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wing to the significant decline in the countr y ’s forex reser ves, commercia banks have refused to open the letters of credit (lcs) of oil marketing companies (omcs) and refineries which might lead to a shortage of petro eum products by Februar y “ if banks do not open the lcs of omcs and refineries shortage of petroleum products is likely to beg n w th the start of Februar y, 2023 in the countr y,” said sources in the o l industr y they added that due to delay/cancelation of lcs currently three cargoes carr yng 16 lakh barre s of crude oil of Pak stan ref ner y limited (Prl) and Pak-arab refiner y company (Parco) are facing crit cal deays also, a tota 21 lcs of petrol, two lcs of crude o l, four lcs of high speed d esel (hsd) and lubricants are not opened so far by the banks of the countr y syed muhammad taha managing director of Pak stan state o l (Pso) n a meet-ing he d on Januar y 19 2023 under the chair additional secretar y Petroleum divsion warned that the countr y s having l mited stocks and such a situation can lead the supply to dr y out one of the mogas cargo of Pso wh ch was schedu ed to be oaded on Januar y 13, 2023, had already been cancelled due to the non-open ng of lc a second cargo is scheduled to be loaded on Januar y 23 2023, for which the lc is not being opened by banks md Pso told the Petroleum divsion in the meeting which was attended by director general (oil), chairman oil and gas regulator y author ty (ogra) and representatives of the state Bank of Pakistan (sBP) however representatives of the sBP whi e speaking dur ng this meeting which was called to address the issues pertaining to the lc establishment and conf rmation issues be ng faced by the omcs stated that the countr y s facing severe iquidity issues includ ng commercial banks and sBP and that s why lcs are being delayed there is an urgent need to take energy conser vation measures to min mise demand

In par

tnership with

uk Prime min ster rishi sunak found h mse f in a bit of a bind after he was slapped with a fine for fa ling to wear a seatbelt while f ming a social media video in the back of a moving car the video which was uploaded to instagram during a tr p to northwest england quickly made the rounds on social media, with eagle-eyed viewers pointing out the seatbe t faux pas sunak issued an apology for the brief error of udgement ” and local po ice confirmed that an offence had taken place this sn t the first time a prime minister has broken this law as sunak s predecessor Boris Johnson also committed the same offence But it wasn t just the Brit sh pub c who took notice of the incident Pakistan tehreek-iinsaf (Pti) chairman and former Pr me minister imran khan also weighed in taking to twitter, khan praised the ru e of law n Britain

stating that it “differentiates prosperous nations from poor ones he went on to draw comparisons to the situation in Pakistan where there is no concept of giving nros to corrupt indiv duals, custod al torture over a tweet aga nst power ful persons and land grabbers and the justice system protects the weak SUpremacy of rUle of l aw Key progreSS: Former prime minister and Pak stan tehreek-einsaf (Pti) chairman imran khan saturday emphas sed the need for supremacy of rule of law, saying that t is necessar y for the nation s progress and prosperity according to details, the former premier made these remarks during meeting with insaf lawyers wing at his residence in lahore s Zaman Park a number of awyers announced to join Pak stan tehreek-e-insaf (Pti) during the meeting

imran khan maintained that rule of law was the key to ensure good governance in the countr y, urging the lawyers to raise awareness about the supremacy of rule of law among the people of Pakistan

ruling par ty leaders criticise govt policies, war n against looming crises

clud

senior politic ans from the ru ing coalit on parties on saturday kickstarted their countr yw de campaign and crit cised the policies of the coalition government warn ng aga nst federating units fa ling apart if corrective measures are not taken

PPP s rebel leader mustafa nawaz khokhar former Finance min ster miftah ismail, Pml-n leader shahid khaqan abbasi and others spoke at a seminar here to share their concerns about the ooming crises mustafa nawaz khokhar former senator and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) member saturday shared fears of Pakistan stand ng near a pol t cal breakdown “ we have become politically and mora ly bankrupt even today people are not being told the truth, which the countr y needs ” khokhar said while address ng the second session of the national dialogue n Quetta the conference which khokhar kickstarted along w th his colleagues in-

Presided by nawab lashkari raisani the session was organised by the Baloch stan Peace Forum at the occasion khokhar added that the communication between the people and pol tical parties is broken the ex-PPP leader stressed the need to address people’s issues rather than being engaged in irrelevant pol tica discourse such as the Panama Papers and toshakhana case, khokhar said: there were discussions on Panama [Papers] and toshakhana [case], but where were the ssues of peop e? the situation has gotten to a point where if one doesn’t leave the countr y, they are going to the mountains the former senator lamented that democracy was bur ed the day when the dictator vio ated the const tution “it was decided on the first day that democracy wou dn t be allowed to flourish n the countr y what did we do to

the const tution maker of the countr y?” he said raising questions on the treatment meted out to former prime min ster Zulfikar ali Bhutto, who was hanged by then-army chief general Zia-u -haq the polit cian, who hasn’t joined any polit ca party s nce his departure from the PPP questioned steps taken to ensure the prov sion of human r ghts in the countr y on the basis of artic e 8 to 28 courts have been g ven the responsibility of human rights; they, too, are si ent and not paying attention to these issues the society is disintegrating,” khokhar said speaking about the intention of the nationa dialogue series t tled “ reimag ning Pak stan”, the former PPP member stated that these sessions are intended to listen to people s d scussions and find solut ons for them khokhar when commenting on the issues of Balochistan asked what is the difficu ty if there is a supposed interest in solving the prob ems of the province “ if the parl ament can immediately unite to provide an extens on to someone then why can t they do for solving

ssues? desp te the passage of 75 years, we [are sti not] showing ser ousness in solving the prob ems he sa d further amenting about po iticians

ending

ng Pak stan muslim league-nawaz (Pml-n) leader miftah ismail aims at identify ng the countr y s problems and providing so ut ons for them

only ndulging in power polit cs khokhar insisted on the need for

pol tical instability for the betterment of the countr y s economy Parties are will ng to do anything for the greed of power the same conversation is go ng on in Punjab as well he said

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A p p o i n t m e n t o f p u n j A b c A r etA k e r c m : e c p s t e p s i n A f t e r c o m m i t t e e ’ s fA i l u r e

tH e process for appointing a caretaker chief minister of Punjab, a crucial step ahead of the forthcoming general elections in the province, has been handed over to the election Commission of Pakistan (eCP) after the parliamentary committee failed to reach a consensus

The tribunal will hold a consultative meeting to decide on the nominee, with a decision expected to be announced within

the next two days The alliance of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) had suggested Naveed Akram Cheema and Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera, both civil servants, while the opposition tabled the names of Mohsin Naqvi media mogul and Ahad Cheema, former civil servant However, Cheema, the nominee of outgoing chief minister Pervaiz elahi refused to be part of the caretaker setup reportedly after being contacted by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) This latest development highlights the

With new chinese coaches, Greenline train set to hit track from 27

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Railways has decided to restore Greenline express train between Islamabad and Karachi with newlyimported Chinese coaches to facilitate rail passengers from January 27

The PR sources said on Saturday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would soon inaugurate the train operation The train will run between Margala (Islamabad) Railway Station and Karachi with stops at Rawalpindi, Chaklala, Lahore Khanewal Bahawalpur Rohri Hyderabad and Drig Road and no stop at Drig Road on return

The rack of the train will consist of AC Business, AC Parlour AC Standard and economy Class coaches Facilities of high class breakfast, lunch, dinner, hi-tea, five-star bedding, clean drinking water, infotainment screens in AC coaches pre-arrival announcement WiFi utility kit and special toilets for special citizens would be provided in the train

Separate cabins for women passengers in AC and economy Class coaches would also be allocated in the train Booking and reservation of the train has been started

A L M A N S A

D I Q A P P O I N T E D A S P R C E O: The service of Pakistan Railways Chief executive Officer (CeO) Salman Sadiq Sheikh has been regularized by the prime minister office Pakistan Railways spokesperson said on Saturday that Salman Sadiq, a BS-21 officer of Mechanical engineering Department of Railways presently working as General Manager (BS-21) and looking after the post of CeO/Sr GM (BS-22), has been appointed as the CeO (Grade 22) on current charge basis for three month

mercur y may fall to 6°c in karachi from sunday

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R

Pakistan Meteorological Department has predicted that a “cold wave” was likely to grip Sindh, including Karachi from Sunday (today) with the temperature expected to drop to 6°C for the next five days Cold and dry weather is likely to prevail in the metropolis for the next couple of days according to the weather department

The Met department said that the minimum temperature may drop to 2-4°C in Sukkur Ghotki Larkana, Qambar Shahdadkot, Kashmore, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Jamshoro, Dadu, Khairpur, Tharparker and Umerkot districts Mercury may drop to 6-8°C in Karachi, Hyderabad, Badin, Thatta and Sujawal districts,” it said in its latest forecast Karachi recorded the coldest day of the season on January 16 as the minimum temperature dropped 6°C in the metropolis It is to be mentioned here that the metropolis recorded its coldest night in last 10 years when the mercury dropped to 5 6°C on Dec 31, 2021

and raises concerns about the ability of the

process

The appointment of a caretaker chief minister is crucial to maintaining stability and continuity in the run-up to the elections and it will be important for the eCP to make a decision that is seen as impartial and acceptable to all parties

In 2018, the eCP had nominated Hassan Askari, a professor of politics at Punjab University to lead the caretaker setup in the province before the election

The Punjab Assembly dissolved on Thursday as per the Constitution, 48 hours after the chief minister forwarded the summary of dissolution regardless of the governor ’s decision

A snap local election will be held in the province after elahi the chief minister and a n a l l y o f f o r m e r p r i m e m i n i s t e r I m r a n Khan, triggered the poll, putting pressure o n t h e g o v e r n m e n t a h e a d o f t h e g e n e r a l election

Holding local elections in a province with 110 million people around half of Pakistan’s population, would be an

expensive logistically complicated exercise for a government dependant on foreign aid and reeling from the impact of last year s devastating floods

By bringing forward a local poll, political analysts say it could pressure the national government into holding a countrywide election earlier to avoid the huge double cost of two votes Khan has been demanding general elections since he was ousted in April after losing a parliamentary vote of confidence He has also led nationwide protests against his successor, Shehbaz Sharif

Two cops mar t yred, one injured in Charsadda terrorist attack

CHARSADDA

At least two policemen lost their lives while another sustained injuries on Saturday after terrorists attacked a security check post in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda district

The police said in a statement that the militants opened fire on the check post in Dheri Zadad area of the district, leaving three cops injured

However police official identified as Imran succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to the hospital and another cop Ramiz died during treatment at the DHQ hospital the police said in a statement

DPO Sohail Khalid said in a statement that police have launched a search operation in the area to arrest the assailants

A Lady Reading Hospital spokesperson said in a statement that they received a thirty-five-year-old injured policeman who received four bullet injuries

“Nothing can be said about the condition A team of doctors is providing emergency medical treatment [to the injured] he added

ANP leader Aimal Wali Khan condemned the terrorist attack on the police check post, saying that the growing unrest in the province is reflecting the critical situation”

He lashed out at the former ruling party, saying that PTI has given the province a gift of terrorism, extortion and target killing during its 9-year rule”

“ANP is standing with K-P police against terrorism and unrest

The attack comes two days after two police officials lost their lives while three others sustained injuries in a terrorist attack led by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on a security check post of K-P’s Khyber district

As per details, armed militants, including a suspected suicide bomber carried out the attack on the security check post, police officials said on Thursday

The martyred policemen were identified as Manzoor and Younas

According to District Police Officer (DPO) Imran Khan, the terrorist activity took place at the Takhta Baig checkpost in the district s Jamrud area during which the attackers also used hand grenades and also opened gunfire

The banned TTP has stepped up attacks since it announced the end of an Afghan Taliban-brokered ceasefire with the Pakistan government last month

On January 14 three police personnel including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), were martyred in a late-night terrorist attack on the Sarband Police Station in Peshawar

of evidence’: PM’s son cleared of Rs16b money laundering charges

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has cleared Suleman Shehbaz of all charges in the highly publicised Rs16 billion money laundering case, claiming there was a lack of evidence against the prime minister ’s son After four years in London in self-imposed exile, Shahbaz, one of the two sons of Shahbaz Sharif, returned home in December “to face investigation” in the case which began in 2018, his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party said

The scandal involving members of his family, previously the prime minister as well, is being probed by the agency while the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has nominated him in a separate wealth reference

He had previously been declared a proclaimed offender in both investigations over his prolonged absence Shehbaz was represented by his lawyer Amjad Parvez in the hearing, which took place in Lahore s special court The agency which comes under the interior ministry headed by a PML-N loyalist, submitted a challenge to the court, stating that after “months of investigation” they were unable to find any

evidence linking the suspect to the case

As a result of its submission, Shehbaz and another co-accused, Tahir Naqvi, withdrew their bail applications

The hearing has been adjourned until February 4

This is not the first time that the Sharif family has been cleared of charges in this case A special court in Lahore acquitted both Sharif and his elder son, Hamza Shehbaz, a few months ago

T h e F I A h a d o r i g i n a l l y b o o k e d t h e t h r e e u n d e r various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act a n d t h e A n t i - M o n e y L a u n d e r i n g A c t b a c k i n November 2020

T H E C A S E: The money laundering reference mainly accused Sharif of being a beneficiary of assets held in the name of his family members and benamidars, who had no sources to acquire such assets

I t s a i d t h e m e m b e r s a n d b e n a m i d a r s o f h i s f a m i l y r e c e i v e d f a k e f o r e i g n r e m i t t a n c e s o f b i l l i o n s i n t h e i r p e r s o n a l b a n k a c c o u n t s I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e s e remittances the bureau said billions of rupees were laundered by way of foreign pay orders, which were d e p o s i t e d i n t h e p e r s o n a l b a n k a c c o u n t s o f S h a r i f s t w o s o n s

T h e r e f e r e n c e f u r t h e r s a i d t h e S h a r i f f a m i l y f a i l e d t o j u s t i f y t h e s o u r c e s o f f u n d s u s e d f o r t h e

a c q u i s i t i o n o f a s s e t s I t c l a i m e d t h e s u s p e c t s c o m m i t t e d o ff e n c e s o f c o r r u p t i o n a n d c o r r u p t p r a c t i c e s a s e n v i s a g e d u n d e r t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e N a t i o n a l A c c o u n t a b i l i t y O r d i n a n c e , 1 9 9 9 , a n d m o n e y l a u n d e r i n g a s delineated in the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010

3 3 ye a r s o n , G aw K a d a l m a s s a c re v i c t i m s i n I I OJ K ye t to g e t J u s t i c e

I S L A M A B A D S ta f f R e p o R t

J u s t i c e c o n t i n u e s t o e l u d e t h e v i c t i m s o f G a w K a d a l m a s s a c r e i n I n d i a n i l l e g a l l y 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 ) d e s p i t e t h e p a s s a g e o f 3 3 y e a r s O v e r 5 0 p e o p l e w e r e k i l l e d i n G a w K a d a l a r e a o f Srinagar on this day in 1990 when Indian troops had resorted to indiscriminate firing

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

A r e p o r t r e l e a s e d b y K a s h m i r M e d i a Service, today, said that Indian troops had committed scores of brutal massacres since 1 9 8 9 i n I I O J K I t s a i d t h a t o v e r 9 6 , 1 6 0 Kashmiris had fallen to the Indian bullets in the past 33 years and that the memories

o f G a w K a d a l l i k e b l o o d b a t h s w e r e s t i l l fresh in the minds of Kashmiris

The report pointed out that the aim of c o m m i t t i n g m a s s a c r e s w a s t o i n s t i l l f e a r among the people of Kashmir, adding that t h e l a rg e - s c a l e k i l l i n g s o f t h e K a s h m i r i s w e r e a l s o m e a n t t o c h a n g e t h e demographic composition of the territory by turning its Muslim majority status into a minority

While saying that the Gaw Kadal and o t h e r m a s s a c r e s a r e a r e m i n d e r o f t h e criminal face of the occupation troops the report deplored that the RSS-backed Indian regime has planned to carry out more Gaw K a d a l l i k e c a r n a g e i n t h e o c c u p i e d t e r r i t o r y I t l a m e n t e d t h a t t h e H i n d u t v ai n s p i r e d M o d i h a d b r o k e n a l l r e c o r d s o f atrocities in IIOJK

H o w e v e r, t h e r e p o r t s a i d , w a n t o n

k i l l i n g s w o u l d n o t d e t e r t h e K a s h m i r i s f r o m p u r s u i n g t h e i r s t r u g g l e f o r r i g h t t o self-determination and they would not rest till they achieve freedom from Indian yoke T h e r e p o r t u rg e d t h e g l o b a l r i g h t s b o d i e s t o p r o b e a l l m a s s a c r e s c o m m i t t e d by Indian troops in the occupied territory T h e w o r l d m u s t p l a y i t s r o l e t o p u n i s h culprits of Gaw Kadal and other massacres in IIOJK, it added

“Terrorists are openly targeting common people including police, he added Those fighting for the throne of Punjab have left the people of K-P at the mercy of terrorists, said Khan

t

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

‘Lack

Z A i d i s Ay s j o i n t j i , p t i c o m m i t t e e t o tA l ly u p f o r m - 1 1 o f lG p o l l s

Tehreek-e-Insaf

Jamaat-i-Islami had constituted a joint committee to tally Form-11 polling station result forms issued by the election Commission of Pakistan (eCP), saying they wanted the results to be issued as per Form 11 in Karachi LG polls

PTI Sindh chapter president Ali Haider Zaidi was talking to the media after a meeting with a Jamaat-eI s l a m i ( J I ) d e l e g a t i o n l e d b y K a r a c h i C h i e f H a f i z N a e e m u r R e

Karachi headquarters to seek the party support for the city mayor slot

The JI delegation included Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, Osama Razi, Muslim Parvez and others On the occasion, the JI and PTI leaders discussed matters pertaining to Karachi mayorship and ‘rigging’ in some Karachi UCs in LG polls

Speaking to reporters alongside JI’s Karachi Chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, Ali Zaidi informed the committee will comprise of four members, two each from both the parties

Mr Zaidi explained there were around 40 such UCs where the PTI was a runner-up with a thin margin He demanded solution to seat issues and then the final results should be issued The PTI leader said that the party would not support Pakistan People s Party (PPP) in any case

Speaking on the occasion, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman

said that JI had a good working relationship with PTI as they both had jointly contested 2015 local government elections He accused the Sindh government of manipulating the results of some Karachi UCs in the recent local government elections

The Jamaat City Chief urged the Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and other parties to build consensus for Karachi mayor s slot He invited all political parties to work with JI for the betterment of Karachi earlier, during the meeting, the two parties discussed results of local government (LG) elections and also demanded recognition of the mandate of Karachi The sources claimed that the Jamaat-e-Islami did not seek Tehreek-e-Insaf ’s support for Mayor Karachi slot B o t h t h e J a m a a t - e - I s l a m i ( J I ) a n d P a k i s t a n

S h a r j e e l h o s p i t a l i s e d w i t h h e a r t at t a c k

KARACHI

S ta f f R e p o R t

pakistani superstar sings at china’s 2023 spring festival Gala

Pakistani singer Sahir Ali Bagga performed at the highly anticipated 2023 Spring Festival Gala held on Saturday evening as Chinese people worldwide celebrated the start of the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival

The Spring Festival Gala also known as “Chunwan,” has taken place every year since 1983 It is an indispensable part of the celebrations for the Chinese people to ring in the Chinese New Year the most important Chinese festival centering on family reunions It has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world s most-watched TV program

A collection of singing and dancing, opera, sketch comedy, crosstalk, martial arts, acrobatics, and other types of programmes entertained the audiences at home and abroad in this four-hour extravaganza, China economic Net (CeN) reported

A s t h e y e a r 2 0 2 3 m a r k s t h e 1 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f B e l t a n d R o a d I n i t i a t i v e ( B R I ) , S a h i r A l i B a g g a , a m o n g o t h e r s i n g e r s f r o m c o u n t r i e s a l o n g t h e B e l t a n d R o a d s a n g a P a k s i t a n i s o n g K o r i n a a t t h e g a l a , m a k i n g h i m o n e o f m a n y i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t a r s l i k e C a n a d i a n - F r e n c h s i n g e r C e l i n e D i o n a n d F r e n c h a c t r e s s S o p h i e M a r c e a u w h o h a v e a p p e a r e d a t t h e s h o w

Sahir Ali Bagga is a victorious Pakistani singer who rose to fame in 2009 and since that time he is ruling the hearts of millions of people not only in Pakistan, but all over the world

The Spring Festival Gala will be aired on multiple TV channels, radio stations and new media platforms

According to the national broadcaster China Media Group, the total audience of the 2022 Spring Festival Gala reached a record 1 296 billion at home and abroad, with more than 650 media outlets from over 170 countries and regions worldwide carrying live coverage of the gala

Sindh Minister for Transport Sharjeel Inam Memon was rushed to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) in Hyderabad on Saturday following a sudden heart attack

According to hospital management, the condition of the minister, 48, rapidly deteriorated and he was immediately transferred to the coronary care unit (CCU) for further treatment

A team of specialists at the NICVD decided to perform an angioplasty a procedure used to open blocked or narrowed blood vessels in the heart, to

address the issue

Though the Sindh Information Department has yet to comment on the minister ’s condition, sources close to the hospital have reported that he is currently in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery

The sudden heart attack has come as a surprise to many as the minister had not previously reported any heart-related issues The news of the minister ’s health emergency has sparked concern among his constituents and political supporters who are hoping for a speedy recovery The cause of the heart attack is yet to be determined

A JK PM underscores K ashmiris’ par ticipation in talks with India on K ashmir

MUZAFFARABAD

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan has said that resolution of the Kashmir dispute in line with the wishes and aspirations of people was key to improving bilateral relationship between India and Pakistan however he suggested that Kashmiri leadership should be taken into confidence before any bilateral talks

In a statement issued here on Saturday by the public relations department, Tanveer, while referring to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif s talks offer to his Indian counterpart said that talks with India at any level, would be meaningless unless India roll backs its August 05 actions

While referring to Indian rulers’ track record of backtracking from their commitments, he said that the UN resolutions provide a comprehensive road map to settle the dispute peacefully but India had always broken the promises and refused to implement the UN resolutions on Kashmir The PM said that Kashmiri leadership was not against Indo-Pak relations but the revival of ties with India should be linked with the normalization of situation in Kashmir and the ultimate resolution of the issue Terming Kashmir as an unfinished agenda of partition, he said the Kashmir issue was all about the life and death of millions of Kashmiri people and Pakistan he said was the ultimate destination of Kashmiris

Citing the Kashmiris’ decades-long struggle, the AJK PM said Kashmiris have declared Pakistan as their destination even much before the creation of Pakistan ”

The people of Kashmir, he said, were still struggling to achieve this long-cherished goal set by their ancestors in 1947

The AJK PM said India has always tried to sabotage the Kashmiris struggle under the guise of dialogue He said India has miserably failed to suppress Kashmiris’ struggle for the right to selfdetermination and despite oppression and suppression Kashmiri people have refused to accept India’s illegal and forcible occupation of their motherland

He said the Kashmir issue can be resolved only by giving its people their right to self -determination

He said that many formulas and suggestions were given in the recent past to resolve the lingering dispute but they couldn’t yield any desired results

“Our suggestion is that Kashmiris, who have rendered matchless sacrifices should be taken into confidence before entering into a dialogue with India”, the AJK PM said, adding that resumption of talks with India without Kashmiris would be nothing but a futile exercise

Te h r e e k - e - I n s a f ( P T I ) f o r m

a f o u r- m e m b e r j o i n t c o m m i t t e e t o d e l i b e r a t e o n a j o i n t c a n d i d a t e f o r t h e C i t y M a y o r a n d a l s o t a l l y t h e n u m b e r o f F o r m 11 between the two parties

The second phase of the local government elections was held in 16 districts of Sindh on Jan 15 However, major contesting parties including the ruling PPP had raised concerns over an unusual delay in the results in Karachi and blamed the eCP for mismanagement

Quran khawani held for civil ser vant

LAHORE

Quran khawani for the departed soul of retired Capt Sher Alam Mahsud former federal secretary for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, was held at Punjab Civil Officers Mess at GOR-1 in Lahore on Saturday Mahsud a BPS-22 officer of the Pakistan

Administrative Service (PAS), passed away on January

7 Chief Secretary Abdullah Sumbal, Punjab Ombudsman retired Maj Azam Suleman Khan

Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) for Home retired Capt Asadullah Khan, ACS (South Punjab) Saqib Zafar, retired Justice Khalil ur-Rehman Ramday Federal Interior Secretary Yousuf Naseem Khokhar, Federal Finance Secretary Hamid Yaqoob Sheikh, former chief secretaries Naveed Akram Cheema, Khizar Gondal, retired Capt Zahid Saeed, former civil servant Taimur Azmat Osman, former eCP secretary Babur Yaqoob, former senior member Board of Revenue (BoR) Babur Hayat Tarar, Justice Rashid, former police chief Shoaib Dastgir, Sargodha Commissioner Maryam Khan, Lahore Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali, G M Sikander, Col Malik Zia, retired Gen Tauqeer, Khawaja Shamail, Farhan Aziz Khawaja, Ahmad Raza Sarwar, Asim Imdad Ali, Saif Anjum, Nabeel Awan, Tariq Najeeb Najmi, Secretary Office of the Punjab Ombudsman Syed Tahir Raza Hamdani, Lahore Commissioner Aamir Jan, Sohail Shahzad, Sohail Ashraf, Asif Iqbal Chaudhry retired Capt

envoy

ISLAMABAD

a

Azerbaijani Ambassador Khazar Farhadov on Saturday said that the world community should condemn the brutality of oppressor states and support the liberation struggle of oppressed people and their right to selfdetermination, under the international law The ambassador made these remarks while paying tributes to the martyrs of the Black January massacre by Soviet troops in Azerbaijan during a remembrance session The National Will and Determination of Azerbaijani People: Commemorating January 20 1990' arranged by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) “The martyrs of January 20, 1990, are never to be forgotten as they paved the way for Azerbaijan’s liberation and sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity, freedom, national identity, and sovereignty that Azerbaijan today enjoys,” said Khazar Farhadov Commemorating the memory of the sacrifices of his compatriots who were subjected to violence, he apprised the audience, "January 20, 1990, marks a terrible tragedy, known as Black January in the history of Azerbaijan "

KMS, APHC-A JK repor t unveils Indian atrocities committed in IIOJK during past six months

Parvez and Muhammad Ahsan Untoo

Kashmir (IIOJ&K)

The report, which contains the data of Indian atrocities committed in IIOJK during the last six months, was released at an event organized at the APHC-AJK office in Islamabad The event was presided over by APHC-AJK Convener, Mahmood Ahmad

T h e r e p o r t s a i d t h a t I n d i a n t r o o p s i n t h e i r u n a b a t e d a c t s o f s t a t e t e r r o r i s m martyred 77 innocent Kashmiris from July 2022 to December 2022 It said that during t h e p e r i o d m o r e t h a n 3 0 0 y o u t h w e r e arrested and dozens of people were injured d u e t o t h e u s e o f b r u t e f o r c e b y I n d i a n troops and police during cordon and search operations in the occupied territory It said o n e y o u t h w a s s u b j e c t e d t o c u s t o d i a l disappearance after he was arrested by the Indian Army

The report said that during this period, Indian soldiers harassed at least 17

On the occasion, the speakers also paid rich tributes to the martyrs of Gaw Kadal massacre on their martyrdo anniversary today They said the bitter memories of the massacre are still fresh in the minds of the Kashmiris They said that more than thirty years have passed since this terrible incident, but the victims’ families are still awaiting justice

The speakers said that Gaw Kadal and other such tragic incidents have exposed the so-called Indian democracy before the world They urged the international community to hold India accountable for the crimes against humanity being perpetrated

by its troops in the occupied territory

T h e s p e a k e r s a l s o a p p r e c i a t e d t h e K a s h m i r M e d i a S e r v i c e a n d s a i d t h i s organization is playing an important role in h i g h l i g h t i n g a t i n t e r n a t i o n a l l e v e l t h e a t r o c i t i e s o f I n d i a n f o r c e s i n I I O J K a n d drawing the attention of the international c o m m u n i t y t o t h e g r i m s i t u a t i o n i n t h e territory

Hailing the report they said that such a d o c u m e n t w a s i n e v i t a b l e b e c a u s e t h e e n t i r e t e r r i t o r y h a d b e e n u n d e r s i e g e b y Indian forces since August 05 2019 when t h e N a r e n d r a M o d i - l e d f a s c i s t I n d i a n government repealed the special status of IIOJK and imposed military siege there

Saghar while former AJK President Sardar Yaqoob Khan, was the chief guest

journalists It has also mentioned the continued illegal detention of journalists Aasif Sultan Fahad Shah Sajjad Gul and prominent human rights activists Khurram

BEIJING

S ta f f R e p o R t

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

A K I S TA N

pSindh President Ali Haider Zaidi Saturday said that the PTI and

World should suppor t liberation struggle of oppressed people:

granTed pre-arresT bail

judge granted pre-arrest bail to three girls against surety bonds worth Rs50,000 each

Lahore court also barred authorities from arresting the petitioners until Jan 30 A video clip of the alleged torture, doing the rounds on social media, showed a group

four girls punching and kicking another girl The schoolgirls are shown in the video, forcing their classmate to the ground and sitting on her, one of the girls can be seen grabbing the hair of the victim and abusing her while forcing her to apologize

KARAChi SAFe Cit y pRojeCt: Seven yeARS L Ate AnD Counting

i

tH E Safe City project in Karachi which promised the installation of 10,000 CCTV cameras, has been delayed for seven years despite a Supreme Court order to launch it in 2016 The joint venture between the Sindh government and the National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) has been plagued by multiple setbacks resulting in a staggering 300 percent increase in the estimated cost of the project

I n i t i a l l y b u d g e t e d a t R s 1 0 b i l -

i

h e p r o j e c t

t t o i n c l

d e t h e i ns t a l l a t i o n o f

T V c a m e r a s , t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f c o m m a n d a n d control centres, the introduction of f a c e a n d v e h i c l e r e c o g n i t i o n s o f tw a r e a n d a b i o m e t r i c s y s t e m t o i d e n t i f y c u l p r i t s S t r e e t c r i m e i n P a k i s t a n ’s l a rg e s t c i t y h a s r e a c h e d a l a r m i n g l e v e l s i n r e c e n t y e a r s , l e a v i n g r e si d e n t s f e e l i n g u n s a f e a n d v u l n e r ab l e I n c i d e n t s o f m u g g i n g t h e f t a n d v i o l e n t c r i m e h a v e r i s e n s h a r p l y, w i t h p o l i c e s t r u g g l i n g t o k e e p u p w i t h t h e g r o w i n g n u m b e r

o f r e p o r t s

The situation has become so dire that many residents have taken to carrying firearms for their own protection The lack of surveillance in

the city is seen as a major contributing factor to the rise in street crime

Even so, despite plans to monitor the streets, the project has been delayed for over seven years and is

I m r a n f a i l e d t o p r o ve e ve n s i n g l e a l l e g a t i o n a g a i n s t p o l i t i c a l o p p o n e n t s : M a r r i y u m

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Saturday that Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf Chairman Imran Khan remained in power for four years but could not prove a single allegation of corruption or wrongdoing against his political opponents Giving her reaction to Imran Khan’s statement the minister said that in the Imran era, the political opponents were put behind the bars by blackmailing the Na-

tional Accountability Bureau Chairman but the allegations proved false in the courts, as they could not present a single evidence

The minister while referring to the ouster of Imran from power corridors, said that now the country had been purged from the mafia and robbers

N o w j u s t t e r m i n g t h e o p p o n e n t s a s t h i e v e s w i l l not work, despite four years of all power Imran Khan had not been able to prove a single charge, she said adding all the courts of Pakistan threw his allegations in the dustbin

Supreme Cour t justices go behind bars for playdate with Adiala’s little inmates

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan paid an official visit to the Adiala Jail, where they engaged in light activities with children living with their mothers in the prison Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, along with Justice Athar Minallah and other officials, distributed gifts among the children of female prisoners The inspector general of prisons was directed to address issues highlighted by the inmates, with a detailed presentation given on the prison population and available facilities including vocational training, medical care, and psychological therapy The chief justice also inquired about training programs for jail staff to improve the overall atmosphere of the jail The visit included interactions with inmates and discussions on the provision of speedy legal aid a fundamental right of the prison population and the submission of challans in courts by police authorities in Punjab and other provinces

yet to be launched In April 2021, following pressure from the federal government of Imran Khan, the province had approved Rs30 billion to launch the project In May of last year Syed Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister, ordered his administration to a detailed plan for the project and invite bids for its physical launch within the next four months

However despite his order the plan is yet to take off The delay is due to multiple reasons including increasing costs lack of coordination and political wrangling

The need for surveillance in Karachi is now more urgent than

ever CCTV cameras not only act as a deterrent to crime, but they also provide vital evidence that can be used to bring criminals to justice

In addition, the installation of a command and control centre such as the one established in Lahore, and the introduction of the face and vehicle recognition software and biometric systems would also be a major step forward in the fight against street crime in the city

The ballooning cost and delays f r o m t h e p r o v i n c i a l a u t h o r i t i e s have raised serious questions about t h e g o v e r n m e n t ’s p e r f o r m a n c e which critics say is nothing short of a travesty

Delay in bank LCs may cause fuel shor tage in Februar y

ContInueD fRoM pAge 01

The minister said that England’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the British court also rejected Imran s allegations

The PML-N leadership submitted 40 years of record and not even one charge was proved in the court, she maintained Taking a jibe at Imran, she said even if he established a court in Bani Gala and himself became a judge and a lawyer too, still, false accusations would not be proved She held Imran guilty of inflation, debt, economic collapse and unemployment problems being faced by the nation today

Ruling par ty leaders criticise govt policies, warn against looming crises

ContInueD fRoM pAge 01

The ex-senator said that people’s relationship with the constitution is breaking “If this conversation doesn’t take place on streets and neighbourhoods then the country will suffer,” Khokhar said, highlighting their aim to ensure the sanctity of the constitution

PPP s senior leader Farhatullah Babar who joined the session via video link, stressed following the constitution

It is time to reimagine Pakistan and restore the sanctity of the constitution,” the veteran politician said, further highlighting the need to form an agreed charter to reimagine the country

In his address to the event, former finance minister Miftah Ismail said it was crucial for Pakistan to “stand on its feet if it wishes to become a respectful nation

“And if we want Pakistan to become self-sufficient, then every Pakistani’s role is important In this regard it is vital to send every child to school the two-time finmin said

Ismail said that the country should spend more than Rs2 billion on education while also ensuring that it improves the schooling system

The former finance czar, while lamenting over the situation of women in Pakistan, said that 40% of females between the ages of 15-50 have iron deficiency

Ismail stressed the need to provide employment to every Pakistan and noted that unemployment was not an issue restricted to Balochistan, but that it was a country-wide phenomenon

More than 80 million people in Pakistan are liv-

ing below the poverty line As many as 60% of Pakistanis earn below Rs35,000,” the PML-N leader said

Ismail added that every citizen s income should increase He also stressed the need to promote harmony and love in the country

Speaking at the occasion, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi commented on the ongoing tug-of-war between the treasury and the opposition

When politics turns into enmity, people s problems remain “It is unfortunate that the economic crisis and failure of politics has reached its peak,” Abbasi said

He also lamented that there was no forum where issues could be discussed openly, adding that Pakistan s extraordinary situation must be meted with “extraordinary action” He also stressed the need for governments to actually perform Abbasi also commented on the issues of Balochistan saying that despite having the most resources it was the poorest of all provinces

He touched upon various issues, including the issue of missing persons

“Solution to all the problems of Balochistan from utilities, to Gawadar, is in the constitution, the former PM said “however as long as senators come to power by paying crores of rupees, nothing will change ”

He also added that all stakeholders in the count r y h a d c o n t r i b u t e d t o c r e a t i n g t h e c h a o s t h a t p e rv a d e d a n d t h a t a l l m u s t n o w t u r n f r o m t h e b l a m e g a m e a n d w o r k t o g e t h e r t o r e s o l v e t h e c o u n t r y ’s many crises There is a need to discuss the new social contract,” he said

Study: non-infec tious diseases c ause early deaths in Pakistan

tions to challenging health and health policy problems

Pakistan has considerable control over infectious diseases but now struggles against cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer as causes of early deaths, according to a new study The Lancet Global Health, a prestigious British-based medical journal, reported that five noncommunicable diseases ischaemic heart disease, stroke, congenital defects, cirrhosis, and chronic kidney disease were among the 10 leading causes of early deaths in the impoverished Islamic nation

However the journal said some of Pakistan’s work has resulted in an increase in life expectancy from 61 1 years to 65 9 over the past three decades The change is due it said “to the reduction in communicable maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases ” That’s still 7 6 years lower than the global average life expectancy, which increased over 30 years by 8 percent in women and 7 percent in men

The study says despite periods of political and economic turbulence since 1990 Pakistan has made positive strides in improving overall health outcomes at the population level and continues to seek innovative solu-

The study, which was based on Pakistan’s health data from 1990 to 2019, has warned that non-communicable diseases will be the leading causes of death in Pakistan by 2040

It said Pakistan will also continue to face infectious diseases Pakistan urgently needs a single national nutrition policy especially as climate change and the increased severity of drought, flood, and pestilence threatens food security, said Dr Zainab Samad, professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at Aga Khan University, one of the authors of the report

What these findings tell us is that Pakistan s baseline before being hit by extreme flooding was already at some of the lowest levels around the globe,” said Dr Ali Mokdad, professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)

“Pakistan is in critical need of a more equitable investment in its health system and policy interventions to save lives and improve people’s health ”

The study said with a population approaching 225 million, Pakistan is prone to the calamitous effects of climate change and natural disasters including the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and catastrophic floods in 2010 and

2022, all of which have impacted major health policies and reform ”

It said the country’s major health challenges were compounded by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and last summer ’s devastating flooding that killed 1 739 people and affected 33 million

Researchers ask Pakistan to address the burden of infectious disease and curb rising rates of non-communicable diseases ” Such priorities, they wrote, will help Pakistan move toward universal health coverage

The journal considered one of the most prestigious scientific publications in the world, reported on Pakistan s fragile healthcare system with the IHME at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine

T h e s t u d y w a s a c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h a K a r a c h ibased prestigious Aga Khan University and Pakistan s health ministry

The study also mentioned increasing pollution as one of the leading contributors to the overall disease burden in recent years Lahore was in the grip of smog on Thursday, causing respiratory diseases and infection in the eyes Usually in winter, a thick cloud of smog envelops Lahore which in 2021 earned it the title of the world’s most polluted city

Aqeel Ahmed Khan, the Chief Executive Officer of HASCOL Petroleum Limited, in a letter dated January 9 2022 to Governor SBP Jameel Ahmad also highlighted the challenges being faced in opening LCs and import contracts The HESCO chief explained that the imports of petroleum products requires a definitive financial instrument (in the form of import contracts/confirmed LCS), as per requisite banking regulations and delays in this regard despite availability of LC lines, is hampering the oil supply chain, leading to supply disruptions in the country

Furthermore the non-availability of import contracts/LCs has had a marked negative effect on international oil suppliers which led to forced cancellation of oil cargoes

The situation has been especially bleak in the first week of January 2023, whereby Pakistani banks are denying any new LC which will lead to critical shortages of oil at the retail stations in the coming weeks, if not addressed immediately, added Khan

According to sources at the petroleum division local banks have also regretted issuing LCs to Attock Petroleum Limited (APL) based on the plea that the SBP has instructed them to ration based on the foreign reserves situation

Local banks have informed APL that they are not in a position to facilitate any new LCs Moreover APL is also facing issues with the confirmation of import LCs by foreign banks because of curtailed credit limits on account of downgrading of Pakistan s credit rating being downgraded by international ratings agencies

APL, the second largest OMC in Pakistan with a vast network of 731 retail stations, told the OCAC in a letter dated January 12, 2023, that the organisation must immediately take up the matter with authorities to avoid an fuel crisis In the letter, a copy of which is available with Profit magazine, APL warned of the consequences of supplies drying out in retail stations: “This will eventually not only lead to civil unrest in public but also lead to aggravating the economic crisis ”

Karachi admin fixes flour price at Rs105 per kg

Commissioner Karachi Mohammed Iqbal Memon on Saturday notified ex-mill and retail rates of wheat flour in the city According to a notification issued from the commissioner ’s office, the wheat rate for millers is set at Rs 95 per kg, while the ex-mills rate is fixed at Rs 98 per kg while the independent chakki owners can sell flour at maximum Rs 105 per KG

The commissioner instructed Deputy Commissioners (DC) and Assistant Commissioners (AC) to keep a check and balance of flour prices in their assigned areas

He further ordered to take legal action against flour mills, chakki mills, and retailers selling wheat flour more than the government-assigned rates

It is pertinent to mention here that the flour millers are selling flour between the rate of Rs110 to Rs 130 per kg Earlier this month, Sindh millers have reduced the prices of flour by Rs55 per kg after the provincial government released subsidised wheat quota to mills According to details, the flour prices have been slashed to Rs95 – reducing Rs55 per kg – after the provincial government released subsidised wheat quota to mills

The Sindh Food Department has also issued a notification of additional quota of government wheat “An additional quantity of 165,000 metric tonnes of wheat has been released to flour mills the notification stated It further stated that the additional quota was released to millers for remaining 18 days of January The wheat would be released at the rate of Rs85 per kg “The mills should be bound and committed to sell the wheat flour at the rate of Rs95 per kg in the open market,” the notification stated

KARACHI a h m a d S a a d

KARACHI N e w S d e S k

ISLAMABAD

t h e a S S o c i at e d p R e S S

Hybrid reinvented

‘O ld regime’ habits die hard…

IF t h e h o l d i n g o f e l e c t i o n s ; w h e t h e r t o the National Assembly, provincial legi s l a t u r e o r l o c a l b o d i e s a r e t h e y a r ds t i c k s o f t h e i n t e r f e r e n c e o f t h e d e e p s t a t e , t h e n , t h e r e c e n t l y c o n c l u d e d S i n d h U r b a n l o c a l b o d i e s e l e c t i o n s a r e f r e s h testimony to that; a free reign to a particular party and another old player seeking alliance w i t h t h e f a v o u r i t e s ; a l l i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e o l d ways of politicking in Pakistan are back

There was a euphoria in the social media, and the mainstream print as well as electronic media that with the end of the term of a particular person, the system would fold back to its routine matters and politics would be best l e f t t o t h e p o l i t i c i a n s o r t h e p o l i t i c a l f o r c e s T h e r e w a s a l o t o f m i s g i v i n g a b o u t t h e w a y t h e 2 0 1 8 e l e c t i o n s w e r e h e l d , t h e r e s u l t s d el a y e d a n d t h e n t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h e g o v e r nm e n t I t w a s r e g a r d e d a s a ‘ h y b r i d ’ experiment, where the deep state or the established order tried to float a government on the front end, which was apparently independent, y e t t h e s t r i n g s w e r e p u l l e d f r o m b e h i n d ; whether it was media geopolitics economics or foreign relations and trade

The civil society, in an apparent show of mediocre analysis, thought that Pakistan had been spared the turmoil of hybrid experiment after November 29 However, the step-by-step monitoring of the situation, the behaviour of the political forces, the behaviour of the established order itself, strongly suggests that the e x p e c t e d g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s i n f a l l 2 0 2 3 o r i n 2024 will herald yet another experiment and p o s s i b l y a n o t h e r h y b r i d e x p e r i m e n t w i t h added flavour for deceiving the public H e r e i t m a y b e k e p t i n m i n d t h a t t h e b eh a v i o u r a l p a t t e r n s o f t h e d e e p s t a t e a r e e n o u g h t o i l l u s t r a t e , i n w h i c h d i r e c t i o n w i n d s a r e b l o w i n g T h e 1 9 9 0 a n d 1 9 9 7 e l e ct i o n s w e r e h e l d i n a n e n v i r o n m e n t w h e n i t w a s d e c i d e d i n t h e u p p e r e c h e l o n s o f p o w e r t h a t t h e P P P l e d b y t h e l a t e B e n a z i r B h u t t o m a y n o t b e a l l o w e d t h e p r i v i l e g e t o f o r m g o v e r n m e n t a t t h e c e n t r e a n d n o t e v e n i n t h e h o m e p r o v i n c e o f S i n d h W h i l e i n S i n d h i t c o u l d n o t b e e ff e c t i v e l y s t r a n g u l a t e d , i n t h e c e n t r e i t w a s s q u e e z e d t o 4 5 a n d 1 7 s e a t s r es p e c t i v e l y i n t h e N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y r e s p e ct i v e l y i n 1 9 9 0 a n d 1 9 9 7 T h e f r e e h a n d g i v e n t o t h e o t h e r p o l i t i c a l t r e n d , t h e P M l - N , w a s m o r e t h a n e v i d e n t I t w a s a d i f f e r e n t s t o r y t h a t t h e d e e p s t a t e h a d t o b e a r t h e w o u n d s o f i t s o w n p r o p p e d u p m a n n e q u i n s i n 1 9 9 3 a n d 1 9 9 9 r e s p e c t i v e l y Taking a cue, the 2008 election results in f a v o u r o f P P P w e r e t o l e r a t e d o n t h e b a c k o f extraordinary circumstances In 2013 the princ i p l e o f g i v i n g t h e o t h e r p a r t y t h e c h a n c e t o have their way was followed The 2018 exper i e n c e w a s a n i g h t m a r e e v e n f o r t h e b e h i n dthe-scene forces

The expected experience in the forthcoming 2023/2024 polls if gauged from the con-

duct of the local bodies elections is very clear With the PTI half-hearted challenge to the system effectively neutralized, the PMl(N) was l e d t o b e l i e v e t h a t i t c o u l d s o l v e p r o b l e m s faced by the country in the domain of macroe c o n o m i c d e b a c l e , t h e P P P w a s g i v e n t h e extra advantage to have its way The PPP has an added advantage of being ‘progressive and f o r w a r d l o o k i n g ’ a s p e r t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f the new global order Going by the best kept secret in Pakistan, that the election Commission only undertakes t h e l i n e o f t h e e s t a blished order as to who h a s t o b e l e d t o t h e v i c t o r y o n t h e b a l l o t b o x t h e P P P a c t s o f pre- and election-Day r i g g i n g w e r e i g n o r e d b y t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s supposed to look after t h e p r o c e s s b e i n g c o m p l e t e d w i t h o u t controversy

T h e e s t a b l i s h e d o r d e r a l w a y s p r i d i n g itself on the establishm e n t o f p e a c e i n K a r a c h i ’ w a s a t p a i n s to distance itself from the polling process for the local bodies; maki n g i t c l e a r w h o w a s t h e i r f a v o u r i t e T h e P P P i n a n u n p r e c edented gesture was all o w e d t o r u n advertisements on the e l e c t i o n d a y o n e l e ct r o n i c c h a n n e l s ; i n a w a y i n f l u e n c i n g t h e v o t e r r i g h t u p t o t h e time, when a prospect i v e v o t e r m i g h t h a v e b e e n b r a c i n g h i m s e l f o r h e r s e l f f o r c a s t i n g v o t e i n t h e b a l l o t I n such a situation, it was nothing short of a miracle that the two major c h a l l e n g e r s l i k e P T I a n d J I w e r e a b l e t o m a k e t h e i r p r e s e n c e felt in the final count

H e r e i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o t a k e s t o c k o f t h e ground realities which have worsened with the passage of time The established order and its frontmen political parties general apathy towards correcting the economic quagmire has finally paid off in a devastating way Pakistan ever since the exit of Musharraf has never brok e n i t s e l f f r e e f r o m t h e ‘ n a t i o n a l s e c u r i t y state’ paradigm It is ideal for the established order that Pakistan is at war with most of its neighbours, having a very narrow trade base and terminally depending upon the IMF SDrs a n d h a n d o u t s f o r s u rvival

With macro-politics almost adjusted and fine-tuned, for the media and public at large, it is a daily food supplement of petty political discussions. The fall-out of the events of 2022 have added the ‘below the belt’ factor into the political ‘noise’ or discourse . Pakistan might well have another general election; but given the stark realities, nothing is to be offered new to the Pakistanis. It is what the Urdu proverb says; ‘continuing the job with previous salary’!

F r 5 m t h e o p e n t i c k e t t o t h e P P P t h e trends in the past with reference to the accomm o d a t i o n o f a p o l i t i c a l p a r t y b y t h e e s t a bl i s h e d o r d e r, i t c a n b e s a f e l y c o n c l u d e d t h a t PPP seems to be selected for the next round of national politics, read elections It means that given the geopolitical trends, the inclusion of t h e e s t a b l i s h e d o r d e r i n t h e s e c a l c u l a t i o n s , PPP might have been sought or thought comp l i a n t t o t h e g l o b a l a n d l o c a l e s t a b l i s h m e n t goals

From the point of view of anything resembling hybrid the system is very much back

A m o n t h b a c k i n t h e s e v e r y c o l u m n s , i t w a s argued that it is too early to recite the obituary of the hybrid regretfully, it is like that now

For the deep state, the intervening period might be used to correct the situation with t h e h e l p o f a v a i l a b l e p o l i t i c a l s a c r i f i c i a l l a m b s Wi t h t h e c o rrection made up to the levels where the common man can be made t o b e c o n v i n c e d t h a t P a k i s t a n i s b a c k o n the road and now it is business as usual; that i s a l l w h a t t h e d e e p state desires W h e t h e r p o l i t i c a l t r e n d s l i n k e d t o P T I PPP or PMl(N) argue t h a t t h e c o u n t r y ' s economy needs a bigg e r a d j u s t m e n t ; f o r t h e d e e p s t a t e , t h e y e a r o f 2 0 2 2 w a s t h e y e a r o f r e s e t t i n g t h e s y s t e m s o t h a t i t c a n be put to use again As a matter of fact, none of the political trends l i s t e d a b o v e i s i n t e re s t e d i n r e a l c h a n g e A l l a r e t h e r e t o a dm i r e t h e p r o v e r b i a l z u l f ( t r e s s e s ) o f t h e p o w e r s t o b e , s o t h a t t h e p a r t y i s i n p o w e r T h e d i s m a l s h o w o f p o l i t i c a l a g i t a t i o n b y the PTI always trying to cling to the system, w h i l e s u p e r f i c i a l l y trying to overthrow it was precisely guided by the secret desire to be in the good books of the established order

Wi t h m a c r o - p o l i t i c s a l m o s t a d j u s t e d a n d f i n e - t u n e d , f o r t h e m e d i a a n d p u b l i c a t l a rg e , it is a daily food supplement of petty political d i s c u s s i o n s T h e f a l l - o u t o f t h e e v e n t s o f 2 0 2 2 h a v e a d d e d t h e ‘ b e l o w t h e b e l t ’ f a c t o r i n t o t h e p o l i t i c a l ‘ n o i s e ’ o r d i s c o u r s e P a ki s t a n m i g h t w e l l h a v e a n o t h e r g e n e r a l e l e ct i o n ; b u t g i v e n t h e s t a r k r e a l i t i e s , n o t h i n g i s t o b e o ff e r e d n e w t o t h e P a k i s t a n i s I t i s w h a t t h e U r d u p r o v e r b s a y s ; c o n t i n u i n g t h e j o b w i t h p r e v i o u s s a l a r y ’ ! T h e w r i t e r i s a f re e l a n c e c o l u m n i s t

E d i t o r

s m a i l

An effective teacher

T e A C H e r S play an important role in students’ lives They are the building blocks of educational systems Some students believe that an effective teacher is a teacher who is bold, friendly, polite, builds memories with them, helps them solve their problems and cooperates in exams

For parents an effective teacher is a person who leads their children to the right path in their lives, and enhances their abilities and skills According to Gary D Borich, professor of educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin a teacher is a person having extraordinary abilities for complex and difficult tasks

Students face many difficulties in their academic life I, too, have experienced some problems in my childhood but did not get an effective teacher who could solve them Many students must have experienced the same I think the problem is that our teachers do not use new techniques and methods to keep students engaged and interested in learning

The teachers need to keep themselves updated with innovative techniques to make learning a memorable and joyful experience for their students Similarly students and parents should provide constructive feedback to teachers instead of merely criticising them All of us need to play our part in this regard

UME MARYAM KHAN KARACHI

Europe and NATO

F r e N C H President emmanuel Macron recently said that the United States US) is taking decisions to its advantage, indicating that the major part of global mess is of American making especially the russia-Ukraine conflict and its aftermath europe is suffering today because of the recent gas and energy crisis, but the fact is that it has been suffering since the inception of the North Atlantic Treaty organisation (NATo) because of being a partner in America’s ‘war business’ The core target behind the formation of NATo was to have a joint front against the eastern europe which was behind the iron curtain under the influence of the erstwhile Soviet Union The ultimate goal was finally accomplished with the latter ’s disintegration in 1991 The threat was gone, but NATo member-ship kept increasing without a tangible target except for the US which uses it as a tool to abuse and exploit europe

Before the russian military intervention in Ukraine, almost all european countries imported liquefied natural gas (lNG) from russia in massive quantities, but that trade now stands banned Therefore, nations like Germany, France and Italy, have to purchase liquefied natural gas (lNG) from elsewhere owing to the Ukraine crisis it is better for europe to withdraw from NATo, as the US will only exploit europe in future tussles in one part of the world or the other

SAJID ALI NAICH KHAIRPUR NATHAN SHAH

Victims of pover t y

S H A N G l A is a lush green, beautiful district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Its snow-capped mountains green meadows milky white waterfalls enchant visitors from across the country

But behind the beauty is the ugly face of issues that have brought misery to the local people especially the young ones who hardly know about the beauty of their area This is so because the young ones from Shangla spend their time in black, dark, ugly, dangerous coalmines in Balochistan for hours every day so that they may be able to put food on the table back in Shangla where their family members live

It is a disheartening sight when the relatives of these Shangla coalminers meet them during work and struggle to recognise them They cannot even differentiate among their sons, fathers or husbands because coal dust paints them black from head to toe our educated youngsters are deprived of their rights and education, which forces them to dig for coal 3,000 feet below the ground level

I know how life could be working in such hazardous conditions, for I have lost one of my uncles in a coalmining accident our youths are frustrated with education system as there is no merit The only merit is money; if you have it, you can get government jobs Shangla, despite being a backward area, has produced some prominent politicians, but they constantly ignore their own people and have forgotten the promises they have made and The government should give Shangla youth education and opportunities like people in other parts of the country have They, too, deserve to lead a normal prosperous life instead of working in killer coalmines far away from their homes

FAWAD ALI SHANGLACONTINUE TO

Lahore, smog and a lot of ‘ostriches’

T H e air quality in lahore is getting worse with every passing year, with the city perpetually topping the list of most polluted cities around the globe The response from the relevant authorities, however, is marked by procrastination For some strange reason that is beyond comprehension, they prefer to wait and watch hoping that things would improve on their own It is the famed ostrich approach that often characterises official policies The manner in which, and the pace at which, things are going south suggests lahore is in the grip of a lot of ostriches It really is

The city, home to nearly 14 million people, is suffering and suffocating on many a front, like overpopulation and mass urbanisation All such reasons add to the increasing environmental pollution in the provincial capital Fine particulate matter 2 5 (PM2 5) readings should worry the authorities, but all they do is to hope that the winter will pass and they will have no smog to deal with during the rest of the year PM2 5 relates to tiny particles or droplets made of liquid-cum-gases that are up to 2 5 microns in width; there being 25,000 microns in an inch These particles travel deeply into the respiratory tract with every breath reaching the lungs and causing all sorts of respiratory issues even masks are unable to protect one from inhaling such tiny particles There needs to be an environmental emergency imposed across the province to control the menace of smog but all we have is closure of schools; a decision that is surely protective, but does nothing to control the causative factors lahore, the provincial capital that is the first choice of people across Punjab, especially when it comes to higher studies and livelihoods, deserves to be accorded due priority when the city is struggling to even breathe

ZUNAIRA SABIR LAHORE

s t o E d i t o r, Pakistan Today, 4 - S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h L a h o re P a k i s t a n E - m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k

L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d t o Pakistan Today e x c l u s i v e l y

ArE EcOnOmisTs TO bl AmE fOr EcOnOmic crisEs?

ing to deaths of despair and turning to populism in reaction to a political system that is not helping them

Not only did most economists fail to predict the crisis; by some accounts, they facilitated it After all, they are proud advocates of the globalization and technological changes that have enriched a narrow financial and managerial elite redistributed income and wealth from labor to capital, destroyed millions of jobs, and hollowed out communities and their residents lives Worse, when confronted with deaths of despair some economists blame the victims and those who try to help them

AS 2023 approaches, it is clear that an evergrowing number of people hold democratic capitalism in disrepute, and economists along with it But how much responsibility and what kind do economists bear for our economies’ ills?

In 2010, an influential, Oscar-winning documentary portrayed us as scoundrels concerned only with our own financial gain and as lobbyists and apologists for the rich, who reward us generously for our work Our pronouncements are often predictable from our politics

Moreover, we economists often assume a mantle of policy expertise for which we have no qualification, with predictably disastrous outcomes Even so thoughtful critics contend that we still retain great influence over economic policy and thus continue to cause great harm But does the fault lie with just a few powerful individuals or is there a deep flaw in economics that continuously leads its practitioners astray?

I tend to favor the latter hypothesis American democratic capitalism is serving only a minority of the population well The 2008 financial crisis and its grim aftermath gave the lie to the fable that everyone would benefit from letting financiers get richer In the intervening years, less-educated Americans have been succumb-

According to my friend and colleague Alan S Blinder who has held several different roles in government and public policymaking, politicians rarely do what economists suggest Instead, they use economic analysis in the way that a drunk uses a lamppost: For support not illumination The problem is not that all economists are paid hacks who adopt positions to please their masters though there are plenty of those It is that even good work can be selectively misused

Similarly, Jason Furman, who served as chief of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, rejects the idea that economists have too much sway, arguing that he “could only dream of having the power” that is attributed to his profession And other administration economists have claimed that, at best, they play only a negative role of stopping bad things from happening Politicians must respect budgets but they often live in fantasy worlds where their pet schemes pay for themselves Economists in the Council of Economic Advisers or the Congressional Budget Office play a valuable role in bringing some realism to the policymaking process

I believe that Blinder and Furman are correct, but not always When Lawrence H Summers was US secretary of the treasury in President Bill Clinton’s administration, from 1999 to 2001, he used his enormous intellect, knowledge and persuasiveness to weaken restrictions on the international flow of speculative funds, as well as on derivatives and other more exotic financial instruments It is worth remembering that other economists including Blinder and Joseph E Stiglitz, fiercely opposed those decisions Many have since argued that those Clintonera changes contributed to both the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and the global financial crisis a decade later

Earlier, when Robert Rubin was treasury secretary, Summers was his deputy and the libertarian business economist Alan Greenspan was chairman of the Federal Reserve, Time Magazine featured the three men on its cover as the “Committee to Save the World,” teasing an article about how they had prevented a global economic meltdown so far ” That cover was the product of a time when most economists felt more admiration than antipathy To a greater or lesser extent, we bought into the notion that modern economics had given us the tools to sweep away the growth-restricting regulations of the past, many of which were based on prejudice and myth, not science I suppose a mea culpa is now in order

It is important to recognize that this earlier episode was exceptional Janet Yellen, another immensely distinguished economist who now serves as treasury secretary, does not have the same influence or power As Ezra Klein of The New York Times observes, she holds real weight in internal discussions and so do some others but economists are one of many voices at the table, not the dominant voices President Joe Biden does not listen to economists in the way that Clinton or Obama did Beyond that, Yellen and Summers are themselves exceptional cases Academic economists do not usually get to be treasury secretary John Maynard Keynes, who spent much of his life advising policymakers, and not without effect, had a different view of the power of economists He wrote: The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood Indeed the world is ruled by little else ” Note his inclusion of the word “wrong”; it is not just good ideas that survive and prosper

For example, Rep Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican who chaired the House Financial Services Committee from 2013 to 2019 says he became a politician to “further the cause of the free market,” because “freemarket economics provided the maximum good to the maximum number Hensarling s view is an example of what James Kwak of the University of Connecticut School of Law calls “economism,” the idea that the world operates exactly as described in introductory economics textbooks

There is folly on the left, too If the right cannot see the flaws in markets the left can be equally blind to the flaws in government that prevent it from acting reliably to fix the flaws in markets Government, it is imagined, is a representative body elected by fully informed citizens, whose job is to correct markets’ flaws, be it the tendency to monopoly, the exploitation of workers or excesses of income inequality In practice however the US government does not operate this way; like other governments, it often makes things worse and can be beholden not to all of its citizens but to the beneficiaries of the system

In my view, a central problem of modern mainstream economics is its limited scope The field has become unmoored from its proper basis, which is the study of human welfare As Amartya Sen contends the discipline took a wrong turn with the British economist Lionel Robbins famous and now-dominant definition of economics as the allocation of scarce resources among competing ends That was a terrible narrowing of scope compared with what the American philosopher Hilary Putnam called the “reasoned and humane evaluation of the social well-being that Adam Smith saw as essential to the task of the economist ”

Sen contrasts Robbins’ definition with that of the late 19th and early 20th-century economist Arthur Pigou, who wrote: “It is not wonder, but rather the social enthusiasm which revolts from the sordidness of mean streets and the joylessness of withered lives, that is the beginning of economic science ” Economics should be about understanding and doing away with the factors behind the sordidness and joylessness that come with poverty and deprivation Once again, Keynes’ “General Theory” has a good summary The political problem of mankind he avers is “how to combine three things: Economic efficiency, social justice and individual liberty

We appear to have abandoned the last two of Keynes’ trio We need to overcome our fixation on money alone as a measure of human well-being We need a better acquaintance with the way that sociologists think And above all, we need to spend more time with philosophers, recapturing the intellectual territory that used to be central to economics

Angus Deaton the 2015 Nobel laureate in economics is Professor Emeritus of Economics and International Affairs at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and Presidential Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California

Acentury after its demise the Ottoman Empire may seem like a footnote a geopolitical order that has long since disintegrated and been relegated to the annals of history, with little relevance today Two new books, however, take the centenary of its collapse as an opening to offer fruitful reflections on the enduring cultural legacy of the Ottomans, how their empire ended and what was lost when it did

“The cultural heritage left by the Ottoman Empire has often been neglected, sometimes even wilfully ignored,” writes Diana Darke in summing up the thrust of The Ottomans: A Cultural Legacy Her engaging illustrated survey examines the Ottomans’ broad cultural impact on the diverse lands they ruled, as well as their often-overlooked medical and scientific innovations

In contrast, Ryan Gingeras’s “The Last Days of the Ottoman Empire looks in depth at the empire’s final years starting with the Allied occupation of Istanbul in late 1918 after the signing of the World War I armistice and leading up to the abolishment of the sultanate on Nov 1, 1922 His account seeks to dispel the idea that the undoing of the empire loomed as an inevitable outcome by the time the Ottomans conceded in the Great War, showing instead how what followed was a complicated period of not only violent conflict but also intense political negotiation over the region s future

Darke’s book aims to cover the huge sweep of an empire that lasted for more than six centuries after its founding by the nomadic warrior Osman I in 1299 longer than the Roman Empire and encompassed lands stretching from the Balkans and south-

eastern Europe through the Levant and into North Africa She attributes the empire’s durability in part to several characteristics: its ability to absorb diverse groups of conquered peoples through an official tolerance of multiculturalism and religious pluralism; its welcoming of refugees and migrants (including the Jews of Spain after the Inquisition); its promotion of trade and an open market; and a spirit of meritocracy in governance and administration

Her book is organized thematically around subjects including architecture, music, literary traditions and discoveries in astronomy Darke describes the Ottomans significant role in developing the technique of vaccination against smallpox, decades before it became common in Europe; they were also the first to maintain a permanent military band, whose cymbals and kettledrums European armies later adopted

Indeed, the undoubted highlight of “The Ottomans” is its superb selection of nearly 150 full-color images illuminating the many cultural and historical facets Darke explores, with detailed captions that add further context These range from splendid tilework and architectural monuments to Ottoman miniatures, Orientalist paintings, manuscripts, maps, historic photos, vintage postcards and stamps Even those well-versed in Turkey and the region will find much that is rare and noteworthy, including a tile from Kutahya, an important center of ceramics, adorned with Orthodox Christian iconography of the Virgin and Child; a 1486 manuscript portraying a female health worker assisting with childbirth; and an illustrated 19th-century map of the aqueducts supplying Istanbul s extensive water system

Darke, who has written several other books on the Middle East and the Islamic world and is a nonresident scholar at the Middle East Institute, writes in her introduction that she does not seek to pass judgment on the Ottomans one way or the other ” It’s clear that her aim is to showcase their oftenunderappreciated legacy, not to offer critical scrutiny

But in making her case for the Ottomans,

Darke at times seems to be writing from an almost defensive position, as if addressing a primarily European audience apparently still traumatized by the centuries-old terror of Muslim “barbarians” at the gates This leads her to go a bit overboard in trumpeting the Ottomans, especially when crediting them with nearly everything that emerged from the lands they once ruled In her chapter on cuisine, for example, she almost categorically dismisses any other culture s claims to the region’s shared culinary heritage writing that many foods such as baklava and kebabs are Turkish in origin but have been “misappropriated by other nations ”

Gingeras, on the other hand offers a far more sobering account of the empire in focusing on its final years While historians have often treated the stretch from 1918 to 1922 as either something of a postscript to a centuries-long imperial history or as a preface to Turkey s republican era, Gingeras delves into the period as worthy of detailed examination in its own right

Gingeras asserts that the empire’s demise was far from a foregone conclusion, even though some viewed it as long overdue” by the end of World War I For a couple of years after 1918, Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) and the other nationalists leading what became known as Turkey’s War of Independence continued to defend the idea of an empire ruled by a sultan from the six-century-old dynasty But the brutal independence war, and the significant political

changes that accompanied it, finally turned the tide against the sultanate Meanwhile, the notion of “Ottoman” citizenship began to give way to a new identity of “Turkishness ” Gingeras posits that the Ottoman government essentially sealed its own downfall in two ways: by failing to defend the country amid multiple encroachments from British, French and Greek forces and by actively working against the nationalists who actually were engaged in defending what was left of Ottoman territory

“By the spring of 1920, it became increasingly clear that stalwarts of the Ottoman establishment including the sultan himself, aimed to crush the National Movement by force This drive, ultimately, proved decisive in undermining the integrity and the legitimacy of Ottoman dynastic rule he writes The next year, the fledgling National Assembly in Ankara enacted a constitution that omitted any mention of the role of the sultan “From 1921 onward the National Assembly spoke for the government of Turkey, not the Ottoman Empire ”

Gingeras, a historian of the Middle East who teaches at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif , has written five other books on Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, among them the somewhat wider-angle “Fall of the Sultanate: The Great War and the End of the Ottoman Empire, 1908-1922 The Last Days also incorporates the voices and stories of people who left written accounts or oral histories, such as an orphaned Armenian boy in Antep, provincial officials and officers on the front lines, using their experiences to reflect larger developments and themes

The final decades of the empire saw massive numbers of civilian deaths and movements of people, in addition to extensive combat-related casualties Gingeras ex-

amines the implementation of the Armenian genocide by Committee of Union and Progress leaders beginning in 1915 citing estimates of between 600,000 and 1 2 million Armenians killed, as well as the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Assyrians Greek Orthodox and other Christians He then shows how sweeping ethnic violence and forced deportations mainly of Christians, continued during the War of Independence “What happened between 1918 and 1922 was not so much the dismantling of a state as the destruction of cultures and whole communities,” he writes

As Christians were killed were expelled or fled, enormous waves of mainly Muslim refugees arrived from surrounding regions Gingeras cites staggering population upheavals: nearly 510,000 refugees from the Balkans; up to 900,000 people internally displaced as of the end of World War I; 147 000 uprooted by the Greek invasion of Anatolia; 50,000 Bulgarian Orthodox Christians expelled This culminated after the war in an orchestrated “population exchange,” in which Turkey sent 1 2 million Orthodox Christians to Greece in return for taking in 400,000 Muslims Thus could the emerging Turkish nation-state claim a nearly homogenous makeup of Turks that denied the existence of even fellow Muslim Kurds as a distinct identity

In lamenting the loss of the Ottoman Empire’s great diversity, Gingeras shares a common thread with Darke She surveys the Ottoman and Islamic architectural heritage in Greece and the Balkans and notes that because of contemporary politics, those nations mostly give short shrift to the teaching of the period in schools Both authors emphasize that this common history has relevance not only to those in the modern Turkish republic but also to the diverse peoples across the former Ottoman lands The empire’s tumultuous end, Gingeras writes, is a story Turks, Greeks Armenians Arabs and Kurds could and should share equally ”

The Ottomans, A Cultural Legacy By Diana Darke Thames & Hudson 288 pp $39 95

The Last Days of the Ottoman Empire By Ryan Gingeras Allen Lane/Penguin 368 pp $47 95

Vanessa H Larson is a multiplatform editor at The Washington Post who writes about culture, art and film, particularly that of the Middle East and Islamic world

Pr oject syndicate a n G U s D e aTo n

Washington Post Va n e s s a H L a r s o n

corporate corner

NHA chairman visits N-25, N-40, N-50 & N-65 in Balochistan

20 women filmmakers from balochistan, sindh selected for l argest grant

KARAcHi

tW E N T Y female filmmakers from Sindh and Balochistan have been selected by PATAKHA PICTURES to participate in the Stories from Southern Pakistan funding and mentorship program This PKR 1 Crore project, supported by a grant from U S Consulate Karachi, is PATAKHA PICTURES third, and largest, filmmaking grant in Pakistan

Quetta-Lukpass

visited

(N-40)

(N-25)

Working in pairs, these filmmakers will be mentored by some of the most lauded global experts in the film industry to produce 10 short documentaries that reflect on and question their society on themes such as women s empowerment, violence against women and minorities, arts, culture, climate change and peacebuilding Furthermore this is the first-time women filmmakers from Balochistan have been given such an opportunity to show and share their stories “The U S government funded this grant because Americans

Fog disrupts transpor tation, c ausing closure of key motor ways

ond most polluted city in the world with an Air Quality Level of 176

In different areas of Lahore, the AQ level w a s r e c o r d e d a s : K o t L a k h p a t 2 5 4 , C a n a l B a n k 2 0 5 , J o h a r To w n 1 9 6 , S h a h d a r a 1 9 6 , and US Consulate 191

FBR chief reviews per formance of all Chief Commissioners targets for third quarter

fog closed several motorways in Lahore on Saturday, including the Multan Motorway from Faizabad to Jaranwala, the M-11 from Mehmood Booti to Shahdara Kala Khatai Interchange, the M-2 from Lahore to Kot Momin, and the M-5 from Sher Shah to Zahir Pir The minimum temperature in the city is expected to remain at 6 degrees Celsius, with a maximum temperature of 18 degrees Celsius Furthermore, the air quality in Lahore remained poor, with the city ranking as the sec-

Rain with thunder and snowfall in mount a i n s i s e x p e c t e d i n K h y b e r P a k h t u n k h w a , Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Upper Punjab and North Balochistan on Saturday

The weather will remain cold in other parts of the country In the last 24 hours, Balochistan, South/Central Punjab, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Upper Sindh received rain and snow in the mountains, while the weather remained cold and dry in other parts of the country

Maximum rainfall was reported in Qalat a t 1 4 m m K h a s d a r a t 5 m m a n d B a r K h a n a n d Z h o b a t 3 m m a n d 2 m m r e s p e c t i v e l y

Snowfall was recorded in Malam Jabba at 10 inches, Dir (Upper) at 6 inches, and Balakot a t 3 i n c h e s T h e m i n i m u m t e m p e r a t u r e recorded today was minus 10 degrees Celsius i n L e h , m i n u s 9 d e g r e e s C e l s i u s i n G o p u s , and minus 8 degrees Celsius in Astur

D r S ania Nishtar briefs CM about Ehsaas Rashan Programme

LAHORE A P P

Head of Punjab Ehsaas Programme Dr Sania Nishtar on Saturday met with Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi at CM Office to brief him about financial assistance under Ehsaas Rashan Programme for the deserving families

12th Rashid D. Habib Golf : Muhammad Zubair shines on third day

K A r A c h I: Third Round of Bank AL Habib’s 12th Rashid D Habib Memorial National Professional Golf Tournament 2023 was played on Saturday 21st January at the Karachi Golf Club (KGC) Muhammad Zubair from KGC fired 69, 3 under par to lead on third day with his gross 206,

She apprised him about the progress being made on the rehabilitation and settlement programme of flood- affectees

The CM while acknowledging the services of Dr Sania Nishtar for helping the deserving persons, said that an exemplary work for the rehabilitation of flood-affectees had been done through Punjab Ehsaas Programme

The CM highlighted that technology aid was taken in order to obtain data of the flood affectees, adding that the help of flood affectees should continue in future as well

The CM maintained that this programme had never been closed in any tenure in view of paramount significance of Ehsaas Programme and hoped that the Ehsaas Programme and re-

habilitation of flood affectees would continue

He said that helping the flood affectees was a noble gesture and there was no precedent in the past with regard to transparent utilisation of funds Chaudhry Parvez Elahi apprised that the Punjab government allocated funds worth rupees one billion for the flood affectees of Sindh He revealed that one billion rupees would be disbursed to the Sindh government on receiving an authentic data

The CM vowed that Punjab province would fulfill its commitment to help their flood-affected Sindhi brothers

skills in filmmakingand use their films as a platform for raising awareness on social issues, calling attention to the struggles of everyday people, challenging assumptions and highlighting critical new ways of thinking We firmly believe these filmmakers will play a vital role in inspiring new visions for Pakistan’s future, and we are excited to see what they produce, said Consul General Nicole Theriot from the U S Consulate in Karachi

Launched in partnership with Idara-e-Taleem-oAagahi [ITA] andthe U S Consulate General Karachi, internationalfilmmakers brought in as mentors for the program include NoéMendelle (member of the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences and Director of the Scottish Documentary Institute) and Jesse Ericka Epstein (Sundance Award-Winning documentary filmmaker, and VMA Affiliated Faculty, Emerson College) Participating filmmakers will join online practical documentary sessions over 8 months where they will explore documentary creativity for the international film festival market

Amjad stood fifth in Junior category leaderboard with a gross of 81, nine over par Bank Al Habib will reward Ashas with a brand new Toyota car The first rounds of Junior and Senior Professional Categories were played on Saturday Muhammad Sahil shot 38, two over par in Red and 36 at par at Blue to lead on first day with gross of 74 two over par Musa Khan is following him with gross of 76, four over par Duo of Jawad Ahmed and Muhammad Waqas are third lead with gross of 78, six over par In the Senior Professional Category, Muhammad Tariq and Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmed are first day’s leaders with joint gross score of 68 P R

LAHORE

P R

Since its launch, Social Champ has been aiming to revolutionize the Martech industry The Pakistani SaaS startup has now launched a disruptive tool "Yourchamp" On January 12th 2023, the company announced their all-new marketing platform, YourChamp It is a one-stop solution to bring together your cumulative reach from all social media accounts

With every digital innovation, data is also increasing exponentially Mar-

keting has a unique duty to embrace its role as a facilitator of meaningful experiences and a driver of value exchanges between brands and people Business and Martech startups like Social Champ aim to add this value to the industry YourChamp is a one-of-a-kind platform When agencies and individual public figures use this platform, they can easily find each other using the said link It would display users' social presence, the account where they are most active, their highest following, their niche, and their other social profiles Speaking on the launch of Your-

The Millennium Educ ation hosts Pakistan’s largest teachers ’ development conference

I S L A M A B A D: Dr Musadik Malik, Minister of State for Petroleum, Ministry of Energy stressed on the correlation between good education and the growth of a country’s economy While petroleum has a huge contribution to our GDP, having highly educated individuals as future leaders is what Pakistan needs to maintain and further prosper country s economy in every sector He expressed his thoughts while addressing the 14th Annual Teachers’ Development Conference organized by The Millennium Education Group He appreciated the role of TME Group for conducting this conference for exposure and learning capacity of teachers by upscaling their professional development The Millennium Education Group has revolutionized the private education sector in Pakistan through its visionary ideas and innovative modern implementations The Annual Teachers’ Development Conference was attended by over 1100 teachers spanning from across the country TME partnered with JS Bank, an organization also dedicated to sponsoring initiatives that work towards positive societal development, ensured the success and impact of this event Since the theme of the conference was ‘Futurist- Quests- ChallengesJourney , a revolutionary approach to teaching that does away with the conventional means of teaching and instead focuses on the finest and the most effective ways of talent development The conference sought to give pedagogy a whole new meaning for accelerated growth and development of the students TME highlighted their contributive efforts towards achieving SDGs particularly SDG4 of provision of quality education Addressing the conference TME Pakistan Chief Executive Dr Faisal Mushtaq (TI) gave a revolutionary ideas for the reinvention of the conventional classroom, stating that the humble classroom ought to be transformed into a learning studio which replaces the standard ‘lecture’ approach with ideas for innovation in instruction P R

Amend

to PEMRA Ac t lists new definition of ‘disinformation’

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet has approved amendments to Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Ordinance 2002, listing new definition of ‘disinformation’ According to details the Federal Cabinet approved the amendments to PEMRA Ordinance 2002 through circulation The cabinet approved extending PEMRA’s jurisdiction to Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir The amendments also made licences for TV channels conditional to not broadcasting disinformation As per the new amendments the Council of Complaints will now look into issues of salaries and dues of media employees I N P

Champ, the company’s founder, Sameer Ahmed, said, “Today's marketing has evolved and Pakistani brands are embarking on digital journeys that will help them provide accurate and real-time data that will aid them in fulfilling their KPIs Brands have realized that digital is the future This tool introduced will eventually be disruptive for Martechs, media agencies and social media managers ”

By 2023, marketing professionals will be looking for methods to modernize their tactics, prioritize real and purposeful experiences, and explore new

frontiers while adjusting to current disruptions and keeping an eye on the notso-distant future

Using YourChamp, users can connect their social media accounts to their e-commerce store links and even link their Spotify playlists for the world to share Apart from this, the platform supports the leaderboard concept, which means that their fans & followers can upvote to establish them as an authority in the niche For the Martech industry, marketers must always be creative with their operations and strategies

I S L A M A B A D: Chairman National Highway Authority Capt (R) Muhammad Khuram Agha today visited National Highways (N-25, N-40, N-50 & N-65) in Balochistan In this connection on Chairman NHA was accompanied by Zonal Head Mr Shahid Ihsanullah Member West Zone Balochistan and Regional Head Balochistan North Mr Agha Inayatullah and his team visited National Highways Kuchlak-KhanozaiKan Mehtarzai-Muslimbagh (N-50) Chairman also visited

Tunnel-Sultan Charayi

and visited emergency Camps established for removal of snow at Khanozai Kan Metarzai & Muslim Bagh including the Salt stocked by NHA for snow removal Chairman NHA also

Kuchlak-Shela Bagh-Khojaktop

During the visit, Chairman NHA inspected the Machinery and Emergency Camps established at Shela Bagh and Khojak Top and also visited Highway up till Pak-Afghan Border He also visited Bolan Top, Kolpur Bypass (N-65) & Dozan Section In this regard Chairman NHA also passed instructions to the emergency snow removal NHA teams regarding present and upcoming expected heavy snow During the visit of Emergency Camps, Chairman NHA has given instructions for timely removal of snow during the upcoming spell of snowfall

Mr Asim Ahmed, Secretary Revenue Division / Chairman FBR visited Large Taxpayers Office Karachi on 21-01-2023 and held meeting with Chief Commissioners of all the field formations stationed at Karachi Chairman FBR reviewed the performance of all Chief Commissioners vis-à-vis targets assigned for the third quarter (Jan-March 2023) Detailed presentations, outlining the projection and strategy for achieving the budgetary target for the third quarter were given by all Chief Commissioners Inland Revenue The CCIRs gave workable strategy highlighting avenues for achieving the target set for the third quarter (Financial Year 2022-2023) The Chairman FBR directed all CCIRs to leave no stone unturned to safeguard Revenue and to meet the budgetary target fixed for the current month Chairman FBR further reiterated that facilitation of taxpayers is the harbinger for successful implementation of policies of FBR and taxpayers must be facilitated in resolving their pending issues with the Department, invariably P R

S tA f f R e P o R t

value the empowerment of women and their having equal opportunity for economic inclusion We at U S Consulate Karachi congratulate the female participants selected for this program We hope they learn valuable

LAHORE

Dense

CraCkdown on Ca a proTeSTerS: Criminal

Compl ainT filed againST Up Cm in SwiTzerl and

ted as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians, mostly the Muslim population in the country

russia to retaliate after rT accounts frozen in france: repor ts

aspecialist group of international criminal and human rights lawyers filed a criminal report with the Office of the Swiss Federal Prosecutor against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, maintaining that he committed crimes against humanity

The complaint was filed before the World Economic Forum meetings took off at Davos in Switzerland Adityanath, who was reported to be attending the meet did not eventually go

The group, Guernica 37 Chambers, has filed the complaint against him for crimes against humanity committed between December 2019 and January 2020 in Uttar Pradesh – during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) The group in its press release cited the principle of universal jurisdiction” in Article 264 of the Swiss Criminal Code T

suppression of protests could amount to crimes against humanity

Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath is reported to have ordered the false imprisonment, torture and murder of civilians

battle is not over’: US anti-abor tion groups dig in for fight ahead

WasHiNGTON a f p

It was their first march through the US capital since the Supreme Court gave them what they had been demanding for half a century but for anti-abortion activists gathered in Washington Friday, the mood was more dogged than triumphant Seven months after the nation’s highest judicial body gutted federal protections for nationwide abortion access, protesters outside the conservative-led institution allowed themselves a modest victory lap but most were focused on the fights ahead

We have a lot of work to do said George Muench a 74-year-old Catholic in a “March for Life” hat

The march began in 1974 as a challenge to Roe v Wade a landmark Supreme Court ruling the previous year that guaranteed the right of American women to terminate their pregnancies

Every January, activists from across the United States have descended upon the capital to walk to the courthouse s iconic front steps to urge the justices inside to reverse that decision

On June 24 last year, they got their wish The high court which had lurched to the right under hardline Republican former president Donald Trump, relented giving states the freedom to pursue their own abortion bans

More than a dozen states immediately rushed to do exactly that For Barbara Countryman, who has not missed a “March for Life” in 20 years, the ambience was a touch more jubilant and the crowd a little younger than in previous years

“We are celebrating the end of Roe, but we still have to convert all people’s minds,” she told AFP, surrounded by college students and teenagers, many of whom who had been bussed in by their Christian schools, with some brandishing banners that read: “I am the post-Roe generation ” But for 61-year-old Countryman who regularly prays in front of clinics in her home state of Maryland, the slog is only beginning I ll be here every year until I die It s never going stop it will always be a battle,” she said gravely

between December 2019 and January 2020 in Uttar Pradesh to suppress protests against the adoption of the CAA in India As set out in the criminal report, these acts may amount to crimes against humanity as they are alleged to have been commit-

The group notes that it has “sufficient basis to believe that senior members of the UP State Government including Chief Minister Adityanath, are responsible for ordering the UP police under their command” and singles out Adityanath’s speeches

The Chief Minister s role in the escalation of police violence is particularly apparent in a speech given on 19 December 2019 calling on the police to take revenge” against protesters Despite being an Indian State official, the Chief Minister does not enjoy diplomatic immunity for these crimes ”

The lawyers also note that following the adoption of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December 2019, “which embodies a wider pattern of discrimination against Muslims in India,” many members of the Muslim community across the country took to the streets to peacefully protest the law However, it says, UP Police violently cracked down on protesters

Pakistan Embassy in Beijing illuminated on New C hinese Year, S pring Festival

ag e n c e s

Pakistan Embassy building in Beijing was decorated with lights and traditional lanterns to sharing joy of the Chinese friends on the occasion of the Chinese New Year and Spring Festival starting from January 22 Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in a video message felicitated the people of China on the auspicious occasion and said, “I

like to wish a Happy New Year of Rabbit to people of China ”

He hoped this year would take relations between Pakistan and China to new heights

In his message, Pakistan Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque congratulated the people of China on the New Chinese Year of Rabbit and extended warm greetings and best wishes for peace health success and prosperity to Chinese friends all over the world

Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar The first day of the Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between January 21 and February 20

This year s Spring Festival or the Chinese New Year, which is the Year of the Rabbit, falls on Sunday, January 22 It is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar and an occasion for family reunion

Chinese FM fiercely rebukes US spy chief ’s remarks about sanc tions on China

islamabad

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday offered a fierce rebuke to remarks made by a top US intelligence official’s remarks about imposing similar economic sanctions against Russia on China, saying some in the US are addicted to sanctions that cause harm and chaos to the world

At a panel discussion during the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said that due to China s closer integration with the world economy, if the West were to enact significant sanctions on China as it did with Russia, it would have greater impact on China

Asked about Haines’ remarks at a regular press briefing on Thursday Wang Wenbin a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, did not mince words in criticizing the US spy chief ’s comments

Some people in the US are addicted to excessive sanctions,” Wang said, adding that weaponizing economic and technological issues poses a serious threat

mOsCOW ag e n c e s

Moscow will retaliate against French media in Russia after the bank accounts of RT France, the French arm of its state broadcaster were frozen Russian news agencies reported Saturday

“The blocking of RT France accounts will lead to retaliatory measures against the French media in Russia,” the TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies quoted an anonymous foreign ministry source as saying The measures “will be remembered”, the source said, accusing Paris of terrorising Russian journalists

On Friday, the unions of RT France already banned from broadcasting said their accounts were frozen in the country

The French finance ministry told AFP that the assets of the chain had been frozen in compliance with the most recent EU sanctions, and not on Paris’s initiative Unlike the initial sanctions decided after Moscow launched its Ukraine offensive, fresh EU measures adopted in December provided for an “asset freeze” of targeted entities, the same ministry source said Among those entities is “ANO TV Novosti, a parent company holding 100 percent of RT France”, the source said, explaining the decision RT was blocked in most Western countries after the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine in February last year

israeli civilian kills palestinian at west Bank farm: army

JERUsalEm

a f p

An Israeli civilian shot dead a Palestinian Saturday at a settler farm in the occupied West Bank after a suspected stabbing attempt, the army said, the latest incident as violence against Palestinians surges in the territory

A “terrorist was neutralised” during the “attempted stabbing attack” at Sde Efraim farm northwest of Ramallah the Israeli military said confirming a civilian had shot dead a Palestinian The Palestinian health ministry said 42-year-old Tariq Maali was killed “after the occupation (Israel) opened fire on him” near the Palestinian village of Kafr Nama

The shooting brings to 18 the number of Palestinians killed so far this month in the West Bank according to an AFP tally which includes militants and civilians

An AFP photographer saw Israeli forces preventing a Palestinian ambulance from accessing the site Mahmoud Aidi a Palestinian medic said first responders tried to reach the scene but there was “a strong army presence concentrated on the hill and we weren t permitted to reach the person killed”

The army said an Israeli ambulance took away the body of a man who had “already dead at the scene, so there was no medical treatment to be given No one else was wounded in the confrontation, it added

The farm is known as a wildcat settlement, or an outpost not recognised by Israel according to Israeli anti-settlement movement Peace Now

Chris Hipk ins to be New Zealand prime minister

hill battle to win general elections in October, as it lags in the latest opinion polls

New Zealand s former Covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins will replace Jacinda Ardern as prime minister after receiving the only nomination from fellow MPs the ruling Labour Party said Saturday

The 44-year-old senior politician must be formally endorsed by the party’s caucus on Sunday to take over as the country’s 41st prime minister after Ardern s shock resignation on Thursday

“The Labour Party caucus will meet at 1:00 pm on Sunday to endorse the nomination and confirm Chris Hipkins as Party Leader,” said a statement by senior Labour Party member Duncan Webb

As the leader of the governing Labour Party, he will also become prime minister Hipkins, currently the police and education minister, will take his party into an up-

Ardern a global figurehead for progressive politics, stunned New Zealand announcing her abrupt exit from office, less than three years after securing a second term in a landslide election win

The 42-year-old who steered the country through natural disasters, the Covid pandemic, and its worst-ever Islamophobic terror attack said she no longer had “enough in the tank”

‘Tough and capable’

Ardern said her decision to step down was “tinged with sadness” but after having made the announcement she had “slept well for the first time in a long time”

P

was increasingly directed at Ardern before her resignation

Former New Zealand prime minister

Helen Clark said Ardern had “faced a level of hatred and vitriol” that was “unprecedented in our country

Her successor is widely seen as a safe pair of hands with more than 14 years in parliament Political commentator Josie Pagani has described Hipkins as “sensible, likeable, tough and capable”

His appointment quashes speculation that Justice Minister Kiri Allan, one of Labour ’s senior Maori MPs might have become the country’s first Maori prime minister

Hipkins won plaudits for his near twoyear term as the Covid response minister in a country that shut down its borders to keep the coronavirus out, only fully reopening in August last year

He conceded last year that people were fed up with the strict pandemic restrictions describing the border closures as “tough going”

On a lighter note, Hipkins made an infamous slip of the tongue in 2021 when he re-

bEiJiNG

marked that virus restrictions made it tough for Kiwis to “go out and spread their legs”, instead of stretching them

Hipkins describes himself as an “outdoor enthusiast” keen on mountain biking, tramping and swimming

daVOs, sWiTZERlaNd ag e n c e s

‘The

to world peace and stability

Relevant statements by the US have fully exposed the true face of US hegemony Its intention to harm others and cause harm and chaos for the world is unpopular and will definitely be resisted and opposed by the world,” Wang said

Sabalenk a barrelS into auStralian open l aSt 16 aS SeedS prevail

player, has a lot of power,” said Bencic, herself a big server and hard hitter

HA R D -hitting Aryna Sabalenka burnished her Australian Open title credentials on Saturday as she barrelled into the last 16 along with several other women s seeds The Belarusian fifth seed blew away 26th-seeded Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-3 to set up a clash with Olympic champion Belinda Bencic Thirtieth seed Karolina Pliskova and 23rd seed Zhang Shuai also went through in straight sets on day six at Melbourne Park, and will clash in the fourth round Sabalenka is building a head of steam in her pursuit of a first Grand Slam title The Minsk-born 24-year-old teased the Margaret Court Arena crowd for supporting Belgium’s Mertens over her, but said she was enjoying the ride into the second week Sabalenka is trying not to get carried

away About the favourite that I am on that favourite list I mean, it’s really good that I’m there,” said the Belarusian, who is yet to drop a set “But I better focus on myself, on my game, make sure

pak lions win last league match as 20-k Cup enters quar ter finals phase

Pak Lions outshone Pindi Gymkhana Cricket Club by 69 runs in the last league match of the 20-K Cup 2023 T20 Cricket Tournament here on Saturday

The quarterfinals will commence from tomorrow, Sunday The first quarterfinal of the prestigious event will be contested between City Gymkhana Cricket Club and Cricket Center Cricket Club here at the Pindi Gymkhana Cricket Ground at 11:00 am

The victory of Pak Lions had no impact on the standings of the team as they couldn’t qualify for the quarterfinals Ali Umar ’s brilliant unbeaten knock of 105 runs off 54 balls with the help of 11 boundaries and 6 sixes is the highlight of the exciting last league match of the one of the premier club tournaments of the country that carries highly lucrative prize money on offer for the winners and top performers It will also play a key role in the promotion and betterment of club cricket in the country Nabeel Ahmad, who himself is a former first-class cricketer, has been organizing this tournament in the memory of his late father, Col Fateh Sher Khan Pak Lions, batting first, posted a mammoth total of 2336 in allotted 20 overs, thanks to superb century by hero of the day Ali Umar Abdullah Zubair also contributed well in the team’s total by hitting 69 runs off 41 balls and Haris Khan unbeaten 20 off 7 ball Asfand Mehran and Awaix Malik bagged 2 wickets each while Ali Ansar and Umair Anjum got one wicket each Pindi Gymkhana, in reply, could score 164-6 in 20 overs Zaid Butt emerged as top scorer with 39 runs while Ali Hassan contributed with 35, Asfand Mehran 21 and Muhammad Abdullah 16 runs Haris Khan was wrecker-in-chief of Pindi Gymkhana batting line up as he clinched 4 wickets for 13 runs while Abdullah Zubair claimed 2 wickets For his outstanding batting display, Ali Umar was declared player of the match

that my dream will happen Bencic has also not dropped a set in Melbourne The Swiss 12th seed eased past unseeded Italian Camila Giorgi 6-2, 7-5 “Sabalenka is a very aggressive

Pliskova, the former world number one from the Czech Republic, defeated Varvara Gracheva of Russia 6-4 6-2 She faces China’s Zhang, a 6-3, 6-2 victor over Katie Volynets of the United States Also into the fourth round is the 17year-old Linda Fruhvirtova, who beat her fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova in three sets She faces Donna Vekic of Croatia – Banana boost –In the men s draw fifth seed Andrey Rublev surged into a last-16 clash with Holger Rune then thanked his beaten opponent Dan Evans for giving him a banana mid-match The Russian crushed the Briton 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 to make the fourth round for a third time

He will face Danish teenager Rune for a place in the quarter-finals after the ninth seed survived a nasty fall to sweep past unseeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-4 6-2 7-6 (7/5)

Au s t ra l i a t h u m p Pa k i s t a n t o w i n O D I s e r i e s 3 - 0

sYdNEY s ta f f r e p o r t

Australia completed a whitewash in the three-match ODI series against Pakistan on Saturday with a 101-run win in the third and final match of the series

The Green Shirts, chasing a massive target of 337 runs, were restricted to 235-7 in their allotted 50 overs

Bismah Maroof top-scored for Pakistan with 44 runs, meanwhile Sidra Amin and Sadaf Shamas added 34 and 30 runs, respectively

Ashleigh Gardner was the pick of the bowlers for Australia with figures of 3-30 in 10 overs

Earlier, Aussie opener Beth Mooney scored a spectacular hundred to help her side post a daunting total on the board She notched up 133 runs in only 105 balls with the help of 14 fours and four sixes

Captain Meg Lanning scored 72 runs, which included eight fours and a six

Mooney, who scored 191 runs in three innings was named both the Player of the Match and Player of the Series

It must be noted that Australia thumped Pakistan by 10 wickets on Wednesday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series Meanwhile, the home side won the first ODI by eight wickets on Monday

The two teams will now participate in a three-match T20I series, starting on January 24 T20I s e r I e s s c h e d u l e January 24 First T20I at North Sydney Oval No 1, North

Sydney January 26 Second T20I at Blundstone Arena, Hobart January 29 Third T20I at Manuka Oval, Canberra Pa k I s Ta n T20I s q u a d Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana Javeria Khan Muneeba Ali (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Tuba Hassan Reserves: Ghulam Fatima, Kainat Imtiaz and Sadaf Shamas

pM Youth program opens online registration for Youth Spor ts trials

islamabad

Prime Minister Youth Program has opened the registration for Sports Trail in Hockey Cricket and Football under Talent hunt Youth Sports League for men and women to promote healthy physical activities among the youth

The intended participants can register themselves through the online facility till January 30 while the on-the-spot registration facility will also be available for the players who meet the eligibility criteria

According to the eligibility criteria for participation in the talent hunt, all Pakistani including nationals from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) aged between 15-25 years on January 30 2023 are eligible to participate in the sports league However, the departmental players are not eligible to participate in the talent hunt

Trials for both men and women players will be conducted in 25 different locations across the country including the federal capital, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Balochistan, AJK, and GB

In Balochistan the trials will be held at Dera Murad Jamali, Sibbi, Turbat, Khuzdar, Uthal-Hub, Quetta and Loralai, while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the locations will be Mardan, Bannu, Swat, Peshawar, and Hazara

In Punjab, the participants can visit Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Lahore and Bahawalpur/ Multan for participating in the trials

In Sindh, the trails will take place at Hyderabad, Karachi Sukkur Larkana and Shaheed Benazirabad however other locations will include Islamabad, Mirpur, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad and Skardu

The provincial and national leagues will be held after the finalization of the teams through conducting trials

The online application must be submitted through the web link: https://pmyp gov pk/hec/SportsForm

The participants can contact Higher Education Commission Call Centre at UAN: 111-119-432 or 0334-1119432 Web link: https://onlinehelp hec gov pk/ for further information

Under the PM youth sports initiative registration for Table Tennis, Badminton and Squash are also open while the trials’ for these sports will open soon

Under PM Youth program the Talent Hunt Youth Sports League intends to hunt talent in various games including Badminton, Boxing, Cricket, Football, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Squash, Table Tennis, and Volleyball for men and women whereas Weightlifting and Wrestling for men only

Pakistan’s D iana Baig to miss Australia T20Is, T20 World Cup

islamabad s ta f f r e p o r t

Pakistan pacer Diana Baig has been ruled out of the upcoming women’s T20 World Cup and T20I series against Australia due to an injury

Batter Sadaf Shams will replace Diana in the Pakistan squad for the series

“Right-arm fast bowler Diana Baig has been ruled out of Australia T20Is and ICC Women s T20 World Cup 2023 due to fracture in her index finger of the right hand,” an official statement from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) stated Diana suffered an injury in the third

ODI against Australia today when she tried to take a return catch on the penultimate ball of the seventh over of Australia’s innings, the board said, adding that the pacer was taken to the local hospital where X-rays confirmed the fracture Right-handed batter Shamas, who is part of the reserves for the Australia T20I series and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, has been selected as a replacement for Diana Diana has been advised four weeks’ rest by the PCB Medical panel,” the statement said Earlier on Saturday, Australia whitewashed Pakistan after winning the third and final ODI of the series in Sydney on

D jokovic battles past D imitrov to stay on course at Australian O pen

mElbOURNE

An ailing Novak Djokovic ground past Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday and into the last 16 as the nine-time Australian Open champion edged closer to a recordequalling 22nd Grand Slam title

The Serbian fourth seed came through a titanic 77-minute first set before taming the Bulgarian 7-6 (9/7) 6-3 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena needing treatment twice on his troublesome hamstring

He will face home hope Alex de Minaur for a place in the quarter-finals after the 22nd seed equalled his best result at the tournament by breezing past Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, 6-1 Djokovic’s win not only inched him nearer to

equalling Rafael Nadal s 22-Slam record but also to a 10th title, which would see him return to world number one for the first time since June

The victory put him into the last 16 for a 15th time, equalling Nadal in second place on the Openera list for appearances in the Australian Open fourth round behind Roger Federer ’s 18

“Every point, every game mattered,” he said “I think the turning point for both players was right from the blocks, very first game making an early break for me was important

Obviously, I didn t know how I m going to feel physically, it was going up and down

“It was an incredible battle, three sets over three hours Let’s rest up and prepare for the next one ”

Djokovic aggravated his hamstring during his

run to a 92nd title at the Adelaide International this month and has been struggling with it since

He came into the match without his usual off-day practice session to give his leg as much time as possible to recover With his left thigh again heavily strapped, the Serb broke immediately and consolidated to take an early grip on the first set

He was cruising but appeared to feel the injury when moving for a shot at 5-3 He managed to earn three set points, which were saved, but was then broken when serving for the set at 5-4 Agitated, he complained to the umpire about being given a time violation and was then forced to save two set points before an epic tiebreak He eventually got over the line on his fifth set point, having saved another one from the Bulgarian 27th seed, after some intense tennis

mElbOURNE

BIL AwAL: PAKIsTAN ‘NoT INTeresTed’ IN Cross-Border oPerATIoN IN AfghANIsTAN

(TTP), a group it accuses the Afghan Taliban of harbouring

AS the neighbours contend with a growing rift over security issues, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the foreign minister said it has no intention of launching a cross-border operation in Afghanistan “We’re not interested in launching a cross-border operation, nor would we want to advocate for more military intervention after what we’ve already seen was the longest war,” Bhutto-Zardari told Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland

Ties between Islamabad and Kabul h a v e b e e n f a r f r o m s m o o t h s i n c e t h e Ta l i b a n ’s a s c e n t t o p o w e r i n Afghanistan in 2021

Clashes along the disputed border have been a recurring problem while a recent spate of terrorist attacks in Pakistan has added fuel to the simmering fire particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bordering Afghanistan Pakistan blames these attacks on the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan

While Islamabad has been pushing Kabul to rein in terrorist groups, the Taliban deny allowing any groups, including the TTP to threaten Pakistan or other countries

Bhutto-Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s demand for the Taliban to weed out terrorist organizations and offered to help in any such efforts

“The most legitimate and the most viable way for us to address the issue of terrorism will be for the interim government in Afghanistan to take appropriate action against these groups,” he said

What we will prefer is for the interim government of Afghanistan to take action against terrorists that may be in their country, and we are ready and willing to help them increase their capacity and ability to deal with that threat

‘MULTIDIMENSIONAL ECONOMIC CHALLENGES’: On Pakistan s economic conditions Bhutto-Zardari said the country is grappling with “multidimensional challenges ”

“I think these are incredibly challenging economic times for everyone, partic-

ularly where we are seeing the fallout from Covid-19, the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the sanctions associated with that having an outside effect on the (global) economy,” he said

Everyone is facing inflation and difficult economic problems ”

For Pakistan, he explained, an additional burden has been problems related to Afghanistan

We ve seen the fall of Kabul and the consequences that has had on our economy,” he said

Adding to that is the devastation caused by the “catastrophic climate event” last year, he said, referring to the deadly floods that claimed hundreds of lives and caused widespread losses that government estimates place at around $30 billion

This was a disaster “on a scale that has never been recorded in Pakistan s history,” Bhutto-Zardari emphasized

The International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan was held in Geneva earlier this month with the specific aim of helping our country’s ongoing recovery efforts, he said

Praising Turkish President Recep

Tayyip Erdogan’s video message at the event, he said Pakistan remains “grateful for the consistent support of the brotherly people of Türkiye ”

“Every time the people of Pakistan are in trouble we have been able to always count on our (Turkish) brothers and sisters for support And particularly when we were facing the brunt of the monsoon rains and the flooding, not only the Turkish government but also Turkish people supported us,” he said

He said the Geneva conference was a resounding success particularly from a foreign policy perspective ”

Pakistan went in seeking $8 billion but the pledges exceeded more than $9 billion, that too at a time when every country in the world is facing its own domestic economic problems, said Bhutto-Zardari

“The world has stood in solidarity with Pakistan in this difficult time This is an important message on climate change and it also gives us a confidence boost as far as our economy is concerned,” he added

“Obviously, we do have to take all the necessary measures domestically to address our economic challenges ”

Pa k i s t a n c o n d e m n s d e s e c r a t i o n o f H o l y Q u r a n i n S we d e n

ISLAMABAD

A zam Khan takes oath as caretaker Chief Minister of KP

PESHAWAR

In a move agreed upon by both government and opposition leaders, Azam Khan, a former civil servant who was appointed as the caretaker chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took the oath of office on Saturday Prior to administering the oath, Haji Ghulam Ali, the governor, had named Khan as the interim chief executive having been named the consensus candidate by the province’s government of Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf (PTI) and opposition the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) in the wake of the dissolution of the provincial parliament

The newly-appointed caretaker chief minister is no stranger to public service, having held the office of federal secretary for the ministries of religious affairs and petroleum in the past He is also a highly educated individual, holding a Bar at Law degree from Lincoln’s Inn in London Speaking to the press following the ceremony, Khan emphasized that ensuring peaceful elections is his top priority

It is the Election Commission of Pakistan s job to conduct peaceful polls and we will fully support it,” he told Geo News, adding that he will take measures to address issues such as law and order and inflation in the province As Pakistan prepares for general elections later this year, there is one individual who is pushing for an early vote Imran Khan, the former prime minister who was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence last April

Pakistan on Saturday strongly condemned the abhorrent act of the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden, stressing that the move hurt the sentiments of the 1 5 billion-strong Muslim community across the globe

The country’s condemnation came after Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), burned the Holy Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm

Türkiye and several Arab countries including Saudi Arabia Jordan and Kuwait denounced the Quran burning Saudi Arabia calls for spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence, and rejects hatred

and extremism the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement

The move has drawn severe criticism from Türkiye as well, with Ankara calling off a visit by Sweden s defence minister and mentioning that “it’s a racist action, it’s not about freedom of expression”

In its statement Pakistan s Foreign Office said that this senseless and provocative Islamophobic act hurts the religious sensitivities of billions of Muslims around the world

Such actions, the ministry said, are not covered under any legitimate expression of the right to freedom of expression or opinion which carries responsibilities under international human rights law, such as the obligation not to carry out hate speech and incite people to violence

“Islam is a religion of peace,

and Muslims including in Pakistan, believe in respecting all religions These principles must be supported by all,” the Foreign Office said

The ministry called upon the international community to show a common resolve against Islamophobia xenophobia intolerance and incitement to violence on the basis of religion or belief, and work together for promoting inter-faith harmony and peaceful coexistence

Pakistan s concerns are being conveyed to the authorities in Sweden, it said, urging them to be mindful of the sentiments of Muslims and take steps to prevent Islamophobic acts

Paludan, who also has Swedish citizenship, has held a number of demonstrations in the past where he has burned the Holy Quran

Jumping ship: Influential religious, PML-N leader joins PTI

LAHORE

Aminul Hasnat Shah, a well-known religious personality and a former Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) minister, jumped ship and joined Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday Pir Aminul Hasnat made the announcement at a press conference along with PTI Vice President Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other leaders of the party Belong to Bhera in Sargodha district of Punjab, Pir Aminul Hasnat had served as the state minister for religious affairs during the PML-N s previous government from 2013-2018, is expected to make the announcement at an event in his hometown of Bhera in the Sargodha district of Punjab Shah is the son of Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari, an Islamic scholar of Hanafi jurisprudence best known for authoring Tafsir Zia ul-Quran (The light of the Quran in the Exegesis of the Quran); and Zia un-Nabi, a detailed biography of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) He was associated with the Barelvi movement and was the spiritual guide and Pir of the Chishtiyya Sufi order During the media talk, Qureshi said that with the entry of Hasnat, PTI will be stronger than before in Sargodha, adding that they will work together with him for the betterment of Pakistan”

PTI senior leader Asad Umar said a history-making movement is currently underway in the country “We will work together for the betterment of the country If there is a political leader in Pakistan at the moment, he is Imran Khan, said Umar

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that PML-N “has ended in Sargodha with Hasanat joining PTI “Elections are the only solution to the situation in the country Unless the political situation is fixed, the economy cannot be fixed added Fawad

It is pertinent to note that Hasnat, who has now joined PTI, remained the former minister of state for religious affairs and leader of PML-N Hasnat, who was elected Member of National Assembly (MNA) from Constituency NA-64 Sargodha, also remained part of the cabinets of former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi A significant number of his followers have also joined the opposition party of former prime minister Imran Khan This move is a blow to the PML-N as general elections are scheduled to be held later this year, with the tenure of the National Assembly set to end in August

Govt attaches significance to freedom of press for transparenc y, accountabilit

LAHORE

s ta f f r e p o r t

P r i m e M i n i s t e r M u h a m m a d S h e h b a z S h a r i f o n S a t u r d a y s a i d t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t a t t a c h e d h i g h i m p o r t a n c e t o t h e f r e e d o m o f t h e p r e s s a n d m e d i a f o r t r a n s p a r e n c y a n d a c c o u n t a b i l i t y

press release

The meeting was attended by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb PM s Special Assistance Syed Fahad Hussain, secretary of the ministry of information and other officials

The prime minister directed the ministry of information to initiate work in collaboration with the German Press Federation for the purpose of establishment of a training facility to exchange professional skills on a public-private partnership basis

The prime minister also welcomed a proposal of the delegation regarding the exchange of professional delegations between the two countries

S C f i xe s I m ra n’s a p p e a l fo r h e a r i n g i n c i p h e r c a s e

ISLAMABAD

The Supreme Court on Saturday fixed for hearing former prime minister Imran Khan s appeal against registrar office’s objections on his petition seeking a probe into alleged ‘foreign conspiracy’ behind his government’s ouster

SC judge Justice Sardar Tariq Masood will hear the PTI chief ’s appeal in his chamber on January 24 (Tuesday) In the petition, the former PM had requested the Supreme Court to set up a Memogate-style commission to probe into an alleged foreign conspiracy to topple his government However, the Supreme Court’s registrar office had raised several objections and returned the petition filed by the ex-PM Subsequently, the PTI chairman had filed an appeal in the top court s chamber

against the registrar office s objections

“It is the genuine aspiration/desire of the answering Respondent [Imran Khan] that this honourable court which has taken cognisance of this matter should hold inquisitorial proceedings as done in the Memogate case, the former PM had requested the in the appeal

“The said commission must analyse the incriminating evidence take notice of the blatant horse-trading conducted by these corrupt politicians, some of whose family members are absconders of law and have taken refuge in safe havens in the west,” read a statement of facts submitted by Imran through his counsels Imtiaz Rasheed Siddiqui and Chaudhry Faisal Hussain in the suo motu case regarding the ruling of the National Assembly s deputy speaker which rejected the no-confidence motion against the prime minister

Well-placed officials of foreign governments commonly known as the “west” ex-

pressed their displeasure with the independent approach adopted by Khan and his cabinet, reads the statement

This was followed by sensitive communications as well as gathered most sensitive intelligence by the security agencies of Pakistan which manifested that the movement led by the opposition was no longer indigenous or routine democratic effort but was foreign sponsored; it was aided as well as funded by those states which had become irritated/hostile to the struggle of the federal government to maintain an independent posture within the international community of the world,” said the former prime minister

He further stated that various facts of the collected evidence were deliberated with anxiety and anguish within the meeting of the cabinet The same was followed by a meeting of the National Security Council held on March, 31, 2022

ISLAMABAD

The prime minister stressed upon enhancement of bilateral ties in the field of journalism between Pakistan and Germany

The prime minister expressed these views during a call on by a three-member delegation of the German Press Federation led by its President Christian Zarm, PM Office Media Wing said in a