Monday

The notice by LOTCHEM Pakistan read, “The Board of Directors (BoD) of Lotte Chemical Corporation, South Korea ( LCC Korea ) the majority (75 01%) shareholder of Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (“Company”) has approved and au-

thorised the sale of all of the company s shares held by LCC Korea (i e 75 01%) for the purpose of optimisation of LCC Korea’s business portfolio, subject to execution of a share purchase agreement ( Proposed divestment”) ” The completion of the deal will be subject to the required approvals and regulations According to the announcement made by Lotte Korea, the sales and purchase agreement (SPA) will be signed on January 26 Curiously however the date of the SPA has not been disclosed by either LOTCHEM or LCI LCI, in their notification to the PSX also announced that they have received confirmation from the BoD of Lotte Chemical Corporation about their approval for the sale of shares (1,135,860,105 shares), which will be subject to signing of share purchase agreement and other transactionary approvals

However, previously LCI was not the only company in the race for the acquisition Just last week Novatex (Private) Limited, a local company, withdrew its offer to acquire the 75 01% shareholding in LOTCHEM because the parties were unable to agree on the terms of the transaction

This paved the way for LCI to acquire the chemical company The LCI formerly known as ICI Pakistan Holding Limited (ICI) until December 23, 2022, made the public announcement to acquire 75 01% shareholding of LOTCHEM last year on July 22 through their manager of the offer, Optimus Capital Management (Private) Limited On October 7, 2022, the BoD of LCI authorised the company to submit a binding bid for the acquisition Lucky Cement Limited is the parent company of LCI Why is Lotte Korea selling Lotte Pakistan?

As previously stated, the chemical giant wants to sell off its Pakistani subsidiary in order to streamline its global business operations with a focus on advanced materials and eco-friendly products

L O T C H E M P a k i s t a n e n g a g e s i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f p u r i f i e d t e r e p h t h a l i c a c i d (PTA) This PTA is widely used to make Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles a n d o t h e r p o l y m e r p r o d u c t s , s u c h a s f ibres, resins and thin films Lotte Korea in 2 0 2 0 c l o s e d i t s o w n d o m e s t i c P TA p r oduction line in Ulsan, South Korea, to be-

come more ecologically responsible The s ale o f th e P ak is tan i u n it mean s th at th e c h e m i c a l g i a n t w i l l n o l o n g e r e n g a g e i n PTA production

The South Korean corporation wants to consolidate its operations by focusing on cutting-edge materials and ecologically responsible goods The proceeds from the sale are predicted to strengthen the company’s advanced materials division, improve the development of environmentally friendly synthetic chemicals, and modernise the current chemical products used as plastics’ feedstock Lotte Chemical the chemical unit of South Korean retail giant Lotte Group, aims to achieve 50 trillion KRW in sales in 2030, with about 30 trillion KRW into be generated from high value-added specialty products and eco-friendly materials In the PSX LOTCHEM s shares were the third highest during the Monday trading session with a volume of over 7 65 million shares The share price opened at Rs 27 55 and closed at Rs 28 03, an increase of 1 74% during the day Lotte ChemiCaL PakiStan LOTCHEM was incorporated in Pak-

In desperate bid for cotton, textile manufac turers turn to US Ambassador

ISLAMABAD

Left without sufficient locally produced cotton and unable to import the raw material due to LC restrictions placed by the central bank, Pakistan’s textile manufacturers have turned to the United States Embassy, demanding that the ambassador take their case to the federal government

In a letter addressed to US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome, a copy of which is available with Profit the industry made wide-ranging complaints and asked that the ambassador take their plea to the government “Unfortunately the import of cotton has been severely restricted in the country Banks are not opening L/Cs or retiring cotton imports

Imran hints at returning to Parliament

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday hinted at returning to National Assembly for caretaker setup claiming to be in contact with “several Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers If we don t return [to National Assembly] then they (government) will form the caretaker setup in consultation with Raja Riaz as they don t have any ethics he said while talking to senior journalists in Lahore Imran said that they have a plan in place for National Assembly saying that they were in contact with several PML-N MNAs “Shehbaz Sharif is going to have sleepless nights we will test them (PMLN MNAs) first then will add them [to party folds],” he said He said that “Bajwa doctrine is still in progress and political engineering” is taking place in the country Responding to a question regarding local body elections in Karachi, the PTI chief said that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) cannot win without rigging but also admitted weak party structure in the city as the cause of poor performance in Sunday’s polls Imran said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was supposed to increase petroleum prices but did not therefore he added International Monetary Fund (IMF) will not release funds and the foreign exchange reserve would deplete further by $2 billion He emphasised that the future of PML-Q was with PTI

through CAD The industry is running out of cotton stocks and as a consequence, our mills have either shut down or will shut down in the very near future if decisive and urgent action is not taken,” reads the letter which has been signed by Gohar Ijaz, who is the Patron-in-Chief of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA)

Therefore, we request the American Embassy to take up the case with the US Government to sanction a $2 billion soft credit/loan for the express purpose to import 3 5 million bales of cotton from the US Provision of this loan will insure the employment of millions of workers and will improve Pakistan’s balance of payments Your immediate action will be highly appreciated as the matter is ex-

tremely urgent We also seek time to meet with you earliest to go through the details ”

State of the induStry: While sending a written request of this nature to the ambassador of a foreign country is unusual, it has come after APTMA had already tried writing to both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in the months past It also points towards the desperation that these times have brought The SBP has been stingy with granting lines of credit (LCs) which is leading to a lot of industries trying to find creative solutions like this one

As the letter to the ambassador explained, Pakistan s domestic cotton production has declined to a historic low this year, dropping to 5 million bales for the current year mainly due to heavy rains

and floods The estimated cotton production losses have been worth more than $2 billion This domestic cotton production is significantly shorter than the textile sector requirements as the textile industry of Pakistan consumed nearly 15 million bales of cotton last year and the current season anticipated demand indicates that about 10 million bales will need to be imported ” reads the letter

“Unfortunately, the import of cotton has been severely restricted in the country Banks are not opening L/Cs or retiring cotton imports through CAD The industry is running out of cotton stocks and as a consequence our mills have either shut down or will shut down in the very near future if decisive and urgent action is not taken The reality is that this year ’s floods and falling agricultural output is not the biggest issue The textile industry has been dependent on imports for a while now and Pakistan’s domestic cotton production has not been enough to provide for it for a while

C o n t i n u e d o n pa g e 05

Barrick gold sets 2028 as target for first produc tion from Reko d iq

ISLAMABAD

On Sunday, Barrick Gold Corporation Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow announced the establishment of a project office in Quetta at a ceremony conducted at the Chief Minister ’s secretariat

As part of a three-day project review that started in Quetta, Bristow, accompanied by senior Barrick executives, met with Balochistan chief minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and other provincial leaders to brief them on the extensive social and economic development opportunities that would be generated by the mine, which is expected to have a life of at least 40 years

The meeting was attended by a wide spectrum of provincial stakeholders and leaders including opposition leader Malik Sikandar Khan (JUI-F) and leaders of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) Jamiat Ullema Islam (JUI-F), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and Awami National Party (ANP)

The Chief Minister of Balochistan Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo during the meeting is reported to have stated that the attendance of opposition members

at the ceremony demonstrated that the government and the opposition were on the same page regarding the project

“We have reached this stage after passing through some difficulties, including legislation, taking the political leadership into confidence and removing hurdles in signing the historical agreement ” the chief minister added Barrick Gold is planning to complete the Reko Diq feasibility study update by the end of 2024 said Mark Bristow in a news release on Monday The chief executive s statement came in the backdrop of the completion of the legal processes and definitive transaction agreements last month

Barrick Gold chief executive Mark Bristow also said that the company had set 2028 as the target for starting the first production from the giant coppergold mine Reko Diq in Balochistan

After the meeting, Bristow and the chief minister signed a memorandum of agreement which specifies the timetable for the disbursement of committed funds to the province including advance royalties and social development funds, ensuring that the people of Balochistan start earning benefits from the project well before the mine goes into production The agreement provides for an initial payment of $3 mil-

lion this month

According to the press release, Reko Diq will be operated by Barrick, which owns 50% of the project, with Balochistan holding 25% and three Pakistani state-owned enterprises sharing the remaining 25% The shareholding structure is in line with Barrick s policy of benefit-sharing partnerships with its host countries

The Federal Government s interest is split among three state-owned companies: OGDC, PPL, and GHPL, each of which controls 8 33 percent of the project In addition free equity accounts for 10% of the total 25% interest of the Balochistan Government in the mine

The project is divided into two phases with a total projected capex cost of $7 billion, with the first phase requiring $4 billion and the second phase requiring $3 billion In addition, the project’s total entry amount is $2 2 billion, bringing the entire project size to $9-10 billion

According to a report published by Arif Habib earlier last year the annual copper output is predicted to be between 650 and 700 million pounds per annum for the first ten years, increasing to 800 to 850 million pounds per annum when phase 2 is completed

istan on 30 May 1998 The principal activity of the company is the manufacture and sale of the PTA mentioned above Lotte, the South Korean conglomerate, acquired the majority shareholdings in Pakistan PTA Limited (PPTA) in September 2009 Subsequently, the name of the company was changed to Lotte Chemical Pakistan Ltd The company has the capacity to produce 520,000 tonnes of PTA annually through its state-of-the-art plant located at Port Qasim, Karachi The plant at the port was built using ICI’s state-of-the-art technology when it was commissioned in 1998 It produces PTA, an essential raw material for Pakistan’s textile and PET packaging industries and forms the backbone of the polyester chain, including Polyester Staple Fibre, Filament Yarn and PET (bottle grade) resin

In addition to its own manufacturing facilities, the company has helped create a large infrastructure network at the Port Qasim vicinity, which includes a chemical jetty, raw water pipeline and manufact u r e o f i n d u s t r i a l g a s e s t h r o u g h third-party contracts

ECP suspends membership of 27 1 lawmakers

ISLAMABAD S tA f f R e p o R t

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has suspended the membership of as many as 271 lawmakers over their failure to submit details of their assets and liabilities According to details, the electoral watchdog suspended the membership of 271 lawmakers after they failed to submit the statement of their assets and liabilities that is required by the ECP at the year-end The parliamentarians suspended by the ECP include 136 members of the National Assembly, 21 from the Senate, 54 from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly 48 from the Sindh Assembly and 12 from the Balochistan Assembly As per the notification, the suspended members include Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Asif and Mohsin Ranjha, and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui The election commission has forwarded the lists of the members to the respective speakers of the houses asking them to ensure the listed members stop working The ECP said that lawmakers cannot participate in parliamentary proceedings and their membership will remain suspended until they submit their respective statements

No talks with PTI for caretakers setup till August: Rana Sana

ISLAMABAD

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Monday said that the government will welcome the PTI lawmakers back to the National Assembly if they were to return but maintained that any discussion over a caretaker setup can be held only once the mandated tenure of the government expires in August Earlier today, media reports claimed that PTI Chairman Imran Khan in a meeting with journalists at his Zaman Park Residence in Lahore, hinted that he could be open to sending his party s lawmakers back to the National Assembly to discuss a caretaker setup, which he feared could be decided by the government and opposition leader Raja Riaz if the PTI were to remain absent Sanaullah, while talking to a private TV channel regarding Imran’s comments said: Of course we will welcome them [back] into the assembly as even when they were leaving, we had said it was an undemocratic decision The interior minister asserted They (PTI MNAs) will have to withdraw their resignations for returning [to the National Assembly] [ ] and will have to come and sit in the assembly ” He said that Imran will also have to submit a request to the speaker to become the leader of the opposition Sanaullah reiterated the federal government’s stance of holding general elections upon the expiry of its full five-year term

LAHORE S tA f f C o R R e S p o n d e n t

g Project gains momentum as Barrick gold executives meet with stakeholders to iron out finer details