Epaper_23-01-21 LHR

Govt, opposition aGree to appoint a z am Khan as caretaKer cm of Kp

n a rare consensus between the treasur y and oppos tion benches in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, both the sides agreed on Friday to appoint former ch ef secretar y azam Khan as caretaker chief min ster of the province the decision was announced during a joint press conference by cm mahmood Khan and opposition leader akram durran durrani sa d that the government and the opposition jo ntly nominated azam Khan, adding that names of zafarullah Khan and sahibzada saeed were also considered he said that Pti leader and former defence minister Per vez Khattak played an mportant role in reaching the consensus a former bureaucrat, azam Khan rema ned minister for F nance P ann ng & development K-P from october 24, 2007 to apri 1, 2008

he was undP advisor to lachi Poverty reduct on Project (lPrP) from januar y 1997 to june 6 2007 azam Khan was also the chairman Pak stan tobacco Board ministr y of commerce he was also the secretar y of min str y of Petroleum & natural resources in islamabad he was the chief secretar y in K-P from september 1990 to july 1993 azam Khan has also ser ved as v ce President chi dren s sos villages of Pakistan in Peshawar d rector imran Khan Foundation (Flood re ef and rehabilitation), member national oversight disaster management council (nodmc) Pakistan and chairman supreme court Flood comm ssion enquir y earlier on Wednesday KP Governor haji Ghulam ali signed the summar y for d ssolution of the prov ncial assembly fol owing advice from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister mahmood Khan, mere days after the dissolution of the Pun ab assembly the governor d rected mahmood Khan to continue working as acting chief m nister until the interim government takes office

on tuesday, the KP cm had sent adv ce to the governor seeking the dissolution of the provinc al assemb y under article 112(1) of the constitution on the instructions of Pak stan tehreek-e-insaf (Pti) chairman imran Khan the dissolut on of the assembly will trigger the process of consultat on between the outgoing chief minister and the opposition eader for installing an interim government sources have said that both sides were preparing the list of their nominees for the caretaker chief m nister the disso ution of the KP assembly comes days after the d ssolution of the Punab assemb y, which was also dissolved on the instruction of imran the Pti ch ef had announced on november 26 at the culminat on of the haqeeq azad march that he would d ssolve the two provincial assemblies, where the Pti was at the helm imran had said that if the elections were to be held in 66 per cent of the countr y after the dissolution of the assemblies, the government would be unab e to stop general e ections from taking place

ECP to decide on interim Punjab CM as Parliamentar y committee fails

LAHORE: The ball is now in court of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to decide on Punjab caretaker chief minister as the parliamentary committee constituted to appoint the interim chief minister failed to develop a consensus The ruling PTI-PML-Q alliance had initially proposed former Punjab chief secretary Nasir Mahmood Khosa, serving bureaucrat Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera and Naseer Khan for the caretaker CM in Punjab However the notification issued on Thursday reduced the nominations from three to two, with the second one a new entry; Sukhera and Naveed Akram Cheema, a former chief secretary Meanwhile, opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz had nominated Ahad Cheema, a former bureaucrat and Special Assistant to prime minister, and Mohsin Naqvi, owner of a media house Former minister Raja Basharat, Mian Aslam Iqbal and Hashim Jawan Bakht represented the ruling PTIPML-Q alliance during today’s meeting, while the opposition was represented by PM’s special assistant Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, PPP’s parliamentary leader Syed Hassan Murtaza and Malik Nadeem Kamran Talking to the media in Islamabad after the meeting Basharat said the names submitted on behalf of the PTI for the caretaker chief minister were better than the opposition’s picks from “every angle” s ta f f r e p o r t

ECP denotifies another 35

the e ection commission of Pakistan (ecP) Friday denotified 35 more members national assembly (mnas) of the Pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (Pti) after speaker raja Per vaiz ashraf accepted their resignations, three days after making a similar move with 34 Pti lawmakers

accord ng to an ecP notification the res gnations of the Pti lawmakers have been approved from apr l 11 2022

it is to be recalled that the Pti had resigned en masse from the national assembly following the success of a no-confidence motion aga nst Pti chief imran Khan in apri last year however later na speaker ashraf accepted on y 11 of the resignations stating that the remaining lawmakers would be summoned indiv dual y for verif cation after stalling the process for eight months, ashraf on tuesday accepted the resignations of 34 more Pti mnas and awam muslim league chief sheikh rashid as the party hinted it would “ test ” Prime m nister shehbaz shar f w th a confidence vote

the total number of mnas whose resignations have been accepted stands at 81 so far accord ng to a notificat on issued quoting clause (1) of ar-

ticle 64 of the constitution of the islam c republic of Pakistan, read with ru e 43 of the ru es of Procedure and conduct of Business in the nationa assembly of Pakistan 2007 the resignations of dr haider ali Khan, na-2; saleem rehman na-3; sah bzada s bghatullah na-5; mehboob shah, na-6; muhammad Bashir Khan na-7; junaid akbar, na-8; sher akbar Khan, na-9; ali Khan jadoon, na-16; engr usman Khan tarakai na19; mujahid ali, na-20; arbab amir ayub na-28; sher ali arbab na-30; shah d ahmed na-34; Gul dad Khan, na-40; sajid Khan na-42; mohammad iqbal Khan na-44; aamer mehmood Kiani, na-61; syed Faiz-u -hassan na-70; ch shoukat a i Bhatti, na-87; umar aslam Khan na-93; amjad ali Khan na-96; Khurram shahzad, na-107;Faizu ah, 109; malik Karamat ali Khokar na-135; syed Fakhar imam na-150; zahoor hussain Quresh na-152; ibraheem Khan,na-158; tahir iqbal,na164; aurangzeb Khan Khichi na-165; makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, na-177; abdul majeed Khan na-187; ms anda eeb abbas reser ve seat (rs)Women; ms asma Qadeer, rsWomen; ms ma eeka ali Bokhari, rs-Women and ms munawara Bibi Baloch, rs-Women

Pakistan, Russia vow to strengthen energy cooperation, enhance investment

ISLAMABAD

a h m a d a h m a da n i

Pakistan and russ a Friday agreed to strengthen energy cooperation enhance energy trade and broaden energy infrastructure investment based on strategic and favourable commerc al terms on Fr day januar y 20 they arrived at this understanding at the conclus on of the eighth session of the Pakistan-russia intergovernmental commission on trade economic scentif c and technical cooperation (iGc) held in islamabad it was ed by nikolay shu g nov min ster of energy for the russian Federation and ayaz sadiq Pakistan’s Federal min ster for economic affairs senior leve delegates inc uding m nisters and officials from both sides, also attended the session the two sides agreed on march 2023, as the timel ne for crude oi export Working under the express guidance of Prime m nister shahbaz sharif and President of the russian Federat on, vladim r Putin both sides took the op-

portunity to reaffirm their commitment to a strong and comprehensive economic relationship they reiterated that such a relationship contributes to the economic wel -being of the two countries as wel as the entire region

Both sides proceeded from the d scuss ons and decisions of the seventh i G c an d c ar r i e d t h e pr o c e s s f o r war d a n d e x p o r e d a d d i t i o n a a v e n u e s o f cooperat on reading out a joint statement alongside the russ an energy minister sardar ayaz sadiq said the two sides agreed to further strengthen and enhance collaboration n the fie ds of trade and investment energy communication and transport, h gher educat on, ndustr y, raiways f nance and bank ng sector customs, agriculture, sc ence and technology, and information technoogy t h e y n o t e d p o s i t v e p r o s p e c t s f o r imp ementable and concrete projects in the above-mentioned sectors of the economy with a huge potential for the socio-economic deve opment of both c o u n t r i e s

the commission agreed that the re evant min stries and departments from both s des wi l vigorous y follow-up to exploit th s potential for common prosperity they agreed too that the oil and gas trade transaction w ll be structured in a way that has mutual econom c benefit the process will be comp eted within march 2023 said sadiq

Both sides have agreed to strengthen energy cooperation enhance energy trade and broaden energy nfrastructure investment based on strategic and favourable commercial terms they have agreed to work on a “ comprehens ve Plan for energy cooperat on which w ll form the foundation for future work this is to be f nal sed in 2023

additional y the two sides agreed that the Pak stan stream Gas P peline Project should be considered in terms of a comprehens ve infrastructure which is economically v able for sustainable gas infrastructure deve opment ensuring affordable gas supplies the russian side was inv ted toward p o t e n t i a p r o j e c t s o f t h e f e d e r a l a n d

provincial governments of Pakistan, nc l u d i n g n P P P m o d e a n d r e q u e s t e d t h e r u s s a n b u s n e s s m e n t o e x p l o r e these possibi ities all pending issues related to the exchange of informat on on cert ficates

of origin of goods with the use of electronic verificat on systems have been resolved the plan is to endeavour to fina ise the above-mentioned protocols by the end of may 2023

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

PTI MNAs three days af ter similar move

Crackdown on petroleum smuggling fails

Pakistan attaches great importance to relations with Russian Federation: PM

PTI demands election date after ‘immoral, illegal’ acceptance of resignations

PESHAWAR

Governor Ghulam a i also expressed the wi lingness to arb trate between mahmood Khan and the leader of the oppos tion

P o s i t i o n j o i n t ly n a m e d a z a m K h a n

g P e r v e z K h at ta K P l ay e d K e y r o l e i n c o n s e n s u s n o m i n at i o n

02-03 NEWS-21 January_Layout 1 1/21/2023 1:33 AM Page 1

PTI In conTacT wITh JI for K arachI LG seT-uP: Z aIdI

Ali Zaidi said that PTI gave a

programme

n Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

He said that four PTI candidates were declared winners after the recounting of votes in four union councils (UCs) He alleged that the use of state machinery was not hidden from the people in the recent LG polls Zaidi said that JI ran a strong election campaign in Karachi He added that PTI

ridding countr y of ‘Project Imran’ biggest achievement of coalition gov t: Marriyum

ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said the biggest achievement of the coalition government was to rid the country of “Project Imran” In her reaction to Imran Khan s statement she said the incumbent government freed the country from the biggest foreign agent ‘fitnah’ and mafia” She said the Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n) had always steered the country and its economy out of crises The ‘Project Imran’ pushed the country towards economic bankruptcy,” she added The minister said by the end of its previous tenure in 2018 PML-n had brought about historic economic stability in the country During its era, prices of edible items, electricity, gas, and petrol were also affordable she added PML-n had created employment opportunities for the youth besides the initiative of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the generation of 14 000 megawatts of additional electricity Above all, the minister added, PML-n had made Pakistan a terrorism-free country Moreover, she went on to say, the country was given a historic 6 2 percent growth and the IMF programme was completed successfully Taking a jibe at Imran Khan, she said Imran s four-year regime made the youth unemployed and pushed the country into a quagmire of poverty and inflation Today, the high rates of wheat, electricity, gas, flour, and other commodities in the country were due to Imran’s inefficiency “The ongoing IMF programme having strict conditions is Imran s gift to the people , she maintained She questioned Imran’s demand for early elections, asking what will happen if, after four years of destruction and the storm of inflation, the elections are held now The minister said Imran Khan could talk about the 2018 elections when he was imposed on the country, but not about the upcoming elections

dros reject vote recount pleas in Malir, Kemari

KARACHI S ta f f r e P o r t

District Returning Officers (DROs) on Friday rejected applications for recounting on seven LG seats in Malir and Kemari DRO Malir rejected four pleas of the Pakistan People s Party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamaat-e-Islami for vote recount, citing the results not less than five percent In Kemari, the DRO also rejected three applications for vote recount on the same ground The sources said no recounting is taking place in the South and East districts of Karachi Earlier PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) challenged the results of three councilors seats in Baldia UC-2 in Karachi LG polls in the Sindh High Court The court said as per law, it cannot hear the plea regarding alleged rigging in the polls at present and directed the parties to contact the election tribunal on the issue It may be noted that all the political parties are raising allegations of rigging during the Karachi LG polls

categorically rejected the results of the Karachi LG polls We are in contact with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and we will not disappoint the Karachiites ”

In a relevant development, Jamaat-eIslami (JI) Karachi chief Hafiz naeemur Rehman stressed upon the political parties to work together for the development of Karachi Speaking to a programme Hafiz naeem noted that no single political party can solve the issues of Karachi alone,

stressing upon them to work together for the development of metropolis

In response to a question the JI leader reiterated that matters can move forward if Pakistan People s Party (PPP) accepts his party’s mandate “We demanded to stop the rigging that was being done in the pretext of recounting of votes,” he said, adding that PPP delegation also assured to look into the matter of Returning officers (ROs)

The JI leader reiterated that the next

Karachi mayor would be from the party, adding that his party s position will improve if Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) gives six Union Councils (UCs) seats He also lauded Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf ’s (PTI) response of accepting his party’s mandate, saying that his party want a mayor who has the support of everyone We want to work for the city s development with the support of PPP and PTI,” he added

Pak istan desires to expand multifaceted ties with US for mutual befit: S anjrani

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f r e P o r t

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has said that Pakistan greatly values its multifaceted relationship with the United States and desires to further expand the friendly ties for the mutual benefit of the two sides

Senate Chairman expressed these views during a meeting with Ambassador of United States Donald Blome in Islamabad A reception was also hosted in honor of the Ambassador at Sanjrani’s residence During the meeting, the dignitaries discussed matters of mutual interest, bilateral collaborations, and

development in the region The Senate Chairman thanked the US government for its cooperation and collaboration with Pakistan in various fields and appreciated the role of the US government in providing much-needed support to the Pakistani flood affectees He also emphasized increasing trade links and enhancement of bilateral relations in different sectors The Senate Chairman said that the multilateral nature of relations between Pakistan and the United States spans decades He appreciated the assistance provided by USAID to the flood affectees of Balochistan province He said that the community development work in the remote areas of Balochistan

in collaboration with USAID is commendable and more needs to be done in this regard Senate Chairman emphasized on strengthening PakistanUS bilateral trade and economic relations and said that cooperation in health, education and climate change and other fields is the need of the hour The US is Pakistan s largest trading partner and Balochistan is emerging as an attractive destination for investment due to the Gwadar port US investment in Gwadar and other areas of Balochistan will be welcomed

He said that the Pakistani community in the US is playing an active role in politics and various other fields He said that the Pakistan diaspora in the US is

acting as a bridge between the two sides During the meeting, the importance of promoting institutional support and the need to increase parliamentary exchanges was emphasized Senate Chairman described American cooperation as very important in view of the current economic situation of Pakistan Senate Chairman also mentioned the Reko Diq project He said that US investors would be welcome to interact with Pakistani counterparts to explore new avenues for investment On this occasion, American Ambassador Donald Bloome said that the USA will continue to help Pakistan to deal with natural disasters and that the United States attaches special importance to its relations with Pakistan

Gill, others’ indic tment deferred; notices issued in acquittal plea

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f r e P o r t

Additional District and Session Judge Tahir Abbas Sapra heard the sedition case against the PTI leader The counsel for Shahbaz Gill said that the appointment of special prosecutor Rizwan Abbasi had been challenged before the high court The junior prosecutor informed the judge that the high court had not issued a stay in this case and let the special prosecutor pursue the case Burhan Moazam, counsel for Gill, however, informed the court that his client had arrived here against the recommendation of his doctors He said the Lahore High Court had sought the case record and also granted his client a protective bail as another case had been registered against him He also prayed the court to mark the attendance of Shahbaz Gill online from the next hearing as he

was medically unfit to travel

Senior Journalist Afzal Butt, on the occasion, said that it was the first time in the history when charges were being framed against any director news He requested the court to constitute a committee comprising journalists with regard to Ammad Yousaf

He said the police should have heard the reservations of journalists

The special prosecutor said the journalistic organizations had nothing to do with the court proceeding The court said that it was an open court and everyone could hear the case

The special prosecutor said the FIR against Gill was registered as per the law, adding that the prosecution was not creating hurdles for the defence side The court postponed the indictment of the accused due to the absence of accused Ammad Yousaf and adjourned the hearing till February 2

Meanwhile Shahbaz Gill’s lawyer filed an acquittal plea of his client and said that charges couldn t be framed against him He prayed for deciding on the acquittal plea first The court served notices to the respondents and adjourned the case

ISLAMABAD

Minister of State for Interior Abdul Rehman Khan Kanju on Friday informed the Senate that Pakistan was maintaining a poppy free status since 2001, which is being recognized by the United nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UnODC) Responding to Pakistan Peoples Party’s Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi, he said the last drug survey was conducted in 2013 and in this regard, the Bureau of Statistics had been approached to conduct fresh drug use survey in the country The minister said they were being partnered by national Institute of Population Studies and funded by UnODC True picture of increase or decrease in the use of drug or prevalence of a particular drug among a particular stratum of society, would be developed based on the concrete figures collected after fresh survey, he added He said the government was making all out efforts to control the menace of drugs and presently, there were four rehabilitation centers working in the country He said that on supply side control Anti-narcotics Force (AnF) had made 459 5 tons seizures which were recognized in the World Drug Report 2022 of UnODC Pakistan s efforts are continuing to keep the country and the world safe ” he maintained He said the AnF consisted of 3,600 employees out of which only 2,200 were operational and maintaining the law enforcement activity across the country including international borders including Iran, Afghanistan and India The minister said the AnF actively performed duties at seaports dry ports and airports to control drug trafficking With the inadequate Human Resources, efforts were being made at grass roots level to snub the local drug traffickers/handlers and users, he added He said narcotics and psychotropic substances were being used for the manufacturing of medicine and there was a possibility that due to pilferage the same may be used for recreational activities as a drug There was no mechanism that could monitor and collect data of those people who used such type of drugs, he added He said the Ministry of narcotics Control in coordination with

Turk ish parliamentarians agree to form Kashmir committee

ta f f r e P o r t

S

the proposal of President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, the Turkish parliamentarians of the ruling party have agreed in principle to form a Kashmir Committee and present a resolution in favor of Kashmiris in the Turkish parliament

meeting between Ali Shahin, a member of Turkey’s ruling party with AJK President

The meeting was attended by Turkish

Member of Parliament and Deputy Chairperson AK Party and Chairperson Foreign Affairs Committee Efkan ALA Ahmet Yildiz, Ephif Demir Kiran, Fevezi Sanverdi, Memet Aslan and Ibrahim Anoor and others

Speaking on the occasion, Barrister Chaudhry said, “We are very grateful to the ruling party of Turkey especially Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for openly supporting the Kashmir cause” He

expressed the hope that the Turkish government would further intensify it s efforts to raise the voice in favour of Kashmiri people at every important forum

R e f e r r i n g t o t h e w o r s e n i n g p o l i t i c a l a n d h u m a n r i g h t s s i t u a t i o n i n t h e I n d i a n I l l e g a l l O c c u p i e d J a m m u a n d K a s h m i r ( I I O J K ) , h e s a i d t h a t s i n c e I n d i a n atrocities in occupied Kashmir were on the rise there was a urgent need to galvanize international support to seek an immediate

e n d t o t h e v i c i o u s c y c l e o f v i o l e n c e a n d continued bloodshed in the region

Barrister Chaudhry further said that the principled decision of the formation of Kashmir Committee in the Turkish parliament was a positive development that would go a long way to promote Kashmir cause effectively

Meanwhile president Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry after completing his visit to Ankara left for UK

senate told Pakistan maintaining poppy-free status since 2001

Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan had allocated quota of substance used for manufacturing narcotics and psychotropic drugs

KARACH S ta f f r e P o r t

A K I S TA

m a d e o n F r i d a y d u r i n g a n e x t r a - o r d i n a r y

Sultan

Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry Later, AJK President held a detailed meeting with Turkish MPs which took place in

the Turkish Parliament

e n v o y I n v I T e s u a e b u s I n e s s M e n T o Ta P I n v e s T M e n T P o T e n T I a L I n Pa K I s Ta n

invited chamber members to visit Pakistan

opportunities in Pakistan

The two sides expressed their desire to collaborate with Pakistan in Education, Sports Culture and Architecture

The meeting discussed the ways to enhance the partnership and increase trade exchange reinforcing the relations between

Thailand gifts state of the ar t container to Taxila Museum

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f r e P o r t

Thailand has gifted a state of the art container for the bone relics of Lord Buddha to the Taxila Museum The container was handed over at a ceremony in Taxila Museum which was attended by diplomats from the Embassy of Thailand, senior officials from the ministry of foreign affairs and the Director of Taxila Museum Ambassador of Thailand Chakkrid Krachaiwong presented the container to the Additional Secretary Asia Pacific and Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch The container with the holy relics will be on permanent display in Taxila Museum The ancient city of Taxila carries a special significance in the history of Buddhism and Pakistan s enduring links with East Asia including Thailand

eight injured in bolan railway track blast

At least eight people were injured in an explosion near a railway track in the Paneer area of Balochistan’s Bolan district on Friday Pakistan Railways spokesperson in Balochistan, Muhammad Kashif, told media that the blast occurred when the Peshawar-bound Jaffer Express was passing by the area The train was coming from Mach area As a result of the blast, six bogies of the train derailed causing injuries to at least eight people, he added The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital while an emergency has been declared across all hospitals in the district Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Kach Agha Samiullah also confirmed the incident while talking to media He said it was a remote-control explosion that derailed multiple bogies of the train He said rescue teams had been dispatched to the spot Police have not yet issued a statement on the incident

the business communities in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and their counterparts in Pakistan through organizing joint events and exhibitions that bring together the businessmen to explore the various business opportunities and to reinforce the investors’ cooperation and partnerships Al nuaimi highlighted the range of services provided by the Chamber to its members, in addition to the innovative initiatives launched by Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce to support the

economic sector He noted that the Chamber is fully prepared to intensify the efforts that will reinforce the bilateral trade and investment relations to serve the business environment for the two sides, Emirates news Agency reported

He welcomed the Ambassador and the accompanied delegation and wished him success in his mission which would contribute to enhance ties between the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, which witnesses development and growth with the

I H C i n s t r u c t s F O t o p r ov i d e l e g a l a s s i s t a n c e fo r D r A f i a ’s r e l e a s e

S

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday instructed the Foreign Office (FO) to provide legal assistance to petitioner Dr Fauzia Saddiqui in a case seeking measures for release of her sister Dr Afia Saddiqui from a United States jail J u s t i c e S a r d a r I j a z I s h a q K h a n h e a r d t h e petition filed by Dr Fauzia Saddiqui The Additional Attorney General informed the court that the matter had been taken up at the diplomatic and government o ff i c i a l s h a d a m e e t i n g w i t h t h e a c t i n g U S ambassador in that regard

The court remarked that it was seventh or eighth hearing, but nothing had been done The petitioner ’s lawyer said the apparently the government seemed to be helpless in the matter

C JP visits adiala Jail

ISLAMABAD

a P P

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial along with Justice Athar Minallah visited the Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi on Friday

The representatives of national Commission for Human Rights (nCHR) and the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) Secretary Home Special Secretary Home, Inspector General of Prisons, DIG Prisons, Chief Commissioner ICT and D&S Judges (Rawalpindi and Islamabad) were present on the occasion, said a press release

The Inspector General of Prisons gave a detailed presentation regarding the prison population and available facilities He briefed the audience about vocational trainings, medical facilities, psychological therapy and other facilities being provided to the inmates

The CJP inquired about the training programmes for the jail staff in order to improve the

overall atmosphere of the jail

The chief justice and Justice Minallah visited the different barracks of the undertrial, convicted, juvenile and women prisoners He interacted with the inmates and listened to their problems

They played with the children of the female prisoners and distributed gifts among them The

IG

The provision of a speedy legal aid facility is a fundamental right of the prison population", the chief justice said

42 journalists murdered in last four years: S enate told

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi on Friday informed the Senate that 42 journalists were murdered in the last four years across the country

Responding to the question of Jamaat-e-Islami’s Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, he said that it was a critical situation and the government should take prompt action against the culprits and journalists should be provided special security Abbasi directed the Ministry of Interior to prepare a consolidated report on the matter and present it to the House within the period of two months

Balochistan Awami Party’s Senator Danesh Kumar pointed out that there were more than 10 journalists who were murdered in Balochistan instead of three shown in this report

keenness and support of the leadership in both countries to develop the ties across the various economic sectors

He pointed out that more interactions shall follow this meeting to develop business plans and explore future opportunities for boosting bilateral trade and investment to meet aspirations of the two nations He noted that the Chamber is keen to offer facilities for the Pakistani companies that seek to invest in Ras Al Khaimah he invited businessmen from Pakistan to participate in the exhibitions and events organized by Saud bin Saqr Establishment for Youth Enterprise Development and Ras Al Khaimah Exhibition Centre

The Ambassador thanked the delegation and expressed his hope to intensify and exchange visits between the Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Emirati businessmen and their counterparts in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan alike

KP Police buy Thermal weapon sights to fight terrorists

PESHAWAR

S ta f f r e P o r t

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police have purchased 40 Thermal Weapon Sights and planned buying 600 more such weapons to cope with the rising terror incidents in the province According to Inspector General (IG) KP Moazzam Jah Ansari, in various incidents in Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu terrorists were targeted through Thermal Visions at night time The IG KP further said that through fitting Thermal Sights on any gun, enemies could be easily sighted at night through Heat Signature Sources said that the US Army when withdrew from Afghanistan left latest weapons worth seven billion rupees which were being used against Pakistan To tackle the menace of terrorism and cope with terrorist, latest Thermal Sights were need of the hour

sc summons sindh chief secretar y in missing girls case

ISLAMABAD

S

had given

matter

wrong figure, he

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s

Senator Kamran Murtaza proposed the

minister that the journalists who had lost their lives in line of their duty, should be properly probed on which subject they were working before their murder To this, the minister assured the House that the report would be a comprehensive one

According to the statistics, 15 journalists were murdered in Punjab

while 11 in Sindh 13 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 3 in Balochistan Muhammad Saad, Safdar Ali, Muhammad Wajid Zeeshan Ashraf Butt Mirza Waseem Baig, Saeed Butt, Ziaur-Rehman Farooqi, Rao Matloob, Husnain Shah Mian Razzaq Zahid Ali Muhammad nizam, Kashif Hussain, Lala Fazal Jan, Zia Kamboh, Aziz Memon Ajay Lalwani Ali Sher Rajpar Mureed Abbas, Ilyas Warsi, Zulfiqar Ali Mandrani, noor Lanjwani, nazim Jokhio Murtaza Shar Athar Mateen Ishtiaq Sodharo, Wahab, Zaman Mehsood, Haroon Khan, Javidullah Khan noonul Hassan Iftikhar Ahmad Tahir Hussain, Ihsan Ullah Sherpao, Waseem Alam, Abdul Wahab, Muhammad Sohail Khan Aman Ullah Qais Javed Maseeh, Abdul Wahid Raisani, Anwar Khetran and Shahid Zehri were the journalists murdered during the last four years across the country, he added

new rain spell to enter Pakistan today

ISLAMABAD

Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has said that a new rains spell will enter Pakistan through Balochistan on Saturday (today), which will grip the upper part of the country Due to new rains spell, rain-thunderstorm followed by snowfall over hills is expected at isolated places in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, north Punjab and north Balochistan Temperature in Islamabad and Gilgit recorded on Friday morning was five degree centigrade, Lahore 12, Karachi 15, Peshawar 10, Quetta 02, Murree -02 and Muzaffarabad 08 degree centigrade Meanwhile, the PMD has forecast cloudy weather with chances of rain for Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and snow is expected in Srinagar Leh Pulwama Anantnag Shopian and Baramulla, cloudy with chances of rain in Jammu Temperatures recorded Srinagar, Pulwama and Shopian on Friday morning was one degree centigrade Jammu 09 Leh -11 Anantnag and Baramulla 02 degree centigrade

5 Jhelum girls go missing in week

JEHLUM

S ta f f r e P o r t

Five girls were allegedly abducted in different incidents in Jhelum during a week police sources said on Friday The girls were 17 to 20 years old, police said Alisha, Saira Salim, Pakeeza, Kareena, and Asma were among the kidnapped girls, they added The police announced a reward of Rs50,000 for the recovery of Pakeezah, 20 Jhelum District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Fahad said that two suspects had been arrested and investigation was underway All the girls will be recovered soon,” he pledged

of Prisons was directed to solve the issues highlighted by the inmates They asked the Secretary LJCP to pursue the early submission of challans in courts by the police authorities in Punjab and other provinces

ISLAMABAD

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A I S A L niaz Tirmizi, Pakistan s Ambassador to the UAE, Friday discussed investment opportunities offered by Pakistan in energy, hospitality, tourism, IT and manufacturing sectors in a meeting with Mohamed Ali Musabbeh Al nuaimi, Chairman of Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce and Industry

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The court instructed the Foreign Office to provide legal assistance to the petitioner and held meeting with her in next week The case was then adjourned till March 17

The Supreme Court on Friday summoned the Secretary interior and Sindh Chief Secretary on next hearing on a petition regarding the recovery of two missing girls Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, while heading a three-member bench which heard the case, observed that the court had sought comments from the Sindh Chief Secretary and the Interior Ministry, but no answer was submitted Justice Athar Minallah remarked that it was an important issue as the missing girls had not been recovered Who would be responsible if the citizens would disappear, he asked The court instructed the respondents to submit the report regarding the recovery of the missing girls and adjourned further hearing till January 27

Dr JAMeS SHerA DISMAyeD over tHreAtS HUrLeD

At CHrIStIAn MInorIt y In CHHAttISGArH, InDIA

ex -Mayor of Rugby Dr James Shera has expressed deep sorrow over the incident that took place in Chhattisgarh, India earlier this month in India where hundreds of Christians were dispersed and were told either to recant the area or their faith

Innocent victims were forced to follow the tribal culture or ready to face violence The information about

vandalising the homes of peaceful community spread across the country instantly, 300 religious leaders from different religions gathered to show solidarity in an event organised by the Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue of the Archdiocese of Delhi; reportedly 1000 people displaced in nearly 33 villages across the region

Dr Shera said that Indian Government measures tackling the menace of discrimination against its minorities are insufficient; coercive acts preventing Christians worshiping within their

Gov t restores previous status of PMDC

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The government has restored the previous status of the Pakistan Medical Council (PMC) after receiving assent of the President of Pakistan on Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Act, 2022 sent by the Parliament According to spokesperson for the council after official signing of gazette notification, the PMDC bill has become now fully functional He said that now all matters of the PMDC will be handled as per the guidelines given in the passed bill which was signed by the President of Pakistan to reconstitute the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council in order to establish a uniform minimum standard of basic and higher qualifications in medicine and dentistry It is pertinent to mention here that the Joint Session of the parliament (Majlise-Shoora) passed the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Bill, 2022 on December 20, 2022 The bill was returned and raised objections by the President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi for further amendments MNA Dr Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) presented the bill to reconstitute the Medical and Dental Council in Pakistan (The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Bill, 2022) As per the commencement Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Act 2022, shall stand dissolved and the Minister-in-charge of the Division shall look after the affairs of the council till the constitution of the new council under this act is elected by the council The Minister-in-charge of the Division shall exercise the powers of the council during the transitory period The National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan had already passed the PMDC Bill, 2022

PU students clinch top three positions in Student’s Paper Contest

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Students of Punjab University Institute of Geology including Ayesha Ijaz, Maha Ali and Gull Fatima clinched first, second and third position respectively in Geology and Geophysics Student’s Paper Contest in 28th Annual Technical Conference (ATC) 2022 The conference was organized by Pakistan Association of Petroleum Geologists and Society of Petroleum Engineers (PAPG & SPE) was held at Serena hotel Islamabad

homes, refraining pastors to visit their congregations are against the freedom of religious and belief

“Solving issues for minorities should be a series of mutual and a continuous working relationship between communities instead of initiating orders after violation and attacks on marginalised people and communities,” Dr Shera said and added that the Indian President Madam Droupadi Murmu herself belongs to a tribal community and she understands the scale and the gravity of deprived communities than many others

“Inarguably, the onus to tackle and materialising opportunities to serve communities is on

FIA Director apologises to LHC over putting Moonis wife on no-fly list

LAHORE

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director on Friday apologised to the Lahore High Court (LHC) in a case related to the inclusion of the name of the wife of former federal minister Moonis Elahi in the ‘no-fly list Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry of Lahore High Court heard the case regarding putting name of Moonis Elahi’s wife on the ‘no-fly-list’ Tehreem Elahi was barred from boarding her reserved flight on Jan 10 by the immigration official at Lahore airport for being her name on the no-fly list The Lahore High Court (LHC) reprimanded an officer of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for submitting an unsatisfactory report in the case During today s hearing, FIA Assistant Director Sarfraz Virk appeared in the court and submitted reply to Tehreem’s petition

Turi lands in S audi Arabia with manpower expor t top on agenda

Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sajid Hussain Turi arrived in Saudi Arabia on a five-day visit mainly to promote export of Pakistani manpower to Saudi Arabia and enhance bilateral relations

At the airport, Deputy Minister of Saudi Arabia, Dr Adnan Al Naeem, warmly welcomed the federal minister The purpose of his visit he termed to explore maximum employment opportunities for labourers, skilled and highly skilled Pakistani professionals in Saudi Arabia a news release said

Turi expressed his gratitude to Saudi Deputy Minister Adnan Al Naeem and said that Saudi Arabia was the destination of thousands of Pakistanis and center of the entire Muslim Ummah in terms of religious devotion He said that between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, there were eternal friendly brotherly relations since the first day and Saudi Arabia has always helped Pakistan in difficult times Federal Minister Sajid Hussain Turi visited the Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh where Pakistani Ambassador Amir Khurram Rathore gave him a detailed briefing about the various departments of the embassy On this occasion, the Federal Minister said, “Pakistan always regards its relations with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia high which is based upon Islamic brotherhood and mutual respect ”

He said that the current government is trying to further strengthen Pakistan s long-standing rela-

tions with Saudi Arabia and further strengthen mutual economic and cultural cooperation between the two countries He urged the embassy staff to solve the problems of overseas Pakistanis on a priority basis and provide them with all kinds of facilities

He emphasized that solving the problems of overseas Pakistanis on a priority basis is the prime responsibility of his ministry and embassy

He also urged the Pakistani Embassy to provide all possible assistance to the Pakistani immigrants in KSA and the Pakistani Embassy in KSA to highlight the true image of Pakistan and encourage Saudi investors to invest in Pakistan

Appreciating the efforts of overseas Pakistanis Minister said that they are not only feeding their children by working hard away from their country and families but are also strengthening the country’s economy through foreign remittances

He said that he is well aware of the problems of overseas Pakistanis and is working day and night to solve all their problems

He assured the overseas Pakistanis that they can contact them whenever they want Federal Minister Sajid Hussain Turi visited the office of Technical and Vocational Training Corporation of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, where he had a det a i l e d m e e t i n g w i t h t h e G o v e r n o r, D r A h m e d bin Fahd Al Fahd In the meeting, there was a detailed discussion and agreement on employm e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r P a k i s t a n i s , i n c r e a s i n g exports of Pakistani manpower to Saudi Arabia and increasing cooperation in technical training of workers

SC bars PPSC from using term of disable for special persons

the country The minorities were also given representation in the national flag

“It appears to be a political matter,” Justice Chaudhry commented while expressing dissatisfaction over the FIA s report You people are here to do your jobs or contest elections,” the LHC judge questioned

The judge said the LHC had already disposed of a money laundering case against the Chaudhry family

To which, counsel for the federal government said the case against Tehreem was different At one point, Justice Chaudhry said the FIA assistant director spoke lie in court, commenting: “It seems the FIA officer did not care about his career”

The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday barred the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) from using the term of disable for the special persons and said that state was responsible to protect their basis rights

In an eight pages judgment, issued by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah in a case regarding quota for minorities and special persons in recruitment of BPS-17 employees in Punjab, the court observed that the top court had already ordered in another case that the term of disable wouldn’t be used for special persons

The court said that the constitution of Pakistan ensured rights to all citizens without any discrimination It said that according to the international reports, the special persons hanged back in life due to negative social attitudes and difficulties in access to the offices

It further said that minorities were three percent of the total population of

T h e c o u r t s t a t e d t h a t Q u a i d e A z a m M u h a m m a d A l i J i n n a h a l s o h a d b e e n s t r e s s i n g o n t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f m i n o r i t i e s ’ r i g h t s T h e c o n s t i t ut i o n o f P a k i s t a n a l s o g r a n t e d s o c i a l r e l i g i o u s a n d f i n a n c i a l p r o t e c t i o n t o t h e m i n o r i t i e s

Reply sought over teaching Islamiyat to minority students

Meanwhile the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday sought reply from government over teaching of Islamiyat to minority students

National Human Rights Commission had filed a petition in the court against teaching of Islamiyat to minority students

Counsel Hina Jilani appeared before the court on behalf of Human Rights Commission and said that minority students were being taught Islamiyat subject in educational institutions causing resentment in minority community

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD

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S

GwadaR BECoMES CEntER of attEntIon foR foREIGn InvEStoRS

Gwadar,” officials of the Gwadar Port Authority said on Friday

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the launch of projects worth billions of rupees for increasing commercial activities, setting up of free zones, improvement of infrastructure and visit of foreign diplomats, Gwadar port has become the center of attention for foreign investors

“Investors from Turkiye and Saudi Arabia intending to invest in Gwadar Free Zone (North) this year are visiting the port city of

They further said that a delegation of Turkish multinational corporation Nissan is visiting Gwadar Port with the aim of exploring the ongoing trade, its future opportunities and the possibility of setting up a warehouse in the free zone The Nissan Group deals in tyres lead acid batteries auto spare parts CNC robotic machinery, lubricants and filters Gwadar Port, which serves the primary purpose of shipping offers lucrative prospects to potential investors

Meanwhile another group comprising senior officials of Pakistan Saudi Business Chamber, Lahore Chamber and Pakistan Transport Council is also visiting Gwadar

The main objective of their visit is to explore the feasibility of joint ventures in a wide range of businesses including petrochemicals The officials of the Port Authority said that Gwadar offers immense business opportunities for local and foreign potential investors

Key industries suitable for Gwadar include port-focused service industries such as

fishing, petrochemical industry, tourism, trade logistics and port center processing and manufacturing industries, oil storage, refining, transport equipment, ship breaking, food and construction materials

Besides, assembling, processing, manufacturing of household appliances, electronics and information industry is also suitable for the foreign investment

Recently many foreign diplomats visited Gwadar including German Ambassador to Pakistan Alfred Granas Consul General of Karachi German Consulate Dr Rudiger Lutz

SHC issues notices to FIA, SECP in cr yptoc urrenc y c ase

There is no law in Pakistan regarding cryptocurrency How can action be taken on an issue that does not have a law?” Rizwan Ali Qadri Advocate argued before the court

Meanwhile, British Deputy High Commissioner and Director of Trade for Pakistan Sarah Mooney also paid a 2-day visit to Gwadar He also interacted with businessmen and members of Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, praising the development model of Gwadar

In September last year, a team from Canada s Barrick Gold Corporation headed by Michael Peter Nelson arrived in Gwadar and expressed interest in investing in the import and export of various minerals in the port city

Industrialists have demanded of the government to ensure low-cost and uninterrupted electricity and gas supply to manufacturing units to promote industrialization Besides, the manufacturers also called for prompt steps to resolve the Letter of Credits (LCs) issue owing to which process of industrialization is near to complete halting These issues were taken up during the visit of Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ghulam Ali to Industrial Estate Hayatabad Peshawar, which he had paid on invitation of Industrialists Association Peshawar (IAP) Malik Imran Ishaq, said in a press release issued here on Friday Governor KPK Haji Ghulam Ali and Mayor Peshawar Mr Zubair Ali were received on lunch by President IAP Malik Imran Ishaq and Group leader Mr Ghazanfar Bilour on behalf of IAP Senior vice president of IAP Ayub Zakori vice president Ghulam Mohyy-ud-Din and Executive Members IAP, President SCCI Muhammad Ishaq, Mr Fazal Elahi, Ex-Presidents IAP Malik Niaz Ahmed Zarak Khan Ex-Presidents SCCI Zahid Shinwari, Faiz Muhammad Faizi, Sherbaz Bilour, Hussnain Khurshid, Secretary General IAP and all member industries of IAP attended the event along with Ex-Senators and MNAs were present during the luncheon hosted by IAP in honour of Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Malik Imran Ishaq the association president in his opening remarks raised various issues of industrialists, which mostly related to electricity and gas as well as collection of fixed billing charges, quarter tariff adjustment in power bills, etc KP is producing natural gas in surplus quantity and new discoveries of gas were also reported in the province, the association chief said

The Sindh High Court (SHC) Friday issued notices to the finance secretary and the State Bank authorities in the crypto currency

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) authorities were also issued notices

The court summoned Farhan Ali Bilal the investigation officer of FIA Cybercrime, on February 21, and it also issued notice to the deputy attorney general

The FIA sent notices to my client Muhammad Saleem Butt [despite the fact that] the SHC issued a directive in Waqar Zaka case,” he added

Petitions related to cryptocurrency are still pending The FIA summon notice should be suspended,” he demanded

It is to be noted here that the FIA Cybercrime s notice regarding cryptocurrency is pending in the SHC

ECP to decide on interim Punjab CM as Parliamentar y committee fails

ContInuEd fRom PAgE 01

“Make a decision which is acceptable to the public ” he told the opposition, claiming that they were “stuck on two names Basharat added that it was decided to send the names of all the nominees to the ECP so that the matter could be decided “The election commission should compare all the nominees and pick the best person for the role ” he said He said that the PTIPML-Q alliance would use all available options and approach the court if a controversial person was chosen Meanwhile Iqbal said that a person with “administrative knowledge and good character” should be appointed for the role “Experienced people must be brought forward he added

For its part, the opposition expressed its dismay over the failure to reach a consensus on the matter Kamran said that the candidates proposed by the PTI-PML-Q alliance were not “eligible otherwise a debate could still have been held” He criticised Elahi for saying he would approach the Supreme Court if the matter went to the electoral watchdog, saying that it showed a “lack of confidence in the committee”

Khan demanded the PTI-PML-Q alliance name a “more professional person” than Cheema He added

that the ruling coalition had objected to Cheema due to an ongoing corruption case against him

He also advocated for Naqvi’s appointment, saying he was a non-partisan person and a media tsar who has worked with CNN”

Murtaza expressed regret that the two sides could not reach an agreement on the matter “Today we are not in a position to decide and can’t achieve consensus of opinion on anything and the reason for that is members are sent with a dictation that ‘you don’t have to accept anything,’” he said Pa s P e a k e r u r g e s g o v e r N o r T o f I x d aT e f o r P u N j a b e l e c T I o N s: Meanwhile, Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan sent a letter to Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman urging him to fix a date for holding elections in the province

The letter said the assembly stood dissolved on Jan 14 and the governor was required to appoint a date no later than 90 days from the dissolution for the elections “You have not done the needful despite the lapse of seven days from the date of the dissolution of the assembly,” the letter said To fulfil this constitutional obligation, you are hereby requested to perform your constitutional duty and immediately appoint a date for the general election to the provincial assembly of Punjab, it added

S indh University bus sprayed with bullets; driver dead

The dead body of driver Ghulam Ali was shifted to Civil Hospital for further lego-medical action

Pakistan, Russia vow to strengthen energy cooperation, enhance investment

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The two sides agreed to nominate focal persons in order to enhance mutual cooperation and discuss issues concerning connectivity and logistics in Central and South Asia They also agreed to take necessary measures to increase bilateral cooperation in science technology and higher education, especially academic linkages, collaborative and impactful research, training and development, and enhanced interest of Pakistani citizens in education in the Russian Federation Both parties have decided to promote regional integration and Eurasian connectivity And also to explore innovative ways of doing business including through barter Russia’s Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov, who is visiting the country, also said that Pakistan will pay for energy purchases from Russia when they start in late March, in currencies of friendly countries Pakistan’s Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik while talking with the media revealed that Pakistan wants to import 35% of its total crude oil requirement from Russia Currently, Russia does not have liquefied natural gas (LNG) for Pakistan said Malik The following documents were also signed during the session (8th IGC): Agreement regarding Cooperation and mutual assistance in Custom matters between the Government of the Russian Federation & the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Protocol on exchange of document and data on Customs value of goods transported between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan iii Working agreement on Airworthiness of Aeronautical products

Balochistan CM condemns attack on Jaffar Express

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Unidentified people on Friday opened fire on a point bus of Sindh University Jamshoro at City Gate in Hyderabad, killing driver of the vehicle

No student was present in the bus when the firing incident took place

Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the driver s killing

ECP denotifies another 35 PTI MNAs three days af ter similar move

Qureshi reiterated that the PTI wanted snap polls so that the people can decide for themselves but the rulers did not want to face the people

Pakistan

The PTI leaders reiterated that it was high time to send the government packing so as to hold fresh polls in order to safeguard and protect the country s interest

Speaking outside the Parliament House here on Friday PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, flanked by PTI Central Secretary General Asad Umar, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry and former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, said that the Speaker proved by his actions that he was not the custodian of the House but a representative of a party

He said that Raja Pervaiz wrote that he could not accept the resignations as he wanted to make sure the decision was without any external pressure because it’s his constitutional responsibility

However, Qureshi stated that today he turned his face from his responsibility and accepted resignations of 35 more MNAs, adding that the act further exposed the imported government

We bought the MNAs whose resignations are left for acceptance so the speaker can verify and accept them but the speaker postponed the meeting,” he added

He said that the rulers were nervous, as there was no uniformity in their ranks which was evident from the boycott of one of their ally of Sindh second phase LG polls, adding that they wanted to run the system under the arrangement

He made it clear that the imported rulers had no road map to get the country out of the prevailing untold crises but would just clinch to the power to do away with their corruption cases

Qureshi said that the PTI passed the test in Punjab but they could not do so because of political wrangling and discard within the coalition partners

He said that the rulers kept their personal interest supreme than the national interest due to which the country was facing a default-like situation

S p e a k i n g o n t h e o c c a s i o n , A s a d U m a r s a i d t h a t the Speaker used to say that he could not accept such r e s i g n a t i o n s w i t h o u t c o n s u l t i n g t h e c o n c e r n e d l a wm a k e r s H e a s k e d t h a t w e r e t h e N A S p e a k e r c a l l e d t h o s e M P s w h o r e s i g n a t i o n s w e r e a c c e p t e d ? H e termed the acceptance of the resignation illegal and a m o c k e r y o f d e m o c r a c y A s a d s t a t e d t h a t t h e P T I M N A s w e n t i n s i d e t h e a s s e m b l y, b u t n o t o n l y speaker, his entire staff was missing

He said that the sole solution to get the country out of the deepening quagmire was to hold immediate general elections in the country, as the country was on the

verge of collapse “They have no option but will have to face the nation one day he added

On the occasion, Fawad Chaudhry said that they were standing before feeble and helpless Parliament Only a small percentage of Pakistan is represented in all assemblies today This is how they are running the country,” he added

Fawad challenged that NA Speaker used to say that 17 to 18 people were in touch with him, he should show them as where were those lawmakers now

A l l o u r r e m a i n i n g M N A s a r e p r e s e n t h e r e a n d d e m a n d i n g t h a t t h e i r r e s i g n a t i o n s g e t s a c c e p t e d today,” he added “Speaker NA is not capable of sitting here chairs have been altered for the ones sitting in the parliament,” he taunted

Fawad also warned the government that the country has been moving towards a situation similar to Sri Lanka, as Pakistan was facing worst political and economic crisis at present, demanding that all resignations should be accepted

“ S p e a k e r h a s o n c e a g a i n r u n a w a y f r o m t h e a ssembly We should be given the date of general elections, Fawad added

He said that the country was facing the crisis-like situation because the decisions that were made behind closed-room Speaking on the occasion, Asad Qaiser said that the behavior of the Speaker and the government was highly condemnable “I want to ask the Speaker whether they were asked separately before accepting the resignation of these 35 people,” he asked

The CM also instructed to provide best medical facilities to the injured victims in treatment processes

Emergency should be implemented in the hospitals of Sibi and other nearby areas he said He directed concerned officials that security measures should be made more effective in the area so that protection of public lives would be ensured in the area He said nefarious design of anti peace elements would be foiled at any cost under contribution of security forces and people from the province The CM said that law and order situation could be improved for durable development of the province saying anti peace elements wanted to halt progress of Balochistan by destabilizing peace in the area which negative plan to be failed for the sake of people interest

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Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo s condemned an explosion on Jaffar Express in Mach area of Bolan district which left several injured on Friday He expressed his sorrow over the injuries of the passengers in the explosion and directed to Deputy Commissioners Kachi and Sibi to start rescue activities immediately and submit the report of the incident after completion of investigation

Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership came down hard on the Speaker National Assembly for piecemeal acceptance of PTI lawmakers resignations and added that the move was not only condemnable but also illegal and immoral

PESHAWAR

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

M o r e r e s i g n a t i o n s

NAT I O N A l Assembly Speaker Pervez Ashraf showed he is a political operative more concerned with immediate partisan interests than to maintain the neutrality of his office, when he accepted 35 more PTI members’ resignations on Thursday His acceptance, earlier in the week of 35 other resignations was apparently not enough to fulfill the PDM’s need for a riposte to the PTI’s dissolution of the Punjab and KP Assemblies, and now he PTI parliamentary party which will return to the National Assembly, if it ever does so, will be only 43 strong, a far cry from the 123 who tendered their resignations on April 11 last year After so many months of loudly proclaiming that he would only accept the resignations if the members individually testified to him that there was no duress involved and standing firm even when visited by a PTI delegation calling on him to accept all submitted resignations, he suddenly caved, even though n personal appearance had been made

One explanation doing the rounds is that resignations have been accepted where MNAs had said they had done so on TV Another is that he carefully followed partisan interests: he accepted the first batch of 10 seats where the PDM thought it had a chance in the by-election (only PTI chief Imran Khan won seven), and now he was accepting large numbers to reduce the membership of the House, and thus make it possible for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to obtain a vote of confidence even if some f the allies were to leave the coalition

Speaker Ashraf is a loyal PPP veteran who has been rewarded with not just the Speakership, but earlier with the Prime Ministership However he should not let party loyalty blind him to the fact that he is acting as his predecessor did, and compromising the neutrality of his office for partisan purposes He is supposed to be a custodian of the whole House, including Opposition members The presiding officer is elected by secret ballot for precisely this reason: that he must not know if the member rising before him to speak, or whose production order might be before him, voted for or against him He is not supposed to make decisions on the basis of partisan need or convenience, as seems to be the case now

Dissolution and Dissoluteness

TH e P a k i s t a n Te h r e e k I n s a f ( P T I ) h a s f inally succeeded in dissolving the provinc i a l a s s e m b l i e s o f b o t h P u n j a b a n d K h y b e r P a k h t u n k h w a T h e d i s s o l u t i o n scheme is part of the greater plan to force the central government of the Pakistan Democratic M o v e m e n t ( P D M ) i n t o h o l d i n g g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s before time

Apparently, the dissolution bid is an extension o f S h e i k h R a s h e e d s i d e a o f J a l a o - G h e r a o ( s e t everything on fire and lay siege to everything) to break out mayhem Creating disruption to achieve p o l i t i c a l o b j e c t i v e s i s a t h r o w b a c k t o t h e 1 9 7 0 s p o l i t i c s – t h e e r a w h e n i d e o l o g i e s u s e d t o l o c k horns with each other over any issue at hand Old habits die hard

In its ranks, yearning for the politics of hostility, the PTI also has ex-members of the Jamaat-e Islami (JI) such as ejaz Ahmad Chaudhry and Mian M e h m o o d u r R a s h e e d T h e s e m e m b e r s , w h o a r e mostly former provincial and national legislators, know well how to heat up the streets by resorting t o a g i t a t i o n c a m p a i g n s I n t e r e s t i n g l y, t h e y h a v e kept mum on the audio leaks of their party’s leader, Imran Khan

The silence of ex-JI members on depravity and d e c a d e n c e i s s t r i k i n g T h e y o ff e r e d a l l r e l i g i o u s help to the PTI to enable it to emerge as a successful and popular political party, especially in Punjab They were ready to correct every wrong of the P T I a n d d e f e n d t h e P T I s c h a i r m a n t o t h e h i l t a t every turn of crisis This time, however, they observe silence

A Niazi Joint Editor

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

We are living in the era of “Pervasive Robotics, where robots will be merged into the fabric of day-to-day life as smartphones are today, accomplishing many specialized tasks and often working sideby-side with humans The robotic revolution will create a future that is more vivid and vibrant than the present

By 2022, robots will have gained such traction that they will be visible on battlefields as military robots drones, driverless cars, and telepresence robots Military robots are in the field today Drones are in the skies, driverless cars are driving on the roads and telepresence robots are allowing people halfway around the world to see each other over the Internet However, the expanded structure of robots within the framework of human interaction has raised significant concerns about the meaning of robotic integration into human life

Making a future with customized and ubiquitous robots is a major challenge Mark Weiser, a chief scientist at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center in the 1990s, who is regarded as the architect of so-called ubiquitous computing, said: “The most profound technologies are those that disappear ” “They weave themselves into the fabric

To their utter dismay the idea of making a new Riyasat-e-Madina has been reduced to delineating who is a greater playboy: the one in the audio leaks uttering dissolute sentences to a girl or the one in

the video leaks swaying with a girl on the dance floor In both cases, at least, the girls are Pakistanis, and the competition is local Nevertheless the competition was intense Whereas one couple was showcasing the hidden face of the would-be R i y a s a t - e - M a d i n a , the other couple was exhibiting the veiled face of the surviving Islamic Republic In either case, dissoluteness ruled supreme It is known that certain prohibited corners are also meant for amusement Bystander Pakistanis felt exalted and amused If one could bring out more such audios and videos, it would be a great service to entertain Pakistanis Indeed freedom and happiness are connected The leaks offered the tip of the iceberg The listeners-cum-viewers have been waiting keenly for the iceberg itself They want to fathom the depth of shamefulness Conservatism of society is a sham so is Islamism This is why perhaps a school of thought asserts that the leaks are a means to educate the youth, both boys and girls, on sex education Grow up and be an adult is the explicit message Interestingly, the message was aired by the males who had crossed their 60s, whereas the girls involved were less half their ages Medicine says that, in a sexual relationship, age disparity is irrelevant Certainly, as the saying goes, a man never gets old unless he thinks he has grown old Aging is more psychological than physical In a society which forbids formal education on sex, informal sex education carves out its own path– by trampling over the norms and values of society The presumption is that norms and values can be changed by the force of necessity every era comes with its own list of necessities This school of thought also believes that the leak phenomenon is a facility to cater to the needs of informal sex education in society In the name of leaks prohibited talk and proscribed shocks are made available on social media to make the youth mature psycho-emotionally Certainly the youth bulge is not a misnomer; it is a reality The youth bulge offers callow minds and renders them amenable to emotive sloganeering electoral politics is one such arena informal sex education is another Both are now at the service of the youth

event If I am soiled and condemnable you are also d i r t y a n d d i s g r a c e f u l B o t h t e a m s e x p o s e d e a c h other: I s h a m a m m ein s a b n a n g a y h a in (everyone is naked in this bathroom) That is both of us will rise and fall together With the proliferation of this message, the leak phenomenon is at a halt The private entertainment facility is closed to the dismay of many onlookers

Nevertheless, in both cases (expressed by two schools of thought) the ex-JI members in the ranks of the PTI are silent They are least interested in rampant moral degeneration and more interested in making political space for themselves They are squarely in the phase of struggle for survival They cannot go back to their mother party the JI They have to live and die with the PTI

Never theless, in both cases (expressed by two schools of thought), the ex-JI members in the ranks of the PTI are silent. They are least interested in rampant moral deg eneration and more interested in making political space for themselves. They are squarely in the phase of struggle for sur vival

They cannot go back to their mother par ty, the JI. They have to live and die with the PTI

If the PDM had dissolved any assembly prematurely, the ex-JI and present PTI members would have asked publicly the reasons for such a heinous act Denying voters of their due right of receiving public works would have been condemned However, this is not the case now G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g there should be cogent reasons for dissolving provincial assemblies which had been constructed under the constitutionally prescribed l i m i t o f f i v e y e a r s T h e d i s c r e t i o n t o d i s s o l v e a n y a s s e m b l y i s n o t a b s o l u t e ; instead, it is subject to reas o n s Wi t h a m a n d a t e , t h e o p p o s i t i o n i n t h e p r o v i nc i a l a s s e m b l i e s w a s p r e sent and it was not making a d e m a n d t o d i s s o l v e t o h o l d n e x t e l e c t i o n s I t i s the ruling party which has done so It is apparent that both provincial assemblies have been dissolved to create a political crisis that could necessitate the holding of premature general elections In fact, both acts of the PTI are questionable: first, the PTI s discretion to dissolve provincial assemblies as a ruling party; and second the PTI’s effort to create political unrest to materialize its demand of holding early general elections

This is how democracy becomes unsuitable for developing countries such as Pakistan and this is how people get fed up with democracy, and start looking for alternatives

T h e s e c o n d s c h o o l o f t h o u g h t s a y s t h a t t h e episode of audio and video leaks was a tit-for-tat

Robots and the future

of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it ” Computers have already achieved that type of pervasiveness Tomorrow, robots will, too

At home at work and at play robots have the potential to improve our lives With customized robots in the workplace, new jobs will be created, and existing jobs will be improved In addition people will have more time to focus on what they find interesting, meaningful, and exciting As people commute to work in driverless cars they will be able to read respond to e-mails watch videos, and even nap A driverless car will drop off one passenger, pick up its next passenger, and coordinate with other self-driving vehicles to reduce traffic and wait times while driving safely and efficiently

In the future, robots will be a normal part of human lives However it is a matter of concern that robots have a need to be ethically as conscious as humans are in the 21st century Yet the purpose of robotics is not to supersede humans by mechanizing; it is to uncover methods for appliances to aid and collaborate with humans more effectively

Robots are better than humans at many tasks like crunching digits lifting heavy things and in specific contexts, changing positions with accuracy Humans are better than robots at generalization, abstraction, and imaginative reflection thanks to their capacity to explain and draw on previous knowledge By working together, robots and humans can expand and complement each other s abilities The future will revolve around the interaction of machines and humans, but at the same time, it can create a dystopia of machines and automation

We will combat a future in which robots will evaluate the boundaries of our ethical and legal processes with audacity To meet this challenge, it is critical that intelligent machines and robots acquire the highest level of ethical and regulatory literacy in order to coexist with humans

If we want to survive in a world with robots and machines who behave more and more like humans and who make

ever more “personal” choices then we should urge that robots also be competent to communicate with us about what they learn, how they learn it, and what they desire Democracy and capitalism are based on two principles: people must have access to information and the freedom to make choices In the era of pervasive robotics ” big data provides a vast quantity of information Robotic technologies that collect and analyze all types of information about humans without regard for ethical codes and regulations may jeopardize access to validated information and human agency Automation technologies and human interaction could yield unyielding outcomes in the form of tainted electoral franchises and the anti-democratization of society

A major shift has occurred in the economic markets Classical exchanges between customers and companies are based on immediate economic exchanges: customers pay for goods and benefits, and companies deliver them In the digital economy however customers profit more and more from the provision of free services Corporations yield not by instantly charging buyers but by amassing and then monetizing data about buyers behavior, often without their understanding or consent This type of fundamental data mining has become commonplace Automation and access to information in the hands of wireless technology and computers have democratized access to information and altered the way people live and think In the future robots will expand this digital process further into the physical domain and deeper into everyday life, with outcomes that will be equally profound

Today, all civil engineers are instructed to study ethics because an inaccurately planned bridge can result in tremendous public damage Roboticists today face a similar obligation since their inventions are no longer mere academic pursuits To make robots livable with humans in the future, it is necessary for computer science

The writer can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo com

Today, all civil engineers are instructed to study ethics because an inaccurately planned bridg e can result in tremendous public damag e . Roboticists today face a similar obligation since their inventions are no long er mere academic pursuits To make robots livable with humans in the future , it is necessar y for computer science depar tments to follow the lead of civil engineering. This is because they must require that ever y designer and candidate for robotic studies has sufficient training in ethics and sociology

departments to follow the lead of civil engineering This is because they must require that every designer and candidate for robotic studies has sufficient training in ethics and sociology

The writer is a transportation engineer with postgraduations in English literature and political science

Speaker Per vez

Ashraf

shows he is par tisan, even though his office demands neutrality

M u h a M M a D Wa j a h at s u lta n

Yousaf Nizami Editor

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

M

The illusive strategy of China

Unlike other rising countries, China was never a US ally

the outside and more repressive at home US determination is rooted in the fear that China might one day take over the entire world

A forgotten case that deser ves attention

T H e United States (US) was one of the first countries to have diplomatic relations with Pakistan It did so almost immediately after the country s independence in August 1947 The last year marked 75 years of bilateral ties during which in various phases the two countries remained the most allied of allies However, while ‘celebrating’ such a landmark year between the two countries, it was depressing that the one issue no one was willing to touch was that of Dr Aafia Siddiqui who has been imprisoned in a US jail for many, many years The matter has inexplicably been put on the back burner by even when there are civil society entities in both the countries that raise voice for this right or that all the time Dr Aafia has serious health issues, and her children are continuously deprived of their mother ’s presence, love and affection due to her detention As such, the children are unable to have their fundamental human rights even though they are not at fault on any count The release of Dr Aafia will be considered a token of bilateral friendship The international community and peace-loving people of the world expect a general amnesty for foreign detainees and convicts in the US, including Dr Aafia She deserves to be freed on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, if nothing else

There are millions of Pakistanis for whom the release of Dr Aafia will project a soft image of the US, and would help them actually believe in the American claims of its belief in ensuring human rights across the board

The US ambassador in Pakistan will do a great service by advising the government as well as the heads of the US Senate and the House of Representatives to actively consider the release of Dr Aafia

MAHFOOZUN NABI KHAN KARACHI

South Punjab is a victim of neglect

CH I N A’ S foreign policy has also become more ambitious under President Xi Jinping The country’s growing belligerence marks a break with its earlier passivity, shaped by Deng Xiaoping s proverb Hide your strength seize your time” The military build-up in particular, shows that China is pursuing a long-term plan But what would be an acceptable level of influence for China given its economic weight in the world? Unless Washington asks this important question first it cannot make serious claims about what Chinese exercises in power are crossing the line

When Deng advised other Chinese leaders to wait and see in the 1990s, the country was impoverished with a weak economy This economy has grown by 800 percent and now the country has a large population China has bided its time and expanded its power, and today it has aspired to a broader regional and global role as do all great powers with increasing wealth and power How big is reasonable and how much dangerous expansionism? This is the fundamental strategic issue that Washington and the world have never seriously considered

Consider the case of another country that r o s e i n p o w e r i n t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y, t h o u g h i t was not nearly as large as modern-day China I n 1 8 2 3 t h e U S A w a s w h a t w o u l d n o w b e called a developing country, a nation of farmers with poor infrastructure, not even among the five largest economies in the world and yet w i t h t h e M o n r o e D o c t r i n e , w h e n P r e s i d e n t John Monroe declared the entire western hemisphere on lockdown europe’s great power, Britain, reluctantly accepted and at times enforced US territorial hegemony The American case is an imperfect analogy, but it serves as a reminder that countries gaining economic power seek greater influence abroad If Washington sees any such attempt by China as dangerous it will go against the natural dynamics of international life and be setting a self-fulfilling prophecy Dealing with a competitor like China is a new and unique challenge for the USA Since 1945, the great states

that have risen to prosperity and prominence have been Washington’s closest allies if not quasi-protectors: Germany, Japan, and South Korea A typically disruptive feature of international politics the rise of new powers was therefore unusually benign for the USA Not only is China much larger than the rising powers of its predecessors it has always been outside the US alliance structure and sphere of influence US foreign policy from both parties has become adapted to a world in which the USA is the undisputed leader US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright explained why America had the moral authority to use military force and bombing on Iraq, “We are America; we are the indispensable nation and “We stand tall and look further into the future than other countries ” It is unlikely that many other countries would agree to this proposal today

In 2019, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed in a statement that would surely infuriate any Chinese citizen that the USA and its allies needed to put China in its rightful place ” China’s sin, according to Pompeo, is that it spends more on its military than it needs for its defenses The same, of course, applies to the USA and France, Russia, the UK and other large countries In fact, a useful definition of a great power is a country that cares about more than its own immediate security

This is a dangerous fear because in history, when a prominent power perceives that it is losing ground, it often anticipates and exploits the “window of danger” so that its rise does not fall It was this kind of rationality that drove european politicians to war in 1914 During its rise Wasngtington neither succeeded in conquering the world the USSR Japan nor Afghanistan despite some horrible events

S O U T H Punjab is one of Pakistan’s most fertile areas having extraordinary potential for agriculture and farming Also, it is blessed with diligent enterprising people who want to optimise the opportunities that the land has been endowed with But, unfortunately, the region has failed to get the attention of the policymakers so far, which is hurting everyone’s cause; most of all the national cause

China’s greatest geostrategic weakness has always been its abundance of neighbouring countries who oppose his rise . Far from addressing this deficiency, Xi’s policies have exacerbated it China is emerging today but embedded in a vast continent with hostile neighbours who are becoming more hostile

The political climate in Washington always pushes policymakers to be “hard” rather than “soft”, a dangerous way of conducting international affairs The real question is, can they be smart instead of stupid? The USA’s new hawkish consensus on China is awkward, without any discussion of how its target will respond Beijing has its own hawks who have warned for years that the USA wants to hold China down and even seeks regime change in Beijing

More importantly the Trump Administration’s stance has validated these voices, giving them the leverage to encourage the very kind of aggressive and destabilizing behavior in China that US policy seeks to prevent This dynamic, with each side arm reinforcing the other, increases tension and increases the risk of collision It’s important to note that Trump’s tough tactics have achieved none of his goals from closing the US trade deficit to winning Beijing s support in dealing with North Korea and Iran As a result, China is being more aggressive on

On the other hand China with all its successes and strengths is facing internal challenges from a shrinking population to a mountain of debt The Communist Party also faces an uncertain political future Despite a decade of political repression on the mainland, it is true that the rise of the middle class is fueling aspirations Most importantly, China s rise has unsettled nearly all of its neighbors, from Japan to India to Australia Xi’s foreign policy has dramatically increased these countries fears, prompting many of them to fundamentally reconsider their foreign policies ever since the June 2020 border skirmish that left dozens dead, India appears to be pursuing a longterm strategy to balance China Despite its heavy reliance on the Chinese market Australia now views China as its main adversary particularly given Beijing’s many cyberattacks on Australian targets and has called for a global probe into how Beijing mishandled the first Covid-19 outbreak Japan revived the Trans-Pacific Partnership bringing other countries on board and ensuring implementation of the agreement even Vietnam wary of its larger neighbour has embarked on what was once unthinkable: if not an alliance but a military partnership with its old enemy the USA Taiwan s people have reelected an anti-China president and are turning more hostile to the mainland, making military options more difficult and expensive for Beijing China’s greatest geostrategic weakness has always been its abundance of neighbouring countries who oppose his rise Far from addressing this deficiency, Xi’s policies have exacerbated it China is emerging today but embedded in a vast continent with hostile neighbours who are becoming more hostile

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

The region also has tremendous potential for tourism, with several shrines and tombs in Multan attracting devotees as well as tourists from across the country and from beyond the borders The region comprises Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi (D G ) Khan divisions, apart from Bhakkar and Jhang districts It comprises 57 per cent of the total area and 36pc of the total population of Punjab On paper 35pc of the province budget is spent on the region The reality, however, seems to be quite different Development programmes for health, education, social services, research and rural development have been initiated a number of times but most of them fail to reach completion owing to lack of interest on the part of the authorities concerned In fact, there is no dearth of projects that failed to move an inch beyond announcement

A recent example is that of the inauguration of the first school meant for transgenders in Multan that was done in July 2021, with the promise of extending the programme to other areas of the province as well Nothing has changed on the ground at all Instead, things have gone from bad to worse Another example is that of the ‘approval’ of Thal University at the livestock experimentation Station (lSe) in Rakh Ghulaman of Kallur Kot tehsil It was later shifted to Bhakkar city where the sub-campus of the University of Sargodha was renamed ‘Thal University’ If renaming an already existing educational institution in the name of development is what the government wants to do, then, naturally, real progress will always remain a pipe dream The health sector in the region is another victim of official apathy Recently, more than a dozen patients, including five pregnant women, died on the way after they were referred from the rural health centre (RHC) in Jandanwala to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Bhakkar The tragedy took place because there was only one ambulance and even that was not ‘available’ at the time Who will be held accountable for such incidents?

In 2012, the government at the time had approved the establishment of Thal Medical College in Bhakkar, but the project remains what it was always meant to be; a mere political stunt to make headlines No one knows why even after 10 years, the ‘approved’ medical college has not been established One apparent reason behind all these acts of apathy is that national and provincial legislators from backward areas like South Punjab after being elected usually remain in either Islamabad or lahore in their luxury homes, and rarely go back to the people who vote them to power

When the legislators do not even live in the area where the development is needed, how can they claim to represent the people of such areas and why will they raise voice for the community when they never face the issues that the voters face every single day? Another thorny issue is that of tribal feuds and enmity that make an impact on the voting pattern of people in most backward areas Owing to tribal enmities, people vote in favour of candidates who they think can give them political and legal cover in such feuds For a family having its sons and guardians in prison, no favour can be higher and more promising than getting them released

MUHAMMAD MUBASHIR KHAN LAHORE

Missed promotion

R e C e N T lY my mother from Kinnaird College of Women lahore was denied promotion to BPS-20 grade as her retirement date preceded the date of provincial selection board meeting, which was due to be held months ago

She presented her complete data and records long before the deadline and we did alert the former chairman of the Higher education Commission (HeC) about the matter He promised to make things happen swiftly, but nothing happened As things took shape a number of officers were neglected and disregarded just because of HeC’s negligence and mismanagement When asked about this anomaly, the joint secretary at the civil secretariat asked us to pursue the matter in a court of law because, in his words, such odious laws need to be amended Who is responsible for this state of affairs?

MUHAMMAD TAHA LAHORE

Dr MuhaMMaD akraM Zaheer

The Ukraine war is ballooninG america’s miliTary indUsTrial complex

new repuBlic A n D R e w J B Ac e v i c h

in Shakespeare’s Henry iv Part ii the dying monarch famously counsels Prince Hal “to busy giddy minds with foreign quarrels a practice certain to “waste the memory of the former days ” For American politicians and pundits given to giddiness and to distracting attention from recent failures the proxy war in Ukraine is the perfect foreign quarrel it is rejuvenating Cold War–style militarized globalism as the cornerstone of U S national security policy

For those on the antiwar left or the antiinterventionist right, this comes as a worrisome development Within establishment circles however it is encouraging good news Writing in national Review, the reliably bellicose elliot Abrams looked forward with evident anticipation to a dangerous and lengthy struggle” with Russia “that may last for generations ” in the pages of The Week, the typically dovish Damon Linker threw in with the likes of Abrams “The Ukraine invasion marks a return to a world primarily dominated by competition and hostility among states,” he wrote “Such a world resembles the Cold War, but also the world that preceded the Cold War it was back to the darkest days of the twentieth century

The hawks’ position is winning out in March, the Pentagon ordered roughly 12,000 troops to the continent, bringing the total U S presence in Central and eastern europe from 60,000 personnel to more than 100,000 earlier this month, Army Gen Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advised that the U S deploy yet more troops and de-

velop additional bases in the region Meanwhile Congress and President Biden have already allocated $13 6 billion in aid to Ukraine, nearly half of which is termed lethal : $6 5 billion to fund arms for Ukraine and the aforementioned troop deployment

On Thursday, Biden asked Congress for an additional $33 billion in aid $20 billion of which would “provide weapons to Ukraine, replenish U S arms stockpiles, and help other countries shift away from a dependence on Russian weapons,” nPR reported

The consequences of this war undeniably our war, too, given the number of Russian soldiers killed by U S -supplied weaponry will not become fully apparent for some time Yet we can already glimpse its probable impact on American politics and on U S national security priorities That impact is likely to be profound and almost certainly destructive Put simply, the war will divert attention and resources from more urgent priorities in fact, given where negotiations stand on a hollowed-out version of Biden’s Build Back Better, it already is doing so it s a disappointing turn of events, but not entirely surprising to those who listened closely to the president’s message on the campaign trail and at the outset of his term Biden has consistently argued that the contest between autocracy and democracy is the central crisis of our era At a moment when the planet faces an unprecedented threat in the form of climate change, while America’s own democracy is mired in dysfunction, this perspective qualifies as a gross oversimplification

why bangladesh should worry about its economy

Take at face value the depiction offered by the administration and echoed by most m a i n s t r e a m m e d i a o u t l e t s , h o w e v e r, a n d Ukraine fits nicely into Biden’s preferred framework With good pitted against evil t h e w a r r e p l a y s a n d s e e m i n g l y r e v a l idates the canonical events of the Americ a n C e n t u r y i n a n i n s t a n t t h e d i s a p p o i n t m e n t s o f t h e p o s t – C o l d Wa r decades are essentially forgotten Russian aggression and brutality thereby provide a rationale for discounting bothersome historical complexities dating from prior to, during, and after the existence of the Soviet Union, the reckless folly of nATO expansion not least among them Ukrainian President volodymyr Zelenskiy s interpretation of events is deemed authoritative, even as U S war aims diverge from Ukraine’s With weakening Russia now an explicit U S policy objective “We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Monday it serves Washington’s purposes not to end the fighting, but to prolong it Whether that prospect squares with the desires of the average Ukrainian qualifies at best as an afterthought Of even greater immediate significance the terms of U S involvement providing Ukraine with massive quantities of arms without (thus far) sustaining a single American casualty go far toward erasing memories of other wars in our very recent past Just last year the embarrassing U S evacuation

from Kabul seemed like a big deal Today it counts for nothing as do our military misadventures in Afghanistan and iraq The military-industrial-congressional complex has moved on with Ukraine a good war behind which Americans of all political persuasions can or ostensibly should rally Classifying Ukraine as such has practical implications it imparts new life to discredited or outdated habits dating from the Cold War For example it is renewing the national security state’s penchant for threat inflation as a device to boost U S military spending Despite the Russian army s abysmal battlefield performance, scaremongers in and out of government will warn of the grave danger posed by the Kremlin or by a Sino-Russian Axis” for years to come

So with broad bipartisan support, the Pentagon s budget, easily the world s largest, continues to grow One consequence is to assure arms manufacturers of massive contracts, not only to replenish the weapons stocks drawn down in support of the Ukrainian war effort but also to equip U S forces with the next generation of advanced weaponry Thanks to vladimir Putin in other words, generous increases in Pentagon spending are all but assured So too, should anyone bother to notice are more years of huge federal deficits

But consider this less immediate concern: U S involvement in the Ukraine war undermines prospects for restoring even a modicum of equilibrium to American politics Today of course there is no existing

consensus as to what any such equilibrium might entail Per Shakespeare crises abroad provide a convenient excuse for allowing pressing domestic concerns to fester And so, in America some 12 million American children live in poverty, more than 100,000 people died of drug overdoses last year, and hundreds of thousands we don t even know how many experience homelessness

As the Biden administration supplies Ukraine with greater sums of money provides its military with heavier weapons, and sends ever more senior U S officials to visit Kyiv, the drift of U S policy toward ever more direct American participation in the war becomes apparent indeed, as Biden’s political standing at home continues to plummet, the temptation to double down in Ukraine to salvage his presidency is likely to grow

Let there be no doubt: Down that path lies the prospect of involving the U S military in direct combat, along with the concurrent risk of nuclear confrontation On that score, to quote a famous American general, Ukraine may well prove to be “the wrong war at the wrong place, at the wrong time and with the wrong enemy ” Should that occur, any hope of “building back better, or even of preserving what we have, will evaporate

Andrew Bacevich is president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft His most recent book is After the Apocalypse: America s Role in a World Transformed

western leaders must prepare public for a war economy

account for 37 percent of potash, 32 percent of ammonia and 14 percent of the world’s urea market in January 2022, the international price of a range of key fertiliser ingredients shot through the roof Since January 2021, the price of ammonia has gone up by 220 percent, urea by 148 percent, di-ammonium phosphate by 90 percent, and potassium chloride by 198 percent Currently, the government provides Tk 1020 subsidy for each kilogramme of fertiliser Given the price of fertilisers in the international market, to lessen inflation, the government will need to at least double its subsidy for fertilisers in the next financial year

Bangladesh is already struggling with the widening income gap which

worsened by the Covid-led inflationary trap issues in the international market combined with the Ukraine crisis will put further strain on domestic prices Price of grain and multiple household items have skyrocketed in the international market For example, price of wheat, which accounts for over 10 percent of the daily calorie intake in Bangladesh, is significantly higher compared to last year The country’s annual demand for wheat which is growing 10 percent per annum stands at around 77 lakh tonnes, 85 percent of which is met through imports, as per the national Board of Revenue (nBR) However wheat production worldwide has declined due to the pandemic and unfavourable weather in addition both Russia and Ukraine missed the current sowing season which will impact wheat supply and prices even next year and beyond Bangladesh imports almost half its wheat from Ukraine and Russia Data on Bangladesh from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) shows that consumers had to pay Tk 34 to buy one kilogramme of flour in november in Dhaka, which was 19 percent higher from Tk 28 69 a year ago Like wheat price of barley corn and edible oil could hit all-time highs increased fertiliser cost will also seriously affect global prices of other essential crops like rice , vegetables, etc To produce a variety of crops, Bangladesh uses over 50 lakh tonnes of chemical fertilisers annually, three-fourths of which is imported Russia and Belarus are big exporters of fertilisers and their raw materials

Freight cost is also at a record high According to the Freights Baltic index, while global spot rates for 40-foot containers have declined from their peak in September, they are still running at USD 9,604, more than double from a year earlier And with oil price rising over USD 100/barrel, it is unlikely to go down any time soon

Depreciation of the taka will also push up import costs An import dependent country like Bangladesh needs to be careful in depreciating its currency to avoid further inflation

Widening income gap has always been a critical issue in Bangladesh, and it has gotten worse in recent times The South Asian network on economic Modelling (SAneM) shows that the percentage of Bangladeshis living below the poverty line (upper poverty line) has nearly doubled from 21 6 percent in 2018 to 42 percent in 2020, while the percentage of extreme poor (lower poverty line) tripled from 9 4 percent in 2018 to 28 5 percent in 2020 increased inflationary pressure will push more people below the poverty line which might lead to social unrest in its latest assessment on Bangladesh, Moody’s assessed that Bangladesh’s exposure to social risks is very high because of poverty inequality, unemployment, and inflation even though Bangladesh can’t do much about the rising price level in the international market, the country needs to focus on internal supply chains Actions like active market surveillance targeted subsidies reducing extortions on roads and highways and deploying more TCB trucks with essential products are urgently needed for the near future

Mainul Ahsan, PhD, Analyst, Department of Transport Victoria Australia

Financial timeS

TH e expression is ugly and its content even uglier, but “Ukraine fatigue” is a real risk in western democracies Their citizens are repulsed by vladimir Putin s war of unprovoked aggression and are full of sympathy for the Ukrainian people Their leaders have surprised even themselves with the strength of their support for Kyiv But as things drag on challenges closer to home could increasingly steal their attention it is easy to see how the cost of living crisis, which is compounded by war and snarled-up supply chains and which is probably already putting a chill on demand, could erode western leaders focus on Ukraine To let this happen would be an error and a failure An error because inflation in the west is to a significant extent made in Moscow A failure, because it would mean that political leaders had neglected their chief task of preparing the public for the unavoidable hard choices to come

Western politicians must explain to their voters that the cost of living crisis is likely to worsen and why This is the sort of speech they could give:

“My fellow citizens, The past few years have been hard The pandemic brought illness and death, heartache and loneliness, and threats to the livelihoods and businesses of millions among you even as we were opening up our economies and thought the worst was behind us, we were hit by rising inflation and more expensive energy

“Since February 24, we have witnessed the horrors of war revisited upon europe decades after we swore never again We stand with Ukraine against the unjustified assault by vladimir Putin’s Russia Our soldiers will not join the battle; we will not enter a third world war unless Russia attacks us But we will do everything to help Ukraine’s brave people defend themselves, and to weaken Putin’s capacity for unleashing violence in the world

“if we ourselves are not at war, the consequences of war have long since reached us The price of freedom in europe is paid by Ukrainians first and foremost but also by so many of you, who worry how you are going to keep on your lights and heating, buy healthy meals for your children, or keep your businesses running

“Let us be clear: the cost of energy has soared because Russia’s dictator has turned oil and gas into weapons The price of food is going up because he is laying waste to europe s most productive farmland And our sanctions on Russia inevitably involve economic sacrifice from ourselves “i wish i could tell you that things will soon get better But the truth is that they are likely to get worse Prices of energy, food and commodities could go up further Our economic growth and our incomes may slow it is essential that we look this reality in the eye and that we work together to face these coming challenges

“We cannot deny that higher import prices make our economy poorer Our central banks cannot save a lost Ukrainian harvest or fix global supply chains by raising the cost of credit And should Putin cut off more of Russia’s gas supply overnight we cannot pretend that we would not be harmed

“Something like a wartime economy is being imposed on us not of our choosing, but we must not shrink from it That requires all of us to put the common good first

“Those with broader shoulders must be prepared to contribute more in taxes Those most exposed to inflation should expect more help but also accept that help cannot do away with the need to adapt “We may have to ration some essential goods everyone must be patient with more indebted public finances And we have to help those countries worse placed than us, or their problems will soon be ours “it is tempting to close one’s eyes to what is right and go with what seems comfortable But the path of least resistance is both wrong and unwise Backing down against Putin for some short-term respite in commodity prices would only leave us more at his mercy

And let us be honest that this crisis forces us to take steps we should have taken long ago for the sake of our grandchildren The future health of their planet requires an end to fossil energy Today, our immediate geopolitical security demands the same starting with Russian fuels

“it is our duty to invest in an energy system that is both clean and safe from democracies enemies Jobs may be lost and consumption curtailed in the process But like war this is a task our generation must carry out for the sake of the next ”

B I D E N A S K E D CO N G R E S S F O R A N A D D I T I O N A L $33 B I L L I O N I N A I D, $20 B I L L I O N O F W H I C H

W O U L D ‘ P R O V I D E W E A P O N S TO U K R A I N E, R E P L E N I S H U . S . A R M S S TO C K P I L E S , A N D H E L P

OT H E R CO U N T R I E S S H I F T AWAY F R O M A D E P E N D E N C E O N R U S S I A N W E A P O N S’

Star, BangladeSh A F M M A n u l A h s A n

Gi v e n the gloomy global macro-economic outlook, Finance Minister

AHM Mustafa Kamal’s assessment that Bangladesh s macroeconomic stability is not at risk over the RussiaUkraine crisis is questionable increased prices of cereal grains, agricultural inputs (e g , fertiliser cost) fuel cost devaluation of the taka combined with high transportation cost will exert tremendous pressure on the country s food security A food crisis is on the horizon even if the crisis gets sorted soon Special attention and relevant actions are needed from the concerned authorities to soften the impact

was

AFM

T H E C O S T O F L I V I N G C R I S I S I S L I K E LY T O G E T W O R S E B E F O R E I T G E T S B E T T E R

09 Business-21 January_Layout 1 1/20/2023 11:32 PM Page 1

corporate corner

Various secTors being reformed To achieVe economic sTabiliT y, growTh: dar

iSLaMaBaD S ta f f r e p o r t

l a H O R E: Punjab Institute of Geology student Ayesha Ijaz being awarded for top position in a contest during annual technical conference S ta f f p h oto

GSK Pakistan recognised as top employer for 3rd consec utive year

GSK Pakistan has been re-certified by The Top Employers Institute as a Top Employer 2023 for the 3rd consecutive year The Top Employers Institute programme certifies organisations based on the participation and results of their HR Best Practices Survey This survey covers six HR domains consisting of 20 topics including People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and Wellbeing, among others The programme has certified and recognised 2,053 Top Employers in 121 countries/regions across five continents GSK Pakistan’s HR Country Head, Farqaleet Iqbal said, “This indeed is a proud moment for GSK Pakistan and a testament to the dedication of our people who remained committed throughout the rigorous process required to get certified Being one of the top employers in the corporate community allows us to showcase our proud legacy and provide a myriad of opportunities to professionals in Pakistan This certification will help us reinforce our employer brand for our internal employees so we feel even more proud to be working for a great organization with excellent people policies and practices, and also help us attract great talent from outside to work with us!” Top Employers Institute CEO David Plink says: “Exceptional times bring out the best in people and organisations And we have witnessed this in our Top Employers Certification Programme this year: exceptional performance from the certified Top Employers 2023 These employers have always shown that they care for the development and well-being of their people By doing so, they collectively enrich the world of work We are proud to announce and celebrate this year ’s group of leading people-oriented employers: the Top Employers 2023 ” p r

displaced students require suppor t to resume educ ation: PCE

I s l a m a b a d: The civil society of Pakistan welcomed the pledges of more than $9 billion made by the international community for flood recovery efforts in a recent UN conference and urged for swift action to rehabilitate those affected by the floods This was said in a joint statement issued by the civil society here in Islamabad Special emphasis was laid on prioritizing education in the distribution of disaster aid to support the swift recovery of the education system in the affected areas The press statement was jointly issued by the Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE) an initiative of the Society For Access to Quality Education, Centre for Peace and Development Initiative (CPDI), Pakitan Youth Change Advocates (PYCA), United Global Organization of Development (UGOOD), and renowned educationist, Dr A H Nayyar The statement was accompanied by a joint call to action asking state and nonstate actors to take immediate measures to bring the displaced children back to school This entails diverting sufficient disaster aid towards education as well as providing conditional cash transfers to the affected households to facilitate the education of their children The call-to-action also stressed the need to make Pakistan’s education system resilient to future emergencies by speedy and quality reconstruction of damaged school infrastructure complete with basic facilities such as boundary walls, washrooms, clean drinking water, utilities, multiple classrooms teaching aides and a minimum number of trained teachers Building back better also demands making a strong preparedness and disaster-risk management component inherent to the education system at the federal, provincial, district, and school levels Finally, the National Curriculum of Pakistan (NCP) needs to be revised so that it can impart ageappropriate “green”, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Disaster Risk Management (DRM) education to students p r

E D

Ishaq

Moham-

Ist

meeting of Re-

Mobiliza-

Asim

Chairman RRMC, Dr Moham-

Memon, Dr Veqar Ahmed, Mr Ghaz-

meeting in person while Rana Munir Hussain President Pakistan Tax Bar Association, President FPCCI Mr Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, Mr Asif Haroon, Mr Haider Ali Patel, Mr Abdul Qadir Memon and Mr Ziad Bashir virtually attended the meeting through zoom Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar welcomed the members of the Commission and highlighted the economic and financial outlook of the country He shared that in spite of inherited weak economic legacy, the government is determined to set the economy in right direction and introducing reforms in various sectors to

achieve economic stability and growth He further highlighted the importance of the Reforms and Resource Mobilization Commission in identifying issues and difficulties in the exiting taxation system and suggesting reforms in existing revenue policies for resource

‘Made in Iran’ exhibition to bring bilateral businessmen closer

Karachi p r

T

s

s

H E Increase in the volume of PakIran trade will Prove to be a milestone in the strengthening of the economy K h a w a j a R a m e e z H a s a n C o nHe said that the recent "Mede in Iran" Titled exhibition will play a practical role in bringing the bilateral businessmen closer

He more added that the best relations of any country with other countries are due to bilateral diplomatic missions,Consul General Iran Karachi Hassan Nourian's efforts will bring about revolutionary changes in the field of tourism, trade and culture

PSX signs agreement with K arandaaz at Gong Ceremony

In a landmark development for the capital market Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) signed an Agreement with Karandaaz whereby Technical Assistance (TA) grants would be given to prospective companies to be listed on the GEM Board The Agreement was signed by Mr Farrukh H Khan, MD & CEO PSX, and Mr Waqas ul Hasan CEO KarandaazPakistan (KRN) at a gong ceremony held at the Exchange

In an effort to promote the GEM Board to eligible SMEs PSX approachedKRN to facilitate small businesses in raising much needed capital for the growth of their business With the signing of this Agreement PSX and KRN have joined hands to aid the eligible small to medium growth enterprises in their quest to list on the GEM Board by making grants available to them Speaking at the occasion, the MD & CEO PSX, Mr Farrukh Khan, stated, “Today we mark an important day for the enhancement of Pakistan’s capital market whereby we are facilitating and supporting eligible small to medium growth enterprises to list on PSX s GEM Board

Given that cost plays a significant role in the decision-making of the small enterprises to list and raise capital this agreement sets the ball rolling for a grant to cover part of the listing expenses

for 5 eligible growth enterprises to list on the GEM Board Hence, this will reduce the cost of raising capital for these companies This Agreement is the culmination of the joint initiativeof PSX and KRN to promote and support the SMEs to raise capital and grow their businesses by listing on the GEM Board ”

He further stated, “The signing of the Agreeement is a harbinger of what s to come in the growth story of the GEM Board, its listed companies and the capital market as a whole While we are materially going to support eligible companies to list on the GEM Board, this agreement sets the pace and lays the foundation for further cooperation between PSX and corporate organisations to support and encouragesmaller growth enterprises to list on the GEM Board ”

The CEO of Karandaaz Mr Waqas ul Hasan, highlighting the role of Karandaaz in SME financing and the importance of the partnership between Karandaaz and PSX on opening financing opportunities for businesses, added“Karandaaz mission is to foster economic growth and create jobs through financial inclusion of unbanked individuals and unserved enterprises It has provided financing to 850,613 MSMEs through various financing instruments resulting in supporting 1,006,930 jobs, and cumulatively generated an incremental revenue of PKR 199 billion for these MSMEs

mobilization and ease of doing business to achieve sustainable economic growth

The Finance Minister extending his best wishes and support to the Commission emphasized the members to put their best efforts for fast track activity of the Commission in introducing tax reforms for the financial and economic stability and enhancement of the revenue generation

Mr Ashfaq Yousuf Tola Chairman RRMC also briefed the meeting on the formation and responsibilities of the Commission and assured the meeting of their full cooperation to achieve the mandate of the Commission at the earliest for the betterment and progress of the country

NUST wins conduc t of advanced AI, Blockchain courses for Gilgit-Baltistan

I s l a m a b a d : Having won a highly competitive process, involving several universities and organizations, the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) has earned the mandate to conduct 6-month Advanced Certification Courses in the domains of AI/Data Science & Block Chain for Gilgit Baltistan A total of 1,000 applicants will be enrolled in these courses both in Gilgit and Skardu “Today marks a new beginning in the history of Gilgit Baltistan - a beginning powered by advanced learning in Artificial Intelligence/Data Science & Block Chain ” remarked Prof Dr Faisal Shafait Associate Dean Department of Computing at NUST School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Director of Deep Learning Laboratory, National Center of Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) Highly accomplished NUST faculty in the aforementioned fields along with associates will visit Gilgit Baltistan to im p a r t t ra i n i n g i n t h e s e c u t t i n g - e d g e t e c h n o l o g i e s T h e l e a r n i n g w i l l b e b o t h t h e o r e t i c a l a s w e l l a s h a n d s - o n t o d e ve l o p t h e e x p e r t i s e o f t h e e n r o l l e d s t u d e n t s i n t h e s e h i g h - p ay i n g , h i g h l y e m p l oya b l e s k i l l s B l e n d e d L e a r n i n g w i l l a l s o b e a p a r t o f t h e p r o g ra m m e , w h e r e i n , e x p e r t s f r o m t h e i n d u s t r y w i l l g u i d e a n d t e a c h t h e s t u d e n t s T h i s p r o g ra m m e w i l l i n S h a a A l l a h l ay t h e f o u n d a t i o n s f o r t ra n s f o r m i n g G B i n t o a k n o w l e d g e h u b b y p r o d u c i n g s e l f- s u f f i c i e n t a n d s k i l l e d h u m a n c a p i t a l Tools such as PyTorch, Tensor Flow, Keras, Apache Hadoop Polkadot IPFS Ethereum will be comprehensively covered to develop skilled manpower in Python, Data Visualisation, Big Data Analysis, Deep Learning & Machine Learning The programme, being led by NUST in collaboration with its international partners such as Microsoft, IBM, CISCO, etc , will be a great value addition towards capacity building of people of GB, and help enhance employment opportunities in the region p r

PTA instruc ts operators to complete transition to IP v6

U MT h o s t s s p e c i a l s e m i n a r o n ‘ Fa l l o f D h a k a : S e a r c h f o r Tr u t h ’

Dr

in the seminar

Mustafa,

i g hlighted in the wrong perspective as we did o u r b e s t t o s h a

r

t

the history is all clear in front of us to explore and learn

Elaborating the topic, he said that the most catastrophic decision was to suspend the national assembly which unleashed the wave of violence and dreadful acts were undertaken silently Indians and Bangladeshis tarnished the name of Pakistan he added Senator Javed further said that the search for truth is unsupported and forgotten We need to remain focused and learn from India’s pivotal role in creating Bangladesh The reality further needs to be probed with research, he advised Dr Junaid Ahmad the keynote speaker expressed his gratitude to UMT for organizing such an event

3.5m

Lahore S ta

University of Management and Technology (UMT) with the collaboration of Office of Forums and Events, Department of Political Science& International Relations organized a seminar on the topic of Fall of Dhaka: Search for the Truth

e n a n t G e n e r a l G h u l a m M u s t a f a a d v i s e d the youth to move on, analyze the context of history in a balanced outlook and play a

Senator Javed Jabbar expressed his views and said that the future is unknown but

Karachi p r

Ov e r a million people took part in demonstrations across France on Thursday, halting trains and cutting electricity production in protest against government plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 64

The government said a total of 1 12 million people had taken part in the demonstration, including 80,000 at a march in Paris, which saw police clash briefly with some protesters

The stoppages are a major test for President emmanuel Macron, who said on Thursday that his pension reform plan, which opinion polls show is hugely unpopular, was “just and responsible” and had to be carried out Protesters disagreed “It’s salaries and pensions that must be increased, not the retirement age,” read one large banner carried by workers that opened the protest march in Tours, in western France

I ll have to prepare my walking

frame if the reform goes through,” said Isabelle, 53, a social worker, saying her job was too tough to add two more years

turnout was quite a large number, even by French standards, and more than the turnout at a first rally against a previ-

Chinese, Iranian FMs for closer cooperation in phone talks

request

Qin said China always views China-Iran relations from a strategic and long-term perspective and stands ready to work closely with Iran to well implement the important consensus reached by the two countries’ leaders and advance the comprehensive cooperation plan of the two countries to push for solid progress in China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership China supports Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and is ready to work with Iran to uphold basic norms governing international relations such as the principle of noninterference in other countries’ internal affairs, preserve the common interests of developing countries and safeguard international fairness and justice, Qin added Amir-Abdollahian, for his part, expressed his willingness to forge and maintain close cooperation with Qin to make efforts to promote the development of bilateral relations

Iran will work with China to implement the comprehensive cooperation plan between the two countries and continue to firmly support each other on issues concerning respective core interests as well as territorial and sovereignty integrity, he said Iran supports China in playing a bigger role in promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and is willing to strengthen cooperation under this framework, he added

The two sides also exchanged views on the Iranian nuclear issue Amir-Abdollahian briefed on the latest progress of the talks on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and thanked China for its constructive role

islamabad M i a n a b R a R

According to the Chinese calendar and zodiac, 2022 – the Year of the Tiger – is coming to an end, and the Year of the rabbit, an animal considered smart, agile, pure and kind in traditional Chinese culture, is just around the corner

Over the past year China has written a new chapter of socialist modernization, President Xi Jinping said during a speech at a reception in Beijing on Friday two days before the Chinese New Year that falls on January 22 Noting that 2023 will be the first year for fully implementing the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Xi said there will be hope and challenges “As long as we have firm confidence and tenacity, and work hard, we will be able to achieve a good start to the new journey,” he said

In 2022, the CPC held the 20th National Congress, specifying that its central task from the day forward is to build China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the

unions, political analysts say Police briefly fired tear gas on the fringes of the Paris protest when blackclad masked individuals in hoodies hurled projectiles at their lines About 30 people were arrested, police said The government says the pension reform is vital to ensure the system does not go bust Pushing back the retirement age by two years and extending the pay-in period would bring an additional 17 7 billion euros ($19 1 billion) in annual pension contributions, allowing the system to break even by 2027, according to Labour Ministry estimates

Unions argue there are other ways to ensure the viability of the pension system such as taxing the super-rich or increasing employers’ contributions or those of welloff pensioners

In Nice, in southern France, and elsewhere, banners read: “No to the reform ”

This problem can be solved in a different way, through taxation Workers should not have to pay for the public sector deficit said Laurent Berger the leader of CFDT, France’s biggest labour union

S audi prosecutors want cleric executed for t weets

Saudi prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a prominent cleric accused of using social media to stoke unrest, according to a court document seen by this news agency on Thursday Awad al-Qarni was among dozens of prominent clerics and dissidents arrested in September 2017 three months after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman became first in line to the throne

Human rights activists accuse Prince Mohammed of overseeing a crackdown on critics seen as harsh even by the standards of Saudi Arabia, which does not allow political opposition The prosecution s filing was shared by Qarni’s son Nasser, who last year fled to the United Kingdom to seek asylum

Prosecutors accuse Qarni of spreading anti-government messages on Facebook and on Twitter, where he has two million followers

He tweets from his Twitter account at every opportunity, using it as a means to express his misguided opinions and direction the court document states

Objectionable posts cited in the document include statements of support for the Muslim Brotherhood criticism of Saudi judicial decisions and commentary on a diplomatic rift that saw Saudi Ara-

bia lead a years-long boycott of neighbouring Qatar The two Gulf countries later mended ties during a summit in January 2021

The posts are seen as being part of “efforts to destabilise the nation’s foundation, turning society against its rulers stirring up unrest and showing sympathy for a hostile state (Qatar),” the filing states

They also convey support for the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organisation against the homeland and its rulers,” the filing added Qarni is also accused of striving to destabilise the social fabric and stir up public opinion by inciting sedition and division between Muslims and between the ruler and the ruled”

Saudi Arabia, the world’s

largest crude exporter, is pursuing an ambitious reform agenda intended to attract foreign investment and tourists while diversifying its oil-dependent economy

Yet the kingdom still faces lingering reputational damage from the 2018 killing by Saudi agents of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul

And it is routinely criticised for harsh court rulings, including decades-long prison sentences handed down last year to two women who tweeted and retweeted posts critical of the government

Saudi officials have not commented on those cases, and they did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday about the case against Qarni

detained Kashmiri activist Khurram par vez wins top rights award

islamabad

ag e n c e S

Over a MIllIOn deMOnstrate In FranCe tO say ‘nO’ tO MaCrOn’s pensIOn reFOrM X i c alls for confidence, effor ts to sec ure a good star t to new journey

Campaigners from Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) Chad and venezuela on Thursday won the Martin ennals Award, one of the world’s most prestigious human rights prizes, with the jury hailing their “courage” The winners are Khurram Parvez, a prominent rights activist in IIOJK; Delphine Djiraibe one of Chad’s first women lawyers; and Feliciano reyna, a rights activist and advocate for access to health for marginalised LGBTQ people in venezuela “The common denominator between the 2023 laureates is their courage, passion, and determination to bring the voice of the voiceless to the international arena, despite the ongoing, sometimes life-threatening, challenges they endure,” prize jury chairman Hans Thoolen said in a statement

We are particularly proud to honour these three exceptional laureates who have each dedicated over 30 years of their lives to building movements which brought about justice for victims or delivered medicines to the marginalised, he said

“They have made human rights real for thousands of people in their communities ”

The award ceremony will take place in Geneva on February 16, the organisers said

The laureates will each receive 20,000 to 30,000 Swiss francs ($22 000-33 000)

The award is managed by the Geneva-based Martin ennals Foundation The prize honours individuals and organisations that have shown exceptional commitment to defending and promoting human rights despite the risks involved It raises their profile and gathers international support for their work

The annual Martin ennals Award named after the first secretary general of Amnesty International, was first given in 1994

The jury comprises representatives from 10 leading human rights organisations, including Amnesty and Human rights Watch

Parvez, the founder of the widely respected Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, likely will not be able to attend the ceremony though He has been detained by India since November 2021

According to the prize organisers, the 45-yearold was catapulted into non-violent activism at the age of 13, when he witnessed the shooting of his grandfather during a demonstration in Kashmir Parvez, who is also the chair of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, has travelled to the most remote parts of Kashmir to collect and document stories of abuse

“Despite continued attacks on his right to freedom of expression by the Indian government, being jailed in 2016 and losing a leg to landmines, Parvez relentlessly spoke the truth and was an inspiration the prize jury said slamming his latest arrest on “politically motivated charges”

Djiraibe 62 meanwhile pioneered the human rights movement in Chad, and was a key figure in bringing former dictator Hissene Habre, who brutally ruled from 1982 to 1990, to justice, the jury said As head of the Public Interest Law Centre, she has accompanied people seeking justice for rights violations, with a growing focus on gender-based violence

Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization

China’s economy has maintained growth, as its GDP expanded by 3 percent year on year in 2022 to 121 02 trillion yuan ($17 94 trillion), beating market expectations and outperforming many major economies such as Germany, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)

Over the past year, China has secured a bumper harvest for the 19th year in a row The country s grain output in 2022 totaled about 686 53 billion kilograms, up 0 5 percent compared with 2021, according to the NBS

When reviewing what has been achieved, Xi told Friday’s Spring Festival gathering held at the Great Hall of the People that the past year also saw generally stable employment and prices, people’s livelihoods well guaranteed progress made in work on consolidating poverty alleviation outcomes, technological breakthroughs and ecological improvement

In terms of the COvID-19 epidemic, China optimized relevant prevention and control measures in light of the evolving situation in early December The country has now reported declining numbers of fever pa-

tients and critical cases nationwide as both peaks have passed, said the State Council joint COvID-19 prevention and control mechanism over the weekend

“With the commitment to putting the people and lives above all else, we have constantly optimized epidemic response in light of virus development and the epidemic prevention situation Xi said noting that these efforts have protected the safety of people’s lives and their health to the maximum extent, while minimizing the impact of COvID-19 in the economic and social fields

He also highlighted the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, adding that the initiative to steer relations across the Taiwan Straits has been maintained

Diplomatically, China has advanced major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics helping inject stability into this volatile world, said Xi

When the 20th CPC National Congress concluded on October 22, 2022, Xi said the CPC is fully confident and capable of creating new and even greater miracles on the new journey of the new era

Addressing Friday’s reception, he under-

scored that the new journey ahead will be a long one filled with glories and dreams “There are no shortcuts, and only actions count ”

The glorious past was created through solid work and only through solid work can a better future be created, Xi said

He underscored the need to better coordinate COvID-19 response and economic and social development better coordinate de-

velopment and security deepen reform and opening-up in all respects, achieve overall improvement of the economy, and steadily raise the living standards of the people

The Chinese president started his speech with extending Spring Festival greetings to Chinese people of all ethnic groups, compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese

dUbai

The

ous pension reform in 2019

The leader of the hardline CGT union, Philippe Martinez said more than 2 million took part It is common in France that police and union estimates vary widely either way, the turnout is a success for the

islamabad S ta f f R e p o R t

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang held phone talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein AmirAbdollahian on Thursday at the latter ’s

11 Sports 20 January 2023_Layout 1 1/20/2023 11:20 PM Page 1

C

tHE signing of Steve Smith is great news for Sussex county cricket and all those who are going to play with or against him It is a very easy argument to say: Good old English cricket, giving a warm-up to Australia’s best batsman before the Ashes ”

It is also short-sighted Yes Smith will get some benefit from his time at Hove before Australia try to win their first Ashes series in this country in 22 years

But, in reality, the amount of learning that can be done by anyone who comes into contact with him should outweigh his threematch reconnaissance of English conditions

For county cricketers, it is all about getting up close to one of the finest players of the generation They should seize the opportunity with open arms

Labuschagne has been prolific for Glamorgan In reality, the standard of overseas players has dropped in recent years because of

the amount of cricket played all over the world during the English summer

to Andy’s influence

He understood, as all the best overseas players do that the job is not just to score r u n s a n d t a k e w i c k e t s , b u t a l s o t o g i v e s o m e t h i n g b a c k t o t h e g a m e b y h e l p i n g young players

It wasn’t just from Andy that I benefited Leicestershire played Nottinghamshire on a regular basis and when we did, I always sought out Hadlee and Clive Rice I would sit with them, talk to them and pick their brains about fast bowling They were happy to help and we weren’t even from the same team

I m sure that someone like Smith who absolutely loves talking cricket, will be exactly the same “I am particularly looking forward to working with the younger players in the squad and hoping I can provide some guidance to them,” he said when the deal was announced on Thursday Think of Tom Haines, the Sussex opener who has been touted as a future England player and is in the Lions squad for the tour of Sri Lanka Haines should be sitting next to Smith in the dressing room, getting tips from him in the nets and taking him out for dinner

The same goes for young batsmen who Smith will play against He would probably appreciate the questions and respect the players who ask them

As for bowlers, it is a fantastic opportunity to see what it takes to bowl at one of the best in the world, to learn what it takes to step up to Test level Imagine the headl i n e s a y o u n g s t e r w i l l m a k e i f h e g e t s Smith out cheaply

If it was me, I’d be imagining that I was bowling at Smith in that first Ashes Test at Edgbaston I’d be thinking that I could do England favour by denting his confidence

And let s not forget that Smith is likely to be sharing a dressing room with Ollie Robinson (Jofra Archer is also at Sussex, but will be at the Indian Premier League) Smith and Robinson probably don’t have a lot to learn about each other, but it can’t hurt for Robinson to get a good look at Smith in the nets Clearly, there is a difference between what Smith is doing when compared with those overseas players of the past

He is a professional batsman who is coming as part of his preparation for the World Test Championship final and the

Ashes He is hoping that a few matches for Sussex put his game in the best possible place for the huge summer ahead

Even if he does score a stack of runs in the Championship, that does not mean he will carry that form into the Ashes It does not work like that He could still quite easily edge the first ball he faces from James Anderson and walk off for a duck

Yes Smith could enter the Ashes brimming with confidence, but he could also be searching for runs after a lean spell on some early-season English pitches

MELbOuRNE

Shehzad rises on second day of 12th rashid d. habib golf

Second Round of Bank AL Habib’s 12th Rashid D Habib Memorial National Professional Golf Tournament 2023 was played on Friday at Karachi Golf Club (KGC) Muhammad Shehzad who tied lead with six other on day one shot 67 five under par and maintained lead to second day with a gross of 136, eight under par Muhammad Zubair and Defending Waheed Baloch are his close challengers with joint score of 68, four under par Pakistan’s Ace Golfer Shabbir Iqbal is sharing second day’s third position with Ashiq Hussain by carding a joint gross of 140, four under Waheed Baloch, Muhammad Shehzad and Muhammad Zubair started well on second day Waheed started with four birdies on red course but on blue side his single bogie stopped him from lead Muhammad Shehzad started from blue and carded one under par Shehzad’s four birdies on the red side helped him to lead on second day Muhammad Zubar shot three under on blue side and one birdie on red side After the cut on second day, 40 Professionals will participate on Saturday till the final round Competitions for Senior and Junior Professionals will also start from Saturday Golfers experience clear visibility at well-maintained KGC greens The early cold weather turned pleasant as sun rises No golfer was able to claim the hole-in-one Toyota Corolla and Suzuki Alto on second day

The American, son of 1998 Australian Open champion Petr Korda, won 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) as seventh seed Medvedev followed defending champion Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud in exiting in the first week

Korda, who faces 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland next told Rod Laver Arena: An unbelievable match

“I sort of knew what I had to do and I stuck with it even when I was going up and down with the emotions I m thrilled right now, I played amazing, said the 22year-old With world number one Carlos Alcaraz not involved

The hot favourite who is nursing a hamstring problem plays 27th seed Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday Stefanos Tsitsipas is now the highest remaining seed at three and the Greek star stretched his unbeaten streak this year to set up a last-16 clash with Italian Jannik Sinner

The 24-year-old Tsitsipas, who is yet to drop a set, clinched his seventh straight win of 2023 by beating Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3

Tsitsipas is refusing to get carried away as he chases a first major title There are no presents, he warned

“You should be going after it, you should be creating those opportunities and aiming big within yourself, sometimes surpass your own abilities Also into the last 16 are sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and 18th seed Karen Khachanov The Russian defeated 16thseeded American Frances Tiafoe in four sets

Will

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

Superb all-round performance of Bilal Asif (37 runs & 2-17) helped Cricket Center Club defeat Shinning Club by 3 wickets in the 37th match of the tournament Shinning Club, batting first, scored 131-9 in 20 overs Umar Dar and Ali Raza hammered 36 runs each while Zain Bin Farooq hit 20 runs Bilal Asif and M Waheed bagged 2 wickets each

Cricket Center replied strongly and chased the target in 18 3 overs, losing 7

wickets Bilal Asif slammed 37 runs while Ali Zafar hit 28 and Tariq Nawaz 20 Usman Ali took 2 wickets and Hammad Ali and Ali Hamza got one wicket each All-rounder Jahangir Mirza (33 runs & 2-14) steered City Gymkhana to a thrashing 72-run triumph over Prince Club in the 38th match of the tournament City Gymkhana, batting first, posted a huge total of 180-8 in 20 overs with Jahangir Mirza smashing superb 33 runs while Rana Arslan and Waseem Akram contributed with 25 and 21 runs respectively Zeerak Ghazi and Ammar Tariq grabbed 2 wickets each Prince Club failed to chase the target and could score 108-8 in 20 overs Only Shoaib Arshad (24) and Shams ud Din (28) batted sensibly Jahangir Mirza

claimed 2-14 while Rana Arslan and Usama Tariq got one wicket each

Fahad Munir (39 runs) batted Ludhiana Gymkhana to a convincing 6wicket victory over Shah Faisal Club in a low-scoring 39th match of the tournament Shah Faisal batting first could score 94 runs in 20 overs Ali Manzoor cracked unbeaten 32 runs while Muhammad Ilyas hit 32 Imran Ali Tanveer Aslam and Kashif Siddique took one wicket each

Ludhiana Gymkhana comfortably chased the target in 10 4 overs for the loss of 4 wickets Fahad Munir thrashed tremendous 39 runs while M Waqas scored 26 runs and Asim Ali Nasir unbeaten 22 Subhan Malik bagged 2 wickets for 10 runs

M adrid stun Villarreal with S panish Cup comeback, Barc a thrash Ceuta Med vedev latest to exit Australian O pen but Swiatek charges on C ricket Center, C ity Gymkhana, Ludhiana C lub score wins in 20-K Cup 2023

ViLAREAL

ag e n c i e S

Carlo Ancelotti s Madrid side will hope the victory is a turning point after struggling in 2023 They were soundly beaten by rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final

last Sunday Los Blancos seemed poised to suffer cup elimination on Thursday, after Etienne Capoue and Samuel Chukwueze struck in the first half for the hosts However, goals by Vinicius Junior, Eder Militao and Dani Ceballos after the break turned the last-16 clash on its head and sent Madrid, who last won the trophy in 2014, through It was another classic comeback for the ages from a team famed for producing them “After a very bad first half, the second was different we pushed, took risks, had courage,” Ancelotti told Teledeporte “I told them they had to wake up, we had

lost a lot of battles, we weren’t risking much in the press, they were looking for counters but it was a risk we had to take The team was not well positioned, they were too open, and lacked strength in the duels ” Villarreal, who impressed while beating Madrid in La Liga earlier in January, started brilliantly, Capoue lashing home a stunning strike from Gerard Moreno s flick into his path

Quique Setien’s side had won six of their last seven games and drawn the other and they played with confidence in the first half The hosts doubled their lead at the Estadio de la Ceramica just before half-time, with Chuk-

wueze providing the finishing touch to a flowing team move Ancelotti responded by bringing on Ceballos and Marco Asensio and the changes paid instant dividends, with both players on the fringes this season impressing Ceballos set up Vinicius to pull the first back for Madrid and it put the wind in their sails Asensio drilled a low free-kick under the wall but Filip Jorgensen was equal to it as Los Blancos strained for the equaliser

The Danish stopper then parried Karim Benzema s header moments later, but Militao pounced on the rebound to level With the clock ticking towards extra-time Ceballos

struck with a low effort from the edge of the box, set up by Asensio, to complete the rescue mission The team knew how to stay alive in the game and luckily we could turn it around,” match-winner Ceballos told Teledeporte

We want to dominate matches and lately we have not been capable of doing it, we’ve had a lot of games in a row, many players coming back from the World Cup, and now we will improve ” Barcelona lifted the Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh with a convincing triumph over Madrid, and after initially struggling to break down Ceuta’s defence, eventually cruised to victory

KARACHi S ta f f R e p o R t

Daniil Medvedev on Friday became the latest title contender to crash out of the men’s draw at the Australian Open, but Iga Swiatek led a charge of the women s seeds into the last 16 Russia’s Medvedev was runner-up at the last two Grand Slams in Melbourne but his tournament ended with a whimper in round three at the hands of Sebastian Korda

because of injury Medvedev s surprise defeat to the 29th seed is another boost to nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic

LONDON

G o v t i n c R e a s e s P R o F i t R at e s o n n aya

Pa k i s ta n c e R t i F i c at e s t o l u R e d o l l a R s

pR OfIt REpORt

tH E federal government has increased rates on return on US dollar based Naya Pakistan and Islamic Naya Pakistan Certificates to attract foreign exchange inflows into the country

According to Finance Division, In exercise of the power conferred by rules 7, 8 and 12 of the Naya Pakistan Certificates rules, 2020, the Finance division is pleased to substitute its notification no SRO 862(1)/2020 dated September 11, 2022 and SRO 211(1)/2021 dated February 2021

Finance Division has notified increase in rates on return on Naya Pakistan and Islamic Naya Pakistan Certificates and NRPs and eligible Resident Pakistanis with FCVA can safely

invest their money with sizable returns

According to notification, the government has increased the rate of return to 1 50% on investments in dollar-denominated Naya Pakistan Certificates

The rate of return on investment on Naya Pakistan Certificate for three months has been increased from 1 50% to 7%

Similarly, the rate of return on investments on Naya Pakistan Certificates for six months has been increased by 1 20% to 7 20%

The rate of return increased by 1% to 7 50% on investment on Naya Pakistan Certificate for one year and the rate of return on investments on Naya Pakistan Certificates increased from 1 25% to 8% over three years

The rate of return on investment on Naya Pakistan Certificate for 5 years has been increased by 1% to 8%, notifica-

tion stated On the other hand, the notification states that the government has decreased the rate of return on investments in British Pounds and Euros

T h e r a t e o f r e t u r n o n i n v e s t m e n t on Euro on Naya Pakistan Certificate f o r t h r e e m o n t h s w i l l b e 4 % S i m ilarly, the rate of return on investments o n N a y a P a k i s t a n C e r t i f i c a t e s f o r s i x months is 4 50%

In addition the rate of return on investment on Naya Pakistan Certificate for one year as well as three years decreased to 5% and 6 50% respectively

Furthermore, the rate of return on investment on Naya Pakistan Certificate for five years will be 6 50%

Notification states that the rate of return on investment on Pound on Naya Pakistan Certificate for three months will be 5 50%% Similarly, the rate of

return on investments on Naya Pakistan Certificates for six months is 6%%

In addition the rate of return on investment on Naya Pakistan Certificate for one year as well as three years decreased to 7% and 7 50% respectively

Furthermore, the rate of return on investment on Naya Pakistan Certificate for five years will be 7 50%

Notification states that the government has maintained rates on return on Pak rupee Naya Pakistan

Economic Expert Mohammad Sohail said that Increase in rate of return will increase dollar in dollar investment in Naya Pakistan Certificate and there was a dire need after the increase in the interest rate in the global market

This was much needed after an increase in rates globally and this will help in bringing money into Pakistan

Crackdown on petroleum smuggling fails

CUSTOMS IDENTIFY 1,675 ILLEGAL PETROL STATIONS IN THREE PROVINCES

pR OfIt REpORt

Pakistan attaches great importance to relations with Russian Federation: PM

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan attaches great importance to its relations with Russian Federation Speaking during a meeting with a delegation led by the Russian Energy Minister Mr Nikolay Shulginov which called on him in Lahore on Thursday the prime minister recalled his meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Samarkand in September 2022 and said that the meeting had reached important decisions to further strengthen Pakistan-Russia relations Premier Shehbaz Sharif also noted with satisfaction the keen desire on both the sides to upgrade the bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and economic matters

The Russian Energy Minister reciprocated Prime Minister ’s sentiments and delivered a special message of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Prime Minister In his message, President Putin referring to Pakistan as Russia’s important partner in South Asia and the Islamic World reiterated Russia’s strong interest to deepen the bilateral relationship Both sides agreed on the importance of energy sector for the development of bilateral economic and trade relations In this regard views were exchanged on supplying oil and gas from Russia to Pakistan on a long term basis Matters related to gas pipelines were also reviewed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif provided guidance for the work of 8th Round of Pakistan-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission meeting scheduled to be held in Islamabad on 20 January 2023 The meeting was also attended by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Tariq Fatimi

t

Soon after the National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf s decision to accept the resignations of 35 more Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) MNAs, party leaders termed the move as “illegal” and “immoral”

Earlier on Friday, the NA speaker accepted the resignations of 35 more PTI lawmakers in a bid to scuttle Imran Khan’s bid to “test” Prime Minster Shehbaz Sharif through a trust vote and claim a role in the appointment of caretaker prime minister according to the Constitution, the Leader of the Opposition is consulted for the selection of interim PM

A total of 70 resignations were accepted this week after PTI Chairman Imran Khan announced to return to the assembly Speaking outside the Parliament House

The customs adjudicating officers have reportedly dismissed a majority of the cases made by different customs collectorates under the direction and supervision of the then member custom operations during the course of FBR’s crackdown against the smuggling of petroleum into Pakistan Customs officials claim that the crackdown against smuggling has increased not only duty and taxes but that they have also identified 1 675 illegal petrol stations in three provinces

Some inside sources say that courts have also released the accused persons in criminal cases made during the crackdown They add that the FBR in this crackdown had engaged many federal and provincial departments and their resources to curb the smuggling of Iranian diesel into Pakistan Also according to them the FBR had made and issued seizure reports and FIRs from their own department in order to maintain uniformity in cases made by the FBR s field formations

This country-wide multi departmental crackdown against the smuggling of petroleum was spearheaded and monitored by members of the FBR, Tariq Huda and Saeed Jadoon The clamp down has reportedly ended in nothing after the collapse of almost all the seizure and criminal cases before the FBR’s own adjudication officers and courts of law

Sources say that the kinds of defects and illegalities in the templates and formats of the seizures issued from the FBR were such that the officers of the collectorates defending these cases were rendered speechless before the courts This resulted in zero recovery of tax liabilities and zero success of FIRs registered against the owners and operators of the unauthorised outlets Sources also say that this was such a massive failure because of the FBR s incorrect conception and erroneous planning of the whole exercise The unauthorised petroleum outlets were charged with violations of the Petroleum Act, 1934 and petroleum marketing rules Instead of requesting the ministry of petroleum and its attached departments to take action, FBR’s two members of customs took the responsibility on themselves, thereby laying the foundation of the collapse of

these cases In assuming this responsibility, sources add, the customs’ laws provisions were arbitrarily stretched to bring these cases within their fold The prescribed templates and formats had to connect the actual violation of petroleum laws with presumed violations of the customs law

It was assumed that since the unauthorised petroleum outlets operated in violation of petroleum laws, these outlets must have smuggled petroleum and operated in violation of the customs law

Sources said that the most interesting but damaging erroneous application of law which led to the ultimate collapse of these cases was the charge in under the penal provisions of section 156(1)(8)(89) of the Customs Act but a statement of offense in templates and formats which did not fit into this charge Sources said that past five years’ presumed sales of petroleum by unauthorised outlets were calculated by the customs department whereas the charging sections 156(1)(8)(89) did not cover past sales

The charging sections covered only smuggled goods seized while entering the country and smuggled goods actually found in someone’s possession Inside sources not wanting to be named, said that the 2021 crackdown against petroleum smuggling could have easily be turned into a historic success if the FBR s officers had taken on only the responsibility of preventing smuggling of petroleum under the prevention of smuggling act and had left the legal actions under the petroleum ministry

The customs official, who talked on behalf of Huda, says that customs collectorates had started operations against illegal petroleum oil and lubricants’ (POL) retail outlets in three provinces Punjab, Sindh, & KPK on the direction of the PM office They identified 2,615 illegal POL outlets during this exercise Out of these, 859 legal pumps submitted documents in the requisite time while 1,675 failed to do so Meanwhile, 506 cases stayed by court or referred to district administration/OGRA for regulatory actions and in 1,170 cases criminal action was initiated by customs, he adds He also informed that a significant rise was observed in the import value of POL products from the previous three and Rs 8 billion increase in collection of Duty & Taxes on POL products reported for the month of March 2021 Vs March 2022

uae businessmen need to exploit business oppor tunities in

Pakistan: PM

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

P r i m e M i n i s t e r S h e h b a z S h a r i f h a s s a i d t h a t b u s i n e s s m e n o f t h e U n i t e d A r a b E m i r a t e s ( U A E ) n e e d t o u t i l i z e t h e i m m e n s e b u s i n e s s o p p o r t u n i t i e s i n P a k i s t a n – a m a r k e t o f o v e r 2 2 0 m i l l i o n p e o p l e – o ff e r i n g i t s i n v e s t o r s a s t r o n g a n d l a rg e c o n s u m e r m a r k e t I n a n i n t e r v i e w w i t h K h a l e e j Ti m e s d u r i n g h i s v i s i t t o t h e U A E l a s t w e e k , h e s a i d , “ E n e rg y, i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , e - c o m m e r c e , a g r o - b a s e d i n d u s t r y, a n d I T s e c t o r s a r e u p f o r g r a b s P r e m i e r S h e h b a z S h a r i f b e s i d e s h i s m e e t i n g t h e U A E l e a d e r s h i p , a l s o w i t n e s s e d t h e s i g n i n g o f t h r e e m e m o r a n d a o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g ( M o U s ) i n t h e f i e l d s o f c o m b a t i n g h u m a n t r a ff i c k i n g , i n f o r m a t i o n e x c h a n g e , a n d c o o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e d i p l o m a t i c a c a d e m i e s o f b o t h c o u n t r i e s To a q u e s t i o n a b o u t t h e t r a d e r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n P a k i s t a n a n d U A E , t h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e b i l a t e r a l t r a d e w i t h t h e U A E h a d i n c r e a s e d b y 2 5 4 0 % d u r i n g 2 0 2 1 - 2 2 a s c o m p a r e d t o t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r, a m o u n t i n g t o U S $ 1 0 6 0 b i l l i o n H o w e v e r, h e s a i d , “ T h e c u r r e n t l e v e l o f b i l a t e r a l t r a d e i s s t i l l n o t a t r u e r e f l e c t i o n “ We a r e l o o k i n g t o f u r t h e r s t r e n g t h e n o u r e x i s t i n g e c o n o m i c , t r a d e a n d i n v e s t m e n t t i e s ” P M S h e h b a z s a i d t h e a v e r a g e a n n u a l t r a d e b e t w e e n t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s s t o o d a t U S $ 8 b i l l i o n m a k i n g t h e U A E t h e l a rg e s t t r a d i n g p a r t n e r o f P a k i s t a n i n t h e M E N A r e g i o n R e s p o n d i n g t o a n o t h e r q u e r y o n n e w a r e a s o f c o o p e r a t i o n , h e s a i d , “ We f i n d n e w a v e n u e s o f e c o n o m i c c o o p e r a t i o n t o t a k e o u r e c o n o m i c r e l a t i o n s a t p a r w i t h o u r e x c e l l e n t p o l i t i c a l r e l a t i o n s ”

T h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r d e s c r i b e d I n f o r m a t i o n Te c h n o l o g y ( I T ) , A r t i f i c i a l I n t e l l i g e n c e ( A I ) , a n d F i n a n c i a l Te c h n o l o g y ( F i n t e c h ) a s n e w a r e a s o f c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h m u c h g r e a t e r p o t e n t i a l Commenting on the UAE humanitarian aid to flood victims in Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz thanked the UAE for its “valuable and timely” humanitarian support for flood-affected people

T h e d a y f l o o d s h i t P a k i s t a n I r e c e i v e d a c a l l f r o m H i s H i g h n e s s S h e i k h M o h a m e d b i n Z a y e d , w h o s a i d , ‘ w e w i l l i m m e d i a t e l y s t a r t s e n d i n g r e l i e f g o o d s f o r t h e f l o o d - a ff e c t e d a r e a s ’ , ” h e r e c a l l e d A n d t h e n , h e s a i d , a n a i r b r i d g e w a s e s t a b l i s h e d b e t w e e n A b u D h a b i a n d P a k i s t a n , a n d r e l i e f g o o d s w e r e s e n t t o I s l a m a b a d a n d d i ff e r e n t c i t i e s o f S i n d h i n c l u d i n g K a r a c h i , B a d i n a n d S h i k a r p u r O n t h e U A E a n d P a k i s t a n f r i e n d s h i p , t h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r e x p l a i n e d t h a t t h e f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e s e r e l a t i o n s w a s l a i d b y t h e l a t e S h e i k h Z a y e d b i n S u l t a n A l N a h y a n , w h o w a n t e d P a k i s t a n t o b e a m o n g t h e l e a d i n g , p r o s p e r o u s a n d p r o g r e s s i v e c o u n t r i e s “ We w i l l n e v e r f o rg e t h i s b e n e v o l e n c e a n d g e n e r o s i t y f o r a l l t i m e s t o c o m e ”

S h e h b a z S h a r i f t h a n k e d t h e U A E g o v e r n m e n t a n d i t s l e a d e r s h i p w h e n a s k e d a b o u t t h e w e l f a r e o f P a k i s t a n i d i a s p o r a , n o t i n g t h a t t h e U A E w a s h o s t i n g a n d a l l o w i n g 1 7 m i l l i o n P a k i s t a n i s t o e a r n t h e i r l i v e l i h o o d i n t h e c o u n t r y w i t h d i g n i t y a n d r e s p e c t O n U N C l i m a t e C h a n g e C o n f e r e n c e ( C O P 2 8 ) , w h i c h w o u l d t a k e p l a c e i n N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 3 t h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r w i s h e d t h e U A E s u c c e s s i n h o s t i n g t h i s e v e n t , s a y i n g t h a t “ a s p a r t o f i t s c l i m a t e d i p l o m a c y P a k i s t a n w o u l d c o n t i n u e t o c o n s t r u c t i v e l y c o n t r i b u t e t o g l o b a l c l i m a t e c h a n g e d e b a t e , n e g o t i a t i o n s , a n d a c t i o n ”

the PTI leaders reiterated the need for early elections in the country

Former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, flanked by other PTI senior leaders, condemned the acceptance of the resignations

He said that Ashraf called them to his office and told them that the resignations will not be accepted unless he talks to the MNAs separately

On the occasion, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry berated the speaker s decision and asked about the PTI MNAs who he [Raja Parveiz Ashraf] had claimed were in touch with him regarding their resignations

Chaudhry said that about 81 resignations have been accepted demanding a date for the upcoming general elections

Expressing his displeasure over the decision the PTI leader blamed the current government for the political and economic

crisis We are heading towards a Sri Lankalike situation,” he said

Moreover, PTI leader Asad Umar said that the speaker s move proved that he is not a custodian of the house, adding that the MNAs went to the assembly only to find that the whole staff is unavailable including the speaker, deputy speaker, secretary and deputy secretary

PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the speaker first said that he cannot accept the resignations collectively

“We decided to come to the meeting and he [the speaker] postponed it and when we came to the assembly, he accepted the resignations of 35 more MNAs,” said Qureshi, demanding that the rest of the resignations should also be accepted

The party’s vice chairman said that the PTI wants snap polls so that the people can decide for themselves

P T I d e m a n d s e l e c

i o n d a t e a f t e r ‘ i m m o r a l, i l l e g a l ’ a c c e p t a n c e o f r e s i g n a t i o n s

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t