Epaper_23-01-19 ISB

as IGC beGIns, RussIa offeRs to help pakIstan meet eneRGy needs

ata high powered meeting between Russian delegations and officials from pakistan, Russia has extended its hand to pakistan and offered their aid in fulfilling pakistan’s energy needs.

the offer was made during the first day of the eighth meeting of the pakistani-Russian inter-governmental commission (igc) on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation taking place in islamabad this week.

the meeting commenced in islamabad on Wednesday wherein both sides reviewed the existing areas of cooperation and deliberated on new proposals for cooperation. according to sources, on the first day of the pak-Russia igc meeting, experts of both sides reviewed previous decisions which were made so far between the two countries and also deliberated on new proposals for further deepening the bilateral relations while areas of mutual cooperation like trade and investment; agriculture; energy; industry; education; science and technology; information and communication technologies; finance, customs and communication including roads, postal service and railways remained under discussion between the two countries.

during the first day of the technical session of the 8th pak-Russia igc, the Russian side was headed by deputy director of the department of Ministry of economic development of the

Russian federation, israfil ali-Zade while secretary Ministry of economic affairs, dr kazim niaz led the pakistani side. a Russian delegation, comprising around eighty (80) members, is participating in the meeting, said sources.

speaking at the opening session of the meeting, secretary Ministry of economic affairs, dr kazim niaz said that huge potential existed there to benefit from the comparative advantage between pakistan and Russia. He said pakistan got a big hit due to devastating floods and appreciated the support extended by the international community during such times of crisis.

speaking on the occasion, deputy director of the department of Ministry of economic development of the Russian federation, israfil aliZade said Russia valued its relations with pakistan. He said in all sectors of economy, there was a good level of cooperation and Russia aimed to enhance it further. He said there was a great potential between both economies that needed to be explored more.

during the technical session, the Russian side offered to supply oil and gas to pakistan at discounted rates and assured that Russia can fulfil pakistan’s energy needs, said sources. they added that the pakistani side provided data pertaining to the country’s oil and gas demand while the Russian side offered prices and quantity of oil and gas and both sides agreed to devise a final working paper in this regard.

“the proposals coming out of these technical sessions would be incorporated into the

main protocol of the commission, which would be discussed, conformed and signed during the plenary session on third day of the session”, said the sources sources also said that the Wednesday igc meeting also discussed payments and shipping modes and mechanisms while technical information of both sides on oil and gas will be the part of agenda of thursday’s scheduled meeting of the igc. they said ministerial level talks between pakistan and Russia will be held on thursday and a major breakthrough on oil, gas supply from Russia and long-term lng agreement and construction of north-south gasline project is expected to be achieved during this meeting. they said pakistani Ministers including ayaz sadiq and Musadik Malik will represent the pakistani side while Russian energy Minister nikolay shulginov will represent the Russian side in the ministerial level talks between the two countries. during thursday’s ministerial level talks, import of Russian crude oil, petrol and high-speed diesel (Hsd) will also be the part of agenda, said sources. it is also learnt from sources that both sides on Wednesday exchanged facts and figures pertaining to different sectors wherein mutual cooperation can be beneficial for each other while prices of oil and gas import from Russia also remained under discussion. similarly, preparation of a roadmap for import of oil and gas from Russia on a short-term and long-term basis was also discussed in the meeting, said sources. as per sources, on second of 8th igc, the two sides are scheduled to hold technical consultations on finalizing the ‘draft protocol’ of the ongoing 8th igc while on friday, there would be main discussion on the implementation of the gas pipeline construction project titled “the pakistan stream gas pipeline (psgp),” oil and petroleum products delivery to pakistan, Russian-pakistani financial cooperation, implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the seventh meeting of the commission, besides cooperation in different sectors before signing of the final protocol of the 8th meeting of the commission. it is pertinent to mention here that 8th igc is expected to find ways and means to promote pak- Russia cooperation in diverse fields like trade and investment, agriculture, energy, industry, education, science and technology, information and communication technologies, roads, postal services and railways, finance and customs.

UAE rolls over $2b deposit of Pakistan

the abu dhabi fund for development (adfd) has rolled over their deposit of $2 billion with the state bank of pakistan (sbp). the finance minister in a tweet disclosed that prime Minister shehbaz sharif had discussed the rollover with the United arab emirates (Uae) president sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-nahyan, during his recent visit to the country.

it is pertinent to mention here that the Uae president had agreed to roll over the existing loan of $2 billion and provide a $1 billion additional loan.

sources said that pakistan’s repayment burden has now reduced to $11 billion during this fiscal year.

presently, the state bank has foreign exchange reserves of four and a half billion dollars and these foreign exchange reserves with the central bank are equivalent to three weeks’ worth of import bills.

it is pertinent to mention here that prime Minister shehbaz sharif met with Uae president sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al nahyan on January 12 wherein the latter agreed to roll over the existing loan of Us$ 2 billion and provide Us$1 billion additional loan. the two leaders also agreed to deepen the investment cooperation, stimulate partnerships and enable investment integration opportunities between the two countries.

sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed welcomed prime Minister sharif to abu dhabi and wished progress and prosperity for pakistan. He praised the historical relations between the two nations and the valuable contributions made by the pakistani community in the Uae.

the prime minister thanked the Uae president for inviting him to the brotherly country.

the two leaders discussed the fraternal relations existing between pakistan and the Uae; and explored ways and means to further strengthen these ties, especially in the fields of trade, investment and energy.

LCS FOR FUEL, MEDICINE AND AGRICULTURE SECTORS

IMPORTS: state bank of pakistan (sbp) governor Jameel ahmad on Wednesday said that the import letter of credit (lcs) for fuel, medicine and agriculture sectors are being opened at the interbank rate.

Profit rePort the World bank (Wb) deepens the fiscal crisis by delaying the approval of two loans worth $ 1.1 billion until the next financial year, according to news reports on Wednesday. the bank also opposed the 1%-3% flood levy on imports to fulfil the financing gap of $ 32 billion.

the lender jolted the approval of the second Resilient institutions for sustainable economy (Rise-ii) loan worth $450 million and the second programme for affordable energy (pace-ii) worth $ 600 million.

the Rise programme hopes to achieve “fiscal management, promote transparency and private sector growth,

and undertake foundational reforms in the energy sector to transition to lowcarbon energy,” and the pace programme sets to “reduce circular debt flow through reducing power generation costs, decarbonising the energy mix, improving efficiency in distribution, and retargeting electricity subsidies,” according to the Wb website.

both programmes indicate reforms in the energy sectors, and the Wb believes that macroeconomic challenges cannot be met unless energy costs are cut. this includes reducing generation costs, creating avenues for solar energy and cutting subsidies in the energy sector.

the government had hoped to re-

ceive the approval of at least $ 450 million by January 2023, which would have unlocked a further $ 450 million loan by the asian infrastructure investment bank (aiib).

the government was already facing difficulty securing a financing loan from the international Monetary fund (iMf), and with such a blow by the Wb the government is left with an additional $ 1.5 billion hole. according to sources, the Wb expressed its grievances regarding 1%-3% flood levy on imports to raise Rs 60 billion to Rs 70 billion in additional taxes to cover imports. the flood levy is part of the Rs 200 billion budget that the government set to appease the iMf bailout.

Profit rePort ahmad ahmadani

g tHRee-day pak-RUssia Moot aiMs to pRoMote bilateRal coopeRation

iSLAMABAD staff report

Shehbaz proposes committee members’ names for caretaker CM

Imran Khan foresees general elections in April this year

SC BarS judgES FroM hEading Flood rEhaB, rEConStruCtion CoMMittEES

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

tHESupreme Court on Wednesday ordered removal of the names of civil judges from committees monitoring the restoration work in flood-affected areas.

The court partially accepted the appeal of Sindh Government, however, ordered the city committees to continue their work as per the law and also instructed them to include women in these bodies.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial issued a 20-page order on the appeal of Sindh Government against the verdict of Sindh High Court (SHC).

The apex court ordered to ensure medical facilities for women in floodaffected areas. It also ordered the Provincial Disaster Management Authority to submit its report to the Sindh High Court regarding the restoration work after every two weeks.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah also wrote a note about climate change. As the country was facing high risk due to it, so planning to deal with the flood should be an important part of national strategy, he said.

Justice Mansoor said that it was the responsibility of the Ministry of Climate Change and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to prepare a comprehensive plan in that regard.

The SHC had appointed the judges of civil courts as heads of committees monitoring the restoration work in the floodhit areas. The decision was challenged by the Sindh Government before the top court, pleading that it was interference with the powers of the executive.

SC orderS to run awareneSS Campaign about breaSt CanCer, heart diSeaSeS: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday directed the federal government to initiate a public awareness campaign across the

country about breast cancer and heart diseases.

A three member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial heard a suo-moto case regarding the matter.

At the outset of hearing, the court also instructed the additional attorney general to inform the bench after taking instructions from the federal government about the awareness campaign.

Justice Ayesha A. Malik remarked that the governments of Balochistan and Sindh had already submitted their reports. She said that the DRAP was a federal subject and the government should run an awareness campaign to save people.

Additional Attorney General said that the reports of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab were still awaited. He prayed the court to grant some time for taking instructions from the government as the health department was responsible to run this campaign.

Apex court seeks details of beneficiaries of amends to NAB law during PTI rule

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

CM Bizenjo decries Centre’s apathy towards financial crisis of Balochistan

QUETTA Staff RepoRt

Chief Minister Balochistan, Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, Wednesday said that time and again financial crisis of the province had been brought into the notice of federal government, but the policy of federal government was surprising. In a statement, Bizenjo said that the Balochistan government was not able to pay the salaries to government employee. He said that flood affectees of the province were still awaiting relief goods during chilly weather, adding, “We can tackle the issues of our flood and rain affectees if our due share in the NFC is granted to us”. He pointed out though the Prime Minister understood the provincial point of view, the federal departments concerned were not taking the issue seriously. Making an appeal to the Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to visit Quetta along with the teams of federal departments concerned for reviewing the financial crises of the province, he said that the Prime Minister himself had visited the flood affected areas of the province and he knew the situation better than others.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought details from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) regarding the accused who had got relief or were acquitted due to amendments to the NAB Ordinance during the previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, while heading a five-member bench which heard the petition of PTI Chairman Imran Khan against the NAB law amendments, observed that it was a fact that some 386 references were returned by the courts due to recent amendments in the NAB law.

The Federation’s lawyer, Makhdom Ali Khan, said five NAB ordinances were promulgated in the PTI government’s tenure and the question was how many people were acquitted and references returned under those ordinances, besides pinpointing the beneficiaries. He said the recent amendments were in continuity of the old law. The court should not limit itself to only 386 cases as the PTI should also tell that how many references were returned by the courts due to amendments in its government tenure.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remarked that there were also other laws to deal with the crimes if NAB was abolished. It was a wrong impression that the law’s

grip would end with abolishing NAB, and it was also misperception that those acquitted from the NAB cases were deemed as innocent.

Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan observed that the PTI had adopted the stance that the onus to prove charges had been changed in the amended law. It was a question as to how the recent amendments in the NAB law could be applied on the past cases. The amended law could not be applied on the cases initiated since 1985, he added. He remarked that the recent amendments introduced in the NAB law seemed to be an amnesty scheme as an accused would go home if acquitted by an accountability of the charges. The casewas adjourned till January 19.

PPP urges Jamaat to put aside differences for ‘betterment of Karachi’

Sindh Minister for Education Saeed Ghani on Wednesday said that Jamaat-eIslami is on Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) priority for talks over forming an alliance to appoint Karachi’s mayor.

According to the results released in toto by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) more than 48 hours after the vote, the PPP is in the lead with success in 91 Union Councils out of 235,

while JI stands second with victories in 88 UCs, and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) came third after winning in 40 UCs. Amid the finalisation of results, the minister hinted his party might form an alliance with JI but ruled out any possibility to join forces with the party of former prime minister Imran Khan.

Ghani said the information being provided to the Karachi president of the religious party, Naeem ur-Rehman, is not correct. He added that even PPP’s winning candidates have requested

recounting claiming that their votes were less. Criticising the runner-up party, the minister alleged that JI held the returning officer in District West hostage.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah assured Rehman of addressing all his “valid” concerns, as the party keeps Sindh’s ruling party on target regarding the results of local government polls in Karachi. Shah asked Rehman to approach the commission regarding their concerns and promised to play a neutral role in the resolution of JI’s issues.

ECP reinstates membership of 36 legislators following wealth declaration

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reinstated the membership of 36 lawmakers, including 25 members of the National Assembly and six senators, after they submitted details of their assets. The commission had previously suspended the membership of 271 lawmakers for failing to submit statements of their assets and liabilities by the December 31 deadline. The suspended lawmakers included 136 members of the National Assembly, 21 senators, 54 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, 48 members of the Sindh Assembly, and 12 members of the Balochistan Assembly. The reinstated members are now able to function as members of the parliament.

Four security personnel embrace martyrdom in Chukab Sector

RAWALPINDI Staff RepoRt

Four security personnel on Wednesday embraced martyrdom while thwarting a terrorist activity from across Pakistan-Iran Border in Chukab Sector of District Panjgur in Balochistan. According to the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR), the terrorists used Iranian soil to target a convoy of security forces patrolling along the border. It added that the Iranian side was asked to hunt down the terrorists on their side.

Sindh LG polls: PPP, PTI workers clash outside Keamari DC office

SINDH Staff RepoRt

PTI and PPP workers clashed outside the Keamari deputy commissioner’s (DC) office in Karachi on Wednesday, pelting either side with stones during the consolidation of the results of the recently held local government elections in Sindh.

The second phase of the local government elections was held in 16 districts of Sindh on Sunday. However, major contesting parties — including the ruling PPP — had raised concerns raised concerns over an unusual delay in the results in Karachi and blamed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for mismanagement.

The ECP took more than 36 hours to announce the results of 236 union committees of Karachi as the opposition PTI and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) accused the provincial administration of “rigging and managing things” in its favour.

On Wednesday, the PTI accused the PPP

of attacking its workers while the Keamari DC maintained that PTI workers forcibly entered the office and harassed staff.

Keamari DC Mukhtiar Abro, who is also the district returning officer stated that the PTI workers had “encircled” his office.

He alleged that PTI’s Ali Haider Zaidi and others forcibly entered the premises and broke the locks. “The PTI workers ransacked the computer and harassed staff including female returning officers who were busy performing their electoral duty,” he said.

He further said that PTI workers threw stones and broke the windows of several vehicles. He said police took action against the hooliganism and removed the party workers from the DC office.

Abro said a first information report would be lodged against PTI leaders and workers over the incident.

A handout issued by the Keamari police said SSP Fida Hussain Janwari had reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

The statement said district police arrived

at the scene with water cannons and other equipment to deal with any emergency situation. It added that the situation was currently under control and all political workers had been dispersed.

Separately, Talha Hashmi revealed that a reporter and a cameraman had sustained injuries during the clash. He said that the two were provided first aid at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and were later shifted to Aga Khan University.

Zaidi, on the other hand, alleged that he had gone to meet his candidates and talk to the press when PPP “goons prepared with stones and under full protection of Sindh police attacked”.

“Media men and PTI workers sustained injuries,” he said.

Zaidi stated PTI workers were camped outside the DC office since Monday, awaiting the official results. He said that he had visited the office to talk to party workers.

“They already had PPP goons stationed there with sticks and stones, and as soon as

I was set to begin talking to the media, they started throwing them,” he said.

Zaidi alleged that the hooliganism occurred with “police protection”.

PTI Karachi leader Alamgir Khan alleged that PPP workers entered the DC office and vandalised the place, adding that a party worker was “severely injured” in the violence. PTI Senator Faisal Javed also strongly condemned the incident, saying that it was an example of “hooliganism at its peak”. He urged the courts to take notice of the incident.

PTI Karachi president Bilal Ghaffar announced a protest for outside the DC office and instructed party workers to reach the site at 8pm. “The PTI will protest against the Sindh government’s use of official machinery in local elections,” he said.

Meanwhile, PPP Senator Waqar Mehdi said that electoral staff were busy compiling and consolidating the results of the LG polls when the PTI workers, led by Zaidi, Bilal Ghaffar and others, “resorted to hooliganism and attacked PPP workers who were also

present there”.

“The PTI workers also ransacked the offices,” he added. Mehdi said the police had brought the situation under control.

The senator accused the PTI of “creating chaos” in the metropolis as they could “not tolerate their defeat” in the LG polls.

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said condemned the attack by PTI “cronies”.

“After [a] historical defeat, PTI is going crazy and as usual their tolerance level is going low,” he said.

Meanwhile, the ECP took notice of irregularities in six Karachi union councils — three in Orangi Town and one each in Mominabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Manghopir — on the JI’s request.

The ECP fixed their cases for hearing on January 23 (Monday) and issued notices to Sindh Election Commissioner Ejaz Anwar Chauhan, the district returning officers, returning officers, winning candidates and the runner-up candidates of the UCs concerned.

KARACHI Staff RepoRt

China, PakiStan diSCuSS wayS to ProMotE BilatEral touriSM

ISLAMABAD Mian abRaR

ahigh level meeting was held today at China Embassy between Ms. Pang Chunxue, Charge de’ affairs, Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and Mr. Awn Chaudhry, Advisor to Prime Minister on Tourism and Sports and Mr. Aftab ur Rehman Rana, Managing Director of PTDC to discuss the promotion of bilateral tourism between Pakistan and China.

Discussion was held on improving facilitation for the tourists on both sides to enhance people to people contact on the occasion of year 2023 which has been declared by both the countries to be celebrated as the year of China-Pakistan Year of Tourism Exchange.

Mr. Chaudhry conveyed the best wishes to Her Excellency on the occasion of Chinese New Year starting from 22nd January this year. He said, China Pakistan friendship is everlasting and two brotherly counties need to enhance cooperation in tourism sector to increase the flow of tourists from both sides which will be greatly be helpful in improving the people to people contact between the two counters.

Mr. Aftab Rana, MD PTDC especially emphasized on the need to promote group tours through the registered tourism operators of both the countries to provide convenient way to enjoy touristic sites through guided group tours. He also recommended about the

ihC declares appointment of aamir nadeem as nCh registrar illegal

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday upheld the decision of Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (MNHSRC) of 2016 of declaring the appointment of Aamir Nadeem Ramay as Registrar of the National Council for Homeopathy (NCH) illegal. IHC’s Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir rejected the petition of Aamir Nadeem against the ministry’s decision and issued orders for the recovery of salaries from him from 2016 to date, and spend the same on the Council’s operational activities. The court noted that the ministry had tried to save the petitioner in its letter dated December 15, 2022 contrary to its letter of 2016, and directed the Secretary NHSRC to submit a report within one month about the alleged connivance of ministry, the Council and the petitioner after investigation. The ministry in its decison of 2016 had stated that the appointment was made in violation of the rules, but in 2022, it asked the Council to review the case of Aamir Nadeem.

UN blacklists pro-Kashmir cleric Makki as terrorist

ISLAMABAD agencieS

The United Nations has designated a pro-Kashmir cleric being held in Pakistan as a global terrorist, the world body’s second such designation stemming from the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people.

The announcement regarding Abdul Rehman Makki was hailed by India on Tuesday, a day after the decision.

The Foreign Office said Pakistan is itself a victim of terrorism and supports counter-terrorism efforts at the international level, including at the United Nations.

Makki, 68, is a senior figure in the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba group. He was arrested in Punjab in 2019 and convicted in November and December 2020 in two separate cases on charges of terror financing.

Makki was sentenced to one year in prison but officials say he is still in

custody without providing an explanation. He is being held in Punjab pending his appeals, according to several government officials who are familiar with the case.

The UN Security Council committee overseeing sanctions against al-Qaida and Islamic State extremists and their associates put Makki on the sanctions blacklist after approval by the council’s 15 members.

Under the UN measure, Makki’s assets can be frozen and he will also face a travel ban.

Makki is a close relative of Hafiz Saeed, another cleric. Saeed, 72, is serving a 31-year prison sentence and was designated a terrorist by the United States and the UN Security Council.

Saeed, like Makki, was never charged in connection with the Mumbai attacks that strained relations between Pakistan and India. He is the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was blamed by India for the attacks in India.

Major emitters must assist global clean energy transition: Sherry Rehman

DAVOS Staff RepoRt

Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman on Wednesday said, “The historic emitters responsible for the majority of global GHG emissions need to move resources to allow developing and emerging economies to make the energy transition to renewable without compromising development.”

The Federal Minister was at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting being held in Davos. She was speaking at a panel discussion titled ‘Bending the Emissions Curve’ where she was joined by the Chairman of the Board, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Shunichi Miyanaga, Chief Executive Officer, Heineken, Dolf van den Brink, and Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Baker Hughes Lorenzo Simonelli. The panel was moderated by CNBC’s journalist and anchor, Steve Sedgwick.

Minister Rehman said that the commitment towards net-zero by 2050 loses its meaning if the 1.5C target was no longer achievable. “We are on an ambitious track to net-zero but all of that takes a huge pause if the 1.5C target set under the Paris Agreement is under threat, as we are struggling to keep it alive. If we continue business as usual, we are hurtling towards a 3.0C world which will be a race against time for many of us. We experience the burn much faster and harder than anybody else, and in a kind of scale that nobody has seen. We are in geographies of extreme vulnerability and our experience of climate change and global warming

is very nonlinear,” she stated.

Minister Rehman highlighted that the pledges and commitments toward clean energy transition are quickly abandoned when there is a threat to the world’s addiction to excess energy. “A global reset is needed because the addiction to energy and consumption is taking away the futures of those that live in the arc of vulnerability, and also of those living in the developed world. It will be too late to change our addictions and habits to energy consumption as we are speeding towards a planet that’s burning up, with investment in renewable energy not where it needs to be to save the planet.

The Minister remarked that in tackling climate change, we are still working in silos which is counterproductive. “At the moment, there is no standardization of the best practices for regulatory frameworks that could be shared across the board through global governance frameworks and multilateralism. For instance, if such a framework was made available for carbon pricing mechanism, it will then become a regulatory practice that the governments will feel bound to work with. We are still in silos because the multilateral system is not able to overcome the nationalisms that rise up every time there is a threat,” she said. Minister Rehman said that moral imperative only is not enough, and there is a need for a system with clear incentives and penalties as the current system is not working.

Senator Sherry Rehman met with the CEO and Cofounder of Planet Labs, Will Marshall. They discussed the role of space technologies, such as satellites, can lead to several inventions that can benefit the

Monday’s UN Security Council decision came after China lifted a hold on adding Makki, who has been under US sanctions since November 2010.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson at Foreign Office, said: “Pakistan is a victim of terrorism and supports counter-terrorism efforts at the international level including at the United Nations and other multilateral fora.”

Baloch said in a statement that “Pakistan has always called for strict compliance with the Security Council’s listing rules, procedures and established processes to maintain the integrity of the UN counter-terrorism regime.”

Since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, Pakistan and India, which have a history of bitter relations, have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety.

Federal govt approves fixing 20 medicines prices for public relief

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) with the approval of the federal government has fixed the maximum retail prices of specified drugs with listed packing sizes.According to a notification issued by DRAP, the order was issued in exercise of powers conferred by clause (a) of section 7 of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Act, 2012 (XXI of 2012) read with section 12 of the Drugs Act, 1976 (XXXI of 1976). The official of the Ministry of National Health Services said that the federal government has approved the price fixation of 20 medicines in order to give relief to people. He said that the federal government has already approved the proposal to reduce the prices of some medicines upto 30 percent. He said that this step will give relief to those patients suffering from various diseases and who regularly need related medicines for the treatment of blood pressure, cancer, eye diseases, and other medical complications. He said that the government is committed to taking innovative steps to ensure the provision of the best medical care. He added, unfortunately, the past government increased the prices of medicines upto 700 percent. He said that the government is committed to ensure transparency and merit in the affairs of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP). He said that several innovative steps have been taken in the health sector and ensuring the provision of quality medicines is the top priority of the present government.

Sanaullah leaves for london to meet nawaz Sharif

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Wednesday left for London on a private visit. According to PML-N sources, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, who is also PML-N Punjab President will have an important meeting with the party supremo and former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif in London. He will brief the party leader on important issues including the overall political situation of the country. According to sources, the PML-N supremo has expressed his annoyance over the loss and political situation in Punjab and summoned the Interior minister to London. The meeting will also discuss the matter of constituting a parliamentary board, sources added. Earlier, the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) MPAs blamed Special Assistant to Prime Minister Atta Tarar for defeat in the Punjab assembly, 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 SAPM Atta Tarar for 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 PMLN Punjab MPAs walked out of the meeting as a protest, sources added.

opening of Khunjrab Pass for tourist traffic as it provides easy access to the visitors of both the countries. He also shared a brief having various recommendations to promote bilateral tourism with Ms. Pang Chunxue, Charge de Affairs, Chinese Embassy in Pakistan.

Ms. Pang Chunxue highly appreciated the idea of improving people to people contact during the year of 2023 and agreed to provide all support and assistance for the promotion of bilateral tourism between China and Pakistan.

PreSIdent urgeS State organS, buSIneSS CommunIty to joIntly reSolve eConomIC ISSueS

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

PRESIDEnTDr Arif Alvi on Wednesday said the state’s organs, including the parliament, judiciary and executive, and the business community needed to work in tandem to resolve the economic issues.

Talking to the presidents of chambers of commerce and industry from across the country here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, he called for identifying the economic issues faced by the nation and resolving them to bring about political, economic and financial stability.

President Alvi said all those voices who were predicting the derailment of the political and democratic process needed to be discouraged wholeheartedly. Democracy in Pakistan should be sustained and strengthened with each passing day.

The participants of the meeting included the presidents and representatives of 54 chambers of commerce and industry, including women’s chambers of commerce, small and medium chambers of commerce, APTMA (All Pakistan Textile Mills Associ-

ation), P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association), Pakistan Poultry Association, and the Stock Exchange. The representatives of Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sarhad and Rawalpindi chambers of commerce, and the pharmaceutical sector were also present in the meeting. President Alvi said Pakistan was facing an economic situation which necessitated the holding of general elections in agreement and consensus of all political stakeholders to elect a representative and fully empowered government.

He said signing the agreement with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) was an important decision which was likely to help the country overcome its financial and economic difficulties. A representative government mandated by the people could take difficult decisions.

The president termed political stability in the country the basic and most vital element for creating financial and economic stability and stressed the need for all political stakeholders to promptly start negotiations and deliberations on setting out an agreedupon date for holding general elections.

To a question, Dr Alvi appreciated the

Eight militants arrested in Punjab operations: CTD

ISLAMABAD: Eight terrorists were arrested in separate search and combing operations in Punjab, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of police in Punjab said. The CTD has been proactively pursuing its goal of a safe and secure Punjab, and the depart-

ment would not leave any stone unturned in its efforts to send terrorists and anti-state elements behind bars, the Punjab CTD said in a statement.

Police have registered cases against the arrested persons, who have been shifted to an unknown location for further investi-

gation. In the wake of the current wave of terrorism in Pakistan, the provincial counter-terrorism departments of police are carrying out intelligencebased operations across the country to avert any untoward incident, according to government officials. Staff RepoRt

establishment for its intent to avoid involvement in political affairs and stressed upon the political forces to jointly grab the opportunity and resort to democratic means of resolving the issues faced by the nation and lead it toward progress and prosperity.

He said most of the country’s import bill comprised petroleum products used for energy production and transportation, and that could be substantially reduced by adopting an all-encompassing energy, water and gas conservation strategy, which was implementable and could deliver results with the commitment and support of the business community. He also emphasized the shifting of business and industrial processes to green energy, like solar and wind, to not only reduce the import bill but also to protect the environment.

The president said there was no dearth of ideas in Pakistan but there seemed to be a communication gap between decision-making authorities, target populations, and agencies responsible for their implementation. He stated that Pakistan took the right decisions at the right time to contain and counter the COVID-19 pandemic and through coordi-

nated efforts of all the stakeholders, “we were able to defeat the pandemic in an effective manner as compared to regional as well as other countries of the world”.

President Alvi said the women’s chambers of commerce should provide leadership to women entrepreneurs and start-ups, and help them in securing loans from the banks to start and set up their own businesses.

He said although the banks had promised 100% disbursement of loans to all the women applying for loans, unfortunately only 5 percent of them had been availed. He asked the women’s chambers of commerce to lead the way and facilitate women in securing loans to promote their businesses.

He also emphasised the need to utilize the skill training programmes launched by Meta to help women gain marketable skills and sell their products and services online.

The president said Pakistan needed to promote the cottage industry in the country, especially at the grassroots level, adding that unlike the prevailing thinking, the scope of the cottage industry had expanded to include gemstone and diamond processing, chip design, and other sophisticated fields.

He also sought the focus of the business community in five areas of importance, including the provision of a harassment-free work environment to women working in businesses, factories and industries. Women’s inclusion and financial empowerment was the most important step for the economic growth of the country, he added.

He said differently-abled persons, who made up about 10 per cent of the population, were not included in the economic mainstream, and stressed upon the business community to create customized and productive jobs to give them gainful employment which also added value to the employers.

He said the business community’s active involvement was needed for reducing the burden of mental health issues which was at 24 percent in Pakistan, reducing the mortality rate due to breast cancer, and bringing out-of-school children to the school system.

He expressed his dismay over the dismal situation of the primary school enrollment rate of children in Pakistan, which as per the World Bank’s latest report was only 68 percent, whereas in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, it was over 98 percent.

Security forces kill four terrorists in Balochistan raid

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Security forces killed four terrorists during a raid in the Hoshab district of Balochistan, the military’s public affairs wing said on Wednesday. According to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement, an Intelligence-Based Operation (IBO) was conducted in Talsar, Hoshab based on a tip-off about the presence of militants. During the exchange of fire, all four terrorists were killed, while a cache of arms and ammunition including improvised explosive devices (IEDs) was also recovered from their possession, it said. The law and order situation in the country has worsened over the

past few months, with terrorist groups executing attacks with near impunity across the country. Insurgents in Balochistan have also stepped up their violent activities, formalising a nexus with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the terrorist group responsible for killing tens of thousands of people between 2007 and 2014.

In 2022, Pakistan witnessed 376 attacks resulting in an increased number of casualties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The terrorist group has been emboldened by a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, and once again poses a threat to Pakistan, albeit in a geographically limited region. Because the TTP have sanctuary in Afghanistan, Islamabad increasingly finds itself out of options when it comes to dealing effectively with the group.

Parts of Balochistan receive snowfall, downpour

QUETTA Staff RepoRt

Parts of Balochistan, including Quetta, received the first snowfall and downpour of winter on Wednesday.

The provincial capital of Balochsitan Quetta, Ziarat, Kan Mehtarzai, Muslim Bagh, Qila Abdullah and some other areas received snowfall that started early in the morning and continued till evening.

The rain followed by snowfall started in Quetta on Wednesday morning and continued with brief intervals throughout the day. Hilltops around Quetta city also received light snowfall at the night.

Continued snowfall affected traffic flow at Kan Mehtarzai and roads leading to Ziarat and some others areas of northern Balochistan. However, on the directives of the Home and Tribal Affairs department, the PDMA and local administration have started operations to remove snow from the roads allowing a smooth flow of traffic.

As per the weather forecast by the Metrological Department for the next 24 hours, rain-snowfall over the hills is also predicted in Balochistan on Thursday.

Court testifies two witnesses in Sara Inam case

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

A local court on Wednesday testified two more witnesses in the murder case of Canadian national Sara Inam killed by her husband Shahnawaz Amir and adjourned the hearing till January 25. The court continued hearing of the arguments and cross-examination of the witnesses during the hearing. At the outset of the proceedings, medical expert Dr. Bushra said that there was an injury of around 12 centimeters on the forehead of the deceased. There were multiple injuries on the face, arms, hands, back and ear of the slain woman. Dr. Bushara said that there were several fractures on the head of the victim.

A westerly wave is likely to enter north Balochistan on 18th January and produce rain/snowfall in parts of Balochistan till 19th January. Under the influence of this weather system rain/snowfall (isolated heavy fall) is expected in Quetta, Zhob, Barkhan, Ziarat, Chaman, Pishin, nokkundi, Dalbandin, Harnai, Qilla Saifullah, Qilla Abdullah, Muslim Bagh, Kalat, Khuzdar, Turbat, Panjgur and Makran coast on 18th & 19th January.

PML-N bLaMes ex-GeNeraLs, juDGes for

Poor PerforMaNce iN NeW eLectioN PLaN

ISLAMABAD/LONDON Staff RepoRt

tHEleadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) party is appeared to be shifting its focus to an aggressive narrative against five individuals, who it claims are responsible for the current economic and political turmoil.

Party leaders have recommended to chief Nawaz Sharif that it should target former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, former spy chief Faiz Hameed, retired chief justices Saqib Nisar and Asif Saeed Khosa, and former prime minister Imran Khan for his removal on corruption charges in 2017 and purportedly rigging the 2018 elections in favour of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), according to reports in Geo News and Dawn.

The PML-N is said to blame retired

all costs”.

Wapda chief reviews pace of work on Nai Gaj Dam

HYDERABAD Staff RepoRt

Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda)

Chairman Engineer Lt-Gen (r) Sajjad Ghani

Wednesday directed the project management to make concerted efforts for minimizing adverse impact of the recent flood on implementation of Nai Gaj Dam, being constructed on River Gaj, 65-Km North-West of Dadu in Sindh province.

According to the Wapda spokesman, the chairman expressed the views while presiding over a meeting held to review post-flood scenario on Nai Gaj Dam project. The meeting was attended by Wapda Member (water), General Manager (projects) South, Project Director Nai Gaj Dam and Project Managers of the Consultants and the Contractor.

A detailed presentation was made during the meeting about the pre and post-flood situation on the project. It was briefed that construction work on the project had resumed last month, which remained suspended about five months due to the devastating flood in the project area. At present, work is continuing on different sites of the project including the main dam and the spillway. The Chairman, underlining significance of the project, emphasized upon the project management to chalk out a contingency plan to offset possible delays in the way to completion of the project.

Nai Gaj Dam is a multi-purpose project and main objectives of the project are to store water for irrigation, mitigate floods and generate low-cost hydel electricity. It will have a gross water storage capacity of 300,000 acre feet with command area of 28,800 acres of land. The installed generation capacity of the project stands at 4.2 MW. The project is scheduled for completion by the end 2024.

— without naming him when he still held the army chief’s post and later naming him after his retirement.

Gen. Syed Asim Munir replaced Bajwa, who had held the all-powerful post for six years, including a three-year extension, in November last year. The appointment was a subject of considerable political contention in 2022 — a major part of the reason Khan was ousted from power was his falling out with the military on questions over the appointments to top army offices.

Khan also targeted other generals for what he claimed was their failure in stopping the foreign-funded no-confidence motion against him. However, he has refrained from criticising Hameed, whom he wanted to continue as the director general of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency for a variety of domestic and regional reasons.

IHC rejects Swati’s request to serve contempt notice to CDA

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday rejected a request of Senator Azam Swati seeking to serve contempt of court notice to CDA for conducting an operation against his farm house.

The court also clubbed the petition of Azam Swati’s son with the main case while rejecting his request for initiating contempt proceedings against the CDA.

Justice Arbab Tahir heard the petition filed by Tahir Swati, son of Azam Swati. The court said that so far it was seeking written comments from the respondents besides clubbing the case.

The court remarked that it had not issued such orders for which the petitioner had requested to lodge a contempt of court case. The court observed that the petitioner had requested it to stop CDA from demolishing

the illegal structure as the applicant was ready to raise it.

The bench noted that the petitioner had never prayed the court to de-seal the property. Further hearing of the case was adjourned till March 6.

Top cop orders posting of one female SHO in every district of Punjab

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Punjab Inspector General of Police Aamir Zulfiqar Khan Wednesday ordered the posting of at least one female SHO in every district of the province within the next five days.

The IG Punjab directed Additional IG Training to ensure the posting of women SHOs in all the districts of the province and submit a report in due time.

“The posting of women officials at women help desks established in all districts should be ensured at all costs so that women police officers can help women citizens who are victims of crime and social stigma.”

Punjab IG Police Aamir Zulfiqar Khan issued the instructions while presiding over a high-level meeting at Safe City Authorities, Head Office here in Qurban Lines. In the meeting, future agenda of the Women Police Conference and the professional issues of women police employees were discussed.

The IGP directed CCPO Lahore to utilize all available resources to provide better environment and facilities in Ladies Police Hostel in Qila Gujar Singh Police Lines. He directed that women police person-

nel in all districts of the province should be included short refresher courses on regular basis to increase their efficiency and capacity. The IG Police said that encouragement of women police officials who performed diligently was the need of the hour. In this regard, in the region I visit, women employees with good performance should be nominated for appreciation certificates and awards. In the meeting, decisions and suggestions made during the first women police conference held at Al Hamra Hall in collaboration with Punjab Police, USIP and Punjab Council for Human Rights were discussed. USIP Country Director, Imran Khan, Amna Kayani, Punjab Council for Human Rights Executive Director Shafiq Chaudhry, and women police officers also presented their suggestions. The IGP directed that concrete steps should be taken to resolve problems of women police employees across the province in the light of the suggestions of the Women Police Conference.

Additional IG Training, DIG Welfare, AIG Admin and Security, USIP Country Director Imran Khan, Punjab Council for Human Rights Executive Director Shafiq Chaudhry and other officers were also present in the meeting.

LHc seeks govt’s reply in petition seeking identification of heirless bodies

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has sought the Punjab govt’s response in a plea seeking the identification of heirless bodies.

Justice Sajid Sethi heard the plea of Azhar Siddique Advocate. The LHC bench after hearing the initial arguments of the applicant sought the Punjab government’s response to the plea and directed it to submit a detailed report regarding steps being taken to identify heirless bodies.

The TLTP learnt that the Punjab government has been directed to also provide details about the number of identified heirless bodies.

Azhar Siddique Advocate in his plea said that heirless bodies kept at the various hospitals of the province are being humiliated, which is a violation of human rights. Further hearing on the plea has been adjourned until February 7.

On October 13, last year, Adviser to the Punjab Chief Minister, Chaudhry Zaman Gujjar, spotted unclaimed bodies left abandoned on the roof of Nishtar Hospital in Multan.

The videos showed the horrors of Nishtar Hospital’s dead house packed with rotten bodies. In the videos and pictures, some bodies and old wooden cot were thrown on the floor.

Khan summoned in female judge threatening case

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Wednesday summoned former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in a case related to his ‘threatening’ remarks against a female judge.

Imran Khan, who was asked to appear before the court in person but he skipped the hearing and an associate lawyer Sardar Masroof appeared before the court.

The TLTP learnt that the hearing was adjourned until January 24 as senior judge Rana Majid had been on leaves. PTI chairman Khan has been directed to ensure his court appearance on the next hearing.

A terrorism case was registered against Imran Khan in Margalla police station for allegedly using derogatory language and threatening Additional Session Judge Zeba Chaudhry in his speech in Islamabad on August 20.

However, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Sep 19 ordered removal of terrorism sections from the case registered against the PTI chief for threatening the woman judge and officials of Islamabad police.

KP governor formally disbands provincial assembly, paving way for snap election

Staff RepoRt

The parliament of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was dissolved on Wednesday after Governor Ghulam Ali approved the summary sent by the chief minister, Mahmood Khan, paving the way for an early election at a time of rising popular discontent over worsening economic conditions and curbs on public freedoms.

The move comes days after the dissolution on a similar pattern of the 397-member Punjab Assembly, as former prime minister Imran Khan has vowed to step away from the “corrupt political system” and force snap elections by resigning from the provincial

legislatures where his Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI) party is in power.

Khan has also banked on his popularity and wide grassroot support to force elections, and has since his ouster staged rallies across the country, calling for the vote.

According to the Constitution, the assembly was automatically disbanded 48 hours after the chief minister called for it to be dissolved. The Constitution also stipulates that elections must be held within 90 days.

A notification from the governor’s office was sent to the chief minister and Akram Khan Durrani, leader of the opposition, saying the assembly and the provincial cabinet were dissolved with immediate effect, in accordance with Section 1 of Article

112 of the Constitution.

The notification further read that in terms of Section 4 of Article 224-A, “the incumbent chief minister, Mahmod Khan, shall continue to hold office to perform dayto-day affairs of the province till the appointment of the caretaker chief minister.”

According to Article 224(1-A) of the Constitution, the governor must appoint a caretaker chief minister within three days, with the help of the chief minister and leader of the opposition in the outgoing parliament.

During this period, the governor’s office will be available for consultation without the need for a formal appointment.

The former prime minister has been demanding general elections since he was

ousted in April after losing a contentious vote of confidence marred by allegations of military involvement. He has also led nationwide protests against his successor, Shehbaz Sharif.

Sharif has repeatedly rejected Khan’s demands, saying elections will be held as scheduled later this year. As for the provincial assembly elections, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said the government will hold snap polls as necessary.

In Punjab, government spokesman Musarrat Cheema told Reuters the process to choose a caretaker government to oversee the polls was underway. “We want this process to be completed as soon as possible so that we head toward elections,” she said.

Pakistan is due to hold general elections

later this year. Snap elections in both provinces, in addition to general elections later this year, would be an expensive and logistically complicated exercise for a government dependent on aid.

The central government claims Khan’s tactics are damaging the economy. Pakistan has struggled with the aftermath of unprecedented floods that devastated the country last summer and which experts say were exacerbated by climate change. It is also facing a serious financial crisis and unabating militant violence.

Political analysts said this pressure played into Khan’s demands, although any local assembly elections did not constitutionally trigger a national election.

generals Bajwa and Hameed for implementing a “plan to bring Khan to power at

Since his ouster from power through a contentious vote of no confidence in April last year, Khan has attacked Bajwa

PESHAWAR

Worse every day

Tum Nahin Chara Gar

Jalib remains relevant today

THERE is an element of self-parody in the shenanigans displayed by politicians. The federal government’s reaction to the PTI’s dissolution of the Punjab Assembly was to notify 35 more resignations of PTI MNAs. The PTI then decided that the consequent 33 by-elections (as two are women’s reserved seats) would all be contested by party chief Imran Khan. The PDM coalition’s response in turn was to decide not to contest any of those seats. Mr Khan is thus headed to add another 33 unopposed to the six seats to which he has already been elected. His original seat (NA-71, Mianwali-1) is also in doubt, because the Election Commission of Pakistan has disqualified him from it in the Toshakhana Reference. Mr Khan is in appeal against this decision.

As a matter of fact, the seven by-election wins have not been notified, because he has not yet declared his election expenses on any. Normally, he would opt for one seat and by-elections would be held on the rest, but now it seems he is to hold 40 seats hostage. That is almost comic, and almost hides the arbitrariness of how Speaker Pervez Ashraf has behaved. After hanging on to the resignations for nearly 10 months, he is accepting them without the personal appearance on which he relied on as a reason to keep them pending.

There seems no way out of the current political crisis except to give Mr Khan what he wants and allow him the National Assembly dissolution he craves.If the PDM government had shown it had some sort of roadmap towards taking the country out of its present crisis, there would have been some point towards them remaining in office. However, it has nothing except hope, that grows more forlorn with each passing day. However, being politicians, they hope that matters will improve enough for them to face the electorate, which they cannot do at the moment. One problem with the latest developments is that they do not take the country an inch towards taking the painful but necessary steps that alone can begin to reverse the economic crisis. It is true that any party elected to office will try to duck hard decisions, but the legitimacy that a new government will have after elections will exceed that of the current government.

IT was Habib Jalib the poet of resistance who roared, “Tum Nahin Chara Gar” (you aren’t the healer). His defiance was unmatched. After Ayub Khan the first usurper abrogated the 1956 unanimously agreed constitution to be replaced with his version in 1962, Jalib read his famous poem ‘Dastur’ (Constitution) in a mushaira (poetic symposium) in Murree. Fearing the wrath of the evil empire, his friends tried to intervene and stop him but he kept going “ Main Nahin Manta” (I don’t accept). “ Tum Nahin Chara Gar” his voice reverberated across the country when out of fear silence prevailed.The entire opposition had been silenced by the use of brute force. Fearing for his life Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy the Ex-Prime Minister (PM) went into self-exile in Beirut.

Ayub Khan (PA 10), the first Desi Sipah-e-Salar, was promoted against merit by PM Liaquat Ali Khan. It is widely believed that this appointment was made under extreme external pressure as Ayub neither met the criteria of seniority nor prior performance nor

professional excellence. Both the PM and the country had to pay a heavy price for this out of turn promotion. In 1951 the PM was assassinated, Khawaja Nazimuddin was replaced as Governor General by Baboo Ghulam Muhammad (Gamma). The establishment players (Gamma, Ayub, Iskander) had hatched a conspiracy against the nascent democratic order and freedom. Finally on 7 October 1958 the Sipah-e-Salar imposed Martial Law, and decided to be the ‘Chara Gar’. ‘ Civilian supreracy ‘was seriously compromised. A new phrase was coined; ‘Bloody Civilian’.

Instead of the much needed human development the ‘Chara Ga ‘ decided on ‘Elite Capture’. Jalib highlighted the plight of the common man for which he was kept in jai,l but he refused to be silenced. While the ground realities remained grim for the masses, the wealth of the nation came in the control of the few selected folks. Common good was rendered uncommon. As Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan refused to be a pawn in the Soviet-US Cold war. He refused to sign on the dotted lines. The Chara Gar’ promised subservience and loyalty to the West in return for power in the land of the pure. No country in the world ever surrendered its rights of river waters that flow to the sea. In violation of the international Lower-Riparian laws, the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) was signed by the ‘Chara Gar’ under which three rivers were surrendered to India (Ravi, Sutlej, Beas).

As the World Bank had brokered the deal, loans were provided to build dams to store water. While Mangla Dam was completed, work started on Tarbela Dam.

In the propaganda campaign the acquisition of Gwadar and the building of Warsak Dam were also credited to the ‘Chara Gar’ against the factual position. Warsak was built on River Kabul by Qayyum Khan with Canadian assistance while Gwadar was acquired by Feroze Khan Noon. Till October 1958, the republic was debt free, today it is mired in loans. While India under constitutional civilian rule decided on the utilization of its own resources for industrialization, Pakistan under the ‘Chara Gar’ pursued a different course which led to corruption and

concentration of wealth in a few hands (22 Groups).

In over a decade of his misrule (October 1958 to March 1969) not a single university was established.

Punjab University, the oldest seat of higher education, was shifted from the city centre to the outskirts with the purpose of isolating the student protests. A similar strategy was adopted by the third usurper in the 1970s when the Polytechnic on Peshawar Road in Rawalpindi was shut down and converted into the College of Signals under the control of the armed forces.

The first ‘Chara Gar’ was replaced by the second who then presided over the break-up of the country. The third decided to go after the civilian institutions painfully built by the founding fathers. Pakistan Railway (PR), one of the largest public sector entities, came under attack. The professional leadership of PR resisted the onslaught. Chairman Engr Abul Kalam and secretary Shehzad Ahmed Khan both resigned in protest. WAPDA was also not spared. While the lucrative freight business of PR was handed over to a NLC (National Logistics Cell), Mechanized Construction of Pakistan (MCP) was shut down and its machinery transferred to FWO (Frontier Works Organization), both under the control of the ‘Chara Gar’.

While the 1956 Constitution was abrogated by the first ‘ Chara Gar ‘ the 1973 version came under attack by the ‘Chara Gars’ that followed. The disfigured document has been restored to some extent but infringements remain.

The change of government in April 2022 is another act of ‘Chara Gar’. This time it has been the hidden hand. The current struggle is for restoration of ‘Civilian Supremacy’ through a free and fair election before the situation gets out of hand.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Jalib could not see the blossoming of flowers under the ‘Chara Gar’. c’Rind’ (thirsty) can no longer wait for their goblets to be filled, “Main Nahin Manta”. Your promises are all futile while my thirst is overwhelming and wrenching. “Tum Nahin Chara Gar”.

The writer is ex-Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be contacted at: fmaliks@hotmail.com.

The goblets remained empty for the needy. After over 75 years of its existence not much has changed in the land of the pure.

Editor

‘Chara Gars’ have ensured continuity of the dreaded status quo while the nation sinks in poverty and stagnation. Change is inevitable and unstoppable

Premature elections and votes of confidence

The new situation demands deft handling

even though the federal government’s apparently diligent efforts to revive the economy seem to demand in the national interest that it should be given a chance to complete its constitutional term, However, if this does not happen and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is not successful in this after the demand for a vote of confidence, then the general elections may be held before time.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is on the way to obtain its demand of early general elections across the country and in this regard, other options are also being considered after the dissolution of provincial assemblies, while PDM leaders say that re-elections will be held on the vacated seats of the National Assembly along with the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leadership has decided to end its power in two provinces to force the PDM government to hold general elections across the country in the federation before the completion of its constitutional term. If despite this the ruling alliance refrains from holding general elections, former Prime Minister Imran Khan says that then the process of taking a vote of confidence from the National Assembly against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be implemented.

A multi-party government was established on the basis of a nominal majority and the decision of any ally to leave the alliance could lead to its demise,

General elections in the country will be held on time but how is it possible that provincial and by-elections are held in 70 percent of the country a few months before the general elections and then a few months later the election of the National Assembly will be held? The country cannot afford two elections in such a short period of time, nor can it spend so much on these elections in the current economic crisis so it will have to move to general elections once.

On the one hand, the ruling alliance is reluctant to hold general elections and on the other hand, they are trying to convince people that they will not be affected by the dissolution of the assemblies. It is not correct for the coalition leadership to say that the dissolution of the two provincial assemblies and the resignation of PTI members from the National Assembly, will make no difference or increase the political crisis. At this time a major political crisis has arisen in the country along with a serious economic crisis. The current ruling coalition has no other option but to go for general elections.

is also an increase in external pressure to bring political stability in the country first for economic aid.

However, Rana Sanaullah says that if PTI wants, the general elections will be held on time while Imran Khan claims that the general elections in the country should be held in April. How will it be possible to hold general elections when the powerful circles have given an indication of non-interference in politics?

The general elections in the country should be held on time or early in changing circumstances, but until the end of political partisanship, political and economic stability will not be brought in the country. In this situation, the best strategy should be for the political leadership to sit together and create a consensus on fair elections, and there should also be a consensus that the results of the elections will be accepted so that the country can practically come out of the crisis situation.

If we really want to find a solution to the problems then we have to come out of our personal and political interests because this policy of continuous conflict in politics is not in the national interest and it is still not too late. Elections can be held prematurely for the elimination of political confrontation. If the political parties do not show responsibility and continue the policy of conflict or mistrust, then the benefit will be to the nonpolitical forces as compared to the political and democratic forces and once again the political forces will be left empty-handed.

The writer tweets @AttiyaMunawer

The latest developments are merely making the crisis deeper

Although the ruling alliance is not ready to hold early elections now they have no other option and holding early elections is not even against the constitution, and if the PDM leadership is not ready for early elections in the changing circumstances of the time then PTI will also benefit from this.

On the one hand, the leadership of Pakistan

Tehreek-e-Insaf is hinting that after the dissolution of the provincial assemblies, they will return to the National Assembly for the caretaker set-up and on the other hand, they are also hinting that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will receive a vote of confidence. The PTI leadership is forcing the ruling coalition to announce general elections in the country, where pressure from the opposition is escalating. There

If we really want to find a solution to the problems then we have to come out of our personal and political interests because this policy of continuous conflict in politics is not in the national interest and it is still not too late. Elections can be held prematurely for the elimination of political confrontation. If the political parties do not show responsibility and continue the policy of conflict or mistrust

Dr FAriD A. MAlik

Yousaf Nizami

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

M. A. Niazi Joint Editor

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

AttiyAMunAwer

Balochistan is a black hole for human rights violations

Ending insurgency requires removal of grievances

FOR the last seven and half decades, tens of thousands of Baloch have been killed, violating their right to live securely. The ongoing conflict between Baloch nationalists and government of Pakistan over the rule of Balochistan has resulted in the ill-treatment of people and human rights violations. There were insurgencies in the region time and again: 1948, 1958 to 1959, 1962 to 1965, 1973 to 1977. After the last four insurgencies, another nationalist movement began in the 2000s which has continued till date.

It is estimated that 4000 people were reportedly detained in the province only in the period of 2002 to 2005. Of these, only 200 were produced in court. However, the law enforcement agencies have been accused of massive human rights abuses in Balochistan by Human Rights Watch, with the disappearance of hundreds of activists. Sadly, 1102 people disappeared from the region only in 2008. A number of bodies were found on roadsides having been shot in the head.

Baloch are usually tortured, abducted and their rights violated. Why is Balochistan a black hole of human rights violations? What are the motives that extremism in the society is so high? Are Baloch born to live under such conditions?

The human rights situations in Balochistan is appalling. The Pakistan government does not live up to its constitutional responsibilities though UN working groups make recommendations against human rights violations. The worst human rights violations take place in Balochistan that show how the state has failed to accommodate the socio-culture and grievances of the Baloch. People of Balochistan face human rights violations on a daily basis; people are eliminated from their land, their resources are extracted against their will, even people were removed from their houses for the sake of CPEC projects.

So, this is the province where human rights are in danger. This is the province where Baloch are routinely attacked, made to disappear and abducted. Meanwhile, it is too bad that the devastating consequences of human rights violations are apparent as Baloch are surviving on the edge of the stake. Multiple lives of the Baloch are targeted and claimed.

The above heart-rending situation of the Baloch is the worst and poisons the seeds slumbering beneath the soil, visible to the eye. They wait only for the right kind of rain to come before speedily blooming into a harvest of hate. This rain, in Balochistan’s regard, are insurgents. And now it is time to reap. Now it seems as if it were a norm for people of Balochistan to face human rights violations, especially those who are the most educated, well talented, skillful and intellectual.

In addition, the lives of ordinary Baloch are on a rollercoaster ride – the Baloch are repeatedly made to walk into dark walls. This serious issue has never been as simple as it is painted. It is the inability of the ruling party that Baloch are forcibly taken away, made to disappear, mistreated and killed. In essence, as far as Baloch are concerned, the authorities could do no right. Even after claiming lives of a great deal of people, there are demands that the province should be reviewed so that amendments could be made.

Although human rights are the basic rights and freedom that belong to every person in the world from birth until death, and are applied regardless of where you are from, what you believe or how you choose to live, Baloch are still extrajudicially killed and disappeared by force.

Though the basic rights are based on shared values, like dignity, fairness, equality, respect and independence, and though people have the right to express their own opinions, the right not to be mistreated or wrongly punished by the state, the Baloch nation is deprived from all these rights.

The pure land has the population of 12.34 million and there are an estimated 6.9 million Baloch in the country; unfortunately, they see tragic episodes of dismemberment of the country. A bird’s eye view of the history of the sufferings of the Baloch makes one understand why Balochistan is a simmering volcano today.

At the time of independence, Balochistan consisted of four princely states – Kalat, Lasbela, Kharan, and Makran. Balochistan was given two options; accession to India or accession to Pakistan.

When they asked for the third option, they were disregarded. However, Balochistan was, as Khan of Kalat of the time Yar Ahmed Khan accepts in his biography, annexed to Pakistan on 28 March 1948. The Khan of Kalat was forced to sign the instrument of accession. It was agreed in the agreement that the province will have autonomy over all its affairs except defence, external affairs and communication which would be dealt with by the federal government, but this agreement, regretfully, remained a dead letter.

its own town of Sui. Even the provincial capital, Quetta, got gas connections in 1970, while it reached Lahore and Karachi by 1955. Sadly, even today, out of 34 districts, only 14 have access to natural gas.

Let alone this, 85 percent of the population has no access to safe drinking water, around 75 percent is deprived of access to electricity, 70 percent do not have access to education and 63 percent are living below the poverty line. This scenario shows that the rulers are not interested in Balochistan, but they are only interested in its land for its natural resources and strategic location.

To go deeper, Baloch have less representation in central bureaucracy and other federal government bodies. Hence, it can be inferred that Baloch have genuine grievances. Our rulers have never heeded to the sufferings and legal demands of the masses. Despite tackling the issues through negotiations, the authorities’ approach towards insurgents leads to destruction.

A life without violence is essential to health. This is just a slice of what Baloch are facing, if nothing is done, nobody can live in peace in the province. There are cries for help, all pleading to be saved from torments here, where a victim is turned into an oppressor, and targets of conspiracy into conspirators

In 1954, the government merged all the four provinces into One Unit. Consequently, the Baloch protested against this scheme as it would create a Baloch identity crisis under the influence of the population of Punjab. Thus, violence erupted in the 1960s. Instead of diffusing the tension politically, President Ayub Khan deployed over 1000 troops in Balochistan to quell the upsurge. Such repressive behaviour towards Balochistan has led to threats till today.

On the other hand, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto dismissed the government of Balochistan. He justified his action, maybe genuinely or as a ploy to teach a lesson to Baloch leaders who were bold to demand authority over their own provincial resources. Resultantly, protests started against this action of the federal government, and Bhutto sent 80,000 troops to crush the rebellion.

The exploitation of resources has made the Baloch resentful. Balochistan, being enriched in natural resources like gas, copper, gold and other reserves, has been exploited over the years. Natural gas, for example, was discovered in Sui in 1952, but this gas has never reached

Editor’s mail

Domestic Violence

DOMESTIC violence is monster and rampant in different shapes in all spheres of life. There have been rules and laws announced and we have been monitoring in media channels that even females from parliaments have been presenting such issues to be taken care on priorities.

What is the value of woman in our culture, society and in our families?

It’s a Big question mark. As even after such laws reforms and long march women march, conferences, women NGOs etc. Nothing good happened for ladies still. Even today we can see women with scars, coming to their work places whether working for organizations or working for some house as a maid. WHY? Don’t they have right to live a happy life if not a rich or full of luxuries life?

Just a couple of days back a guy in our aunt’s neighborhood hit his wife just cause she didn’t make the *ROTI* proper with vegetable. Did he fear how much pain she will be facing on her swollen eye with blue skin. How she will go to work in such condition? Actually it’s not just one case there are thousands and many are not even taken care.

I would request our law and order situation authorities to take care of such events eventually and accordingly so that the people who are suffering the ladies who are suffering cannot face this trauma anymore and they can take care very well. They have got the right to live properly in their countries in their families and in their communities so my perception is like there should be appropriate law and order for such cases and it should be implemented not just announced. When they will be implemented, obviously it will be a fear for that man who is taking such kind of acts on the women. I wish the concerned authorities should acknowledged and take productive steps to stop this trauma for the females if our country.

RobaiSha LiShaRbEEn LahoRE

Merit in selection

THE performance of the national cricket team during an active home season, which ended with the Test series against New Zealand, has left the nation of cricket-lovers saddened. The team and its management suffer from lack of vision and inability to rectify inherent faults. It seems that they are not in a frame of mind to analyse causes objectively and take corrective measures to put up a better show.

Our players fail to play Test cricket the way they need to. It is high time the team was selected without myopic considerations of ethnicity and regional bias. A few changes made during the New Zealand series should be an eye-opener for all concerned. Besides, there is a great and urgent need to inculcate interest in youth and give them good playing environment so that we may have more and better options to have a professionally balanced national team in the years ahead.

Shoaib ahMaD SiDDiQUi iSLaMabaD

Dust in place of road

Recently, former CM Akhtar Mengal has highlighted six points that include: recovery of missing persons, implementation of National Action Plan, implementation of six percent quota for Balochistan in federal government, immediate repatriation of Afghan refugees, and construction of dams in the province to resolve the acute water crisis. To pacify Balochistan cauldron, and to resolve its decades old issues, the state should remove grievances of Baloch people, which may be a game changer for Baloch to bring peace to their province.

A life without violence is essential to health. This is just a slice of what Baloch are facing, if nothing is done, nobody can live in peace in the province. There are cries for help, all pleading to be saved from torments here, where a victim is turned into an oppressor, and targets of conspiracy into conspirators.

Needless to say, if authorities do not act upon the issues, there is no doubt all Baloch will have to raise their voices. For much of the violence occurring in Balochistan, the government has little choice but to implement law and review the province. It is heartening that police turn blind when it comes to human rights violations. The practical obstacles are so many, but by upholding the rights of people, governing bodies can act effectively on the issues.

It is hoped that those responsible for such reforms will take their duties honestly. What we need is strict implementation of law and a permanent solution to problems is the only way to come out of bygone era. Let’s hope that immediate steps will be taken to fulfill the commitment to protect and promote rights of people and ensure a safe environment.

The

writer is a freelance columnist

LAST year, a meme portraying a driver soaked in mud with the words ‘welcome to Sakran Road’ had gone viral. It was a true depiction of the dilapidated road which is one of the main routes connecting many populated areas of Hub, finally leading to Dureji.

Those who use the road are beyond recognition at the end of the journey; such is the impact of the dust that shrouds commuters from head to toe. The road is frequently used by students and office-goers, and almost all of them have started carrying an extra set of clothes with them because once they reach their respective destinations, the clothes they are wearing are ‘unwearable’ owing to the layer of dust on them.

The road saw intermittent repair works when senior staff and workers of a well-known cement brand used to take the route for their commute. After they started using an alternative route, the road has been left unattended. The road serves only one purpose. It is a point-scoring gimmick for politi-cians to promise its repair ‘in due course of time’. Without the road in such a bad shape, one wonders what the politicians would be selling to the public when they come to seek their votes.

Teaching English the wrong way

IT is a classic humdinger of intellectual and educational myopia we suffer from as a nation that we teach English as a subject, not as a language, to our students. The consequence of the approach is that a majority of students with a master’s degree in English cannot pen down an article or essay on their own in that language.

Students are initiated in the subject right from the playgroup level. They reach secondary or higher secondary level without being able to paraphrase a stanza of a poem or explain a prose paragraph. It is an irony that these students are taught to translate a prose paragraph into Urdu (a question reserved for Urdu medium students) instead of explaining it in English (a condition exclusively for English medium students).

Whenever there is a question related to translation of a Urdu passage into English, or vice versa, there is always an alternative question available exclusively for English medium students to translate or explain an Englishlanguage paragraph in English. The majority prefers to take the former option because they have not been taught English as a language.

When an educational institution claims to have English as the medium of instruction, it should ensure that the whole teaching and learning process is conducted in that very language. But it cannot happen because the teachers themselves do not have the capacity to do that. Even the elite schools and colleges struggle on this count. Compared to our traditional examination system, the Cambridge system teaches English as a language. Students’ creativity is encouraged and they are motivated to write on their own. For instance, in the traditional system, students are asked to write stories on the given proverbs or axioms. Teachers make them parrot readymade stories, mostly and roughly based on Aesop’s fables. On the contrary, students in the other stream write stories creatively based on their own observations, experiences and imagination. Students in traditional educational system perform poorly at the university level because they are not groomed properly at the preceding levels where the syllabus is so cumbersome that it leaves no time for students to enjoy random reading.

M. naDEEM naDiR KaSUR

AyeshA PeerAl

QAssem soleimAni’s AssAssinATion hAs bAckfired on The Us And isrAel

altered the middle east’s strategic landscape? Has his removal fulfilled the purpose for which it was conceived?

NO IMMINENT THREAT: more has come out about the assassination. at the time, the Donald Trump administration claimed that Soleimani was killed to preempt a major strike that he was planning. This has now been debunked. There was no imminent threat from iran against US personnel in the region to justify the strike carried out in Baghdad on 3 January 2020.

duced significant economic results, mainly with the Uae.

important developments are also forthcoming with Bahrain and morocco, but it is still too early to say if they will have a strategic impact. Until Saudi arabia, jewel in the crown of israeli normalisation with the arab world, joins the abraham accords, the judgment remains suspended.

Middle east eye MArco cArnelos

TwO years have passed since Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of iran’s islamic revolutionary Guard corps (irGc), was killed by a US drone strike on the tarmac of Baghdad airport. Soleimani was the brain behind iran’s shadow war in the middle east, and for years the counterpart of US central command (centcom) leaders and cia directors, as he boasted about in a text message he allegedly sent to General David Petraeus, the former US military commander in iraq. in the process, Soleimani became a local hero against western hegemony in the region, the main enabler of the resistance for large Shia constituencies spread around iran, iraq, Syria, Lebanon, afghanistan, Yemen and Gaza. But he also crossed the sectarian divide, garnering significant support from the Kurds and other Sunnis. millions turned out onto the streets of Tehran and his hometown of Kerman to see his coffin, in a collective show of grief not seen since the funeral of ayatollah Khomeini in 1989.

For the west, israel, their arab partners, the Syrian opposition to Bashar al-assad, and the Yemeni opposition to the Houthis, he was the mastermind of iran’s many acts of terror. But has his assassination significantly

more recently, Trump has hinted about israeli manipulation behind his decision to eliminate the top iranian strategist, adding unequivocally, however, that ″the israelis are willing to fight iran until the last american soldier″. Trump’s statement was ambiguous, but major General Tamir Hayman, former chief of israeli military intelligence, was not. He confirmed israel’s role in the killing.

if Jerusalem had then nurtured any hope to remain shielded from Tehran’s wrath, Trump’s and Hayman’s words have dashed it. israeli decision-makers should keep in mind that, as observed previously, Tehran’s response to Soleimani’s killing could take years to unfold.

The then prime minister of israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, thought he was being clever in persuading Trump to withdraw from the iran nuclear deal, the Joint comprehensive Plan of action (JcPOa), in 2018, and apparently twisted his arm in doing the dirty work of Soleimani’s elimination for israel. However, it is becoming clear that neither decision served israel’s national interest, not to mention that of the US. Thanks to washington’s withdrawal from the JcPOa, Tehran is now closer than ever to the nuclear threshold.

IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS: as far as the strategic landscape of the region is concerned, it is doubtful that the relative position of israel or the US has improved. True, israel has carried out a smart engagement policy with some arab states, which has pro-

Why prices will keep soaring in 2022

On the other hand, and enlarging the perspective, there have been some other important developments: The US has humiliatingly withdrawn from afghanistan, losing the game in central asia, with potentially serious repercussions in western asia, too; the iraqi parliament has voted for the US’s complete withdrawal from the country; the Syrian government maintains and consolidates its grip on the useful part of its country, as once-hostile arab leaders are now increasingly going back to Damascus; and Hezbollah continues to hold sway over the Lebanese political landscape.

Further, the Houthis, no matter how heavily Saudi arabia is bombing Yemen, are close to winning the strategic city of marib, one of the most important Saudi strongholds in the country. Hamas still holds Gaza - last spring israel, for the first time in its history, saw its arab citizens siding with the Palestinians protesting in the street of Jerusalem, leaving the chilling sensation of a possible civil war inside the country.

if the principals behind Soleimani’s killing bet on iran’s self-deterrence, they miscalculated, as the bombing of the US alasad base in iraq has proven - a far more damaging and accurate attack than it was initially considered.

in addition, US and israeli naval warfare against Tehran, intended to stop oil supplies to Syria, has now ceased after iran’s reprisals; joining the abraham accords has not prevented delegations from riyadh and abu Dhabi from going to Tehran - these Gulf states both know how vital a non-aggression pact with their neighbour is. They also know

that israel cannot fill the vacuum left by the US partial withdrawal from the region, and they are increasingly at odds with washington over the depth of the US security commitment. and, finally, a new iranian leadership is changing the country’s attitude to nuclear negotiation, as it casually disregards any western pressure against it. Put it all together and it is difficult to argue that iran is more deterred than it was before Soleimani’s killing.

HIS AUTHORITY WAS UNDISPUTED: Soleimani represented a reliable interlocutor to call to de-escalate moments of crisis. He was the equivalent of the famous telephone number in europe that Henry Kissinger searched for in the 1970s.

in a region that is so volatile, secure and confidential communication channels should be maintained. The irGc’s commander was a master of the region’s highly complex and over nuanced dynamics. when it was necessary, he kept his turbulent proxies under control. Finding a worthy successor has been difficult for iran, as the latest developments in iraq have shown.

any professional involved in the shadowy world of intelligence in the middle east will tell you that a person as important as Soleimani should not have been eliminated

His authority was undisputed, as was his ability to present effectively and quickly any case to his top decision-makers in Tehran. The void he left has not been filled.

any serious professional involved in the shadowy world of intelligence and asymmetric warfare in the middle east will tell you that a person as important as Soleimani should not have been eliminated. His intrinsic value in maintaining a modicum of stability, and in avoiding dangerous miscalculations and escalations, outweighed any benefits that could arise from his death.

Only neophytes like Trump, or israelis who had a short-term interest in conflict generation like Netanyahu, could go that far; and, if the intent was to push iran back, they

have failed abysmally. The man who is talked about as Soleimani’s protege, Hossein amir-abdollahian, is the new foreign minister of iran, in the more hawkish ebrahim raisi administration.

‘IRAN’S STRATEGIC CAPACITY IS NOW ENORMOUS’ in the words of US centcom commander General Kenneth mcKenzie: “iran’s missiles have become a more immediate threat than its nuclear programme… they hit pretty much where they wanted to hit… can strike effectively across the breadth and depth of the middle east.” mcKenzie chillingly added that iran had achieved an “overmatch″ capability, that is it can fire more missiles than its adversaries can shoot down or destroy, making it extremely difficult to check or defeat. “iran’s strategic capacity is now enormous,” the commander concluded.

The room for a compromise on both sides to save the JcPOa is narrowing to months if not weeks, and the new iranian leadership does not appear particularly concerned about such a perspective.

No matter how many times the israelis “mow the grass’’ of the iranian nuclear programme with sabotage and the killing of iranian scientists, the research and development iran has gained over the past two years cannot be reversed.

Former top israeli air Force commander, General isaac Ben-israel, recently said that up to 10 years ago israel could probably have hit effectively the iranian nuclear facilities, but added: “Today, all the technology needed to produce a bomb is already in iranian hands. The only question is whether iran will decide to go ahead or not. and that’s just a matter of time.” it must have been very tempting to kill Qassem Soleimani, but sometimes, especially in the middle east, the more tempting option is not necessarily the best one.

marco carnelos is a former italian diplomat. He has been assigned to Somalia, australia and the United Nations.

The good news in 2022 will be the economy

month data set. even if inflation suddenly falls off a cliff, it would take time for the leading indices to reflect that. This is what Fed chair Jerome Powell is talking about when he mentions “base effects.” WHY WILL INFLATION REMAIN HIGH? Several factors are keeping prices elevated. One is the supply chain chaos that came to a head last summer. even though some bottlenecks have eased, the issues are not fully resolved. and as long as it’s more expensive — and takes more time — to move goods around the world, higher transport costs will likely be passed down to consumers.

another big contributor is the high cost of commodity prices, leading to surging energy and food costs. Prices in both sectors have soared this year and added a good chunk to the inflation we have already seen. in the case of food, high prices have forced some consumers to buy less or switch stores.

iNsidesourCes.CoM DeAn BAker

America is finishing the year with decades-high inflation. That doesn’t bode well for 2022. Prices have climbed so high it will take some time for them to come back down to earth. in other words, the uncomfortable inflation numbers of 2021 will likely stay with us well into the New Year.

The most recent price data we have is from November, when two of the most watched inflation measures — the consumer price index and the personal consumption expenditure index — each climbed to a 39-year high. The latter index is what the Federal reserve pays the most attention to when assessing the nation’s inflation.

There’s some room for optimism: The central bank, which is tasked with keeping prices stable, is rolling back its pandemic stimulus and is expected to raise interest rates next year to tame inflation and stop the economy from overheating.

and last month’s data actually showed that prices increased at a slower rate in November than in October for both the cPi and the Pce indices. That’s good news, even though the slowdown was small at only 0.1 percentage points.

But here’s the thing: economists prefer to look at price movements over a period of time, usually 12 months. So a small slowdown like November’s won’t move the needle just yet.

in fact, it might take months for these incremental slowdowns to show up in the data. after a year of prices soaring on high demand and supply chain chaos, a lot of big numbers are baked into the 12-

economists don’t expect that to get any better next year. aside from high demand and shipping costs, rising prices for fertilizer and continued bad weather could keep food prices high even as other pandemic fueled inflation pressures ease. rising rents also remain a concern.

This is important because housing represents a big percentage of what people spend money on. if rents eat up a bigger piece of the pie, consumers might wind up spending less, which would be bad news for the recovery.

in November, rent rose 0.4% for the third month in a row, according to economists at Bank of america, and that points to higher and more persistent inflation going forward.

The “recent broadening of inflationary pressure has coincided with a notable pickup in rental inflation,” said Peter B. mccrory, economist at JPmorgan, “which jumped to its highest monthly rate in 20 years in the September cPi report and has stayed firm since then.”

and then there’s Omicron.

Several countries, including the United States, have seen record high covid-19 infections in recent weeks because of the rapidly spreading variant. if this leads to a new round of lockdowns, it could once again change the way consumers spend and boost demand for stay-at-home goods.

Perhaps more importantly, Omicron could impact energy prices: if restrictions return and people travel less, the lowered energy demand would mean prices ease, and that would help bring inflation back down.

THiS is probably a minority position, but i feel confident in saying that 2022 will be a very good year for the economy. we are looking at a situation where we have low unemployment, falling inflation and rising real wages. it is likely to be the best economy we have seen in many decades. in recent weeks, inflation has been front and center in people’s minds as the media have given us endless stories about higher prices for gasoline, milk and other items. many have been convinced that inflation will only get higher, outstripping wages and leaving most workers worse off. This is not going to be the case. we now see inflation driven by supply chain problems associated with reopening. This is demonstrated by the fact that we see big jumps in inflation almost everywhere. The United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and many other countries have all seen a rise in prices similar to what we see in the United States.

The reason this matters is because we will get through these supply chain problems. when we do, inflation will slow, and in many cases, be reversed. we are already seeing this in some cases. The price of gasoline has risen by almost 50% over the past year. This was the result of a surge in oil prices following a pandemic plunge. Oil producers who had shut down in the pandemic were surprised by the economy’s rapid growth. They are now catching up, and the world price of oil has fallen by 20% from its November peaks. Gas prices will soon follow oil prices down.

There is a similar story with cars. New- and usedcar prices have soared primarily because a worldwide shortage of semiconductors forced auto manufacturers to cut back production. Several manufacturers are back

up to capacity now, and the others are likely to be soon. This means the price hikes of 2021 will be largely reversed in 2022.

with inflation coming down rapidly, workers’ pay will go further. and, many workers should be in a position in 2022 to secure pay increases well in excess of inflation. The 4.2% unemployment rate reported for November is already low by historical standards, but it will get still lower in 2022. we are likely to see an unemployment rate close to 3.5% by the middle of the year, putting us at a 50-year low.

Low unemployment primarily benefits the most disadvantaged workers. Black and Hispanic workers, workers with less education, and people with criminal records get opportunities in a tight labor market that they would not typically see.

we are also likely to see mortgage interest rates remain low. This is good news for both home buyers and those who have not yet refinanced a mortgage. Low mortgage interest rates should also help fuel the sort of relocation process that started during the pandemic with increased opportunities for people to work from home. with many employers now making work-from-home options permanent, people are moving from high-priced cities like New York and San Francisco to lower-priced towns and cities. This process will continue and pick up speed in 2022.

a huge wild card in any forecast for the economy for 2022 is the path of the pandemic. This is obviously uncertain, but there are some grounds for optimism, even as we see cases and deaths skyrocket in this holiday season. Vaccination rates continue to rise, and the evidence shows that fully vaccinated people are largely protected from serious illness or death.

The other factor that could potentially be very good news is the spread of the omicron variant. we know that omicron is far more transmissible than delta or other cOViD-19 variants. But, the evidence to date indicates that it is considerably less severe. even though cases have skyrocketed in South africa, the first country where omicron was identified, there has been no corresponding increase in hospitalizations and deaths. it’s still early, and more data may give us a different picture. However, from what we see to date, if omicron becomes the dominant variant, we may have much less to fear from the pandemic.

That’s my story for 2022. it’s mostly good, but some very big uncertainties are coming from the pandemic.

Dean Baker is an economist and co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

CNN Anneken TAppe

DG Khan Cement dispatches second consignment of high-quality Cement to USA on vessel ABU AL ABYAD

In year 2022, DG Khan Cement Company Limited of Nishat Group secured an order from a Group in USA to supply 600,000 tons of high-quality low alkali Cement. Ist consignment of 50,000 tons shipped in June 2022 to USA. That was for the first time in the history of Pakistan to export Cement to the sophisticated USA market. On arrival of first ship “Tomni Felicity” in USA, customers were satisfied with its quality and demanded for continuing with the shipments. Second consignment has been successfully loaded on vessel ABU AL ABYAD which is set to sail for Houston, Texas, USA today on 18th January 2023. “Getting to this stage was not a piece of cake”, according to Director Marketing of the Company, “It was in August 2021 when we visited USA to secure this order, subsequently the customer’s representatives visited our Cement plant at Hub and asked to supply high quality low alkali cement that was developed specially for USA customer. It took a period of six months to obtain the technical certifications from USA authorities like “TXDOT”, “NCDOT”, “SCDOT” and “LODOT”. It was a great achievement and honor on part of Pakistan Cement Industry that opened the gates to huge USA market. It is for the first time ever that a Pakistani Cement Manufacturer, DG Khan Cement Company has entered into USA market as the demand for construction materials in USA has increased manifolds with buyers looking for new sources of supply following President Biden’s US $ 6 trillion Infrastructure package. pr

Science Journalism workshop at Forman Christian College University Lahore

nEW PAYMEnT MODE TO SECURE AvEnUES OF InvESTMEnT FOR BISP BEnEFICIARIES: MARRI

KARAcHi staff report

FEDERALMinister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety and Benazir Income Support Program (BISP)Chairperson Shazia Atta Marri, while speaking at a Press Conference highlighted that the focus of the Conference would be on BISP. The conference was to lay focus on the introduction of a new payment mechanism for BISP.

BISP got its legal framework in 2010 with all its legislations and a legal status. Pakistan is a developing nation, however, with its economic challenges, Pakistan still has a unique program like BISP. It’s the most popular in the region, and also revered in the UN on a

global level. BISP currently facilitates and benefits above 8 million families.

A new Payment mechanism is in need of adoption, program started in 2010, back when money order was the way to transfer funds. Then it moved to pilot program mechanism, that initiated the Benazir debit card.

Moving on and rectifying the flaws of the debit card system, in 2016 a biometric verification was piloted and officially launched. With its pros, came the cons and we faced extreme challenges during the floods, the role of middleman, delayed payments, no concept of saving as all the money must be extracted at the same time. With all these loopholes, and increasing challenges for women to extract payments through biometric verification method, Madam Shazia Marri and her team de-

cided to devise a method to undo the previous payment structures and devise a plan that will work.

Through this program, women who are direct beneficiaries of BISP, can now be empowered. She can be an owner of a bank account in her own capacity. She can manage savings, she can use the finances to initiate any business prospect. This method not only brings about financial literacy, but also ensures social inclusion of millions of women, benefiting from BISP.

For this new mechanism to work, the Federal Minister stated that there will first be a pilot program, along with a few Banks in different regions, on a small scale, to test whether it can be sustained as a full fledged program. The expansion won’t be overnight, it will be taken up only after the pilot is run, and

Most of water filtration plants out of order in Balochistan

QUETTA staff report

The dwellers of Balochistan province are facing a severe shortage of clean drinking water as most of the water filtration plants were out of order.

Due to faulty water filtration plants, a large part of its population has no access to potable water, civil societies said.

“Only 25 percent of Balochistan’s dwellers have access to clean drinking water”, they added.

The local people urged the government to restore the closed water plants to ensure the provision of clean drinking water.

Talking to APP, an official of the Balochistan government said that the government

has decided to rehabilitate and restore water filtration plants in the province on an emergency basis to ensure quality drinking water to the masses.

Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Quddus Bizenjo has directed the officials concerned to rehabilitate out-oforder filtration plants within a month, he added.

He said the government had established water filtration plants in every district of the province to provide clean drinking water but they went out of order due to poor maintenance.

Moreover, the government had also increased the salaries of operators of the water filtration plants.

He said resolving the water issue was a top priority of the government.

The official said through

the restoration of water treatment plants, clean water would be available to all.

All available resources would be utilized for the early completion of clean water projects, he added.

Utilizing all resources, proper measures had been taken to keep all tube-wells in the province operational so that the citizens would get water on scheduled timings, he added.

He said the public health department had initiated many water supply schemes in each district of the province, however it would take some time to get the facilities operational.

He said the government had been working for laying new water supply lines in the province to ensure potable water facility everywhere.

Punjab govt implements prohibition on private usury business

The Punjab government has implemented prohibition on doing private usury business and the gazette notification of “The Punjab Prohibition of Interest Loans Act 2022” has been issued.

Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi stated that after the enforcement of law a ban has been imposed on doing private usury business across Punjab, adding that no one can make any transaction with regard to private usury across the province.

The CM asserted that those found involved in doing private usury business will be brought in the stern grip of law, adding that the one found involved in doing private usury business will be awarded ten years punishment along

with Rs. 5 lac fine. After the enforcement of law the one receiving money from private usury in the past will now only return the real amount and will not have to pay additional amount as interest to the lender.

The CM informed that the case will be registered for demanding additional amount as an interest in addition to the real amount. Any citizen can visit a police station and get an FIR registered against those doing usury business. The CM highlighted that many houses will be saved from getting ruined after the enforcement of Prohibition of Interest Loans Act and maintained that interest is a curse. He added that with the enforcement of prohibition law with regard to doing private usury business is also a service to the religion Islam.

whatever necessary inadequacies that may arise while it’s put in place, they must be rectified in the final plan.

BISP has long been known to encourage individuals to move towards registering and making CNICs, that were a prerequisite before the women who are beneficiaries of BISP, could extract the funds. Thus, BISP has already been a catalyst in creating awareness and encouraging the populous to document and register itself, with CNICs, Birth certificates etc. BISP doesn’t simply provide financial assistance, it also impacts social change, with creating and spreading certain habits that reinforce the concept of social responsibility. BISP, has been granted 70 billion Rupees by the Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, to assist the flood affected areas.

Breaking Barriers for PWDs: PTA inducts graduate trainee through Telenor Pakistan’s ‘Open Mind Program’

ORIC FCCU, Faculty of Humanities and KAM-School of Life Sciences jointly organized a two-day

FC College on 11-12 January 2023. The Pakistan Academy of Sciences sponsored this activity. In the inaugural ceremony held on 11th January 2023, the Chief Guest Prof. Dr. Shahid Munir; Chairman PHEC highlighted the importance of communicating science in a better way in a developing country like Pakistan. He said that it is important that our entertainment industry now incline towards producing science-based content instead of conventional scripts. Dr. Tasawar Hayat- General Secretary PAS also attended the ceremony and appreciated the efforts of ORIC and FC College for creating awareness about Science Journalism among the journalists and scientific community through this workshop. Dr. Jonathan Addleton (Rector-FCCU) said that it is time that we start introducing joint courses of communication and science in the curriculum so that the upcoming journalists know how to pitch science stories and scientists know how to translate their work in much simpler and understanding language for the non-scientific community. pr

KARAcHi pr

Lucky Core Industries Limited (formerly ICI Pakistan Limited) is pleased to announce that it has successfully concluded the sale of 21,763,125 ordinary shares (constituting approximately 26.5% of the issued and paid up capital) of NutriCo Morinaga (Private) Limited (NutriCo Morinaga) to Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd. Japan (Morinaga Milk). The transac-

tion is in reference to the Share Purchase Agreement dated September 16, 2022, entered into between the Company, certain other shareholders of NutriCo Morinaga, and Morinaga Milk. Following the transaction, Lucky Core Industries continues to hold approximately 24.5% of the issued and paid up capital of NutriCo Morinaga, whilst Morinaga Milk’s shareholding has increased to 51%.

Lucky Core Industries part-

nered with Unibrands in 2014, to market and distribute imported Morinaga infant formula in Pakistan. In 2017, the Company along with Morinaga Milk and Unibrands set up a unit in Sheikhupura for the local manufacture of quality infant and growing-up nutrition products. This represented the first asset investment by a global Japanese dairy and food company in Pakistan. Aligned with Morinaga Milk’s corporate slogan - “For Ever Brighter Smiles”, Nutrico Morinaga was set up.

islamabad: In a significant step towards creating a more inclusive and equitable workplace, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) successfully inducted its first graduate trainee through the Disability Inclusion Management Trainee Programme in partnership with Telenor Pakistan under their “Open Mind Pakistan (OMP)” program .A joint ceremony was held at PTA Headquarters in Islamabad, attended by officers and representatives from both PTA and Telenor Pakistan.On 22 Jan 2022, PTA signed a cooperation agreement with Telenor Pakistan under which the regulator agreed to receive one female PWDsupported, trained and placed by Telenor. PTA is the first public sector organization to partner with a telecom operator and put into motion its Disability Inclusion Management Trainee Program in partnership with Telenor Pakistan. pr

KE requests highest ever FCA reduction of Rs10/unit for December 2022

Karachi: K-Electric has requested NEPRA to pass a reduction of PKR 10.26 per unit in customer bills under Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA) for the month of December 2022. This request has been made under the FCA mechanism governed by NEPRA. The FCA is reviewed every month as per the tariff regime applicable across the country and is usually applicable to the consumer's bills for one month only.FCAs are dependent on changes in global prices of fuel and are passed on to consumer bills under the prescribed rules and regulations of NEPRA and the Government of Pakistan. For the past consecutive months, fuels such as RLNG and Furnace Oil have seen a consistent decrease in the global market which is enabling KE to benefit its customer base. This is also possible due to the efficient and effective utilization of KE’s generation fleet to supply energy to Karachi.The benefit of this reduction is likely to be passed on to customers in February 2023 bills. December's FCA was lower primarily due to a reduction in prices of RLNG, furnace oil, and power purchased from CPPA-G by 17%, 15%, and 29% respectively as compared to September 2022. pr

IB partners with University of the People to award MEd scholarships

Karachi: The International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) is announcing the next application cycle for tuition-free scholarships in partnership with the University of the People for educators to complete an online Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree. With the launch of these fully-funded scholarships, the IB aims to eliminate the accessibility barriers to quality education and fill the global need of more than 69 million teaching positions by 2030 as estimated by UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) to meet United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4). Tuition-free, nonprofit, and entirely online, UoPeople is an American university that offers students in 194 nations access to approved undergraduate and graduate degree programs.The IB has awarded 196 scholarships since the beginning of the programme in 2019 to provide teachers with greater access to advanced degrees in education. So far, eight scholarships are awarded to educators in Pakistan which signify a concerted effort and dedication to address the global lack of quality educators, it guarantees that more students have access to a top-notch education in turn.A recipient of the scholarship Principal Ilmesters Miss Neesha Feroz, said: “Education has given me the tools I need to implement to improve the teaching strategy used by my team. pr

LAHORE app

international workshop on Science Journalism at

Signing Ceremony held at Legend Islamabad with Legend Hotels and Resorts and S.A Builders for the upcoming Confire Hotel Apartment at Khaira Gali Galiyat MA Azeem Qureshi, Managing Director Legend Hotels and Resorts can be seen with Azahar Uddin, Managing Partner of S.A Builders along with other honourable guests. pr

Karachi: Bringing a fusion of flavors to tantalize everyone's taste buds, Shan Foods and Shoop showcased flavors from Pakistan and from around the world at Karachi Eat Festival 2023. Visitors were also treated with immersive engagement activities such as 360-degree video booths and gaming arenas. pr

Erdogan SETS STagE for May 14 TUrkiSh ElECTion

ANKARA Agencies

TUrkISHPresident recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday signalled that he intended to bring the next general election forward by one month to May 14.

The announcement sets the stage for what some analysts view as Turkey’s most consequential vote in generations.

Erdogan and his Islamic-rooted party have ruled Turkey for two tumultuous decades that have seen years of economic booms and busts as well wars and even a failed but bloody coup.

His secular opposition enters the campaign divided over everything from policy to strategy and has not agreed on a candidate to field against Erdogan.

Turkey’s next general election is officially due to be held on June 18.

But Erdogan’s allies have been hinting for weeks that they may bring the polls forward because of religious holidays and school exams.

Analysts believe that Erdogan’s office is looking for a perfect moment at which his own voters are more likely to turn out than those backing his opponents.

On Wednesday Erdogan delivered a speech to his ruling party in which he recalled the day contemporary Turkey held its first free election in 1950. That May 14 vote was won by Adnan Menderes — a

prime minister who was toppled by a military junta in 1960 and executed a year later.

Erdogan was himself deposed and briefly jailed when he was mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s and often compares himself to Menderes.

“The late Menderes said on May 14, 1950 ‘enough, the people will have their say’, and emerged victorious at the ballot box,” Erdogan said in televised remarks.

“Our people will give their answer to the (opposition) on the same day 73 years later.”

Erdogan enters the election with his approval ratings bruised by a year-long economic crisis that saw inflation touch

Chinese Vice Premier, US Treasury Secretary hold ‘candid’ talks on joint response to challenges

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He had a candid conversation with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen about macroeconomic and financial issues during their meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, on Wednesday. This marked their first in-person meeting, following three virtual ones since June 2021, and came in the wake of an important consensus reached by the two heads of state in Bali, Indonesia.

The two sides agreed that strengthening communication and coordination of macroeconomic policies and jointly responding to challenges is beneficial for China, the U.S. and the whole world when global economic recovery is at a critical moment. Calling the conversation “pragmatic and constructive,” both sides discussed the possibility of deepening cooperation in the macroeconomic and financial sectors.

The two sides acknowledged the importance of sustainable financial cooperation and agreed to enhance cooperation on a bilateral and multilateral basis. They also agreed to continue supporting emerging markets and developing countries’ green and low-carbon development and economic transformation.

The Chinese side also expressed concerns about U.S. economic, trade and technological policies toward China and hoped that the U.S. side would pay closer attention to the impacts of these policies.

Additionally, China welcomed Yellen to visit the country at an appropriate time this year. Agencies

85 percent late last year.

But the fractured opposition has still not united around a single candidate after more than a year of heated talks.

Their best hope at one stage appeared to be Istanbul’s popular mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. The telegenic 52-year-old beat Erdogan’s ally in the landmark 2019 municipal election in which the opposition also swept to power in the capital Ankara and Turkey’s third-largest city Izmir.

But a criminal court last month banned Imamoglu from politics for calling officials who annulled his initial 2019 victory “idiots”.

Imamoglu has appealed and can still technically run for president. But if he won and his conviction for slander was eventually upheld, he would have to step down from office, making his candidacy too risky for the opposition.

The main opposition party’s leader kemal kilicdaroglu now appears like the most likely candidate to stand against Erdogan.

But the 74-year-old former civil servant’s failure to light up opinion polls has caused divisions within the six opposition parties now allied against Erdogan.

The six have promised to finally agree on a single candidate once Erdogan set the election date. “Now, there is no other choice for the (opposition) but to determine the joint candidate as soon as possible and to stand behind this candidate with all their party organisations,” veteran Turkish journalist kadri Gursel tweeted.

The polls will also challenge Erdogan’s control of parliament.

His ruling party is currently in an alliance with a far-right group whose support has dwindled in the past few years.

“Polls show the opposition in the lead but momentum seems to be back with Erdogan,” emerging market economist and veteran Turkey watcher Timothy Ash wrote in a note to clients.

“I think the election really is too close to call, but I would never write Erdogan off in any election.”

Seoul spy agency raids labour group over suspected N. Korea ties

SEOUL Agencies

South korea’s spy agency on Wednesday raided the country’s main labour union group, saying it was part of a years-long investigation into whether some members had illegal links to North korea.

Seoul remains officially at war with its nuclear-armed neighbour, and under its controversial National Security Act, even possession of publications or other materials produced in the North can be a criminal offence.

Spying or secretly working for the North korean regime is punishable by up to life imprisonment, according to the law. Officials from the National Intelligence Service and the police raided the office of the korean Confederation of Trade Unions (kCTU) in central Seoul, saying some of its members were suspected of having “ties with North korea”, the spy agency said.

“We and the national police agency have been carrying out our own investigation into the suspects’ alleged ties with North korea for several years,” an official from the spy agency told AFP.

“Based on the evidence obtained in the process, we judged that

a compulsory investigation was necessary, and we went ahead with the raid after the court issued a search and seizure warrant,” he added.

Investigators believe four kCTU officials met with North korean agents from Pyongyang in Cambodia and Vietnam, in 2017 and 2019, respectively, Seoul’s Yonhap News Agency reported.

The kCTU termed the raid “barbaric”, accusing Seoul’s conservative administration of “conniving” to target the labour organisation. As one of the country’s largest umbrella union groups, the kCTU was linked to recent strike action by some truck drivers,

Trump to hold first 2024 campaign event in South Carolina

WASHINGTON ReuteRs

republican former President Donald Trump on January 28 will make the first public appearance of his 2024 presidential run in the early-voting state of South Carolina since announcing his candidacy in November, his campaign announced on Tuesday.

Two well-known South Carolina republicans — US Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s most loyal backers, and Governor Henry McMaster — will join Trump at the State House in Columbia as he unveils his campaign’s state leadership team, ac-

cording to the announcement.

South Carolina holds outsize influence as one of the first states to hold presidential nominating contests during election years.

In 2016, when South Carolina was the third state after Iowa and New Hampshire, Trump’s statewide victory helped solidify his status as the republican front-runner.

Democratic President Joe Biden’s win in the state’s primary in 2020 was a crucial turning point for his candidacy after his poor showing in the first two nominating contests.

Democrats, with Biden’s backing, have recently taken steps to make South Carolina their first primary in 2024, in part because party

leaders view Iowa, traditionally the lead-off state, as too white to reflect the full electorate.

The republicans have chosen to maintain the traditional sequence for the first three states: Iowa, New Hampshire and then South Carolina.

Trump has not hit the campaign trail since he formally began his presidential run in November, instead making occasional appearances before invited guests at his Mara-Lago estate in Florida.

Two other South Carolina republicans — former Governor Nikki Haley and US Senator Tim Scott — are seen as potential rivals for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination.

whose union falls under the kCTU.

President Yoon Suk-yeol last month ordered striking drivers in the cement, fuel and steel sectors back to work, threatening jail time or fines, prompting them to end the weeks-long action.

The National Security Act, which dates back to 1948, blocks ordinary citizens from accessing most North korean-produced content, including its official rodong Sinmun newspaper.

It has been widely criticized, including by the United Nations, which says it is a “seriously problematic” challenge to freedom of expression in the South.

Ukraine interior minister among 16 dead in helicopter crash

BROVARY, UKRAINE Agencies

Ukraine’s interior minister was among more than a dozen people killed in a helicopter crash Wednesday near a kindergarten outside kyiv, spurring condolences from allies.

Officials initially said that 18 people had died but later revised the toll down to 16, including one of the minister’s deputies and three children. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the crash of the helicopter, which was en route to the frontline in eastern Ukraine, as a “terrible tragedy.”

There was no immediate claim from kyiv that russian forces were involved in downing the aircraft and an investigation has been launched into the cause.

The helicopter carrying Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky slammed down next to a kindergarten and a residential building in Brovary, a commuter town for the capital kyiv that was the scene of fierce fighting with russian forces last year.

AFP journalists at the crash site saw the charred remains of the aircraft mixed with debris from nearby buildings and a car crushed by the blades of the helicopter.

Amateur footage circulating on social media in the immediate aftermath captured cries and a large blaze.

“A helicopter of the state emergency service crashed in Brovary. As a result of the crash, the leadership of the interior ministry died,” the head of Ukraine’s police service, Igor klymenko, said in a statement.

He said that both Monastyrsky and his first deputy, Yevgeniy Yenin, were killed.

According to the latest death toll cited by presidential advisor kyrylo Tymoshenko, 16 people died. Thirty people including 12 children were hospitalised, he added.

– ‘Unspeakable pain’ –klymenko from Ukraine’s police service said that nine of those killed were on board the helicopter when it crashed.

The presidency said that the aircraft was en route to the frontline in eastern Ukraine.

Zelensky said he had instructed law enforcement bodies to launch an investigation into the circumstances of the crash and that emergency services were doing all they could on the scene. “Today, a terrible tragedy occurred in Brovary, kyiv region,” Zelensky said on social media. “The pain is unspeakable.”

Monastyrsky, 42, a trained lawyer, had served as Ukraine’s interior minister from July 2021. He was a key member of Zelensky’s party and was married with two children.

Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said the deaths of Monastyrsky and two other senior officials were “a great loss for the government team and the entire state.” EU chief Charles Michel expressed dismay and offered condolences.

“We join Ukraine in grief following the tragic helicopter accident,” the president of the European Council said, in a message posted to social media.

“Minister Denys Monastyrsky was a great friend of the EU.” There was no immediate comment on what may have caused the crash. Aviation accidents are fairly common in Ukraine, where the use of ageing and sometimes Soviet-era infrastructure is still common.

In one of the deadliest recent incidents, 26 people, most of them air cadets, were killed when their Antonov-26 plane crashed near the eastern Ukrainian city of kharkiv in September 2020. The town of Brovary is located some 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of kyiv and was among urban hubs around the capital that russian troops had tried to capture after invading Ukraine last year.

Injured nadal makes early australIan Open exIt, Gauff edGes raducanu

Melbourne Agencies

defendingchampion Rafael nadal hobbled out of the second round in a huge upset at the Australian Open on Wednesday, as Coco gauff beat emma Raducanu in a battle of the rising stars.

nadal’s wife Mery was in tears as the injury-hampered Spanish great lost to 65thranked Mackenzie Mcdonald at Rod Laver Arena, where the roof was closed because of more rain in Melbourne.

The 36-year-old nadal was clearly hindered by a hip issue that required a medical timeout, as he surrendered 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 to the American.

it was the reigning champion’s earliest exit from a major in seven years and will lead to more questions about whether injury and age are catching up with the record 22-time major champion.

The men’s title now looks novak djokovic’s to lose.

nadal said defeat “hurt” and acknowledged that injuries were taking a toll.

“i’ve never been in a position to complain, life has given me so many positive things that i have no right to complain,” he said.

“(But) i am tired, i am sad, i am disappointed, all this is a reality.

“from here on… what i want is to continu playing tennis. don’t think i’m saying all this because i want to take a step back.

“it is not the case, but my current feelings are bad.”

in contrast to nadal’s disappointment and pain, 27-year-old Mcdonald is into the third round and a match against Yoshihito nishioka of Japan.

“He’s an incredible champion, he’s never going to give up regardless of the situation,” said Mcdonald of his beaten opponent.

“i was trying to stay focused on what i was trying to do and he kind of got me out of my rhythm, and i just got through it.”

Melbourne’s famously fickle weather played more havoc.

On Tuesday play on most courts was stopped because of extreme heat, and then matches were suspended later in the day on the outside courts by heavy rain.

More rain fell on Wednesday as organisers frantically tried to clear a backlog of

matches.

Only matches on the three main stadiums, which have roofs, were able to begin on time. The outside courts belatedly saw action, but six hours of play was lost.

The italian 15th seed Jannik Sinner, 16th seed frances Tiafoe and sixth seed felix Auger-Aliassime all won.

So too did daniil Medvedev, the losing finalist at the past two Australian Opens, who overcame a partisan crowd to dismiss Australian wildcard John Millman 7-5, 62, 6-2.

Seventh seed Medvedev is another who will fancy his chances now that nadal is on his way home.

– ‘We were nervous’ –

The 18-year-old American gauff, seen as the heir to now-retired Serena Williams,

defeated Britain’s Raducanu 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

There are 70 places separating seventh seed gauff and 2021 US Open champion Raducanu in the current rankings, but you wouldn’t have known it as the pair tussled for an hour and 42 minutes of pulsating tennis on Rod Laver Arena.

it was a first-ever meeting between the two and a glimpse of an exciting future for women’s tennis.

The two good friends went toe-to-toe throughout, exchanging service breaks, but the turning point came in the second set when the American grittily saved two set points at 4-5.

gauff then edged past the Briton on her third match point in the tiebreak before they embraced warmly at the net.

“The whole match was great and considering the circumstances i can imagine both of us was nervous. This was a longanticipated match-up since the draw came out,” said gauff.

earlier, world number one iga Swiatek and dangerous American Jessica Pegula led the charge into the third round.

Polish title favourite Swiatek swept past Colombia’s Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-3 while third seed Pegula downed Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).

greece’s Maria Sakkari also went through, but she looked anything but the sixth seed in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 struggle against Russian qualifier and college student diana Shnaider.

Sakkari was irked by Shnaider’s fist pumps and celebratory screams, before finding her composure.

Five matches decided as event moves to quarterfinals stage

stAFF RePoRt

five more matches were decided in the 20K Cup 2023 T20 Cricket Tournament as the event is moving towards quarterfinals stage that will begin from 22nd January.

On Wednesday, Model Town Club, Ali garh Club, Shahkamal Club, Valencia gymkhana and Model Town greens registered contrasting victories in their respective matches played here at the different venues of the city.

Model Town Club defeated Township Whites by four wickets in the 31st match of the tournament. Township Whites, batting first, couldn’t start well and also failed to pile up a good total as they were bundled out for 94 runs in 16.3 overs. Only M faiq (22), Kamran Afzal (16), Shoaib (15) and naeem Khan (13) crossed the double fig-

ures. Umaid Asif and Afaq Afridi bowled brilliantly and grabbed 3 wickets each while Hassan Rizwan bagged 2 wickets.

Model Town Club chased the target in 18.2 overs for the loss of 6 wickets. Haider top-scored with 29 runs while M Saleem and Obaid Shahid contributed with 20 and 14 runs. Afaq Afridi was named player of the match.

Ali garh Club edged past Ludhiana gymkhana Club by 2 wickets in the 32nd match. Ludhiana gymkhana, batting first, posted a huge total of 188-8 in 20 overs with Kashid Siddiue (34), Tanveer islam (33) and M Junaid (22) playing superbly. Ali Shafiq claimed 3-36 and Ahsan Bhatti 2-15.

Ali garh Club reached home safely in 19.5 overs, losing 8 wickets. Zeeshan Ashraf hammered 79 and faraz Ahmad fired 50. Tanveer islam clinched 4-23 and Saeed Ullah 2-38. Zeeshan Ashraf was de-

clared man of the match.

Shah Kamal Club routed Yu Slim Club by 40 runs in the 30th match. Shahkamal Club, batting first, scored 178-10 in 19.5 overs with Azizullah cracking 71, Hamza Ahmed 28 and imran nazir Jr 20. Mohsin nadeem secured 4-19, Haider Butt 2-43 and Aamer Jamal 2-31.

Yu Slim Club couldn’t face the outstanding bowling of M Arslana (6-16), thus losing all their wickets for 138 in 19.4 overs. Only Mohsin nadeem (44) and Safeer Azam (25) resisted their opponents well but couldn’t save their team from facing the defeat. Besides M Arslan, faheem faisal bagged 2-43. Azizullah was adjudged as player of the match.

Valencia gymkhana thumped Shah faisal Club by 85 runs in the 33rd match.

Valencia gymkhana scored 172-6 in 20 overs with Attyab Ahmad smashing 66 and

farhan Yousaf 48. Ali Manzoor claimed 227. Shah faisal Club, in reply, were bundled out for 87 runs in 18.1 overs. Hassan Hameed grabbed 4-11, Saifullah 2-15 and ibtisam Azhar 2-11.

Model Town greens defeated Pak Lions in 29th match of the tournament.

Batting first, Model Town greens scored 172-9 in 20 overs with Taimoor Khan scoring 38 and Mirwais Khan 30. niaz Khan secured 4-36. in reply, Pak Lions could score 158-9 in 20 overs with Afzal Tahiri hitting 36 and Hassan nawaz 35. Mirwais Khan claimed 5-24 to emerge as player of the match.

On Thursday (January 19, 2023), Model Town Whites will take on Tu Slim Club in the 34th match of the tournament, Lucky Star will face City gymkhana in 35th match and Shah faisal Club will play against Ali garh Club in the 36th match.

sports

medvedev happy to be under radar at australian Open

Melbourne Agencies

daniil Medvedev said Wednesday he was happy to be flying under the radar at the Australian Open as he stepped up his bid to reach a third consecutive Melbourne final. The Russian overcame a partisan crowd and tough veteran John Millman 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 on Margaret Court Arena to reach round three. The seventh seed, who lost the 2021 decider to novak djokovic and then against Rafael nadal last year, meets American Sebastian Korda or Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki next. Medvedev is on the same side of the draw as nadal and was scheduled to meet him in the last eight. But with the Spaniard’s shock defeat Wednesday to Mackenzie Mcdonald, his route to a third straight final has opened up. “for sure the most important is to focus on yourself because, well, that’s the only way how you can win,” he said. “novak can lose. Rafa can lose. Stefanos (Tsitsipas) can lose. But if you lose too, it doesn’t matter that they lose. “it’s normal when we have Rafa and novak that all the attention comes to them. That’s completely normal,” he said. “i can only try to play good. it’s true that i made the finals two last times playing here, so i’m feeling good to play in Australia and looking forward to play some more matches this year.” The Russian dropped just three games in a demolition of Marcos giron in the first round, but met stiffer resistance initially from Millman, with plenty of long rallies. They went toe-totoe in the first set with both players struggling on serve, before the world number eight broke for a fourth time to seal the set. Medvedev moved up a gear in the second set, and when Millman netted a backhand to give him a 2-1 advantage, the Russian put his foot to the floor to take full control.

emma raducanu knocked out of australia Open

AnKArA Agencies

emma Raducanu, a former US Open champion in women’s singles, was eliminated from the 2023 Australian Open after a loss to US teen Coco gauff. gauff, 18, who ranked seventh, beat 20-year-old British player Raducanu 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in a round 2 match at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena. The US athlete won the tiebreak set against Raducanu to progress to the third round in the first grand Slam of the year. gauff will now face either China’s Qinwen Zheng or her compatriot Bernarda Pera in the next round. in the 2022 french Open, gauff lost to top seed iga Swiatek in the final. Raducanu, 20, who is now world no. 75, won the 2021 US Open, her maiden and only major title. earlier on Wednesday, Swiatek from Poland beat her Colombian opponent Camila Osorio with sets of 6-2, 6-3 to take on Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in round three.

Swiatek, Pegula lead charge at rain-marred Australian Open

three.

World number one iga Swiatek and dangerous American Jessica Pegula led the charge into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday as wild weather again played havoc.

Polish title favourite Swiatek swept past Colombia’s Camila Osorio 6-2, 63 under a closed roof on Rod Laver Arena while third seed Pegula downed Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).

greece’s Maria Sakkari also went through, but she looked anything but the sixth seed in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 struggle against Russian qualifier and college student diana Shnaider.

Only matches on the three main stadiums, which have roofs, were able to begin on time as persistent rain compounded a scheduling backlog, with hours again lost to the conditions.

it followed intense heat then torrential rain on Tuesday, with long delays and a slew of matches called off.

Swiatek said after a tough firstround test that she needed to find some

extra “intensity”, and she found the spark against world number 84 Osorio.

“it was really intense physically and Camila didn’t give me many points for free, so i needed to really work for every and each of them,” she said.

The three-time major winner will face either 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada or Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa in the third round. Pegula, who beat Swiatek at the United Cup this month, was clinical in the first set against 38thranked Sasnovich, but put through her paces in the second.

But she was content with her performance ahead of a next-round clash with Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk or Australian Olivia gadecki.

“My game really suits the conditions in Australia,” said Pegula. “every tournament you want to take it one match at a time, but also have big goals.”

Sinner’S Stroll: Among the men, italian 15th seed Jannik Sinner dropped just seven games in blowing away Argentine Tomas Martin etcheverry 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to power into round

He will play either South African Lloyd Harris or Hungary’s Marton fucsovics.

defending champion and 22-time grand Slam winner Rafael nadal is in action later, against 65th-ranked American Mackenzie Mcdonald.

Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and seventh seed daniil Medvedev, who was beaten in last year’s final by nadal in a five-set thriller, are also both set to feature.

Medvedev will have to face down the home fans when he meets Australia’s John Millman.

Tsitsipas, who is yet to win a major, plays another Australian in 169thranked Rinky Hijikata.

Among the women, American Coco gauff and Britain’s former US Open champion emma Raducanu meet as the future of women’s tennis goes on full display in an evening session on Rod Laver Arena.

gauff, 18, and Raducanu, 20, have never played each other before.

The Briton has done something gauff never has in winning a major, but

the American is ranked seventh to her opponent’s 77th.

And teenager gauff is in better form, coming off a victory in an Auckland warm-up tournament that brought her a third WTA crown.

As well as patchy form, Raducanu has also suffered a string of injury niggles since she stunned the tennis world by winning the US Open in 2021 as a teenage qualifier.

gauff says the pressure is on Raducanu, who had been a doubt coming into Melbourne after yet another injury.

“Obviously she’s gone through a lot of pressure, bursting onto the scene. i feel like probably more than i have experienced coming to win a Slam,” said gauff.

“And especially i feel like being from the UK, being the first British person to do something in a long time, probably is a lot more pressure than what i’m used to being an American.”

danielle Collins, last year’s Australian Open runner-up, will step up her bid for a maiden major title when she meets Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.

lAHore

Melbourne AFP

in a firSt, PakiStan to exPort CeMent wortH $360M to US

pROfIt REpORt Ghulam abbaS

wHILEtapping the market of United State of America (USA) for the first time a Pakistani firm has received import of cement worth $360 million. DG Khan Cement Company (DGKCC) has an order to export 600,000 tons of low alkali cement to the USA per year which will fetch approximately $ 360 million for the country.

“Our second consignment of 37,500 tons loaded on vessel ABU AL ABYAD has left for Houston, Texas, USA this morning,” Executive Director DGKCC Farid Fazal said on Wednesday

According to him the first consignment of 50,000 tons was dispatched in June last year making Pakistan one of the 25 countries exporting cement to the US.

“This is for the first time in the history of Pakistan that cement is being exported to the USA market,” said Farid.

He added that the third consignment

will leave for the US next month and considering the good quality of Pakistani cement the country can achieve 10 to 15% share in the US market.

Besides, he added, the company is in talks with buyers from London, France, and Germany and soon the company will be entering the European market after getting CE certification.

“We have lots of surplus cement and as the supply is much greater than the demand, manufacturers are not utilizing their full capacity, hence we need to explore new markets,” said Farid.

He added that the country needs to expand its exports to big markets like the USA as the demand for construction materials in the USA has increased manifold with buyers looking for new sources of supply following President Biden’s $6 trillion infrastructure package.

Under this package all mega infrastructure projects including freeways, bridges and roads will be rebuilt or given facelifts as some of these were constructed almost a century ago.

“It took us 12 months to get the

Hamza Shehbaz proposes committee members’ names for caretaker CM

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) has proposed three names to represent the opposition the committee formed by the Speaker Punjab Assembly for the appointment of Caretaker Chief Minister.

In a letter issued, Hamza Shahbaz being the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly (since dissolved), has forwarded the names of Malik Ahmad Khan, Malik Nadeem Kamran and Syed Hassan as committee members to discuss the caretaker chief minister. Following the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly, the government and opposition expedited consultations to form a caretaker set-up in the province.

Speaker provincial assembly will form a six-member committee, comprising three members each from the government and the opposition. PML-N, the largest opposition party in the assembly, has proposed its nominees. If the matter is not resolved in the parliamentary committee, the issue of the nomination of Punjab’s caretaker chief minister will be sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for a final decision.

technical certifications for supply of cement to the markets in the USA from TXDOT, NCDOT, SCDOT and LODOT,” said Farid.

He added that the USA is a huge market and due to strict environmental laws it is very difficult to put up cement factories and their requirements of cement are met by imports from Mexico, Canada, Vietnam and Turkey.

“After the good response our cement received in Houston, I was invited to make a presentation at the International Cement Conference INTERCEM’ in Houston which generated a great number of inquiries and prospective customers,” said Farid.

He added that the local cement industry has the capacity of 65 million tons and domestic consumption is just 40 million tons while exports are just 4 to 5 million tons.

Ziauddin, Dy. General Manager, on the occasion informed the media that DGKCC is the first to use innovative technologies in the cement industry.

“DGKCC latest state of the art plant

located at Hub is first of its kind to have largest production line with six stage preheater, tower, largest vertical grinding mill based on COPE drive system, multiple chamber cement storage silos to store different products at the same time,” said Ziauddin, adding that it is from this plant that they are exporting the second shipload of low alkali cement to the USA.

He added that their focus is on maintaining an Eco – friendly environment by making a significant contribution to reduce carbon footprints by using renewable energy, waste heat recovery and alternate fuels.

It is pertinent to mention here that DGKCC is among the largest manufacturers of Pakistan with a production capacity of 25,000 tons cement per day (7.500 million tons/annum).

DGKCC has three cement plants located at Dera Ghazi Khan, Kalar Kahar and Hub. Plants and equipment are supplied by renowned European suppliers and are based on the latest Dry Process what’s Technology.

Karachiites set to receive over Rs12bn relief in February electricity bills

K-Electric (KE) has requested the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to approve a reduction of Rs 10.26 per unit in customer bills under Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA) for the month of December 2022.

Following KE’s application to pass on the cut in prices to its customers, NEPRA said it will hold a public hearing on the matter on January 30, inviting interested and affected parties to raise written or oral objections.

If NEPRA allows the Rs 10.26/unit cut, the total relief for Karachiites in their bills will be over Rs 12 billion, said sources, who added that the relief will likely be reflected in the February bills.

According to KE, December’s FCA was lower primarily due to a reduction in prices of regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG), furnace oil, and power purchased from the Central Power Purchasing Authority (CPPA-G) by 17%, 15%, and 29% respectively as compared to September 2022.

KE said this request has been made under the FCA mechanism governed by NEPRA. The FCA

is reviewed every month and is usually applicable to consumers’ bills for one month only.

FCA is dependent on changes in global prices of fuel and are passed on to consumer bills.

For the past consecutive months, fuels such as RLNG and furnace oil have seen a consistent decrease in the global market which is enabling KE to pass on the benefits to its customer base, said Karachi’s power utility.

It added that it was also made possible due to the efficient and effective utilisation of KE’s generation.

Imran Khan foresees general elections in April

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday hoped that the general elections might take place in the country in April, however, the former premier added his party had “no relationship with the new military leadership yet”.

He was responding to a question during an interview with BBC Urdu about PTI’s relationship with the new army chief General Syed Asim Munir and whether the party had established contact with the military leadership via President Arif Alvi.

“Look, we don’t have any relationship with (the new military leadership) at the moment,” the ex-premier replied, who has been critical of the former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa for his alleged role in overthrowing the PTI government.

“Someone needs to ask them why they overthrew our government via a conspiracy despite giving the best performance in the past 17 years. What mistake were we making that they brought down our government in collusion with an army chief. They have not been able to handle it (economy) since then,” he added.

The PTI chief said that he and former finance minister Shaukat Tareen had told Gen (retd) Bajwa that he had created instability to make the conspiracy successful, adding that he had predicted the new government will not be able to manage the economy and

he has been proved right.

“The market soon lost confidence in them. They (government) were busy with their theft and taking NRO-2. Chaos soon began to rise in the country. Ask any trader today… is it because of us,” he questioned.

Imran said what General (retd) Bajwa did to the country in connivance with the government, not even the enemies of Pakistan would have done.

“See where Pakistan stood in April [last year] and where it is standing now. They (the opposition at that time) held three long marches during our tenure and kept criticising the government but we continued to progress.”

Earlier in the day, PTI Chairman Imran Khan alleged that “massive foul play” was afoot during the second phase of the Sindh local government elections, adding that such “manipulated” polls would only aggravate polarisation and anarchy in society.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Imran said that recent reports regarding the polls had made it apparent that the PPP had “no commitment to fair and free elections”.

“Instead, it uses force, blackmail, police harassment, money to get votes. Now [it is] also clear why the ECP, its cabal of crooks and their handlers sabotaged electronic voting machines (EVMs),” he added.

The ex-premier said that EVMs ensured transparency and provided results immediately, thereby preventing “rigging and engineering”.

“Right now, results of LG elections

which should have come out within a few hours at most were coming out in a staggering delay, some for days, allowing for massive foul play.

“If this is the sort of elections ECP, the state and the Pakistan Democratic Movement want, then the stability that elections are meant to bring will not happen. Instead, such manipulated elections will only cause more agitation, polarisation and anarchy,” he said.

Talking about his party’s current relations with military, Khan stated that his party had no contact with the new military leadership.

The deposed prime minister denies links with army chief General Syed Asim Munir and claimed that the general elections will take place in April 2023.

Blaming former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa for “helping the government in ruling the country”, the PTI chief predicted that the government will now be “forced to hold general elections this April”.

“When they came into power, they ended their corruption cases worth Rs1,100 billion,” he said.

Censuring the incumbent government for the economic crisis in the country, the former premier said that Pakistan’s economic conditions were never like this, emphasising that fair and transparent polls are the only solution to these problems.

“The current government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has come into power through horse-trading,” claimed the

PTI chief.

Govt appoints arshaf Mahmood wathra as Chairman nBP Board

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The federal government has appointed former Governor State Bank of Pakistan Ashraf Mahmood Wathra as Chairman Board of Directors National Bank of Pakistan.

According to the Finance division notification, the government is pleased to appoint Arshaf Mahmood Wathra as Chairman, Nasim Ahmad and Ali Ayed as BoD members of NBP for a term of three years subject to clearance of Fit and Proper Test Criteria of SBP.

In addition to above, the Additional Finance Secretary (IF) Finance division shall be Ex-officio director on the board of NBP.

Sources said that the representation of Finance ministry officials in the NBP board ended in last government tenure however, the finance ministry high ups managed to appoint AS (IF) as ex-officio director for effective oversight of the government.

As per the details, the BoD of the NBP was dysfunctional since April 16, 2022 due to less than the minimum required five directors on the board.

Sources said that the Cabinet Division in March 2018 had issued directions to seek approval of the prime minister for appointments on Boards of Directors of public sector companies and organizations prior to its placement before the federal cabinet.

As per the Banks (Nationalization) Act, 1974, a bank would have a Board of Directors consisting of a president who shall be the chief executive and no less than five and not more than seven other members as well as a chairman of the board.

The law provides for the appointment of the chairman, the president and other members of the board of a bank by the federal government, in consultation with the SBP for a term of three years.

Sources said that the Finance ministry is yet to appoint a permanent President despite the fact that the Finance minister led team had conducted the interviews of shortlisted candidates on November 10, 2022. Sources said that there is a difference of opinion between the coalition parties of PDM government over the appointment of President NBP due to which a decision has not been made.

On the other hand, few officials in the Finance ministry also want the acting president to continue his work and Rehmat ali Hasni himself is also lobbying for the President slot and for this he is meeting those close to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. It is pertinent to note that acting President NBP Rehmat Ali Hasni has been running the affairs of the bank since May 2022.

The PTI chief added that the coalition rulers have kept themselves above the law and ended the corruption cases that they were booked in years back. “Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, and Maryam Nawaz — all of their cases have been forgiven.”

He said that in a bid to move towards free and fair elections, his party “sacrificed” two assemblies — Khyber Pakhtunkwa and Punjab. “Now this government will be forced into holding elections in April.”

Explaining the reason behind the ongoing economic crisis, the ex-PM said that no investor or businessperson trusts the incumbent government and neither do foreign investors.

“Pakistan has been plunged into a quagmire. To save the country from a Sri Lankalike situation, we need free and fair elections,” the PTI chairman said.

Khan said he feared another economic crisis was in the offing as the foreign exchange reserves had depleted to $4 billion and commodities of the same value were stuck at the ports because of the shortage of dollars.

“The prices of commodities are rising, unemployment is increasing, and industries are shutting down,” the PTI chief said.

Pakistan’s economy has crumbled alongside a simmering political crisis, with the rupee plummeting and inflation at decadeshigh levels, while devastating floods and a major shortage of energy have piled on further pressure.

The South Asian nation’s enormous national debt — currently $274 billion, or nearly 90% of gross domestic product — and the endless effort to service it makes Pakistan particularly vulnerable to economic shocks.

Shedding light on the political situation in Punjab, the former prime minister said that the establishment tried to make Parvez Elahi the chief minister with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) backing.

“Elahi was loyal to us, we had to return the favour and now they will be merged in PTI and become a part of us,” the former premier said.

He further added that “someone should ask them why had they brought down our government through a foreign conspiracy?”

Khan went on to say that the economy under our government was performing very well in 17 years. What were we doing wrong that our government was brought down?”

The former premier maintained that after ousting PTI from power, now they are unable to maintain the economy, adding that “Gen Bajwa was told that if this conspiracy becomes successful then the economy could not be sustained.”

They could not maintain the economic condition and the market immediately lost confidence in the incumbents, the former premier added.

After assuming power, they realised that they did not have any road map for ameliorating the economic conditions of Pakistan.

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