Epaper_23-01-23 KHI

the e ection comm ssion of Pak stan (ecP) on sunday unanimous y dec ded to appoint syed mohsin raza naqv the owner of the city media group as the caretaker chief minster of Punjab naqvi was one of the two names suggested by Punjab s opposition eader hamza shehbaz considered a c ose friend and confidant of former Pres dent as f a i zardari naqvi ’s appointment w l be a win for the Pak stan democratic movement (Pdm) which holds power in the federal capital naqvi is also married nto the family of outgo ng chief minister chaudhr y Per vez e ahi and his cous n chaudhr y shujat hussain despite this relationsh p, the appoint-

ment has rubbed Per vez e ahi and his political allies the Pakistan Tehreek i Insaaf (PTI) the wrong way PTI s fawad chaudhr y rejected the appointment and said that the comm ssion never fa led to disappoint we reject the decision to appo nt a controversial person such as mohs n naqvi as the chief minister he said whi e urging party workers to prepare for mass-scale protests led by their leader Imran khan appoint ng naqvi as the caretaker chief minister is making a mocker y of the constitut on The PTI will challenge the decision and protest against it said the party s genera secretar y asad umar in a tweet

Per vez elahi also brought up his own relationship with naqv , saying “ how can a person I am related to be appointed caretaker chief minister? we will approach the supreme court regarding the ecP s dec -

sion he tweeted also claiming naqvi had struck a plea bargain in the haris steel case Who is Mohsin naqvi?

a lahori by birth mohsin naqvi was raised by his maternal unc e after he lost his parents at a young age Today his unc e also ser ves as the chairman of the city media group for mohsin he followed a pretty tradit onal path for boys from good fam lies in lahore he was a sharp student at the city s famous crescent school, displaying early signs of leadership even back then he followed that up by going to government col ege, immers ng himself in the ravian exper ence even as a young student with an easy smile and a polite handshake always at his d sposal his networking was egendar y even then famously even as a young undergrad at gcu he somehow established a re ationship with the chief minister he eventually found himse f in the united states for his higher education despite being based in miam famous for its party schoo s, mohs n found himse f making his way into an internship at cnn where he got h s first taste of ournalism Perhaps it was here in america, where the media industr y has hundreds of local media outlets that mohsin got the idea for local media networks n Pakistan But it would be cnn that sent him back to Pakistan when no journalist wanted to step into the countr y consider ng its sl m pickings the young intern raised his hand and made his way back home proudly wearing the cnn tag on his sleeve It was at this point that he used the weight that came with the name of cnn along w th his exceptiona talent at networking to start making a place for himself n the news med a business

i m r a n n i a z i p a r t o f g r a n d d e s i g n t o v i c t i m i z e n a w a z , P M L- n : P M

iSLAMABAD

s tA f f r e p o r t

Prime minister shehbaz sharif sunday sa d Imran niazi had been part of a grand design to oust nawaz sharif and victimize Pak stan musl m league (n) n the name of accountability

In a tweet on soc a media p atform Twitter he said from 2013 onward, he has been an agent of anarchy and chaos n the countr y his poisonous rants have debased po tics, polarized society and undermined state nst tutions

The prime minister blamed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chairman for political debasement in the countr y The Pm wrote on his Twitter handle that Imran khan’s pol tics has divided the society into factions and weakened the state nst tut ons he further added that the former premier v ctim zed nawaz sharif in 2013 in the name of accountability “ khan was part of the campaign to remove nawaz sharif from the po itical scene he alleged

In his tweet he further wrote that the PTI chairman was responsible for the turmoil and chaos since 2013 moreover, he also blamed khan’s strategy which po soned the political culture in Pakistan

earl er in januar y Pm shehbaz sharif s ammed former prime minister and PTI chief Imran khan for ruin ng ties with friendly countries he said that the former prime minister has not started any project for the people of Pakistan The Pm said that instead of show ng his gratitude to china which brought $30 billion nvestment in Pak stan the PTI chief levelled corruption charges against the chinese off cials thus enraging them

Pm shehbaz sharif termed Imran khan the worst and most unsuccessful prime min ster the countr y ever had The PTI chief proved himself ungracious towards those who helped him ‘ w th the r ful might ’ to take the re ns of power he added

Cat’s out of bag: abbasi demands judicial review of ‘injustices’ against nawaz

iSLAMABAD s tA f f r e p o r t

as the rumoured return of nawaz sharif looms on the horizon, a call to action echoed through the ha ls of power in Pakistan with his longt me conf dante shahid khaqan abbasi ral ying for the judiciar y to take a hard look at past decisions and rectify any wrongs done to the former pr me m nister joining forces with political heavyweights such as former f nance m nister miftah Ismail and former senator mustafa nawaz khokhar the group held a series of non-part san talks on the current econom c and po itical issues facing the countr y at a press conference, abbasi stated: we talk about m an nawaz sharif returning to the countr y, but we should also rectify those injustices and those injustices are ver y evident The group, who recently addressed an event t tled national dialogue on re-imagin ng Pakistan along with other leaders, placed blame on all stakeholders including pol tica parties the mili-

tar y establishment and the judiciar y for the problems faced by the people and urged them to find a solution in l ght of the constitution rather than focusing on a power struggle abbasi also called upon the judicar y to rev ew its past decisions urging it to “ rectify the injust ces ” done to former prime minister nawaz sharif respond ng to a reporter s question during a oint press conference today, abbasi said: The in ustices done to mian nawaz sharif sahab we talk about mian nawaz sharif returning to the countr y but we should also rectify those injustices and those injustices are evident ” he said: I always say that it is the judiciar y s ob to review the decisions that have had [adverse] effects on Pak stan immense ones

I do not want to talk about those issues [ ] whatever effect the judic ar y ’s decisions and actions have had n running this countr y, they have played a major role in the matters that p ague the countr y today at another point during the talk, he said that the speakers had not cr ticised

anyone but themselves adding: we al are responsible [for the current s tuation] inc uding politicians, militar y officials, judges [and] the med a [ ] we are not here to blame anyone ” responding to another question, he asserted: There have been martial laws for a ong time in our countr y There has also been the militar y s inter ference in politics [and] has been present even current y ” he went on to say: There is a need to end it (m litar y ’s inter ference) and br ng it within constitutiona boundaries This in particular wil give you the solution to the issues Is t possible within a day? only time wi l tel abbasi a so underscored the need for end the militar y ’s inter ference n politics and bring it within constitutional boundaries acknowledging that it is a complex issue that may take time to resolve meanwhile as po itical leaders cal for a rev ew of past decisions and urge the rectificat on of perceived in ustices tensions cont nue to simmer in the port city of gwadar former Balochistan ch ef minister

aslam raisani part of the group underscored the need for dia ogue to address the ongo ng societa issues, citing the recent protests in gwadar as an example of the state’s failure to provide basic rights to ts c tizens he cal ed for the release of those ar-

rested during the protests and for the state to fu fil the r demands separately former senator mustafa nawaz khokhar took to soc a media to express his disappointment in the failure of politics to address key issues such as miss ng persons and fair d stribution of resources

CPNE unveils Pakistan Press Freedom Report 2022

‘Sadiq aur Amin’ confesses to investing $3m charity funds in housing society: Marriyum

trade with China to reach new heights, says Bilawal

M a r ya M w i l l r et u r n o n J a n u a r y 2 8 , M i n i s t e r s ay s

(LHC)

Bomb attack on police vehicle in Peshawar narrowly avoids injur y

PESHAWAR S ta f f R e p o R t

An improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated near a patrol vehicle belonging to the Badaber police station in the Khyber district of Peshawar The vehicle, which was being operated by Nasir Khan, the in charge of the Badaber ’s Shaikhan checkpost was slightly damaged but no injuries or casualties were reported The police are investigating the incident, and the bomb disposal squad has determined that approximately one kilogram of explosives was used in the blast The attempt comes hours after militants attacked a police checkpoint in the Charsadda district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa late Saturday, killing two officers and wounding another Tariq Khan, a police officer, said the gunmen fled after shooting three officers at the post in the Dheri Zardad town He said two of the officers died before reaching the hospital while the third was being treated The attacks come amid a resurgence of violence by the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the region, particularly targeting the police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and areas bordering Afghanistan, since talks with the group broke down in November The group is separate from but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban

German, French Consul Generals celebrate ‘Élysée treat y’

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

Consul General of France to Karachi Alexis Chahtahtinsky and Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany Dr Rüdiger Lotz on Sunday celebrated the signing of Élysée Treaty 60 years ago They termed it as a historic treaty of friendship The treaty on Franco-German cooperation was ratified at the Élysée Palace in Paris on January 22, 1963, After World War II, France reached out to its former enemy and treated Germany as a partner ’ They said 60 years have been the happiest in our two countries history They said Germany and France have shown how two nations formerly hostile to each other can achieve unprecedented friendship and cooperation This was neither easy nor natural ‘It requires a great deal of leadership and political wisdom on both sides they added Today as Germany and France celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1963 Élysée Treaty in a place where symbolically the Alliance Française and the GoetheInstitut have come together, under the same roof, to bring French and German language and culture closer to the people of Karachi France and Germany do believe that this friendship can serve as an example

2 0 1 7 , h e w a s d i s q u a l i f i e d

f r o m h o l d i n g p u b l i c o ff i c e f o r l i f e b y t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t f o r n o t b e i n g h o n e s t a b o u t his assets The following year, Nawaz was s e n t e n c e d t o s e v e n y e a r s i n p r i s o n f o r o w n i n g a s s e t s b e y o n d h e r d e c l a r e d s o u r c e s o f i n c o m e , w h i c h w a s l a t e r s u s p e n d e d b y t h e L H C T h e P M L - N i s p r e p a r i n g f o r t h e u p c o m i n g g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s i n P u n j a b a n d p l a n n i n g f o r h e r r e t u r n t o t h e c o u n t r y t o l e a d t h e c a m p a i g n M e a n w h i l e , F e d e r a l M i n i s t e r M i a n

J a v e d L a t i f o n S u n d a y s a i d t h e P a k i s t a n M u s l i m L e a g u e - N a z a w ( P M L - N ) w a s rendering sacrifices just to put the country b a c k o n t r a c k

Ta l k i n g t o a p r i v a t e m e d i a c h a n n e l , h e s a i d I m r a n K h a n l e f t t h e P M H o u s e a f t e r l y i n g l a n d m i n e s f o r t h e n e w g o v e r n m e n t T h e n a t i o n w a s p a y i n g t h e p r i c e o f i n c o m p e t e n t I m r a n i n t h e s h a p e o f b u rg e o n i n g i n f l a t i o n , h e s a i d J a v e d L a t i f f u r t h e r s a i d P M L - N t o o k a p r i n c i p l e d d e c i s i o n f o r t h e s u r v i v a l o f

T h e m i n i s t e r s a i d AKISTAN

L e a g u e -

u r n , " h e a d d e d

‘Islamophobic ’ Q uran burning in Sweden draws condemnation from far and wide

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan has strongly condemned the desecration of the Quran that took place in Sweden during a weekend protest against Turkey s delay in ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), a military alliance, membership bid by Sweden

The Quran burning planned and approved by Sweden, was carried out by Rasmus Paludan, leader of Danish extremist political party Hard Line near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm Paludan, who also has Swedish citizenship has held a number of demonstrations in the past where he has burned the holy book

No words are enough to adequately condemn the [abhorrent] act of desecration of th e Q u r a n b y a r i g h twing extremist in Sweden The garb of freedom of expression cannot be used t o h u r t t h e r e l i g i o u s e m o t i o n s o f 1 5 billion Muslims across the world This i s u n a c c e p t a b l e , ” t w e e t e d t h e p r i m e minister

Separately, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson of the Foreign Office, in a statement on Sunday, condemned the act as “senseless and provocative” and “an Islamophobic act that hurts the religious sensitivities of over 1 5 billion Muslims around the world ” The statement emphasised that such actions do not fall under the legitimate expression of freedom of expression and that international human rights law requires not to incite people to violence Baloch urged 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 interfaith harmony and peaceful coexistence The statement also conveyed Pakistan’s concern to the authorities in Sweden and urged them to take steps to prevent Islamophobic acts Turkey has also condemned the demonstration and in response cancelled Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson’s

Desecration of Holy Q uran a plot to fuel anti-Muslim violence: A shrafi

the Holy Quran s desecration in Sweden badly hurt the religious sentiments of 1 5 billion Muslims on the globe Condemning the incident in the strongest terms while talking to APP Ashrafi who is also the Chairman of Pakistan Ulema Council said it could be a plot to fuel the anti-Muslim violence under the pretext of advocating freedom of speech in the world

He urged the Swedish government to adopt the measures to prevent recurrence of such disgraceful incidents in the future and should not allow extremists and radical elements to spread hatred against Islamic sanctities and values

He said such actions had nothing to do with freedom of expression and under the international human rights law, nobody was allowed to carry out hate speech and incite people to violence

He also urged the United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation and United States Commission on International Religious Freedom to take punitive action against the far-right politician in Sweden for desecrating the divine command

A s h r a f i s a i d t h a t I s l a m w a s a r e l i g i o n o f p e a c e a n d M u s l i m s , i n c l u d i n g i n P a k i s t a n , b e l i e v e d i n r e s p e c t i n g a l l t h e r e l i g i o n s , a d d i n g t h a t t h i s c o d e o f c o n d u c t m u s t b e f o l l o w e d b y a l l t o c r e a t e r e l i g i o u s p l u r a l i s m i n t h e w o r l d

Th e re a l ‘ 3 5 p u n c t u re s ’

City NoteS

M

I suppose the difference between KP and Punjab and maybe the difference between the Pashton and the Punjabi, was best illustrated by what happened after the dissolution of their respective Assemblies

While The KP CM and Leader of the Opposition consulted and agreed to a caretaker CM without fuss the consultation between Ch Pervez Elahi and Hamza Shehbaz failed, as did the bipartisan committee set up to consider the matter and the matter landed before the Election Commission of Pakistan And as the ECP is

barely holding up its head after PTI chief Imran Khan excoriated its Chairman, any choice it makes, will figure prominently during the campaign as being pro-Nawaz If Imran wins, it will be despite the CM If he loses, it will be because of him

And those who remember the 2013 elections might recall Imran Khan’s claim of ‘35 punctures’ which prevented him from winning the election So when the National Assembly Speaker accepted 35 resignations, there could have been nobody happier than Najam Sethi, the caretaker CM Imran accused of inflicting the punctures

Just to make sure, Speaker Pervaiz inflicted another 35 I m not sure he can inflict another 35 not without getting into the rump PTI under the leadership of Raja Riaz

Another Pervez, Elahi, said that he had been offered the presidency of the PTI if he merged his PML(Q) into the PTI The last time the PTI had a President, it was Javed Hashmi It was early days for Imran, and Hashmi didn t have to merge his party, the PML(N), into the PTI

He remains the only man to have been President of two parties, neither of which h e f o u n d e d Yo u ’ v e g o t a l o t o f p e o p l e who have left a party o head one Look no furher than Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who left the JUI to form the JUI(Fazl), leaving Maulana Abdullah Darkhwasti to head the r u m p I f P e r v e z E l a h i w a s t o b e c o m e P r e s i d e n t o f h i s o w n f a c t i o n o f t h e PML(Q), then he wuld equal that record Would the new party be PML(PQ) or PML ( Q P ) ? W E i t h e r w a y o n e w o u l d h a v e t o mind ne’s Ps and Qs

Maybe Ch Pervez might like to consider the weather before deciding The

winter is a god cold one We h a v e n ’t f a c e d s u b - z e r o temperatures but the consideration of the possibility means that they are a real risk I t ’s l i k e d e f a u l t N o o n e s e e m s w o r r i e d a b o u t S w i t z e r l a n d o r S i n g a p o r e d e f a u l t i n g , t h o u g h e v e r y o n e i s w o r r i e d a b o u t P a k i s t a n d o i n g s o S o n o o n e i s w o r r i e d a b o u t s u b z e r o t e m p e r a t u r e s i n K a r a c h i O n l y L a h o r e

By the way, Karachi has not yet got a Mayor, but at least they ve had an election Of course, it should have been clear that the PPP would win The CM belongs to the PPP, so the Mayor should come from it Otherwise the CMis not just obliged to resign, but fall on his sword Murad Ali Shah seems a peaceable type who may not have a sword lying around And he might have a rapier rather than the good old Roman pilum, and everyone knows that rapiers are not god for falling open pilums

upcoming visit to Ankara, further inflaming tensions between the two countries amid Stockholm’s Nato bid S w e d e n a n d F i n l a n d a p p l i e d l a s t year to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but all 30 member states must approve their bids Turkey has said Sweden in particular must first take a clearer stance against terrorists m a i n l y K u r d i s h t e r r o r i s t s a n d K u r d i s t a n Wo r k e r s ’ P a r t y ( P K K ) , a m i l i t a n t g r o u p A n k a r a b l a m e s f o r t h e 2016 coup attempt

At the demonstration to protest Sweden s NATO bid and to show support for Kurds, speakers stood in front of a large red banner reading “We are all PKK The group is outlawed in Turkey, Sweden, and the United States among other countries

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said he was concerned that the demonstration risks further delaying Turkey s ratification of his country s NATO bid However, he claimed that it would be “very inappropriate” for him to call for a person Paludan to not be allowed to carry out a demonstration

Canvas footwear expor ts witness 49.96pc increase

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Canvas footwear exports during the first six months of the fiscal year of 2022-23 increased by 49 96 percent as compared to the exports of the commodity during the corresponding period of last year During the period from July 22-Dec 22, Canvas footwear worth US$336,000 were exported as compared to the exports of US$224,000 during the same period of last year

According to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the exports of leather footwear increased by 27 05 percent worth US$75,314,000 as compared to exports of US$ 59 280 000 during the same period last year

Meanwhile, Footwear exports also increased by 26 14 percent as the exports recorded during the current fiscal year were US$91,775,000 as compared to the exports during the same period of last year which were US$72,759,000 During the period under review, Other footwear exports increased by 21 65 percent, worth US$16,125,000 in the current fiscal year, as compared to the exports of US$13,255,000 during the same period of last year

are Anyhow, Murad Ali Shah is likely to avoid that fate, by delivering

The mayoralty to his party Of course that means Asif Zardari’s guarantees to the MQM were not followed, but so what? If the guarantees are no good, it ll be no skin off Zardari’s nose If any government falls, it’ll be Shehbaz’s True, Zardari’s son Bilawal will be out of a job, but they re independently wealthy

Another place that has an election is Turkiye, on May 14 What Imran isn t mentioning is that the due date was June 18, so if the government made polls possible, on say September 15, they would have done better than Erdogan But meanwhile, the government is worried, especially Rana Sanaullah, after the death of Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Mnastirsky with 15 others in a helicopter crash So Imran was actually lucky to lose access to the Punjab and KP choppers after he dissolved!

LONDON S ta f f R e p o R t

PAKISTAN Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and party members including Maryam Nawaz and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan met to discuss preparations for the upcoming general elections and plans for the senior vice president’s return to Pakistan Khan announced that Nawaz s return

has been slightly altered with her now set to leave London on January 27 and arrive in Lahore on January 28

supporters have begun preparations to welcome Maryam Nawaz

P a k i s t a n a t a p o l i t i c a l c o s t N a w a z S h a r i f was disqualified on flimsy grounds just to pave the way for others "Nawaz Sharif sacrificed for the nation and the state three times," he said

Muslim

N a w a z ( P M L - N ) w a s r e a d y f o r t h e e l e c t i o n s a n d w a n t e d t h a t t h e y s h o u l d b e h e l d o n t i m e " Wi t h t h e a n n o u n c e m e n t of the election schedule in both provinces, N a w a z S h a r i f w i l l a n n o u n c e h i s r e t

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Prime Minister s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony and Middle East Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi on Sunday said the abhorrent act of

02-03 NEWS 23 January_Layout 1 1/23/2023 1:43 AM Page 2

PPP deleGation FroM GB Calls on asiF Z ardari

taken measures in the development of GB including resolving GB’s constitutional and organisational issues

During the meeting, the political situation in the country and the GB were also discussed

On the occasion Asif Ali Zardari said that there is a close relationship of the party with Gilgit Baltistan and the PPP has always

Mohsin naqvi picked as caretaker CM of Punjab

CONtINuED fROM PAgE 01

At CNN he was a producer, the cheap local labour that foreign journalists use to do their grunt work for them As CNN’s man in Pakistan, he played a number of roles, one of which was being the fixer If a journalist from CNN wanted to come to Pakistan and interview the Chief Minister, Mohsin Naqvi would be the man that made all the arrangements He worked the phones, made connections and did his job well He was never the man in front of the camera, but the field producer working behind the scenes – much as he prefers to run his organisation now And all the while that he continued to make connections with people –rubbing shoulders with politicians journalists and the country’s elite His affable nature and easy smile only helped him along the way as he continued to rise and make his way into the good books of people that mattered He was quick to reach out for comment and always restrained, polite and constantly on his best behaviour

In this time he grew close to a number of people, including Asif Ali Zardari, with whom he formed a much talked-about relationship But perhaps the true testament to his networking skills was that he married into the Chaudhrys of Gujrat one of the country’s most prominent political families

The CiTy Media eMpire

It was 2009 when a little known channel by the name of City 42 started appearing on Lahore’s cable networks The name was not exactly revolutionary having simply used Lahore’s landline telephone dialling code (042), but the concept was: a channel dedicated exclusively to local news about Lahore which quickly became one of the most powerful forces in the entire city

As with any good local media outlet the plan was simple, it operated like any regular television channel, with an hourly bulletin, morning shows and the works If something really big happened in any corner of the country, they would go ahead and run it in the bulletins and news tickers but what made them special was a host of reporters all concentrated in Lahore Today, despite a national channel and three others as well as a newspaper C42 remains the City group’s most important asset Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and Mohsin Naqvi s idea got that two-fold with the Dunya group and Neo news both coming out with local channels soon after C42 had really established itself Lahore news by Dunya as they admit themselves, couldn’t come close to touching the heights C42 reached, despite having a much larger media machine backing it

City42 quickly became known for a certain brand of reporting The channel was keeping an eye on literally everything going on in the city If there is a wedding in Lahore with even a little socio-political clout they would be there If a street was in disrepair and left unattended, a reporter from C42 would quickly make a scathing rebuke of the provincial government’s governance They would be the first to reach literary festivals and their vans would be parked outside flower exhibitions well before time And if a patient’s family is protesting the death of their family member outside a clinic? You bet C42 was going to be there too Big or small if anything happened in Lahore C42 would be there to cover it Through this, the City media empire grew Naqvi eventually grew the group to include a national news channel a number of local news channels, and a newspaper for the city of Lahore as well

The appoinTMenT

T h e P P P w i l l c o n t i n u e t o s e r v e t h e people of GB in future as well He said that t h e r e a r e a l o t o f h e a l t h i s s u e s i n G B s p e c i a l l y a n i n c r e a s e i n h e a r t p a t i e n t s i n G B w h i c h i s a g r e a t c o n c e r n H e n c e a modern hospital of heart diseases will be established in GB

Imran Niazi par t of grand design to vic timize Nawaz, PML-N: PM

CONtINuED fROM PAgE 01

no words were enough to adequately condemn the abhorrable act of desecration of the Holy Quran by a right-wing extremist in Sweden

“ T h e g a r b o f t h e f r e e d o m o f e x p r e s s i o n c a n n o t b e u s e d t o h u r t t h e r e l i g i o u s e m o t i o n s o f 1 5 b i l l i o n M u s l i m s a c r o s s t h e w o r l d T h i s i s u n a c c e p t a b l e , ” h e a d d e d pM greeTs presidenT Xi, Chinese people on new lunar year: Meanwhile Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday felicitated President Xi Jinping and the Chinese people on the arrival of the Chinese New Year

sheikh Badin Hills receive snow fall after five years

DI KHAN S ta f f R e p o R t

Answering a question regarding the upcoming Punjab caretaker chief minister, he said the ECP s approved name should be accepted by all because this is the constitutional prerequisite Imran Khan wants only one of his given names to be approved which is a reflection of his undemocratic approach, he added hurTing 1 5b MusliMs’ religious eMoTions unaCCepTable: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday strongly condemned the despicable act of desecration of the Holy Quran by a right-wing extremist in Sweden the other day On his Twitter handle, the prime minister said that

On his Twitter handle, the prime minister extended his congratulations to the Chinese leadership and the people of China at the start of the new year on January 22 “May the Year of the Rabbit be filled with love, peace & prosperity for our Chinese friends,” he further expressed his good wishes

The Chinese New Year 2023, heralded as ‘the year of Rabbit’ falls on Sunday, January 22 and celebrations will culminate into a Lantern festival on February 5th Mna Calls on pM: Abid Raza, a Member of the National Assembly (MNA), on Sunday called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at his residence Special Assistant to the PM Atta ullah Tarar was also present on the occasion, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release

Ahsan Iqbal challenges Imran to contest elec tion from Narowal

NAR OWAL S ta f f R e p o R t

Speaking to the media, he berated the deposed premier, saying that the country was ‘crushed’, when he [Imran] was imposed in 2018 Lamenting that during the PTI-led government, the opponents had to face the worst form of "political victimization "

Mr Iqbal stated that PML-N senior vice president Maryam Nawaz was returning to the country and would play a role in restructuring

Mr Iqbal stated unequivocally that the entire PMLN was united under the leadership of party supremo Nawaz Sharif, and that the country learned that he [Nawaz] was disqualified as a result of a conspiracy ‘pTi Chief responsible for CounTry’s prevailing siTuaTion’: Federal Minister for

Education Rana Tanveer Hussain has held Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan responsible for prevailing situation of the country

Talking to media persons in tehsil Muridke of Sheikhupura on Sunday, he was of the view that incompetent governance and poor policies of PTI chief during his premiership led the country to default

However, Rana Tanveer Hussain said that the nation should keep courage as the incumbent government through its committed efforts would take the country out of the prevailing situation He said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is leading political party of the country and will clean sweep during Punjab election Responding to a question, the federal minister was of the view that all members of the PML-N stand united and there wasn t any fear of no-confidence Rana Tanveer said that despite political revenge of PTI during its four-year tenure, the PML-N members stood united and they were still on the same page and strictly following the party’s policies

S K MT d e n i e s m i s u s e o f f u n d s

NEWSDESK

Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) was established in 1994 with the mission to provide state-of-the-art and comprehensive cancer treatment services for all patients, irrespective of their ability to pay Through the generous support of the Pakistani nation within Pakistan and overseas, we have consistently provided world class cancer treatment completely free of charge to over 75 percent of our patients for almost three decades

In response to a recent news item reported in sections of the press the management of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKMT) states, for the record that it s funds have never been misused or “diverted”, for any reason, by it’s Chairman, Mr Imran Khan, or by any other individual or entity Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust states categorically that all its funds, including those invested in its endowment fund are used only to support its mission, namely the provision of worldclass care to cancer patients As is common for many charity

organizations, SKMT created an endowment fund to provide financial security and to cater for expenses in the long term This endowment fund is supervised by an investment committee with all investments made by the fund being undertaken based upon the recommendations of this committee

The Chairman does not, and has never, made investment decisions in isolation It is crucial to point out that only non-Zakat funds are invested in this manner, with all Zakat collected being utilised on direct patient care within the year in which it is collected In 2008, an amount of US$3 million was invested by the endowment fund in a real estate project in Oman The investment allowed for an early exit, with a 100% capital guarantee on the investment In 2015, SKMT exercised its early exit optionand the entire amount of US$3 million was duly recovered Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust has already shared full details of this investment, and full recovery of its funds, numerous times, with the public It is relevant to mention that although the investment did not generate a profit for the Trust in dollar

Sheikh Badin Hills received snowfall on the weekend after a gap of five years, Sheikh Badin National Park Management said on Sunday The minimum temperature at the hilltop was recorded at -8 degrees Celsius, the lowest ever, during the last 24 hours The snow covered the hills’ top, and other structures as well as roads and pavements in the areas Former Provincial Minister Faisal Amin Khan said in a tweet that Shaikh Badin National Park receives snow He said that enhanced forest cover due to conservation efforts by Forestry, Environment, and Wildlife Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government & local communities brings back more frequent snow after a long time Faisal Amin said that this was a part of Imran Khan s Protected Areas Initiative and that Sheikh Badin National Park has a unique ecosystem and heritage value Sheikh Badin is a famous hill station in mid of Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa It is located at the junction of Dera Ismail Khan and Lakki Marwat districts, approximately 25 kilometres towards the east on the Indus Highway in the town of Pezu

encroachments along Korang nullah raise frowns of authorities

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The rapidly growing encroachments across the Korang Nullah in Bhara Kahu on the main Simli Dam Road are becoming a potential risk of urban flooding in the area amid inclement weather in the future and have raised the frowns of the federal capital authorities The locals of the area claim that the embankments of Korang Nullah in the area remained vacant as green belts for years whereas in the past two decades amid gradual progress the space was being encroached upon by the Qabza Mafia Sidra Batool, a young journalist from the area told APP that she was a native of Bhara Kahu and knew the impacted area very well “The authorities concerned are allegedly hesitant or ignorant of the encroachments done by the occupants as the latter intruded into the right of way of the natural watercourse but are claiming it as their ancestral property she added Batool underlined that the former chief justice of Islamabad High Court Justice Athar Minallah had categorically ruled in his verdict to ensure unimpeded water flow of water channels across the capital to avert any future disaster of urban flooding Ahmed Mumtaz, a local resident claimed that the road passing by Korang River was expanded through the land expansion to elevate the route which was later utilized by the encroachers to construct houses which was earlier a green area

terms, it certainly did in rupee terms, since the difference in exchange rate referred to in the article in question actually worked in favour of SKMT

As with all other financial transactions, any and all investments made by SKMT and its Endowment Fund are duly audited and reported with financial reports being made publicly available through the Shaukat Khanum website Both the initial investment and its subsequent return were reflected in the organization’s financial reports, and continue to be publicly available

Finally, full records of all donations made to SKMT are maintained and duly audited by independent third parties to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations, not only within Pakistan, but in all jurisdictions where funds are collected on our behalf, or with the aim of supporting us

For over thirty years, the trust and confidence of many millions of donors has enabled the treatment of 45,000 to 50,000 cancer patients every year at our hospitals in Lahore and Peshawar - most of whom would have been unable to access highly specialised cancer treatment elsewhere It is

precisely because of its robust clinical, administrative and governance structures that the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, incorporating all its facilities in Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi became only the second organisation in the entire world to gain the prestigious Enterprise Accreditation from the US-based Joint Commission International in September 2022

It is reiterated that all contributions to SKMCH&RC are used solely in fulfilling our mission of providing free cancer treatment to those unable to pay Allegations and insinuations which aim to sow doubt in the minds of our donors as to how their donations are used by SKMCH&RC are tantamount to playing with patient’s lives The cost of providing cancer care in line with international recommendations is continuously on the rise, and despite brittle financial conditions, the management of SKMT remains steadfast in its commitment, not only to provide state-of-the-art comprehensive cancer treatment to all its patients, but also to defend vigorously its hard-won and excellent reputation for financial prudence and transparency

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The delegation included PPP GB General Secretary Engineer Muhammad Ismail, Senior Vice President Jamil Ahmed, provincial Secretary Information and member Gilgit Baltistan, asse

a

‘iMran fosTer haTe CulTure in poliTiCs’: Meanwhile, Advisor to Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Sunday that Imran Khan has fostered a culture of hatred and fascism in domestic politics, which may cause irreparable damage to Pakistan Talking to a private media channel, he said Imran Khan has tried to turn every political and national issue into a spectacle Criticizing Imran Khan’s politics Qamar Zaman said whether PTI was in government or opposition, Imran Khan has always shown the same attitude toward political rivals

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal challenged on Sunday Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to contest the election from Narowal

K a S h M i r i D i a S P o r a u N i t e S t o P u S h

K a S h M i r f r e e D o M S t r u G G L e : D r S h a h

MIRPUR (AJK) a p p

tH E International Kashmiri diaspora, currently functioning under various names and flags, will now advance the Kashmiri freedom struggle unitedly under one banner in a single international alliance platform

This was disclosed by Senior Vice Chairman Kashmir Diaspora Coalition (KDC) Dr Mubeen Shah in an exclusive talk with APP at the sideline of a grand reception hosted in his honour by the Mirpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI)

The world-fame Kashmiri entrepreneur, former president of the chamber of commerce and industry in the Indian Occupied Kashmir and ex-founder president of Jammu Kashmir Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry is currently living in exile in Turkiye

He said initially, the alliance will comprise World Kashmir Awareness Forum USA, Kashmir House Istanbul, Turkey, Kashmir Civitas Canada, World Kashmir Freedom Movement, Tehreek Kashmir UK, Tehreek Kashmir EU, and Kashmir Campaign Global Dr Shah said KDC believes in the Kashmiris’ right

Sharjeel discharged from hospital, will rehab at home

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

The minister for transport of the Sindh government, Sharjeel Memon, was discharged from the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) on Sunday a day after suffering cardiac arrest and will continue his rehabilitation at home

Memon, 48, who was transferred to the hospital on Saturday after a sudden heart attack went through a comprehensive medical evaluation and series of cardiac, neurological and vascular testing, doctors said The patient, presented with symptoms consistent with a coronary artery disease, upon further investigation through diagnostic angiography, it was determined that there were significant stenosis in two coronary vessels A percutaneous coronary intervention was performed, utilising a stent to achieve vessel patency and alleviate symptoms The sudden heart attack had 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

Gorakh hills station receives first snow fall after two years

DADU

S ta f f R e p o R t

The Gorakh Hills Station popularly called the Murree of Sindh, received the season’s first snowfall after a gap of two years The resort is located at 5,800 feet above sea level in the Khirthar range, 90 kilometres from Dadu town According to Gorakh Hills

Development Authority chairman Rafiq Ahmed Jamali, the minimum temperature in the region was recorded at -8 degrees Celsius, the lowest ever, during the last 24 hours

The Gorakh Hill Station has been a majestic mountain site in Dadu district of Sindh, which is being developed for several years to provide the people of Sindh with a hill station in their backyard Gorakh is located in the Kirthar mountain range at an elevation of 1734m, along the border of Sindh and Balochistan

to self-determination and recognizes Pakistan as a natural ally and friend of Kashmir while India is a sworn enemy of Kashmiris that has been taking inimical antiKashmir actions The two countries cannot be equated, he said adding that the need of the hour is that Kashmiri diaspora join hands together and champion the cause of Kashmir at the global level”

Dr Shah continued that one single international alliance of various Kashmiri platforms will cooperate, coordinate and collaborate on Kashmir activities “The coalition will operate within the laws of the lands, be that USA, UK or elsewhere Unity of thought and action in our ranks and judicious use of resources by the coalition shall be ensured ” The coalition has assigned various responsibilities to the professional teams like social media legal cell and youth wing with emphasis on women’s involvement, he added

“To broaden its global working scope, the KDC will develop contacts with the UNGA, UNHRC, OIC, EU, and African Council besides building ties with think tanks, international NGOs, academic institutions, and students bodies worldwide The coalition will always have a respectful, cordial and brotherly relationship with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference of

Kashmir as an intellectual and moral guide with the ethical authority vested in them by the original political leaderships of all parties on the ground

“We will seek their guidance and render our honest and sincere counsel to them on all matters important to our national cause The KDC will change the Kashmir narrative in the light of what has happened in Ukraine shifting it (narrative) regarding Kashmir freedom to what it was in the 1990s regarding freedom fighters ”

Dr Shah underlined that besides Kashmiri media, the world media shall be sensitized with reports, videos, scripts, and pictures showing Indian atrocities on innocent Kashmiris Under the management of Kashmir House Istanbul, an Institute of Kashmir studies in one or more Turkish universities utilizing various languages shall be launched he said adding that an academic studies programme at Bachelor ’s and Master ’s levels in a number of universities would also be found

He said humanitarian aid groups will also be set up to assist Kashmiri students in Turkish universities, families of Kashmiri martyrs, missing persons, prisoners, and injured ones Kashmir House will also set up a business organization and many more economic facilities Dr Shah added

General polls can be postponed if economy does not revive: Hafiz Hamdullah

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) spokesperson Hafiz Hamdullah, on Sunday, warned the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that the general polls, expected to be held in October 2023, can be postponed if the country s economy does not recover says in media reports

The Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam’s (JUI-F) leader said that the country was financially restrained when the forcefully imposed PTI was ousted Pakistan is striving to strengthen its plunging foreign exchange reserves, currently at $4 601 billion, just enough to pay for only four weeks of imports

After a decline of 22 11% in the week ending on January 6, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) reserves have dropped to the lowest level since February 2014 The country is in severe need of foreign aid to shrink its current account deficit as well as have adequate reserves to pay its debt obligations for the ongoing financial year

The central bank’s reserves until January 6, fell $1 233 billion, or 22 12% to $4 343 billion, down from last week s $5 576 million The political uncertainty in the country has had severe adverse eff e c t s o n t h e e c o n o m y, w i t h t h e l o c a l c u r r e n c y plunging and inflation at decades-high levels Deva s t a t i n g f l o o d s a n d a g l o b a l e n e rg y c r i s i s h a v e added to the existing crisis

Flood vic tims in desperate need of assistance: Baloch

QUETTA

Secretary General of Balochistan National Party (Awami) and Provincial Minister for Agriculture, Balochistan Mir Asadullah Baloch said the flood-affected people were in desperate need of support but the province was always left alone in such natural disasters

Talking to APP, he said the official matters were badly paralyzed because of the prevailing financial crisis in the province

“Balochistan wants to get a suitable share of assistance for the rehabilitation of flood affectees pledged by global partners in donors conference held in Geneva, he added

Baloch said the federal government has not provided Rs 40 billion in finances for the current financial year of Balochistan and Rs 11 billion were outstanding for the last financial year

According to the constitution, Balochistan’s share in the national finance commission (NFC) award was protected, but the province received Rs 11 billion less during the last financial year, while the payment for this quarter of the current financial year, which is close to Rs 40 billion was not provided

We demand our due share in the NFC award and not any relief package from the federation,” he added

Balochistan he said was facing a severe financial crisis at present and did not even have money to pay the salaries of the employees

He claimed that the federal government had not given funds to the province for the rehabilitation of the flood victims He called on the political leadership to make collective efforts for the signing of a new charter of democracy and economy for a stronger and prosperous Pakistan

He wanted all the parties to think of saving the country while keeping their interests at bay

He said the system could be run better only by holding transparent elections in the country However, he added, economic stability was necessary for conducting elections as they would cost the national exchequer over Rs 75 billion

He said Balochistan s resources including CPEC, Reko diq, Saindak, and minerals are discussed all over the world Despite being a rich region, we are still suffering from poverty The centre is not fulfilling its responsibility towards the province in a good way ”

Asad Baloch said the development process in Balochistan has come to a standstill as the PSDP runs the system of the province, which was currently frozen The provincial government had also cut PSDP, non-deployment expenditure, and on-going schemes, he added

Light rain likely in KP, Kashmir, GB: PMD

ISLAMABAD

Cold and dry weather is expected in most plain areas of the country during the next 24 hours according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD)

However, light rain (with light snow over hills) is expected at a few places in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan

In Islamabad, partly cloudy weather with chances of light rain/ drizzle is expected during the evening or night In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, cold and dry weather is expected in most districts of the province while light rain with light snow over hills is expected in Kohistan, Chitral, Dir and Swat In Punjab, cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the province Very cold weather with light rain with snowfall over the hills is expected in Murree, Galiyat and surrounding during the evening/ night Fog is likely to occur at a few places in plain areas of Punjab during morning hours In Balochistan very cold and dry weather is expected in most parts of the province In Sindh, cold and dry weather is expected in most districts of the province

In Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, light rain and light snow are expected in a few places in Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan

During the last 24 hours, rain with snow over hills occurred at scattered places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and Murree Cold weather prevailed elsewhere in the country The rainfall recorded was Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Malam Jabba 22 mm, Dir (Lower 11 and Upper 03), Pattan, Parachinar 15, Kakul, Mir Khani, Buner 12, Saidu Sharif 08, Balakot 07, Kalam 04, Peshawar (Airport), Drosh 01, Kashmir : Muzaffarabad (Airport 24 and City 18), Garhi Dupatta 19, Rawalakot 06, Kotli 04, Punjab: Murree 05 and Gilgit-Baltistan: Chillas, Gupis 02mm The snowfall recorded was Malam Jabba 10 inches Parachinar 3 5 Rawalakot 03, Murree 2 5,Kalam 1 5, Gupis, Dir (Upper) 01mm, Astore Trace The lowest minimum temperatures recorded during the period was Leh -13 C, Ziarat -11, Kalat, Gupis -08, Astore, Kalam -07, Hunza -06, Malam Jabba, Skardu -05, Bagrote, Murree, Quetta, Zhob -04, Dalbandin and Parachinar -03C

20 private securit y guards to prevent crime in Naundero

As many as 20 private security guards were interviewed at a local Peoples Party office their credentials were checked and posted to perform security duties to prevent thefts and robberies in Naundero here on Sunday after a surge in criminal activities in Bhutto’s hometown They were posted on the directives of MPA Faryal Talpur and were also given ammunition, security lights and weapons and were also handed over identity cards for their identification They were also directed to always wear the cards while on night duty In the 1st phase 20 guards were appointed and in the second phase five more will be selected Local PPP leaders Syed Arshad Shah Rashdi, Muhammad Anwer Buriro, former municipality chairman A D Bhutto and elected councillors were also present on the occasion Party sources claimed that each security guard will be paid Rs12000 per month which many guards have declined to accept in view of the record inflation in the country Meanwhile, citizens were astonished at this move as provision of security to the life and honour of the people is the basic job of police for which they are paid out of taxpayers money but they are posted to provide foolproof security to the elite and poverty-stricken people have been left at the mercy of private people with low salaries Thefts and robberies have become a daily issue for Naundero police in which it has failed to recover a single item Locals murmured that relatives of policemen black sheep and politically backed criminals are involved in the crimes who should be taken to task forthwith if recoveries are to be made

Sindh governor warns mafias against land grabbing

Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori has warned the land and occupation mafias to take their eyes off the land of Karachi

“SHOs should also be ready to halt any move to occupy the land of Karachi K-Electric and Sui Southern Gas Company should also mend their way and normalize the service to the citizens The foundation stone of Pak China Friendship Park was laid today on the occasion of Chinese New Year The foundation of the park is aimed at sending a message on behalf of the citizens of Karachi to the citizens of China that Karachiites always

want to maintain a relationship of love and friendship with the people of China the Administrator said this while talking to media representatives after laying the foundation stone of Pak China Friendship Park on Kashmir Road

Acting Consul General of China Zhang Hao, Administrator Karachi Dr Syed Saifur Rahman, heads of various departments of KMC and a large number of local people were also present on this occasion The Governor of Sindh said that the foundation stone of the park has been laid, adding that after a month he will give another park to Karachi

He said that uplift works will be speed up in all areas of Karachi He said that the

construction work of Aladeen Park is going on rapidly where there were hundreds of tons of debris and garbage He said that at the other corner of Kashmir Road, there was an illegal hydrant from where the water was leaking, adding that it was removed

Tessori said that all the barren areas will be given attention in the coming days and he is trying hard to improve the infrastructure of Karachi In response to a question the Governor Sindh said that rigging is not visible in local body elections, but the turnout has been very low

China’s Acting Consul General Jing Hao said that Pak-China friendship is strong and hoped to strengthen it He said that it is

China’s policy to maintain good relations with the world and especially with neighboring countries

He said that China’s relations with Pakistan are ideal and there are good memories associated with it He said that naming this park after China is a matter of happiness for all of us Jing Hao said that the two cities of China, Beijing and Shanghai, are the twin cities of Karachi which prove that Pakistan and China are good and compassionate friends of each other

On the occasion, Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tesori and Acting Consul General of China Jing Hao planted a sapling and unveiled the plaque

KARACHI

S ta f f R e p o R t

NAUNDER O

US DemocRAT cAllS el Ahi: ‘SiSTeR STATe’ AgReemenT

To cemenT PUnjAB-cAlifoRniA Rel ATionS

PUNjAB Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Sunday said that the agreement to declare Punjab and California Sister State would promote trade economic and business relations between Punjab and California

“Besides bilateral trade, cooperation in education health information technology environment and culture sectors would also be enhanced between Punjab and American State California

Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was talking to Pakistani origin American businessman and leader of the Democratic Party Tahir javed who called on him at Chief Minister House here on Sunday

The chief minister said that the agreement would further augment bilateral relations between Punjab and California

The CM lauded the Pakistani people residing in America for vigorously helping the flood- affectees and praised the philanthropists for generously giving their donations to the CM Flood Relief Fund

He said that the Punjab government utilised the donated amount for rehabilitation and settlement of the flood- affectees in a transparent manner

On the occasion, the guest appreciated the exemplary steps taken by the Punjab chief minister for well-being of the people of Punjab in a short span of time He said that under the able leadership of CM Pervaiz Elahi the Punjab government undertook five years work in just five months Tahir javed acknowledged that Pervaiz Elahi had set a new example of rendering public service likewise his previous tenure

He said that declaring Punjab and American State California a Sister State was a milestone step of CM Pervaiz Elahi and congrat-

He expressed his deep sense of sorrow with the secretary over the sad demise of his elder brother He expressed his heartfelt sympathies and condolences with Inayatul-

lah

the departed soul and prayed for grant of fortitude to the bereaved family

The CM said that he was profoundly grieved over the death of the elder brother of Inayatullah Lak

He prayed that may Allah Almighty rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant forbearance to the bereaved family to bear

Sixth spell of heav y snowfall continues in Hazara division

ABBOTTABAD

The sixth spell of heavy intermittent snowfall and rain continued on the third consecutive day in the hilly areas of the upper Hazara division, including Abbottabad, Mansehra and Battagram

Heavy snowfall once again on Sunday blanketed the tourist attractions of the upper Hazara division where Shogran, Kaghan and Naran have received up to 2 5 feet of snow, Galyat and Thandyani more than two feet while Chhatar Plain, Konish Valley and mountains in the upper areas of Siran Valley received up to six inches of snow

The severity of the winter increased many folds due to heavy snowfall

Kaghan Development Authority (KDA) officials, along with heavy machinery and other equipment, are present at various places to remove snow from the roads and guide tourists and local people while, on the CPEC, an additional police force has been deployed between Kadamang Bala and Koza Banda to

Anti-narcotics units targeted during raids in Rawalpindi and Peshawar

RAWALPINDI S ta f f R e p o R t

I n a r e c e n t d e v e l o p m e n t , a n o ff i c e r o f t h e A n t i - N a rc o t i c s F o r c e ( A N F ) w a s i n j u r e d i n s e p a r a t e i n c i d e n t s o f f i r i n g i n t h e c i t i e s o f R a w a l p i n d i a n d P e s h a w a r, a c c o r d i n g t o p o l i c e r e p o r t s o n S u n d a y T h e A N F t e a m s w e r e t a rg e t e d b y d r u g t r a ff i c k e r s d u r i n g r a i d s o n d r u g e s t a b l i s h m e n t s I n R a w a l p i n d i , t h e A N F t e a m w a s c o n d u c t i n g a r a i d t o a r r e s t a d r u g t r a ff i c k e r, i d e n t i f i e d a s K h a n , w h o w a s r e p o r t e d l y s u pp l y i n g d r u g s t o y o u t h t h r o u g h F a c e b o o k D u r i n g t h e r a i d , t h e a c c u s e d o p e n e d f i r e o n t h e A N F t e a m , r es u l t i n g i n i n j u r i e s t o o n e o ff i c e r, L a n c e N a i k M o e e n , w h o w a s h i t b y a b u l l e t i n h i s a r m T h e o ff i c e r w a s r u s h e d t o t h e h o s p i t a l f o r e m e rg e n c y t r e a t m e n t T h e t e a m , w i t h t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f l o c a l p o l i c e , l a u n c h e d a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n t o a r r e s t t h e a c c u s e d I n a n o t h e r i nc i d e n t i n P e s h a w a r, a n A N F v e h i c l e c a m e u n d e r f i r e o n N a s i r B a g h R o a d H o w e v e r, n o A N F o ff i c e r s w e r e i n j u r e d i n t h e f i r i n g A f t e r t h e o ff i c e r s r e t a l ia t e d , t h e d r u g t r a ff i c k e r s f l e d t h e s c e n e , l e a v i n g b eh i n d t h e i r v e h i c l e T h e a c c u s e d w e r e p r o c l a i m e d o ff e n d e r s a n d w a n t e d b y t h e A N F i n s e v e r a l c a s e s D u r i n g a s e a r c h o f t h e i r v e h i c l e , t h e A N F p e r s o n n e l s e i z e d 1 0 k i l o g r a m m e s o f h e r o i n a n d a s m u c h q u a nt i t y o f i c e d r u g A n A N F s p o k e s m a n s t a t e d t h a t f u rt h e r a c t i o n w a s u n d e r w a y t o a r r e s t t h e c u l p r i t s

tackle any emergency situation during the snowfall

To enjoy the live snowfall, a large number of tourists are coming to Thandyani Galyat Shogran and Chhatra Plain GDA spokesperson Ahsan Hameed told that the

workers are rendering duty for 24 hours with the help of heavy machinery for the snow clearance operation He also directed tourists and locals to remain in touch with the control room during movement and avoid travelling after sunset as extremely low temperatures make the movement of vehicles more difficult

He further said that maintenance of Abbottabad Murree Road of Galyat is the responsibility of GDA while connecting roads to adjoining villages fall under the domain of the C&W Department GDA Director of Technical is supervising the snow clearance operation, he added

On the special instructions of Deputy Commissioner Battagram Mohammad Irfanullah Mehsud

Additional Assistant Commissioner Aamirullah along with National Highways Authority (NHA) staff has opened the Karakoram Highway (KKH) for traffic by clearing the snow from Nili Shang to Chhatar Plain Meanwhile, Battagram police officials are also present at Chhatar Sharkul to serve the public and tourists and help to remove the vehicles stuck in the snow

NA S peaker congratulates C hina on star t of lunar new year

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the speaker of the National A s s

people of China as they rang in the Lunar New Ye a

health after three years of stress and hardship under the pandemic

In his message, Ashraf expressed his belief that China would continue to progress and develop owing to its national traits of hard work and commitment

The speaker expressed his confidence that Pakistan-China friendship would not only enable both countries to flourish and develop but regional progress also hinges upon unbreakable ties between the two nations

He said the successful completion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects manifested the willingness of both nations and their masses to cooperate for mutual benefit

Deputy Speaker Zahid Durrani also felicitated Beijing and expressed his good wishes for the progress and prosperity of the Chinese people

The lunar new year also known as the spring festival, is a significant annual holiday in China that is based on the 12 signs of the Chinese zo-

the irreparable loss

Former Principal Secretary to CM GM Sikander and other officials were also present Pervaiz Elahi condemns Holy Quran desecration in Sweden

Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi strongly condemned desecration of Holy Quran in Sweden

According to official sources here on Sunday, the chief minister said that desecration of Holy Quran was heartrending action He said that no society could ever imagine of desecrating holy books and there was no room for such heinous action in any religion as well

He said that such an action in the garb of freedom of expression was not tolerable Parvez Elahi said that the heinous action of Sweden had actually hurt the sentiments of Muslims living all over the world ”

Respect of Holy Quran was an integral part of the faith of Muslims, he added

Around 6m vaccine doses provided to control lumpy skin virus in Punjab

RAWALPINDI

S ta f f R e p o R t

The Punjab government had provided a Rs 1 5 billion grant to prevent the second possible wave of lumpy skin disease in animals Director of Livestock and Dairy Development Rawalpindi Division Dr Sarfraz Ahmed Chatta, told APP that the Punjab government had provided around 6 million vaccination doses to control the virus effectively He said the vaccine would be administered free of charge to livestock by visiting farms across the province Lumpy skin virus causes disease in cattle and some wild animals, reducing milk production, abortion and barrenness in animals,” he said, adding that the disease was not transmissible to humans, and milk and meat were safe for humans if used according to hygiene principles Additional Director of Livestock Rawalpindi, Dr Naveed Sahr Zaidi, said that to prevent lumpy skin disease, the transportation of animals should be limited, and the affected animals must be kept separate from other animals It may be mentioned that thousands of animals lost their lives due to lumpy skin disease last year, while the farmers and other people associated with the livestock businesses faced a huge loss

Tourists stranded as landslide blocks Punjab-Balochistan highway

DERA GHAZI KHAN

ta f f R e p o R t

S

Thousands of tourists and travellers were left stranded after a landslide in Dera Ghazi Khan blocked the inter-provincial highway connecting Punjab with Balochistan on Sunday The landslide occurred on Quetta Road at Neeli Matti in Dera Ghazi Khan s tribal area of Rakhi Gaaj on the night between Saturday and Sunday The blockade of the highway caused a 40km-long traffic snarl-up A large number of travellers and tourists going to Fort Munro to witness snowfall have been caught up in the situation without any food and water in freezing cold, triggering fears of suspension of supply of fruits and vegetables from Balochistan to Punjab from Monday Personnel of border military police have been called in to clear the road for traffic The blockade had made miles-long lines of heavy and light traffic on both side of the highway Hotels in Fort Munro have also been facing threat of closure due to suspension of supplies, and the local people have been providing food items to the tourists and travellers stranded in the area

Sindh striving hard to provide quality educ ation to young generation: Shazia Marri

HYDERABAD

Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri has said that the Sindh Government was striving hard to provide quality education to the future generation of the province

The minister expressed these remarks while speaking as a chief guest at the 26th annual parents day of the Cadet College Sanghar here on Saturday

She informed that the provincial government has also been engaged in establishing quality education institutions in far-flung

areas of the province including Achro Thar

Sincere efforts are also being made to improve the living standard of the poor people by providing all basic facilities including electricity and safe drinking water, she added

The minister said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was fully committed to developing the country and improving the socio-economic condition of the masses This was the reason why the PPP became a part of the federal government, she added

The minister said the recent unprecedented heavy rains and floods had badly hit the country, particularly Sindh damaging the infrastructure and severely affecting around

30 million people

After rescue and relief operations, the government is making all-out efforts for the rehabilitation of the rains and floods-affected people, she said and highly appreciated the role of the Pakistan Navy in its rescue and relief measures for rains and floods-affected people of the country

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari have been striving hard to resolve the issues of flood affectees she said and added that it was because of their efforts that the world community had agreed to set up loss and damage fund for the affected people of the climate

change The minister eulogized the role of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for taking notice of the catastrophe in Pakistan caused by the unprecedented heavy rains and flood and invited the attention of the world community over the heavy loss of life and properties in Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal also played a vital role in highlighting the issue of climate change she said

About the issues being faced by the management of Cadet College Sanghar, the minister assured that she will approach Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for resolving the genuine issues of the college

The minister who earlier performed the

groundbreaking of setting up 100 watts power plant of the college, has assured that with the cooperation of the Sindh Government, the capacity of 100 watts power plant would be enhanced up to 400 watts

She also congratulated the cadets for their outstanding performance in curricular and extra-curricular activities and hoped that after passing out from college they will play a pivotal role in the progress and prosperity of the country The Principal Commandant Zeshan Ali in his welcome address highlighted the educational performance of the cadets as well as the problems being faced by the college management

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

ulated him on the initiative

Meanwhile, Punjab CM Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi visited the residence of Secret a r y P u n j a b A s s e m b l y I n a y a t u l l a h L a k a t GOR2 on Sunday

Lak and the bereaved family He offered Fateha for

S ta f f R e p o R t

ISLAMABAD

diac This year is the year of the rabbit

Due to the pandemic, celebrations in the past three years have been limited However, with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, many people are now able to travel to their hometowns and reunite with their families without worrying about quarantine or travel restrictions Additionally, public celebrations have returned on a larger scale than the previous year, with many cultural events taking place in the capital

W h o m a k e s u p t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t ?

FO r M e r Prime Minister shahid Khaqan Abbaasi, senior Vice-President of the PML(N) may well have differences with PML(N) supremo Mian Nawaz sharif about the role of the latter s daughter Maryam in the party, but he was forthright in his call for the judiciary to right wrongs done to Mian Nawaz in removing him from office, convicting him and sending the him to jail Mr Abbasi, was addressing a press conference in Quetta on sunday along with other speakers of the ‘National Dialogue on re-imagining Pakistan’ seminar the day before He managed to make a very deep observation: the establishment does not consist solely of the military but requires the judiciary on board, as well as the civilian bureaucracy, and not giving passive approval, but actually actively participating

The military becoming neutral only addresses part of the problem The revelations now being made about how the cOAs, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, and the DG isi, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, helped imran Khan become PM, and then maintain himself in office, show that it was not the military alone to blame for the ‘hybrid regime’ if the military did not have to impose martial law it was because other organs of government were cooperating with it, not with the elected government

There is no easy solution to this General Bajwa, when his second tenure was ending, did say that the military was now neutral but similar protestations of neutrality have not been made by any other organs of state, and nor are they needed instead, a thorough investigation must be made, and the heads of all those organizations which have overstepped their constitutional limits must be brought to book Until that is done, there is no other means of bringing interference to an end There is no point making changes in the laws or even the constitution As bitter experience has shown, laws and constitutional provisions are ignored by individuals who want to get their own way, or smooth the path of someone who wants his Only a desire to obey the law, a desire backed by the fear of punishment, can act as a barrier to the kind of extraconstitutional misadventure that has afflicted the country four times in the past, and has taken it down unfortunate hybrid sidelanes

Balochistan’s most literate district hit by only varsit y’s new fee structure

of the University of Turbat back in 2012 where students of the Makran division enthusiastically took interest in higher education

This rise was observed because of two reasons: one, because university was available at our doorsteps, and two, because of low fees,” says Hammal Baloch a student sitting in the protest sit-in outside the varsity gate in Turbat He notes that this sudden rise was to ‘downgrade’ the literacy rate and deprive the youth of a higher education earlier when Turbat University did not exist, students of Makran, who could afford, turned to Quetta or outside Balochistan for higher education while the rest quit and either looked for a government job or began their private business University of Turbat’s formation was an opportunity for everyone in the division to continue their dream for a higher education

Gul Bibi the mother of a student who has newly taken admission in University of Turbat, belongs to a poverty-stricken family she is a widow and earns rs 15 000 to rs 20,000 with her Balochi embroidery works sometimes more when she works overtime she has a son studying at Quetta and another in Turbat University However, the youngest of her sons has also secured admission in Turbat University But the new wave of increment in the fee structure of the university from 30 to 80 percent (varying from department to department) is compelling her to rethink sending her youngest son to the university

For the last few days, outside the main gate of the University of Turbat, some students have organized a protest sit-in against the new fee structure announced by the varsity where fees were hiked 30 to 80 percent instantly which, the students claim, is against the Balochistan Universities Act, 2022 For the last several days that they are sitting, they have received “no satisfactory response” from the varsity administration

“if fees are increased to what they are now i am unable to send my son to study in the University,” Gul Bibi says, still pondering deeply of how she would look into the eyes of her youngest son “i am thinking if he asks what his sin is that i have sent my other sons to a university and not him, then what would i have to say?” she says with tearful eyes and a query if she could not really send her child to a university

“Before, when the fees were lower, i thought i would manage it by sewing clothes over time Gul Bibi tells me But she is now tense because, as she counts, overtime work may not get her to complete the previously estimated fees it is not rs 1000 or rs 2000 they increased, it is more than rs 10,000 including the charges of transportation, she says with grief

As noted, the varsity charged rs 250 per semester which was included in the semester fees challan But this time, the varsity has taken the fees amount from the voucher and asked the students to pay for transportation separately an amount of rs 4000 (for students from the main Turbat city) and rs 5000 (for the students residing outside Turbat)

ing to Hec, the varsity administration freezed one month salary of the varsity employees and requested them to pay more grants, he says, adding that University of Turbat was not even interested in this despite precedents set by universities across Pakistan is being poor my fate? Gul Bibi questions the authorities she did not choose poverty but now that she is, what options she has “i want nothing but only my children s education, she said she fears the fees hike may deprive her son from higher education

“if we do not stand firmly against the administration, they can go harsher without any boundaries in times to come ” Hammal says, foreseeing the ‘unauthorised behaviour of the administration towards the students He says, this rise is likely to lessen the attention of students from poor backgrounds to turn to university it is for generations to come We no longer want illiteracy and injustices as such,” he says, adding that they were committed towards their sit-in and would go to every extent to get the fees reduced

He says, this rise is likely to lessen the attention of students from poor backgrounds to turn to university. “It is for g enerations to come . We no long er want illiteracy and injustices as such”

M A Niazi Joint Editor

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

As per a recent report issued after the 2017 census and published in 2022 Makran division of Balochistan stood as the eighth most literate district across Pakistan with 60 05 percent literacy, while Kech district topped in Balochistan with 62 66 percent literacy Out of the total, 56 66 percent are female This rise was observed with the inauguration

University of Balochistan Professor Hamid Ali Baloch is also doubtful about the recent fees hike of the varsity and says it is out of the legal context’ to increase the fees this much He says he himself was part of the Finance Planning team of Balochistan University which met after every two months to look for expenses, including constructions and fees and so on, and they were legally bound to only increase the fees a maximum 10 percent if needed “if varsity says it is in financial crisis, then let me inform it that the whole country is in financial crisis, and it does not mean at all we should put the financial burden on students,” Baloch says “When Peshawar University was in financial crisis they wrote a letter to the Higher education commission, Pakistan and decreased the salaries of the faculty,” Hammal Baloch informs “same was a case with islamia University Bahawalpur where after writ-

The varsity administration, on the other hand, was tacit to comment while they have been spreading their point of view and posting false comparisons of the fee structure with other universities of Balochistan including University of Balochistan (UoB), Balochistan University of information Technology engineering and Management sciences (BUiTeMs), and Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine sciences (LUAWMs) students Alliance Turbat leading the organised protesting sit-in outside the main gate of the varsity, says they reject the allegations of University of Turbat and are ready to negotiate on every point But the administration seems heedless of even sitting seriously to discuss the matters through dialogues,” they say

A n a n t i t h e s i s t o g r e a t p o w e r r i v a l r y i n t h e I n d i a n O c e a n R e g i o n

other pervasive illegal operations specifically in the indian Ocean region Through such cooperative efforts, exercise AMAN-23 greatly contributes to achieving the shared maritime nation’s aim for regional peace and prosperity

The indian Ocean region (iOr), which stretches from the western coast of Australia and the northern strait of Malacca to the western Mozambique channel, is a geographical region that contains more than 30% of the world s sea lines of communication (sLOcs) A vital maritime route connecting Asia, Africa, europe, and the Americas is the southern indian Ocean, which contains the Persian Gulf and the Arabian sea in addition, china s naval might is directly impacted by the strait of Malacca’s role as a naval choke point, and there has been a resurgence of interest in the sea lanes as a possible arena for competition and cooperation iOr is a very secure region of Great Power competition that supports maritime trade, transports more than half of the world s oil at sea, and has 23 of the top 100 container ports in the world

and economic operations submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (sLBMs) and the deployment of fleet missile submarines are crucial for preserving the balance of power in the area and enabling second-strike capabilities The importance of the indian Ocean in Us strategy is demonstrated by the presence of the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, the permanent bases at Diego Garcia and Djibouti, and the agreements for the use of base facilities with Oman, saudi Arabia, Kenya, the seychelles, and other countries Moreover, a major foundational agreement between india and the UsA was signed in October 2020 and is known as the Basic exchange and cooperation Agreement (BecA) The Logistics exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LeMOA), signed in 2016, and the communications compatibility and security Agreement (cOMcAsA) inked in 2018 are the other two military agreements that have been signed

BecA makes it possible to give top-notch tools as well as real-time intelligence and information, enabling india to use Us geospatial data to attack adversary targets with extreme precision The UsA and india are important participants in The Quad, a strategic alliance comprising the governments of india, Japan, Australia, and the UsA its primary objective is to limit china’s strategic hegemony over the indian Ocean, eurasia, and the south china sea in 2020, AUKUs was created as a result of Australia being ready to buy eight nuclear submarines from the UsA and UK That brings negative vibes to china The UsA, india, israel, and the United Arab emirates have formed a new bloc known as i2U2 (with “i” standing for india and israel and “U” for the Us and UAe) Among other areas of cooperation, israel s naval forces will be permitted to operate in the indian Ocean israel is seen as a check on china and a move against the Bri/cPec

Ex

The exercise contains two separate phases The first phase will take place in the harbour from February 10 to February 12 then the sea from February 13 to 14 in order to coordinate the modalities of sea exercises and exchange experiences on current maritime security concerns, a number of professional and social events will be held during the harbour phase exercises and an assessment of the global fleet are part of the sea phase, which demonstrates a unified front against piracy, maritime terrorism, and

The straits of Hormuz, the Malacca strait, and Bab el-Mandeb are three crucial choke points along the iOr, a crucial maritime path Due to the enormous amounts of commerce that travel through them, these choke points are of utmost strategic importance in both the geographic and economic domains Due to its intrinsic geographic significance, iOr has long been seen as the hinterland of great power competition and global geopolitics its supremacy was unavoidable for obvious reasons due to its geographic importance as well as its commercial and economic relevance

iOr is a crucial geostrategic region that connects the Middle east’s energy-rich countries with Asia’s thriving economies Due to the presence of conventional and nuclear ships from the main powers and nuclear-armed nations like Pakistan, china, and india, the indian Ocean region, which was previously considered a “neglected ocean has now become the centre of political strategic

On the other hand, chinese Navy ships patrol and engage in naval drills with states bordering the indian Ocean posing a danger to the UsA and its allies The indian Ocean is now china s main priority after the Bri/cPec/cMec (china-Myanmar economic corridor) in which china aims to invest Us $1 trillion To protect its sLOcs, china establishede its first military facility in Djibouti

While keeping this great power rivalry in mind it is necessary to come up with a more friendly and peaceful maritime environment in iOr to reduce the stress in this regard, Pakistan through the AMAN exercise aims to promote peaceful regional cooperation for maintaining law and order specifically in iOr, enhancing interoperability, exchanging ideas and demonstrating a shared commitment against terrorism and organized crime in the maritime realm

The involvement of states from all over the world shows increased confidence in the exercise s usefulness and appreciation for the Pakistan Navy’s efforts to encourage cooperation between regional and extra-regional warships in the face of various non-traditional security concerns

The writer can be reached at guleayeshabhatti@gmail com

Shahid K haqan Abbasi asks per tinent questions

The writer is a freelance columnist

e r c i s e AMAN’s eighth series will take place in Karachi from February 10 to 14 “Together for Peace is the exercise s slogan and AMAN, which means “Peace” in Urdu, symbolizes the significance of this cause and the shared determination of all participating nations and partners

The involvement of states from all over the world shows increased confidence in the exercise’s usefulness and appreciation for the Pakistan Navy’s effor ts to encourag e cooperation between regional and extra-regional warships in the face of various nontraditional security concerns

Universit y of Turbat ’s fee hike kicks up a storm

Yousaf Nizami Editor

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

T o s h a k h a n a C a s e : P o l i t i c i a n s s u r r e n d e r t o b u r e a u c r a t s

case against imran Khan promoted in the media was the Al-Qadir University land case that is no more in the media nowadays because PML(N) circles look shy to raise this case in the media Political circles claim that the reason for the mysterious silence is the alleged involvement of a business tycoon in this saga

The journalist raja ibrar who raised the Toshakhana gifts case claims that he is not living a normal life since he raised the issue of the Toshakhana gifts and he had been the subject of state suppression and repression since then even after nine months in government, the PDM parties have not taken any action against those who victimized raja ibrar financially as well as psychologically because they are members of the permanent state the bureaucracy

election campaign in the future while imran Khan got a huge moral win by stating that i am not the only one naked in the public bath in the journalistic circles of the capital, the majority of talks revolve around the proposition that the sitting government looks like an extension of imran Khan’s era because the government is run by over 90 percent of the same bureaucrats who were the choice of Project imran Journalists who are inclined to PDM parties look worried about what narrative they will have now to target Khan during possible byelections in KPK and Punjab even general elections are due this year and anti-PTi parties have no strong narrative against Khan after slipping chances over playing Toshakhana and Al-Qadir University issues

Smoking ban

T H e local administration in rawalpindi recently banned smoking in public places across the district, and has called upon all concerned to prepare plans to enforce the ban in its real spirit The decision is a welcome step in the right direction, and, if enforced properly, can do a lot of good to the area and its people

The fact is that making the entire country smoke-free is possible, provided we look beyond the tried and tested methods of tobacco control The rest of the world is making tobacco harm reduction a part of its plans to completely eliminate combustible smoking in other words, every effort should be made to facilitate adult smokers to quit smoking or switch to less harmful options Nicotine is addictive, but not carcinogenic, whereas tar and other toxic chemicals in a combustible cigarette’s smoke cause disease and death if the adult smokers can be provided satisfactory alternatives to cigarettes, they would avoid risking their health and life so blatantly

ARSHAD RIZVI RAWALPINDI

Street crimes in Karachi

e V e ry few days one gets to hear of someone having been shot dead during mugging incidents Most such incidents involve university students; people in the prime of their lives looking ahead to enrich their lives and those of people around them There is a general sense of shock and grief in society The rise in such incidents has left us all traumatised, with nobody being sure anymore about the security and safety of citizens at large

One wonders if the rising inflation is the cause or it is the deteriorating law and order situation which is behind the wave of street crimes in Karachi indeed, nobody knows if the two phenomena are interlinked robberies and muggings mean the citizens of Karachi are equally unsafe outside and inside their homes Mainstream and social media are full of such unfortunate incidents just about every day However, there is hardly any action taken by the authorities to set things right

A lot of mugging cases have been reported by students waiting for their university points Again, no particular arrangements have been seen around colleges and universities All this is seriously frustrating

The law-enforcement agencies need to wake up and take appropriate action so the citizens, especially the students, may feel safe and continue their academic activities

MOMINA KARACHI

Rebuilding Swat

A F T e r the devastating floods a few months ago in the northern areas especially swat, the government should have assisted the lower and vulnerable sections of society instead of playing its role, however, the government has left the people of the valley in the lurch

ON January 19, in response to the Lahore High court’s (LHc) directive to provide details with regards to Toshakhana gifts, the PML(N)-led Federal Government excused itself from complying with the orders, arguing that it may lead to damaging Pakistan s foreign relations Trust me the PTi is not in the Federal Government and the answer has been submitted by the PML(N)-led PDM government

The case of Toshakhana gifts received and sold by former Prime Minister imran Khan had been a blockbuster series run by anti-PTi elements since Khan was voted out from the PM Office last April in the last nine months, the entire paradigm of Khan s corruption was placed by the PDM government on two major cases - Toshakhana gifts and the Al-Qadir University land issue

interestingly the PML(N)-led federal government had successfully dismantled the Toshakhana gifts case against imran Khan by submitting the same reply the PTi government submitted to islamabad High court More interestingly, the reply is written by the same group of bureaucrats who helped imran Khan to place Toshakhana allegedly at the mercy of private people like Farah Gogi who could take state gifts worth millions of dollars out of the country for selling them in the international market in the Lahore High court, the Federal Government argued that The right of Access to information (rTi) Act, 2017”, also provided exemption from disclosure of the information that pertained to the personal privacy of an individual, the information declared as classified by the minister-in-charge of the federal government and the information whose disclosure may cause damage to the interests of Pakistan in the conduct of international relations ”

The reply of the Federal Government is contrary to the decisions and observations of the Pakistan information commission given in Raja Ibrar vs the State of Pakistan After this reply, the PML(N)-led PDM has virtually lost moral grounds to grill imran Khan in the Toshakhana gifts case

The second important alleged corruption

The submission of the Federal government statement in the Lahore High court over the Toshakhana gifts case left raja ibrar and many such journalists in the lurch who try to raise their voices against injustice They have reasons to believe that they are doing a futile exercise of risking their lives to stand against the state-sponsored alleged corruption Asad Ali Toor and many more journalists who faced state-sponsored purges during imran Khan had no clue why the sitting government is shy to take people to task who followed and executed the illegal orders of Khan s regime willfully Pakistan has become one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists who face subjugation from the state as well as individuals and groups As many as 42 journalists were murdered across Pakistan during the last four years and a total of 55 accused were nominated for their killings The PTi government would be remembered for the maximum number of killings of journalists in its 42-month era 15 journalists were killed in Punjab, 11 in sindh, 13 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and three in Balochistan No accused has been punished in any of the 42 cases; indicating that getting away is very simple after killing a journalist in Pakistan and it makes hardly any difference who is in government because the government in Pakistan is in the hands of “bureaucrats while politicians behave as second fiddle and every bureaucrat covers up for his or her cadre whenever the situation arises

I believe PDM leadership understands the risk and the cost of an imaginable defeat in for thcoming g eneral elections as well as by-elections for having no strong narrative against Imran Khan Such defeat would be the last one for parliamentarians at the hands of a person who has a clear idea how to g et rid of the parliamentar y system Imran Khan

There is a saying that power has its own dimensions and mechanism, and power knows what suits it i agree but there are two popular versions of political power One is gaining and retaining political power through manipulation and the second version is gaining and retaining political power through leadership

Once i read in a book that a bad leader has the capacity to paralyze a team more than a coward and he or she is the one who avoids difficult issues and buys loyalty by saying yes to anyone and any idea The Webster ’s Dictionary defines the word coward when used as a noun, as “a person who lacks courage in facing danger, difficulty, opposition pain etc ; a timid or easily intimidated person ”

Homer the Greek philosopher, historian, and poet says in book 9 of The iliad The same honour waits for the coward and the brave– death but everyone is remembered for death with glory or death with the shame of being a coward Homer says that both go down to Death, the fighter who shirks, the one who works to exhaustion i believe PDM leadership understands the risk and the cost of an imaginable defeat in forthcoming general elections as well as by-elections for having no strong narrative against imran Khan such defeat would be the last one for parliamentarians at the hands of a person who has a clear idea how to get rid of the parliamentary system imran Khan

several organisations were active in the region distributing ration and other life essentials, but due to lack of coordination among these organisations many of the affected people failed to receive any help

As the government in Khyber Pakhtun-khwa (KP) did not show commitment and seriousness in the task, the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) and other organisations returned with the machinery they had brought for rehabilitation purposes in swat, the main Bahrain bazaar is still in a bad shape, with dozens of hotels lying in a state of disrepair, and shops flooded with mud Besides no reconstruction of the fallen structures is allowed The main Kalam road is unusable at several points, but there has been no reconstruction of the roads either instead of bridges, the people of the area have to use lifts to cross the river

The provincial government should have some mercy on the people of the areas that play host to local and international tourists through the year Unfortunately this winter swat is not be able to welcome tourists owing to the apathy of the provincial government and the authorities concerned This is depriving the people of their legitimate income-generating opportu-nities, and, in the process, causing a heavy loss to the national excehquer as well

USMAN TORWALI SWAT

Writing as meditation

W r i T i N G helps one think critically and pay attention to the present moment When you write with a pen, as opposed to typing, more body systems are involved and, therefore, your ability to focus improves phenomenally

Writing is a slow process, which often makes it preferable to typing rough drafts pop up in our minds all the time, but when you write with a pen you have to hold on to a thought for a longer time than when you are typing it This makes writing a more composed and mature process We all know that not every thought is worth pursuing and it is hand-writing that can be a preliminary filter for better worth-spreading thoughts

Writing engages more body systems than does typing When you write a sentence, your hand appreciates the structure of each alphabet For writing cat you have to draw the half-circle of c and acknowledge its structural differen-ces from ‘a’ and ‘t’ But when you type ‘cat’, all you need from your hand is to perform a monotonous activity of pressing on the keyboard c a and t in other words writing entails more attentional and muscular investment than typing

Keeping these aspects in mind, i have started focussed pen writing (FPW) activities and would like to encourage others to do the same During FPW sessions lasting 30 minutes, one has to avoid using mobile or the internet Away from the startle of getting notifications, FPW has the potential to become a meditation session when you are so engrossed in the present moment that you forget the world around you

The reply of the Federal Government in the Lahore High court in the Toshakhana gifts case is not a simple move for anybody neither for imran Khan nor for the PML(N) government After this reply the PML(N)-led government has already lost moral justification to abuse imran in this case and cannot raise this issue in any

That man is not truly brave who is afraid either to seem or to be when it suits him a coward Edgar Allan Poe

The writer is an international award winning journalist who has been in the field since 1988 and appears in national and international media as analyst and political scientist

Likewise, FPW allows you to appreciate the power and serenity of being quiet The amount of useless talk we often engage in on a daily basis is mindboggling Talking, although faster than writing, is often a waste of time and mind When you are comfortable in the company of people enjoying silence during FPW sessions, a different kind of bond is formed where the act of speaking becomes redundant it is a wonderful sensation to have in life

JAMSHED ARSLAN KARACHI

A letter from Prometheus AGhA iqrAr hAroon

UkrainE’s ‘agEncy’ tHE cia kind

caiTlinJohnsTone com C a i t l i n J o h n S to n e

y“o U’R E denying the agency of Ukrainians!” This is a line you’ve probably had bleated at you by propagandized empire livestock if you’ve engaged in online debate about the role western powers have played in paving the way to this war

one of the many many tricks that imperial spinmeisters have pulled out of their hats in their shockingly frenetic campaign to manage the narrative about what s happening in Ukraine is to insist that it’s outrageous and disgusting to suggest that Ukraine is being used as a sacrificial pawn in the grand chessboard maneuverings of the U S -centralized empire because it is denying the agency of that nation The argument is that Ukraine freely chose to enter into the situation in which it now finds itself, with no outside pressure or influence of any kind whatsoever

Seemingly overnight it became not just wrong to say that the U S hegemon has played a role in giving rise to this war but actually monstrous and evil My online notifications are currently flooded with furious empire apologists screaming at me for assigning any degree of responsibility in this conflict to western power structures with the kind of vitriol people normally reserve for Holocaust deniers or pedophelia advocates

Imperial narrative managers have even been working overtime to make the word “westsplaining” happen, which is their progressive-sounding term for when one makes the self-evident observation that western powers influence world events Mainstream westerners are actively trained to regurgitate lines like “Stop westsplaining to Ukrainians about coups and proxy conflicts! You’re denying their agency!”

Calling this a “proxy war” between Russia and the United States or calling Kyiv a puppet regime of washington is strictly taboo now That Ukraine has lacked in-

Vandalism on displ ay

Scenes outside Delhi CM’s house are indefensible

dependent agency in this war and the events leading up to it is something you are simply not allowed to say well, I’m saying it This is a proxy war Kyiv is a puppet regime Ukraine does not have independent agency in any meaningful way This is not the fault of the Ukrainian people, who are obviously far and away the greatest victims of the Russian invasion but of the giant western power structure which deliberately worked to take away the nation’s agency many years before the invasion took place

I mean, my god The U S and its allies are pouring billions of dollars’ worth of weapons into Ukraine from around the world the C I A has been training Ukrainians to kill Russians, the U S intelligence cartel is directly sharing military intelligence with Kiev as we speak, and this follows U S -backed coups in Ukraine in 2014 and in 2004 before that This is a proxy war This is exactly the thing that a proxy war is The only “agency” Ukraine has is the Central Intelligence kind

In an excellent article for Multipolarista titled “Ukrainian leftist criticizes western war drive with Russia: US is using Ukraine as cannon fodder , Ukrainian-American Yuliy Dubovyk writes the following: “Like any other US puppet regime, Ukraine doesn’t have any real independence Kiev has been actively pushed to confront Russia by every US administration, against the will of the majority of Ukrainian people The support for Ukraine that fills the western media now is not out of real solidarity with the people of Ukraine If that were the case, the US wouldn’t have overthrown our government twice in a decade; it wouldn t have supported the policies that made us the poorest country in Europe; it wouldn’t have fueled a brutal civil war for the past eight years The reason US media outlets and politicians are all backing Ukraine now is because they want to use the Ukrainian military and civilian population as cannon fodder in a proxy war with a political adversary Yes indeed Amid all the phony profile pic activism and concern trolling about denial of Ukraine’s “agency,” no concern whatsoever has been shown for actual,

known assaults on Ukrainian independence by the UScentralized empire

where was all this reverence for Ukraine’s “agency” in 2004 when The Guardian was reporting that while the gains of the orange-bedecked ‘chestnut revolution’ are Ukraine’s, the campaign is an American creation, a sophisticated and brilliantly conceived exercise in western branding and mass marketing that, in four countries in four years, has been used to try to salvage rigged elections and topple unsavoury regimes?

where was the respect for Ukraine’s “agency” in 2014, when a leaked phone call between Victoria Nuland (now working on Ukraine under the Biden administration) and U S Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt exposed U S officials casually discussing who they were going to select as Ukraine s next prime minister following a U S -backed coup in Kiev?

where was all this respect for Ukraine’s “agency” in 2018, when Joe Biden openly boasted before the Council on Foreign Relations that he had used his power as obama’s vice president to brazenly interfere in Ukraine’s judicial system?

The U S power alliance does not care about Ukraine’s sovereignty beyond the measures it thinks needs to be taken to actively subvert it when people object to criticisms of the way the empire has actively robbed Ukrainians of any real agency, what they are actually doing is defending the most powerful empire that has ever existed from attempts to highlight its malfeasance

I’m not just spouting off about a far-away nation from my safe home here in Australia, for the record This is a dynamic which affects my country directly and is very likely to affect it a lot more as the empire’s “great power competition with China heats up

It is very likely that in the not-too-distant future Australia will end up playing a crucial role in the empire s grand chessboard maneuverings to stop the rise of China when that occurs I will most certainly be saying that we are being used as pawns in a proxy conflict, and I will most certainly be saying that our agency in this

matter has been stolen from us

As in Ukraine, there have been U S -backed coups in Australia not once but twice This nation is now functionally little more than a U S military and intelligence base with a smattering of suburbs and kangaroos, which is why the puppet regime in our capital Canberra has done nothing whatsoever to end washington s brutal persecution of Australian journalist Julian Assange

John Mearsheimer, now the subject of great controversy for his completely accurate predictions years ago that U S and NATo actions would lead to this exact war in Ukraine, told an Australian think tank in 2019 that the U S will destroy Australia if Canberra doesn t align with imperial agendas against Beijing And he was right

And yes, just as there are Ukrainians supporting the imperial line against Moscow when the time comes for Australia to make great sacrifices for U S unipolarist agendas against the Chinese government there will absolutely be Australians supporting it

Because of a massive propaganda campaign in this nation facilitated by our Murdoch-dominated press and imperial narrative management operations like the empire-funded Australian Strategic Policy Institute, there are many Australians who intensely despise China right now I know I ve met them

But that won’t mean our sovereignty wasn’t robbed from us, by mass-scale oligarchic psyops, by C I A coups, by secret deals, by the threat of knowing we d be immediately attacked by a murderous empire if we tried to pivot to Beijing or even to simply espouse a neutral posture what s true of Ukraine is also true of Australia: we have no meaningful agency in the most important decisions made by this nation

Denying the western role in subverting Ukrainian sovereignty doesn’t benefit ordinary Ukrainians it hurts them You can’t fix a problem you don’t understand, and until there s widespread understanding of the way the U S empire uses proxies to advance its agendas of global domination, nothing can be done to stop these ugly proxy wars from happening

W h y a f r i c a p r i n t s m o n e y i n E u r o p e

HOW TRANSPARENT IS THE PROCESS?: It is perhaps surprising that almost all African countries import their currencies The practice could even raise questions of national pride and national security For richer countries like Angola and Ghana there’s also the issue of real autonomy and economic sufficiency

Ho w the protesters managed to breach the security arrangements outside the Delhi Chief Minister ’s residence is a law and order aspect that the police will surely look into, but what is reprehensible and deserves condemnation is the form of protest chosen by the BJP s youth wing whatever the provocation resorting to vandalism is indefensible; violence cannot be condoned If the farmers in Punjab were wrong in physically attacking a BJP legislator to vent their ire last year, so are the BJYM supporters The law should take its course and eyes would be fixed on Delhi Police but of more importance is the line that the BJP top brass decides to take on the issue The one expected of it is to talk down to the excited cadre on what is not allowed

The new-found acceptability for crudeness and vulgarity in the political discourse, deplorable as it is cannot be allowed to manifest itself in violence If what Arvind Kejriwal said about the film The Kashmir Files did not go down well with some sections falling back upon criminal activity is the worst form of reaction Such dramatic scenes are not uncommon for political parties but for the BJP as dominant if not more than what the Congress was at one point of time, any endorsement would go against all that it proclaims itself to be Getting arrested for protesting is considered an essential resume upgrade for any political wannabe; violence and its celebration are sad additions

The Kashmir Files has been running to packed halls, despite contestations over portrayal of the bitter truth versus presenting a one-sided narrative of events opinionated views stand on the pedestal of free speech, but there is always the primacy of facts It is everybody’s right to disagree, dissent, speak for or against a narrative Picking violence as the answer amounts to disrespecting democracy Fast-track trial, and not mere registration of a case against political activists, could be a more effective deterrent

lA S T July, a delegation from The Gambia visiting the Nigerian Central Bank asked if the Gambian dalasi could be ordered from its west African neighbor The Gambia’s central bank governor, Buah Saidy, said the country was running low on its national currency The tiny west African country had to redesign its currency after the defeat of former President Yahya Jammeh, who ruled The Gambia from 1994 until he was forced into exile after refusing to accept defeat in the 2016 elections Jammeh, who is accused of human rights violations and killings of political opponents during his 22-year reign had images of himself on the nation’s banknotes After his ouster, the Gambian Central Bank set about destroying those images Now, the dalasi notes have images of a fisherman pushing his canoe out to sea, a farmer tending to his rice paddy, and a spattering of colorful, indigenous birds

OUTSOURCING THE CASH: one issue remains, however: The Gambia doesn’t print its own currency It places orders with UK companies, resulting in a shortage of liquid money And The Gambia is not alone in having its money printed in another country

More than two-thirds of Africa s 54 countries print their money overseas, mostly in Europe and in North America It comes at a time when the African Union is trying to usher in a golden, made-in-Africa age that should see Africa beef up production and enjoy greater profits

Among the top firms that African central banks partner with are British banknote printing giant De La Rue, Sweden-based Crane and Germany’s Giesecke+Devrient

Most countries are tight-lipped about their currencyprinting processes likely for security reasons The printing firms are even less transparent None of the firms Dw contacted responded to requests for a list of African countries that print with them

COUNTING THE COST: Ethiopia, Libya and Angola along with 14 other countries place orders from De La Rue, writes Ilyes Zouari, who studies African countries

Six or seven other nations including South Sudan, Tanzania and Mauritania are said to print theirs in Germany, while most French-speaking African countries are known to print their money with France’s central bank and with the French printing company oberthur Fiduciaire

It’s not clear how much it costs to print African currencies like the dalasi, although the US dollar costs between 6 and 14 cents But it is likely that the cost of printing for over 40 African currencies is significant

In 2018, a central bank official in Ghana complained to local journalists that the country spends huge amounts for its UK orders of the Ghanaian cedi

And since countries usually order millions of notes to be carted in containers they usually have to pay hefty shipping fees In The Gambia’s case, officials say shipping costs rack up a bill of £70,000 (€84,000, $92,000)

HIGH DEMAND: Still, while it may sound odd, analysts say that African countries printing much of their currency abroad is not unusual

Many countries around the world do it For example, Finland and Denmark outsource their money-making, as do hundreds of central banks around the world Just a handful of countries, like the US and India, produce their own currencies

Mma Amara Ekeruche from the African Center for Economics Research told Dw that when a country’s currency is not in high demand and not used globally like the US dollar or the British pound it makes little financial sense to print it at home due to the high cost involved

Money printing machines usually churn out millions of notes at a time Countries with smaller populations, like The Gambia or Somaliland, would have more money than they needed if they printed their own “If a country prints one banknote for €10 at home and sees that it can print it for about €8 abroad, then why would they incur more costs to do that? It won’t make sense,” Ekeruche explained

Some countries like Liberia don’t attempt to print their own money because they don t even have a printing press it is costly to set up and requires special technical capabilities only a handful of African countries, like Nigeria, Morocco and Kenya have enough resources to print their own currencies or mint their own coins, and even they sometimes supplement production with imports

IS THIRD-PARTY PRINTING SECURE? Ekeruche said some individual countries attempting to produce their own currencies could fall victim to corrupt officials or hackers who might attempt to forge or manipulate them In many cases, outsourcing is more secure Even with importing there can be challenges Containers of Liberian dollars shipped from Sweden disappeared in 2018, although the government later accounted for it Meanwhile, firms like De La Rue have existed for hundreds of years mass-producing for central banks across the world

They have the tools and experience to keep up to date with currency innovations such as polymer which is considered cleaner, more durable and more secure than paper, with the plastic material allowing the inclusion of more sophisticated features to protect against counterfeits

But outsourcing is not without disadvantages Some countries could find themselves on the receiving end of economic sanctions In 2011 for example the UK withheld orders for Libya’s dinar from De La Rue, after the UN sanctioned the late leader, Moammar Gaddafi

AFRICA?

WHY NOT PRINT THE NOTES IN

African countries have been formulating plans to boost intra-African trade There is currently more trade with western and Eastern countries than there is within the continent

Printing banknotes in Africa would boost profits on the continent and, at least theoretically, African countries could choose those with printing capabilities since there s likely some idle capacity

But that is not happening in practice “That’s due to trust issues between the countries,” said Emmanuel Asiedu-Mante a former deputy chief with the Ghanian central bank, and because many have been printing with overseas firms for years

And there s the complicated case of Francophone Africa the countries using the Central African CFA franc and the west African CFA franc The currencies are tightly pegged to the euro because of colonial relations and are produced in France

Still, there’s hope that change could be on the horizon with The Gambia s central bank, officials proposing a possible partnership with Nigeria, countries could start to look inwards for their currency orders If that happens at scale, it could cut shipping costs drastically

W H E R E WA S T H E R E S P E C T F O R U K R A I N E ’ S ‘AG E N C Y ’ I N 2014, W H E N A L E A K E D P H O N E C A L L B E T W E E N

V I C TO R I A N U L A N D ( N O W W O R K I N G O N U K R A I N E U N D E R T H E B I D E N A D M I N I S T R AT I O N ) A N D U . S .

A M B A S S A D O R TO U K R A I N E G E O F F R E Y P YAT T E X P O S E D U . S . O F F I C I A L S C A S U A L LY D I S C U S S I N G W H O T H E Y W E R E G O I N G TO S E L E C T A S U K R A I N E ’ S N E X T P R I M E M I N I S T E R F O L LO W I N G A U . S . - B AC K E D CO U P I N K I E V ?

deuTsche Welle S h o l a l awa l

Tribune, india

Iranian Nav y ships visits Pakistan

PakIStan muSt fOCuS On EIght COuntrIES aS CaSE StudIES, tO attraCt InvEStmEnt

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e P o R t

tHE Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) hosted a Roundtable titled "Pakistan s Investment Climate: The Way Forward ” Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, Founder & CEO Nutshell Group; former Minister of State & Chairman Board of Investment (BoI); was the keynote speaker The roundtable was a hybrid session, chaired by Khalid Rahman, Chairman, IPS Ambassador (R) Syed Abrar Hussain, Vice Chairman, IPS, welcomed the guests

The objective of the session was to explore the current challenges faced by local and foreign investors and the desired economic strategies to overcome the prevailing crises

Upon arrival at Karachi port, PN officials along with Iranian consulate staff warmly welcomed the visiting flotilla and National Anthems tunes of both countries were played as mark of respect The recent visit of Iranian Navy to Pakistan reaffirms joint efforts to promote regional stability and maritime security for protection of Sea Lines of Communication and Seafarers in the region

During stay at port, both navies held mutually rewarding professional interactions, exchange visits and table top discussions on matters of mutual interests

Upon culmination of visit, passage exercise between the two navies was conducted to enhance naval cooperation The visit of Iranian navy ships to Pakistan is a manifestation of strong bilateral ties between two countries and resolve towards regional peace P R

NHA chairman for timely removal of snowfall

Azfar Ahsan started his talk with three main issues; lack of vision, lack of political will, and the need for collaboration “Although I have zero tolerance for corruption, I believe that a significant reason for the economic crises that we face is incompetence ” He further added that under the current

circumstances doing business in Pakistan is no less than jihad Elaborating on investment issues, Azfar Ahsan stated that investors need handholding and assurances, as their profits go back into developing the infrastructure in Pakistan; and one success story creates opportunities for others to follow Similarly, Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) must be privatized PSEs have become a major drain on national resources and the Privatization Commission’s performance is dismal for the lack of expediency and identification of issues

E x t r a p o l a t i n g o

USD 3 billion which is not sustainable for a country of over 230 million p e o p l e O u r i n v e s t m e n t c l i m a t e i s c h a l l e n g i n g f o r t h e l a c k o f c o n s i st e n c y a n d f a c i l i t a t i o n , ” h e e m p h as i z e d C o m m e n t i n g o n t h e t u r n o v e r and lack of continuity he stated that he was the fourth BoI Chairman and saw the appointment of the sixth FBR Chairman and fifth Finance Secretary during his tenure Talking of FDI, Azfar Ahsan said, Investors need handholding and assurances, as their profits go back into developing infrastructure in Pakistan and one success story creates opportunities for others to follow ” He insisted that Pakistan must

Trade, industr y announce protest against anti-industr y policies today

LAHORE

S ta f f R e P o R t

ISLAMABAD: N a t i o n a l H i g hway Au t h o r i ty ( N H A ) C h a i r m a n C a p t ( r ) M u h a m m a d K h u ra m A g h a h a s g i ve n i n s t r u c t i o n s f o r t i m e l y r e m ova l o f u p c o m i n g s p e l l o f s n o w f a l l f o r e n s u r i n g t ra f f i c f l o w a t a ny c o s t A c c o r d i n g t o N H A , C a p t ( r ) M u h a m m a d K h u ra m A g h a , C h a i r m a n ( N H A ) H Q I s l a m a b a d v i s i t e d N a t i o n a l H i g hway s Ku c h l a k-S h e l l a B a g h - K h o j a k To p - C h a m a n ( N - 2 5 ) u p t i l l A f g h a n B o r d e r t o d ay o n S u n d ay 2 2 n d J a n u a r y, 2 0 2 2 C h a i r m a n ( N H A ) a c c o m p a n i e d b y S h a h i d I h s a n u l l a h M e m b e r We t Zo n e B a l o c h i s t a n , A g h a I n aya t u l l a h , G e n e ra l M a n a g e r B a l o c h i s t a n N o r t h , E n g r Ra h e e l A h m e d D i r e c t o r ( M a i n t ) B a l o c h i s t a n - N o r t h & M i r A s i f M a s o o d , D e p u ty D i r e c t o r ( M a i n t ) Ka l a t- Q u e t t a - C h a m a n ( N - 2 5 ) Q u e t t a a l o n g w i t h t e a m v i s i t e d t h e E m e r g e n c y N H A s S n o w r e m ov i n g C a m p s e s t a b l i s h e d o n N a t i o n a l H i g h w a y Ku c h l a k- S h e l l a b a g h - K h o j a k To p - C h a m a n ( N2 5 ) u p t i l l A f g h a n B o r d e r D u r i n g t h e v i s i t , C h a i r m a n ( N H A ) i n s p e c t e d t h e M a c h i n e r y, C a m p s & S a l t s t o c k e d f o r s n o w r e m o va l H e a p p r e c i a t e d a l l N H A Te a m , C o n t r a c t o r s & t h e i r l a b o r e r s m o b i l i z e d o n s i t e s f o r t i m e l y r e s p o n s e a n d r e m o va l o f s n o w H e a l s o t h a n k e d t h e N H A M e d i a C e l l a n d E x t e r n a l m e d i a c h a n n e l s f o r q u i c k r e s p o n s e & c o v e r a g e t o e m e r g e n c y w o r k s o f N H A , g i v e n i n s t r u c t i o n s f o r t i m e l y r e m o va l o f u p c o m i n g s p e l l o f s n o w f a l l f o r e n s u r i n g t h e t r a f f i c f l o w a t a n y c o s t S ta f f R e P o R t

T h e F e d e r a t i o n o f P a k i s t a n C h a m b e r s o f C o m m e r c e & I ndustry’s former president Mian A n j u m N i s a r h a s s a i d t h a t t h e business community across the c o u n t r y h a s d e c i d e d t o t a k e t o t h e s t r e e t s a g a i n s t t h e a n t i - i nd u s t r y p o l i c i e s o f t h e g o v e r nm e n t o n M o n d a y ( t o d a y ) , l o d g i n g a m a s s i v e a n d s t r o n g p r o t e s t d e m o n s t r a t i o n e s p ec i a l l y a g a i n s t t h e n o n - o p e n i n g of LCs (Letter of Credits) to imp o r t i n d u s t r y r a w m a t e r i a l f o r the smooth running of business activities in the country

Mian Anjum Nisar who is the chairman of FPCCI’s ruling group of Businessmen Panel (BMP) and also patron-in-chief of the PIAF, which is presently ruling at LCCI, threatened the government of continuing this protest across Pakistan until the clearance of their containers of imported goods stuck up at ports for a long time, as the economy is presently in a standstill position owing to this unfortunate attitude of the authorities

Mina Anjum Nisar urged the government for immediate restoration of the opening of letters of credit with the availability of foreign exchange for the import of raw materials putting industries into gear He said that representatives of all trade bodies industrial associations, markets and bazaars

would participate in this protest, in the lead of BMP and PIAF, being held in front of Lahore Press Club today (Monday) to give a strong message to the government, telling them that every sector of trade and industry is severely affected due to stoppage of imported goods, as a result the economy is going towards a total closure and default

PIAF chairman Faheemur Rehman Saigol observed that factories importing raw material for producing food, medicines and iron are now facing serious supply constraints Due to nonrelease of our import documents and consequent non-availability of raw material the manufacturing units are on the verge of closure, he said He said that despite the lifting of the import ban by the government, delay in opening

The BMP Chairman and PIAF patron-in-chief said that at the same time, the country has failed to secure Moreover, market rumors of a possible default by Pakistan are also making rounds but the government remains optimistic that Saudi Arabia will offer crucial support for foreign exchange reserves

T h e F P C C I f o r m e r p r e s ident said that the currency mark e t c o n t i n u e d t o s t a y e n g u l f e d in a massive dollar shortage, as customers struggled to get their hands on the greenback Dollars are not available in the market a s t h e e c o n o m i c s i t u a t i o n r emains vulnerable while foreign exchange reserves remain low

focus on six to eight countries as best case studies, to attract investment He further highlighted that Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan s investment strategies are excellent model for Pakistan to follow These economies have shown remarkable development in a short time "We need to create a similar ecosystem in Pakistan with a simultaneous focus on G2G, G2B, and B2B

While contemplating China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, Azfar Ahsan highlighted CPEC as a great example of FDI and solemnly noted that not much is being done to productively utilize the opportunity

He said that the Chinese government has already established Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in 22 countries; BoI had recommended that this should be the top agenda in our meeting with China s President Xi

The Saudi government has funding available for eight priority sectors Their biggest desire is to engage Pakistan as a Food Security partner; they want to establish an Agri Zone in Pakistan, in addition to an oil refinery in Balochistan

IESCO notifies power suspension programme

Monday

programme

work According to the IESCO spokesman the power supply of different

and grid stations would remain suspended for the period from 09:00 AM to 02:00 PM Islamabad Circle Imran Khan Wahidabad, Navy, CD Office, Park Enclave, Lohi Bhir, F10/2, G-9 Center, H-8, Muhammad Hussain Steel, G-11/2 F-11/1 Shahpur Company Bagh Kohala Pearl Cantonment, Kotli Sattian, Balawara, Magnyal, CDA Flats, Anguri, Shahpur, Shahdara, Magnyal Desto T& T Treat Bhara Kaho II Golf City Bhara Kaho, NIH, Athal, Buri Imam, Quaid-eAzam University, Khayaban Iqbal, NCP, Mandala Feeders Rawalpindi City Circle Raja Sultan Affendi Colony, Shukrial, Dhok Khaba, Jami Masjid, Khanna II, Muslim Town, Tamasamaabad, Liaquat Bagh Gulshanabad Sarafa Bazar Jinnah Road Subhanuddin, Dhok Najo, Asghar Mall, People Colony, Charing Cross, Ameer Hamza Colony, F17/ 1 & 2, I-14/3, Rata Feeders, Rawalpindi Cantt Circle, Mall Road, Tipu Road, Chaklala, Jail Park Kahota City-II, Khawaja, Panjar, Mandra-II, New Kaliam, Karnab Kaswal, Raman, Bhal, Reliance Weaving Mill, Jarrar Comp, Lab 1&2, Bhal, Islamabad Feed Mill, Jhata Hatial Feeders, Attock Circle, Jalala, Nawababad, Dheerek, AWT, New City Block I, A, N&G, New City Raked, Pathargarh, Colonel Sher Khan, Nar Topa, Shamsabad, Akhori, Mansar, People Colony, Shakurdra, Mari, Hameed, Muslim Town, Mithial, Jhang, Mira Sharif, Maqsood Shaheed, Dharnal, Khore, Ahmad Dal, Gagan Feeders, From 10:00 AM to 03:00 AM Chakwal

Circle Baharpur Mulat Chowk Miani Manara Main Bazar, Adi, Dhera Muslim, Dhadyal City, Latifal, Sehiglaabad, Bhikri, CS Shah, Jalap River, Laila Town K S Maniz Jalalpur Bilkser Pipli Kot Gullah, Kot Shera, Malkwal, Murt, Akwal, Bilalabad, Dhok Pathan, Kot Sarang, Thai, Tau Muharram Khan Badhial Patwali Jamal Wall Feeders

Chinese volunteers in Pakistan offer warmth to Afghan kids as winter descends

ISLAMABAD

X n h ua

As winter descends in Islamabad five-year-old Khaula living in a refugee camp in the capital was haunted by the thoughts of going to school every morning in cold weather without any warm clothes until she got a set of warm clothes from Chinese volunteers Khaula and many kids of her age are living in a bad shape in the refugee camp in which their clay and stonebuilt houses are not enough to provide them warmth and protect them from the freezing cold

Many kids, whose fathers are labourers in Islamabad’s vegetable market, and whose mothers are housewives, have to miss school in winter due to illness in extremely cold weather

Chinese volunteers were no less than a blessing for

the kids shivering in temperatures slightly over 3 degrees Celcius, when they gave the woollen coats to them We k e e p o n c o m i n g t o t h e

t h e m w i t h s u p p l i e s u s e d i n e d u c a t i o n a s w e b e l i e v e t h a t e d u c a t i o n i s t h e m o s t p o w e r f u l t o o l f o r t h e m t o i m p r o v e t h e i r l i v i n g c o n d i t i o n a n d f i n a nc i a l l y e m p o w e r t h e m i n t h e f u t u r e , ” M a B i n , f o c a l p e r s o n o f t h e C h i n a - P a k i s t a n Yo u t h E x c h a n g e C o mm u n i t y, t o l d X i n h u a

He added that the warm clothes were donated by people from China for the students to make their lives easy so that they can focus on their studies

Housed in the refugee camp where thousands of refugees are living, the four-room school is the only hope for a better future for the refugee kids who have seen extreme poverty since their birth

Talking to Xinhua, Sahib Shah, headmaster of the school, said 220 students from grades one to five are studying in the school, and after completing their education here, they will join the Pakistani government-run

schools for higher classes

He said that the kids are from poor families with some of them being even homeless so the timely help by the Chinese volunteers is a great help for the kids whose families are unable to provide them with warm clothes

“ I t i s a v e r y c o m m e n d a b l e a c t i v i t y a n d w e a r e s o h a p p y t o r e c e i v e h e l p T h e y a r e v e r y p o o r a n d t h e s e a s o n i s v e r y c o l d , S h a h s a i d , a d d i n g t h a t t h e C h in e s e v o l u n t e e r s c o n s i s t e n t l y h e l p t h e k i d s w h o e ag e r l y w a i t f o r t h e m

They help with clothes, food items, uniforms, stationaries, and other things It shows that they feel the kids close to their heart and always try to help them for making their life easy, he added

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are over 1 4 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan

KARACHI: Iranian Navy ships visited Karachi port and participated in naval exercise with Pakistan Navy (PN)

Letters of Credit (LCs) for essential machinery, equipment and spare parts is a matter of grave concern for traders

ISLAMABAD

P R

Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) on Sunday notified a power suspension

for

for various areas of its region due to necessary maintenance and routine development

feeders

ISLAMABAD: Zeeshan Riaz, Chief Operating Officer

Urtasker, pose with the participants of Amazon & Youtube Marketing workshop held for Journalists & Traders PR

E X P E R T R E G R E T S P R I M E M I N I S T E R ’S O F F I C E I N E F F E C T I V E N E S S I N C R E AT I N G I N V E S T M E N T C L I M AT E

SwediSh pRime miniSteR condemnS deSecRation of holy QURan in Stockholm

SW E D E N s prime minister has condemned as “deeply disrespectful” the desecration of the Holy Quran in Stockholm, which has raised tensions with Turkey as the Nordic country courts Ankara over its Nato bid

Far-right politician Rasmus Paludan set fire to a copy of the Holy Quran on Saturday in front of Turkey’s embassy in the Swedish capital Furious that Paludan had been permitted by Swedish police to carry out the protest, Ankara cancelled a visit by Sweden’s defence minister and summoned Stockholm’s ambassador

Late on Saturday Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson tweeted: “Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy But what is legal is not necessarily appropriate Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act

“I want to express my sympathy for all Muslims who are offended by what has happened in Stockholm he said

Paludan’s demonstration has further damaged relations as Stockholm tries to convince Nato member Turkey to approve Sweden and Finland joining the military alliance

Sweden’s bid has been stalled amid Ankara’s demands that Stockholm hand over Kurdish activists and prevent rallies attacking Turkey s leadership

Many Muslim countries said they were outraged by the burning of the Holy

Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also condemned it, as did the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Jakarta said “the act of blasphemy against the holy book has hurt and tarnished religious tolerance”, adding that freedom of expression must be exercised in a responsible manner”

Dozens of protesters gathered late on Saturday in front of the Swedish consulate in Istanbul, where they burned a Swedish flag and called on Turkey to sever diplomatic ties with Stockholm Paludan, a Swedish-Danish activist w h o h a s a l r e a d y b e e n c o n v i c t e d f o r racist abuse, provoked rioting in Sweden last year when he went on a tour of the c o u n t r y a n d p u b l i c l y b u r n e d c o p i e s o f the Holy Quran

UN Alliance of Civilizations condemns burning of Holy Quran

UNITED NATIONS: The top official for the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), Miguel Moratinos, has “unequivocally” condemned the “vile” act of burning the holy Quran in Sweden on Saturday by leader of the far-right party Hard Line, saying it was an affront to Muslims “It is disrespectful and insulting to the adherents of Islam and should not be conflated with freedom of expression,” Moratinos, the High Representative of UNAOC , an initiative aimed at galvanizing international action against extremism, said in a statement issued at UN Headquarters in New York on Sunday “While the High Representative stresses the importance of upholding the freedom of expression as a fundamental human right, he also emphasizes that the act of Quran-burning, amounts to an expression of hatred towards Muslims, the statement said Recalling the UN General Assembly resolution of 26 January 2021 that reaffirms that the exercise of freedom of expression carries with it duties and responsibilities, the High Representative expressed his “deep concern” at the overall rise in instances of discrimination intolerance and violence regardless of the actors directed against members of many religious and other communities in various parts of the world, including cases motivated by Islamophobia, anti-semitism and Christianophobia and prejudices against persons of other religions or beliefs Ag e n c i e s

Russia pushing towards two towns in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region

MOSCOW Ag e n c i e s

Moscow s forces are pushing towards two towns in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, where fighting intensified this week after several months of a stagnant front, Russian state media reported Sunday Russian-installed official in the region Vladimir Rogov said offensive actions were concentrated around two towns: Orikhiv, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Ukrainian-controlled regional capital Zaporizhzhia and Hulyaipole further east “The front is mobile, especially in two directions: Orikhiv and Hulyaipole,” Rogov was quoted as saying by the Ria Novosti news agency He said there was active fighting in those areas, according to the agency The initiative is in our hands ” The Russian army later claimed for a second day in a row that it had taken “more advantageous lines and positions after offensive operations in Zaporizhzhia It claimed to have hit Ukrainian positions in the village of Lezhyno, outside the regional capital of Zaporizhzhia which has not fallen to Ukrainian forces AFP was not able to verify this information In its daily report on Sunday, the Ukrainian army said “more than 15 settlements were affected by artillery fire in Zaporizhzhia Earlier this week Rogov announced a “local offensive” around Orikhiv and said the Russian army had taken control of the village of Lobkove near the Dnipro river He also said this week that fighting has “sharply increased” in the southern region The front in southern Ukraine has been considerably quieter recently than in the east, with Moscow withdrawing from the major city of Kherson in November

Nine killed in dance club shooting near Los Angeles, police say

LOS ANGELES

At least nine people were killed in a mass shooting in Monterey Park city in the western American state of California late on Saturday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department said

Los Angeles County Sheriff s Homicide detectives are responding to assist Monterey Park Police Department with a shooting death investigation There are nine deceased,” the department said in a

brief statement

“There is no additional information available at this time ” The department said the suspect was male but it was not clear if he was still at large

The shooting took place after 10:00 pm (0600 GMT on Sunday) around the location of a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration held in Monterey Park, US media reported

Footage posted on social media showed injured people on stretchers being taken to ambulances by emergency staff Around the scene of the shooting reported to have been at

a dance club police guarded cordoned-off streets, the video showed

“Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones tonight in our neighbouring city, Monterey Park, where a mass shooting just occurred,” Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a tweet

Tens of thousands of people had attended the festival earlier in the day

The Los Angeles Times quoted the owner of a nearby restaurant as saying that people who sought shelter on his property told him there was a man with a machine gun in the area

S ix more classified docs found in Justice Dept search of Biden home

WASHINGTON A F P

Officials from the US Department of Justice found six more classified documents during a search of Joe Biden’s family home in Delaware this week, the president s personal lawyer said in a statement Saturday

The new disclosure served up another embarrassing twist for Biden in an affair dogging him just as he gets ready to declare whether he will run for another term in 2024

Biden insists he has done nothing wrong and has downplayed the situation as an innocent mistake

Documents from his time as vice president and marked as classified first turned up in an office at a Biden-affiliated think tank in Washington last year, and then again at his home in Delaware Altogether they are about a dozen documents

After the second find, the White House offered to let the Department of Justice search the Delaware home the search was carried out

BBC doc umentar y on Modi banned in India

MUMBAI R e u t e R s

India has blocked the airing of a BBC documentary which questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership during the 2002 Gujarat riots, saying that even sharing of any clips via social media is barred

Directions to block the clips from being shared have been issued using emergency powers available to the government under the country’s information technology rules, said Kanchan Gupta an adviser to the government, on his Twitter handle on Saturday While the BBC has not aired the docu-

mentary in India the video was uploaded on some YouTube channels, Gupta said

The government has issued orders to Twitter to block over 50 tweets linking to the video of the documentary and YouTube has been instructed to block any uploads of the video, Gupta said Both YouTube and Twitter have complied with the directions, he added

Modi was the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat when it was gripped by communal riots that left more than 1,000 people dead by government count most of them Muslims The violence erupted after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims caught fire, killing 59

Human rights activists estimate at least

double that number died in the rioting

Modi denied accusations that he failed to stop the rioting A special investigation team appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate the role of Modi and others in the violence said in a 541-page report in 2012 it could find no evidence to prosecute the then-chief minister Modi was later named the head of his party the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which he led to power in general elections in 2014 and then in 2019

Last week a spokesperson for India s foreign ministry termed the BBC documentary a “propaganda piece” meant to push a “discredited narrative”

on Friday and is now concluded, Biden attorney Bob Bauer said “DOJ took possession of materials it deemed within the scope of its inquiry, including six items consisting of documents with classification markings and surrounding materials,” Bauer said The search lasted more than 12 hours and covered “all working, living and storage spaces in the home,” Bauer said DOJ had full access to the President’s home, including personally handwritten notes, files

Seven pakistanis among 32 peacekeepers killed in attacks during 2022: Un

UNITED NATIONS

A P P

At least 32 peacekeeping personnel, seven of them from Pakistan, were killed in deliberate attacks against them last year, according to a United Nations body

For the ninth year in a row, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was the deadliest for peacekeepers with 14 fatalities followed by 13 in the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), four in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and one death in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)

Among the 32 fatalities were 28 military and four police personnel including a woman police officer, the press release said

“Peacekeepers and the civilian personnel who work side by side with them are on the front lines of the United Nations’ work in the world’s most challenging environments,” Staff Union President Aitor Arauz said in a statement

“Each malicious attack against UN personnel is a blow to peacekeeping one of the pillars of the multilateral edifice,” Arauz said “It is a collective responsibility of the international community to put in place appropriate mechanisms to ensure accountability for these heinous acts, which may constitute war crimes under international law ”

despite crackdown, iran protesters still challenging regime

PARIS

Despite a slackening of street activity in the face of a brutal crackdown, protesters are still challenging the Islamic theocratic regime of Iran four months into their movement observers say There have been fewer daily street protests nationwide since November as the authorities seek to quell the protests with methods including capital punishment, which has already seen four protest-related executions But the anger unleashed by the death in midSeptember of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for violating the republic s strict dress rules, has not subsided and at a time of economic crisis still poses a potential threat to the Iranian regime

Meanwhile, protests have taken on different forms, notably including strikes Mass street actions continue in some regions and there have been tentative signs of division within the regime With the number of protests diminishing since mid-November 2022, it appears that a stalemate has set in, with neither the regime nor the protesters side being able to overwhelm the other,” said Ali FathollahNejad, Iran expert with the American University of Beirut’s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs

Despite the relative decline in the number of protests ever since, it is worth recalling that revolutionary processes usually entail phases of both relative calm and uproar “Now, with a dramatic loss of the value of the Iranian currency since the turn of year, economy-driven protests could be expected, which as past shows could quickly turn political, he told AFP

The enqelab info site, which monitors the extent of protest activity, said while the number of street protests has decreased the number of strikes and other acts of dissent, such as writing slogans or damaging governmental banners has increased

A F P

Quran on Saturday Morocco said it was astonished the authorities had allowed it to take place “in front of the Swedish forces of order

TsiTsipas baTTles inTo ausTralian open quarTers buT swiaTek , Gauff ouT

sT E FA n O S Tsitsipas battled into the Australian Open’s last eight on Sunday but women’s top seed Iga Swiatek and a tearful Coco Gauff became the latest big-name victims Swiatek’s defeat to Elena Rybakina made it the first Grand Slam since the Open era began in 1968 to lose the top two seeds in both the men’s and women’s draws before the quarter-finals That left Greece’s Tsitsipas as the highest remaining men’s seed at three, and he avoided the fate of Rafael nadal and Casper Ruud with a dogged victory over Jannik Sinner

Tsitsipas who is pursuing a first major crown, defeated the Italian 15th seed 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 to set up a quarter-final with the unseeded Jiri Lehecka

“It was a long match, I felt like I spent an entire century on this court playing tennis said the 24-year-old Tsitsipas, who has seen the draw open up for him with six of the top 10 seeds out

“What a great night That was superb, ‘a ripper ’ as they say here ” Czech world number 71 Lehecka defeated sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in four sets in yet another surprise result

The 21-year-old Lehecka was knocked out in the first round at the four majors last year but was too hot for the Canadian winning 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/3)

“After losing in the first round last year, if someone had told me before the tournament that I would be playing like this I wouldn t have believed them said Lehecka

“I’m super happy and excited ”

Giant-killer Sebastian Korda surged into a maiden Grand Slam quarter-final and faces 18th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia

The American 29th seed came through a rollercoaster 10-point deciding tiebreak to beat 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10/7)

Korda whose father Petr won the title in 1998, produced one of the performances of his career to upset two-time Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev in the third round

A s h l e i g h G a r d n e r f a u l t s A u s t r a l i a

D ay m at c h v s. Pa k i s t a n

SYDNEY

t h e a s s o c i at e d p r e s s

Juventus reeling after transfer trial disaster

MILAN

a f p

Juventus are in deep turmoil after being hit with a massive points deduction for what the Italian Football Federation ruled was transfer trickery on the part of the country’s biggest football club Docked 15 points in Serie A, their sporting director Federico Cherubini banned for 16 months and facing a potential criminal trial into alleged accounting offences Juve’s season will now be dominated by off-field events W h y W e r e J u v e n t u s d o c k e d p o i n t s?

Juve were found guilty of managing capital gains from transfers to artificially benefit their balance sheet It was a charge of which they and other clubs including Serie A leaders napoli were cleared by the FIGC tribunal last year after it was ruled it was impossible to pin down the objective value of a footballer However, prosecutors at the country’s football federation (FIGC) convinced the governing body’s tribunal to reopen the sporting trial on the basis of evidence from a separate criminal investigation carried out in Turin

The FIGC won’t publish for another 10 days the tribunal’s reasoning for a points deduction which was even harsher than the nine requested by the prosecution But Italian media widely report that the documents from the criminal probe convinced the tribunal that there was the systematic use of transfers to massage the club’s accounts M o r e c o u rt r o o M d r a M a l o o M s

Juve will appeal the FIGC s decision at the country s highest sporting tribunal at the Italian Olympic Committee who within the next two months will either uphold or throw out the sanctions handed down by the FIGC

On March 27 a preliminary hearing will decide whether the club, which is quoted on the Italian stock market, and its former leadership will face criminal prosecution for a variety of accounting offences over the three seasons between 2018 and 2021 Reportedly in their early stages are two more FIGC investigations into Juve’s financial activity, one of which is into their alleged relationships with other clubs in gaming capital gains

An indigenous Australian member of the Australian national women’s cricket team has condemned a decision to play a T20 international against Pakistan on Australia’s national day

The holiday on January 26 commemorates the arrival in 1788 of the “first fleet” which brought the first white settlers to Australia

But some indigenous Australians commemorate the day as Invasion Day or Colonisation Day because the arrivals set in motion the seizure of lands and the diminution of the indigenous Australian culture

Ashleigh Gardner, who is the second indigenous Australian woman to play Test cricket for Australia, said January 26 is a “day of hurt and a day of mourning for her people In a tweet Gardner said playing a match on the day “certainly doesn’t sit well

with me as an individual but also all the people I’m representing

“For those who don’t have a good understanding of what that day means it was the beginning of genocide, massacres and dispossession she said When I take the field for this game I will certainly be reflecting and thinking about all of my ancestors and peoples’ lives who changed from this day ”

Cricket Australia has yet to confirm details of the match but

the Australian Associated Press reported the Australian players will likely perform a barefoot ceremony before the match and wear an indigenous-themed uniform

In 2021, Cricket Australia became the first Australian national sports body to phase out the use of the term Australia Day Then Prime Minister Scott Morrison was highly critical of the move The Australian women last played on January 26 in 2016

sawar, Hamza to clash in u16 Memorial Tennis open final

PESHAWAR

In the first Haji Malik Umar Khattab Khalil Memorial Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Junior Tennis Championship held at Synthetic Tennis Courts of Peshawar Sports Complex both Shah Sawar Khan and Hamza Rehmat took a berth into Under-16 age group final

Yaqub Ahmed was the chief guest on this occasion, Zaheeruddin Assistant Directorate of Tragedy and Accounts Office, Provincial Tennis Association

Secretary General Umar Ayaz Khalil, coaches Zakirullah, Roman Gul, Inam Gul, Wakeel Khan, Janan Khan, Farman Khan, Shaharyar Khan and nouman were also present

The Tennis Championship under the auspices of the Provincial Tennis Association, Shah Sawar Khan defeated Uzair Khan by 6-2 6-0 in the U-16 semi-final while in the second semi-final, Hamza Rehmat defeated Ryan Khalil 6-2 and 6-3 and qualified for the final In the first quarter-final in the U13 category, Arsalan defeated Zain Roman by 6-2 and 6-2 while Muhammad Shayan Afridi defeated Ahmed Khan by 6-2 and 6-1, Junaid defeated Zohaib Amjad 6-2, and 6-3

plooy propels super kings to thrilling win over sunrisers in sa20

GQEBERHA, SOUTH AFRICA

Leus du Plooy held his nerves strong to steer Joburg Super Kings to a thrilling five-wicket win over Sunrisers Eastern Cape in a low-scoring SA20 game Batting at number 4, Plooy made an unbeaten 47 from 40 balls and sailed his team to victory in the final over while it was chasing a paltry total of 128 Faf du Plessis s side went through a few hiccups during the chase after it bundled out the Sunrisers to 127 thanks to sensational bowling by Aaron Phangiso and Gerald Coetzee The two shared eight wickets between them to put Super Kings in command after they elected to field first Phangiso (4 for 20) wreaked havoc in the middle overs as he dismissed Adam Rossington, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen and JJ Smuts before Coetzee (4 for 24) stormed through the tailenders Rossington top-scored for his side with a cautious 31ball 40 while all-rounder James Fuller and Smut scored 27 and 22, respectively in an otherwise deplorable batting display Super Kings, in reply also went through a dismal start as Sisanda Magala removed opener Reeza Hendrick cheaply in the 3rd over Skipper du Plessis, however, made a solid 37 from 38 balls before falling prey to Smuts in the 13th over Two more jolts in quick succession slid his side to 100/5 before Plooy did the repair work

Remington Pharma clinches Maj Gen SZ Janjua Memorial Polo Cup title

LAHORE

Remington Pharma edged past Platinum Homes/Master Paints by 7-6 in the Maj Gen Saeed-uz-Zaman Janjua Memorial Polo Cup 2023, sponsored by JS Bank, here at the Jinnah Polo Fields on Sunday

The main final match between Remington Pharma and Platinum Homes/Master Paints proved an enthralling and exciting encounter Both the sides gave tough time to each other till the third chukker in which Remington Pharma played better polo and excelled with both mallet and polo ponies to take a slight lead, which remained intact till the final whistle The losing side though tried hard and also managed to score one goal in the last chukker but their efforts couldn’t bear fruit

From Remington Pharma, Hamza Mawaz Khan emerged as hero as he ham-

Lahore Lt Gen Aamir Riaz (R), were the special guests and distributed prizes among the winners and top performers Other notables present on the occasion were Brig Badr-uz-Zaman (R), JS Bank Regional Head Majid Qureshi, Club President Lt Col Shoaib Aftab (R) singer Adeel Barki, polo players, their families and a large number of people from different walks of life

Talking to the media after the match, former Army General Jahangir Karamat said: “The exciting final of this prestigious polo tournament at the Jinnah Polo Fields shows the level of Pakistan polo, which is increasing rapidly and also shows the interest of the fans that there is a lot of life in this game Brig Badr-ul-Zaman (r) son of General Saeed-ul-Zaman said: “I am very happy with the way the teams and people participated in the tournament organized in memory of my father

C WI confirms team management unit for Z imbabwe, S outh Afric a tours

ag e n c i e s

Ahead of the West Indies Test squad’s departure for the tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa, the Team Management Unit has been confirmed to support interim Head Coach Andre Coley throughout the red and white ball tours in February and March Kenny Benjamin the former West Indies and Leewards Islands fast bowler, travels to Zimbabwe as the Bowling Coach working alongside Assistant Coach, Rayon Griffith, current Head Coach of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, who continues in his coaching role with the West Indies

Team Manager Rawl

Ronald Rogers,,

Physio Denis Byam, Strength and Coniditioning

Avenesh Seetaram and Media Officer Dario Barthley comprise the full Team Management Unit who will depart for Zimbabwe this coming weekend The team lands in Zimbabwe early next week ahead of a three-day warm-up match against a local side set for 28 to 30 January at Bulawayo Athletic Club

West Indies will then play two Test matches against Zimbabwe at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, with the first Test running from 4 to 8 February, and the second match from 12 to 16 February All matches start at 10am local time (4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica)

The last Test Series between Zimbabwe and the West Indies was also played at Queens Sports Club in October 2017 West Indies won the two-match Series 1-0, winning the first contest by 117 runs with the second Test ending in a draw The squad will then travel on to South Africa f o r We s t I n d i e s ’ l a s t t w o m a t c h e s i n t h e c u r r e n t ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with We s t I n d i e s p l a c e d 6 t h i n t h e c u r r e n t W T C a n d South Africa placed 4th Both sides have the opp o r t u n i t y t o i m p r o v e t h e i r p o s i t i o n i n t h e f i n a l table Following the Test Series, West Indies play South Africa in three One Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals

JOHN’S ANTIGUA

Lewis,

Coach

Analyst

MELBOURNE

mered an impressive hat-trick of goals and he was ably assisted by his teammates Ahmed Bilal Riaz (two goals) and Ahmed Zubair Butt and Basel Faisal Khokhar (one goal each) From Platinum Homes/Master Paints, Iranian player Aamirreza Behboudi fired in fabulous five goals and Sufi Muhammad Haroon struck one goal but

their contribution proved too little too late as they lost the final by a narrow margin of 6-7 Earlier in the subsidiary final, Team FG/Din Polo won defeated Team Black Horse Paints by 9½-7 At the prize distribution ceremony, former Army Chief General Jahangir Karamat (R) former Corps Commander

Govt likEly to REMovE SNGPl , SSGCl

MDS DuE to ‘PooR PERFoRMANCE’

ISLAMABAD

tH E government is likely to show the door to the Managing Directors (MDs) of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited mainly owing to their performance especially failing to meet the loss cutting targets

According to reliable sources, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken serious notice of the “poor performance” of MDs of SNGPL & SSGCL over their failure to achieve the assigned targets and failing to control gas losses worth billions of rupees And Secretary Petroleum on finding a directive from the PM Office has sought explanation from both the MDs on priority

Sources said that after receiving the required explanation from the two MDs, it is feared that a process to remove both the MDs (Ali Javed Hamdani of SNGPL and Imran Mainiar of SSGCL) from the top lucrative slots of the sui companies (SNGPL

& SSGCL) through their respective Board of Directors (BoDs) will be initiated

Owing to “poor performance”, failure in meeting loss cutting target (Unaccounted for Gas) which resulted billion rupees worth losses, besides depriving Balochistan from the supply of gas in winter season have made the premier unhappy with the performance of MDs of SNGPL & SSGCL, they added

“Both sui companies have so far failed to meet the assigned targets while the two companies also fell short of UfG reduction target in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, said sources

They added that PM Sharif is not satisfied with the performance of MD SSGCL and MD SNGPL and directed the petroleum division to hold the management of two companies accountable for failure to achieve the assigned targets

Sources further said that the petroleum division had earlier shared the data related to the loss cutting targets of the two gas companies (SNGPL &SSGCL) with the Prime Minister ’s Office on 2012-2022 And, the PMO observed that

SSGCL had achieved only seven out of ten reported indicators while it fell short of the UfG reduction target by nearly 50 percent in the financial year (FY) 201920 Similarly, the SSGC, in FY 2020-21, achieved only three out of ten reported indicators and its UfG reduction target was surpassed by 25pc Furthermore, in FY 2021-2022 its (SSGCL) UfG loss instead of registering any decline was increased Besides, similar data on SNGPL does not indicate targets, due to which achievements made on reported 13 indicators cannot be compared to any benchmark nor with SSGCL’s performance, said the sources quoting observations of the PMO over the data submitted by petroleum division regarding loss cutting targets of SNGPL & SSGCL

As per sources the petroleum division has furnished the data on 10 and 13 indicators of SSGCL and SNGPL respectively against a total of 30 Key Monitoring Indicators (KMIs)

They added that the petroleum division had furnished an incomplete data regarding loss cutting targets of SNGPL

and SSGCL and due to this the PMO advised the division (petroleum) to furnish the final figures which should be duly verified by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA)

It is also learnt from sources that OGRA had earlier conducted a study in order to find the reasons behind gas sector s losses and to give recommendations to curb the menace of gas losses which has been causing hefty losses to the country’s economy and also to bind the sui companies to achieve certain targets if they wanted to get allowance for high UfG However, both the gas companies (SSGCL & SNGPL) so far remained far behind in reducing the gas sector s losses due to some known and unknown reasons

Sources further said that SNGPL and SSGCL has desired from OGRA to approve 7 6pc UfG for them But, the OGRA has approved only 5% UfG for the two sui companies and linked the remaining 2 6% UfG with 30 KMIs So far, both sui gas utilities failed to meet the 30 KMIs and OGRA allowed only 1 6pc UfG for them, said sources

B i l a t e r a l t r a d e w i t h C h i n a t o r e a c h n e w h e i g h t s , s ay s B i l aw a l

DAVOS X i n h ua

‘Sadiq aur Amin’ confesses to investing $3m charity funds in housing society: Marriyum

ISLAMABAD

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Sunday that so-called Sadiq and Amin had admitted to investing Shaukat Khanam Cancer Hospital’s $3 million charity fund in a housing society While taking a jibe at Imran Khan, in a statement, she said that Saqib Nisar-declared Sadiq aur Amin admitted to investing Shaukat Khanum’s $3 million charity fund in a housing society The minister said that the people of Pakistan had given Zakat funds for Shaukat Khanum Hospital, not for the private housing society Referring to double standards of Imran, she said he accused others of theft but now he confessed to stealing and misuse of charity money Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Imran did not even get approval from the board of directors of the hospital while investing millions of dollars of charity money She termed Imran a swindler and fraud who had stolen Toshakhana gifts and misappropriated Zakat funds She said that Imran did not consider the plunder of Toshakhana gifts and misappropriation of £ 190 million any issue For him 5-carat diamond or getting foreign funding against the national interests was not a crime she maintained She said that 458 Kanal land was taken as a bribe in the name of Al-Qadir Trust, and Bushra Bibi sold every job and every appointment in Punjab On the contrary, she said against his political opponents whom he called thieves he could not prove false accusations in any court in Pakistan or in Britain She opined that this was the reason Imran Khan did not appear in courts because he would have to confess to all the crimes he had committed

The foreign minister told Xinhua at the World Economic Forum (WEF) that the bilateral trade relationship with China is expected to flourish further, thanks to the win-win cooperation between both countries in the fight against climate change and investments in renewable energy

Over the last 71 years, successive generations of leaders have nurtured bilateral ties between Pakistan and China, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said in an exclusive interview

Our relationship is based on mutual respect, trust and understanding Both countries support each other on issues of core interest Pakistan and China believe in promoting regional peace and stability and share a common dream of national development and pros-

perity,” he said

Pakistan-China relations have also grown thanks to new initiatives such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by China in 2013, the minister said

THE FULL SPECTRUM: Zardari emphasized that Pakistan and China today have a multifaceted partnership

We have robust strategic and defense cooperation Our economic and trade relations are rapidly advancing entering a new phase with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Our financial, investment and industrial sectors maintain close links,” he said “China has become the top destination for Pakistan’s students and there are strong links between our people nurtured by artists aca-

demia, the scientific community and the media,” he said Launched in 2013, the CPEC is a corridor linking Gwadar Port w i t h K a s h g a r i n n o r t h w e s t C h i n a ’s X i n j i a n g U y g u r A ut o n o m o u s R e g i o n I t i s a i m e d a t boosting energy transport and industrial cooperation

With investments in the country s modern transportation networks including roads and railways, energy projects, ports and special economic zones, the CPEC has provided the opportunity for Pakistan to promote development and economic growth TRADE, INVESTMENT FOCUS: Regarding the bilateral trade outlook between China and Pakistan, Zardari said: “Economic relations are the centrepiece of the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership

CPNE unveils Pakistan Press Freedom Report 2022

The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) has issued Pakistan Press Freedom Report 2022

According to the report, freedom of media in Pakistan faced exacerbating scenarios of jeopardy in 2022 whereas freedom of speech was continuously suppressed and sabotaged According to CPNE’s “Pakistan Media Freedom Report 2022”, four media persons were killed during the performance of their duties

The inhumane murder of well-known anchor and journalist Arshad Sharif, Athar Mateen, and Ziaur Rehman Farooqi has exposed the mendacious claims of media freedom by the government and authorities whereas the death of Sadaf Naeem a female reporter and other journalists, during the performance of her duty as consequences of substandard safety measures

The Federal a coalition-led government further advanced the anti-media policies of PTI Government, and infringed on their claims of media freedom It further continued revengeful and retaliative practices as per the previous government of PTI According to the report freedom of media and freedom of expression in Pakistan on the latest world index ranked 157th which is 12 points worse off compared to the year 2022 Despite the ruling of a new government in 2022, the malicious intimidation tactics to oppress media freedom, freedom of expression, and information accessibility remained unchanged These statistics and stated incidents in the issued report, are derived from Media Monitoring Desk set up at CPNE Secretariat, gathered from first-hand information, various media sources newspapers and news websites and carefully composed after thorough investigation by CPNE’s Press Freedom and Monitoring Committee

As indicated in the report, the most gruesome murder case on the line of duty is of Anchor & Journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya, of which accusations are allegedly being pinned on to certain people in Pakistan Wherefore dreadful murder of Arshad Sharif does not only threaten the Pakistani Journalists carrying out international-level investigative journalism but also inculcated fear in prospected candidates and those willing to join the media profession The influential and authoritative people manipulated, threatened, and harassed professional journalists by wrongfully imposing their power, hither and thither

S o m e f o r c e s w a n t I m r a n t o r e m a i n p o l i t i c a l l y p o p u l a r : L a t i f

LAHORE s ta f f r e p o r t

Expressing his exasperation, Federal Minister Javed Latif has said that some forces want Imran Khan to remain politically popular Mr Latif was addressing a presser in Lahore on Sunday He said it is mindboggling why no decision has been made on the pending cases against PTI Chairman Imran Khan

“Imran is being made Sadiq (truthful) and Amin (trustworthy) in another form,” the federal minister blasted wondering in whose interest it was to keep Imran politically popular

“Will this joke be played over and over again he said adding that once again the tugof-war is being started

He said PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif has rendered so many sacrifices for the sake of this nation and state Nawaz’s sacrifices are being wasted he rued

The federal minister questioned at whose behest Nawaz Sharif was removed as prime minister in 2017 Five characters have inflicted financial, diplomatic and economic loss on Pakistan, he added

He lamented that again and again Nawaz Sharif ’s media trial was held He said we are going to election after bringing all these facts to light

On Nawaz’s return, Mr Latif said that once the provincial election schedule is announced the PML-N supremo would announce the date of his return

K P s e e s m a n i fo l d i n c r e a s e i n fo r e i g n l o a n s d u r i n g P T I r u l e

PESHAWAR a z z B u n e r

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had signed agreements worth Rs1,000 billion with International financial institutions and Development organisations during over nine years rule in the province

The largest loan of Rs109 50b has been signed for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system The Finance Department sources said the provincial government was not interested in securing province’s rights from federal government and due to lack of authority at the local level to run the provincial government, PTI government was depended on the foreign loans Due to which the volume of

foreign loans was much more than the previous governments

Former Minister of Finance and Health of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Taimur Saleem Jhagra said that in the last six months, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government tried to bankrupt the province, however, he claimed that they are leaving a financially stable province Jhagra alleged that over 75% dependence of the province was on foreign loan when the l PTI came into power in 2013 He said, “before the PTI rule, the province’s debt was Rs100 billion which was 75% of budget but today province’s own resources are over 70% while ratio of debt in the budget is just 27% ”

Currently, total volume of province’s external loans is Rs1002 49 billion of which

the provincial government has so far received Rs359 33 billion while more agreements of Rs606 billion has been reached with different financial institutions for various projects For Peshawar BRT, a total of Rs109 50 billion will be borrowed of which the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing Rs76 99bn while the French Development Agency is providing Rs32 50 billion

The highest loan of Rs135 92 billion has been borrowed for transport department while Rs60 87 billion for various economic development projects, Rs10 37 billion for education, Rs29 88 billion for health, Rs272 million for industry, Rs19 4 million for irrigation, Rs36 61 billion for energy and power, Rs3 51 billion for environment, Rs20 50 billion for regional development, Rs4 17bn for

social welfare, Rs64mn for urban and rural development, Rs5 43bn for tourism, Rs985 lmn for drainage Rs14 38 billion for agriculture, Rs13 60 billion for finance department, Rs3 66bn for health and Rs12nbn for forests

Similarly, Rs67 60 billion has been borrowed for development projects in six cities of KP, Rs11 20bn for Pehore High Level Canal, Rs888 million for Peshawar BRT, Rs23 72 billion for access to energy from ADB Rs5 39 billion for the rehabilitation of provincial highways, Rs6 74 billion for the two-lane Mardan Swabi highway, Rs317 million for rehabilitation and development of cities, another Rs12 18 billion will be borrowed from the French Development Agency for the Peshawar BRT, Rs55 70 billion from the International Development As-

sociation for KP Rural Support Project, Rs9 44 billion for the National Health Support Project and Rs8 71bn for increasing sources of income in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Similarly, Rs7 58 billion has been borrowed for tourism projects under the Integrated Tourism Development Project, Rs20 86bn for KP Irrigated Agriculture Improvement, Rs45 13bn for better development, Rs85 43bn for Khyber Pass Economic Corridor Rs46 20bn for energy projects Rs24 95bn for KP Human Capital Investment Project, Rs36 98bn from International Bank for Settlement and Development for energy project in KP, Rs33 32bn from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank for development projects in six cities and Rs46 50bn for Balakot Hydro power Development

KARACHI s ta f f r e p o r