Epaper_23-01-30 ISB

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PM Shehbaz calls for global unity to fight Islamophobia

r s 1 5 . 0 0 | vo l x i i i n o 2 1 2 i 1 2 pa g e s i i s l a m a b a d e d i t i o n

Nawaz feels aggrieved at POL price hike, says Sanaullah

Govt ‘shocks’ public with ‘whoppinG’ Rs35 hike in pol pRices

g dr Ishfaque says Increa se

To furTher fuel

InflaTIon raTe

g TransPorTers, Traders denounce Pol PrIce hIke, raIse InTercITy fares by 30Pc

g PTI rejecTs announcemenT, sayIng PeoPle Pay for rulers IncomPeTence

pel rumours about petrol supplies running dr y

This rise is be ng done mmediate y on the recommendation of the oil and gas regulator y authority who sa d there were reports of artificial shortages and hoarding of fuel in anticipat on of price rises hence this price rise is being done immediately to combat this sources said that the four-month strategy of finance m nister Ishaq dar badly failed as the federal government led by Premier shehbaz sharif has taken so far some tough decisions inc uding remova of cape lock on dollar rate increase in petro eum pr ces to please the International monetar y fund (Imf)

Fawad seeks medical examination amid fears of police mistreatment

Tragic lasbela, Tanda dam incidents claim 52 lives

LASBeLA/KoHAt s ta f f r e p o r t

iSLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

FInance m i n i s t e r I s h a q d a r o n s u nd a y a n n o u n c e d a ‘ w h o p p i n g ’ r s 3 5 i n c r e a s e i n p e t r o l a n d d i e s e l p r i c e s for next seventeen days adding furt h e r t o t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s b e n g f a c e d b y t h e p u b l i c

In a televised address the finance minister said that “ We have decided to increase the price of petrol and diesel by rs35

The price of kerosene oil and light diese oil has been increased by rs18 ” dar said add ng that the new prices would come nto effect at 11am sunday The new pr ce of Petrol would be rs249 80 per litre high speed diesel: rs262 80 per litre kerosene oil: rs189 83 per litre and light diesel oi rs187 per itre sources said that the government has also increased Petro eum deve opment levy on d esel to rs40 from rs35 per itre whereas t reduced Pdl on kerosene o l and light diesel o l

The f nance min ster said that the Pakistani rupee saw devaluation ast week and now “ we are seeing an 11 per cent increase in the prices of petro eum products n the international market

justifying the case he said the pr ce increase had been made in l ne with the 11% rise in oil prices n the internationa market dar defended the government as saying that the cost of petro was not increased n the previous four months and instead t was decreased by roughly rs20 for both petrol and diesel and by rs29 and rs30 for kerosene and light diesel large queues of veh cles were seen at petro pumps in karachi, lahore, quetta and other cities of Pak stan from saturday evening to sunday morning amid ta k of oil price hike since saturday night when news of the increase in petrol prices circu ated peop e have been ining up at the petrol pumps to replenish the tanks

It is also pertinent to note that petroleum product prices are announced fortnight y, on 1st and 15th of ever y month but government has ncreased prices today on 29th of the month however dar said that ogra had advised Prime m nister shehbaz sharif to implement the new rates on an immediate basis to prevent the temporar y hoarding and the specuations about the shortage of o l shortage

The f nance minister further hoped that the announcement of new prices would dis-

comment ng on the Pol price hike dean of nusT dr Ishfaque hassan said that today ’s announcement by finance min ster Ishaq dar to increase the petroleum prices wil further fuel the nf ation rate in the coming days in the countr y he sa d that the countr y has been toy in the hands of the Imf, adding that he said that the nation should prepare itse f to face severe economic cond tions in the coming months “ We are at the mercy of the Imf and Pak stan has no other opt on but to ook towards Imf”, he said

Wh le commenting on the situation shahid mehmood an economist in PIde said that the Ishaq dar should have to follow the agreed po icies of his predecessor miftah Ismai to run the countr y s economy

The sudden high dens ty shock cou d be averted if the dar follows market based exchange regime adding that mehmood said that econom c po c es of Ishaq dar have been fai ed and he should res gn TransporTers, Traders denounce new oil price hike: lead ng trading and transport bodies in the countr y over whelmingly on sunday re ected a amssive increase in the pr ces of petro eum products announced by the federal government

Transporters also announced hike in intercity and intra city fares and warned of shutting down transport if the government created any hurdles finance minister Ishaq dar announced an increase in the price of petro and diesel by rs 35

a s m a n y a s 4 1 p e r s o n s w e r e k e d w h e n a p a s s e n g e r coach fell into a rav ne in lasb e l a a r e a o f b a l o c h i s t a n o n sunday morning while 11 child r e n s t u d y n g i n a r e l i g i o u s s e m i n a r y d r o w n e d i n Ta n d a

d a m n e a r s h a h p u r i n ko h a t officials conf rmed

eleven other 11 ch dren were rescued out of which four were in crit ca condition lasbela assistant commissioner hamza anjum, while confirming the incident that the vehicle with nearly 48 passengers on board, was travelling from quetta to karachi due to speeding the coach crashed into the pil ar of a br dge while taking a u-turn near lasbela The vehicle subsequent y careened nto a ravine and then caught fire he sa d anjum added that three people includ ng a child and a woman have been rescued alive however, one of the injured persons succumbed to his njuries on the way to the hospital

The off cer feared that the number of casualt es could further increase to 48 he added that the bodies recovered from the wrecked bus were un dentifiab e and dna testing wi l be done for the identificat on of the deceased

ramshackle highways, ax safety measures and reckless driv ng contribute to Pak stan s dire road safety record

Passenger buses are frequently crammed to capacity and seatbelts are not commonly worn meaning high death to s from sing e-vehicle accidents are common according to World hea th organisation est mates, more than 27 000 people were killed on Pakistan s roads in 2018

In june ast year, at east 22 people were kil ed ncluding nine members of a fam ly when a passenger van fell into a rav ne near qila sa ful ah district of northern ba ochistan

The van carr ying 23 passengers and en route to Zhob from loralai, fell into the 200foot-deep ravine when it reached the akhtar zai area

The one sur vivor a 13year-old boy was taken to hospital in a critical condition, said hafiz muhammad qasim kakar the deputy commissioner of qila saifu lah p r e s i d e n T, p M e x p r e s s d e e p g r i e F ov e r lo s s o F l i v e s i n l a s B e l a ac c i d e n T: Pr e s i d e n t d r a r i f a l v i a n d Pr i m e m i n i s t e r s h e h b a z s h a r i f o n s u n d a y e xp r e s s e d t h e i r d e e p g r i e f a n d s o r r o w o v e r o s s o f l i v e s i n a t r a g i c b u s a c c d e n t i n la sb e l a b a l o c h i s t a n

g founded In 1963, grouP Includes Well Pharmacy and cosTcuTTer and besT-one chaIns

pr ofit report

The 87-year-o d who remains bestway s chair had left his native Pakistan seven years earlier for britain where he had taken on a variety of jobs ncluding a period spent as a bus conductor in bradford

Per vez ’s convenience store business took off, putting 10 shops in london under his management frustration with who esale suppliers prompted

Per vez and partners to open the r own wholesale business believing they cou d operate w th lower margins than competitors wh le providing stock to local independent retailers Thus, in 1976, bestway Wholesa e was born with a depot in acton west london on the company ’s webs te, Per vez describes the excitement he felt before the opening I d d not think then that more than four decades on we would be the largest independent wholesaler in the uk he wrote let alone that bestway group

would grow to become a divers fied mult national bus ness with interest across multiple sectors ” bestway opened a str ng of warehouses across britain in the 1980s and 90s over the years, Pervez ’s nephew Zameer choudrey joined the company and later its board and today he s the group’s chief executive whi e also sitting as a conser vative peer in the house of lords

The company credits choudrey w th diversifying the business Its first overseas investment was the acqu sition of a rice mil n Pak stan run by younus sheikh, who became chair of bestway Wholesale further business ventures included the creation of a cement manufacturing business in Pak stan bestway cement, one of the countr y ’s largest, while the group also took a strategic stake in one of Pakistan s b ggest banks un ted bank limited bestway now describes itself as the seventh largest family bus ness in brita n It is sti l owned by the Per vez choudrey and sheikh families and

has made billionaires of choudrey and Per vez who was knighted in 1999 more recent acquisit ons have included the purchase of the huddersfield-based batleys wholesale chain, which made bestway the second largest uk wholesaler a conven ence store in earl ’s court, west london may seem an unlike y launchpad for a multinational conglomerate but that is where the bestway group began

The company – which is now one of the uk s largest grocer y who esalers and a so the owner of Well Pharmacy stores and the costcutter and bestone conven ence chains has paid roughly £200m for a 3 45% stake in sainsbur y ’s, making it the sixth largest investor in britain s second largest grocer bestway which s still privately owned can trace its origins back to a corner shop called kashm r opened in the capital in 1963 by its founder sir anwar Per vez

In 2014 it paid £620m for co-operative group s chain of retail pharmacies, which t later rebranded as Well Pharmacy Its takeover of the costcutter convenience store chain comp eted in 2021

The group said t had a turnover of £4 5bn in ts most recent resu ts for the year to june 2022 from its interests across the who esa e, pharmacy, real estate cement and bank ng sectors It sa d it has 28 000 employees in the uk Pakistan and the middle east, and more than 12 million customers bestway group has an up fting business stor y , sa d clive black, a retai analyst with shore capital, a though he described the sainsbur y ’s stake as a surprise The group sa d it could buy more sa nsbur y ’s shares, but for now t has ru ed out making a bid for the retailer T h e j o u r n e y f r o m h a v i n g o n e c o r n e r s h o p t o being the sixth largest shareho der in sa nsbur y ’s s a n e n t r e p r e n e u r i a j o u r n e y t h a t f e w c o u l d h a v e p r e d c t e d

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

Ag e N C i e s

aN estimated 60,000 Sikhs voted for Khalistan Referendum in a strong show of defiance to the Indian govt’s attempts to stop the local Sikhs from taking part in the democratic voting system to raise demand for the creation of Khalistan in Indian Punjab

The independent observers and the Sikhs

For Justice the organising group said the total number of Sikhs who cast their votes stood between 55,000 to 60,000 by the time the doors were closed by the centre management as well the Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC), while a large queue was still in place outside stretching from the voting centre all the way to the Flinders Street Station

While nearly 60 000 Sikh men and women – over the age of 18 – were eligible to cast their votes, an estimated 15,000 voters were unable to cast their votes due to time limitation There was a stampede when

those standing in the queue crashed the entrance gate and made their way to the voting hall to cast their votes in the last 10 minutes Thousands more stood outside in queues waiting to get in but stopped by the PRC members as time to extend voting was not allowed

The local Sikh leader Gurminder Singh

iG Punjab directs to improve per formance of complaint management system

LAHORE

s tA f f R e p o R t

Inspector General Police Punjab Dr Usman Anwar directed the officers to improve the performance of 1787 complaint management system and police response to citizens’ complaints through effective supervision and close monitoring He gave these instructions taking to officers and staff during his visit to the 1787 Complaint Management System at the Central Police Office here on Sunday He emphasised upon that those officers or personnel who show delay in action on complaints sent from 1787, a departmental action should not be delayed against them Dr Usman Anwar directed that DIG IAB, AIG Complaints and AIG Inspection would listen to the calls of 1787 on daily basis and they would also contact with concerned RPO and DPO to redress the calls related to serious problems of the citizens Moreover IG Punjab will himself talk to the citizens and issue orders on the complaints pointed out by DIG IAB IG Punjab directed to ensure the departmental accountability of those who were not interested in complaints of citizens and from the district where the complaint of delay in registration of FIR or flawed investigation was received, disciplinary action against those responsible would not be delayed after inquiry He said that the IGP Complaint Center 1787 was being made a relief centre for the citizens in the true sense and said that he would personally check the action report on the citizens’ complaints IG Punjab listened to the phone calls of the citizens and issued orders while inspecting the staff working IG Punjab issued show cause notices to DSP Khanpur and Chobara Layyah SHO Zahir Peer and City Mianwali for non-registration of FIR The IG Punjab directed RPO Bahawalpur to take immediate action and send a report on the complaint of fraud by a woman resident of Bahawalnagar Likewise, DPO had been directed to take departmental and legal action against the officials after an inquiry on the woman’s complaint against the police personnel in Sahiwal The IG Punjab ordered DPOs to take action against those responsible for the delay in FIR registration on the complaints of the citizens of Kasur and Gujranwala

On the call of a journalist, he ordered to increase patrolling and take counter measures in different areas of Lahore to end the menace of drug

said in his speech to those waiting outside that they will be able to participate in the voting for their homeland of Khalistan in a separate voting date, which will be announced in due course He regretted that thousands waited in queues and had to be turned back due as the voting ended at 5PM

The Khalistan Referendum campaign is

being run across the world by pro-Khalistan Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) whose counsel general Gurpatwant Singh Pannun welcomed the turnout at Melbourne’s Federation Square

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun stated: “The first phase of Khalistan Referendum voting in Melbourne has established the fact that Sikhs are for Khalistan and will continue the peaceful and democratic process under the United Nations Charter to liberate Punjab from Indian occupation

“Khalistan is the only solution as successive Indian regimes from Indira Gandhi to Narendra Modi have committed the genocide of Sikhs with impunity ”

He added: After seeing Sikh people s support for Khalistan, the liberation of Punjab from Indian occupation is inevitable and we do agree with Modi that India should be only Hindu country and BJP-RSS also should continue with Hindutva agenda ”

The Melbourne Khalistan Referendum voting centre was dedicated to Shaheed Bhai Satwant Singh and Shaheed Bhai Kehar

D ar links economic stability with stric t financial discipline

ISLAMABAD s tA f f R e p o R t

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar on Sunday said that strict financial discipline was needed to achieve economic stability in Pakistan, without which the economy would not grow While addressing the two-day “Bacha Khan, Wali Khan and 21st Century” Conference in Islamabad, he said the recent economic challenges and inflation were due to the poor financial discipline of the former government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

Ishaq Dar said the solution to the current challenges of the country lies in the promotion of the constitution, democracy, education, non-violence, and dialogue which was the philosophy of legendary leader, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known as Bacha Khan He said that Bacha Khan fought for non-violence and democracy all his life and his struggle continues even today He said that big decisions are needed to get the country out of the crises and to bring economic stability to the country

The minister said: “We fought the war of terrorism with our own resources and provided our abundant resources for it and will continue to do so in the future

The principle and ideology of our politics are to serve the people and our government is committed to it Ishaq Dar said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government had left the gross domestic production (GDP) growth at above 6 percent in 2018 We left the GDP at $356 8 billion with an increase of $122 billion During our previous

government, international rating agencies were predicting Pakistan to join the G20 by 2030, he added The minister said “We had a choice to save the country or our politics, but we sacrificed politics for the sake of the country

He said the per capita income was $1 798 during the PML-N previous government, which went to $1,768 in the PTI government

He said the inflation rate was 8 6 percent in the former PML-N government, which came to “double digits during the PTI era Along with this, he added, food inflation was just two percent during the last PML-N regime, which reached 12 percent during the PTI’s tenure Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced an increase in petrol and diesel prices by Rs35 per litre effective immediately

The finance minister maintained that kerosene oil and light diesel oil prices were being jacked up by Rs18 per litre Following today’s hike, petroleum is to be sold at a rate of Rs249 80 per litre, while diesel prices have been raised to Rs262 80 per litre Kerosene oil will be available at Rs189 83 per litre while light diesel oil will cost consumers Rs187 per litre

KSA grieved over loss of 41 lives in road mishap

ISLAMABAD s tA f f R e p o R t

Saudi Arabia has expressed profound grief over loss of more than 41 precious lives in a road accident in Lasbela district of Balochistan

In a statement issued here on Sunday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Saudi Arabia offered sincere condolence and sympathies of the Kingdom

to the bereaved families and government of Pakistan on tragic mishap

The KSA’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also prayed for early recovery of those injured in the accident It s worth mentioning here that on Sunday morning a passenger coach with about 48 passengers onboard, fell into a ravine in Balochistan province As many as 41 people lost their lives in the accident while seven received serious injuries

Shujaat Hussain’s niece, but he himself isn’t one And being a journalist, he s obviously far from being a bureaucrat There’s no reason why Jats can’t be bureaucrats

Fawad ‘Nelson’ Chaudhry has changed his name after arrest He has renamed himself after Nelson Mandela Fawad, or rather Nelson, is also struggling against racism and apartheid It seems that bad times have come for the Jats of Punjab First one of them retired as COAS, and then another dissolved the Punjab Assembly and thus lost the Chief Ministership And though both parties, the PTIPML(Q) and the PML(N) had recommended a total of three Jat bureaucrats as caretaker CM, the ECP chose Mohsin Naqvi The government had recommended Cabinet Secretary Ahmad NawazSukhera and former Chief Secretary

Naveed Akram Cheema, both Jats and civil servants, while the PML(N) had also recommended Ahad Cheema another Jat civil servant, previously under NAB custody, now PM s Adviser Jat rule is not new to Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and his sons Kharak Sindh and Duleep Singh, were Sindhu Jats Then there is a long gap as the Raj then took over The succeeding Governors were all Brits, and ICS officers I wonder if any ‘natives’ would have become Governors that way if the Raj had lasted until 1990, say Be that as it may, Ch Nelson is struggling for Jat rights His uncle the late Ch Altaf Hussain, was the last Jat Governor I can think of, and possibly the only since Partition Ch Parvez was not the first Jat to become CM, Sardar Arif Nakai was However, Mohsin Naqvi is not a Jat He might be related to Jats being married to Ch

They ve been lawyers, with one being the current federal Law Minister and another the President (after also having been a Supreme Court judge), not to forget Fawad’s own uncle who was Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court

However, while Nelson Mandela was a lawyer he wasn’t a Jat He struggled against apartheid, not for Jat rights Bhgwant Singh Mann, the Indian Punjab CM, and Manohar Lal Khattar the HaryanaCM are the only Jat chief executives left A Jat, Jagmeet Singh Ghaliwal, does lead Canada’s New Democratic Party but he s unlikely ever to become PM The PTI mistake was not to put up a Syed candidate The last caretaker Punjab CM was Hassan Askari Rizvi so Mohsin Naqvi does fit the pattern As the only Syed on both sides, he was a shoo-in He named fast bowler Wahab Riaz to be his Sports Minister and journalist Amir Mir

Singh – the assassins of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

The voting started at 8am local time but thousands started arriving at the centre from around 7am Thousands of Sikhs formed queues in Melbourne’s Federation Square to cast their votes for Khalistan Referendum voting at the sprawling local arts centre Within an hour, the queue stretched to around 2 kilometres going past the Finders Train station to the deep town Sikh youth, men, women and elderly formed queues carrying banners and flags of Khalistan and chanting slogans of Khalistan Zindabad (Long Live Khalistan), Ban Kay Rehay Ga Khalistan (Khalistan will be formed at any cost) and Hindutva Namanzoor (No to Hidutva) At the entrance of the centre, large banners hung reading Khalistan Referendum, Punjab, Shimla Capital” and “Khalistan Referendum, Secession of Punjab from India

Sikh men arrived in jeeps, cars and coaches to take part in voting Outside the venue a group of Dholists played traditional Punjabi dhol, Sangat songs and chanted slogans for the martyrs of 1984 Operation Blue Star and for the freedom of Punjab The voting in the referendum, which started in October 2021 in the UK’s seven cities, has so far been held also in Switzerland Italy and two Canadian centres

Gov t’s perennial approach to increase expor ts root cause of inflation: Qadri

LAHORE s tA f f R e p o R t S p e a k e r s a t t h e 6 t h Wo r l d I s l a m i c E c o n o m i c s a n d F i n a n c e c o n f e r e n c e o n S u n d a y u rg e d t h e g o v e r n m e n t t o r e v i s i t i t s i n f l a t i o n c o n t r o l p o l i c y, w h i c h i s t a i l o rm a d e f o r e c o n o m i e s f a c i n g d e m a n d - p u l l i n f l a t i o n a n d n o t f o r e c o n o m y o f P a k i s t a n w h i c h i s c o s t - p u s h S p e a k i n g a t 6 t h Wo r l d I s l a m i c E c o n o m i c s a n d F i n a n c e c o n f e r e n c e h e r e , D r H u s s a i n M o h i u d d i n Q a d r i , d e p u t y c h a i r m a n b o a r d o f g o v e r n o r s , M i n h a j U n i v e r s i t y L a h o r e a rg u e d t h a t P a k i s t a n s f i n a n c i a l m a n a g e r s ’ p e r e n n i a l a p p r o a c h o f i n c r e a s i n g e x p o r t s o f t h e c o u n t r y t h r o u g h d e v a l u a t i o n o f l o c a l c u r r e n c y i n s t e a d o f a c t u a l l y i n v e s t i n g i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f g o o d s w a s t h e r o o t c a u s e o f t h e i n f l a t i o n i s s u e a s t h e m e a s u r e w o u l d w o r k o n l y f o r a s h o r t t i m e b u t w o u l d m o u n t f o r e i g n d e b t p r e s s u r e To t a c k l e t h i s p r e s s u r e , t h e g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d r e s o r t t o t i g h t e n i n g t h e t a x a t i o n p o l i c y w h i c h i n r e t u r n c a u s e s i n f l a t i o n h e a d d e d H e s a i d t h e p o l i c y o f i n c r e a s i n g t h e i n t e r e s t r a t e t o c o m b a t i n f l a t i o n i s n o t e ff e c t i v e i n P a k i s t a n , w h i c h e x p e r i e n c e s c o s t - p u s h i n f l a t i o n d u e t o h i k e i n t a x e s a n d e n e rg y p r i c e s T h e i n t e r e s t r a t e h i k e p o l i c y d i d n o t w o r k e v e n i n e c o n o m i e s w i t h d e v e l o p e d i n c l u s i o n s y s t e m l i k e U S A , E u r o p e a n d J a p a n , w h i l e i n P a k i s t a n o n l y 2 1 p e r c e n t p e o p l e h a v e b a n k a c c o u n t s m a n y o f w h i c h a r e a l s o d o r m a n t h e s a i d “ N o t e v e r y e c o n o m i c p o l i c y i s m e a n t f o r e v e r y c o u n t r y a n d g o v e r n m e n t s n e e d t o a m e n d a p o l i c y i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h i t s g i v e n e n v i r o n m e n t I n s t e a d o f g o i n g t o w o r l d d o n o r s w h i c h i m p o s e t h e i r o w n c o n d i t i o n s w i t h t h e c r e d i t , t h e g o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d r e s o r t t o o p e n m a r k e t o p e r a t i o n i n t h e f o r m o f s u k u k a n d o t h e r b o n d s a s i t c o u l d b e m o r e b e n e f i c i a l t h a n r e l y i n g o n e n h a n c i n g t h e p o l i c y r a t e h e s u g g e s t e d D r Q a d r i s a i d t h e P a k i s t a n g o v e r n m e n t n e e d e d t o m e rg e t h e p o l i c y r a t e w i t h o t h e r t o o l s f o r s t o p p i n g d o w n s l i d e o f t h e r u p e e a n d r e d u c i n g p o w e r b i l l s t o m a k e t h e l o c a l i n d u s t r y c o m p e t i t i v e i n t h e w o r l d m a r k e t s H e s a i d I s l a m i c e c o n o m i c s o ff e r s s o l u t i o n s t o o v e r c o m e i n f l a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g r e f o r m s t o t h e m o n e t a r y s y s t e m b y e l i m i n a t i n g a l l f o r m s o f i n t e r e s t a n d i m p l e m e n t i n g a f i s c a l p o l i c y w i t h o t h e r i n s t r u m e n t s t o m a x i m i z e Z a k a t c o l l e c t i o n a n d o p t i m i z e i t s u t i l i z a t i o n , c h a rg i n g f e e s o n i d l e f u n d s , a n d u s i n g t h e p r i n c i p l e o f r e v e n u e s h a r i n g i n e v e r y t r a n s a c t i o n

to be Information Minister I hope he doesn t pick an expert for Livestock and Dairy Development

I don’t know if he would like to pick Ishaq Dr for Finance Minister, what with the complete collapse of the rupee after he stopped trying to prop it up

Ishaq Dar got a ringing endorsement from Maryam Nawaz when she came back I wonder how many took comfort from this, and how many came away feeling she didn t know enough economics to lead the party No prizes for Mian Nawaz, though, who sent Dar back home to fix the economy

Instead of fixing it it seems that we re being prepared for the consequences of a default When the light went for 17 hours, everyone thought that s what had happened Well, some people thought India had attacked But it seems that it was because India had hacked our system At least that’s what Khurram Dastagir, our very own Prince of Darkness, or rather Energy Minister said Well, at least it stayed peaceful That’s

not what happened during celebrations for the Chinese New Year, when Hu Can Tranh, 72 went on a shooting spree in Monterey Park, California, and killed 11 people

Within days, Chunli Zhao also went on a shooting spree in California killing seven

He was 66 What is making decrepit Asians spray bullets? Maybe they should set up a JIT like they keep doing for Imran Khan’s assassination attempt The Punjab JIT has gone down in flames after its head quarreled with the members and the PTI doesn’t trust the one set up by the Centre Maybe they should set up one to investigate the Quran burning in Sweden

It’s being defended by free speech, but it’s clearly a provocation A bizarre twist has come in Copenhagen where the Quran has been burnt in front of the Turkish Embassy

The arsonists have threatened to burn one every week until the Turkish government withdraws its objections to Sweden joining NATO So it isn’t really about free speech, and it s because they know that Muslims get offended

r

o i c b o D y a D o P t s Pa k i s ta n ’ s r e s o l u t i o n o n k a s h M i r a u t o n o M y r e s t o r at i o n

ISLAMABAD s tA f f R e p o R t

tH E Parliamentary Union of Islamic Countries (PUIC) has passed a resolution on Kashmir, calling for a reversal of India’s revocation of the semi-autonomous status of the region in August 2019, as well as an end to human rights violations there

In 2019, the government of the radical Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) broke up Jammu and Kashmir region into two federal territories, as part of a sweeping move to tighten its grip over the disputed region

The Himalayan state comprises the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley which is the bone of contention between Pakistan and India, the Hindu-dominated Jammu region a n d t h e r e m o t e h i g h - a l t i t u d e B u d d h i s t enclave of Ladakh T h e r e s o l u t i o n , p r e s e n t e d b y t h e deputy speaker of the National Assembly Zahid Akram Durrani, at a session of the f o r u m i n A l g i e r s , u rg e s t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l community to take note of the situation in t h e r e g i o n a n d c a l l s f o r t h e r e s o l u t i o n o f the Kashmir issue in accordance with UN resolutions

The resolution will be taken up at the

tragic lasbela, tanda Dam incidents claim 52 lives

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The president and the prime minister expressed their condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the high ranks of the departed souls, President Secretariat and PM Office Media Wings said in separate press releases They also prayed for the early recovery of the injured people The president stressed upon taking of practical steps to avert the occurrence of such incidents in the future

The prime minister directed for provision of all available medical facilities to the injured ones At least 40 people including children and women died when a passenger coach plunged into a ravine near Chanki Stop area of Lasbela on early Sunday morning A Karachi-bound passenger coach from Quetta carrying over 47 passengers plunged into a gorge and caught fire As a result, 40 passengers, including women and children were burnt to death on the spot b a l o c h i s ta n c m s e e k s r e P o rt o n b e l a r o a d a c c i d e n t: Balochistan CM Mir

Abdul Quddus Bizenjo took notice of Bela area of Lasbela Road mishap which left 41 dead and four injured and sought a report from the official concerned in 24 hours

He also expressed his sorrow over the losses of p r e c i o u s l i v e s i n t h e i n c i d e n t a n d t h e i n c r e a s e i n traffic accidents on Quetta-Karachi Highways H e a l s o i n s t r u c t e d t h e C o m m i s s i o n e r K a l a t D iv is io n to r ev iew th e s itu atio n o f th e in cid en t an d to submit report of the accident in 24 hours

T h e C M a l s o d i r e c t e d C o m m i s s i o n K a l a t R e g i o n a l Tr a n s p o r t D e p a r t m e n t t o t a k e m e a s u r e t o p r e v e n t r o a d m i s h a p w h i c h i n c r e a s e d o n N a t i o n a l H i g h w a y K a r a c h i - Q u e t t a s o t h a t p r o t e c t i o n o f passengers lives would be ensured during traveling 11 s e m i n a ry s t u d e n t s d r o W n i n ta n d a d a m : In another tragic incident, eleven children studying in a religious seminary drowned in Tanda Dam near Shahpur while 11 children were rescued, out of which four were in critical condition T h e i n c i d e n t o c c u r r e d w h e n a n i l l - f a t e d b o a t c a r r y i n g 2 5 t o 3 0 s t u d e n t s , m o s t l y a g e d b e t w e e n 8 t o 1 0 y e a r s , w a s o n a d a y t r i p f r o m a l o c a l s e m i n a r y w h e n i t o v e r t u r n e d i n t h e w a t e r o f Ta n d a D a m l a k e , p o l i c e s a i d o n S u n d a y T h e t e a m s o f R e s c u e 11 2 2 K o h a t , P e s h a w a r, K a r a k a n d H a n g u r e a c h e d t h e s p o t a n d s t a r t e d t h e r e s c u e o p e r a t i o n T h e y r e s c u e d 11 c h i l d r e n a n d s h i f t e d t h e m t o D H Q H o s p i t a l K o h a t I t w a s s a i d t h a t a t o t a l o f s e v e n a m b u l a n c e s f o u r b o a t s t w o r e c o v e r y v e h i c l e s a n d m o r e t h a n 4 0 p e r s o n n e l w e r e p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h e r e s c u e o p e r a t i o n T h e o p e r a t i o n t o f i n d t h e b o d i e s o f t h e r e s t o f t h e s t u d e n t s w a s g o i n g o n A s p e c i a l d i v i n g t e a m h a s a l s o b e e n d i s p a t c h e d f r o m P e s h a w a r f o r t h e r e s c u e o p e r a t i o n

A legal battle between Pakistan and India over water-sharing began in The Hague, with New Delhi seeking modification to a 1960 treaty and Islamabad accusing his rival of violating the pack in the design of new dams that will dry up its irrigation land

India has issued a notice to Pakistan for “modification” of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) of September 1960 a senior Indian official in New Delhi said

The treaty was signed in 1960 that governs the use of waters of the Indus system of rivers Kanchan Gupta, a senior adviser at India’s Information and

main conference s final session and, if approved will be included in the conference’s final communiqué Kashmir Valley is one of the world s most militarised regions where profreedom groups have waged a decades-long war against Indian occupation, killing tens of thousands of people

It has long been one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints Nuclear-armed Pakistan and India both claim Kashmir in full but rule in part, and have fought two of their three wars over the region

In February 2019 the rivals nearly went to war again, after a suicide attack in

occupied Kashmir killed 40 paramilitary troopers India sent warplanes into Pakistan which then mounted a counter-attack, and an Indian pilot was shot down and captured in the ensuing skirmish China and India also contest an illdefined border in the Ladakh region, where troops from both sides have frequently confronted each other

In 1962, India lost a short but bloody war with China fought in Ladakh and eastern Arunachal Pradesh state Arunachal Pradesh remains in India’s control, while China administers a large area adjacent to Ladakh called Aksai Chin

Govt shocks public with ‘whopping’ Rs35 hike in POL prices

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Traders Association of Pakistan president Kashif Ch, in a statement, said they rejected Rs35 per litre increase in the prices of petrol and diesel saying the latest increase would bring a flood of inflation in the country

He demanded that the government immediately roll back the hike in petrol and diesel prices

Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance president and MPA from Sindh Malik Shahzad Awan also rejected the increase in petrol and diesel prices saying the price of petrol and diesel had been increased by Rs 35 each He said after consulting all the transporters a plan of action would be announced later

He said the policies of the imported government have brought Pakistan to the brink of ruin

Awan said the time had come to take to the streets against the government adding the priorities of the [imported] government were to create anti-people policies

Meanwhile, the general secretary of Tajran Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Zahir Shah said the increase in the prices of petroleum products would bring a new storm of inflation, urging the government to withdraw record increase in the prices of petrol and diesel t r a n s P o rt e r s j a c k u P

i n t e r c i t y fa r e s b y 10 P c : All

Pakistan Public Transport Owners Federation (APPTOF) on Sunday announced 10 per cent increase in the intercity fares following a massive hike in the petroleum prices

According to the federation spokesman, the participants of the meeting opined that considerable increase in diesel prices would destroy the transport system across the country

The spokesman said the fare for Rawalpindi Faisalabad and Multan from Lahore had been increased by Rs100; Lahore to Gujranwala Rs50, Lahore to Sadiqabad Rs200; and the fare for Lahore to Karachi had been increased by Rs600 ‘WidesPread condemnation’

The leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) on Sunday severely slammed the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif led the imported government over massive hiked the petrol and diesel prices by Rs35 per liter

While criticizing the PML-N government, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi tweeted that the country is already standing on the verge of economic collapse and today the people have come under more burden at the hands of these imported rulers He stated that another Rs35 increase in petrol and diesel prices is proof of their complete failure “How long will the

people pay for their incompetence he questioned Another party leader Farrukh Habib twitted, “Maryam Safdar was saying yesterday have faith in Ishaq Dar Where did Maryam go who used to say that if one rupee increases, Mian Sahib’s heart cries tears of blood he added “Here, 35 rupees petrol, diesel has been made very expensive He hinted that along with the petrol price imported govt would also increase gas and electricity prices

On the other hand another PTI leader and former finance minister Shaukat Tarin has demanded the resignation of incumbent finance czar Ishaq Dar for pushing Pakistan to the brink of default and causing “immeasurable sufferings” to the masses through his imprudent economic policies

Senator Tarin, in a statement, rejected the claims made by Senator Dar regarding the state of the economy and said that his party had hoped that Ishaq Dar will do the honourable thing and hand over his resignation for misleading the nation”

Claiming Mr Dar has a poor understanding of economic policymaking”, the PTI leader claimed that during the 2013-2018 period, the economy paid a heavy price because of the ‘dollar peg’ with exports plummeting from $ 24 8bn in 2013 to $ 22bn in 2017 “In 2022 the same experiment by Ishaq

A sad Umar urges president to take notice of PTI leaders ’ harassment

LAHORE s tA f f R e p o R t

Former planning minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

General Secretary Asad Umar has urged President Dr Arif Alvi to take notice of the ‘harassment’ of party leaders and workers and ‘human rights violation in the country

Addressing a press conference in Lahore along with PTI Senior Vice President Shah Mehmood Qureshi the former federal minister urged President Alvi to take notice of ‘bogus case, abduction, torture and harassment of PTI leaders and workers Asad Umar warned that such ‘atrocities’ of the federal government would have negative effects, adding

Broadcasting Ministry said the notice was conveyed on Wednesday through the respective offices of the Commissioner for Indus Waters

“This is as per Article XII (3) of IWT,” he wrote in a series of tweets Gupta said that while India has been a “steadfast supporter and a responsible partner in implementing IWT in letter and spirit Pakistan s actions have adversely impinged on the provisions of IWT and their implementation, and forced India to issue an appropriate notice for modification of IWT

According to Gupta, the modification for which India has given notice to Pakistan will also update Indus Water Treaty to incorporate the lessons learned over the last

that it would strengthen the ambitions of the country’s external enemies He also drew the attention of President Alvi to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor ’s statement, saying that the governor had stated that date of KP elections will be given by the agencies and the Establishment It is pertinent to mention here that a judicial magistrate on Saturday granted police two-day physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry, who was arrested for ‘threatening’ members of Election Commission of Pakistan

(ECP) According to details, Judicial Magistrate Waqas Ahmed Raja accepted the police’s request for an extension in Fawad Chaudhry s physical remand, sending the former information minister on two-day physical remand

62 years In response to Pakistan s “continuing insistence,” he added, the World Bank has recently initiated actions on “both the Neutral Expert and Court of Arbitration processes ”

“Such parallel consideration of the same issues is not covered under any provision of the Indus Water Treaty,” he said “Faced with such violation of Indus Water Treaty provisions India has been compelled to issue a notice of modification,” he said, adding the objective is to provide Pakistan an opportunity to enter into intergovernmental negotiations within 90 days to rectify the material breach of the IWT He claimed that despite India s repeated efforts to find a mutually agreeable way

Dar resulted in the exports declining by 7pc This clearly shows that Ishaq Dar has not learned any lessons from past mistakes and is unfit for this job he added

PTI leader Hamad Azhar has viewed that increase in the prices of petrol and diesel is not due to the global market PDM has destroyed the economy due to which the value of Pakistani rupee has fallen drastically against the dollar

Therefore, all imported goods, including oil will become more expensive All this thanks to regime change, he added

Asad Qasir tweeted, A huge hike of Rs 35 in petrol prices is a proof of open hostility towards the people People are already grinding in the mill of inflation and it is difficult to get two daily bread ‘ i m P o rt e d g o v t c r u s h e d m a s s e s ’: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman and Ex-PM Imran Khan on Sunday said the ‘corrupt’ and incompetent PDM government has ruined Pakistan’s economy

In his tweet, Imran Khan said the government has crushed the masses and salaried class by hiking petroleum prices Hike in electricity and gas prices and 35 percent unprecedented inflation expected with Rs200 billion mini-budget It may be noted that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday announced Rs35/ litre hike in the prices of petrol and diesel

Polio persists in Lahore as virus detec ted in sewage for second time in a month

The National Institute of Health (NIH) has detected the presence of poliovirus in Lahore s sewage water for the second time this month The virus was found in samples taken from the Multan Road neighbourhood on January 16 and in Gulshan Ravi on January 2 Experts suspect that the poliovirus present in Lahore s environmental samples originates from South Waziristan and Nangarhar in Afghanistan However, the NIH has reported no cases of polio in Pakistan thus far this year Though the last case in Lahore was reported in July 2020, the virus has been periodically detected in sewage water In response, Minister for National Health Services Abdul Qadir Patel has emphasised the importance of timely vaccination to protect children from the disease He also highlighted the cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the ongoing effort to eradicate polio

forward Pakistan refused to discuss the issue during the five meetings of the Permanent Indus Commission from 2017 to 2022 ” Pa k i s ta n c h a l l e n g e s d a m s c o n s t r u c t i o n s : The Indus Waters Commission of Pakistan did not respond to Anadolu s repeated requests for comment on the latest development

However, a senior official, talking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the Foreign Office will issue a statement to clarify Pakistan s position on the Indian move The official said Commissioner for Indus Waters is currently abroad, as the legal battle between Islamabad and New Delhi began on Friday at the Court of Arbitration

in The Hague

The first two-day hearing will continue on Saturday, as Islamabad has challenged New Delhi s controversial designs for the 330-megawatt Kishenganga and 850megawatt Ratle hydropower projects on the Jhelum and Chenab rivers according to local media

“The Court of Arbitration will start preliminary proceedings with restrictions on India, and Pakistan that nothing will be shared with the media till the final verdict In the first two days Pakistan will pitch its case And many more hearings will be heard to satisfy both sides,” a senior official from the Law Ministry was quoted as saying by The News

RussIan oIl wIll helP PakIstan ‘PaRtIally,’ say exPeRts

ISLAMABAD/MOSCOW

a n a d o l u ag e n c y

CO L D War-era arch-rivals

Pakistan and Russia are currently scrambling to ride out the latter s increasing oil and gas demands, a move welcomed with caution by analysts

Deputy Minister for Petroleum Mussadiq Malik told a press conference on Thursday in Islamabad that Russia had agreed to provide oil to Pakistan at discounted rates to meet Islamabad’s rising domestic and industrial energy needs

From March onwards, he added, Pakistan would procure oil from Moscow at a discounted price as all the formalities” with regard to the bilateral agreement would be finalised by then

Pakistan, according to him, would purchase crude oil, petrol, and diesel from Russia Islamabad will also ink long-term contracts with Moscow for procurement of gas he maintained

The two sides reached the understanding after a series of bilateral visits in recent months with the latest tour of Islamabad by a high-level Russian delegation led by Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov last week Pa RT I a l s O l U T I O n : The procurement of oil has long been at the

Child perishes in cottage fire in Faisalabad

LAHORE

s ta f f r e p o r t

In a tragic incident, a four-month-old child died from burn injuries sustained in a fire that broke out in a cottage in the Samundri area of Faisalabad Sunday

The child, Muhammad Rehan, was taken to Allied Hospital Faisalabad, but unfortunately did not survive

The mother of the child had reportedly left the child sleeping in the cottage while she went to visit neighbours, and the fire, which had been burning in a stove, spread to engulf the entire cottage

The incident occurred in the jurisdiction of Muridwala

Police Station in 193-GB at around 5:00 pm and was reportedly put out by the efforts of local residents

FIRE BROKE OUT: Separately, a residential building located on Food Street at Burns Road in Karachi was the site of a fire that broke out on Sunday

A spokesperson for the Fire Brigade Department in Karachi reported that the department’s fire brigade tankers arrived on the scene promptly after being notified of the incident

The spokesperson added that the firefighters were successful in preventing the fire from spreading to other residential areas in the vicinity Firefighters and volunteers were reportedly engaged in efforts to extinguish the blaze and conduct rescue operations

In a separate incident, an elderly woman died as a result of a fire that occurred at her house in the Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi on the previous day

KARACHI

s ta f f r e p o r t

Affectees of Baldia factory fire staged a protest demonstration in front of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) here Sunday against undemocratic attitude of International Labour Organisation (ILO)

The demo was organised by National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), Association of the Affectees of Baldia Factory Fire and PILER It was led by the association leaders Muhammad Siddique and HusnaKhatoon

A large number the heirs of the martyred labours, injured workers, representatives of political, social and human rights organisations and trade unions members including Nasir Mansoor of including National Trade

centre of Pakistan’s politics, particularly after the visit of former prime minister Imran Khan only a day before Russia launched its war on Ukraine on February 24 last year

Khan, ousted through a contentious no-confidence vote in parliament in April, claimed that his Moscow visit was

one of the reasons behind his ouster

Samiullah Tariq, a Karachi-based energy expert, reckons the understanding with Russia would help Pakistan partially mitigate its rising energy demands, and oil import bill

Nonetheless, he said, this would not be sufficient to resolve the issue to a large extent as it requires some key steps” to be taken by Islamabad itself

“The entire energy sector should be seen through a business prism,” Tariq told Anadolu Agency

Quoting last year s oil import bill of $26 billion, he said the country needs an “as much as fast” shift to renewable energy sources mainly solar and wind to meet its requirements

“Electricity production devours the lion’s share of the imported oil, which is causing cascading effects on the country s already ailing economy This share needs to be curtailed and shifted to local gas and renewable energy sources,” he said calling for fresh gas explorations in the country

Power ful 6.3 magnitude ear thquake rocks Islamabad ISLAMABAD

s ta f f r e p o r t

An earthquake of 6 3 magnitude struck parts of Islamabad on Sunday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD)

The epicentre was located in Tajikistan with a depth of 150 kilometres and coordinates of 69 65 East and 38 65 North

However, other sources, including the US Geological Survey and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, reported a lower magnitude of 4 4 and 4 1, respectively

No casualties have been reported, and tremors were felt by residents and journalists in the capital city Social media showed houses shaking and light fittings swaying as the quake struck Stunned residents later gathered in the streets

This comes just days after a 5 8 magnitude

earthquake hit parts of the country on January 5

In October 2021, an earthquake of magnitude 5 7 hit Balochistan in the early hours of Thursday, killing 20 people most of them women and children and injuring about 300, at a time when many victims were asleep

Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri on Sunday said that the federal government was striving hard not to let conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement impact the poor strata of society

“Interest of the country and people will be held on top during talks with the IMF ”

Talking to media persons after a ceremony of transgenders’ inclusion in the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) at Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marrisaid that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had constituted an austerity committee Shazia Marri said that they were bearing the brunt of the previous government’s wrong decisions Condemning allegations of the PTI Chief Imran Khan against former President Asif Ali Zardari, she said that Imran Khan always issued irresponsible statements

She said that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would sue Imran Khan The Federal Minister said that the prisons were broken in PTI-led government She said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his family were under threat She alleged that Imran

Khan was facilitator of terrorists

Earlier addressing the ceremony Shazia Marri said that transgenders were being formally included in BISP She said that the transgenders belonged to a poor segment of society

They were facing economic and societal challenges in the country, she said adding that they were ignored in society and moreover, they were separated from their families She said that transgenders avoid to come forward before the data managers due to society’s behaviour towards them

The Federal Minister said that as per available data 50 000 transgender were registered with an organization She said that their registration with NADRA was mandatory for availing BISP financial support

Shazia said that the transgenders should register themselves with NADRA and later, visit a BISP centre for further process to get Rs7000 financial assistance quarterly

She said that initially three transgender had got registered themselves with BISP

She said that in all 9 lac families were being financially supported by BISP

The spirit of the programme was to support the poor people of society, she added

Later, she handed over Rs7000 financial assistance among three registered transgender

PML-N is not afraid of elec tion: Talal

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

T h e P a k i s t a n M u s l i m L e a g u e -

N a w a z ( P M L - N ) l e a d e r Ta l a l

C h a u d h r y o n S u n d a y s a i d t h a t

c o n t r a r y t h e p o p u l a r b e l i e f , P M L - N w a s n o t t e r r i f i e d o f e l e c t i o n s

Talking to a private news channel PML-N leader rejected Imran Khan’s popularity claim

Union Federation (NTUF), Karamat Ali of National Labor Council (NLC), Gul Rehman of Workers Rights Movement KhizerQazi of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Muhammad Siddique, HasnaKhatoon and Muhammad Jameel of Ali Enterprise Factory Fire Affecttees Association )attended the demo

Speakers said that in 2016 a pact was inked between the German brand KIK, IndustriaAll Global Union and Clean Cloth Campaign (CCC) under which the German b r a n d h a n d e d 5 1 m i l l i o n d o l l a r s t o t h e

I L O f o r l o n g - t e r m c o m p e n s a t i o n f o r t h e

heirs and injured

Under this agreement an oversight committee was formed for investment in Pakistan, payment to affectees in installments and other related matters with representation

and asserted that the election will reveal who was more popular Talal Chaudhry said that PML-N contests elections on the basis of performance, adding that he said “we do not believe in the politics of hatred and abuse but in the politics of working for the welfare of the people ” If anything has ever been accomplished in Pakistani history, it was during the PML- N s nine-

year tenure, he claimed Talal further said that only t h e P M L - N g o v e r n m e n t h a s s u c c e e d e d i n e r a d i c a t i n g t h e scourge of terrorism, promoting economic prosperity, and ensuri n g t h e w e l f a r e o f t h e u n d e rp r i v i l e g e d P o w e r p l a n t s , H i g h w a y s , M e t r o s , I n f r a s t r u cture, and many other mega proje c t s w e r e a l l t o t h e c r e d i t o f PML-N he added

of related labour organisations, heirs, employers, labour department and the ILO

In this agreement it was decided that this money would be invested in Pakistan so that lifetime payment to the affectees could be made possible and till the funds are invested with mutual agreement, an agreed amount would be paid to the affectees on monthly basis

In this regard a memorandum of understanding was signed between the ILO and government of Sindh through which monthly payment to the affectees was carried out through Sindh Employees Social Security Institute (SESSI) ILO; however violating the agreement and without consulting the stakeholders inked an agreement to an insurance company and handed over all the funds to it The af-

Gandapur in hot water for ‘stirring up state-hate’

PESHAWAR

s ta f f r e p o r t

A complaint has been filed against former minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Amin Gandapur by a resident of Dera Ismail Khan for alleged hate speech on social media

He has established himself as a thorn in the side of the government and the powerful military, publicly accusing the two of rights abuses, including kidnappings The opposition party has also drawn thousands of people on to the streets to protest the arrest, apparently on trumped-up charges, of Fawad Chaudhry its senior vice president

The complaint, which was sent to the assistant director of the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime wing in Dera Ismail Khan, accuses Gandapur of making a “sinister attempt” to incite people against the state and to spread chaos through rebellious rhetoric against the government on social media The complaint claims that on January 25, he made a provocative statement on social media that incited violence against the government and state institutions The complainant has requested that legal action be taken against the former minister in response to the accusations

fectees were not taken into confidence before or after this development Despite the demands of affectees and labour organisations the agreement with the insurance firm is not being sharee with them This attitude of the ILO in against the principle of transparency and tantamount to disrespect to the affectees

On the other hand the Sindh labour department in connivance with the ILO announced to disband the Oversight Committee (OSC) without any consideration or prior information This undemocratic attitude of the ILO and unilateral decision of the labour department has created uncertainty for the affectees of Baldia factory fire

Refusal to share the agreement of ILO with the insurance company and announcement of the labour department to end the OSC has not only made this affair dubious

but also created a lot of bitterness for 260 affected families The ILO and the labour department are not willing to answer to the reservations of the affectees This attitude of the ILO and government bureaucracy is against the principles of transparency and accountability, which in condemnable

The affectees of the Baldia factory fire have demanded to make public the secret agreement between the ILO and the insurance company and immediately restore the oversight committee

The affectees have been continuing their struggle and they have consulted noted legal experts in this regard and they would initiate litigation next month In continuation of their protest, they would hold demonstrations in front of Sindh Assembly and ILO office in Karachi

B a l d i a f a c t o r y f i r e a f fe c t e e s p r o t e s t I LO ’s u n d e m o c ra t i c a t t i t u d e

G o v t P R e Pa R e s n e w o i l R e f i n e R y P o l i c y, e n v i s a G i n G s e v e R a l ta x e x e M P t i o n s

IsLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

tO give fresh impetus to the planned

$4 5 billion oil refinery plant by a Chinese company in Gwadar as well as more than $10 billion oil refinery plant by Saudi Arab and UAE in Hub, Balochistan, the Pakistani government has finalised a draft of the oil refinery policy 2023 that envisages several tax exemptions and incentives

According to a report published by Gwadar Pro on Sunday, the refining policy comprised of two components with one related to existing local refineries and the other about the investment for the new refineries in the country

The policy proposes an exemption from customs duty, surcharges, withholding taxes, general sales tax any other ad valorem tax or any other levies/ duties on the import of

equipment to be installed or materials to be used in the refinery without any precondition of certification by the Engineering Development Board T h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t w i l l f a c i l i -

t a t e t h e g r a n t o f s i m i l a r e x e m p t i o n f r o m t h e p r o v i n c i a l a n d l o c a l t a x e s t h e P o l i c y

r e v e a l e d The exemption will be available to fore i g n c o n t r a c t o r s o r s u b - c o n t r a c t o r s f r o m t h e p r o v i n c i a l a n d f e d e r a l t a x e s c o n c e r ning the execution of services for construct i o n , o p e r a t i o n s , a n d e n g i n e e r i n g p e r f o r m e d i n P a k i s t a n R e f i n e r i e s w i l l b e e x e m p t f r o m t h e w i t h h o l d i n g t a x r e q u i r e m e n t s u n d e r t h e I n c o m e Ta x O r d i n a n c e 2 0 0 1 o n p a y m e n t s t o b e m a d e t o n o n - r e s i d e n t p e r s o n s ( i nc l u d i n g t h e c o n t r a c t o r o r a n a s s o c i a t e o f the contractor) on account of the purchase o f m a c h i n e r y / e q u i p m e n t t o b e i n s t a l l e d i n t h e p r o j e c t

According to the draft policy in case the pricing regime is deregulated, during the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31 2028 the refineries will be allowed to retain the prevalent customs duty in the ex-refinery price

If the existing pricing mechanism or a

regulated pricing regime remains applicable after December 31, 2028, the applicability of prevalent customs duty to the ex-refinery price of finished products will be reviewed

In the event the pricing regime is deregulated after December 31, 2028, the refineries will be free to set prices for their products Besides the customs duty above, 10% would be returned to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) under the Inland Freight Equalisation Margin (IFEM) framework

O G D C L o ff i c i a l t o l d G w a d a r P r o that i n t h e p a s t 4 0 y e a r s , n o n e w r e f i n e r y h a s been set up in Pakistan, which needs a new p l a n t t h a t c a n p r o c e s s 4 0 0 0 0 0 b a r r e l s o f c r u d e p e r d a y t o m e e t t h e c o u n t r y ’s h i g h petroleum demand Upgrading the existing r e f i n e r i e s c a n a l s o l e a d t o a n i n c r e a s e i n t h e i r i n s t a l l e d c a p a c i t y t o c a t e r t o c o n -

sumer needs

At present Pakistan’s oil refineries are

S e n at e s h o r t o f m a n d at o r y 1 1 0 b u s i n e s s d ays o f Pa r l i a m e nt a r y Ye a r

IsLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

The upper house in over 10 months of its parliamentary year, has yet to complete its business days fixed for the year

The parliamentary year of the Senate will end by March 11, 2023, parliamentary sources said It is mandatory for the house to remain in session for 110 days to complete its parliamentary year,” sources said

It is mandatory, under Article 61 read with article 54(2) of the Constitution for the Senate to hold at least

Rain, snow to continue in Quetta, other Balochistan areas

QUETTA

S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Meteorological Department, Regional Center, Quetta on Sunday forecast that during the next 24 hours, rain and snow may occur in Quetta, Mastung, Kalat, Surab, Ziarat, Killa Abdullah, Killa Saifullah, Harnai, Zhob and its surrounding areas, while cloudy to rainy weather is expected (snow over hills) in Sherani, Musakhail, Barkhan, Bolan, Kohlu and Loralai districts

However cloudy weather with windy and cold situation is expected in rest parts of the province during the same period Weather forecast for next 48 hours Cold weather is expected in most parts of the province while very cold conditions in central and northern parts of the province during the next 48 hours Weather prevailed during the last 24 hours: rain occurred in Quetta Mastung Dalbandin Jiwani Kalat, Panjgur, Chaman, Pishin and Ziarat, while snowfall recorded in Quetta, Kalat and Ziarat during the last 24 hours Maximum temperature recorded on Sunday Barkhan 19 5, Dalbandin 12 5, Gwadar 24, Jiwani 18, Kalat 11, Khuzdar 13, Lasbela 26 5, Nokkundi 15, Pasni 24, Quetta 09 Samungli 10 Sibi 23 Turbat 22 Ormara 24 Zhob 13 5 Uthal 24 and Usta Muhammad 21 5

Huge quantit y of drugs seized on M-1 near Peshawar

PEshAwAr S ta f f R e p o R t

The National Highway and Motorway Police recovered a huge quantity of drugs on the Motorway M-1 near Peshawar on Sunday On the basis of intelligence a suspected vehicle was chased by the police, but the driver fled from the scene A woman and a five-year-old girl in the car were arrested, said a press statement During the search of the vehicle the police found 12 kg of opium 40 kg and 800 grams of hashish After completing the initial action, the Motorway Police called the relevant authorities for further legal proceedings along with the continued hunt for the absconding driver A spokesperson from the National Highways and Motorway Police stated that the operation was a significant step in the fight against drugs and added that such actions would be continued in future

three sessions and to meet for not less than 110 days in each parliamentary year In addition, more than 120 days should not intervene between the last sitting of the Senate in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session

Parliamentary sources said that the house has completed only 84 business days in the ongoing parliamentary year so far The house requires to remain in session for 30 more days in remaining 41 days of the current year,” parliamentary sources said Senate of Pakistan is the upper legislative chamber

of the bicameral legislature of Pakistan, and together with the National Assembly makes up the parliament

The president, from time to time, summons either house or both the houses of parliament under Article 54(1) of the Constitution

However, the Senate chairman can also, under Article 54(3) summon the Senate on a requisition of onefourth of the total membership of the house

Each session of the Senate starts from the date of commencement of its first sitting and concludes when the house is prorogued by the president or the chairman, as the case may be

Steps on to find honourable livelihood abroad for skilled workers: Turi

PEshAwAr

S ta f f R e p o R t

Federal Minister for Labour, Human Resources and Overseas Pakistanis, Sajid Hussain Turi has said that 664000 workers have already been sent to different countries for employment and one million more are in the pipeline

Addressing a function at the Governor Cottage Parachinar, district Kurram, the minister said that successful negotiations with different countries continue to find honourable livelihoods for skilled workers

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kurram, Wasil Khan Khattak and District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Samad Khan, noted tribal elders from across the district were present on the occasion Tehsil Chairman Allama Muzamil Hussain Maulana Shah Nawaz, Maulana Munir Hussain and others also addressed the function

The federal minister said that negotiations for the resolution of the problems of the deported workers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are also being held He added that besides the construction of a best quality road for access to the Central Asian States, a railway track is also being laid, adding that

for this purpose, a business hub would also be constructed at Tal, district Hangu Sajid Hussain Turi said that NADRA offices a r e a l s o b e i n g e s t a b l i s h e d a t B a g u n A l i z a i a n d D o g g a r w h i l e a n o t h e r C e n t r e i s e s t a b l i s h e d a t

Sameer and Upper Kurram of the district He said that besides cash assistance students would also b e p r o v i d e d s c h o l a r s h i p s u n d e r B e n a z i r I n c o m e Support Programme (BISP) He also stressed to take interest in the national census, saying basic amenities to the people would be provided to them on the basis of it The federal minister further said that four new hospitals would also be established in the tribal district Kurram

meeting 55% of the annual demand for pet r o l e u m p r o d u c t s a n d s a v i n g f o r e i g n e xchange of $1 billion They utilise around 70,000 barrels of local crude and condensate per day

They say they are providing more than 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 d i r e c t a n d i n d i r e c t e m p l o y m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d a r e m a k i n g r e a s o n a b l e c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e n a t i o n a l e x c h e q u e r and GDP

Under the policy, besides greenlighting incentives to upcoming oil refineries from China and Gulf region the Pakistani government has also been emphasising the upgrading of five local refineries, which requires huge capital investment

Besides, there was also a need for an additional refinery with a capacity of 300,000 to 400 000 barrels per day along with petrochemical at $10-15 billion to meet the country s demand, which is being catered through imports presently

17 die, 1,080 injured in 1,022 road crashes across Punjab

LAhOrE S ta f f R e p o R t T h e P u n j a b E m e rg e n c y S e r v i c e D e p a r t m e n t r es p o n d e d t o 1 , 0 2 2 R o a d Tr a ff i c C r a s h e s ( RT C s ) r ep o r t e d i n a l l 3 7 d i s t r i c t s o f P u n j a b d u r i n g t h e p a s t 2 4 h o u r s I n t h e s e RT C s 1 7 p e o p l e d i e d w h e r e a s 1 0 8 0 w e r e i n j u r e d O u t o f t h i s 5 6 5 p e o p l e w e r e s er i o u s l y i n j u r e d w h o w e r e s h i f t e d t o d i ff e r e n t h o s p it a l s W h e r e a s , 5 1 5 m i n o r i n j u r e d v i c t i m s w e r e t r e a t e d a t t h e i n c i d e n t s i t e b y R e s c u e M e d i c a l Te a m s t h u s r e d u c i n g t h e b u r d e n o f H o s p i t a l s T h e m a j o r i t y ( 7 1 % ) i n v o l v e d M o t o r b i k e s , t h e r e f o r e e ff e c t i v e e n f o r c e m e n t o f t r a ff i c l a w s a n d l a n e d i s c ip l i n e a r e e s s e n t i a l t o r e d u c e t h i s i n c r e a s i n g t h e n u m b e r o f R o a d Tr a ff i c C r a s h e s F u r t h e r, t h e a n a l y s i s s h o w e d t h a t 5 0 7 d r i v e r s 3 1 u n d e r a g e d r i ve r s , 1 6 8 p e d e s t r i a n s , a n d 4 2 2 p a s s e n g e r s w e r e a m o n g t h e v i c t i m s o f t h e s e r o a d t r a ff i c c r a s h e s T h e s t a t i s t i c s s h o w t h a t 2 3 3 RT C s w e r e r e p o r t e d i n L a h o r e w h i c h a ff e c t e d 2 4 8 p e r s o n s p l a c i n g t h e P r o v i n c i a l C a p i t a l a t t o p o f t h e l i s t f o l l o w e d b y 7 2 i n F a i s a l a b a d w i t h 8 1 v i c t i m s a n d a t t h i r d M u l t a n 6 9 w i t h 7 3 v i c t i m s T h e d e t a i l s f u r t h e r r e v e a l t h a t 1 0 8 0 v i c t i m s w e r e a ff e c t e d b y r o a d t r a ff i c c r a s h e s i n c l u d i n g 9 0 8 m a l e s & 1 8 9 f e m a l e s , w h i l e t h e a g e g r o u p o f t h e v i c t i m s s h o w s t h a t 2 2 7 w e r e u n d e r 1 8 y e a r s o f a g e , 5 4 3 w e r e b e t w e e n 1 8 a n d 4 0 y e a r s a n d r e s t o f t h e 3 2 7 v i c t i m s w e r e r e p o r t e d a b o v e 4 0 y e a r s o f a g e A c c o r d i n g t o t h e d a t a 8 9 3 m o t o r b i k e s , 6 1 a u t o - r i c k s h a w s , 11 9 m o t o r c a r s , 2 6 v a n s , 0 6 p a ss e n g e r b u s e s , 2 1 t r u c k s a n d 6 7 o t h e r t y p e s o f a u t o v e h i c l e s a n d s l o w - m o v i n g c a r t s w e r e i n v o l v e d i n a f o r e s a i d r o a d t r a ff i c a c c i d e n t s

Swiss ar tist, Buddhist folk singers bewitch audience as Gandhara festival begins

The live performance by a Swiss artist, Buddhist folk singers from Sindh traditional dance by local artists to drum beats, and finally the live performance by legendary folk singer Sian Zahoor enthralled the participants of the first Gandhara festival at Gandhara Art Village near Taxila on Sunday Sculptors and stone carvers had also established stalls at the festival which attracted a large number of art lovers from the twin-cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad The event showcased a fusion of traditional Pakistani and Swiss music with performances by renowned artists from both countries, including Wajih

Nizami Markus Hauser Loris Peloso

Folk tales of Buddhism by folk

Buddhist singers were also presented on the occasion Addressing the event, Punjab Arts Council Director General Muhammad Mehboob Alam said the promotion of culture was the top priority of the government and the recent approval of the first cultural policy of Punjab was a testament to the efforts of the Punjab Arts Council He added that Punjab Arts Council would organize festivals on Gandhara, Harappa, Sindhi, and Hakra cultures of Cholistan He said that cultural fairs would also be organized in all other districts of Punjab Two-day Gandhara festival would be held in Taxila while a five-day event would be held in Rawalpindi, he added Pakistan-Romania Friendship Association Chairman Zaildar Ahsan Shah said such events play a key role in promoting local art and soft image of the

country in the world He said Taxila was blessed with more than 30 ancient cities of cultural importance, which were on UNESCO’s world cultural heritage list Taxila could be made the hub of religious tourism and public-private partnership could play a pivotal role in that regard

Executive Director of Pakistan Research Center for Community for Shacked Future Muhammad Khalid

Taimur was the chief guest of the inauguration ceremony Speaking on the occasion, he said that Gandhara, the great centre of world cultural heritage was a region of different religions and “We are the heirs and trustees of this civilization ” The meaning Gandhara is the land of fragrances located at the foot of the mountains, and “We have gathered to spread the fragrances of this civiliza-

tion, refine its art, spread its colours, and to appreciate the masterpieces of its artisans and to inspire its knowledge he added Taimor said that the message of peace, tolerance and love for humanity would be spread through these fairs Director PAC Rawalpindi Waqar Ahmad, on the occasion, said that the promotion of culture was one of the priorities of the Punjab government Along with Gandhara, Punjab Arts Council will organize festivals on the Hakra culture of Harappa, Sindhi and Cholistan In the opening ceremony, a band from Switzerland led by Wajih Nizami made the audience dance Folk singer Sain Zahoor presented his Sufi songs in a narrative style and received great applause from th audience The followers of Buddha from Sukkur left no stone unturned in making the ceremony memorable

T h e l a t e s t a c c u s a t i o n s

I m r a n K h a n’s l at e s t a c c u s at i o n s r a i s e aw k wa rd q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e l i b e l l aw s

PTI chief Imran cKhan seems to have a desire beyond that natural to all politicians, to stay in the news, which is the only explanation for his claim that PPP Co-Chairman and ex-President Asif Zardari was going to behind an attempt on his life, after the one in Wazirabad on November 3 last year he had earlier tried, but failed, to have the FIR registered against the Prime Minister the Interior Minister he offered no explanation why he waited two months before making this accusation Nor did he explain why the central conspirator was now Mr Zardari he called this a ‘Plan C’ after the ‘Plan B’ of having him killed at Wazirabad had failed This time, he said, a terrorist would be paid by Mr Zardari to do the needful The JIT on Wazirabad set up by the Punjab government is in confusion with its Chairman issuing members show-cause notices and the Centre setting up one, but with the victim refusing to cooperate This latest claim comes after Mr Khan very publicly feared arrest, and called supporters to protect him at his lahore home, which was swiftly followed by the arrest of close aide Fawad Chaudhry

Perhaps the most problematic issue is that Mr Khan has made claims which have no evidence to back them up Mr Khan has so far not presented any evidence, not even bad or tainted evidence, to back up any of his claims even hic claim about Mr Zardari, for example, that he has a lot of money from corruption, has not been proved in any court of law Indeed, Mr Zardari, who has faced numerous allegations, has had to spend several years in jail Indeed this is not the first time he has been accused to murder including such victims as brother-in-law Murtaza Bhutto and wife Benazir Bhutto however, this is not really supposed to be his modus operandi, and though a few of his political opponents have died violently over the years, he has not been accused of their murders

There is a problem with the libel laws If those he accuse knew he would either be made to produce his evidence, or be made to pay damages if they went to court, he would be more careful about what he said The absence of punishment has led to impunity, and if Mr Khan was to look at it closely, he would prefer this, because he too has had various charges flung at him, none of which he hass bothered taking to court

Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late)

Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Editor

M A Niazi Joint Editor Umar Aziz Executive Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor

S h a r p r i s e i n a l r e a d y h i g h

l e v e l o f i n e q u a l i t y

Th e r i c h ke e p g e t t i n g r i c h e r

in just three years the world is all set to enter another recession

Only three countries tax income from capital more than income from work ’

D r O m e r J av e D

INeqUAlITy had already seen a significant r i s e d u r i n g t h e n e o l i b e r a l o n s l a u g h t f o r a n u m b e r o f d e c a d e s b u t t h e c r a c k s i n t h e e c o n o m i c s y s t e m t o p r o t e c t a g a i n s t t h e profit over people mindset of market fund a m e n t a l i s m d u e t o u n d e r l y i n g w e a k r e g u l a t i o n got all the more widened as the pandemic shock hit the global supply chains hence, prices were raised m o r e t h a n w h a t r e f l e c t e d t h e l a c k o f s u p p l y a n d unwarranted windfall profits on one hand, and lack of adequate taxation system on the other, meant the inequality increased all the more during the covid19 pandemic

The recently released report ‘Survival of the richest: how we must tax the super-rich now to fight inequality’ by Oxfam, made a thorough analysis of the level of inequality during recent times, and the taxation structures among other reasons that allowed such shocking outcomes For instance, the report gave an example to reveal the difficult inequality situation elon Musk one of the world s richest men paid a ‘true tax rate’ of just over hree percent from 2014 to 2018 Aber Christine, a market trader in Northern Uganda who sells rice flour and soya makes $80 a month in profit She pays a tax rate of 40 percent ’

No wonder that absolute poverty saw an increase during the pandemic, in addition to a general cost of living crisis on one hand, and on the other a higher cost of doing business at the back of decades-high level of inflation, and for a protracted period of time–recession-causing pandemic, sharp increase in inequality– where most of new wealth generated went into fewer hands– and increase in unemployment, as

T h e D i g i t a l M e d i a R e v o l u t i o n

D i g i t a l l i t e r a c y h a s b e c o m e e s s e n t i a l

breaking all the barriers of location time and social context

T h e s a m e r e p o r t , h i g h l i g h t i n g t h e r i s i n g l e v e l o f i n e q u a l i t y, p o i n t e d o u t O v e r t h e l a s t 1 0 y e a r s , t h e r i c h e s t o n e p e r c e n t o f h u m a n i t y h a s c a p t u r e d m o r e t h a n h a l f o f a l l n e w global wealth Since 2020, a c c o r d i n g t o O x f a m a n a l y s i s o f C r e d i t S u i s s e D a t a , t h i s w e a l t h g r a b b y t h e s u p e r- r i c h h a s a c c e l e ra t e d , a n d t h e r i c h e s t o n e p e r c e n t h a v e c a p t u r e d a lm o s t t w o - t h i r d s o f a l l n e w w e a l t h T h i s i s s i x t i m e s m o r e t h a n t h e b o t t o m 9 0 p e r c e n t o f h u m a n i t y S i n c e 2 0 2 0 , f o r e v e r y d o ll a r o f n e w g l o b a l w e a l t h g a i n e d b y s o m e o n e i n t h e b o t t o m 9 0 p e r c e n t , o n e o f t h e w o r l d ’s b i l l i o n a i r e s h a s g a i n e d $ 1 7 m A t t h e s a m e t i m e , t h e report highlighted an inade q u a t e g l o b a l t a x s y s t e m t h a t n e e d e d t o b e f i x e d T h e r e p o r t p o i n t e d o u t i n this regard The spectacular rise of wealth and inc o m e a t t h e v e r y t o p h a s c o i n c i d e d w i t h a c o l l a p s e in taxes on the richest one p e r c e n t W h i l e t h e r e a r e differences between countries, the general trend tow a r d s l o w e r t a x e s f o r t h e r i c h h a s b e e n r e m a r k a b l y s i m i l a r a c r o s s a l l r e g i o n s o f t h e w o r l d F o r e v e r y $1 raised in tax, only four cents comes from taxes on w e a l t h T h e f a i l u r e t o t a x wealth is most pronounced in low- and middle-income countries, where inequality is highest Twot h i r d s o f c o u n t r i e s d o n o t h a v e a n y f o r m o f inheritance tax on wealth and assets passed to dir e c t d e s c e n d a n t s h a l f o f t h e w o r l d ’s b i l l i o n a i r e s now live in countries with no such tax, meaning $5 trillion will be passed on tax-free to the next generation a sum greater than the GDP of Africa

R i s i n g l e v e l s o f i n e q u a l i t y a n d p o v e r t y r e q u i r e b o t h p u t t i n g i n p l a c e a t a x a t i o n s y s t e m t h a t p r o p e r l y t a x e s w i n d f a l l p r o f i t s , a n d i s o v e r a l l p r o g r e s s i v e i n n a t u r e , a l o n g w i t h a d d r e s s i n g t h e l o o p h o l e s i n c o l l e c t i n g t a x e s , a n d i n e f f e c t i v e l y d e a l i n g w i t h t a x h a v e n s . M o r e o v e r , h i g h l e v e l s o f i n f l a t i o n , a n d a v e r y d i f f i c u l t i n e q u a l i t y a n d p o v e r t y s i t u a t i o n , c a l l f o r n o n - a u s t e r i t y , a n d c o u n t e rc y c l i c a l p o l i c y m e a s u r e s

Top rates of tax on income have become lower and less progressive, with the average tax rate on the richest falling from 58 percent in 1980 to 42 perc e n t m o r e r e c e n t l y i n O e C D [ O rg a n i z a t i o n f o r economic Co-operation and Development] countries Across 100 countries the average rate is even lower, at 31 percent Rates of tax on capital gains – in mo s t co u n tr ies th e mo s t imp o r tan t s o u r ce o f income for the top one percent – are only 18 perc e n t o n a v e r a g e a c r o s s m o r e t h a n 1 0 0 c o u n t r i e s

Rising levels of inequality and poverty require both putting in place a taxation system that properly taxes windfall profits and is overall progressive in nature, along with addressing the loopholes in collecting taxes and in effectively dealing with tax havens Moreover, high levels of inflation and a very difficult inequality and poverty situation, call for non-austerity, and counter-cyclical policy measures h a v i n g s a i d t h a t , h i g h l e v e l o f d e b t d i s t r e s s a n d l o w f i s c a l s p a c e o v e r a l l w i t h d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s h a s c r e a t e d a l o t o f e c on o m i c m i s e r y, e s p e c i a l l y g i v e n l i t t l e d e b t m o r a t orium/relief and inadequate r e l e a s e o f s p e c i a l d r a w i n g r i g h t s ( S D R s ) h a s m a d e i t a l l t h e m o r e d i ff i c u l t t o c r e a t e a m u c h - n e e d e d r es i l i e n t , i n c l u s i v e , g r e e n , a n d s u s t a i n a b l e e c o n o m i c growth h i g h l i g h t i n g t h e n e e d f o r g r e a t e r t a x c o l l e c t i o n from the rich, and with reg a r d t o f i x i n g a n o v e r a l l broken tax system globally, n o t e d e c o n o m i s t , J a y a t i G h o s h p o i n t e d o u t i n h e r r e c e n t , P r o j e c t S y n d i c a t e ( P S ) a r t i c l e ‘ D a v o s m a n m u s t p a y ’ a s f o l l o w s : M o s t o f t h e w o r l d s t a x s y s t e m s a r e o u t d a t e d a n d r e g r e s s i v e , a n d a r e t h e r efore unable to deliver the necessary revenues or ensure that the rich pay their fair share likewise, our l a w s f a i l t o r e c o g n i z e t h e m y r i a d w a y s c o r p o r ations and wealthy individuals can evade taxes and h o w f i n a n c i a l g l o b a l i z a t i o n h a s e n a b l e d f i r m s t o shift profits and assets to low-tax jurisdictions Instead of addressing these legal loopholes, governm e n t s r e l y f a r t o o h e a v i l y o n i n d i r e c t t a x a t i o n such as value-added tax (VAT), which falls disprop o r t i o n a t e l y o n t h e p o o r O v e r t h e p a s t f e w d e c a d e s t h e s e s y s t e m i c i n e q u i t i e s h a v e l e d t o a massive decline in public wealth and to enormous concentrations of private wealth T h e w r i t e r h o l d s P h D i n E c o n o m i c s d e g re e f ro m t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B a rc e l o n a , a n d p re v i o u s l y w o r k e d a t I n t e r n a t i o n a l M o n e t a r y F u n d P r i o r t o t h i s h e d i d M S c

The world has evolved through many ages and generations, AND with this evolution earth went from the Stone Age to the modern world we live in today humans have progressed eminently in every field and with this progress a number of revolutions came that changed many things around the world completely

A huge number of inventions were made by different scientists, teachers and philosophers that are still used all over the world and we cannot imagine our life without them The invention of the clock, the bulb, the telephone, surgical instruments, war weaponry the microscope are some of the most influential inventions that somehow brought revolution in the world and changed the lifestyle of people forever

Digital media has been one of the most influential revolutions in global history The digital revolution is also known as the third industrial revolution, and was the shift from mechanical and analogue technology into digital technology The starting point of this digital revolution is considered to be the invention of the computing system that was called electronic numerical integrator before

When the digital revolution came it was considered that the world has progressed massively in every way possible It enabled unprecedented levels of communication, community building, social interaction,

The era in which we are living today, is one where everything is directly or indirectly related to digital technology by one means or another If digital media and technology stopped working for one day everything in the world would collapse and it would face a major crisis Digital media is any form of media that takes electronic devices for its distribution, it includes robotics, ATMs (automated teller machines), computers, televisions telephone mobile devices laptops and radios, among others

The digital revolution radically changed the level of interaction between companies and individuals Small businesses were suddenly given access to larger markets that resulted in a boost to the economy and a higher productivity rate The digital revolution has also led several inventions to become obsolete that brought widespread social impact and lifestyle changes It also opened the doors for digital marketing and running online business

The new criteria of online banking, bill payments, fee submissions, virtual visa card, online money transfer has made life much more convenient than before however, safety and security measures should always be kept in mind while using such technology One of the most important things while using the digital media is to be digitally literate Digital literacy not only helps us in our education but also at our workplaces In today’s world students need to learn much more than just reading and writing When

we say that only reading and writing is not enough it does not decrease their importance, however it is also important to become digitally literate so that students develop technological skills through learning different aspects that are important and would benefit them in their education and career enriching the students creative thinking and integrating them into today’s digital world Teaching digital literacy in secondary and primary schools is all about understanding that today’s children need different types of skills and technological knowledge in order to evaluate their work and engage with the global community

Students who are not digitally literate have to struggle through a lot of difficulties in universities while making their presentations, projects and assignments and thus it affects their grades badly We cannot get hired for a job if we don’t have the access or do not know the use of digital media's basic platforms like sending emails, creating presentations, making reports and a lot of other basic techniques

We work in a society where communication and access to information is mostly made through digital technologies like social media, Internet platforms and mobile devices The incredible advances in technology have changed the ways people communicate, interact and work with each other

People can communicate with each other through emails and phone calls no matter how far they are from each other As the world continues to transform and settle more into the digital age, Pakistan has been moving into digital transformation as any other country is doing but lacks the basic human resources to provide opportunities for its

Parents should take care that too much exposure to digital media can be harmful for children and teenagers as it can lead to a number of negative consequences. Although digital media and platforms are very convenient and essential in this modern world, sometimes the overuse of such things becomes a distraction from the important tasks, goals and responsibilities

people within the country however in a developing country like Pakistan where children are not even able to have access to schools it is almost impossible to make them digitally literate It is unfortunate that a lot of people are unprepared and they lack the knowledge and skills which has hindered people from fully utilizing the opportunities available on digital platforms Then Prime Minister Imran Khan had launched a Digital Media Development Program (DMDP) for the skill development of Pakistan’s youth for the growth of digital media workshops and creating opportunities for the young generation of Pakistan to learn

Nowadays technology and media is used by a majority of the population in numerous countries whether literate or not Using digital media without the correct knowledge and information can be harmful People face cyberbullying hacking receive fraudulent emails, unknown links and many other things that can be handled correctly only if we are digitally literate and know

about the technological media

This has made the digital media more dangerous, as excess knowledge about digital media can also be harmful and could be used for wrong purposes

With the digital age came a widespread use of social media that greatly influenced the younger generation Instead of using the digital media for studies students sometimes drift into other activities like those social and gaming apps that waste time and that distracts children from studying properly The exposure to such technology should be agerestricted Parents should take care that too much exposure to digital media can be harmful for children and teenagers as it can lead to a number of negative consequences Although digital media and platforms are very convenient and essential in this modern world, sometimes the overuse of such things becomes a distraction from the important tasks, goals and responsibilities

The writer is a freelance columnist

The One-Pillar State

Pakistan that no action whatsoever for anything would be taken against anybody who wears or worn the uniform in Pakistan because the fatal pride of the uniform will fall into danger

This is one of the reasons that no action has ever been taken against men in uniform who meddled with the future of the country by manipulating the political process Meanwhile slowly but surely, state-sponsored intellectuals and writers managed to blur several universal ideas to justify what men in uniform did with Pakistan

PAKISTAN is heading dangerously close to economic default This country is so rich that it forgets how much recoverable money is pending, so as to receive it from those to whom it sold its assets decades ago

Recently, a press report claimed that audited documents prepared by the Privatisation Commission (PC) of Pakistan showed that receivables from privatization stand at Rs 5 2 billion however, the document did not mention the Rs 163 billion in receivables from a UAe-based company

The privatization programme started in 1991 and 142 entities have either been sold or had their shares divested in return for Rs 649 billion About 25 percent of the proceeds, however, remain outstanding According to the report around Rs 5 2 billion were outstanding from 13 parties as on 30 June 2022 Of the Rs 5 2 billion, the maximum amount of Rs 4 billion was outstanding against one Group

The newspaper claimed that the document does not mention the outstanding dues of $799 3 million against a Dubai-based company while this amount was mentioned in a previous receivable report, prepared during the tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI)

During Gen Musharraf's era, Pakistan privatized assets even without receiving 50 percent of the total bid amount and assets were handed over to companies This was a Pakistan-on-sale kind of attitude; however those assets that are great liabilities like Pakistan Steel Mills Pakistan International Airlines, etc were not sold and only those were sold which were earning sons of the motherland

In December 2018, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatisation directed the Privatization Ministry to send 14 cases to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for recovery of Rs 82 3 billion worth of outstanding dues from various parties including the Dubaibased etisalat group The Standing Committee on Privatisation was informed that Rs 82 32 billion remained outstanding some of the amount for more than 25 years however, nothing was done for recovery and because the majority of sales were done during the era of Musharraf, who was in uniform and how could anybody ask any question to him or do anything about a person who is (or was) in uniform?

We understand there is an unwritten code in

I teach at a university and I have checked that almost 100 percent of my students think that the Army is one of the state pillars Slowly but surely and less than 10 percent of our youth today know that the three pillars of the State are the executive, the legislature, and the Judiciary

I know there is only one pillar of the State which is the Army practically and the Judiciary like Justice Munir to Justice Maulvi Mushtaq followed whatever instruction came from the Ghq and the legislature always played their role whenever they were needed, like the last extension of the Army chief and executive, of course, could not dare to say No to the instruction

In classical mythology, hubris was considered a very dangerous shortcoming; it was an act of arrogance, usually where the hero attempted to assume godlike status. The gods of Greek mythology did not look favourably on mortals who overstepped or bragged a bit too much!

stayed away from individuals who played havoc with Pakistan like Gen Ziaul haq and Gen Musharraf and some instances in the recent past where individuals manipulated the political process of the country overtly because they knew nobody could question them as their institution was behind their back Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah recently named four characters, blaming them for hatching conspiracy against the PMl(N) government since 2013 Two of them had been in uniform The same two names were raised by former Prime Minister Nawaz Nawaz Sharif when he was disqualified by the courts however his party was proactive in providing an extension to one of them when a law was moved in Parliament, reemphasizing that all other pillars of the State stand with whatever the one real pillar of the state decides Therefore, enjoying and feeling extraordinary pride is justified by this one pillar Conversely, sometimes this pride surpasses itself and enters into the category of fatal pride: hubris In classical mythology, hubris was considered a very dangerous shortcoming; it was an act of arrogance, usually where the hero attempted to assume godlike status

The ancient Greeks considered hubris a fatal flaw that brought tragedy upon heroes and commonly led to their death

Therefore, practically Pakistan is a OnePillar State and that pillar is the Army n firmly believe that the 1973 Constitution needs holistic changes and the european-borrowed concept of a Three-Pillar State must be changed to One-Pillar State because this change would rectify anomalies of all three so-called State Pillars to fix the questions students of Political Sciences history and Journalism usually ask me

This change is also essential for the security of the country because we know no nation can maintain its sovereignty without having a strong Army We have seen what happened in Iraq, libya and Afghanistan in the recent past where their armies were dismantled and then their sovereignties were stripped from them

Since hubris or fatal pride of our Army is an important and sensitive matter for the country, so there is no harm to satisfy hubris by granting whatever role it wishes and whatever changes the men in uniform deem fit There is nothing more important than the sovereignty of the country and words like Parliament Constitution and Democracy are useless if the sovereignty of the country is in danger

One can argue that the Army s pride is not “hubris” but the usual pride every Army on earth enjoys I could accept this point if I could have seen that the institution of the Army ever

The gods of Greek mythology did not look favourably on mortals who overstepped or bragged a bit too much! The ancient Greeks considered hubris a fatal flaw that brought tragedy upon heroes and commonly led to their death

The punishment for hubris was often a shocking reminder of human limitations and mortality

As such hubris was a prime topic of Greek tragedy

The story of the most legendary Greek hero, Bellerophon, is popular to remind us that pride lies only with omnipotent divine power Bellerophon was proud of himself for taming the winged horse named Pegasus who could take him to places that others only dreamed of his command of flying wherever he wished instigated him to see Olympus the home of the Greek gods, and so he urged Pegasus to fly higher and higher and higher

The gods didn t like that To them Bellerophon was clearly overstepping his place as one of the mortal Greek heroes They sent a fly to sting Pegasus so the horse jumped throwing Bellerophon many miles to the ground Bellerophon was not killed, as the gods wished for him to suffer further Instead he was crippled and left to wander the earth in search of his beloved Pegasus Alas, Pegasus never returned to him Pride is right but fatal pride is dangerous is the result we got from mythologies as well as from history

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

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

Local PhDs

IT is unfortunate that doing a PhD from Pakistan is not considered worthwhile and respectable in academia itself Anyone who has a PhD from a Pakistani university is given secondary importance, if any is given at all

There is no denying the fact that the standard of our educational institutions is not comparable to that of foreign universities

B u t t h i s d o e s n o t w a r r a n t c a s t i n g a b l i n d e y e t o s o m e o n e ’s t a le n t a n d e x p e r t i s e S o m e o f t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s g o t o t h e e x t e n t o f n o t a l l o w i n g t h e i r o w n f a c u l t y m e m b e r s t o s t u d y f o r a P h D f r o m a P a ki s t a n i u n i v e r s i t y

If the educational institutions and academicians will themselves remain biased against local PhD programmes the standard of such programmes will never improve In fact, there will never be a realistic hope of any progress in this critical regard

The authorities must own the indigenous PhD programmes and make every possible effort to bring improvement in the standards so that those who cannot go abroad may study here and receive the same respect as do foreign PhDs

KAMRAN AKHTAR SIDDIQUI SUKKUR

A case in favour of textile sector

AFTeR over 75 years of independence, Pakistan is facing serious crises these days Our leaders have failed to give primacy to the country’s economy even though they have over the years claimed sincerity to the cause

The textile industry is the backbone of the national economy, but the law- makers have never shown seriousness about the growth of this critical and export-oriented sector

Successive governments have launched textile policies for the growth of the sector but they have failed miserably when it comes to implementing these policies for the betterment of this vital but neglected sector The textile policy was announced in March 2022 after a gap of two years but that policy as expected remained on paper and was never implemented T h e n a t i o n a l t e x t i l e s e c t o r i s n e v e r q u i t e s u r e a b o u t t h e c o n t i n u i t y o f p o l i c i e s e s p e c i a l l y w h e n i t c o m e s t o c o n c e - s s i o n a r y t a r i ff a n d d u t y d r a w b a c k o f t h e i r t a x e s O w i n g t o p o l i c y i n c o n s i s t e n c y, b i g p l a y e r s a s w e l l a s i n t e r n a t i o n a l i n v e s t o r s a r e n o t i n t e r e s t e d i n i n v e s t i n g a n y f u rt h e r w h i c h e x p l a i n s t h e l a c k o f m o m e n t u m i n t h e o v e r a l l n a t i o n a l t e xt i l e s e c t o r I t i s t i m e w e s e p a r a t e d p o l i t i c s f r o m e c o n o m y, o t h e r w i s e w e w i l l c o n t i n u e t o s e t o u r g o a l s t h a t w i l l r e m a i n u n a t t a i n a b l e o w i n g t o l a c k o f p o l i c y c o n s i s t e n c y A n o t h e r w o r r y i n g f a c t o r i s t h e c o n t i n u i n g m e n a c e o f s m u g g l i n g We h a v e f a i l e d t o s t o p s m u g g l i n g o f b o t h f o re i g n e x c h a n g e a n d c o m m o d i t i e s We h a v e a n u m b e r o f e x c e l l e n t l a w s , b u t w e h a r d l y i m p l e m e n t t h e m i n t h e r i g h t s p i r i t f o r t h e p r o sp e r i t y o f t h e c o u n t r y This is mainly because of bad practices on the part of those who are responsible for the implementation of laws in their true spirit The presence of such elements at the policy level is harmful to the national economy and the growth of the country The government must take remedial steps to ensure the welfare of the textile industry which has the potential to contribute both directly and indirectly to the national economy

YAHQUB LODHI KARACHI

Cylinder safet y

GAS cylinders are always handled with great care and extra precautionary measures are taken during their transportation and storage Pressurised gas cylinders always pose significant risk if they are handled in a careless manner

Recently at 4K Chowrangi near Surjani Town in Karachi a dangerous incident occurred wherein a vehicle transporting liquefied petroleum gas (lPG) cylinders caught fire The incident threatened life on a busy road in a busy area, leaving the passers by terrified had there been adequate industrial safety in practice, this horrible accident may not have occurred

In the wake of gas shortage, masses are worried about making arrangements for domestic fuel Resultantly, people just focus on carrying empty cylinders and getting them somehow filled as soon as they can Safety measures have become a matter of secondary importance The ignorant masses do not pay attention while handling gas cylinders and treat them as routine stuff which it is not

In the prevailing circumstances, it has become mandatory for relevant authorities to initiate an awareness campaign, telling people how to handle gas cylinders

After running the awareness campaign for a month or two, the provincial government may impose a moderate fine on individuals found transporting gas cylinders without following the relevant protocols and standard operating procedures (SOPs) The traffic police and paramilitary forces may also help the provincial government in this regard KOUSER

Islamabad congestion

The capital city of Islamabad is under severe stress owing to the growing population at an alarming pace due to lack of proper planning and policies Before 2017, one would not find large numbers of vehicles, and, as such, traffic congestion was rare however over the last few years Islamabad has witnessed an influx of people Apart from locals, a number of Afghans and Africans have settled in some parts of the capital city It is worth wondering whether the refugees living in the capital have legal status or have been staying without valid documents

Given the changing demographics and regional dynamics, the entire country is undergoing rapid urbanisation which to some extent is good for the country But, as the saying goes, the devil lies in the details, and the rapid and unplanned influx may complicate life in the relatively safe city if the process goes unchecked

To this end, the government needs to deliberate upon the abrupt rise in the capital’s population Besides, Pakistan’s population growth rate is the highest in the region, which risks the country s prosperity in the long term Indeed, the time for action is now; the people have had enough of promises

A Letter from Prometheus agHa Iqrar HarOOn

Pr i d e i s p re ro g at i ve w h i l e f at a l p r i d e i s d a n g e ro u s

Western media’s anti-iran reporting Waives joUrnalistic integrit y to manUfactUre hate

rt r o b e r T i n l a K e s h

siNCE the eruption of civil unrest in the islamic Republic back in September, Western media has not shied away from spreading uncorroborated or outright false stories about iran s government the implications of the constant stream of disinformation is the justification of sanctions that kill iranians Following the death in iranian custody of 22-year-old Mahsa amini back in mid-September civil unrest in iran spread far and wide, with protests sparked over foreign media reports that had indicated that the young woman was beaten to death by iran’s morality police Later, CCtV footage was released, which contradicted some reports on how the young woman had died followed by a coroner report which indicated her death came due to cerebral hypoxia as a result of underlying issues Despite this, the demonstrations that started on September 16 continued

What started initially as a number of demonstrations, primarily in Kurdish-predominant areas of iran, turned into a nationwide disunited movement that took the form of violent riots, online social media campaigns, symbolic hijab burning protests and even deadly terrorist attacks against sites of worship as iran accused the United States and israel of attempting to spark a Syria-style civil war, US President Joe Biden vowed to “free iran” during a speech in California amongst the chaos and the media reporting that aimed to portray the iranian government as a distinct kind of evil, the Biden administration began to tighten its maximum pressure sanctions campaign the current US sanctions campaign, first enacted under the former trump administration, has been condemned by the international Court of Justice due to its impact on humanitarian goods, such as medicine, entering iran

Perhaps the most prominent piece of disinformation that has been disseminated about iran during the past few months was the assertion, by Newsweek, that 15,000 iranian demonstrators were sentenced to death according to the initial claims, the iranian parliament had supposedly voted to approve this move, implying that the country's judiciary took no part in such a massive decision the story was spread by leading online personas and even Prime Minister of Canada Justin trudeau, who later deleted his post on twitter about the matter

However, since then the outlandish claims have not stopped coming Prior to the iranian national team's game against the US in the FiFa World Cup, CNN released a report that no other major news outlet, save for a few tabloid news sites in the UK, touched CNN quoted an unnamed security source that according to the report had managed to find out that the islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (iRGC) had infiltrated Qatar in order to threaten the iranian team s players

the CNN story states that the source somehow found out that the players were offered luxury gifts, such as vehicles, prior to the beginning of the World Cup, which would imply that the source had intel on the iranian team when they were in tehran before the tournament the report goes on to say that iRGC officials threatened the iranian players’ families with torture in the event that they may protest their government during the World Cup CNN s source also claims that the coach of the iranian team a Portuguese national was also interviewed by the iRGC, although they weren’t able to hear what was discussed like they did with the players the same article makes the additional claim that the iranian government was flying out pro-government supporters to watch the team play, in essence creating artificial fans None of the claims have been corroborated and it didn’t gain purchase with major news outlets, which is strange considering the severity of the allegations being made that the iRGC an official branch of iran’s armed forces, had violated Qatar ’s sovereignty in order to threaten their own football team the difference between the CNN and Newsweek piece is that with the “security source”, there is no way to determine with certainty whether the whole thing is made up or not in the advent of news that iran had abolished its morality police unit, responsible for the arrest of Mahsa

Raise nuclear deterrence

r e a h e r a l d

US President Joe Biden said no when asked by a reporter at the White House on tuesday if he was currently discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea His reply briefly caused confusion as it could be interpreted as contradicting remarks by his South Korean counterpart

President Yoon Suk-yeol said in an interview with the Chosun ilbo, published Monday, “the nuclear weapons belong to the United States, but planning, information sharing exercises and training should be jointly conducted by South Korea and the US the US has a considerably positive position (on the idea)

Yoon's top adviser for press affairs Kim Eun-hye said that probably Biden had no other choice but to answer “no” because a reporter asked him the question abruptly without context She added that joint nuclear exercises can only be held between nuclear weapons states ” according to Reuters a senior US administration official said that joint nuclear exercises with Seoul would be “extremely difficult” because South Korea is not a nuclear power but that the allies are looking at enhanced information sharing, joint contingency planning and an eventual tabletop exercise

Further explanations by Kim and the US official seem to be made to prevent Biden‘s reply from creating the impression that there are differences between the two allies

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently vowed to increase his country's nuclear weapons arsenal “exponentially and singled out South Korea as an undoubted enemy ” He also vowed to develop a new type of intercontinental ballistic missiles that would give the North a quick counterstrike capability Last year it approved a new law authorizing the preemptive use of nuclear weapons

Considering Pyongyang's escalating nuclear threat, Yoon may have wanted to show through the interview a solid alliance with Washington However, Biden s terse no effectively weakened any such impression, though that may not have been his intention

But given North Korea's rapid development of iCBMs

and nuclear weapons, South Korea and the US have no other choice but to strengthen nuclear deterrence

North Korea is on the brink of completing intercontinental ballistic missiles that can strike US cities if it finishes the job, it would be difficult to expect Washington to use nuclear weapons to strike back against a North Korean attack on South Korea Few US presidents would take the risk of sacrificing a large number of US citizens for the sake of defending South Korea the US has defended non-nuclear allies through its nuclear umbrella and extended deterrence, but North Korea‘s ceaseless development of iCBM and nuclear weapon programs arouses concerns about the effectiveness of US nuclear umbrella

South Korea and the international community have striven to denuclearize North Korea but the North has kept on increasing its missile and nuclear capabilities Denuclearizing the North should remain an objective for Seoul and Washington, but attaining it has become practically impossible South Korea needs to focus on a more realistic objective and that is nuclear deterrence

a sure way to prevent a nuclear attack would be t o p o s s e s s n u c l e a r w e a p o n s i n t h i s v i e w S e o u l needs to consider defending itself with its own nuclear weapons But in reality, it is difficult to put the idea into practice Seoul has no other choice but to rely on US nuclear weapons to deter a North Korean nuclear attack When it comes to fending off North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats, as a matter of f a c t , S e o u l a n d Wa s h i n g t o n p l e d g e d t o f u r t h e r s t r e n g t h e n t h e a l l i a n c e s c a p a b i l i t i e s i n f o r m a t i o n s h ar in g , an d co n s u ltatio n p r o ces s , as w ell as jo in t planning and execution the pledge was contained i n t h e j o i n t c o m m u n i q u e i s s u e d b y S o u t h K o r e a n

National Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and US Defense Secretary Lloyd austin following the 54th Security Consultative Meeting held in Washington in November last year the US has barred South Korea from accessing nuclear weapons and instead offers its nuclear umbrella Given the North's nearly complete nuclear missile program, the effectiveness of nuclear deterrence must be raised if the US puts the pledge into practice early, it will be a significant progress in that direction

amini another false story emerged from a number of little-known crypto-currency outlets online, claiming that iran was set to freeze the bank account of women who weren t wearing the appropriate islamic covering the origins of the story came from an interview that was conducted with an ultra-conservative member of iran’s parliament, Hossein Jalali, who allegedly proposed a three-warning system via SMS, with the end penalty being the freezing of bank accounts this has never come close to being implemented or even been discussed in parliament Despite this, tweets claiming that iran was implementing this strategy went viral Posts on social media from influencers have claimed that the iranian security forces “are raping children”, and that young women are being murdered for showing their hair in a horrific and medieval crackdown these reactions naturally come as a result of the factual inaccuracies of the reporting about iran and we continue to see more and more as the weeks go on the most recent misrepresentation of the facts has come in the coverage and reaction to a number of executions in iran Earlier this month, the second death sentence connected to the recent civil unrest was carried out this led to headlines from the likes of the associated Press (aP), that read iran execution: Man publicly hanged from crane amid protests' which is how we saw the sentencing of Majidreza Rahnavard to death, by the iranian judiciary, framed throughout Western media the aP piece opens with the following paragraph: “iran executed a second prisoner on Monday convicted over crimes committed during the nationwide protests challenging the country s theocracy publicly hanging him from a construction crane as a gruesome warning to others ” Whilst the aP article did explain, further down in the piece that the young iranian man had stabbed to death two iranian security officials, injuring 4 others, what is written works to present tehran as a monstrous regime that is unjustly killing iranian protesters as a warning to others the reality is, iran does have a death sentence and does carry it out, but since some States in the US do the same the story has to be twisted so that iran is singled out as a special kind of evil iran’s death sentence is handed out through a judicial process, during which Majidreza Rahnavard admitted to killing two security officials the incident was even filmed No country on

earth would allow such a crime to go unpunished in total, roughly 400 iranians have allegedly been sentenced to prison terms for their involvement in various criminal activities during the latest round of civil unrest two iranians have been executed after admitting to carrying out attacks against the nation s security forces Whilst there are others who may receive the death penalty the Western media took it upon themselves to whip up a frenzy about an execution that was not even ruled Earlier this month, several outlets ran headlines with allegations that an iranian football player from isfahan was next in line for execution Reports claimed that a small-time football player, Nasr azadani, had been sentenced to death and despite the iranian judiciary denying this, the claims took hold on social media 26year-old Nasr azadani was arrested in connection with the murder of several members of iran’s security services it has been reported that an indictment carrying the charge of accessory to moharebeh had been communicated with azadani the charge of “moharebeh” (“war against God” in islamic law) can carry with it a death sentence, however, it is not clear whether being an accessory would be ruled this way the problem here is that Western media outlets jump on unsubstantiated claims, and repeat half truths, in an attempt to extract a predetermined anti-iran narrative From trusted outlets like the aP, to CNN, all the way to the tabloids, there is little care for fact checking and journalistic integrity the goal is to delegitimize the iranian government, to encourage outrage Factual information is only important for nit-picking in a way that supports this biased narrative at the same time it is somewhat ironic that none of these media outlets, or Western politicians that repeat their claims and feign concern over iranian prisoners care one bit for journalist Julian assange, who the US is attempting to extradite from the United Kingdom the outcomes of this kind of reporting are the encouragement of prejudiced hate against iranian culture the justification of sanctions that kill iranians and the peddling of new-Orientalism talking points, all whilst claiming to be in support of human rights and feminism there are various ways to make good faith criticisms of the iranian government, but this is not what we are seeing, this is the Western media machine piling in on a regime change agenda, and everything they say needs to be taken with a pinch of salt

Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK

no... Why S pare is a step too far even for this royals fan

Harr

Independent J e s s i e T h o m p s o n

Wait Say that again they call each other Willy and Harold? Harry s necklace was ripped?! He was injured by a dog bowl!?!?! the explosive account of a fight between Prince Harry and Prince William, from Harry’s forthcoming memoir Spare, contains the kind of intimate, incidental details that usually make me giddily incredulous i m the type of casual royal watcher who has vague political opinions about inherited privilege but will neck a new tina Brown book like it’s a tasty mojito i watch new seasons of the Crown in a single sitting i have even googled “Princess Margaret wearing sunglasses young” Basically, i’m here for the drama So i find myself in an unusual position Harry s book is undoubtedly the biggest and most anticipated book release of 2023, offering a no-holds-barred look into the reality of his royal life and yet the thought of actually reading it? Oh god Now i’m not actually sure that i want to

So far, the leaked excerpts of the book, which was accidentally published early in Spain, have been horrifyingly personal the more that emerges – Harry begging his father not to marry Camilla, Meghan accusing Kate of having baby brain – the more i feel a stress headache coming on the Queen’s death in September made a forthcoming book full of broadsides feel catastrophically timed, with the publication date not finally confirmed until the end of October But now Spare – really what a title –is about to come out, and i want to run and hide it’s not just the problem of oversaturation, although there is that the joke that Harry has broken his silence – “again” – is turning into a cliché this is the opposite of silence; a constant cacophony the appearances come thick and fast now with two major tV interviews for the book’s release, both heavily trailed with déjà vu-ish

quotes (“i don’t know how staying silent is ever going to make things better”) Last year ’s six-hour Netflix saga made me feel like i was stuck in a Groundhog Day of softly lit petty grievances and dramatic but vague claims “i had to do everything i could to protect my family,” said Harry i was being fed to the wolves said Meghan We saw a couple who seemed paralysed by bitterness, who had overplayed their hand and overestimated the public s interest in them in my review of the second volume, i feared they’d made a Faustian pact, destined to only garner attention by criticising the royal family the very institution they d wanted to escape J u d g i n g b y e a r l y i n s i g h t s i n t o t h e c o n t e n t s o f Spare, this seems to be continuing – and it all just feels t o o p r i v a t e t h e r e s a n u n e a s y s e n s e o f b e i n g m a d e a v o y e u r t o a f a m i l y i n d e e p p a i n , i n a w a y w e d i d n ’t e v e r n e e d o r a s k t o b e S t o r i e s o f f i g h t s a n d f a l l o u t s m a y f a s c i n a t e u s , b u t i s u s p e c t m a n y w i l l s i m p l y w a n t to turn away as tolstoy wrote, “every unhappy family i s u n h a p p y i n i t s o w n w a y ” ; f e s t e r i n g f a m i l y r i f t s a r e a s c o m m o n a s t h e y a r e d i ff i c u l t , a n d a t t h i s p o i n t i d a s s u m e t h a t p r o u d r o y a l i s t s a n d s t a u n c h r e p u b l i c a n s a r e g e n e r a l l y u n i t e d b y t h e f a c t w e ’ d a l l q u i t e l i k e t o s e e t h e Wi n d s o r s h e a l

in writing his own memoir Harry was perhaps inspired by his mother ’s collaboration with andrew Morton on the biography Diana: Her true Story, based on covertly recorded interviews with the princess it’s now been described as the closest thing we’ll ever get to her autobiography, but the context is quite different: unlike Harry, Diana was then still in the royal family married to their heir to the throne and unable to use her own voice in their Netflix documentary, Meghan, on one of the many occasions the couple used their own voices asked “When the stakes are this high, doesn’t it make sense to hear our story from us? But that s the thing with a lot of royal stories they’re low stakes glamourous soap operas full of unreal versions of real people, and most of us know that My own royal fascination basically comes from an interest in history gossip and nice dresses i’m not here to be a fly on the wall for a family therapy session Some may argue that the Crown is damaging to the royals – but we know that it mainly consists of nice-looking recreations of things on the public record, or imagined versions of things that aren’t

At 55th CPSP convoc ation, naval chief reminds medic al students of responsibilities towards society

AnAlyStS fEAr furthEr dEClInE In rupEE AgAInSt dOll Ar In COmIng wEEk

KARACHI

I N p

The analysts have expressed fear Pakistani rupees is expected to decline further against US dollar in the coming week

“No stability in Pakistani rupee unless the inflow of foreign currency improves,” they expressed

It is important to mention here that during the o u t g o i n g w e e k , t h e l o c a l c u r r e n c y ’s p e r f o r m a n c e was poor as it slid from 230 15 to 262 60 against t h e d o l l a r i n t h e i n t e r b a n k m a r k e t f o l l o w i n g t w o days of devaluation

The crucial $1 1 billion tranche which is a part of a $6 billion IMF loan agreed upon in 2019, was initially scheduled to be released in November 2022, but the Fund has yet to approve its release

Due to the IMF’s demands that the government has to carry out fiscal consolidation measures and economic reforms recent discussions regarding resuming the bailout have been put on hold

The resident representative of the global lender announced on Thursday that an IMF mission will arrive in Pakistan next week to discuss the ninth review of the country’s ongoing funding programme, which has been halted

I S L A M A B A D : C h i e f o f t h e N a v a l S t a ff A d m i r a l M u h a m m a d A m j a d K h a n N i a z i o n S u n d a y a d v i s e d t h e m e d i c a l s t u d e n t s t h a t b y p u r s u i n g h e a l t h e d u c a t i o n a s a c a r e e r, t h e y h a v e t o d e l i v e r t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e c a r e t o t h e i r p a t i e n t s b y k e e p i n g t h e m s e l v e s a b r e a s t w i t h t h e l a t e s t k n o w l e d g e C h i e f o f t h e N a v a l S t a ff A d m i r a l M u h a mm a d A m j a d K h a n N i a z i w a s s p e a k i n g a t t h e 5 5 t h C o n v oc a t i o n C e r e m o n y o f C o l l e g e o f P h y s i c i a n s & S u rg e o n s P a k i s t a n ( C P S P ) h e r e o n S u n d a y T h e C h i e f o f t h e N a v a l S t a ff g r a c e d t h e o c c a s i o n a s c h i e f g u e s t a n d c o n f e r r e d m e d a l s a n d d e g r e e s t o t h e p os i t i o n h o l d e r s f e l l o w s a n d m e m b e r s o f C P S P W h i l e a d d r e s s i n g t h e c e r e m o n y, t h e N a v a l C h i e f c o ng r a t u l a t e d t h e s t u d e n t s , p a r e n t s a n d f a c u l t y o n a c h i e v i n g a s i g n i f i c a n t m i l e s t o n e a n d a l s o a p p r e c i a t e d e x t e n s i v e e ff o r t s p u t i n b y t h e s t u d e n t s a n d C P S P f a c u l t y H e a d v i s e d t h e s t u d e n t s t h a t b y p u r s u i n g h e a l t h e d uc a t i o n a s a c a r e e r, t h e y h a v e t o d e l i v e r t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e c a r e t o t h e i r p a t i e n t s b y k e e p i n g t h e m s e l v e s a b r e a s t w i t h t h e l a t e s t k n o w l e d g e A d m i r a l M u h a m m a d A m j a d K h a n N i a z i a c k n o w l e d g e d t h a t t h e b i g g e s t a c h i e v e m e n t o f C P S P w a s t o h a v e i n t r o d u c e d , n u r t u r e d a n d e s t a b l i s h e d a n i n d i g e n o u s s y s t e m o f p o s t g r a d u a t e m e d i c a l e d u c a t i o n t h a t h a s p a v e d t h e w a y f o r c o m p r e h e n s i v e h e a l t h c a r e i n t h e c o u n t r y t h a t i n c l u d e d p r i m a r y a s w e l l s p e c i a l i s t c a r e E a r l i e r i n h i s w e l c o m e a d d r e s s , t h e P r e s i d e n t C P S P h i g h l i g h t e d t h a t C P S P h a s r e c e n t l y s t a r t e d f e l l o w s h i p p r o g r a m i n L i v e r Tr a n s p l a n t a n d h a s a ff i l i a t e d P a k i s t a n K i d n e y & L i v e r I n s t i t u t e ( P K L I ) R e s e a r c h C e n t r e i n L ah o r e a n d a n i n s t i t u t e i n G a m b a t n e a r S u k k a r M o r e o v e r, C P S P h a s o p e n e d n e w R e g i o n a l C e n t e r s i n G a m b a t a n d G i l g i t B a l t i s t a n T h e C e r e m o n y w a s a t t e n d e d b y s e n i o r o ff i c i a l s f r o m C P S P a n d n o t a b l e s f r o m m e d i c a l f r a t e rn i t y s ta f f r e p o rt

MCCI proposes bar ter exchange system for trade with neighbours

MULTAN: Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (MCCI) sub-committee for liaison with government met here Sunday and proposed that department concerned should introduce a barter exchange system for trade with neighbouring counties and demanded legislation for international e-payments T h e m e e t i n g c h a i r e d b y s u b - c o mm i t t e e c o n v e n e r, K h a w a j a M u h a m m a d H u s s a i n , u n a n i m o u s l y n a m e d M C C I p r e s i d e n t M i a n R a s h i d I q b a l a s t h e c o - c o n v e n e r o f t h e s u b - c o m m i t t e e

The south Punjab industrialists discussed the national economic situation in detail and the initiatives of the government to bring stability

Speaking on the occasion Khawaja Muhammad Hussain said that the industries that are self reliant should be encourged and businesses relying on these industries should be given incentives

Khawaja said that a barter trade exchange system should be developed for trade with neighbouring countries to jumpstart trade activities in the region and develop good relations with neighbour

To further strengthening the national economy legislation should be introduced for infomation technology sector particularly the international e-payments

Moreover he said that lectures of senior MCCI business persons should be arranged for students of Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP) to make them understand the business and industry requirements

President MCCI and co-convener of sub commuttee

Mian Rashid Iqbal senior vice president Nadeem Ahmad Sheikh, vice president Sheikh Asim Saeed, Suhail Tufail, Waqas Khalid, Aqeel Qureshi and secretary committee Sajid Ansari were present s ta f f r e p o r t

MARIA MUNIR

Insurance is a legal agreement between two parties-the insurer and the insured also known as insurance coverage or insurance policy The insurer provides financial coverage for the losses of the insured that she/he bear under certain circumstances

An arrangement by which a country or the state undertakes to provide a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage illness, or death in return for payment of a specified premium

The word ‘’ TAKAFUL’’ is derived from the Arabic word Kafala, which means to guar-

The value of the rupee against the greenback decreased by Rs32 or 14%

Similarly in the open market during this week, the local currency dropped by Rs29 to 269 against the dollar Pakistan’s currency has been declining to transition to a market-determined exchange rate since control on the currency was removed in compliance with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions

One of the requirements for resuming a bailout programme Pakistan sought from the IMF is a market-based currency rate Pakistan’s finances have

been in disarray due to diminishing foreign exchange reserves and stalled external financing

The cash-strapped country has hardly three weeks’ worth of import coverage in its foreign exchange reserves and is struggling with a severe balance of payments crisis Pakistan is desperate to secure external funding to avoid default

The central bank s foreign exchange reserves have depleted to $3 7 billion as of January 20

“The rupee will depreciate slightly over the coming week as a result of a significant adjustment (to the exchange rate) that was previously made over the last two sessions,” said an analyst

Gwa d a r Fr e e Z o n e N o r t h t o g e t e l e c t r i c i t y i n 6 0 d ay s

ISLAMABAD

To provide 5 MW electricity to Gwadar Free Zone (North), a successful joint feasibility survey has been completed by Quetta Electric Power Supply Company (QEPSC) and China Overseas Ports Holding Company (COPHC), paving a way for the provision of power in 60 days

According to Gwadar Pro, a joint feasibility study finalized that after finding all physical and operational indicators smooth and positive, Gwadar Free Zone (North) is going to get regular and affordable 5 MW electricity in the first step

If all goes well in the second step, a 12 MW power supply will be ensured for Gwadar Free Zone (South) and Gwadar Port in the coming months, a QEPSC official told Gwadar Pro

As part of the first-step arrangements we are gearing up electricity installation infrastructure and relevant apparatus like erection of polls with transmission lines” the QEPSC official said

The entire electricity paraphernalia will span over 3 kilometers that will connect Gwadar Port’s Grid Station to the area of Gwadar Free Zone (North), he mentioned

The Deep-Sea Port Grid Station was established in 2019 exclusively for Gwadar Port and Free Zone through 3 feeders

Since inadequate power was available at the disposal of QEPSC, the Grid Station had to rely on diesel generators for the production of thermal power using expensive fossil fuels at a high cost he added I n a q u e r y, h e s a i d , “ a f t e r a comprehensive feasibility study that continued for many months,

antee one another; to help; to take care of one s need; a scheme based on brotherhood solidarity and mutual assistance which provides for mutual financial aid and assistance to the participants in case of need whereby the participants mutually agree to contribute for the purpose ’’ (Takaful Act 1984)

Based on the principle of ta awun (mutual assistance) and tabarru (voluntary cont r i b u t i o n ) T h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e c o n c e p t must be within the spirit of shariah I n c o n v e n t i o n a l i n s u r a n c e , t h e r i s k i s transferred from the insured to the insurer Ta k a f u l , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , i s b a s e d o n shared risk Each participant donates to a

One source is the national grid station of Quetta The second source is Gabd-Remdan on the Pakistan-Iran border The third source is the Nag-Besima section also on the Pakistan-Iran border

“The new dispensation will augur well for investors of Gwadar Free Zone (North),” he added

A COPHC official said that as matter of fact, the current electricity price at Gwadar Free Zone (South) and Gwadar Port is off the charts, incurring a heavy financial blow to Port’s operator and companies working in Gwadar Free Zone (South)

“We used to purchase petrol at Rs 1 5 million for Gwadar Port and Rs 3 5 million for Gwadar Free Zone (South) monthly Chinese companies in Gwadar Free Zone (South) are charged around Rs 85 per unit

However, after the availability of 5 MW under new arrangements in the first step, electricity cost to industries and factories at Gwadar

Free Zone (North) will be around Rs 50 to Rs 55 per Kilowatt

The same reasonable cost will also be available for Gwadar Port and Gwadar Free Zone (South) in the second step later It means investors and factory owners will enjoy a saving of around Rs 30 per kilowatt This will directly impact financial leverage and production growth not only for current enterprises but also for potential investors COPHC official said

Currently, in Gwadar Free Zone (South) around 51 companies have been registered Around 10 companies including CBC, H K Sons Agvon Linyi Trade City, China Ecological Company, China Harbor Engineering Company Hengmei Jintai and others are up and running their functions

Meanwhile, in Gwadar Free Zone (North) currently three companies have been completing their construction works to run their industries in two months

Many more including East Sea Group Limited entered into a deal to establish a $4 5 billion oil refinery in Gwadar Free Zone (North) Smooth and affordable electricity prices will be a big booster for them

“While there was no intervention in the forex market on Friday, the rupee/dollar parity struggled to go up beyond 264 and after staying at that level receded somewhat to close at 262 60 Indeed, there was interest from exporters at these levels,” said Tresmark in a client note

“The market will struggle to go above 270 in the short-term, correcting to 265 levels, if there is no negative news on the IMF or the political front But traders will keep a close watch on depleting reserves which went below $10 billion for the first time in years, it added

IESCO notifies power suspension programme

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) on Sunday issued a power suspension programme for Monday for various areas of its region due to necessary maintenance and routine development work

A c c o r d i n g t o I E S C O S p o k e s m a n , t h e p o w e r s u p p l y o f d i ff e r e n t f e e d e r s a n d g r i d s t a t i o n s w o u l d r e m a i n s u s p e n d e d f o r t h e p er i o d F r o m 0 9 : 0 0 a m t o 0 2 : 0 0 p m , I s l a m a b a d C i r c l e S h a h e e d M i l l a t I q b a l To w n A l i p u r S a t a r a M a r k e t , A z a d S h a h e e d , S e r v i c e R o a d E a s t , A b b a s i M a r k e t , G - 9 C e n t e r, C a r r i a g e F a c t o r y, G - 11 / 2 , R a i l w a y R o a d , T & T, C o mp a n y B a g h , G h a r i a l , K o t l i S a t t i a n , B a l a w a r a , B u r i I m a m S o h d r a n R o a d A n g u r i S h a h p u r S h a h d a r a , M a g n i y a l , D e s t o , T & T, Tr e a t , B h a r a K a h o I I , G o l f C i t y, B h a r a K a h u , N I H , A t h a l , Q u a i d - e - A z a m U n i v e r s i t y, I q b a l S t r e e t , N C P, M a n d a l a F e e d e r s , R a w a l p i n d i C i t y C i rc l e F a r o o q A z a m N e w M i l p u r S h a k r y a l F B l o c k , F a z a h i a , Z a f a r u l H a q R o a d , A r y a M oh a l l a F e e d e r s , R a w a l p i n d i C a n t t C i r c l e , B a n k R o a d I I , Ti p u R o a d , R a h m a t a b a d I , S w a n G a r d e n I I , M o d e l To w n , M u r r e e B r e w e r y, H u m a y u n K H R o a d G u l s h a n a b a d C h a k r i Q u r e s h i a b a d , C a n t t , K a h o t a C i t y I I , K h a w a j a , N e w C h u a h , F a z a l A h m a d , P a n j a r, H a m i d J h a n g i , P i n d J a t l a , B a h r K a l i a l , S y e d K a s r a n , C B K h a n I I , R e l i a n c e We a v i n g M i l l , J a r r a r C o m p L a b 1 & 2 B h a l I s l a m a b a d F e e d M i l l , J h a t a H a t i a l , S h a h i g a n , A d i a l a J a i l , S h a h p u r, K h a s a l a F e e d e r s , A t t o c k C i r c l e , Ta x i l a , M a rg a l l a , N a w a b a b a d , B e h l o t , B i n B o l a , AW T, Va l l e y, S m a l l I n d u s t r i a l E s t a t e , L a l a z a r K h a n a b a d L a l a R u k h I n d u s t r i a l Vi s a , B o l i n w a l , H a t t i a n , H a z r o , B a r a Z e e , B a g h N e l a b , S o n i , C h h a j i M a r, M u r t , P i n d S o l t a n i , M a h f o u z S h a h e e d , A h m a d D a l , G a g a n F e e d e r s , C h a k w a l C i r c l e

t a k a f u l f u n d a n d i n t h e e v e n t o f l o s s , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t w i l l r e c e i v e t h e a m o u n t o f i t s claim Takaful is based on mutual cooperation a m o n g t a k a f u l p a r t i c i p a n t s b a s e d o n Wakalah contract between participants and t h e t a k a f u l o p e r a t o r I t i s f o l l o w e d b y S h a r i a h l a w s a n d g o v e r n m e n t l a w s I t i s b a s e d o n t h e t a b a r r u ( d o n a t i o n s ) a n d i t s payment is contribution In this their application eligibility is anyone can apply Risk i s s h a r e d b e t w e e n p a r t i c i p a n t s I t m a y i nc l u d e w a k a l a h f e e t h a t w i l l r e d u c e o v e r t i m e P r o f i t s a r e s h a r e d b e t w e e n p a r t i c ipants and the takaful operator based on the

Mudarabah contract T h e g e n e r a l i n s u r a n c e s e c t o r o f P a k -

istan, operating with approximately 28 insurance companies, falls under the services sector of the economy AICL started its operations on 28th September 1960 and curr e n t l y, i t i s c o n s i d e r e d t o b e t h e l a rg e s t general insurance company in Pakistan

The insurance sector of Pakistan comprises of 10 life insurers and family takaful companies, 30 active non-life insurers and g e n e r a l t a k a f u l c o m p a n i e s T h e s h a r e o f Takaful in Pakistan s in global takaful premium is estimated to be around 1% which is very small as compared with other coun-

tries like Malaysia, Indonesia USA

Takaful is not a new concept it has been around for centuries Takaful business allows policyholders to enjoy the benefits of a mutual structure within a shareholder wrapper Takaful business also has an explicit ethical structure which can be marketed to both Muslims and non-Muslims Although both conventional and takaful business generate profits for the shareholders are explicitly transparent- in conventional insurance they are not necessarily so

Writer is a BBA student at Hailey College the University of Punjab

A co m p a r i s o n b e t we e n I n s u ra n ce a n d t a k a f u l

B l i N K e N h e a d s t o M i d d l e e a s t a s v i o l e N c e e R u p t s

sE C R E TA RY of State Antony Blinken was due Sunday in Egypt at the start of a Middle East trip on which he will look to use US influence to notch down Israeli-Palestinian tensions after an eruption of violence

Blinken who will travel Monday and Tuesday to Jerusalem and Ramallah, had long planned the visit to see Israel’s new right-wing government, but the trip takes on a new urgency after some of the worst violence in years

A Palestinian man on Friday killed seven people outside a synagogue in a settler neighbourhood of east Jerusalem, and another attack followed on Saturday

On Thursday, nine people were killed in an Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank in one of the deadliest such operations in years Israel said it was targeting Islamic Jihad fighters and also hit the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire

Blinken will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and call “broadly for steps to be taken to de-escalate tensions,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters as he condemned the horrific synagogue attack

The violence is also likely to figure in talks between Blinken and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose country s traditional role as a Middle East media-

North Korea denies arms dealing with Russia

WASHINGTON

A F P

North Korea on Sunday denied providing arms to Moscow after the United States said the nucleararmed state supplied rockets and missiles to Russia’s private military group Wagner Washington earlier this month designated the Wagner group as a “transnational criminal organization,” citing its weapons dealings with Pyongyang in violation of UN Security Council resolutions

The White House showed US intelligence photographs of Russian rail cars entering North Korea, picking up a load of infantry rockets and missiles, and returning to Russia, according to national security spokesman John Kirby

In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency a senior North Korean official rejected the accusations, warning that the US will face a “really undesirable result” if it persists in spreading the self-made rumour

“Trying to tarnish the image of (North Korea) by fabricating a non-existent thing is a grave provocation that can never be allowed and that cannot but trigger its reaction,” said Kwon Jong Gun, director general of the Department of US Affairs He also called it “a foolish attempt to justify its offer of weapons to Ukraine”

Earlier this week US President Joe Biden promised 31 Abrams tanks, one of the most powerful and sophisticated weapons in the US army, to help Kyiv fight off Moscow’s invasion

The move drew a rebuke Friday from Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who accused Washington of “further crossing the red line” by sending the tanks into Ukraine

Along with China Russia is one of the North s few international friends and has previously come to the regime’s aid

Other than Syria and Russia, North Korea is the only country to recognise the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk, two Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine

ear thquake kills three, injures 800 in nor thwest iran

TEHRAN

A F P

A 5 9-magnitude earthquake hit northwestern

tor has helped him remain a key US partner despite President Joe Biden’s criticism of his human rights record The United States, with its close relationship to Israel, has historically taken a lead on Middle East diplomacy But experts questioned whether Blinken could achieve any breakthroughs

“The absolute best they can do is to keep things stable to avoid another May 2021,” said Aaron David Miller, a veteran US negotiator, referring to more than two weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas that ended with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire

Ghaith Al-Omari, a former Palestinian official now at The Washington Institute, expected Blinken to repeat traditional US positions rather than break new ground

“The trip itself is the message,” he said

“Blinken will ask Abbas to do more but it is not clear what they can do he said referring to the Palestinians

‘Flooding the zone’ with Netanyahu

Blinken’s visit is part of an effort by the Biden administration to engage quickly with Netanyahu, who returned to office in late December leading the most right-wing government in Israel s history

Israel’s longest-serving prime minister had a fraught relationship with the last Democratic president, Barack Obama as Netanyahu openly sides with his Republican adversaries against US diplomacy with Iran

Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, visited earlier in January to discuss Iran after Biden’s efforts to restore a 2015 nuclear accord despised by Netanyahu effectively died

“I’ve never seen such an intense flurry of high-level contacts under any administration as you’re watching right now said Miller now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

UK PM shows ruthless streak as ally fired over tax scandal

LONDON

Ag e n c e s

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday dismissed a senior ally whose murky tax dealings have focussed anger at the government as a cost-ofliving crisis brings misery to millions

An inquiry into the wealthy Conservative party chairman Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs dating from his founding of the YouGov polling company in 2000 had found a “serious breach” of ministerial rules, the government said “As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty s Government,” Sunak wrote in a publicly released letter to his Iraqi-born ally Sunak appointed Zahawi as the

party chairman and cabinet minister without portfolio, when he entered 10 Downing Street nearly 100 days ago, following the implosion of Liz Truss’s premiership and the demise of the scandal-plagued Boris Johnson

Then, as his letter noted, Sunak vowed to deliver integrity professionalism and accountability at every level” Instead, the Zahawi case and allegations of bullying levelled by civil servants at Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, have undermined Sunak’s attempts to restore public faith in the beleaguered Conservatives

The inquiry report by Sunak’s newly appointed independent ethics advisor Laurie Magnus found that Zahawi effectively lied to succes-

sive Conservative leaders when he came under investigation by the UK’s tax authority

Zahawi settled the matter last September with a fine for late payment reportedly worth £5 million ($6 2 million) months after he started serving under Johnson as chancellor of the exchequer in ultimate charge of the UK tax agency

But he did not reveal the fine in his declaration of ministerial interests, until it emerged in newspaper reports this month Initially last year, he tried to silence journalists and a tax consultant with threats of libel lawsuits Zahawi had failed “to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour the damning report by Magnus found

Muslims in London protest Holy Quran desecration

LONDON

Ag e n c e s

A group of Muslims on Saturday gathered outside Sweden’s Embassy in London to protest the provocative burning of a copy of the Holy Quran by a far-right Swedish-Danish figure

The protesters held signs condemning the Islamophobic extremist act and chanted slogans

Dozens of people from different communities in Birmingham, Manchester, and London also performed prayer and recited verses from the Holy Quran Islam s holy book, in the area

On Friday, Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus

Paludan, the leader of the far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) Party, burned a copy of the Holy Quran in front of a mosque in Denmark

The Islamophobic act came days after the far-right leader burned a copy of the Holy Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, during a police-approved protest

He also announced he would burn the holy book of the Muslims every Friday until Sweden is included in the NATO alliance

Global condemnations have poured in with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson condemning Paludan’s actions as “deeply disrespectful,” while the US called it “repugnant ”

Iran overnight killing at least three people and injuring more than 800 in the region near the border with Turkey, state officials and media said Sunday Panicked residents fled their homes as buildings collapsed and rubble crushed cars, with hundreds seeking shelter from freezing winter conditions in evacuation centres as more than 20 aftershocks rattled the region

The shallow quake hit the city of Khoy with a population of around 200,000, in West Azerbaijan province at 9:44 pm (1814 GMT) Saturday said the Seismological Center of the University of Tehran

“This incident has left 816 injured and three dead,” West Azerbaijan governor Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian was quoted as saying by IRNA news agency

People were seen wrapped in blankets and huddling around fires in the snow-dusted region, in images published by Iranian media as state TV broadcast footage of major damage to residential buildings, including half-destroyed houses Buildings in 70 villages suffered quake damage, the state news agency reported, with rescuers clearing rubble to free those trapped in the area around 800 kilometres (500 miles) northwest of the capital Tehran

Iran s Red Crescent Society chief Pirhossein Koolivand, later announced the search and rescue operations had finished, with no more survivors or bodies believed trapped Iran’s interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, travelled to Khoy to observe the situation, where he said water, power and gas connections were impacted but being restored, IRNA reported

drone attack hits iran defence ministr y complex

TEHRAN

Ag e n c e s

Iran said Sunday a night-time drone attack had targeted a defence ministry site, at a time of high tensions over its nuclear programme and Russia s war in Ukraine

An anti-aircraft system destroyed one drone and two others exploded, the ministry said, adding there were no casualties and only minor damage to the site in the central province of Isfahan

A fireball lit up the night sky in video footage widely shared on social media and published by Iranian state media, with people outside seen running and emergency service vehicles speeding toward the site “An unsuccessful attack was carried out on one of the workshop complexes of the ministry of defence the ministry said according to state news agency IRNA “The attack, which occurred around 11:30 pm (2000 GMT) on Saturday did not cause any disruption to the operation of the complex,” it said Authorities did not elaborate on the activities at the site, but IRNA said the strike had targeted “an ammunition manufacturing plant” Parliament member Mohammad-Hassan Assafari told the Mehr news agency that “opponents and enemies” of Iran were aiming to disrupt the defencive power of the country with the attack The drone strike comes at a tense time in Iran, which has been rocked by protests over the death in custody of KurdishIranian woman Mahsa Amini in September, and as the standoff with major powers over its nuclear programme remains unresolved

‘Ideology of hate’ consuming India, says G andhi ’s great- grandson

MUMBAI

Ag e n c i e s

India’s rising tide of Hindu nationalism is an affront to the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, his great-grandson says, ahead of the 75th anniversary of the revered independence hero’s assassination Gandhi was shot dead at a multi-faith prayer meeting on January 30, 1948, by Nathuram Godse a religious zealot angered by his victim’s conciliatory gestures to the country’s minority Muslim community Godse was executed the following year and remains widely reviled, but author and social activist Tushar Gandhi, one of the global peace symbol’s most prominent descendants, says his views now have a worrying resonance in India

“That whole philosophy has now cap-

tured India and Indian hearts, the ideology of hate the ideology of polarisation the ideology of divisions,” he told reporters at his Mumbai home

“For them, it’s very natural that Godse would be their iconic patriot, their idol ”

Tushar, 63, attributes this tectonic shift to the rise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata

Party (BJP)

Modi took office in 2014 and Tushar says his government is to blame for undermining the secular and multicultural traditions that his namesake sought to protect

“His success has been built on hate, we must accept that,” Tushar added

“There is no denying that in his heart, he also knows what he is doing is lighting a fire that will one day consume India itself ”

Today, Gandhi’s assassin is revered by

many Hindu nationalists who have pushed for a re-evaluation of his decision to murder a man synonymous with non-violence

A temple dedicated to Godse was built near New Delhi in 2015, the year after Modi’s election, and activists have campaigned to honour him by renaming an Indian city after him

G o d s e w a s a m e m b e r o f t h e R a s h t r i y a S w a y a m s e v a k S a n g h ( R S S ) a s t i l lp r o m i n e n t H i n d u f a r- r i g h t g r o u p w h o s e m e m b e r s c o n d u c t p a r a m i l i t a r y d r i l l s a n d p r a y e r m e e t i n g s

The RSS has long distanced itself from Godse’s actions but remains a potent force, founding Modi’s party decades ago to battle for Hindu causes in the political realm

Modi has regularly paid respect to Gandhi’s legacy but has refrained from weighing in on the campaign to rehabilitate

his killer

Tushar remains a fierce protector of his world-famous ancestor ’s legacy of “honesty, equality unity and inclusiveness

Djokovic wins AustrAliAn open to equAl nADAl’s 22 sl Am titles

MELBOURNE

a f p

AN emotional Novak Djokovic

beat Stefanos Tsitsipas Sunday to claim a 10th Australian Open title and equal Rafael Nadal’s 22 Grand Slam crowns a victory that returned him to world number one

The Serbian star overcame a hamstring injury and off-court drama on his return to Melbourne Park to sweep past the Greek third seed 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5) on Rod Laver Arena

He surged to victory without father Srdjan in the stands after he sparked controversy by posing with a fan carrying a Russian flag featuring Vladimir Putin’s face following his son s quarter-final win

Djokovic climbed to his player ’s box after the win to embrace his mother and broke down in uncontrollable tears, collapsing to the ground sobbing

It capped a remarkable comeback by the 35-year-old fourth seed, who missed last year ’s tournament when he was deported over his Covid vaccination stance

After a three-year ban from Australia was lifted, Djokovic won the lead-up Adelaide International before reinforcing his stature as an all-time great in Melbourne

clear of Roger Federer

The Spanish great made a shock second-round exit with a hip injury but is targeting a return for the clay-court season and another crack at the French Open and with it a 23rd Slam title

match with his confidence high having won all nine of his previous Australian Open finals and with a 10-2 career advantage over the Greek

Moving freely with only minimal strapping on his troublesome left hamstring, he opened with a comfortable hold after being greeted by huge cheers

Djokovic worked two break points on Tsitsipas’s opening serve, to no avail, but kept probing and the Greek handed him a break for 3-1 with a careless double fault Tsitsipas, in only his second Grand Slam final to Djokovic’s 33rd, appeared nervous, losing the first set in just 36 minutes

But he battled back into contention in a much closer second set as his confidence grew improving his serve and winning some pressure points

He earned his first break point and set point when Djokovic blasted a backhand wide

place to three

women athletes outshine men in karachi nBp’s marathon event ISLAMABAD

ag e n c e S

Nadia Khan clinched the first position in 12 km marathon race category, while Faisalabad’s athlete Waqas Talha of Faisalabad remained first in 7 5 km race category for men, whereas Mumtaz Nemat secured 1st position in the same category for women in the event held by the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at Seaview in Karachi

According to a report on Sunday, NBP Commissioner Karachi Marathon-4 started from the point of Nishane-Pakistan at Karachi coast and ended at the same point People from all walks of life participated in the event Moreover, differently-abled people also got a chance to showcase their talents The marathon-4 was held in 3 categories The first category was 1 1 km, the second category was 12 km for both men and women and the third category was 7 5 km for both men and women, respectively The athletes who participated in the marathon termed this event as welcoming one Rangers and police personnel were also on duty for the security of Marathon-4, while relief teams also performed their services in the event

Nadal, though, is set to slide down the rankings when they are released on Monday, in contrast to Djokovic, who will dethrone Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz and return to the top for the first time since June Tsitsipas will climb one

Both men were back on a court that helped them rise to stardom Djokovic won his first Grand Slam in 2008 on Rod Laver Arena while Tsitsipas burst on the scene in 2019 when he stunned defending champion Federer in the last 16

But the Serb clung on to keep the set on serve and it went to a tiebreak, where his greater experience came to the fore

Against the odds Tsitsipas broke for the first time on Djokovic’s opening serve in set three, only to relinquish the advantage immediately after a gripping rally, furious with himself

chelsea sign Gusto on contract to 2030, loan defender back to lyon

The emphatic win drew him level with Nadal on a record 22 Slams, two

With sizeable Greek and Serbian communities in Melbourne, and Rod Laver in attendance, there was a raucous atmosphere Djokovic came into the

Akmal believes there is room for improvement in Babar ’s c aptainc y

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

Cables emerged victorious on the sixth day of the 3rd Allama Iqbal Polo Tournament sponsored by Lahore Smart City here at Jinnah Polo Fields on Sunday

I n t h e f i r s t m a t c h o f t h e d a y, D i a m o n d P a i n t s d e f e a t e d P l a t i n u m H o m e s / M a s t e r P a i n t s b y 8 - 3 ½

F r o m t h e w i n n i n g t e a m C E O D i a m o n d P a i n t s M i r S h o a i b A h m e d d i s p l a y e d o u t s t a n d i n g m a l l e t a n d p o l o s k i l l s a n d h a m m e r e d t h r e e t r e m e n d o u s g o a l s w h i l e N i c o R o b e r t s a l s o c o n v e r t e d t h r e e g o a l s a n d L t C o l O m e r M i n h a s b a n g e d i n a b r a c e A m i r r e z a B e h b o u d i h a m m e r e d a l l t h e t h r e e g o a l s f o r P l a t i n u m H o m e s / M a s t e r, w h i c h h a d a h a l f g o a l h a n d i c a p a d v a n t a g e

Diamond Paints made a good start by converting one goal each in the first two chukkers to gain a 2-0 lead

In the mid of the second chukker, Platinum

Homes/Master Paints made a good comeback converting two back-to-back goals to equalize the score at 2-2 The third chukker was fully dominated by

Diamond Paints as they banged in another brace to take 4-2 while they they fired in four more goals against one by their opponents to win the match by 8-3½

The second match took place in the rain which turned out to be very exciting one as Master Paints/Newage

Cables edged pass FG/Din Polo by 8-7 in the dying moments of the match Raja Temur Nadeem smashed in superb six goals while Adnan Jalil Azam struck one goal for Master Paints/Newage For FG/Din Polo, Saqib Khan Khakwani hammered a hat-trick of goals while Shah Shamyl Alam banged in a brace and Sheikh Muhammad Raffay and Mian Abbas Mukhtar hit one goal each

Wicketkeeper-batsman, Kamran Akmal, believes Pakistan captain Babar Azam should try to emulate former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, in a bid to improve his leadership skills

While talking to media on Sunday in Lahore, Kamran praised Babar ’s batting but insisted there is room for improvement in his captaincy

Babar Azam is a great batter but there are still question marks over his captaincy He should be more confident as captain while also improving his body language He has been captain for three years and it is time to deliver,” said Akmal

It is a World Cup year which is why he should be more aggressive as captain Graeme Smith was also young when he was made captain I think Babar should take a leaf out of Smith’s book,” he added Smith was only 22 years old, when he was appointed captain of South Africa in Test and ODIs, after Proteas disastrous campaign in 2003 World Cup at home

Last year, after Pakistan’s team loss against Zimbabwe in 2022 T20 World Cup, Akmal, who is also the cousin of Babar, had also asked him to quit captaincy

o R t

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has turned down the request of players participating in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) to extend their stay in the league beyond February 3

According to PCB management committee chairman, Najam Sethi, some players had requested the board to allow them to skip the upcoming exhibition match between Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators in Quetta on February 5

While speaking at a local event however, Sethi revealed that he has denied the aforementioned request by BPL-bound players in favour of national interest

“The decision to host an exhibition

match in Quetta was to put a soft image of Baluchistan which is considered a troubled province’ This match is in our national interest and we all have to make it successful,” said Sethi Franchises told me that few of their players are not willing to come back from BPL There are 4-5 players who have requested to let them complete their BPL contract But, I want to give a clear message, they have to come back as we want them for our national interest ”

“It’s our contractual right that whenever we want our players we can call them back anytime from anywhere This happens all around the world I know, they want to earn money by completing their contract but we need them to fulfill our national interest,” he added Pakistan captain Babar Azam will lead

after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in Australia Pakistan had a turnaround of fortunes after the aforementioned matches and went onto play the final of the tournament against eventual winners, England

‘Reports of rift with Babar Azam rubbish’

Former cricketer Wasim Akram has rubbished reports of any rift between him and current Pakistan skipper Babar Azam

In an exclusive interview with the biggest website of Pakistan cricket Cricket Pakistan in Dubai, Akram said that Babar is like a son to him and slammed the journalists for spreading fake news regarding them

“I was never upset with Babar There are a few journalists sitting at home who are making these stories Their job is to be on Twitter only They won t eat food they won’t have tea, they are on Twitter 24/7 I haven’t met them even once,” said Wasim Wasim, bowling coach of Karachi Kings also added that the decision to trade Babar to Peshawar Zalmi was taken by owners and he was not involved in it

“Trades are very common in league cricket It’s not my team, it’s the owner ’s team,” said Wasim to Cricket Pakistan I keep talking to Babar regularly He s like my own son Why would I be upset with him? I fully support him,” he added

It again went to a tiebreak, where Djokovic once again raised a level to claim another title P C B t u r n s d o w n B P L- b o u n d p l aye r s ’ r e q u e s t t o s k i p e x h

Team Yellow, which will comprise of players like Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Haris, Danish Aziz and Saim Ayub Whereas, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Hasnain Naseem Shah and Umar Akmal will turn up for Team Purple, under the leadership of Sarfaraz Ahmed Wahab, Haris, Saim, Iftikhar and Naseem are currently playing for various franchises in the ongoing season of BPL Sethi also asked the franchise owners of Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators to fully support the event in Quetta “The fans in Quetta are so excited about this match We can’t let them down We will celebrate this match to the fullest said Sethi “Please, we need your support We can’t afford any hurdle ”

LONDON R e u t e R S

Chelsea have signed right-back Malo Gusto from Olympique Lyonnais on a deal until June 2030 and loaned him back to the French side for the rest of the season, the Premier League club said on Sunday Gusto, who has played in France’s under-21 team, has played 15 times in Ligue 1 this campaign after the 19year-old broke into the starting lineup last season Financial details were not revealed but Sky Sports said the transfer fee was £26 3 million ($32 60 million) The defender will now continue his impressive progress on loan at the Groupama Stadium before joining up with the Blues in the summer ahead of the new campaign, Chelsea said in a statement Gusto is Chelsea’s seventh recruit in the mid-season transfer window after the London club signed Mykhalo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos and David Fofana while Joao Felix arrived on loan from Atletico Madrid Chelsea are 10th in the Premier League, 10 points from a top four spot They next play Fulham in a London derby on Friday

not thinking about retiring: malik says enjoying playing t20 leagues around

KARACHI

S ta f f R e p o R t

Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has made it clear that he has no intentions of retiring from the sport anytime soon While talking to reporters in Sylhet on Sunday the 40-year-old said that he can still compete with a 25-year-old in terms of fitness

“Trust me, even though I am the oldest in the team, you can compare my fitness with a 25-year-old What motivates me is I still enjoy coming to the ground and I still think that the hunger is there As long as these two things are there, I am going to keep playing which is why I am not even thinking of retiring,” Malik said

Dp, master paints/newage emerge victorious

3rd Allama iqbal polo tournament