Epaper_23-01-29 KHI

Profit

Minister urges speedy, quality work on development projects

Pakistan denounces Islamophobic act in Denmark

D ay a f t e r D e n i a l , a n o t h e r c o u r t s e n D s fawa D c h o n 2 - D ay r e m a n D

g pti leader brougHt to Court witH faCe Covered witH blaCk ClotH

g Hiba CH says sHe, daugHters not being allowed to meet Her Husband despite Court ’s orders

“ the entire pti has similar views that fawad Chaudhr y said in h s statement awan told the court

He said the pti leader did not flee the countr y on the pretext of health in h s statement before the court, Chaudhr y said he was not retract ng his remarks “ it s tantamount to endangering democracy in the countr y if freedom of express on is denied he to d the court the pti leader said he had acknowledged his statement adding: it s my right

He said gagg ng freedom of expression w a s a k n t o t u r n n g pa k i s t a n n t o a c o u n t r y l i ke m y a n m a r i t w i n o t b e a d e m o c r a c y i f t h e p e o p e a r e f o r c e d t o s t o p c r i t c s n g t h e p o w e r f u l ”

Chaudhr y said he stood by his statement and would not backtrack on t

He called on his rivals to not take charge of important posit ons if they were not w lling to accept crit cism

Chinese firms ready for JVs in parts manufacturing of mobile industr y

v e f a i t h ! P M L- N

LAHORE s ta f f r e p o r t

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

alocal court here saturday accepted the police s pet tion against judicial magistrate order that denied extension in phys ca remand of pti leader fawad Chaudhr y in a sed tion case and granted police another two-day remand of the pti leader additional d strict and sessions Judge tahir mehmood khan while approv ng the po ice s appl cation ssued orders for product on of fawad Ch in the court Coincided with the hear ng another court also rejected fawad Ch’s plea seeking discharge him from the case it s to be noted that fawad Ch was taken nto custody on wednesday for allegedly nciting violence aga nst a constitutional institution the election Comm ssion of pakistan (eCp) a first information report (fir) aga nst him was registered at is amabad ’s kohsar police station on a comp a nt of eCp secretar y umar Hameed the fir stated that Chaudhr y n a

speech outside pti Chairman imran khan’s house had allegedly threatened the eCp and the r family members on saturday the pti eader was brought to court with his faced covered with a black c oth on directives issued by additional district and sessions Judge tah r mehmood khan who said that appearance of the suspect in the court was mandator y n cases where investigators seek a phys ca remand Concurrently, another hear ng on the pti eader s petition seek ng post-arrest bail was also under way at a local court the two cases were heard separately at different courts ocated in close proximity at f-8 judicial complex the former information m nister had on friday moved an app ication through his attorney before additiona district and sessions Judge fa zan Haider gillani seeking his bai not retracting my remarks as the pti leader was brought to the court on saturday babar awan counsel for fawad Ch questioned merits of the case and ins sted his client did not say anything that would pose a security risk to the countr y

speaking to media outside the court fawad Ch s wife Hiba sa d she was not being allowed to meet her husband despite the court s orders i request pun ab caretaker Chief minister mohsin naqvi to allow my daughters to meet their father,” she said she also ca led out punjab and islamabad pol ce officials for their al eged highhandedness in dea ing w th her family Hiba said she was ready to fi e a pet tion “ if that is the only way my ch ldren and i can meet fawad ear ier the court summoned the prosecutor and asked h m to read out the petition seeking the extens on in the physical remand of the pti eader prosecutor adnan said it was necessar y to take fawad Ch to lahore for a photogrammetr c test we also need access to the suspect ’s electronic gadgets including h s cel phone and aptop to determine other e ements who connived with h m

He urged the court to set aside the judicial magistrate s order and grant an extension in the physical remand of the ex-min ster

pakistan musl m leaguenawaz ’s (pml-n) sen or vice president and Chief organizer mar yam nawaz saturday said that she and her father nawaz sharif were well aware of the inflation and economic problems be ng faced by the public promising that her party would steer the countr y out of economic woes but t w ll take some t me “ your Quaid your be oved leader wou d return to the countr y soon,” mar yam nawaz mar yam told to jub lant supporters and workers who thronged allama iqba international airport to welcome the r leader the pml-n svp and chief organizer returned to pakistan to beg n the reorganisation of the party ” ahead of pol s in punjab the pml-n ch ef organizer landed at lahore’s a ama iqbal international airport from abu dhabi at around 3:30pm via pia flight pk-264 upon her arr val at lahore airport, she tweeted: “ pak sar zameen shad bad dur ng her address

mar yam nawaz asked the nation to “ have faith in pml-n ” and it wi l steer the countr y out of the current quagmire she said, “ the point that four years of d squalificat on ncompetence and neglect have pushed the economy to the present stage and it will take some time ” in her address mar yam vowed her father would also return to the countr y “ in upcomng days w th god s blessings [and] in your affect on she asserted the pml-n would win the upcom ng punjab elect ons with s gnificant margins “ nawaz sharif is stil the top eader of the countr y despite being ousted from power three times she remarked without naming anyone mar yam sa d, “ these people forced nawaz sharif to go in exile twice but it was nawaz sharif who steered pak stan out of trouble three times the pml-n leader said she and nawaz sharif were well aware of the inflation that the countr y was mired in and prom sed that her party would resolve the challenge

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti) Chairman imran khan came down hard on the imported government for treating pti senior v ce president fawad Chaudhr y like a terrorist who was taken to the court handcuffed and head covered pti Chairman in a strong reaction on saturday f ayed the imported government and said that the law of the jungle now prevails where might is right imran khan further said that the Constitution and law of the land have been totally subjugated by the pharaohs of today “ taking fawad Chaudhr y to court handcuffed and head/face covered like a terrorist shows the low and vindictive levels mported government and the state have reached he added pti Chairman stated: “ the treatment of fawad Chaudhr y and pti senator azam swat and shahbaz gill before him leaves no doubt in peop e s mind

that now we are a banana republ c ” ‘appeal to CJp to protect fawad Ch s const tutional rights meanwhile, pakistan tehreek-e-insaf

(pti) Chairman imran khan saturday wrote to Chief Justice of pakistan (CJp) umar ata band al, urging the latter to protect constitutional r ghts of his party leader fawad Chaudhr y according to details, the former premier penned down the letter after fawad Ch was sent on remand for threatening members of election Commission of pakistan (eCp) in the etter to the CJp, imran khan cited the nhumane treatments meted out to senator azam swati and pti leader shahbaz gill while they were in the custody of law enforcement agencies (leas)

He feared that similar treatment would be meted out to the former information min ster, in v olation of articles 9, 10a and 14

imran khan mentioned that as the top judge s the custodian of the const -

tution, he requests him to “ensure that honour and dignity of fawad Chaudhr y are not violated it is pertinent to mention here that a judicial magistrate on saturday granted police two-day physical remand of pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti) leader fawad Chaudhr y who was arrested for threaten ng members of e ection Commission of pakistan (eCp) according to detai s Judicial magistrate waqas ahmed raja accepted the pol ce s request for an extension in fawad Chaudhr y s physical remand sending the former information min ster on two-day physical remand in the order the jud cia mag strate ordered the is amabad police to produce the pti eader before his court on monday (Januar y 30) upon the expir y of his remand

THe ca Se: the former federa m nister was arrested for ‘ threatening ’ election Commission of pakistan (eCp) members a case against pt leader was reg stered at the kohsar police stat on n is-

amabad on the complaint of secretar y of the e ection Commission of pakistan (eCp) omer Hamid khan a case against pti leader was regis-

tered at the kohsar po ice station in islamabad on the complaint of secretar y of the election Comm ssion of pakistan (eCp) omer Hamid khan

m r a n s l a m s ‘ i m p o r t e d g o v t ’ f o r t r e a t i n g F a w a d l i ke t e r r o r i s t

C a R e ta K e R C a B i n e t n o t t o a C C e p t S a l a R i e S d u R i n g t h R e e - M o n t h S t i n t

CA R E TA K E R Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi presided over the first Provincial Cabinet meeting at CM Office on Saturday which discussed ensuring the holding of general elections in a transparent, fair independent and peaceful manner

Caretaker CM Mohsin Naqvi while addressing the meeting emphasized that basic responsibility of the caretaker government was to hold transparent and fair

elections

on instructions of the Election Commission of Pakistan

He expressed his resolve to undertake such public welfare works which can provide real relief to the masses The Punjab caretaker Cabinet by following the footsteps of caretaker CM Mohsin Naqvi voluntarily announced not to take salary and official residence

Approval was granted to allocate one billion rupees funds to provide financial assistance to the families of police martyrs during the meeting while Rs 3 5 million financial assistance per family will be provided to the families of police martyrs

Civil Cour t dismisses Sh Rashid’s plea in lal haveli case

RAWALPINDI

Civil Judge Naveed Akhtar on Saturday dismissed the petition filed by the brother of former federal minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed for obtaining an injunction against the possible operation to take possession of the Evacuee Property Trust Board-owned Lal Haveli The court in it’s ruling, passed here, had declared that under Evacuee Trust Property Management and Disposal Act 1975 and under Section 14 of the Act any court or institution could neither issue an injunction nor can issue any order which was equivalent to stopping the proceedings under the act It further said Therefore under Section 56(d) of the Act, the court cannot interfere in the measures taken for public interest by any institution of the federal or provincial governments

The petition was filed by Sheikh Rashid’s counsel Sardar Abdur Razzaq before the local court

hike in gas price not to affect poor strata: Musadik

ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t

Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik on Saturday said that multiple proposals were papered for IMF review, elaborating on: “let me be clear, the poor people will not be burdened from gas price hike Talking to a private news channel, the state minister claimed that his Ministry had devised a broader framework under which 50 percent of the country s total population, comprising the poorest of the poor, would be saved from the gas price hike “The Prime Minister has been presented with suggestions that if approved, will satisfy both the IMF and the general populace”, Musadik Malik claimed and added: “Very soon we would be able to cut down circular debt and the problems in the gas sector will be fixed ”

Repudiating the possibility or proposals to extend the constitutional term by imposing a financial emergency, he said that no such proposal or possibility had been considered at the party level so far

O G R A f O R AvO i d i n G s p e c u l At i O n s

A b O u t p O l p R O d u c t s’ p R i c e s: Meanwhile, a spokesman for Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Saturday expressed concern over the circulation of speculative reports about the prices of petrol and diesel in the media “It has been observed that speculative prices of petrol and diesel are being reported in the print and electronic media since last evening that is misleading and incorrect,” OGRA spokesman Imran Ghaznavi said in a brief press statement He advised the elements, spreading misleading and incorrect information, to avoid disseminating speculative prices of petroleum products in the public interest

It was decided to ease departmental rules to induct children of martyrs in police and a special relaxation will be given to the martyrs children regarding height and chest measurements Financial assistance for the widows of police officers and jawans was increased from Rs 2500 to 25000 Inspector General of Police and senior police officials will hold open kutcheries for prompt redressal of public grievances whereas immediate orders will be issued to make expeditious action on public complaints in the open kutcheries T h e c a r e t a k e r C M w h i l e d i r e c t i n g t o

m a k e a d v a n c e p l a n n i n g i n o r d e r t o p r o v i d e m a x i m u m r e l i e f t o t h e p e o p l e d u r i n g R a m z a n - u l - M u b a r a k , s a i d t h a t p r e p a r a t i o n f o r R a m z a n p a c k a g e s h o u l d b e u n d e r t a k e n f r o m t o d a y o n w a r d s s o t h a t p e o p l e c o u l d r e c e i v e r e l i e f in real terms

during the Holy month He directed all provincial ministers to undertake visits of cities so as to review availability of subsidised flour in the markets The CM ordered to launch a wide scale crackdown and an indiscriminate action against land- grabbers and land mafias along with stopping usage of ice and other narcotics in the educational institutions

19 fabric, garments manufac turers to take par t in Int ’l expo

At least 19 Fabric and Garments manufacturers from Pakistan are going to take part in the International exhibition, Texworld/Apparel Sourcing, being held next month in Paris

According to officials the Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), an attached department of the Ministry of Commerce will be organizing the Pakistan Pavilion at the fair from February 6 to 8 2023

As per details Texworld Evolution Paris brings together twice a year in Paris a thousand exhibitors from the fashion industry It offers professional buyers from all over the world a sourcing platform

with a wide variety of products ranging from basics to the most creative and qualitative

With nearly 750 companies from some twenty countries, these three days will be an opportunity for visitors to renew their acquaintance, after three years of instability with the offer of the great Asian weavers embroiderers, and garment makers in particular There will be 5 country pavilions of Ethiopia, Ghana, South Korea Pakistan and Turkey China will have a big participation with 428 exhibitors Fair will display a global range of fashion products from the major manufacturing countries of Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Korea, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Pakistan Pakistan will have direct exhibitors and a national pavilion organized by TDAP

Cour t fines K h A sif, Imran’s law yers in Rs10b damages c ase

ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t

A l o c a l c o u r t o n S a t u r d a y f i n e d b o t h t h e c o u n s e l s – f o r p l a i n t i ff a n d d e f e n c e – R s 1 0 , 0 0 0 e a c h i n R s 1 0 b i l l i o n d a m a g e s c a s e f i l e d f o r m e r p r i m e m i n i s t e r I m r a n K h a n a g a i n s t F e d e r a l M i n i s t e r K h a w a j a A s i f

The judge approved an adjournment plea of Khawaja Asif ’s lawyer with Rs10,000 fine

The shortage of dollars and subsequent reluctance of banks regarding making payments are not only causing a mess for importers but the situation is also going to force the foreign shipping lines to stop services for Pakistan Through a letter sent to Minister of Finance

Senator Ishaq Dar the Pakistan Ship s Agents Association (PSAA) has warned that banks have stopped the remittances to the shipping companies, which could create serious issues for Pakistan s foreign trade

Earlier in a number of letters sent to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and State Bank of Pakistan, the association has informed that the foreign

shipping lines are considering stopping services for Pakistan, stopping the inflow and outflow of all goods from the country, as their payments have been stopped by the banks It may be mentioned here that almost all of the international logistics of the country is catered through sea trade and handled by the PSAA “If international trade is stopped the economic situation will worsen,” said the PSAA, adding that the foreign shipping lines are already considering winding up their services in Pakistan due to reduced cargo volumes

Formed in 1976 PSAA is the largest and oldest trade association representing shipping lines, and its members handle all types of cargo i e containerized cargo, liquid cargo and dry bulk cargo at Pakistan seaports

Through the letter sent by Abdul Rauf, chairman

Additional District and Sessions Judge Umeed Ali Baloch also imposed fine of same amount on the counsel for Imran Khan for not opposing the plea seeking adjournment T h e c o u r t a d j o u r n e d f u r t h e r h e a r i n g o f t h e c a s e u n t i l F e b r u a r y 11 P T I c h i e f h a s f i l e d d e f a m a t i o n s u i t a g a i n s t K h a w a j a A s i f i n 2 0 1 2 f o r l e v e l l i n g a l l e g a t i o n s a b o u t i r r e g u l a r i t i e s a n d m o n e y l a u n d e r i n g t h r o u g h t h e S h a u k a t K h a n u m H o s p i t a l f u n d s

PSAA the association has requested that the concerned ministries and institutions intervene in order to ensure continuity in Pakistan’s seaborne trade by allowing outward remittance of surplus freight amounts to respective foreign shipping lines forthwith

“Due to discontinuation of outward remittance of surplus freight amounts to respective foreign shipping lines, was hampering Pakistan’s seaborne trade which is heavily dependent on foreign shipping lines,” the letter added

It added that judging from the current state of affairs, where the shipping sector is badly hit by economic ups and downs, any further delays in remitting their legitimate dues will constrain Pakistani foreign trade

The main role of ship agents include booking ships in and out of the port, and arranging the berthing of the

Approval was granted during the meeting to reconstitute Cabinet Standing Committees for Finance and Development,Legal Affairs and Privatisation and Law and Order The Caretaker Cabinet accorded a formal approval for the appointment of Doctor Usman Anwar on the post of Inspector General of Police Punjab The Cabinet was given a briefing about law and order situation in the province and launching crackdown against criminal elements The Cabinet was also given briefing about wheat reserves and its needs Chief Secretary briefed the Cabinet about government affairs,duties and performance of departments, administrative structure and rules of business It was apprised during the Cabinet meeting that the Punjab government had 14 lac 80,000 metric tonnes wheat available while 2 lac 50000 metric tonnes wheat is being procured from PASSCO A 10 kg wheat bag is available for 648 rupees and flour mills were being released 26000 metric tonnes wheat daily

Wish revival of good ties between Khan, establishment: Sh Rashid

ISLAMABAD Staff rePort

Former interior minister and Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief Sheikh Rashid on Saturday asserted he wants revival of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

Chairman Imran Khan’s ties with the Establishment

Speaking to a private TV channel program 11th Hour , the former interior minister alleged that PPP coChairman Asif Ali Zardari has given money to a terrorist organization to assassinate Imran Khan Zardari wants Imran Khan to be disqualified,” Sheikh Rashid said, adding that former president was behind a new plot to assassinate the PTI Chairman The AML chief further expressed hope that the date of general elections will be announced in March or April, adding that the elections of national and provincial assemblies will be held together The former minister added that Imran Khan will decide whether he would contest election or not “Imran would come out in public after a few days and destroy the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) ” he said vowing that he would always stand by the PTI chief Responding to a question, Sheikh Rashid said that whoever came to demolish Lal Haveli will be dealt with constitutionally and legally Earlier in the day, Imran Khan alleged that former president and Pakistan People s Party (PPP) co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari was among four people who were planning to kill him, ARY News reported on Friday Imran Khan accused Zardari of being involved in the assassination attempt saying that the former president was among four people who were planning to kill him

FM Bilawal leaves for Russia on official visit today

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f r e P o r t

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will undertake an official visit to Russia on the invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov As per details, the foreign minister will leave for Moscow on Sunday (tomorrow) and will return on January 30 The Foreign Minister will hold official talks with his Russian counterpart where the two sides would deliberate upon the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest

ships submitting information of the local and foreign crew and any passengers to the local immigration authorities, completion of all relevant vessel clearance documentation and other services required for loading and unloading of the cargo

Meanwhile in a statement the PSAA says that members of the association are deeply perturbed due to the discontinuation of outward remittance of surplus freight amounts to respective foreign shipping lines which will badly hamper Pakistan s seaborne trade which is heavily dependent on foreign shipping lines Judging from the current state of affairs, where the shipping sector is badly hit by economic ups and downs, any further delays in remitting their legitimate dues will constrain Pakistani foreign trade

LAHORE: PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz addresses a huge crowd outside Allama Iqbal Airport upon return from London Photo by zubair Mehfooz

C t d n a B S t h R e e S u S p e C t S : M a j o R t e R R o R n e t W o R K o F S u i C i d e B o M B e R S B u S t e d

RAWALPINDI/LAHORE

S ta f f r e P o r t

tH E security forces successfully thwarted a major terror plot and busted a network of suicide bombers and their facilitators following information extorted from suspects during interrogation According to details, the security agencies launched an operation based on information gathered in the aftermath of the suicide bombing at Jamrud Takhta Beg checkpost on January 19

The security agencies conducted the intelligence-based operation on January 23 about the presence of a network of suicide bombers During the suicide attack on Jamrud checkpost, the terrorists had detonated a bomb after exchanging fire with

security forces and the banned Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP) later claimed responsibility for the attack Subsequently, security forces launched an operation to trace the perpetrators The forces sent the bullet casings and body parts of the terrorists to laboratory for forensic tests Analysis of geo-fencing and captured closed-circuit television (CCTV)

footage revealed on January 21 that a banned

TTP terrorist identified as Umar carried out the suicide attack Umar was facilitated by Satana Jan, a resident of Jamrud Tehsil in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and this clue led the security agencies to the network of suicide bombers on January 23 A significant cache of weapons ammunition and explosive materials were also seized from the terrorist group During the intelligence based

gov t determined to legislate for rights of domestic workers: tarar

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f r e P o r t

Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer

Tarar on Friday said that the government was determined to take all possible measures to protect the rights of domestic workers and consultation in this regard would help in comprehensive legislation He expressed these views while addressing a consultative conference regarding the drafting of the ICT Domestic Workers Act 2022 He said that there were millions of domestic workers but there was no legal protection for their rights It was an industry and it was a weak section that provides services for other sections of society, he said The minister said that the services of domestic workers were admirable and they need attention He said that all the participants should give their effective suggestions in this regard which would be made part of the legislation He further said that the purpose of sitting for discussion was to talk openly and create consensus Instead of artificial legislation such legislation should be made which was in the interest of this section, he added On this occasion, Senator Azam Nazir Tarar presented written suggestions for drafting the ICT Workers Act 2022 Earlier, Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Justice Mehnaz Akbar Aziz gave the opening remarks and explained the aims and objectives of the consultative conference

police star ts crackdown on illegal use of police lights, sirens

HYDERABAD

a P P

On the directions of DIG Peer Muhammad Shah the police have started a crackdown against private vehicles using police lights, sirens, hooters, tinted glasses, and fancy number plates The police spokesman informed here on Saturday that during the day-long action in the limits of various police stations, the police lights, sirens, hooters, tinted glasses and fancy number plates had been removed from thousands of vehicles

According to him, the district and the traffic police were taking joint action against such violations He said the city's exit and entry points were also being checked for such vehicles The spokesman said the use of the police emergency lights and hooters in private vehicles was a crime He added that the police were also taking action against the shops which had been selling such items

ISLAMABAD

aG e n c e S

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Tourism and Sports Aun Chaudhry has said that great investment opportunities are available in the tourism sector of Pakistan and the government is extending all possible support for encouraging investment in this sector

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the two-day ‘Travel and Adventure Show’ in New York on Saturday, Aun Chaudhry said that overseas Pakistanis and investors can take full advantage of this opportunity which not only will help to explore the tourism potential of Pakistan but will also promote

operation, the security forces arrested Farmanullah and Abdul Qayyum Meanwhile, the TTP accepted that Satana Jana, the facilitator of the operation, had been killed

Based on the information obtained from Farmanullah and Abdul Qayyum, another major operation was conducted on January 27 Security forces hoped to apprehend three suspected terrorists While conducting the operation security forces arrested four people including Fazl Amin, Fazl Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, and Hamadullah Fazl Ahmed was identified as the man who took pictures of the on January 19 attack using his mobile phone During questioning, facilitator Fazal Ahmed revealed that a suicide bomber, who was an Afghan national, was present at an identified

location Based on this information, security forces apprehended two Afghan nationals

The report stated that Satana Jan was a facilitator of the TTP and its members, including suicide bombers He is believed to arrange and provide weapons and suicide jackets to suicide bombers

He would also arrange for their travel and shelter Now, officials believe that Satana Jan was acting as a local commander of the TTP network in North Waziristan He had four separate hideouts where he would hide and also keep suicide bombers and prepare them for their mission

t e R R O R s u s p e c t s A R R e s t e d i n

G u j R A n wA l A, p i n d i: Meanwhile, the Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed to have arrested three alleged terrorists in operations across the province

on Saturday

According to CTD the terror suspects arrested from Rawalpindi and Gujranwala were identified as: Kitab Khan, Irshadul Haq and Muhammad Arshad Siddiquie

The CTD sources informed that a huge quantity of explosive material and weapons were also recovered from the suspects They said the CTD carried out a number of combing operations in several cities of Punjab including Lahore after receiving information about suspected persons

During the last one week, 23,381 people were screened with the help of modern technology during 471 combing operations across Punjab, the CTD official informed They added as many as 75 FIRs were registered arrest of 95 suspects from different districts including Lahore

Te r r o r i s t b i t e d u s t i n M i r A l i I B O : I S P R

Security forces Saturday gunned down a terrorist in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in North Waziristan

District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said Inter-Services

Public Relations (ISPR)

According to ISPR the military s media wing the IBO operation was conducted in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan As the security forces moved forward towards the suspects hideout they resorted to firing ensuing to an intense fire exchange between the troops and terrorists After killing the suspect, the forces also recovered weapons and ammunition

The ISPR noted that the suspect remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces and killing of innocent citizens

It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s law and order situation has worsened over the past few months, with groups like the outlawed Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan carrying out attacks on law enforcement agencies (LEAs) across the country

Earlier in January, ISPR stated that at least 11 terrorists, including a local commander, were killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in South Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)

According to the military’s media wing, the security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in South Waziristan’s Wana area and successfully “foiled a high-profile terrorist activity ”

Former NATO general Petr Pavel wins C zech presidential vote

PRAguE afP/aPP

Retired NATO general Petr Pavel beat a billionaire former prime minister in an election run-off on Saturday to become the fourth president of the Czech Republic final results showed Pavel, a former paratrooper, won 58 3 percent of votes while Andrej Babis scored 41 7 percent said the Czech Statistical Office "I would like to thank those who voted for me and also those who did not but came to the polls because they made it clear they honoured democracy and cared about this country," Pavel said after the results showed his victory

"I can see that values such as truth dignity respect and humility have prevailed in this election," he added

The 61-year-old Pavel will in March replace President Milos Zeman an outspoken and divisive politician who fostered close ties with Moscow before making a U-turn when Russia invaded Ukraine last year

Turnout in the EU and NATO member country of 10 5 million people was unusually high, topping 70 percent following an acrimonious campaign marked by controversy Babis and his family have been targeted by death threats, while Pavel was the victim of a hoax claiming he was dead as disinformation plagued the final campaign "Our community is somewhat hurt by the presidential campaign, by the multiple crises we

soft image of Pakistan at international level

The PM aide expressed the commitment to promote Pakistan’s tourism sector at all levels, saying that the development of this sector will help in achieving economic development by generating more foreign exchange

He said that efforts are being made to promote and showcase Pakistan’s rich tourism heritage at all international forums with the active participation of stakeholders

He also appreciated the cooperation of the mission of Pakistan in New York and the efforts of public and private sector tourism organizations for promoting the soft image of Pakistan through arranging such events

have faced and are facing but also by the political style that has recently prevailed here," said Pavel

"This has to change, and you have helped me to take the first step on the path towards this change "

Babis, who served as Czech prime minister from 2017-2021, congratulated Pavel after the vote and admitted defeat "I would like to wish him to be the president of all citizens of the Czech Republic, to be sensitive to their problems and fight for the interests of the Czech Republic " he added

While the role is largely ceremonial, the Czech president names the government, picks the central bank governor and constitutional judges and serves as commander of the armed forces ' n O b e t t e R A lt e R n At i v e ': German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was looking forward to "deepening the close cooperation" between the two neighbours "I am impatiently awaiting a personal meeting and wish you a lot of strength and success," he added Pavel will be the fourth Czech president since the country s independence following its peaceful split with Slovakia in 1993, four years after former Czechoslovakia shed four decades of totalitarian communist rule

His predecessors were Vaclav Havel, an anticommunist dissident playwright who led the country from 1993-2003, economist Vaclav Klaus (2003-2013) and Zeman Slovak President Zuzana Caputova even travelled to Prague to congratulate Pavel in person,

Speaking at the occasion, PTDC Managing Director Rana Aftar Rehman also briefed about the plans and activities of PTDC to get maximum benefits from the event PTDC along with six provincial and regional tourism departments, 20 private tour operators, and hospitality companies will take part in the show and highlight the country’s rich tourism potential for the world

The provincial departments taking part in the event include Sindh Tourism Development Corporation (STDC), Tourism Development Cooperation of Punjab (TDCP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cultural and Tourism Authority (KPCTA), Culture and Tourism Department Gilgit-Baltistan

saying she was happy that "in our region and in Europe there is a new head of state who honours democratic values" A graduate of a military university, Pavel was decorated as a hero in the Serbo-Croatian war when he helped free French troops from a war zone

He rose to chief of the Czech general staff and chair of NATO's military committee

Like Babis, Pavel was a member of the Communist Party in the 1980s

But the man with a carefully trimmed beard and white hair, who has a passion for powerful motorbikes, has since become a strong advocate of EU and NATO membership

"We have no better alternative We should use all opportunities offered by membership and try to change that which we don't like " he said on his campaign website Pavel has vowed to be an independent president unaffected by party politics and to continue to support aid to war-torn Ukraine as well as its bid to become an EU member "Naturally, Ukraine first has to meet all conditions to become a member, such as progress in battling corruption But I believe it is entitled to get the same chance we got in the past," he said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet she welcomed Pavel s "strong commitment to our European values"

"Your experience in security, defence and foreign relations will be precious to maintain and strengthen Europe s unity in support of Ukraine," she added

(CTDGB) and Tourism Department of Balochistan The Pakistani delegation will also participate in other sideline meetings to promote Pakistan as a tourist destination in the North American market

“The event is a great opportunity to showcase the great potential of Pakistan s tourism industry and create linkages with the leading international players of the tourism industry which will greatly help attract more tourists The event will also help enhance the inflow of foreign tourists to discover the rich tourism potential of Pakistan which will contribute to the socio-economic development of the country

Travel and Adventure Show provides a

great opportunity to interact with the top international and domestic travel destinations, tour operators, cruise lines and travel providers

With more than 110 events and over 18 years running, the Travel and Adventure Show series has been the go-to place for over 2 5 million travellers and over 4 500 of the world’s top destinations, tour operators, cruise lines and travel providers from around the globe Pakistan has great potential to attract a h u g e n u m b e r o f f o r e i g n t o u r i s t s a n d e x p a t r i a t e P a k i s t a n i s t o e x p l o r e a n d witness the country’s culture, ecotourism and Sikh heritage

PuNjAB CM oRdeRS to SIMPlIF y dePARtMeNtAl INduCtIoN PRoCeduRe

FoR PolICe MARt yRS’ CHIldReN

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

CA R E TA K E R Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi has ordered to simplify departmental induction procedure for the children of police martyrs

These directions were issued during a meeting with Inspector General of Police Dr Usman Anwar and CCPO Lahore Bilal Kamyana, who met with CM Mohsin Naqvi at CM Office on Saturday

It was decided to award 10 extra numbers to the children of police martyrs appearing on open merit during departmental induction Mohsin Naqvi apprised that rules would further be eased regarding departmental induction of police martyrs’ children and in case of nonavailability of a seat in the concerned district the children of police martyrs could be inducted in some other districts

It was also decided to enhance assistance package of brave ghazis for getting

disabled during performing their duties and fighting against anti-social elements

On the direction of caretaker CM Inspector General of Police has constituted a three member committee to be headed by DIG Establishment, DIG Operations

Khalistan referendum to take place in Australia on Monday

The Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has announced that voting for the Australian chapter Khalistan independence referendum will be held at Federation Square in Melbourne on Monday (tomorrow)

Melbourne s Ravi Inder Singh a representative of the Miri Piri Gurudwara (Sikh temple), told Australian media that the voting exercise, known as the ‘Khalistan referendum , would be a significant step towards selfdetermination’ for millions of Sikhs around the world Singh said the main goal of the referendum was to seek a consensus among Sikhs to establish a separate homeland within India and to determine the extent of the demand for this separatist state that would be known as Khalistan (land of the pure), SBS Punjabi, an Australian news outlet quoted him as saying The voting in the referendum, which started in October 2021 had so far been held in the UK, Switzerland, Italy and Canada During a press conference in Melbourne on Wednesday, SFJ co-founder and general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said that the Indian government was trying to “criminalise” the attempt of Sikhs to demand a separate state

They were calling the ‘Khalistan referendum’ illegal and an act of terrorism, he added

According to media reports Australia is home to nearly 209,000 Sikhs, accounting for 0 8 per cent of the total population, and is the country’s fifth largest and fastestgrowing religious group, according to the 2021 census Commenting on the ‘Khalistan referendum’ in Australia, SBS media outlet Australia, quoted a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and said that Australia valued diversity and inclusion, respects the right of individuals to engage in peaceful protest and supports the non-violent expression of views

ANP convenes conference to mark anniversaries of Bacha Khan, Wali Khan

ISLAMABAD

martyrs to grant them respect and dignity owing to sacrifices being laid down by the brave martyrs of our dear homeland He directed to dispose off pending financial assistance cases of martyrs families at the earliest adding that arrangement of funds would be made forthwith to ensure financial assistance payment to the families of martyrs without any delay

The Awami National Party Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (ANP) organized a two-day conference titled “Bacha Khan Wali Khan and 21st Century on the occasion of Bacha Khan’s 35th and Wali Khan’s 17th death anniversaries here on Saturday

Political leaders, journalists, representatives of human and social rights, and a large number of party workers participated in the conference

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved seven development projects worth Rs22 16 billion during its meeting held here with Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal in the chair

The meeting was attended by the Secretary Planning Ministry, Chief Economist, Members Planning Commission and representatives from the various ministries and divisions The forum considered seven projects related to the Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives, Ministry of Maritime Affairs Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination and HEC, said a press release issued here

The forum approved Balochistan Urgent Response for Food Security Project at the cost of Rs 1,100 000 million, Maintenance Dredging of Navigation Channel of Gwadar Port at the cost of Rs 4,669 762m, Social Sector Accelerator SSA for Health, Nutri-

and DIG IT The committee after formulating its recommendations within seven days and will submit them in the next meeting of the Executive Board Caretaker CM Mohsin Naqvi stated that it was a due right of the families of

The mega event of GB Dream Road Show will be held at National Library of Pakistan on Monday (tomorrow) to showcase the human development initiatives being taken in different sectors by the Gilgit-Baltistan government and their impacts

President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi is likely to grace the occasion as chief guest while Chief Minister, Gilgit Baltistan along with ministers will also be present on the occasion

The reforms to be highlighted in this unique event include plastic free GB; Meal-a-Day Program; Tech-Fellow program; Computer Education and Entrepreneurship based upon SNC course guidelines by top-of-the-line trainers; Smart Schools Program; Blended Learning Technology Centres; Solarization of Schools; KIPS Coaching Program; Taleem Finance Scheme; Pink Bus Project to mainstream females by providing them safe commute; National College of Arts Campus; Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Certification provided by the leading science universities

A c c o r d i n g t o a n o f f i c i a l s o u r c e , t h e e v e n t w i l l s h o w c a s e t h e p r o j e c t s d e s i g n e d b y t h e s t u d e n t s f r o m p u b l i c s c h o o l s o f t h e p r o v i n c e u n d e r t h e S T E M i n i t i a t i v e w h i c h s p e a k s v o lu m e s a b o u t t h e p o t e n t i a l o f t h e y o u n g m i n d s S c h o o l k i d s f r o m G r a d e X I - X I I I w i l l p r e s e n t t h e i r p r o j e c t s i n t h i s s h o w

Some innovative projects created by the students studying in the public schools will be displayed in the category of Computer education STEM and Entrepreneurship” including technologically advanced projects of Vacuum Cleaner, Smart Dustbins, Smart Door with Audio, Laser Security

tion, Education, Youth and Gender, National Priority Initiatives (2nd 9revised) at the cost of Rs 4,825 05m, Provision of Academic & Research Facilities and Girls Hostel at Quaid-e-Azam University at the cost of Rs3,860 355m, Establishment of Partnership between Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and GOP to address grand challenges in Health Sector at the cost of Rs 220 000m, King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Hospital at Tarlai Islamabad at the cost of Rs2,499 993m, and Sanitary Sewerage System with Treatment Plant in Gilgit city at the cost of Rs4,988 704m

The CDWP approved Social Sector Accelerator SSA for Health Nutrition Education, Youth and Gender (HNEYG), National Priority Initiatives (2nd Revision) at the cost of Rs 4 828 05 million

The Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives is the sponsoring agency of the project

To address this key issue, the Ministry of Planning and Development proposed a oneyear ôPrime Minister Youth Internship Programö for fresh graduates in Pakistan Under

Caretaker CM outlined that system would further be streamlined to enable the children of martyrs to acquire higher education and an admission policy would be chalked out in quality educational institutions of relevant districts for martyrs children He directed to make admission arrangements for the children of martyrs in the best medical, engineering, computer sciences and other quality educational institutions on preferential basis

The Inspector General of Police gave him briefing with regard to simplifying departmental induction procedure for children martyred policemen

On the first day of the conference, President ANP Pakhtunkhwa Aimal Wali Khan, President ANP Balochistan Asghar Khan Achakzai President ANP Sindh Shahi Syed and Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour addressed the conference

Meanwhile, Amir Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Qadir Nayel of Hazara Democratic Party, renowned journalist Asma Shirazi, Syed Ali Shah from Balochistan, Aizaz Syed, Chief of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement Manzoor Pashteen, and Chairman Pakistan Mazdoor Kissan Party Afzal Khamosh also expressed their views

The speakers discussed in detail the life, struggle, and need of Bacha Khan and Wali Khan s ideas in the present era

JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman described the moments with Bacha Khan and Wali Khan as historic and said he considered Wali Khan as his teacher in politics Journalist Asma Shirazi said there was a need to make Bacha Khan a part of the curriculum not only in Pakhtunkhwa but also in the whole country including Punjab

ANP’s Provincial President Aimal Wali Khan thanked all the participants, workers, political leaders, and people belonging to different schools of thought for participating in the event

Alarm System, Bluetooth Antenna, Hologram projector, clap-switch model, Electric Washing Machine, Vacuum cleaner, Bluetooth car, Magnetic Car, Hydro Power plant, Water Turbine, Wind Energy, Power plant, ATM Machine etc will be displayed during the event

The development initiative taken by the GilgitBaltistan government in the education sector included improving school ecosystems; establishing Smart schools to provide modern learning opportunities to students; arrangement of coding and artificial intelligence camps; establishment of 400 computer labs across province; promotion of libraries; partnership with KIPS to help students secure admission in top universities in Pakistan and abroad; Pink Buses initiative to mainstream females by providing them safe commute

The health sector reforms included renovation and up-gradation of health infrastructure across the region, hiring of 66 medical professionals in collaboration with Shifa International to serve the locals, arranging free medical camps at remote locations as a regular feature, work on comprehensive health program with experts from Aga Khan University, engaging youth in meaningful education sports and various festivals for mental and physical health The development initiatives in Sports and Tourism sectors include the development of the first of its kind tourism app to facilitate tourists, tourist police, prefabricated toilet facilities as well as beautification of the region from lightening of Konodas Bridge to installation of wooden sign boards all across the region GB Sports Gala 2022 Sarfranga Summer Festival, Winter Sports Festival, Renovation of Gilgit Sports Complex and two-day cricket festival in Nagar with matches at the highest cricket ground in the world

the program, the Ministry will award paid internships to all eligible applicants that qualify for the program through the proposed selection criterion for a duration of six months

Following their selection, the Ministry will facilitate the placement of interns in positions relevant to their skills and job function in host organizations spanning across the public, private and development sectors

Furthermore, the Interns will receive a stipend of Rs 25 000/month A total of 30 000 internships will be awarded through the oneyear program Upon the successful completion of their internship, interns will be awarded an internship certificate by their host organization and by the Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives The sixmonth internship program will include three online mentorship sessions culminating in an individual career development plan, one online training course on soft skills, one online training course on industry-relevant technical skills, one two-day voluntary activity, recurring monthly work plans and monthly progress reports, and one final internship re-

port along with internship outputs

The second day of the conference will be held on Sunday, in which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, prominent political leaders and journalists will express their views

Fine upheld: President orders SHIFA to refund Rs2.9m to patient’s daughter

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

President Dr Arif Alvi on Saturday directed the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) to issue instructions to Shifa International Hospital Islamabad (SHIFA) to refund an amount of Rs2 9 million to the daughter of a patient who died due to negligence, professional misconduct, and malpractice of the doctors of the hospital

The president also upheld the imposition of a fine of Rs900,000 on SHIFA as maladministration and medical negligence had been proven against the hospital, President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release on Saturday

The president issued these directions while rejecting a representation filed by IHRA against the orders of the Wafaqi Mohtasib (WM) in which the Mohtasib had held that the complainant (deceased patient’s daughter) had been discriminated against as in a similar case in the past, IHRA had not only imposed a fine on SHIFA but had also issued the directions to the hospital to refund the amount in lieu of medical bills

The forum approved Balochistan Urgent Response for Food Security Project at the cost of Rs 1,100 000 million The Ministry of Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs is the sponsoring agency of the project The project envisages the revival of agriculture production in the severe flood-affected districts of the Nasirabad Division which is considered the granary of the province The project will support the provision of rice seeds for increased productivity to 60,000 farm households in the target districts Each beneficiary farmer will receive 40 kilograms of rice seed which will be sufficient for cultivating rice on 2 to 2 5 acres (0 8 to 1 0 hectares) of land

Furthermore, the project will provide climate adaptive (resilient) certified rice seeds such as short-duration varieties having tolerance to abiotic drought, heat and biotic disease-free stress to ensure resilience The project will provide small farming toolkits for agricultural activities and gumshoes for safer rice transplanting for at least 60 000 women á Maintenance Dredging of the Naviga-

tional Channel of Gwadar Port at the cost of Rs 4,669 762 million was also approved by the forum The Ministry of Maritime Affairs is the sponsoring agency of the project The revised Project envisages, Maintenance Dredging of a 4 70-kilometre-long Navigational Channel, basin and berthing area of Gwadar Port

Its Internal Navigational Channel and Turning Basin design depth is 13 8 meters for safe navigation of deep draft vessels and the Berthing Area and Outer channel are dredged to 14 5 meters to permit safe berthing and sufficient clearance from the bottom in low tides The channel is designed for the navigation of 50 000 DWT ships during all weather

The forum also approved the Provision of Academic and Research Facilities and a Girls’ Hostel at Quaid-e-Azam University, at the cost of Rs3,860 355m The HEC is the sponsoring agency of the project The prime objective of the project is to strengthen PhD/MPhil programs and to strengthen newly started BS programs

‘GB D ream Road Show ’ to showcase human development initiatives, their impac ts

C D W P a p p r o ve s s e ve n d e ve l o p m e n t p r o j e c t s wo r t h R s 2 2 . 1 6 b

K aSHMiri exPaTriaTeS iN JaPaN To obServe Feb 5 aS K aSHMir SoLidariT y day

mirpUr (AJK)

JA PA N - B A S E D Kashmir Solidarity Forum (KSFJ) Chairman Barrister Shahid Majeed Sheikh said that February 5 will be observed as Kashmir Solidarity Day in Japan to express solidarity with Kashmiri people and to condemn Indian occupational forces atrocities in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK)

Talking to APP via phone from Tokyo on

Saturday, he said that India’s illegal occupation has created an alarming situation in IIOJK where innocent people were being killed every day by the Indian forces which failed to curb Kashmiris' voice for freedom

He continued that on February 5, Kashmiri expatriates in Japan will submit a resolution from the platform of KSFJ to the United Nations Representative Office in Tokyo to remind the UN of its pledge made to the people of Kashmir, accepting their right of self-determination A similar resolution will also be submitted to the Indian

Embassy in Tokyo," he added

He said India has been trying to enforce its aggressively-hostile agenda in the entire region and the entire world clearly knows India’s frustrated efforts for establishing its so-called supremacy in South Asia

Barrister Majeed said the heinous designs of the Indian government to maintain its illegal hold on Jammu and Kashmir has put the safety and future of South Asia at stake KSFJ Chairman said that Kashmiris had been fighting for their birthright for the last seven decades and would continue the

independence movement till it reached its logical conclusion

He said that Kashmiris around the Line of Control and around the world observe February 5 every year as Kashmir Solidarity Day to renew their pledge for their struggle for independence

He said the Kashmiri people would never accept India s occupation of their land

New Delhi human rights organizations and major powers should realize the ground reality and resolve the ongoing conflict in accordance with the aspirations of the

Day after denial, another court sends Fawad Ch on 2-day remand

ConTinUEd from pAgE 01

The prosecutor insisted that there was ample electronic material” available against the accused

Babar Awan, however, argued that his client was being deprived of his fundamental right to meet his family and legal team

He cited a case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav and said Fawad Ch was denied the provision that the mother of the convicted Indian naval official was given

Awan said his client could not be produced despite the court orders He also opposed the police request seeking to take Chaudhry to Lahore saying it is not a video leak case” to determine the physical features of the detainee During the hearing, the judge asked the prosecution about the investigation conducted during the two-day physical remand of the PTI leader To which, he responded that investigators “practically got one day” to grill the suspect We need to conduct a photogrammetric test on the detainee,” the officer told the court

Awan objected to the non-appearance of the investigation officer He argued that his team had not been given any prior notice by the police seeking to challenge the court orders

Stipend disbursement ceremony held at Universit y of Turbat

QUETTA

A stipend distribution ceremony was organized by Virtual University of Pakistan and University of Turbat at the Faculty of Legal Education here on Saturday for the successful trainees in various digital skills under the IGNITE-funded Project entitled “Digital Skills Training & Support Program for Southern Balochistan under the patronage of Ministry of IT & Telecommunication Mr Sadiq Iftikhar, State Minister for IT & Telecom was the Chief Guest of the event while Ex Chief Minister of Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, and Advisor to CM Baluchistan Mr Lala Rasheed Dashti graced the ceremony as guest of honor Speaking on the occasion the state minister said, “I am proud to see so dedicated people towards learning and education in this region I am happy to know that Makran Division stands at eighth position in literacy in Pakistan while Turbat stands at first in Balochistan," he said He emphasized the need for taking joint efforts for the promotion of IT education in this part of the country The state minister urged the importance of digital skills and the role of IT ministry He appreciated the IGNITE, Virtual University, University of Turbat, University of Gwadar and BUET Khuzdar on the successful execution of the project in Balochistan In his welcome speech, Prof Dr Jan Muhammad, Vice Chancellor University of Turbat acknowledged the role of Virtual University, Ignite and the Ministry of IT & Telecommunication in enhancing IT facilities in Southern Balochistan He requested the federal and provincial governments to pay special attention to this underdeveloped and far-flung region of the country in order to raise the living standard of the people He hoped that collaborative initiatives between Turbat University Virtual University and IGNITE' would greatly benefit the youth of Southern Balochistan

“This country has become a banana republic,” he contended After hearing arguments the court asked police to produce the PTI leader before the court, saying the production of the suspect was mandatory in a plea seeking an extension in physical remand h E a r i n g o n b a i l p l E a: At the same time, an additional district and sessions court heard a post-arrest bail petition filed by the PTI leader Babar Awan and Ali Bukhari, the counsels for Fawad CH turned up before the court Judge Gillani informed the PTI legal team that the police investigator had told the court they have challenged the court’s rejection of their petition to extend the physical remand of the PTI leader

We did not get any notice The investigators should have informed us,” Awan responded

The judge said the information had now been conveyed through the court anyway

In his plea, the PTI leader contended that the allegations levelled against him in the FIR were false, frivolous and baseless He said the case against him was based on mala fide, alleging that the government was trying to “blackmail” him ‘l aw o f t h E j u n g l E n o w p r E va i l s’

PTI chief Imran Khan reacted to the proceedings

criticising how Fawad was taken to court handcuffed and head covered like a terrorist He said it showed the “low and vindictive levels imported govt and state have reached”

He added that the treatment of Chaudhry Azam Swati and Shahbaz Gill leaves no doubt in people’s minds that the country was now a “banana republic”

In a follow-up tweet Imran said: The law of the jungle now prevails where might is right and the Constitution and law of the land have been totally subjugated by the Pharaohs of today p t i c h a i r m a n w r i t E s to c j p: Meanwhile, former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday wrote a letter to Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, asking him to protect Fawad’s fundamental rights

In the letter, Imran stated how his former chief of staff Shehbaz Gill, and party leader Senator Azam Swati were meted out violent and inhumane treatment while under police custody

This is an appeal to the Chief Justice of Pakistan as the custodian of the Constitution to protect the dignity and honor of the detainees,” he wrote, highlighting that torture or indignity to detainees is a violation of Articles 9 10A and 14 of the Constitution

Protest against brutal murder of C hitrali woman in Lower D ir

A p r o t e s t m e e t i n g w a s h e l d i n C h i t r a l u n d e r t h e

a u s p i c e s o f Te h r e e k Ta h a f u z C h i t r a l i w h i c h w a s presided over by Alhaj Eidul Hussain T h i s p u b l i c m e e t i n g w a s o rg a n i z e d a s a p r o t e s t a g a i n s t t h e b r u t a l m u r d e r o f a C h i t r a l i woman by stabbing her with an ax in lower Dir in jurisdiction of police station Rabbath Addressing the meeting, the speakers said that Yasmin Bibi, a daughter from Chitral, who was married to Shah Zareen in Lower Dir an Afghan refugee Khan Bahadur son of Nawab Khan living at Rabat killed here brutality , because of minor recurrence of the c h i l d r e n S p e a k e r s s a i d t h a t t h e y o u n g c h i l d r e n of this woman were orphaned T h e p e o p l e o f t h e a r e a t o o k t h e b o d y o f t h i s w o m a n a n d p l a c e d i t o n t h e r o a d a n d r e c o r d e d t h e i r p r o t e s t a n d r a i s e d t h e i r v o i c e a g a i n s t t h i s c r u e l t y a n d b r u t a l i t y T h e y s a i d t h a t t h e R a b a t p o l i c e s t a t i o n f i l e d a r e p o r t u n d e r s e c t i o n 3 2 4 a g a i n s t t h e a c c u s e d K h a n B a h a d u r I n j u r e d Ya s m e e n w a s t a k e n t o t h e h o s p i t a l i n a n i n j u r e d c o n d i t i o n a n d s h e d i e d a s

she could not bear the pain According to reports t h e R a b a t p o l i c e h a s a r r e s t e d t h e a c c u s e d K h a n

B a h a d u r, a n A f g h a n m i g r a n t

Naseerullah performed as stage secretary in t h e m e e t i n g T h e f o r m e r p r e s i d e n t o f t h e Tr a d e

U n i o n , S h a b i r A h m e d , S h a r i f H u s s a i n , N a e e m

Anjum President of Tehreek Tahafuzi Chitral Al

Haj Eidul Hussain, President of Awami National P a r t y C h i t r a l , S i f a t Z a r e e n , l e a d e r o f M u s l i m

L e a g u e - N M a u l a n a I s r a r u d d i n A l H i l a l N o o r

Ahmad, members of civil society also expressed their views

They also thanked the Rabat police for arresti n g t h e a c c u s e d i n a t i m e l y m a n n e r T h e y a pp e a l e d t o t h e C h i e f J u s t i c e o f P e s h a w a r H i g h

C o u r t t o g i v e s e v e r e p u n i s h m e n t t o t h i s b r u t a l murderer so as to serve as an example to others

On this occasion, some political leaders expressed t h e i r c o n c e r n t h a t j u s t a s S S P R a o A n w a r o f Karachi was acquitted along with his colleagues in the murder case of Naqeebullah Mehsud, O u r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e t r i e d t o f i n d o u t t h e d etails of the incident by talking to Jabeen Haji, the brother-in-law of the deceased in Rabat He said that there was minor dispute between children of b o t h p a r t i e s a n d K h a n B a h a d r b e a t i n g h e r s o n when Yasmeen came out to rescue her son , Khan Bahadur severely attacked on Yasmin with an Ax a n d i n j u r e d h e r w i t h s u c c e s s i v e b l o w s , w h i c h later died due to the injuries

In this regard Ihsan SHO of Rabat police station, was also asked that section 324 is mentioned in the FIR, while this is a case of murder , he said that 302 was also added and the accused has been arrested and the police is investigating further this c a s e H e s a i d t h a t t h e R a b a t p o l i c e i s t r y i n g i t s b e s t t o p u n i s h t h e a c c u s e d t h r o u g h t h e c o u r t s o that such cruelty does not happen to another innocent person H e s a i d t h a t t h e v i c t i m h a s g i v e n a f o r m a l s t a t e m e n t b e f o r e h e r d e a t h i n w h i c h s h e h a s n a m e d t h e a c c u s e d a n d t h e d y i n g d e c l a r a t i o n statement is legally considered as a very safe and strong document and legal evidence in any death case which is sufficient for death penalty

Kashmiri people Barrister Majeed expressed concern that the situation in IIOJK was getting worse with each passing day and Kashmiri people s quest for freedom was gaining momentum consistently He said the day was not far when people in IIOJK would get their legitimate right to freedom

He said that India presents itself as a socalled champion of human rights, while the fascist Modi government is inflicting immense atrocities on the minorities living in India and is bent on changing the proportion of the population in Kashmir He said that more than one million Indian occupying forces have put eight million Kashmiris under siege and made the occupied territories the largest prison in the world

“Despite all these inhuman acts, India has not been able to dampen the determined spirit of freedom-loving Kashmiri people” asserted KSFJ Chairman

Have faith! PML-N will fix economic turmoil: Mar yam

ConTinUEd from pAgE 01

Referring to her recent elevation to the role of party’s senior vice president and chief organiser, she thanked her father, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and the people for trusting her with new responsibilities “I promise you, my country and my party that we won’t sit idle for even a single day now Addressing Imran, Maryam said “Today that person is talking about inflation who during his tenure used to mercilessly say I got to know about the inflation from the TV and used to read out prices from notes ” “Accountability of eight months will be taken later First, accountability of the last five years will be taken The PML-N leader concluded her address with the expected announcement of setting out on a campaign visit to cities across Punjab “The schedule of my visits to all districts of Punjab starting from Feb 1 has been made Meanwhile, the PML-N’s official Twitter account shared a video of a “sea of people eagerly waiting” to welcome her Hundreds of people can be seen waving flags and holding party banners while a party anthem plays in the background Earlier, party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said Maryam was returning to begin the “reorganisation of the party” She had left Pakistan for London in October last year, just a day after her passport was returned to her At the time she said she was “eager” to meet her father Nawaz, whom she hadn’t met since 2019 In a tweet today, Aurangzeb said Maryam will reach Lahore today by 3pm “Party leaders, workers and people are eagerly and happily waiting for Maryam Nawaz,” she said Maryam Nawaz will return to the country and start the reorganisation of the party ” She departed London for Pakistan yesterday It is understood that she will build the party s election narrative as formulated by Nawaz holding Imran, former judges and military officers responsible for the economic and political instability in Pakistan It comes after Interior Rana Sanaullah announced that she would return on January 28th (today) He also said there would be a “huge reception” awaiting her at the Lahore airport On Saturday afternoon, PMLN Punjab’s Twitter account posted a video of Maryam boarding a plane from the UAE E l E vat i o n to to p r o l E i n pa rt y h i E ra r c h y: On January 3, in a move that was seen as a significant development in terms of the PML-N s internal politics Maryam was elevated in the party ranks, making her one of the party’s senior-most leaders in the country In a notification the party s president Shehbaz appointed vice president Maryam Nawaz as senior vice president and chief organiser of the party with immediate effect Earlier former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was the only senior vice president of the party PML-N chief Shehbaz also authorised her to “reorganise” the party “at all functional levels Pursuant to the powers conferred under the constitution of the PML-N the undersigned (Shehbaz Sharif) is pleased to appoint Maryam Nawaz Sharif as senior vice president with immediate effect She is authorised to reorganise the party at all functional tiers/levels as chief organiser, the notification says PM Shehbaz said in a tweet: “I have appointed @MaryamNSharif as senior vice-president of PML-N She has the drive determination & experience to lead the party’s organizational matters

S peakers for fast-tracking implementation of Russia-Pakistan energy agreements

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Speakers at a webinar on Saturday highlighted the importance of a fast-track implementation of the agreements reached between Russia and Pakistan in the energy sector terming it crucial for the economic uplift of the energy-starved country

The webinar titled Russo-Pak Economic and Energy Cooperation Scope and Challenges” was organized by DevcomPakistan (Development Communications

network) and DTN Former Senator Lt General (Retd )

Abdul Qayyum was the keynote speaker while among other participants were foreign affairs expert Dr Salma Malik, energy and environment expert Qaiser Aijaz and Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed, besides Hussain Ali Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed Sarah Khan Natasha Jameel Maliha and Ayan Mitra

Abdul Qayyum said the recent Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Russia were a long-awaited icebreaking that

could lead to an important partnership and investments in the defence, oil and gas sectors of Pakistan after the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor H e s a i d P a k i s t a n n e e d e d s u s t a i n a b l e a n d b a l a n c e d f o r e i g n r e l a t i o n s w h i l e i nc r e a s i n g i t s e x p o r t s , a n d a t t r a c t i n g m o r e foreign investment

He stressed political stability and consistency of policies, declaring them as a ‘key’ to achieving steady national development and prosperity

Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director

Munir Ahmed said a comprehensive RussoPak Energy Corridor was very crucial for both countries at this point

Munir Ahmed said it was high time for both countries to think about the larger and more comprehensive Russo-Pak Energy Corridor (RPEC), similar to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

D r S a l m a M a l i k t e r m e d t h e P a k i s t a nR u s s i a e n e rg y c o o p e r a t i o n a “ w e l c o m e d s t e p ” t h a t n e e d s t o b e v i e w e d w i t h c a ut i o u s o p t i m i s m g i v e n t h e l a rg e r g e o - e c on o m i c d y n a m i c s

Qaiser Aijaz said the Russo-Pak economic and energy development cooperation had a history recalling that Pakistan’s first five-year plan of 1950 was based on the Russian Economic Model and subsequent provision of technical and financial support in the promotion of the oil and gas development sector in 1960 and establishment of Pakistan Steel Mills in the 1970s

He said Russia-Pakistan Economic and Energy Cooperation had a huge potential to grow and was expected to develop further on a fast-track basis

R e t u r n o f t h e h e r o i n e

PML(N) Senior Vice-President Maryam Nawaz returned to Pakistan after nearly four months in London, where she not only spent time with her father, Mian Nawaz Sharif, but cemented her position as his political heir by being appointed the party’s chief organizer That made it inevitable that her London sojourn would be in the nature of a vacation from the problems that await her The most immediate challenge will be the elections the party has to contest, to two provincial assemblies, and to the 112 National Assembly seats in all provinces that have been declared vacant consequent upon the acceptance of PTI members’ resignations While the date for the provincial elections has yet to be given by the respective Governors the Election Commission of Pakistan has already announced March 16 for the 34 seats whose MNAs’ resignations were accepted on January 17 The remaining resignations were accepted on January 20 and 25, allowing the ECP to hold those by-elections a little later Thus the by-elections will be more like general elections, especially if the provincial elections are held anytime soon opposing Maryam will be a rampant PTI, eager for a return to the power it held less in a year ago

Ms Nawaz’s tools to deal with this will depend on whether she can gain control of the party Her being her father ’s right-hand woman was swallowed, but the party’s leadership seems a little less willing to accept her as their boss Already, former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbassi and former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail seem to have marked themselves as potential centres of opposition Wresting control of the party from all of the ‘uncles’ in the middle of the campaign is a major challenge

It does no help that one of the ‘uncles’ is not just President of the party, but as her father s brother, very literally an uncle It also does not help that she has chosen to defend the record of another, literally an uncle by virtue of being her sister ’s father-in-law, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar She showed awareness that the economy, especially inflation, would be her main electoral challenge, in her address to the workers who welcomed her, but her solution, that Senator Dar was to be trusted a little while longer, might give raise o the suspicion that she had not really worked out a solution to this particular problem

AR E there going to be elections in the next 90 days as, and if postponed under what law? The question which has baffled many constitutional experts, if not multiple politicians and media analysts, who all want to know what will happen; may, as things unfold, decide the future course of our country The elections (that is, provincial elections) and any delay can only happen in a legal framework, and there are no second guesses that this will be decided in the realm of the Supreme Court

The starting point is the binding Constitution which is being interpreted by many but this article will analyze it slightly differently The legal opinion revolves around the idea that the wording of the Constitution is rigid when it comes to the 90–day period after the dissolution of assemblies The starting point is Article 105 which states that if the provincial assemblies are dissolved the Governor will announce the date for elections in no later than 90 days The question being, how will a delay be flexed around article 105? This will be challenged and sensing the political temperature it will not be far-fetched to assume that PTI may challenge this issue in the Supreme Court Hence it should be examined what would be argued in front of the Supreme Court in favor of time extension

A r g u m e n t o n e :- As a constitutional lawyer the first word that strikes me is appoint in Article 105 The word “appoint” versus “announcement” must be analyzed as to why the framers of the Constitution chose appoint and not announce In the Constitution wherever the word “appoint” comes, it is assigned with a consultation model, that is to say the appointment must be consulted with or made through a process of consultation with someone in that position of authority Hence within the Constitution there are consultation or advising roles which are assigned For instance, it is given in the Constitution when someone appoints a minister, or attorney general (as under Article 140) or a Commission ( as under Article 155), or appointment of National Finance Commission (NFC, as under article 160), appointment of auditor general (as under article 168) appointment of Judges of Superior Courts (under article 175 A) all use the word “appoint” and the so called mechanism assumes that any appointment will be done so after consultation with some assigned authority

Therefore, it may be argued that when the governor appoints a caretaker Chief minister after consultation, it is the very spirit of Article 105 that the governor may again consult an authority for fixing the election date and hence explains that any delay

comes after the governor “appoints” or announces the next elections In such a case, it may be the President or even the Election Commission who is the authority, but this will be raised in the Supreme Court at the time of filing such petitions as to who is competent authority for setting the “realistic” election date How will be so and why is a more technically poised legal question for a later debate

A r g u m e n t t w o:- Under article 235 the President may impose financial emergency in the country or in a province This argument may be made that in times of financial crisis the resources of the country should not be allocated towards an election and elections should be put on hold till the economic conditions stabilizes This will need to be justified and again will put tremendous pressure on the Courts to justify how elections can be postponed when the popular vote is out of the assemblies The morality or equity of fairplay versus the need of the hour will be raised as an argument

A r g u m e n t t h r e e :- Article 112 discusses how an assembly may be dissolved, and as a consequence elections are announced, but interestingly article 112 does not discuss the date or any mechanism of setting the timelines of elections This, some may argue, sets two interesting contrasts: that the 90-day deadline is perhaps not as important as a commitment timeline implying that extension in elections is possible beyond the 90-day period

A r g u m e n t F o u r:- It may be argued that if the Chief Minister wanted elections and knows he would win a majority, then what was the hurry or need to dissolve in the first place and if there is an administrative” delay as would be claimed by Election Commission, then let it be

All those past precedents regarding the 90-day deadline for holding elections read with article 105 (as discussed above) revolve mostly around the incidents or times when assemblies were dissolved without involving the Chief Minister Seldom it happened that the National Assemblies are not dissolved but a Chief Minister voluntarily dissolves the assembly This is uniquely different and perhaps mirror opposite to the past episodes when the governor did not want to dissolve the assembly while the Chief Minister was eager to do so In this scenario it may be argued that if the Chief Minister wanted elections and knew he will win a majority what was the hurry or need to dissolve in the first place

A r g u m e n t r e A s o n F i v e :- The Election Commission pleads its inability to manage elections in 90 days The possibility of any delay must be understood with the fact that the Election Commission under the constitution and law will conduct the elections as under Article 218(3) and Article 219 the authority and delegated responsibility to conduct the elections is assigned to the Election Commission

While Article 224(3) discusses the election timeline in 90 days however some may argue that Article 224(3) does not make it binding. That is to say that elections may be delayed if the Election Commission makes its case that it is unable to deliver the “fair and free” elections on “time” but may only be able to do so if provided with “necessary resources”.

While Article 224(3) discusses the election timeline in 90 days however some may argue that Article 224(3) does not make it binding That is to say that elections may be delayed if the Election Commission makes its case that it is unable to deliver the “fair and free” elections on “time” but may only be able to do so if provided with necessary resources The Election Commission may also quote that the PTI is threatening its employees, and PTI does not have the mandate to doubt its ability to conduct such elections hence all the more reason to delay till these things are rectified Whether he courts give in to this line of arguments or not is yet to be seen

The writer is an expert on constitutional, regulatory and legal issues He is also an instructor with Civil Service Training institutes in Pakistan and abroad and can be reached at hassan shah@hys com pk

No sector has ever been subjected to so many reckless experiments as higher education, the cumulative effect of which is that our higher education, while lying as a bewildering welter of pre-colonial and colonial impulses has lagged miles behind the goals and ideals of the 21st century

To add to confusion further, HEC’s new undergraduate policy was introduced one cannot help but be flabbergasted at the higgledy-piggledy, hotchpotch way the entire idea of undergraduate education has been worked out Anyone having the slightest working knowledge of the worldwide trends in higher education will be stunned out of their wits at the wisdom of policy makers to have brushed off in an offhand way the key policy determinants that are rooted in our very ground realities It is understandable, then, that it has drawn justified skepticism from various quarters who oppose sinking more money into what they see as a boondoggle of education

The UGE policy 2020 came up with the purported objective to enhance the likelihood of success [sic] The policy further reads that the latter has to be realized through a scheme of studies to familiarize our undergrad students with a broad variety of fields of inquiry and approaches to knowledge in the 21st century Let s get down to the nitty gritty of the structural and functional areas of policy The minimum requirement for a prospective stu-

dent to qualify for a BS degree has been set at 120 credit hours in total, out of which a student is required to opt for general courses of 39 credits The courses indispensable to all the specialized fields are supposed to be completed by the end of the fourth semester

The courses on general education have been categorized along the following lines: the first category is that of the Breadth Courses ranging over the broad disciplines of Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences out of which two courses each have to be studied The Foundational Skills Courses make up the second category consisting of 3 expository and 2 quantitative reasoning subjects Two subjects each in Pakistan Studies and Islamiat fall within the scope of Civilizational courses The HEC prides itself on bringing in re-

forms that have streamlined higher education Notwithstanding its claims, one may wonder how far along our higher education sector is with the trends and priorities of the 21st century While dabbling with such consequential matters as higher education, the

Any strenuous attempt at higher education reforms without factoring in elementary and secondary education is going to be a total fiasco. The universities will fare better provided that a holistic approach, incorporating the sustainable goals for tackling all the sectors of education system including technical and vocational ones, is solemnly visualized

equation of policy with its marketability in the face of the peculiar tenor of the society has been left out of the equation with nonchalant abandon– an attitude which betrays not just the naïveté, but arrogance, of those who are supposed to aggregate the divergent factors into policy formulation processes

The cursory look at the foregoing policy reveals that the latter hardly rests on the ideals of objectivity and rationality It fails to take note of the ractical constraints and institutional anomalies affecting Pakistan s universities the pillars of our higher education sector, which are creaking under the burden of drastic cuts in grants It is something that many believe to be precipitating the unprecedented crisis in the universities already on a ventilator such that they might end up dead!

Firstly our universities are incredibly illequipped to acclimate to the new scheme for couple of more reasons– the unavailability of surplus faculty for teaching such technical subjects galore as Philosophy, Logic, Critical Thinking, Psychology, and Regional Lan-

guages and financial limitations to hire teachers for a litany of courses of general education, to name but tw The personal observations further reveal that more often than not students are faced with a Hobson’s Choice between X and Y or Y and X, that is, no alternative at all for opting from the pool of general courses

Even worse, the so-called UGE policy continues to pose technical conundrums for our professors and those heading various academic departments, hence leaving different stakeholders flummoxed about the letter and spirit of the said policy When there is not a single agreed definition of the UGE policy, how can there be any consensus about its implementation? Resultantly we see no rhyme or reason to nonsense cloaked in the garb of the UGE being imposed upon our students

Secondly the availability of faculty in terms of both quantity and quality presents rather a nightmarish picture of the existing public sector institutions At present as paltry a figure as just 25 percent faculty members are PhDs To worsen the situation further, academic terrorism with the thriving fraudulent research industry is rampant across the Pakistani universities You will find everything but a meaningful research culture therein!

Thirdly, any strenuous attempt at higher education reforms without factoring in elementary and secondary education is going to be a total fiasco The universities will fare better provided that a holistic approach, incorporating the sustainable goals for tackling all the sectors of education system including technical and vocational ones, is solemnly visualized

The writer is a lecturer at the Benazir Bhutto Women s University Sukkur

Complex Chess

TH E country seems to be up for more chaos if not a complete breakdown of the system The established order ’s inability through its front men in the political system in power since April 2022 to reign in the economy, the polity has signaled escalation in the ongoing chaos Despite that fact that the Pakistan Tehrik Insaf under Imran Khan seems like a spent bullet cartridge with no strike value, the continued pressure tactics employed by the incumbent administration seem hell-bent on creating a crisis out of nowhere Despite the fact that the ‘apolitical posture seems the buzzword for the compliant media’, all the ground facts point to new players groomed with ‘approval’

Pakistan economically is in the middle of a do-or-die situation With the election year already arrived of 2023, the overlapping of the political expediency of the incumbent with complete backing from the established order makes an ominous scenario where the stability of the system is likely to nosedive further

The country seems to be bracing itself for the next scheduled general elections The PPP is trying to curry favour with powers-that-be

The PML(N), not to be left behind in the race, is contemplating the return of its elite leaders h i p b a c k t o t h e c o u n t r y T h e P T I d e s p i t e being under extreme pressure, is trying to remain relevant to the developments taking place progressively

However, the mood in the incumbent camp seems to be that of confrontation through the system The renewed pressure on the opposition PTI, through the backing of the established order, in the form of elevation of the known detractors of the party, followed by what seems a new wave of political crackdown, only generates an uncontrollable confrontation scenario

In 1990, when the establishment decided t o p u n i s h t h e t h e n P P P l e a d e r s h i p u n d e r t h e late Benazir Bhutto, it installed the then caretaker CM of Sindh, late Jam Sadiq Ali, to unleash a crackdown Regretably the incumbent PML(N) government at the centre is enacting the same Here it is pertinent to point out that the PPP under BB was a very sober political entity It never challenged the order, despite its reasons to do that It faced unprecedented political repression during the 1990-1993 period but bided its time That period was also characterized by a somewhat stable economic situation Pakistan was not cash strapped as now T h e e c o n o m y w a s g r o w i n g a t a t o l e r a b l e Hindu rate

Today any political crisis has the potential t o e n g u l f t h e e c o n o m i c c r i s i s i n a m a n n e r, where it would be next to impossible for the es tab lis h ed o r d er an d th e co mp lian t p o litical order to control the situation for long As the words go to the press, a sort of crackdown is o n t h e p a p e r s w i t h t h e i n c u m b e n t s ; w h i c h seems to be unnecessary The system seems to be run on highly political lines The power outage at the start of the week on Monday January 23, followed by key decisions expected about

steering the economy out of the crisis, seems to be effectively overtaken by frivolous develo p m e n t s t r i g g e r e d b y t h e p o l i t i c a l f o r c e s favoured by the established order Keeping in view the fact that the PTI has never sought to challenge the system with radical discourse, pretending to be overthrowing the system, yet playing by its rules; the dissolution of the two key assemblies, that of Punjab and PTI, have practically boomeranged on the party The appointment of the key detractor of the party as the c a r e t a k e r C M i n P u njab, followed by other unfavourable appointm e n t s , h a s i n e ff e c t d y n a m i t e d t h e P T I p l a n s t o u p s t a g e t h e s y s t e m E v e n s oc a l l e d p o l i t i c a l a l l i e s from Gujrat are found i n d u l g i n g i n u ng u a r d e d s l i p s o f tongue W h a t s e e m s t o b e t h e f a l l o u t i s t h a t P T I r e m a i n s s t r a n d e d i n t h e p o l i t i c a l w i l d e rn e s s , w i t h t h e e s t a bl i s h m e n t a n d i t s f a v o u r i t e s d i s p l a c e d not even an inch from t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e s t a n c e s a n d p o s i t i o n s I f t h e i n t e l l i g e n c e a g e n c i e s s l e a z e c a mpaign has not caused a major shift in the public perception, it might h a v e c a u s e d s m a l l dents in the perception o f t h e s e c o n d t i e r o f p a r t y f o l l o w e r s ; t h e ‘sympathizers’

As things stand, while the national crisis of ‘default’ seems to be ‘brewing’ out of control the order is in no hurry to address the same in the near future

think ‘creatively’ then it stands the chance of going into the political wilderness for a longer period Furthermore the failure of the major opposition party in the political system where former radicals like PPP have opted to be the estate partners of the established order , the PML(N) just trying to reach the limits of opportunistic politicking, can unleash centrifugal tendencies in the polity and society

It will take a heavy resolve of playing unconventionally by the PTI to change the political tide in 2023 and 2024, despite the brewing economic crisis. The Pakistani polity is ready for a change, despite the clean fact that it simply lacks the aler t revolutionary cadre, which can read between the lines of the established order’s machinations.

Failing which the chessboard as laid out by the established order will be enacted like a video game with fewer intervention options for the human player; except a captcha declaration that “I am not a Robot”.

There are few plausible causes for that contentment Either the system has been assured that another IMF ‘drip injection’ is on its way and Pakistan will be again on its feet The other scenario is that Pakistan through the good offices of the established order is able to find its relevance in another global war scenario; its favuorite pastime

Given the fact that PTI played its cards with a very superficial thought process in mind, the established order is all set to have the resource commitments for Pakistan, not based on the 2023 elections, rather it is confident that it has the prerequisites for negotiating multiple lifelines for the country’s economy

The emerging scenario strongly suggests that unless the key opposition party is able to

The recent arm-flexing of the MQM; coinc i d e n t l y a g a i n w i t h t h e n o d o f t h e e s t a b l i s hment means that the people will be guided to t h i n k i n e t h n i c p a r o c h i a l o r s e c t a r i a n t e r m s a n d n o t n a t i o n a l t e r m s ; w h o s e i s s u e s w i l l b e d e a l t w i t h b y t h e e st a b l i s h m e n t l i k e a m e r c i f u l k i n g S i m il a r l y, f r i v o l o u s r e l ig i o u s d i s p u t e s a l o n g s e c t a r i a n l i n e s a r e b e i n g e n c o u r a g e d t o k e e p t h e v a r i o u s groups busy; a carbon c o p y i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e d i v i d e a n d r u l e ’ p o l i c y f o l l o w e d in Zia years With a practical return to Zia years, again complete with the upgraded versions of the ‘Ittefaq Foundry’, a great responsibility rests on the PTI beyond its traditional role as a ‘professional political party Knowing well that it is on the firing line of the established order It needs to review its policy of playing by the establishment as well as tolerating the seasoned political players The Punjab experience might have made the PTI top leadership learn a few lessons in politics The KPK scene, despite a home wicket scenario; but faced with Taliban militancy; almost daily killing of LEA officers, can be another place where the established order will not shy away to embarrass the party It will take a heavy resolve of playing unconventionally by the PTI to change the political tide in 2023 and 2024, despite the brewing economic crisis The Pakistani polity is ready for a change despite the clean fact that it simply lacks the alert revolutionary cadre, which can read between the lines of the established order s machinations Failing which the chessboard as laid out by the established order will be enacted like a video game with fewer intervention options for the human player; except a captcha declaration that “I am not a Robot”

The writer is a freelance columnist

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

Are the Americans at it again?

S T I L L licking its wounds after a humilia- ting, hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan the United States probably wants to revive its so-called war on terror ’ once again, taking Pakistan on board The recent statements by Washington in which it ‘pledged support for Islamabad’s anti-TTP efforts’, and showed concerns on TTP threat against Pakistan suggest there might be some brainstorming on the matter in the relevant circles

This, however, seems to be old wine in a new bottle We never asked for US help following a small border skirmish with Afghan security forces that has nothing to do with the US But the US is trying to ‘help’ us in an apparent bid to seek and get military bases in Pakistan and then bringing its own army on lame excuses

The fact is we do not need US assistance at all as our battle-hardened army can tackle the handful of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists The army has done it in the past, and can and will do it again The fact that the US intends to fight against its own proxy terrorist organisation, the TTP, is nothing but a joke

In fact, the US spread terrorism in Pakistan for several years through the TTP, leaving over 80,000 Pakistanis martyred, including hundreds of Army Public School (APS) schoolchildren and thousands of soldiers

A chief foreign correspondent of a US news channel, Richard Engel, had visited Jalalabad, Afghanistan, in 2008, and had reported about the terrorist training camps there and in Amritsar that, according to him, had state-of-the-art weapons which even the Pakistan Army did not have at the time Who else could have supplied such advanced weaponry to terrorists except the US and its ‘special friend’ Israel?

How can we forget the attack at Salala checkpost by the US forces where we lost 26 soldiers? They were guarding a sensitive checkpost which was earlier being used by TTP terrorists for infiltrating into Pakistan This made US, especially its military, jittery as it could not send in fresh groups for spreading terrorism inside Pakistan Therefore the US army attacked the post in a bid to clear the route for the TTP terrorists Now we are told the US wants to help Pakistan against TTP I f t h e U S w a s s e r i o u s i n s t o p p i n g T T P f r o m e n t e r i n g P a k i s t a n w h e n i t w a s i n A f g h a n i s t a n , w h y c o u l d i t n o t l o c a t e a n d k i l l t h e t e r r o r i s t s d e s p i t e h a v i n g t h e m o s t a d v a n c e d t e c h n o l o g y a n d p r e c i s i o ng u i d e d a m m u n i t i o n ?

The US has been crying wolf about terrorism in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan and Pakistan; all Islamic countries But Washington has never talked about which country provides training as well as state-ofthe-art weapons to these terrorists Which country arranges their movement through special aircraft without visas or travel documents from one country to another? Most importantly who finances them?

The US has never accused any country of spreading terrorism in these countries because such organisations have for long been its proxies, trained and financed in collaboration with friendly countries No country in the world could finance and manage terrorism at such a massive scale

The US left Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen after killing millions of Muslims in those countries The Pakistanis realise very well that the US wants to repeat its actions in Pakistan The US has also been trying to create rift between the people of Pakistan and its armed forces for long It may have succeeded to some extent but the people of Pakistan at large trust their forces and will stand with them We must not embroil ourselves in another bogus ‘war on terror ’ by swallowing the American bait

SAJID MAHMOOD ANSARI ISLAMABAD

Spoiling childhood

C H I L D labour refers to exploiting children and putting them to work for money at the cost of their future, education, health and pleasures of life It is rampant in developing and poor countries like Pakistan

Although the United Nations and the International Labour organisation discourage child labour, children mostly aged 10-14 years can be seen doing all sorts of manual and minor work

Young and innocent children work in industrial units, workshops, depart-mental stores, hotels, automobile workshops, brick kilns, carpet factories, canteens, fruit shops, etc There are many factors behind child labour in Pakistan, such as increasing poverty, the burden of large families, massive unemployment expensive education and an insecure future These factors compel the parents in low social classes to make their children learn some skills and earn for their large families

Besides the apathy of the government towards controlling child labour is a major contributing factor Consequently, the menace keeps growing because employers think they can easily manage, control, coerce, blackmail and exploit children without facing consequences

Child labour is prohibited by laws, and must be checked forthwith, and the violators should be taken to task Quality primary education must be made free and compulsory Large-scale social and economic reforms should be enacted To provide better and bright future to all our children, we must do away with the menace of child labour SONIA KANWAL KARACHI

Political hypocrisy

T H E National Accountability Bureau (NAB) recently completed probe into the illegal trips having being taken by ‘unofficial fliers’ using helicopters since 2008 belonging to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government and revealed that its private use has cost the exchequer Rs90 million during the phase

It was also revealed that about 2,000 people, including, and related to the past and sitting members of provincial and national assemblies members of political parties, government employees, and media persons, had travelled in such helicopters

In a clear reaction to the publicising of such brazen corruption of people entrusted with our resources, the KP government has amended the rules of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act 1975 retrospectively legalising the aforementioned illegal use of the helicopters at the expense of taxpayers’ money; a clear-cut example of a government covering up its own intentional misuse of laws Politicians keep talking about accounta- bility, but when such accountability is carried out, the rules are amended retrospectively of course, all this is done in the name of public and the country JUWAYRIYAH QAZI ABBOTTABAD

BrITaIN’s fINaNcIal melTdowN

Billions in pandemic fraud

DEPARTMENT NOW ESTIMATES THAT $45.6 BILLION WAS STOLEN OVER T WO YEARS BY CRIMINALS USING FALSE IDENTITIES

cent to negative 37 percent in the space of a week But truss’s predicament also reflects a larger issue Across the supposedly advanced economies, the return of inflation has magnified the riskiness of extravagant political gestures For the most part, however, politicians have not gotten the message

washington post S e b a S t a n M a l l a b y

fO R several days of Britain s financial meltdown Prime Minister Liz truss offered no comment the Independent newspaper led thursday with her picture under a snarky headline: “MISSING: hAVe YOU SeeN thIS PM?” then truss did comment, choosing local radio stations as an unthreatening venue her responses were so wooden the deputy leader of the rival Labour Party declared that “truss has finally broken her long painful silence with a series of short painful silences ”

Acerbic zingers aside, truss’s performance is no joke For 10 days the British pound has swung dizzyingly from weak to extremely weak to merely weak again Long-term government bonds maturing in 50 years shed one-third of their value at one stage, recovering from that unprecedented plunge only when the Bank of england stepped in Foreign watchdogs from the International Monetary Fund to the rating agency Standard & Poor ’s have condemned truss’s unfunded tax cuts which triggered the rout

Clearly this is bad for Britain truss’s net approval rating has collapsed from negative 9 per-

For 23 years the period from the 1998 collapse of the hedge fund Long-term Capital Management to the Biden stimulus of 2021 quiescent inflation empowered central banks to muffle political failures Weak regulation might allow finance to run wild; but in 1998 and repeatedly thereafter swift cuts to interest rates cushioned the shock Politicians might neglect to prepare for a viral pandemic, but central banks bought government bonds by the trillion providing politicians with the cash to buoy battered economies with stimulus checks the return of inflation has changed all that Central banks’ primary mission is to stabilize prices, so that the money in your pocket roughly holds its value Money is supposed to be a store of wealth and a unit of account: When it ceases to perform these functions, the operating system of the economy crashes Because of this inflation-fighting imperative, central banks now have to think twice before underwriting political expediency Bailouts involve cutting interest rates and buying government bonds Inflation control demands the opposite Britain s crisis illustrates the pain of this transition In announcing their program of unfunded tax cuts, truss’s chancellor of the exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng behaved like a go-go start-up that spends money as though it were water, complacently assuming that venture capitalists will supply liquidity without end With interest rates at zero, capital apparently costs nothing Investors would pour money into almost any project because of the tINA principle: there Is No Alternative

Well, now there is an alternative the Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates to combat

inflation Investors can stash their cash in U S mortgage bonds and get paid 6 7 percent, more than double what they would have gotten just a year ago Like a start-up that burns money without generating revenue, a government that cuts taxes without squeezing spending can no longer count on the markets indulgence RIP tINA, and hello MARA Markets Are Rational Again

But around the world, politicians have yet to adjust As the economist noted recently, leaders responded to the 1970s energy crisis by telling people to wear an extra layer and cut fuel consumption We aren t going to starve, West Germany’s chancellor observed calmly today by contrast, politicians are hurling subsidies at consumers and suspending gas taxes When the oil shock hit in 1973 the real value of Britain’s benefits bill hardly changed this time, the government is throwing 6 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to shield citizens from fuel costs And the bailout reflex extends beyond the energy sector and europe In the United States, the government guarantees bank deposits and mortgages, subsidizes health care and more; now President Biden proposes to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to cancel student debt Adding up the government’s contingent liabilities, the economist calculates that Uncle Sam is on the hook for debts worth more than six times GDP and that this ratio has shot up lately In 1979, the bottom fifth of U S earners received means-tested benefits worth about one-third of pretax income By 2018, it was about two-thirds thanks to the 23-year inflation vacation rich societies have grown used to the idea that government can fix stuff this is still true in significant ways the Bank of england backs t o p p e d g o v e r n m e n t b o n d s l a s t w e e k , a l b e i t on a time-limited basis But to preserve their ability to help in extraordinary times politicians must exercise restraint in ordinary ones t h e i n f l a

going to be painful

Jawaharlal Nehru: The man and the my th

Las Vegas ReView-JouRnaL

It was bad enough that unemployment offices in many states including Nevada failed miserably during the pandemic while facing an avalanche of claims But the fact that they stiffed many struggling Americans while doling out billions to fraudsters makes the fiasco worse

On thursday, a federal report put a price tag on the rip-offs the inspector general for the Labor Department now estimates that $45 6 billion was stolen over two years by criminals using false identities to file for unemployment claims that’s triple the estimate of a year ago the damage may be even more severe the Washington Post reported that investigators said they lacked complete data and focused on only “high-risk” areas

“the two factors raised the prospect that they could uncover billions of dollars in additional theft in the months to come,” the Post reported this week In addition the inspector general told Congress in March that overpayments of jobless benefits in addition to fraud could total more than $160 billion

the types of scams varied widely the Post found that fraudsters filed multiple claims in numerous states simultaneously and sometimes used Social Security numbers of the deceased In California, criminals posed as prison inmates including some on death row to pocket checks to make matters worse, state

agencies weren’t eager to provide information on this calamity Reuters reported that the inspector general s office said it had “difficulty getting unemployment insurance data from state workforce agencies until subpoenas were issued In some cases, the data sent was incomplete or unusable ” Chalk that up to bureaucratic hubris and the insular nature of government agencies Accountability is an afterthought when there are no repercussions for incompetence State agencies understandably buckled under the weight of an unprecedented situation and many have been rewarded with increased budgets and equipment upgrades Yet the problems persist Nevada continues to have a backlog of jobless cases, some dating back a year the inspector general found a similar inertia at the federal level the report concluded that the Labor Department has failed to implement previous recommendations to “collaborate with state agencies to establish effective controls to mitigate fraud and to work with Congress to require state agencies to cross-match high-risk areas ” Reuters reported State law enforcement agencies and the Justice Department have brought a number of cases to court involving defendants accused of fraudulently obtaining unemployment and other pandemic benefits Last week the DOJ announced it had reached the “milestone” of charging 1,000 people with bilking the jobless system during the pandemic When they add a few zeros to that number, perhaps they’ll have something to crow about

Th e fears were genuine Many influential, moneyed, individuals and big companies preferred to give big chunks of money to the ruling party the Opposition cried foul as it lacked the resources to fight elections in what was turning out to be a one-sided electoral fight If your history lessons are weak, you can easily mistake the time and imagery to be, say, the year 2018 and the overwhelming political dominance of India s political space by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Narendra Modi that would be a mistake An eerily similar situation prevailed on the eve of the second General election in 1957 the Congress party, the then dominant force in India’s politics was on the verge of gathering a war chest of 5 crore, a gigantic sum at that time the nascent Opposition worried about its ability to muster enough cash to even stay in the reckoning But in these days of alleged democratic backsliding these facts are forgotten, almost conveniently

In Nehru’s India: A history in Seven Myths (Princeton University Press; 304 pages; $39 95), taylor C Sherman sketches a very different history In parsing the myth of a successful democracy during Jawaharlal Nehru’s time she says, Although large-scale corruption tied to permit-andlicence raj is often dated to the late 1960s or early 1970s it can be traced at least to the second general election ” She highlights the now forgotten Serajuddin affair in which a company trading in manganese and chromite was given mining licences and favours this was in return for a donation of 10,000 to Keshav Dev Malaviya, the then minister for mines and fuel the problems that corroded India’s electoral practices such as the inability of the election Commission to ensure expenditures by candidates within prescribed limits corporate contributions to political parties and more can be dated to this period

Why should any of this matter now, 65 years later?

the answer has much to do with the myth created assiduously over time, that in Nehru’s time democracy in India was pristine and was suffused with idealism the

other part of the myth is that Nehru’s successors distorted democracy until the Modi era when it was finally twisted out of shape to be something less than democracy Sherman, a professor of history at the London School of economics is clear on this point She writes It is when they remain unexamined, or when they are marshalled to form part of an argument about something else, especially about the present that the myths are produced and amplified most powerfully ”

It is instructive that none of the members of the Nehru industry are mentioned in the book s acknowledgments this is not a coincidence: this group acts as a gatekeeper for what is acceptable and what is unacceptable on Nehru scholarship in India It is also worth noting that new interpretations of the Nehru period have come from scholars who work abroad tripurdaman Singh’s Sixteen Stormy Days: the Story of the First Amendment to the Constitution of India (2021) is another example

What is interesting about Sherman’s interpretation of the Nehru age is her steering clear of any political interpretations” liberal or conservative this is unlikely to please any of the warring camps in contemporary India, with the possible exception of the Left She notes, By the end of the Nehru era many of those claiming to speak on behalf of Muslims and Dalits were anything but satisfied with India s official secularism Focused as it was on monumental spaces revered personalities and iconic pieces of legislation, this secularism had left India’s least advantaged communities beleaguered and frustrated in their daily lives ” this comes close to leftist interpretations that have now abandoned the myth of the Nehruvian “golden age and reason that Indian communalism is a much older problem dating far earlier than the contested 1980s

At the core of Sherman’s interpretation is the idea of a myth as a gap between what existed in reality and what was projected later this can be true of any facet of social life and to that extent Nehruvian myths are no different

All Nehruvian myths non-alignment, socialism, successful democracy a strong state high modernism and Nehru as “architect of Independent India” have this gap in varying measures In some cases, this gap is small and in others more of projection and very little of reality What makes Nehruvian myths striking is their persistent

hold over the imagination of India’s intellectuals (but not its people: they have far more prosaic concerns) It is the differing mechanisms by which these myths were propagated that make her book a riveting study

Nehruvian socialism is an interesting example Sherman says that during his time as prime minister Nehru refused to define the expression “socialism ” the use of that word without a clear definition has created a gap that has been filled with the assumption Indian socialism can be equated with Soviet-style planning how did this lazy interpretation arise? this was done by a combination of politics and history In this case, the Swatantra Party independent India’s first liberal political experiment laid the groundwork for a caricature of Indian socialism as having “totalitarian” ambitions In the author ’s delicious words, “In the absence of a more complex picture, the blazing furnaces of steel plants have been left to stand for India’s official socialism ”

the reality was somewhat more complicated Nehruvian socialism was an attempt to solve collective action problems in areas as diverse as irrigation (such as the construction of multi-purpose river valley dams), industry (factories owned and controlled by the government for producing basic goods like iron and steel and pharmaceuticals) and other sectors this is closer to the imagination of Dadabhai Naoroji than the brutal plans of Joseph Stalin

As with so many other myths Indian socialism acquired a life of its own And it was damaging Nehru bequeathed the idea along with a part of the apparatus (such as the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act 1951) to his daughter It was during her time that India’s economy was entangled in a web of controls and quotas that choked growth Parts of that pernicious legacy such as the idea that welfare is synonymous with a statecontrolled economy are yet to be overcome Sherman’s analysis of the myth of a “strong state” is equally interesting She says the truth of India inheriting a strong state from the raj has more to do with the fact of inheritance and not the quality of the bequest this is true Forging a coherent nation-state from a patchwork of independent principalities stretched the capacity of the Indian state to an extreme Where hyderabad could be integrated by mere “police action”, Kashmir had to be

carved out as a distinct political sphere Sherman states, here is the pattern: Indian statesmen and stateswomen recognised that India was a union in the making to meet the differential needs of the nation-to-be, asymmetric privileges were granted and basic rights were curtailed on an exceptional basis

While meant to be transitional, these measures became entrenched, as each attracted a constituency that argued for its extension this is on target to give one example, by the end of the 20th century, “asymmetric federalism” originally carved out as an exception due to the weakness of the Nehruvian state gained a hydra-like character as India turned into a fractured and dysfunctional polity

So much so, it has become an article of faith among India’s intellectuals that India’s democracy can survive only by furthering it Never mind the fact that taking this idea to its logical conclusion would have sundered India’s unity the very danger that Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel did everything in their power to avoid Nehru was India s first prime minister and by the fact alone an interesting figure But he is not a deity to be worshipped on an intellectual altar Sherman has done well to restore some credibility to scholarship on him

In Nehru’s India: A History in Seven Myths by Taylor C Sherman, Princeton University Press, 304 pages, ₹ $39 95

WHAT IS INTERESTING ABOUT TAYLOR C SHERMAN’S INTERPRETATION OF THE JAWAHARL AL NEHRU AGE IS HER STEERING CLEAR OF ANY ‘POLITIC AL INTERPRETATIONS’, LIBER AL OR CONSERVATIVE. THIS IS UNLIKELY TO PLEASE ANY OF THE WARRING C AMPS IN CONTEMPOR ARY INDIA, WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF THE LEFT

corporate corner

Faysal Bank par tners with Merc antile Pakistan to provide BNPL Facility

AhsAn, BAlIGh dIsCuss ProMoTIon oF hIGher eduCATIon, oTher Issues

LAHORE I N P

FE D E R A L Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal called on Governor Punjab Muhammad Balighur Rehman at Governor House Lahore on Saturday and discussed with him various issues including promotion of higher education

K a r a c h i: Faysal Bank partnered with Mercantile Pakistan

(Authorized Apple Distributor) to provide a facility of Buy

Now Pay Later (BNPL) at a zero percent profit rate to its customers using its payment cards This is the first time in Pakistan that customers can avail BNPL facility to buy Official Apple products from authorized retail outlets During the rollout phase, over 100 mercantile registered resellers will start offering Apple official products on 3 6 9 and 12 months easy instalment plans Mercantile products will also be available on Faysal Bank DigiMall, Faysal Bank's Online Marketplace and via PIP options through call centers

This partnership will enable easy payments for Faysal Bank customers via Mercantile Pakistan authorized channels while simultaneously leveraging on the Faysal Bank platform's capacity to empower its authorized businesses through faster payment cycles In the last few years, BNPL has become an incredibly popular option amongst consumers enabling customers to obtain goods through flexible and interest-free payments offered in the form of a secure and seamless payment experience provided by merchants utilizing BNPL

This move will also enable the growth of the Ecommerce ecosystem at a domestic level enabling trust in pre-payments systems and quality, and goods & services Speaking at the Occasion, Mr Aneeq Malik, “Head of Consumer Finance & Payment Services, Faysal Bank, said, "This partnership is a testament to our vision of empowering customers with flexible financing options This card-led product will also enable to rekindle growth among the countless businesses of different sizes, during this period of continued economic uncertainty P r

S ur vey by ACC A and IMA paints pic ture of a steady but weak global economy

K a r a c h i: The Q4 Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) shows signs of steadying, however, many indicators remain weaker than a year ago The good news is that the GECS Confidence Index bounced slightly for the second consecutive quarter, perhaps reflecting hopes that the worst of the central bank tightening might soon be over and that China might successfully relax its zero-COVID restrictions Even so, the Confidence Index remains below its median reading for the period since 2012 There is not much positive news from the other three economic indicators –new orders, capital expenditure (CapEx), and employment CapEx picked up marginally but remains below the median of the same period; new orders and employment showed a further modest deterioration Taken as a whole, the results are consistent with a subdued macro-economic outlook But the good news is that they do not appear yet to be at levels consistent with an outright global recession in 2023 – even though this is the base case scenario for many economic forecasters A good cross-check is provided by the two GECS Fear indices, which reflect respondents concerns that customers and/or suppliers may go out of business Reassuringly, these were little changed from the 2022 Q3 survey, despite the sharp rise in borrowing costs and the prospect of negative corporate-earnings growth in 2023 Assad Hameed Khan, head of ACCA Pakistan, said: “What stands out is the improvement in confidence in developed countries - both Western Europe and North America The improvement in confidence probably reflects hopes that the Russia–Ukraine situation can be contained, and that there will be sufficient natural gas to see Europe through what now looks increasingly likely to be a mild winter Looking to the weaker emerging markets (especially Pakistan) however, 2023 could still prove to be a challenging time as reflected in the growing sovereign credit concerns and request to International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance Moreover, the central bank remains under pressure for continued higher interest rates, monetary tightening and foreign exchange transaction restrictions (further slowing growth) Loreal Jiles, vice president of research and thought leadership at IMA, said: “Global confidence has edged up for the second consecutive quarter as cost concerns have eased and with worries about accessing finance and securing prompt payment having not gotten any worse P r

Pa k i

s

Speaking on the occasion, Muhammad Balighur Rahman said that the development of knowledgebased economy is very important for the development of the country

MIRPUR (AJK)

A P P

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan has said that empowerment of women-folk was the government s first and foremost priority

He expressed these views during his visit to the Kamyab Khawateen Program Production Center in the State metropolis on Saturday

Women s representation in the government is showing better results" the PM said adding that making women skilled and employed across the state was the incumbent government s top priority Prime Minister Azad Kashmir Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan on the occasion inspects a variety of things including Shawls Gaba Vases Jewelery and fancy dresses made by local women in the production center He also inspected the sewing work and hand-made items and commended their work

On this occasion, the Prime Minister was given a detailed briefing about the garments made by women and the problems faced by them in the production center Chairman and Secretary TEVTA while briefing the PM said that 100 sewing machines given for Vocational Training Center have been made functional in the last few days He said that in the first phase Gowns will be prepared for all the doctors and paramedical staff of district Muzaffarabad and Poonch

Earlier talking to journalists on this occasion Prime Minister the handicrafts being prepared by women in the production center would be taken to major markets "We are building display centers in Karachi and Mall Road Lahore Islamabad where our local production will be showcased", he said

IC

He said that as Chancellor my first priority is to strengthen the links between academia and industry in universities and in this regard, consortia have been formed on 07 important sectors G o v e r n o r P u n j a b f u r t h e r s t a t e d t h a t w h e n h e v i s i t s t h e u n i v e r s i t i e s a s a c h a n c e l l o r, h e w a s h a p p y t o s e e t h a t t h e p r o j e c t s s t a r t e d i n t h e h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n s e c t o r d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d o f 2 0 1 3 - 2 0 1 8 h a v e r e a c h e d c o m p l e t i o n H e s a i d t h a t t h e s e p r o je c t s h a v e b r o u g h t s i g n i f i c a n t i m p r o v e m e n t i n t h e h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n s e c t o r

On this occasion, Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal informed Governor Punjab about the projects initi-

ated by the federal government for the improvement of education, especially for universities He said that the improvement in the higher education sector will continue under the leadership of the Prime Minister of Pakistan He said that special measures are being taken to promote skill-based education L a t e r P u n j a b G o v e r n o r M u h a m m a d B a l i g h u r R e h m a n a s C h a n c e l l o r h a s t a k e n n o t i c e o f t h e r i o t o f s t u d e n t s o u t s i d e t h e h o u s e o f P u n j a b U n iv e r s i t y Vi c e C h a n c e l l o r P r o f e s s o r D r N i a z A h m a d A k h t a r a n d i n t h i s r e g a r d , t h e G o v e r n o r h a s a s k e d t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f P u n j a b U n i v e r s i t y t o r e p o r t t h e i n c i d e n t

PAC’s Gandhara Festival 2023 begins at Taxila today

RAWALPINDI N P

" Our goal is to make 6 thousand women skilled in Muzaffarabad so that they can be economically self-sufficient by establishing their own industry in the future" the PM said

Commenting on the ban imposed on polyurethane bags, he further said that after the ban on plastic shopping bags the market demand for cloth bags has increased

He said that sewing centers would also be established in other districts of Azad Kashmir

On the occasion of Prime Minister was accompanied by minister for Industry and Commerce Chaudhry Maqbool Ahmed, Special Assistant for Women Empowerment Laiba Ahmed, and others Ends / APP / AHR

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan has said that empowerment of women-folk was the government s first and foremost priority

He expressed these views during his visit to the Kamyab Khawateen Program Production Center in the State metropolis on Saturday " Women's representation in the government is showing better results", the PM said adding that making women skilled and employed across the state was the incumbent government's top priority

AP elec ts office -bearers for 2023-24

ISLAMABAD

A P P

The Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) unanimously elected its new office bearers for the year 2023-24 in its 365th meeting held in Karachi

The Council unanimously elected M Ali Latif as President of the Institute, Arslan Khalid and Asad Feroze as Vice Presidents said a press release issued here on Saturday

The Council lauded the services of the outgoing office bearers and announced Gold Medal for Ashfaq Yousuf Tola for his meritorious services The Council also announced mementos to Saifullah and Husnain R Badami in recognition of their services

Newly elected President of the Institute M Ali Latif is a Fellow Member (FCA) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan

(ICAP) He is a second generation Chartered

Accountant and son of a well known practicing chartered accountant late M T K Rehmani who practiced under the name and style of “M/s Rehmani & Co , Chartered Accountants” He has more than 20 years of experience in the accounting and audit profession and is responsible for managing a wide ranging portfolio of clients across different economic sectors

He is currently working as Partner in “M/s Muniff Ziauddin & Co , Chartered Accountants, Representing BKR International and is a Council Member since 2017 He had earlier also served as an Elected Member of the Northern Regional Committee of ICAP for two consecutive four-year terms (2009-2013 & 2013-2017) and as Chairman of various ICAP Committees He has also served as Vice President of ICAP & President of Pakistan Institute of Public Finance Accountants, PIPFA and has recently been appointed as the Non-Executive Director on the Board of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)

The opening ceremony of Gandhara Festival 2023 organized by Punjab Arts Council (PAC) will be held at Gandhara Art Village Taxila on Sunday Secretary Information and Culture Ms Silwat Saeed will inaugurate the festival Director General Punjab Arts Council Muhammad Mehboob Alam says that the promotion of culture is the top priority of the provincial government The recent approval of the first cultural policy of the Punjab province is a testament to the efforts of the Punjab Arts Council Punjab Arts Council will organize festivals on Harappa, Sindhi and Hakra culture of Cholistan along with Gandhara, 3 three-day cultural fairs will also be organized in all other districts of Punjab The festival will be held from January 29 to February 4 at Gandhara Art Village Taxila and Punjab Arts Council Cricket Stadium Road Rawalpindi More than 20 stalls based on sculpture, stone carving and Gandhara art are being set up by expert artisans in the festival Traditional food, kids play area for children, and book fair on Gandhara are also part of the festival In the opening ceremony Sain Zahoor will perform at Sufi Night Sham-e-Ghazak with Ustad Hamid Ali Khan will be held on 30th January Fazal Jatt will present a story-telling program in his unique style while Naeem Hazarvi will also accompany him Saraiki folk singer Rahat Multani will perform at Punjab Arts Council Rawalpindi on February 2 Sawaal Band from Lahore will grace the Sufi Night on February 3 A play on the life of Ashok Samrat, a famous character from the history of Gandhara, will be presented on February 4, directed by Sulaiman Sunny The famous Sami folk dance of Pothohar is also a part of the daily festival Painting and sculpture competitions are also being conducted to ensure the participation of the youth in the Gandhara festival The children will be awarded with cash prizes and certificates of appreciation Ambassadors from China, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Laos, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia are expected to arrive in the festival The embassies of different countries have been invited to set up stalls A large number of students from all the educational institutions of Islamabad and Rawalpindi Division will participate in the Gandhara Festival on a daily basis

ICT admin announces local holiday on Monday

ISLAMABAD

A P P

The district administration of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) on Saturday declared January 30 (Monday) as a local holiday According to a notification issued by the ICT administration, “the local holiday is declared within the revenue limits of ICT except the offices of essential services including Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) Capital Development Authority (CDA), ICT Administration, ICT Police, IESCO, SNGPL and Hospitals

t a n N av y F l o t i l l a v i s i t s O m a n , I r a n d u r i n g ove r s e a s d e p l oy m e n t

ISLAMABAD s tA f f r e P o r t P a k i s t a n N a v y F l o t i l l a c o m p r i s i n g

l o n g w i t h P

S u b m a r i n e

p o r t - c a l l e d M u s c a t i n O m a n a n d B a n d a r A b b a s i n I r a n , r e s p e c t i v e l y, d u r i n g o v e rs e a s d e p l o y m e n t On arrival at host countries’ ports, Pakistan Navy ships were warmly welcomed by representatives of Pakistani embassies and officials of host navies, a Pakistan Navy media release said

The Mission Commander along with the Commanding Officers of ships called on the naval leadership of both countries

During the interactions matters of mut u a l i n t e r e s t a n d c o o p e r a t i o n i n m a r i t i m e security, the shipbuilding capability of Pakistan training opportunities in PN including sea training were discussed

The Mission Commander conveyed well wishes from Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi for the people of host countries in general and host navies in particular

During the port calls, various bilateral

activities were undertaken including exchange visits onboard units, orientation visits of military installations, and coordination meetings Students of Pakistani School Muscat and members of Pakistani community also visited PN Ships Upon completion of the port call at Iran PN ships participated in a passage exercise with Iranian Navy Ship IRIS KAMAN to enhance interoperability

The port visits of Oman and Iran by PN Flotilla will further enhance existing close diplomatic ties and cordial relations with friendly countries

E m p owe r m e n t o f wo m e n fo l k f i r s t p r i o r i t y: A J K P M

WASHINGTON Ag e n c i e s

aFOUR-star US air force general predicted that the US and China will be at war in two years, most likely over the Taiwan region, and called on troops under his command to pursue battle readiness in a recently disclosed memo, a move Chinese experts on Saturday decried as a reckless and provocative hyping of “China threats,” which would inflame tensions and deepen strategic mistrust between the US and China when ties are already at a low ebb

It cannot be ruled out that the move may serve as a way of putting pressure on China to gain more leverage ahead of a potential China trip by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, analysts said

In the memo first obtained by NBC News on Friday but dated February 1, General Michael Minihan, head of Air Mobility Command (AMC) said that “my gut tells me will fight in 2025,” as both US and Taiwan regional authorities will have elections in 2024 and the US will be “distracted ” which gives the Chinese mainland an opportunity

Minihan listed his goals of military preparation for a “fight with China” to his soldiers in the AMC, including building “a

fortified, ready, integrated, and agile Joint Force Maneuver Team ready to fight and win inside the first island chain, according to an NBC report Xin Qiang, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Saturday that it is fairly provocative and reckless for a senior US general to make such confrontational remarks targeting China while ties between Beijing and Washington are at low ebb

Such remarks will only exacerbate the mistrust between China and the US strategically, and harm bilateral ties, Xin noted

Despite Air Force spokeswoman Hope Cronin verifying the memo’s authenticity a US defense official who requested anonymity said that Minihan s comments “are not representative of the department’s view on China,” according to the Washington Post report Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said on Friday that US is working with allies and partners to preserve a peaceful, free and open Indo-Pacific ”

Top US political leaders are aware that playing up such imprudent remarks will cause further damage to China-US relations and even make China-US hostility become a self-fulfilling prophecy, Xin said

The Pentagon official’s attitude shows

that they know the importance of maintaining the stability of China-US relations, he added Experts said it cannot be ruled out that the US is trying to “deter China” by using the irritation-clarification and de-escalation” approach, which occurred in

Biden’s several “slips of tongue” over the confirmation of US military interference in the Taiwan question Given the provocation came before Blinken’s possible China tour in February, some analysts believe that the US intends on using such military leverage

S even Israelis killed in Jerusalem synagogue shooting

JERUSALEM

Ag e n c i e s

Seven people have been shot dead and ten others injured in a gun attack at a synagogue in East Jerusalem This is the most killed in an attack of this kind in Israel for years T h e i n c i d e n t h a p p e n e d i n t h e c i t y ’s N e v e Ya a k o v n e i g h b o u r h o o d a t a b o u t 2 0 : 1 5 l o c a l t i m e ( 1 8 : 1 5 G M T ) P o l i c e d e s c r i b e d t h e a t t a c k e r a s a “ P a l e s t i n i a n g u n m a n a n d s a i d h e h a d b e e n n e ut r a l i s e d ” L o c a l m e d i a i d e n t i f i e d h i m a s a P a l e s t i n i a n m a n f r o m E a s t J e r u s a l e m Speaking at the scene, Israeli police commissioner Kobi Shabtai called it “one of

the worst attacks we have encountered in recent years I s r a e l i w o r s h i p p e r s h a d g a t h e r e d f o r p r a y e r s a t t h e s t a r t o f t h e J e w i s h S a bbath in a synagogue in the Jewish settlem e n t a n d w e r e l e a v i n g w h e n t h e g u n m a n o p e n e d f i r e P o l i c e s a y t h a t o ff i c e r s t h e n s h o t h i m d e a d F o r e n s i c t e a m s a r e i n v e s t i g a t i n g a w h i t e c a r t h a t a p p e a r s t o h a v e b e e n d r i v e n b y t h e g u nman Palestinian militant groups praised t h e a t t a c k , b u t d i d n o t s a y o n e o f t h e i r m e m b e r s w a s r e s p o n s i b l e

The attack was celebrated by Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with rallies and the handing out of sweets In the middle of the road is a smashed-up car The windscreen on the

indian iaF’s Sukhoi-30, Mirage 2000 aircraft crash in Madhya pradesh

MADHYA PRADESH Ag e n c i e s

An Indian Sukhoi-30 and Mirage 2000 aircraft crashed in Indian state Madhya Pradesh on Saturday The two aircraft had taken off from the Gwalior air base in Madhya Pradesh where an exercise was going on crashed near Morena area of the state The incident occurred in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district during a routine training mission on Saturday early morning, killing a pilot and injuring two who ejected safely “The aircraft were on a routine operational flying training mission “One of the three pilots involved, sustained fatal injuries An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident,” the IAF said As per reports, there could be a possibility of a mid-air collision However it has not been confirmed by either the Indian Air Force or the local administration The possible mid-air collision between the two aircraft took place when they were flying a simulated combat mission at very high speeds Some debris also fell in the Bharatpur area in Rajasthan, which borders Madhya Pradesh he added The two fighter jets had flown from the Gwalior airport, which also serves as an IAF base, the official said Meanwhile, in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir hundreds of devotees paid obeisance at the shrine of Hazrat Sheikh Bahauddin Gunj Baksh (RA) on his Urs at Nowhatta area in Srinagar According to Kashmir Media Service the Urs was organised by the Intizamiya Committee of the shrine of Hazrat Sheikh Bahauddin Gunj Baksh (RA) The devotees, including a large number of women, paid obeisance and offered special prayers at the shrine which resounded with recitations of verses of Holy Quran On the occasion orators threw light on the life of the revered saint and also highlighted his contribution

driver ’s side is punctured with bullet holes A police forensics officer with a head torch is scouring the back of the car They tell us to move back

An eyewitness tells me she saw the gunman here in the street, possibly after he was shot by the police, firing into the air as security forces ran after him This junction is a distance away from the synagogue, so it seems this is where he tried to escape

We’ve heard a few loud bangs, possibly coming from a big Palestinian neighbourhood nearby, suggesting clashes between residents and the Israeli forces The attack happened on Holocaust Memorial Day, which commemorates the six million Jews and other victims who were

killed in the Holocaust by the Nazi regime in Germany “To attack worshippers at a synagogue on Holocaust Memorial Day, and during Shabbat is horrific We stand with our Israeli friends,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly wrote on Twitter U S S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e A n t o n y B l i n k e n s a i d : “ T h e U n i t e d S t a t e s c o ndemns in the strongest terms the horrific t e r r o r i s t a t t a c k P r e s i d e n t J o e B i d e n talked with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and offered all “approp r i a t e m e a n s o f s u p p o r t , t h e W h i t e House said Shortly after the incident, Mr N e t a n y a h u v i s i t e d t h e s i t e , a s d i d t h e controversial far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir

US’ clumsy inter vention in Hong Kong affairs doomed to failure: C hinese FM

BEIJING Ag e n c e s

The spokesperson for the Commissioner ’s Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) strongly disapproved and firmly rejected the US government to take advantage of the extension of the so-called memorandum related to Hong Kong to denigrate the rule of law and human rights in Hong Kong maliciously attack the National Security Law (NSL) for Hong Kong, deliberately interfere in Hong Kong affairs and China s internal affairs and flagrantly trample on the principles of international laws and basic norms governing international relations

The spokesperson said that thanks to the full support of the central government and the joint efforts of all sectors in the HKSAR, Hong Kong is moving forward steadily on the right track of “One Country Two Systems ” Since the implementation of the NSL in Hong Kong, the HKSAR has taken on a new political atmosphere of peace shown vigorous economic vitality and returned to a stable and peaceful social situation Hong Kong’s position as an international financial, shipping and trading center has been further consolidated

It continues to rank at the top on the global indices for rule of law, security and business environment The confidence in Hong Kong s development prospects from international capitals continues to grow The facts eloquently proved that the enactment and implementation of the NSL are entirely in line with the reality of Hong Kong and have played a decisive role in realizing Hong Kong’s transition from chaos to governance and further toward prosperity

The spokesperson pointed out that the US has turned a blind eye to the fact that Hong Kong is stable, united and thriving and runs counter to the mainstream public opinion in Hong Kong which expects stability, security and advancement The real intention of delib-

erately extending the implementation period of the socalled Hong Kong-related memorandum is to manipulate visa policy to provide “safe haven” for fugitives who oppose China and destabilize Hong Kong, exposing the sinister intention of US’ expectation for chaos in Hong Kong

The spokesperson noted that the US used the socalled memorandum to smear the NSL and played up the “consequences” of Hong Kong’s NSL The fact is that since the implementation of the NSL, only 230 people have been arrested by the HKSAR police on suspicion of endangering national security, among whom more than 30 completed trial procedures and were found guilty by the court The US’ gimmickry to put Hong Kong in disorder cannot incite the clearsighted Hong Kong citizens, cannot bewitch the visionaries of the international community cannot stop the sonorous pace of Hong Kong toward governance and prosperity, and will only make the world see more clearly the shamefulness and ridiculousness of American double standard ” The spokesperson reiterated that Hong Kong is China s Hong Kong and Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs The Chinese government is firmly determined to oppose external interference in Hong Kong affairs firmly determined to safeguard China’s sovereignty, security, development and interests, and is determined to fully and accurately implement the principle of One Country Two Systems to ensure the long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong China strongly urges the US to stop its wishful thinking of using Hong Kong to contain China as soon as possible and immediately stop the clumsy show of meddling in Hong Kong affairs

The Government of the HKSAR on Friday expressed strong disapproval of and firm opposition to the latest actions under the so-called memorandum by the US government in relation to the deferred enforced departure for Hong Kong residents in the US

for more gains in the bilateral discussions

Chinese military expert Song Zhongping believes that by hyping the threats posed by China’s military, the US general is probably trying to get more military spending for his command

Although the Pentagon strives for balance in its budget allocation, commands will always ask for more military expenditure, including for training and equipment, to increase combat effectiveness, Song told the Global Times on Saturday

The AMC, according to US media, has nearly 50,000 service members and nearly 500 planes and is responsible for transport and refueling

Public information shows that before taking over at the AMC in 2021, Minihan served in a variety of Pacific-related roles since 2013, including as deputy commander of Indo-Pacific Command from September 2019 to August 2021

Analysts said that military personnel are generally cautious and avoid being imprudent when it comes to the risks of a real war because they are, after all, the ones who have to bleed on the frontline But there are always some “super-hawkish war maniacs” in the military, especially at a time when many in the US are trying to win support by joining a race to show a tougher stance on China

NEW DELHI

Ag e n c e s

Shares in the business empire of Asia s richest man Gautam Adani nosedived, extending this week’s losses to $45 billion, days after a US investment firm claimed it had committed “brazen” corporate fraud Adani, 60, began his week the world’s third-richest person but has tumbled down the rankings to seventh on Forbes’ billionaire’s tracker after losing $24bn in Friday’s trade His flagship Adani Enterprises plunged 15 per cent in Mumbai after midday, a fall of 508 45 rupees, triggering an automatic trading halt alongside five of its seven main listed subsidiaries “Obviously this is panic-selling,” JM Financials equity research chief Ashish Chaturmohta told AFP, adding that traders were creating fresh short-sell positions to protect previously made bullish bets on Adani stocks Hindenburg Research this week alleged in a report that Adani Group had used undisclosed related-party transactions and earnings manipulation to “maintain the appearance of financial health and solvency” of its listed business units But the conglomerate said on Thursday it was the victim of a “maliciously mischievous” reputational attack by Hindenburg just as it was preparing for a major fundraising round Legal chief Jatin Jalundhwala said in a statement that Hindenburg s short position in the firm, announced in the report’s release was proof the company had a vested interest in driving down Adani stocks Adani was exploring its punitive action against the research advisory in US and Indian courts, he added Hindenburg responded that Adani had ducked the issues its research had raised and instead resorted to “bluster and threats If Adani is serious, it should also file suit in the US ” the firm said in a statement “We have a long list of documents we would demand in a legal discovery process ”

F r a u d c l a i m s w i p e

$ 4 5 b o f f M o d i ’ s c l o s e f r i e n d a d a n i

U S S e n i o r g e n e r a l h y p e S w a r w i t h C h i n a i n 2 0 2 5 , ‘ r e C k l e S S a n d p r o v o C at i v e ’

ludhiana Gymkhana wins coveted 20-k cup 2023

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

pA K I S TA N ’ S e x p e r i e n c e d p a c e r Wa h a b R i a z h a s s p o k e n o u t a b o u t t h e i s s u e o f f a v o r i t i s m d u r i n g t h e t e n u r e o f f o r m e r P C B C h a i r m a n R a m i z R a j a a n d C h i e f S e l e c t o r M o h a m m a d Wa s i m

In an exclusive interview with a local media news channel Wahab criticized Wasim s selection process and questioned the sidelining of senior cricketers, such as Imad Wasim, Shoaib Malik, and Sarfaraz Ahmed

“Laptop chief selector [Wasim] did the poor selection He didn’t have justification for non-selection of players like Imad Wasim Shoaib Malik and Sarfaraz Ahmed,” he highlighted during an exclusive interview

Shoaib and Imad performed well in T20 World Cup 2021 Why their performance didn’t come on his laptop? Why they were ignored for T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia? What was their fault? the 37-years-old cricketer asked

He also highlighted the need for a limit to favoritism in the sport and argued that age should not be the sole criteria for selection

“I know Ramiz Bhai was the last authority The

chief sel b d to comm but in o commun ple who with yo commun people w to defend he menti Wa h p l a y e d m a t c h d r o p p e d a f t e r a a n c e i n t h r e e T 2 D e s p i t e n o t g i v o f a c o m h a s b e e i n g w e B a n g l a d m i e r ( B P L ) 2 He r came t pacer in

k 400 i k ts and is determined to make a the national side, particularly as year T h e r e m u s t b e a l i m i t t o n o t r i g h t t o s i d e l i n e p l a y e r s - a g e d I f a g e i s i m p o r t a n t , t h e n t h e s a m e f o r e v e r y o n e t h e g h l i g h t e d mple of Misbah Bhai, who peran at 40+ age I think the peak of s after the age of 30 There are a es too Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli all are 30+ but performing for opinion, age must not be the crisenior player is worthy for the hould be selected regardless of maintained e has stated that he will decide his re after this year s mega 50-over rmat event “ M y j o b i s t o p e r f o r m a n d m a k e m y c a s e s t r o n g e r O b v iously, it’s World Cup year and I really want to represent Paki s t a n o n c e a g a i n , a d d e d Wahab who had already stated t h a t h e w i l l d e c i d e h i s f u t u r e after this year s mega 50-over format event

Fast bowlers earn S outh Afric a dramatic win in first ODI against England

BLOEMFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA

ag e n c e S

Fast bowlers Sisanda Magala, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada earned South Africa a dramatic 27-run win in the first one-day international against England at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Friday England seemed headed for a comfortable win as Jason Roy and Dawid Malan put on 146 for the first wicket inside the first 20 overs of England’s reply to South Africa’s 298 for seven

Roy went on to score a thrilling 113 off 91 balls but the rest of the batting collapsed

Magala made the crucial breakthrough when Malan mistimed an attempted pull against a short-pitched ball and was caught for 59

He followed up by trapping debutant Harry Brook leg before wicket for nought Magala took three for 46 and was named man of the match, while Nortje (four for 62) and Rabada (two for 46) were irresistible as the match reached a climax

Five of the wickets fell to shortpitched bowling “The pitch was a bit two-paced and it made the bouncers effective, said Magala

England captain Jos Buttler said he was disappointed that his side had not maintained the aggressive intent shown by Roy and Malan “South Africa came back really well but I thought we could have kept trying to take it on and put pressure on them,”

he said

Although he finished on the losing side, Roy gave an emphatic answer to critics who have questioned his place in the team after a poor run of form since he helped England win the World Cup in 2019 He had made only one century since the World

Shoaib Malik pays tribute to Sania Mirza on her final Grand Slam appearance

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

A s I n d i a n t e n n i s s t a r S a n i a M i r z a b o w e d o u t o f h e r G r a n d S l a m c a r e e r, h e r h u s b a n d a n d P a k i s t a n i c r i c k e t e r, S h o a i b M a l i k , p o s t e d a h e a r t f e l t m e s s a g e f o r h e r T h e 3 6y e a r- o l d a t h l e t e w h o p l a y e d h e r f i r s t G r a n d S l a m 1 8 y e a r s a g o e a r l i e r t o d a y p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e l a s t A u s t r a l i a n O p e n e v e n t o f h e r c a r e e r C a l l i n g h e r h o p e f o r a l l w o m e n i n s p o r t s , t h e c r i c k e t e r s a i d t h a t h e w a s p r o u d o f e v e r y t h i n g t h a t M i r z a h a s a c h i e v e d i n h e r l o n g - s p a n n i n g c a r e e r Ta ki n g t o I n s t a g r a m , t h e P a k i s t a n c r i c k e t e r s t a t e d : Yo u a r e t h e m u c h - n e e d e d h o p e f o r a l l t h e w o m e n i n s p o r t s S u p e r p r o u d o f y o u f o r a l l y o u h a v e a c h i e v e d i n y o u r c a r e e r Yo u r e a n i n s p i r a t i o n f o r m a n y, k e e p g o i n g s t r o n g M a n y c o n g r a t u l a t i o n s o n a n u n b el i e v a b l e c a r e e r ”

Cup, against second-tier Netherlands, and his previous eight innings had yielded only 160 runs with a highest score of 43 Archer expensive: But Roy was in dominant form from the start of his innings, reaching his fifty off 45 balls and his century off 79 deliveries He hit 11 fours and four sixes

Rassie van der Dussen hit a contrasting century to enable South Africa to post a challenging total Van der Dussen made 111 off 117 balls, hitting only six boundaries He held the innings together as England’s

bowlers came back strongly after an opening stand of 61 off 52 balls between Quinton de Kock and captain Temba Bavuma

England fast bowler Jofra Archer was expensive in his first one-day international since September 2020, taking one for 81 in ten overs But the rest of the England bowlers made the batsmen work hard for their runs on a slow pitch

South Africa’s total was only 12 runs higher than the average first innings total on a ground known for high scoring

Left-armer Sam Curran took three for 35 in nine overs mixing up his pace and making good use of the bouncer a formula which later worked well for the South Africans

The three-match series is part of the World Cup Super League and the win was a boost for South Africa who have yet to earn automatic qualification for the World Cup in India later this year Bavuma said South Africa had gone into the series determined to play good cricket whether or not they qualified for the World Cup “We’re happy with the way we went about our business but obviously we need the points,” he said

Ludhiana Gymkhana Cricket Club won the 20-K Cup 2023 T20 Cricket Tournament title after defeating Cricket Center Cricket Club by 47 runs in the final played here at the Model Town Greens Ground on Saturday Dawood Barry President Managing Committee of Cooperative Model Town Society, along with Mr Nabeel Ahmad, sponsor and patron of the 20-K Cup 2023, graced the prize distribution ceremony as chief guests and distributed prizes among the winners and top performers in the presence of galaxy of former Test cricketers Misbah ul Haq, Abdul Razzaq Aizaz Cheema Muhammad Ilyas as well as Muhammad Mushtaq, Shoaib Dar, Wahab Dar, Bilal Javaid, Kashif Butt, Farhan Nisar and others Ludhiana Gymkhana were off to flying start as they stitched some good partnerships to pile up a decent total of 163 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in the allotted 20 overs Asim Ali Nasir was the hero of the match as he played a sensational knock of 54 runs off 35 balls that included a good number of boundaries and sixes The other key contributors from the winning team, who batted with authority and struck significant runs were Muhammad Waqas, hammered 48-ball 53 runs, and Fahad Munir, who slammed 27 runs

Muhammad Ali bowled well for Cricket Center Center and bagged two wickets for 32 runs while Usama Mir got one wicket Cricket Center couldn’t chase the required target because of some irresponsible batting displays by their players, who also failed to create a big partnership, that might save their sing ship The losing side could score just 116 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in 20 overs Bilawal Iqbal was top scorer from Cricket Center as he scored 32 runs off 27 balls while Ali Zafar played 26 balls to gather only 18 runs No other batters could add significant runs in their team’s total, which lost the final by 47 runs Kashif Saddiuqe bowled well and clinched three wickets for 12 runs while Muhammad Junaid grabbed three wickets for 31 and Intasar Ali got one wicket Asim Ali Nasir emerged as player of the final Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nabeel Ahmad said that the purpose of conducting this event which was named after my father Col Fateh Sher Khan, was to provide the club cricketers a big platform to showcase their talent and earn big prize money

brian lara to act as per formance mentor for West indies

BARBADOS

S ta f f R e p o R t

Cricket West Indies (CWI) said batting great Brian Lara has agreed to take on the role of performance mentor to help players and coaches in all three formats of the game The 53-year-old, who was part of a review panel formed after West Indies faltered in the first round of last year ’s T20 World Cup would support the head coaches in providing players with tactical advice and improving their game sense”, the CWI said in a statement The former captain would also work closely with Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams on World Cup planning, the board added “Having spent time with the players and coaches in Australia and in discussions with CWI I really believe that I can help the players with their mental approach to the game and with their tactics to be more successful,” Lara said in the statement I m looking forward to joining the group in Zimbabwe and the opportunity to work with other West Indies teams later in the year ” Lara’s first assignment will be a two-test series in Zimbabwe beginning in Bulawayo on Feb 4, while the 50-overs World Cup in India later this year will be high on the men’s team’s agenda

Djokovic stands on brink of 22nd major title

MELBOURNE

S ta f f R e p o R t

Novak Djokovic stands on the brink of a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title and it is his determination to be the greatest ever which drives him on through the controversies

The 35-year-old Serb is already one major clear of Roger Federer and victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open final on Sunday will draw him level with Rafael Nadal

For Djokovic, it matters to be the best and he has a strong sense of his historical place in tennis

But he also keeps ploughing on through the highs and lows because it is a great school of life

“I play professional tennis for several different reasons,” he said in Melbourne

“Some personal reason is that I feel on the tennis court I always have an opportunity to learn something new about myself, I guess fight with my own demons that I guess we all have

When we re on the tennis court in the midst of a battle, some of the things surface, and I have to deal with it, so it’s a great school of life for me

“Then at the same time, of course, I have professional goals and ambitions he added “Those are Grand Slams and being number one in the world

So I do want to make more history in this sport, no doubt ”

But while Federer and Nadal are widely admired Djokovic continues to divide as well as unite, despite being one of the greatest players to grace tennis His staggering achievements on court have often been overshadowed by blunders and missteps off it

The latest was his father posing with a Russian flag featuring Vladimir Putin’s face at this year ’s Australian Open But easily the most controversial was his refusal to get vaccinated against Covid, which culminated with Djokovic last year being deported from Australia on the eve of the tournament

Even before that, the Serb was seemingly doomed never to be held in the same esteem as Federer or Nadal, the undisputed people’s champions

There are those who see something too calculating in the Djokovic make-up – an intense, brooding presence prone to affectation His infamous default from the US Open in 2020 for petulantly swiping at a ball that hit a female line

judge gave a glimpse of his fiery character And some of his personal stances have drawn criticism – one claim that raised eyebrows was his belief that it was possible to alter the composition of water and food through positive thinking

However, the career achievements and resolve of a player who was the first to smash through the $150 million prize-money barrier cannot be doubted

Djokovic who left Belgrade when he was 12 to train in Munich and escape NATO’s bombardment of his home city, has won 21 Grand Slam titles in his career haul of 92

He captured the first of his majors at the Australian Open in 2008 but it was three years before he added his second He dropped gluten from his diet, his lithe physique allowing him to chase down lost causes, transforming him into the rubber man of tennis with a rocksteady defence

In 2011 he enjoyed a spectacular year, winning three of three Slams and becoming world number one for the first time In total, he has nine Australian Opens, seven Wimbledons, three US Open titles and two French Opens

And time appears to be on his side

W a h a b a c c u S e S f o r M e r t o p S e l e c t o r

o f ‘ S i D e l i n i n G ’ S e n i o r c r i c k et e r S

PPP leaders say wIll sue IMran over ‘bIz arre’ allegatIons agaInst z ardarI

ther Asif Ali Zardari

Customs Intelligence seizes 12780 bottles liquor impor ted in garb of diplomatic cargo

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

tH E Pakistan People s Party (PPP) on Saturday announced serving a legal notice to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

Chairman Imran Khan after he claimed that PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was behind a new plot to assassinate him

In a joint news conference PPP leaders – Farhatullah Babar, Nayyar Bukhari, and Qamar Zaman Kaira criticized Imran over his allegations saying that former premier had “lost his mind” and the party would issue a legal notice, demanding he rescinds his allegations

They announced starting a legal battle against Imran Khan if the allegations were not withdrawn

PPP stalwart Nayyar Bukhari said that Imran Khan made bizarre claims against Zardari to keep himself relevant in politics, saying that this time, the allegations hurled by the PTI chief were quite serious and would be met with a

stern response

He urged the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take notice of the allegations leveled against former president Asif Zardari

Speaking during the news conference, Qamar Zaman Kaira stated that the allegations levelled by Imran were extremely serious and would be met with a strong response

Kaira also called on the Supreme

Minister urges speedy, qualit y work on development projects

Punjab Caretaker Minister for Local Governments

Ibrahim Hasan Murad said on Saturday that the provincial government would provide all kinds of support for completion of development projects and also ensure relief to people Presiding over a meeting on development projects of the Local Government Department he said that the government would not let the cost go beyond the fixed limit by controlling the expenditures He instructed the officers to take the local community of the place where there was a public project into confidence and work with their cooperation The provincial minister said, “I will try my best to provide the best civic facilities to all villages of Punjab like the cities and make every possible effort to fulfill the aspirations of the nation by doing work hard for the days in power ” He said that he would ensure the use the national money honestly for public welfare

The LG minister said that support from the education sector would be beneficial for the master planning of cities He asserted, “Punjab Cities Programme is very important for development of small tehsils while restoration of old Lahore will enhance the beauty of the modern city along with foreign tourism Ibrahim Murad said that keeping cities and villages clean was a responsibility of the government as well as the people He said that effective steps should be taken to complete all development projects on time and quality should be ensured The senior officers should take ownership of the work of the development projects and supervise them he said He also encouraged the best performing officers Earlier, LG Secretary Syed Mubasher Hussain and other officers, while giving a briefing on development projects, informed the meeting about the problems and legal complications apprehended in foreign funded projects

Court to investigate the allegations and take appropriate action if these were proved to be false

‘ P P P w i l l c h a l l e n g e i m r a n’s a l l e g at i o n s’: On the other hand, Pakistan People Party (PPP) Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday announced legal action against PTI chairman Imran Khan for his allegations against his fa-

The PPP chairman took to Twitter and responded to PTI chairman Imran Khan’s allegations

He said that Imran Khan levelled false allegations against his father, former president Asif Ali Zardari and PPP will challenge his allegations

The terrorist organization has directly threatened me and my party, and such allegations have increased threats for me, my father and my family Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said they will take these accusations seriously as they have been a target of terrorism in the past and the party is exploring legal response to these accusations

He lambasted the former prime minister Imran Khan that he and his associates have a history as both sympathizers & facilitators of terrorists

The PPP chairman tweeted that When Imran Khan was in power he released terrorists & arrested democrats The PTI chairman handed over Pakhtunkhwa to the terrorist organization Bilawal claimed

Pakistan denounces Islamophobic ac t in Denmark

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday condemned “in the strongest terms the act of desecration of the Holy Quran by Danish politician Rasmus Paludan a day before, according to an official statement

Having strongly condemned recent such incidents in Sweden and the Netherlands, Pakistan today termed the abhorrent act done in Denmark senseless and deeply offensive” while declaring Paludan an Islamophobe

In the statement the FO said the “repetition of the vile act leaves little doubt in the minds of Muslims around the world that freedom of expression is being blatantly abused to spread religious hatred and incitement to violence”

Terming the recent acts as racist and Islamophobic the FO called on the “national governments as well as the international community to prevent such acts

Pakistan also raised its concern about the “legal framework behind which the Islamophobes hide and spread hatred with impunity , asserting the international community cannot turn a blind eye to these hate mongers”

Reiterating its position that

“freedom of expression comes with responsibilities”, the FO said that Pakistan s concerns were being conveyed to the authorities in Denmark Urging the authorities to be mindful of the sentiments of Muslims around the world, Pakistan asked them to “take steps to prevent such hateful and Islamophobic acts”

Paludan, the leader of Denmark’s far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), burned a copy of the Holy Quran in front of a mosque in Denmark on Friday, leading to great outrage among Muslims all over the world

He had also committed a similar act on Jan 21 when he set a copy of the Holy Quran on fire during an anti-Islam and anti-immigration protest in front of the

Turkish embassy in Sweden

The act had led to strong denunciation by Pakistani politicians including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, outgoing Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) secretary-general

Friday’s is the third such incident within a week A day after Paludan had done so in Sweden, Edwin Wagensveld who heads the Dutch chapter of a German antiIslam group tore pages out of the holy scripture in the Netherlands during a one-man protest on Jan 22

A day ago, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution expressing its deepest dismay and shock at the “vicious and vile acts” in Sweden and Netherlands

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Customs Intelligence has seized 12780 bottles of Liquor and Beer Cans worth Rs252 million imported in the garb of diplomatic cargo

According to documents, the directorate general of Intelligence and Investigation Customs received specific information that an attempt will be made to smuggle liquor in the garb of diplomatic cargo ostensibly imported in the name of the Embassy of the State of Palestine

In pursuance, a consignment being imported under exemption certificate No 3003 dated 10 10 2022 in the name of Khalil H A Ghalyoun, First Secretary Embassy of the State of Palestine vide GD No KAPE-PP-88748-08-12-2022 said to contain household effects was blocked on 08-12-2022 after the GD was assigned to gate out

In line with the provisions of article 36 of the Diplomatic and Consular privileges Act, 1972 read with Article 36(2) of Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Islamabad was requested vide letter dated 09-12-2022 to approach the Embassy for sending an authorized representative for joint examination

The MOFA vide letter dated 29-12-2022, requested the Embassy to depute a representative for examination on the scheduled date i e 02-01-2023

However, no representative of the Embassy appeared on the date The MOFA provided the Embassy with the last chance to nominate a representative for examination on 06-01-2023 when again no one from the Embassy joined Eventually, MOFA vide letter dated 06-01-2023 informed the Directorate that the Embassy has disowned the consignment and has conveyed that the shipping line wants to re-export the consignment

The MOFA referred the matter to the Directorate “to take appropriate action as per Government of Pakistan’s laws/rules/policies” The Directorate conducted scanning of the consignment which revealed the presence of a huge quantity of bottles Thereafter, the Directorate proceeded with examination of the container

On opening of the container, a small quantity of assorted plastic chairs and plastic flowers were found stacked in front of the container behind which 17 pallets consisting of 1057 cartons of assorted liquor bottles and beer cans were hidden having approx value of Rs 252 million (Detailed inventory enclosed as Annex-III)

It is important to note that the sticker of Shipping Line Ocean World Lines International LLC dated 11/11/22 with BL No 152112002238 (corresponding with the BL No as on exemption certificate 3003 dated 10 10 2022) with destination as Karachi was found pasted over transparent wrappings of all the Pallets This aspect effectively negates the Shipping Line’s reported claim that the container was “misdirected”

It is abundantly evident from the examination report that the information was correct and a clandestine attempt to smuggle liquor in the garb of diplomatic cargo has been effectively foiled by the Directorate After examination, the recovered goods were restuffed in the container and re-sealed and Musheernama-cum-inventory of the goods prepared on the spot and duly signed by all present

The goods have been seized under Sec 168 of Customs Act 1969 Accordingly seizure report has been forwarded for adjudication and Criminal proceedings have been initiated

C h i n e s e f i r m s r e a d y f o r J Vs i n p a r t s m a n u f a c t u r i n g o f m o b i l e i n d u s t r y

ISLAMABAD G h u l a m a b b a S

As the mobile phone sector has shown tremendous growth since it started manufacturing/assembling smartphones in the country following the mobile policy introduced in 2020, Chinese firms are interested in making joint ventures with Pakistani companies for parts manufacturing and export of phone sets from Pakistan

These were claimed by local mobile phone manufacturers/assemblers during a mobile device manufacturing summit held here on Tuesday The event was organized by the Engineering Development Board (EDB) and Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturing Association (PMPMA)

While addressing the summit, Vice Chairman of PMPMA Aamir Aallwala said that China has 48 percent share in global mobile phone sets exports “We could also become a major exporter even if 10 percent of Chinese exports are routed from Pakistan after joint ventures between Chinese and local firms initially for assembly or parts manufacturing of mobile phones,” he said,

adding that Chinese firms were interested in doing JVs with Pakistani firms

“What we need is government’s support, consistency of policy and stability he said

According to him, India, which initiated manufacturing of mobile phones in 2017, was doubling exports every year Even the firms in the auto sector were also interested in manufacturing plastic accessories of the smart phones, he claimed

Earlier addressing the summit Federal Minister for Industry and Production Makhdoom Murtaza Mahmud said that the mobile phone manufacturing industry would flourish more under the second phase of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

He said that the country was going through a hard time, but it was everyone’s responsibility, including politicians, the private sector and stakeholders to work together, adding that mobile manufacturing was a new industry, therefore, they were facing difficulties

Mahmud said that by improving the mobile industry, the country s needs could be fulfilled from domestic production

He said that the devaluation of the rupee

had reduced labor costs and added that the export could be increased by enhancing mobile manufacturing He said that Pakistan will come out of these situations in the short term, but “we have to make a long-term policy”

Meanwhile, Secretary, Ministry of Industry and Production Imdadullah Bosal highlighted that in 2020 a policy was launched to increase the production and half the journey had been completed while half was left He said We need to upgrade technology, boost productivity to increase the labour market, and the policies that work in Vietnam and Malaysia may not work here ”

Senior GM Policy Engineering Development Board Asim Ayaz said that friendly policies had been introduced for the mobile phone industry

He said that local production of mobiles in Pakistan was “continuously increasing”, except for one company, all major brands of mobiles were made in Pakistan Around US$ 2 6 billion had been invested in the local mobile manufacturing industry in the country, Ayaz highlighted Vice Chairman Mobile Manufacturing

Association Muzzaffar Piracha said that if the government provides an enabling environment for mobile manufacturers, the exports in the industry could cross the $14 billion mark within three years”

He said that the industry could bring Pakistan out of deficit as the government is able to meet 95% of Pakistan’s local mobile

demand in two years However he said the mobile manufacturers want support from the government to enhance the export Piracha said that due to government policy, all mobiles were now being manufactured in Pakistan “We have created 40,000 employment opportunities, and more than 20,000 retailers are associated with this business ”