Epaper_23-02-01 KHI

Govt calls for unity against

Profit

fuel shortages amid liquidity crisis

COAS direCtS COmmAnderS tO fOCuS On Anti-terrOr OperAtiOnS

g Gen munir says cowardly acts cannot shake resolve of nation

g toP military bra ss reaffirms suPPort for indiGenous freedom struGGle of ka shmiris

China denounces Peshawar terrorist attack; expresses firm support to Pakistan’s fight against terrorism

Pakistan, IMF agree to fiscal refor ms amid talks on ninth review

iSLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

Chief of army staff (coa s) General syed asim munir tuesday directed all army commanders to cont nue focus on ant -terrorism operations in coordination w th inte igence and law enforcement agencies (leas) with renewed resolve ti l the time we achieve sustainable peace addressing the participants of the 255th corps commanders conference held here at the GhQ, General syed as m munir said that immoral and cowardly acts like Peshawar mosque attack cannot shake resolve of the nation rather reinvigorate ts determination to succeed in ongoing war against terror with Zero to erance for any terror st entity top mi tar y brass was br efed in detai about prevail ng and emerging threats situation in the indian illega y occupied jammu and kashmir (iiojk) and ongoing intelligence-based operations being undertaken by army and leas for breaking the nexus between terror sts and their support mechan sm across the countr y the forum paid rich tributes to the martyrs

of Peshawar po ice line blast and vowed that perpetrators will be brought to exemplar y justice the forum taking notice of human rights violat ons and indian design to alter demo-

graphics of iiojk, reaff rmed army ’s commitment to Pak stan s principal support to ind genous freedom struggle of brave kashmir people as per re evant un resolutions and aspirations of the peop e of the kashmir

Injured cops vow fight back as blast toll rises to 100

PESHAWAR: The death toll rose to 100 on Tuesday, a day after the suicide blast that rocked a mosque in Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines in Peshawar as more dead bodies were dug out from the rubble on the blast site According to the spokesman of Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) Muhammad Asim, until now 100 dead bodies had been received from the Peshawar mosque blast site He informed that until now there were 53 injured of the blast, admitted to different wards of the hospital including seven in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) adding that most of the injured were in stable condition He said that free-of-charge medical treatment, surgeries, tests, and medicines were being provided to the injured at the hospital Meanwhile, Director General Health Dr Sahib Gul Khan visited LRH and inquired after the health of the injured policemen He went to every injured person and directed the hospital administration to provide best medical facilities to them He also prayed for the early recovery of the injured I n j U R e D C o P S U n fA z e D b y T e R R o R : Meanwhile, the policemen injured in the deadly blast at the mosque on Tuesday expressed the resolve to continue the fight against terrorism and extremism to protect the motherland from the menace s ta f f r e p o r t

federal m nister for finance and revenue senator mohammad ishaq dar on tuesday began discussions with with imf review m ssion ed by imf mission ch ef mr nathan Porter on the countr y s economic and fiscal policies and reforms required for completion of the much-delayed ninth review of a $7 billion under extended fund faci ity (eff) f nance minister senator ishaq dar welcomed the delegation and shared long standing fr end y relations with the imf he briefed the mission on f scal and economic reforms and measures being taken by the Government in different sectors inc uding bridging the fiscal gap exchange rate stability and in energy sector for the betterment of the economy he apprised that reforms are be ng introduced in power sector and a high leve committee has been formed for devising modalities to offset the menace of circular debt in gas sector imf resident representative ms esther Perez ruiz, minister of state for finance and revenue dr aisha Ghous Pasha saPm on finance tariq bajwa, saPm on revenue tariq mehmood

Pasha, Governor state bank of Pakistan mr jamil ahmed, sec-

retar y finance the fbr chairman members of imf delegation and senior officers from finance division attended the meeting during the meet ng, both sides discussed and reviewed the economic and fiscal policies and reforms agenda to accomplish the 9th review under the extended fund facil ty the f nance minister also extended gratitude to the managing director of imf on continuation of ta ks and shared that as finance m nister he had successfully comp eted the imf programme in the past and that the Government was committed to complete the present programme he further extended al h s support to the m ssion and comm tted to work together for reaching an agreement to comp ete the 9th review under extended fund facility (eff) mr nathan Porter imf mission chief expressed h s confidence that the government w ll meet the imf requ rements for the completion of the 9th review and hoped that Pakistan would continue towards its progress on the reforms in various sectors and complete the imf Programme within time effect vely he further added that imf and Pakistan wil be working together on f sca reforms

g Greed, artificial adjustments, month-end limits or imf talks? Profit unPacks mystery of dollar droP and exPlains why monday ’s droP miGht be a one-off event

the value of the do lar fell by almost rs 5 in the ear y trade on tuesday, as the greenback settled the day s trade at rs 267 89 w th a gain of rs 1 7 in the interbank market a s mi ar trend was obser ved in the open market today w th the currency dealers asking for rs 269 per usd against the prev ous day s rate of rs 275 per usd leaving many to ponder the reasons beh nd th s sudden drop in the do ar rate wh le the decline in the dollar rate n the open market is common y assumed to be a resu t of speculative behavior with more people wil ing to se l their dol-

lars than those will ng to buy particularly in light of the ongoing ta ks between the government and imf the reality on the ground was ver y different however in order to understand what forces were at play in the open market we need to first see the interbank market and understand specif c dynamics that have led to the dol ar slipping in va ue slight y

What happened in the interbank market according to sources familiar with its workings, the drop is attributed ma nly to the monthly import limits set by the state bank of Pakistan (sbP) for each bank for import of non-essentia imports with most banks having exhausted these limits for the month of

december there was ver y litt e pressure n the interbank market to make mport payments on the last day of the month with the interbank market experiencing a temporar y decline in demand coupled w th a relat vely higher supply of dollars through off cial channels on the back of the interbank rate going as h gh as rs 270 yesterday “th s extra supply with a temporar y drop n demand has led the interbank market to cool off for a day assum ng noth ng else changes, i expect that with the new month demand pressure w ll start building again which could drive up the price of the do lar again,” sa d one analyst talk ng on condition of anonymity according to another analyst, with a lim t

on buy-sell spread it also made sense for the banks to offer less to exporters on a day when they d dn t have to sell too many dollars to the importers But what about the open market then?

one would assume that a rs 5 drop

in the dol ar rate must have been caused by excess supp y n the open market with too many peop e sell ng their dollar holdings now instead t was obser ved that currency dea ers had almost no dollars to sel on tuesday then what caused the pr ce to drop?

some bel eve that the open market was fo lowing the lead of the nterbank market with currency exchange companies hesitant to buy dollars at higher

rates in fear of selling at a oss if the rate were to drop again on the other hand, some currency dealers were tr ying to make a quick buck by artific a ly lowerng the do lar rate the hope was that people wou d start pan c selling after see ng the sudden drop n both interbank and open market rates, thus currency dea ers were choosing to only buy the currency at these low rates that said analysts bel eve that it was always expected that after the removal of the art fic al cap on dol ar rate, the pr ce of the dol ar would overshoot peak and then come down slightly to settle and stabilize at a relative y ower rate, especially after successful completion of the 9th review it seems that has not happened yet

‘anti-Pakistani elements’

Pakistan braces for

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

PA K i S tA n u n d e r S h A r i f r A n K S 1 4 0 t h o n g l o B A l A n t i - c o r r u P t i o n i n d e x

AC C O R D I N G to the Transparency International report released on Tuesday, Pakistan failed to improve its position on the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), remaining at 140th out of 180 countries the same as the previous year

The CPI measures the perceived level of corruption in a country s public sector,

‘our Afghan policy has failed,’ says senator Mushahid

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed on Tuesday called for confessing that our Afghan Policy has failed Speaking at the floor of the Senate, Mushaid Hussain said that “failing to formulate the counter-terrorism policy is our incapacity We are in the state of war since last 43 years,” he said “Five-billion-dollar Afghan Jihad fought, the consequences are before us,” he said The battle for power will devastate Pakistan People want solution of the problems, incompetence will not be allowed”, addressing the upper house of the parliament he emphasized Former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani had earlier said that a joint session of the Parliament going to be held on February 08 He suggested that the national anti-terrorism policy should be discussed in the joint session of the parliament “It is my complaint to all political parties that this is the life and death question for the federation veteran parliamentarian said “Terrorism has been on the rise, while the political parties are busy in the political tug of war,” he lamented All political parties should sit in the parliament to hold a national dialogue,” he advised

heads roll as igP listens to citizens in complaint cell 1787

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Punjab Inspector General of Police Dr Usman Anwar listened to the phone calls based on the complaints of the citizens at IGP Complaint Center 1787 and issued on the spot directive to the RPOs concerned for resolution The IG Police suspended SHO Khaddian and issued a show cause notice to DSP for the delay in registration of case of motorcycle theft on the application of Naeem, a citizen of Kasur He further directed RPO Sheikhupura to take every possible step to recover the motorcycle of the citizen Dr Usman Anwar suspended the SHO Millat Town Faisalabad for the faulty investigation of a murder case and issued a show cause notice to the DSP, directing the RPO Faisalabad to conduct investigation into the case under his own supervision to arrest and punish the responsible persons He suspended SHO Yusufwala and issued a show cause notice to DSP for improper investigation of a dacoity case and discourteous behavior with plaintiff of case in Yousafwala police station He ordered RPO Sahiwal to conduct the investigation of the dacoity and murder case in police station Hujra Shah Mukeem under his supervision and punish those responsible for negligence and noncooperation with plaintiff of case after the inquiry and send the report within a week IG Punjab has suspended SHO Sadar Hasilpur and issued a show cause notice to DSP for delay in registering solar panel theft case on the application of School Headmaster namely Tariq

represents very clean Transparency International released its annual CPI report on Tuesday showing a one-point improvement for Pakistan, improving its score to 27 from 28, while the ranking remained unchanged The nation’s ranking under the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government had been on a decline dropping 16 places in 2021 compared to 2020, and ranking 140th out of

180 countries

In contrast during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in 2018, Pakistan s ranking was 117th

Meanwhile India’s score remained unchanged, and Bangladesh’s score decreased to 25 from 26

The 2022 CPI was based on 13 expert assessments and business executive surveys, and reflected the views of experts and business people Denmark topped the index with 90 points, followed by Finland and

ECP reinstates S hujaat as head of PML- Q amid politic al tug- of-war

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reinstated Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain as president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), following a petition filed by the former prime minister against his cousin Pervaiz Elahi

The party leadership was previously contested after Hussain’s removal in July of last year, citing health reasons, but he challenged the decision and the tribunal temporarily maintained his presidency

The PML-Q remains divided on alliances with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)

The development comes days after the general council of PML-Q removed Hussain as the party chief amid emerging differences within its ranks

His brother Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain who along with Elahi, former Punjab chief minister, is allied with former prime minister Imran Khan was chosen as the new party president, while Kamil Ali Agha was selected as the central secretary-

general The party had removed Hussain after he, in his capacity as president of PML-Q, suspended the basic membership of Elahi, in response to the latter s statement about a possible merger with the opposition PTI

A show-cause notice served to Elahi mentioned that the PML-Q president called an urgent meeting of the senior leaders, where it was noted that the provincial president did not have the authority to merge the party with PTI

The statement went on to say that PML-Q, as a political party, maintains its individual identity, vote bank party discipline and rules and regulations which Elahi violated through his statements

The notice demanded an explanation from Elahi within seven days otherwise action would be taken against him under the party constitution’s Article 16 and Article 50 The decision to issue a show-cause notice to Elahi was made during a high-level party meeting that included Tariq Bashir Cheema, the then secretary-general, Chaudhry Salik Hussain the senior vice president and Chaudhry Shafay Hussain, a senior leader

Imran faces indic tment in Toshakhana case on Feb 7

An Islamabad court Tuesday ruled that charges against former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan in the foreign gifts, or Toshakhana, reference case will be framed on February 7

The reference, filed by the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition, alleges that Khan failed to disclose gifts he received and proceeds from their reported sales

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) declared that Khan made false statements regarding the gifts leading to his temporary disqualification under the Constitution Subsequently, it approached the court seeking criminal proceedings against Khan for allegedly misleading officials about gifts from foreign dignitaries during his premiership Khan, who is recovering from a gunshot wound sustained in an assassination attempt sought exemption from the hearing

At the start of the hearing, Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal questioned the absence of Khan’s power of attorney Saad Hasan, the counsel for ECP, argued it could not be presented until Khan appeared in court himself

Responding to the two, Ali Bukhari, counsel for the opposition party, claimed that a medical certificate for Khan had been submitted but the judge instructed the PTI lawyer to present the power of attorney During the hearing, a disagreement arose between the PTI and ECP lawyers leading the latter to request the court to issue arrest warrants for the

former prime minister Judge Iqbal then ordered Khan to submit surety bonds worth Rs20,000 and to appear in court in person for the next hearing

The case centres on a government department known as Toshakhana which during the Mughal era referred to the treasure houses kept by the subcontinent’s princely rulers to store and display gifts lavished on them Government officials must declare all gifts to the Cabinet Division but are allowed to keep those below a certain value

More expensive items must go to Toshakhana under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division, but in some cases, the recipient can buy them back at around 50 percent of their value a discount Khan raised from 20 percent while in office The ruling coalition has for months alleged Khan and his spouse, Bushra Maneka, received lavish gifts worth millions during trips abroad They included luxury watches, jewellery, designer handbags and perfumes

New Zealand with 87 points each

At the bottom of the chart were Somalia Syria, and South Sudan with 12, 13, and 13 points, respectively

In his message Daniel Eriksson chief executive officer (CEO) of TI, emphasized the importance of including the public in decision-making to fight corruption and promote peace He encouraged people in democratic societies to raise their voices and demand a safer world by rooting out corruption

Mar yam likely to woo disgruntled Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President and Chief Organizer Maryam Nawaz is likely to meet the disgruntled party senior leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

According to the party sources, senior PML-N leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has been disgruntled from the party as result of some serious reservations However PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif has directed the party Vice President Maryam Nawaz meet Shahid Khaqan to address his reservations It was learnt that PML-N has been constantly sidelining the senior party leader in important party matters The party has removed him as a senior vice president which created a rift between Shahid Khaqan and PML-N The PML-N leader didn t welcome the part chief organizer Maryam Nawaz on her return to Pakistan Sources within PML-N revealed that Maryam Nawaz along with other senior and influential party leaders will meet the disgruntled PML-N leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

Balochistan’s uplift government’s top priorit y: PM

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said the government would equally provide opportunities to the people of Balochistan at par with other provinces

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

PESHAWAR

S ta f f R e p o R t I n d u s t r i a l i s t s i n K h y b e r P a k h t u n k h w a ( K P ) h a v e d e m a n d e d f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t t o a l l o w t r a d e r s t o c o n d u c t t r a d e v i a l a n e r o u t e w i t h C e n t r a l A s i a n c o u n t r i e s a n d C h i n a t o b o o s t t h e e c o n o m y o f t h e

terror-hit province

Naeemur Rahman, a leading businessman doing trade with Central Asia Countries, said that there are a lot of opportunities in Central Asia markets as there is more demand for Pakistani goods, but, the government never paid attention to explore these markets

u rg e d t h e g o v e r n m e n t t o c r e a t e o p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d p r o v i d e f a c i l i t i e s t o t r a d e r s f r o m t h e s e c o u n t r i e s f o r t r a d e w i t h P a k i s t a n Naeem advised

that

Shahid Hussain, Senior Vice President of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce (SCCI) said that the lane route should be opened immediately for KP traders because the cost of business is too high through Karachi port H e s a i d t h a t p r o m o t i o n o f t r a d e w i t h C e n t r a l A s i a n countries will have more benefits for KP H e s a i d t h a t i f t h e l a n e r o u t e i s o p e n e d , t h e

businessman of KP can deliver their goods to Central Asia at a low cost as distance is 700km unlike 1600km t o K a r a c h i p o r t H e s a i d i t w i l l a l s o b e e a s y f o r K P traders to transport their goods to China and Central Asian States

According to Shahid Hussain if federal government opens the lane route to China for KP, the trade volume with China can boost from 1 5 to 5 billion US dollars

He added that SCCI is currently working on regional trade connectivity that includes Central Asian countries, Turkey, Iran, and China, which will create space for regional market growth for our products

S

n t S S t r i P P i n g ’ : n e w c o M e r S ’ ‘ h u M i l i At i o n ’

i n n A M e o f r A g g i n g g o e S u n n o t i c e d i n P u

LAHORE

S h a h a b o M e R

iN the guise of open-mindedness and coolness the students of the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Punjab have been exposed to harass and strip the new admitted students in the name of ragging A student, who recently got admission in the Fine Arts Department, on the assurance of anonymity, confided to this scribe that there was panic among the new students due to the humiliation in the name of ragging

Ragging happens with every new student, but this kind of ragging in Punjab University is against the expectations and norms Our seniors also raged with us Actually, the story is that during ragging we were asked to undress when our female classmates were also present Obviously, male students strongly protested against this, but we were so intimidated by the seniors that we had to be naked in front of the ladies of our class ” he lamented

The said student believed that many male students have suffered mental stress due to this humiliation at the hands of their seniors and shy away from facing their

Sc rules constitution doesn’t delegate suo motu powers to high cour ts

ISLAMABAD

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that high courts had no suo motu jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution The eight-page judgment authored by Justice Ijazul Ahsan also set aside the judgment of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) which had given directions for forming a committee to review prices

The PHC had ordered the provincial government for establishment of a committee to determine the prices of livestock and poultry products The apex court judgment stated that the high court could not devise a formula for pricing as it went against the principle of trichotomy of powers envisaged under the Constitution The prayer of the respondent was essentially limited to the pricing of products but the high court passed a series of suo motu orders The court order stated that the PHC in its orders had imposed a ban on the export of dairy and poultry products The order stated that banning imports or exports of products was not the domain of the courts but fell under the exclusive domain of the executive

Joint parliament session urged to discuss counter-terrorism policy

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Members of the Senate on Tuesday suggested that counter-terrorism policy be discussed in a joint session of the parliament scheduled to be held on February 8 The Senate, which resumed its session at the Parliament House in Islamabad on Tuesday with Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani in the chair, held a detailed discussion on recent incidents of terrorism in the country Participating in the debate Raza Rabbani of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) strongly condemned the suicide blast that took place in the mosque of Peshawar yesterday He said the CT policy should be discussed in the February 8 session He appealed to the political parties to hold national dialogue inside the parliament and evolve consensus on important matters Senator Saifullah Abro said efforts should be made to avert Peshawar-like incidents in future He said there should not be political point scoring on security incidents

female classmates “A student enrolled in our class, who was already suffering from mental and psychological problems, has become seriously disturbed due to this action of seniors He was already taking antidepressant medication and after the procedure, not only is he hiding from people, but there are fears that he might do something dangerous to himself,” he feared

Another fresher informed this scribe that not only that, female students are also harassed by male students in the name of “coolness ”

Cigarette smoke is blown on the faces of female students by seniors Male seniors openly put their hands into female’s bags Harassment is also done in the name of ragging in various other ways, he claimed

When the said student was asked if he complained to anyone in this regard in the administration? he replied that filing a complaint could create a lot of trouble for them

“It is not that the management is unaware of such activities of the seniors { } When we complain, it is a matter of unnecessary hostility We have to study in this university for two to four years Till now we have been silently enduring Similarly, many seniors also give the impression of blue-eyed boy of lecturers and

Sur

professors Even if one or two students are willing to file a complaint the rest of the students are so young and innocent that they will cut off their relationship with the complainants out of fear The environment of other departments of the university may not be like this but since this is the department of fine arts, the senior students here do these acts by considering themselves to be very liberal and open-minded but they do not know that some of our students are harmed by their actions They have suffered from psychological traumas and have

vivors, officials shocked

ISLAMABAD X n h ua

On a usual afternoon at work, Nasrullah Khan sub-inspector of police in Peshawar, took some time off from work to offer prayer in the highly guarded Police Lines neighbourhood of the city

“More than 300 people were inside the mosque, and as soon as the prayers began a big blast was heard and the roof of the mosque started falling apart,” Khan said, adding that “before I could rush out of the mosque something hit me

completely lost their self-esteem,” he continued

Another student from University of Punjab informed this scribe that one of his classmates was badly tortured during ragging and he was on anti-depressant pills later “My class fellow who was a bright student till school could not overcome the harassment and embarrassment he had faced during ragging in this university Later the student was put on medication and antidepressant drugs This incident not only harmed the class fellow but also his parents who were extremely upset for their only child”, he said

H o w e v e r, U n i v e r s i t y o f P u n j a b s p o k e s p e r s o n K h u r r a m S h a h z a d e x p r e s s e d u n a w a r e n e s s o f s u c h incidents and said that no such complaint has ever been registered If any student discloses the names of their seniors action will be taken against them The respect and dignity of all students are taken care of in Punjab U n i v e r s i t y a n d h a r a s s m e n t c a n n o t b e a l l o w e d t o anyone ” he said Talking to a professor of another local university Asma Hameed, she said, “Since long, ragging has been a practice in different colleges, universities and hostels where usually the seniors try making fun of the newly admitted students through the means of verbal or physical exploitation and harassment

after deadly Peshawar bombing

and I fell on the ground ” Khan was lucky that a pillar of the roof landed just close to him making a protective shield and saving him from receiving fatal injuries in a suicide attack which has killed at least 63 people and injured 157 others “I was scared down there, seriously wounded, lying under all the dirt hearing the groans of others until rescue teams started removing the rubble and I saw a small tunnel and mustered up my courage to creep out of it with the help of rescue workers,” Khan told Xinhua from Lady Reading Hospital in

PM c alls for global cooperation to tackle climate crisis

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday called for global cooperation to tackle the negative impacts of climate change highlighting that there is an urgent need for climate action

“As one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change Pakistan fully appreciated the need for a global response to combat climate change and build resilience and shared the efforts being undertaken in this regard Sharif said at a meeting with Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), who is on a visit to Pakistan

Peshawar where he is being treated for his injuries According to Peshawar police, the blast occurred at about 1:13 pm on Monday in the area when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest in the front row of the prayer congregation in the mosque In talks with Xinhua, Inayatullah Khan, former health minister of the province who was having a meeting with a police officer a few yards away from the blast site when the incident happened said the area is a heavily guarded compound consisting of residences and offices of police,

Climate change is one of the defining issues of our times,” and Pakistan is playing its part in this regard, the prime minister said Appreciating the work being done by the UNEP Sharif called for enhanced efforts to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation more effectively

As part of the UN system, UNEP is encouraged to contribute to and support Pakistan’s efforts to build back better and greener after the climate-induced devastating floods in the country, the premier said On the occasion, Andersen briefed the prime minister on the initiatives being taken by UNEP in Pakistan and appreciated the active role that Islamabad has been playing to address climate change

Death toll from boat c apsized in Kohat rises to 51

ISLAMABAD

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

Divers recovered nine more bodies of seminary students from a dam in the Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bringing the death toll from Sunday s boat accident to 51 an official said on Tuesday

At least 57 students, the majority of whom were in their teens, were aboard a boat when it capsized at Tanda Dam Divers recovered nine more bodies of seminary students on Tuesday, while the search for survivors and the dead continues, Kohat Police spokesman Fazal Naeem told Anadolu over the phone

Divers were able to save seven children alive on

Bilawal visit to Russia: Two countries agree to boost cooperation in diverse sec tors

ISLAMABAD

S

Pakistan and Russia have agreed to further enhance mutually beneficial cooperation in areas of trade energy education, culture, security and counterterrorism The understanding was reached during delegation level talks between Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his Russian

counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow

The discussions covered the entire range of bilateral relations with a special focus on trade and economic relations energy cooperation as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest The two sides also agreed on the importance of regular high-level exchanges for mutual benefit of both countries and their peoples In their discussion on regional situation, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

Sunday, Naeem said He did, however, acknowledge that the chances of any survivor are slim

Some 57 students of a religious seminary were on a recreational visit, and took a boat ride, the head of the seminary Shahid Anwar said adding that his son and a nephew are among the dead, Geo News reported Earlier, authorities provided contradictory figures for the number of students on board They initially reported 25 students on board, but later reported 40 The search for any survivors or victims among the remaining nine students would continue on Tuesday, he added Tanda Dam is a popular recreational spot in Kohat, attracting hundreds of visitors each day

apprised the Russian side on Pakistan s efforts for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan He also briefed the Russian delegation on Pakistan s perspective on stability and security in South Asia and gross human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir The two sides also reviewed cooperation at various multilateral institutions including United Nations and Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Earlier, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari reached Moscow at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Sunday On Monday, Bilawal held talks with Lavrov, a week after Pakistan and Russia signed an agreement on the supply of Russian crude oil and oil products The visit is significant because even when the Russians have their hands full with Ukraine, they still extended this invitation, a sign of warming relations and a chance to discuss further the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan On January 20, Islamabad and Moscow after the conclusion of the annual inter-governmental commission agreed on late March as the timeline for crude oil export

intelligence, and counter-terrorism departments He said that the bomber had to cross at least two police checkpoints before entering the Police Lines

“The successful execution of the attack indicates that he was well versed about the area and managed to dodge the police to reach the mosque or had the support of some insider he said Part of the mosque was razed to the ground following the explosion, trapping scores of people inside and the rescue teams are still busy sifting through the rubble to recover at least 10 missing people

SecP forms working group for effective implementation of Motor tlP insurance

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has formed a working group to explore the possibilities and mechanism for effective implementation of “Motor Third Party Liability (TPL) Insurance in the country The group comprises industry experts, representatives of Insurance Association of Pakistan (IAP) and SECP officials, will formulate a detailed proposal for effective implementation of Motor TPL Insurance including mechanism for coordination with relevant authorities

The first meeting of the working group held at SECP head office, discussed in detail the implementation of Motor TPL insurance under the existing laws It was agreed that the recommendations will include schedule for engagement with other relevant bodies public awareness, availability of affordable products and central database of motor insurance policies Motor TPL Insurance offers insurance protection against death, bodily injury and property damage to the victims of road traffic accidents or their legal heirs TPL insurance is also mandatory in almost all jurisdictions of the world, including neighboring countries i e India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka

Mar yam unleashes social media army to battle Pti

ISLAMABAD M o n i to R i n g R e p o R t

Maryam Nawaz, senior vice president of Pakistan

Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), has called on party officials to expand the social media team and spread the party’s message among the public, according to a report by The News After returning to Pakistan on Saturday, Nawaz has been meeting with PML-N leaders and is set to play an active role in the upcoming election campaigns for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa parliaments In a series of meetings with party leaders the PML-N chief organiser urged the social media team to stabilise the country and take an active role in spreading the party’s message Nawaz also met with members of the women’s wing and youth affairs, emphasising the importance of their role in fulfilling the party s responsibility to make Pakistan a modern developed, and welfare state

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th e National Commission of human Rights (NChR) on Tuesday expressed “serious concerns about the rejection of a female candidate for the haj director general’s (DG) position, allegedly on the basis of her gender

In December, Saima Sabah, a BS-20 officer of Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service, contended in a petition to the Islamabad high Court (IhC) that she had secured first position in a written test for the position by obtaining 71 marks out of 100 but was dropped due to gender discrimination

She had requested the court to direct the religious affairs ministry to declare her the successful candidate and issue her notification for the appointment of the DG haj accordingly

The petition alleged that “the minister in charge of MORA and Ih (Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith harmony) passed strange remarks against the gender of the petitioner” during the interview proceedings

A l o n g w i t h h e r p e t i t i o n , s h e h a d a l s o s u b m i t t e d a t r a n s c r i p t o f t h e a lleged interview however, a single member IhC bench had dismissed her petition after which Sabah had filed an intra-court appeal The high court reserved its decision in the case on Thursday

Addressing the matter, the NChR said the eligibility criteria for the position of haj director general did not exclude women while noting that Sabah was the highest-scoring candidate for the job with 71 marks

It said that there existed a precedent of a woman serving as Saudia Arabia s DG haj for 19 months so “why should

Ca a staffer returns bag containing valuables to owner

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An employee of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Tuesday returned a lost bag containing valuable items and foreign currency to the airport administration

As per details, CAA employee Ijlal Maseeh found two gold rings and a purse near the custom counter early morning after flight landings from Bahrain and Abu Dhabi at Bacha Khan Airport Peshawar Later Ijlal handed over the purse to the supervisor Amin he then gave it to the airport administration Upon opening the purse, there were 8050 Saudi Riyals, which is equal to almost Rs 5 88 lac The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) appreciated the act of honesty of the employee and the valuable items were returned to their owner earlier, in an instance of exemplary honesty, a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official returned to a woman her lost bag on Saturday which carried jewelry and other valuables worth hundreds of thousands of rupees The woman had flown in today from Dubai to Lahore at Allama Iqbal Airport, from a private flight PA-417 but unfortunately lost her bag in while she disembarked

Pakistan impose restrictions on the best qualified candidate Saima Sabah just because she is a woman?

In a follow-up tweet, the commission said that while Saudia Arabia was encouraging women to manage haj pilgrims, Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry was “rejecting qualified candidates on basis of gender”

An audio clip of the interview, purportedly featuring Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor and Sabah, has been doing the rounds on social media

In the leaked audio, a man believed to be Shakoor, in a conversation with a woman believed to be Sabah, can be heard saying: “haj is a religious mission and people from across the world attend it

“Our haj is completely dependent on the DG haj and people look up to him he says So if the appearance and personality of that person are not accord-

ing to the Sunnah, what message will go about Pakistan’s mission ”

At this the woman can be heard confirming that she was indeed a Muslim and that her father was also a man of faith

“No, I am talking about you covering your head with a scarf is compulsory in our religion,” the male says

To this, the woman said that she agreed with him but would take a dupatta when she finds it necessary

Subsequently, the man asks the woman about the significance of hijab and her choice of not wearing one “What impression would it give to countries around the world?” he asks

Later, in a statement through his Twitter account, Shakoor doubted the veracity of the audio and said that he could not even “imagine [committing] gender discrimination while occupying a constitutional office

Fascist mindset plotting Shujaat removal as PML- Q head defeated: Marriyum

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Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Tuesday the fascist mindset that planned to remove Chaudhry Shujaat as the PML- Q President was defeated

In a tweet, she congratulated PML- Q President Chaudhry Shujaat hussain and said the order of the election Commission of Pakistan was a message that the decisions would be made in the light of the Constitution and the law, not in darkness

The fascism of burning, demolishing, killing, picking up and throwing away was not imposed in the country now, she said

Now everything will be done according to the constitution and law

CDA accelerates anti encroachment operations

w h o r e v i e w e d t h e o n g o i n g w o r k s i n I s l a m a b a d and directed the director general of enforcement wing to remove encroachments in the construction of IJP Road

gov t to provide two million jobs to youth under NyeP ISLAMABAD

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Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Youth Affairs, Shaza Fatima Khawaja has said that the present government will provide two million jobs to the country s youth through the National Youth employment Policy (NYeP)

Addressing the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Year of Youth Shaza Fatima said that Pakistan has a huge youth bulge and about 150 million people of Pakistan are under 30 years of age which means that about 68 percent of our population consists of youth

She said that youth were not only our future but our present and we believed that if the youth were empowered by providing opportunities, they could become a strong asset for the country Our aim is to attract youth towards education, business and positive activities,” she added

The government’s priority domains for the uplift of youth are “Girls Learn Girls earn”, “Blue Collar Jobs and Providing dignified jobs to the youth in the future”, she added

Shaza Fatima further told that under the Prime Minister s Youth Program importance is being given to 4-es which are education, employment, engagement and environment

She said that in 2013, a flagship youth program was launched directly under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with objective to empower the youth and utilize their capabilities for the development of the country

The SAPM said that the Prime Minister s Youth Program has been designed after intensive consultation with youth and relevant stakeholders to make it more effective and productive

Shaza Fatima further informed that a National Youth Council had been organized consisting of dynamic youth who were playing a positive role for the welfare and development of the society

mqm leader ghauri returns from dubai

KARACHI

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) carried out an extensive anti-encroachment drive in various parts of Islamabad The authority seized four trucks of goods and demolished illegal structures that were built outside the designated plot line in the Zia Masjid sector The operation was started in Zia Masjid on the Islamabad express highway where hundreds of stalls were destroyed and the goods were confiscated with the assistance of the district administration

T h e d r i v e w a s i n i t iated on the orders of CDA

C h a i r m a n r e t i r e d C a p t

N o o r u l - A m i n M e n g a l ,

The official quickly mobilized the revenue staff and anti-encroachment personnel and reached the IJP Road where they marked the right-of-way and removed encroachments

Additionally, encroachments outside the plot line in Sector G-9 were also taken down, and numerous encroachments outside houses on Neelum Road were demolished

Factory owners who were illegally throwing waste into Darya Swan in Mauza hamak Islamabad were issued written notices under the CDA Ordinance 1960 Martial Law Regulation No 63 and the environmental Protection Act 2008

The vehicles bringing the waste were prevented from reaching the site by digging pits with excavators

Lastly the illegal constructions near Terlai extension were also demolished to foil any attempts to take possession

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Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Babar Ghauri and his wife arrived in Karachi from Dubai on Tuesday, after securing protective bail in two cases from the Sindh high Court (ShC)

The court granted bail till February 6, with surety bonds worth Rs200,000

Last year, Ghauri was acquitted in a case related to facilitating a provocative speech of London-based party founder Altaf hussain in 2015 he was charged with hate speech but was declared innocent due to a lack of evidence

Ghauri was taken into custody upon his arrival in Karachi on July 4 over allegations of corruption and terrorism, and was moved to an undisclosed location he and others are facing charges of corruption worth Rs2 8 billion in the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) during his tenure as federal minister for ports and shipping from 2008 to 2013

ISLAMABAD

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China-Pakistan small hydropower cooperation is injecting energy into Pakistan’s green economic development, said Wang Chunping, chairperson of heroboss Technology group, in an interview with China economic Net (CeN) he said, the development of small-scale hydropower can not only solve the problem of electricity consumption of local residents but also help in developing small local industries, increasing local taxes after being incorporated into the national power grid, and regulating the local ecological climate Wang Chunping added, heroboss Tech-

nology is mainly engaged in scientific and technological cooperation with the Pakistani Ministry of Science and Technology and local energy institutes

It is responsible for setting up the S&T cooperation platform between the two countries in the China-Pakistan small hydropower joint research center, connecting the joint discussions of Chinese state-owned enterprises in Pakistan, and promoting the integrated S&T development

The China-Pakistan Small-scale hydropower Technology Joint Research Center is one of the first batch of joint laboratories under the “Belt and Road Initiative”

Since the implementation of the China-Pakistan “Belt and Road” joint laboratory on small

hydropower technology in early 2021, 5 meetings have been held and consensus has been reached on small hydropower development

The energy exhibition hall has been completed and 80 percent of the equipment donated by China has arrived It has also completed studies for the development of several small hydropower projects, and assisted in the compilation of relevant regulations for small hydropower projects in Pakistan

Tan Bixuan project manager of CGGC DASU hydropower project in Pakistan, consultant of the research center emphasized that the center is willing to carry out all technology transfer within the scope of national permits, so as to enable the iron brother to develop faster and better

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CA R E TA K E R Chief Minister

Azam Khan has constituted a high-level inquiry committee to probe yesterday’s police line mosque blast from all aspects

Speaking to media persons along with

KP Inspector-General of Police Moazzam

Jah Ansari, the interim CM said the inquiry

committee had been constituted to identify and fix responsibility for the gruesome act

The committee would probe the blast from different angles and would submit a report at the earliest”, he added

The IGP informed that about 10-12kg explosives were used in the powerful blast adding a suicide bomber blew self up in the mosque at around 1pm during Zohr prayers, causing the roof to come down upon those offering prayers at that time, which increased

the number of casualties

Ansari said security lapse could not be avoided and investigations were underway to ascertain the facts

“We are checking one-month’s CCTV footage and tracking the facilitators of the bomber ” he added A joint investigation team (JIT) has been notified and the probe will clear everything soon, he said Those responsible will be identified and brought to book,” he added The rescue operation to re-

trieve bodies from the debris of the mosque has been concluded, said Bilal Faizi, the spokesperson for Rescue 1122

A preliminary investigation report of the explosion has been sent to Prime Minister, the sources said, adding the evidence found at the site of the incident indicated that it was a suicide attack and its target was the police

The roof tumbled down as the pillars collapsed causing a lot of damage The sources added that a high-level investigation

B a n k i n g C o u r t t o I m r a n : S h ow u p o r f a c e b a i l

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A local banking court here on Tuesday rejected a request by Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for joining the court proceedings through video link due to his health condition and gave him a last chance to appear in person in the prohibited funding case B a n k i n g C o u r t J u d g e R a k h s h a n d a S h a h e e n w a r n e d t h e P T I l e a d e r t h a t h i s i n t e r i m b a i l w o u l d b e c a n c e l l e d i n c a s e h e d i d n o t t u r n u p o n t h e n e x t d a t e o f h e a r i n g

During the hearing, Salman Safdar, the counsel for the PTI chairman requested the court to grant a one-time exemption from appearance to his client on medical grounds Imran Khan had re-

Police thwar t attack on Makar wal PS in Mianwali

LAHORE: Punjab Police Mianwali foiled terrorist attack on Makarwal police station, forcing the terrorists to retreat and run away Soon after the attack Punjab IGP Dr Usman Anwar contacted SHO Makarwal by telephone and encouraged the SHO and Thana Muharrir for their bravery and dedication The IGP directed that hunt for the terrorist elements should be continued and they should be brought to justice He directed that CTD, Elite Force and Special Branch should provide full support to Mianwali Police in the operation DPO Mianwali Muhammad Naveed rushed the scene and led h a heavy contingent of police and elite force to fight the terrorist Moreover, Dr Usman Anwar took a plausible step and formed a special team in view of the Mianwali attack The four-member committee includes Additional IG Training Zulfiqar Hameed, Additional IG Special Branch Sultan Ahmed Chaudhry Additional IG Operations Waqas Nazir and DIG IT Ahsan Younis The said committee along with RPO Sargodha will plan search and combing operations to catch the terrorists The IGP while giving instructions to speed up the search and combing operations in Mianwali, especially the Makarwal police station and its adjoining areas said that full search operations should be conducted in Mianwali with the help of other law enforcement agencies and institutions to bring terrorist elements and their facilitators to their ultimate end under zero tolerance S ta f f R e p o R t

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Constable Ibrahim Khan of the Telecommunication Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, under treatment at Orthopedic Ward of the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), said despite the horrific suicide bombing on peaceful worshipers, including policemen, he was eagerly waiting to rejoin his duty soon after discharge from the hospital

Despite having deep shell wounds on the shoulders, neck and right leg, Ibrahim was not worried about his health rather inquiring about his colleagues, who were present in the mosque at the time of the blast

It was a cowardly act as the terrorists targeted innocent and unarmed civilians and policemen while offering Zuhr prayer,” he said It gave me enormous courage and strength to fight the enemy of the country as well as his colleagues more vigorously ”

I fell unconscious as a result of the blast I can only remember hearing Allah-oAkbar by the Imam (prayer leader),” Ibrahim Khan who has served in the KP Police for 22 years in different districts, recalled “I along with my old friends Assistant Sub-Inspector Muhammad Rizwan Inspector Douran Shah, and Constable Muhammad

Naeem came to the mosque for Zuhr prayer

My friends were in the front row while I was

ceived more than one bullet in the firing incident and he was unable to move Special Prosecutor Rizwan Abbasi took the stance that all should be equal in the eyes of the law The bails of common people were cancelled if they failed to appear, but a former prime minister was given an extension in his bail despite his non-appearance, he added Salman Safdar Advocate pleaded that the former PM had to collect records from various banks in the case He had requested the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) many times to do an inves-

tigation from him at his Zaman Park Lahore residence but the latter did not want to come there, he added He said the FIA could send a questionnaire if it did not want to visit his client at his Lahore residence The facts regarding the case were being ignored, he added After listening the arguments the court adjourned till February 15, directing the PTI chairman to ensure his appearance on the next date of hearing The FIA had lodged a case against Imran Khan and others in the light of the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the prohibited funding case

Govt moves to end HEC autonomy, despite opposition from stakeholders

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The federal government is moving ahead with the proposed amendments to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Ordinance, 2002, despite widespread opposition from the stakeholders of higher education in the country, it has learnt

The Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases which is finalizing the draft amendment bill, has sought the input from the Federal Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, revealed wellplaced sources The sources further added that it will then be placed before the Cabinet, and subsequently the National Assembly, in order to become the law

The Vice Chancellors’ Committee and the Association of Private Universities in Pakistan have already condemned the move by saying that the said amendments not only limit the autonomous role of the institution but also negate the basic principles of the federation The HEC was established as an autonomous national institution to regulate the affairs of public and private universities and colleges The 1973 Rules of Business do treat higher education as a subject of the Education Ministry but the Task

in the middle when the huge explosion occurred martyring two of my colleagues along with many others ” With teary eyes, he said the desire of his colleagues for Shahadat (martyrdom) was fulfilled while “I am also looking forward to laying down my life for the motherland”

The inhuman coward bomber who had no religion, attacked the peaceful worshipers, the majority of whom were unarmed policemen as he (the attacker) had no guts to face them in direct encounter,” he added

Ibrahim said he had six children, who were also ready to sacrifice their lives for safeguarding the country’s interests

Assistant Professor Orthopedics at LRH, Dr Shoaib Ahmad said that Ibrahim Khan was out of danger after successful surgery to remove shrapnel from his shoulders and right leg Constable Jahangir Khan, who also wounded in the blast, said his father always advised him to face the danger from the front, adding his father s desire was fulfilled “Martyrdom was my wish, however, Allah Almighty saved me in this deadly attack, Jahangir said However, Allah has given me another chance and whenever the need arises, I will never hesitate to sacrifice my life for my country that gives us everything ” he vowed

Dr Shoaib said that Jahangir Khan’s con-

Force on improvement of Higher Education in Pakistan that drafted the HEC Ordinance 2002 recommended that this subject could be associated with the Ministry but and not placed under it, explained the sources That is why the HEC was given the status of the Federal Ministry, which was directly responsible to the Prime Minister Office, sources said

The composition of the 18-member Commission the HEC’s apex body, ensured collaborative decisionmaking on higher education matters, including due representation from all the provinces as well as from the relevant government officials, higher education representatives and eminent persons Moreover, the HEC Chairman and the members of the Commission were appointed for a period of four years, with the possibility of a second tenure While the Chairman was to be appointed by the Prime Minister the Executive Director and other HEC officials were to be appointed by the Commission In April 2021, the PTI government amended the HEC Ordinance 2002 twice in order to remove the incumbent HEC Chairman by reducing his four-years tenure into half retrospectively Several PML-N and PPP leaders had then strongly condemned this arbitrary decision and called for the restoration of HEC Ordinance, 2002

dition was not out of danger as he received critical wounds in his head legs and chest and the next 48 hours were important for his life Head Constable Muhammad Shahid said that such cowardly incidents could not shatter our resolve to fight the menace of terrorism with full might “I believe that life and death are decided by Allah Almighty and all our martyrs’ of the police force live in our heart and mind and their sacrifices would not go in vain

Professor Dr Muhammad Shoaib said that currently 17 injured of the KP police were being treated at LRH s orthopedics ward and surgeries of the majority injured cops were performed successfully The condition of all admitted cops except Jahangir Khan was out of danger and one cop Yasir Ameen was discharged today

According to KP police spokesman, so far 92 people, most of them policemen, have been martyred and around 80 injured who were being treated in different hospitals of Peshawar The martyrs also included the prayer leader Sahibzada Noorul Ameen, Inspectors Dauran Shah and Irfan Khan, ASI Rizwan and others whose collective funeral prayer was offered at Malik Saad Shaheed police lines last night and laid to rest in their native areas with grief and sobbing R E s c u E O p E R At i O n c O m -

committee has been constituted to look into the security lapses The CCTV footage from the Police Lines gate and family quarters is being investigated T h e r e a r e o v e r 2 0 0 0 p o l i c e m e n i n t h e P o l i c e L i n e s w o r k i n g w i t h e i g h t d i ff e r e n t d e p a r t m e n t s A l a rg e number of civilians visit police lines on a daily basis where family quarters also existed besides construction work going near the blast site with workers coming in and going out every day, the IGP added

Pakistan, IMF agree to fiscal reforms amid talks on ninth review

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Pakistan entered a $6bn IMF programme in 2019, which was later expanded to $7bn and the ninth review is currently pending Talks on the review were originally scheduled to be held in October but kept on facing delays The country s foreign exchange reserves have depleted to $3 7bn, which is not enough to cover even three weeks of imports In such a situation, Pakistan needs to urgently complete the ninth review which would not only disburse $1 2bn but also unlock inflows from friendly countries and other multilateral lenders Last week the government removed an unofficial cap on the USD-PKR exchange rate and raised petrol prices both conditions set by the IMF for talks to move ahead in an effort to revive the stalled loan programme The government may have to withdraw energy subsidies to big export industries, besides cutting non-salary, non-essential civil and security costs as part of harsh reforms required to obtain the IMF’s consent for an economic bailout The technical discussion would continue till Feb 3 The second phase of policy negotiations would continue till Feb 9 to finalise a memorandum of economic and financial policies

Securit y beefed up in Federal Capital, Karachi

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Strict security measures have been taken in Islamabad on Tuesday following the Peshawar Police Lines suicide blast that occurred on Monday Security sources said that Islamabad has been put on high-security alert, adding special measures have been taken at key sensitive buildings including the President House, Prime Minister House and Parliament building, and other places Moreover, high security was also beefed up at all the entry points of the capital The snipers have been deployed at all locations People are instructed to carry identity cards and essential documents while traveling These security measures were taken to avert and deal with any sabotage activity in untoward situations Meanwhile, Sindh Police Inspector General (IG) has also ordered officials for patrolling and snap checking in Karachi

p L E t E d: Bilal Faizi, spokesman for Rescue-1122 told the media that search and rescue operations in the collapsed mosque have been completed after shifting of 146 victims including 54 martyrs and 94 injured besides retrieving about 17 dead bodies from the mosque’s rubble

‘p R O b E, H O w b O m b E R E n t E R E d m O s q u E’: Muazzam Jah Ansari IGP KP directed police investigators to carryout expeditious investigation into the blast and probe how the suicide bomber sneaked into Police Lines mosque without being detected

Talking to police officers, the IGP also sought a report about security laps and was told that the suicide bomber might have joined the people entering for Zuhr prayer in mosque Strict action would be taken in case of security lapse on part of security staff

“The Police Lines blast was a serious security breach and complete investigation was required to determine whether the bomber was present in the police line or facilitated by some insider to target police cops in the mosque located in the red zone,” said former IGP, Syed Ikhtar Ali Shah while talking to the media He said the capacity building of anti-terrorism bodies including CTD and police investigators besides strengthening the intelligence system was required to defeat terrorism p m L-n K p A c c u s E s p t i O f L A c K -

LustER AppROAcH: Ikhtair Wali Khan, PML-N KP spokesman accused PTI’s government of its lackluster approach by not meeting

the overall requirement of the Counter-Terrorism Department and Police, especially in terms of equipment and training etc

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has cancelled all his official engagements as soon as he heard of the blast and rushed to Peshawar to inquire after the health of injured victims at LRH,” he said

The Prime Minister attended a high-level law and order meeting in Peshawar and assured to enhance the capacity of anti terrorism institutions and police force, full implementation of the national action plan (NAP) and strict punishment to the miscreants and their facilitators

Ikhtair Wali said the Prime Minister has passed a strong message during his visit that nefarious designs of terrorists would be thwarted with full might with the cooperation of state institutions and the people of Pakistan O n E d Ay m O u R n i n g

To express solidarity with the blast victims and condemn the horrific bombing, the KP government has observed one day of official mourning in the province where the national flag was kept at half mast at all government and private buildings

The people continued to gather at the r e s i d e n c e s o f t h e m a r t y r s a n d o ff e r e d F a t e h a w i t h b e r e a v e d f a m i l i e s a n d e xp r e s s e d s o l i d a r i t y w i t h t h e m O v e r a l l a gloomy day prevailed in KP especially in Charsadda, Nowsehra, Swabi, Mardan and P e s h a w a r f r o m w h e r e m o s t o f t h e m a rtyred cops belonged to

Injured cops vow fight back as blast toll rises to 100

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Price hikes and rupee depreciation

aF t E R allowing the rupee to find its real market value last week, it depreciated close to 17% in three trading sessions Such rapid depreciation was a certainty once the cap was removed, owing to the pressure being built up in the currency market since limits were placed on the dollar-rupee parity by the SBP and federal government It is largely expected that the rupee will continue to slide, perhaps in a relatively more gradual fashion, in the coming weeks the move has also necessitated a record hike of Rs35 a litre in petrol prices and a Rs18 rise in light diesel oil and kerosene Fuel prices will rise next month as well to factor in the falling rupee and rising global prices at the center of this monumental mess is the PML(N), that under the banner of the PDM ousted the PtI government on the basis of economic mismanagement, vowing to bring stability and prosperity that the reins of the economy were placed firmly in the hands of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar back in September last year after being abruptly snatched from Miftah Ismail, who had at least restarted the stalled IMF programme, is a testament to the lack of planning and innovativeness being introduced to solve a complex and precarious problem By trying the same old tricks of artificially overvaluing the rupee while maintaining low energy prices, Mr Dar only made matters worse the situation was exacerbated when he began publicly berating the IMF and going against all conditions the latter had put forward to release a further tranches of the Extended Fund Facility all those conditions, and then some, will now have to be met to ensure that the ongoing ninth review, that the Fund only agreed to hold in Pakistan only when the rupee cap was removed, is passed successfully

What lies ahead for the households and businesses, is an unpleasant reality: record high inflation in a dysfunctional slow economy Lower income groups will suffer the most while middle class families will have to make significant lifestyle changes to make ends meet as consumption habits change, businesses too will feel the pinch of reduced demand along with higher cost of doing business It is high time that serious thought is given to how the country got to where it is, who is responsible and what needs to be done to address it Unfortunately, political ambitions of individuals, institutions and families continue to take precedence over what is better for country as a whole and its citizenry

T went y years ago: The debate we should have had on Iraq

Th at Narendra Modi is the butcher of Gujarat, the fact that was denied, is now disseminated by a BBC documentary the UK government was aware of Modi’s ethnic cleansing, still they did not take any stand against him Modi was even blocked from entering the USa because of the Gujarat genocide, till he became the Prime Minister of India, which was considered as a linchpin to US foreign policy in asia Later India with the same Prime Minister Modi became a key ally of the USa in the South asian region the BJP has banned the BBC documentary and censored the social media posts It is using emergency powers to block the airing of the documentary in India those who were airing the documentary were met with brutal treatment from the fascist regime One of the universities which was screening the documentary, faced opposition from the authorities, which allegedly cut the

Twenty years ago this month, the USa was rushing headlong into war with Iraq a war that has proven to be one of the most fatal and consequential travesties in modern US history What follows is the story of how one congressman and I tried and failed to get the Democratic Party on record opposing that war after 9/11, neoconservatives began their campaign to invade Iraq Using everything in their toolbox, they made several arguments: that Saddam hussein was linked to the 9/11 terrorists; that Iraq had stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and was secretly buying components to build a nuclear bomb; that the USa had only been attacked because our enemies had come to see us as weak and therefore we needed to win a decisive victory somewhere (anywhere) to demonstrate our strength and resolve; and finally (what proved to be the biggest lies of all) a complete victory in Iraq would be quick and easy, require few troops and be welcomed by the Iraqi people and result in the establishment of a friendly and stable democracy in short order

all of these were either outright fabrications or, at the very least matters that should have been vigorously debated, but they were not the mainstream media largely served as an echo chamber for the war hawks and most leading politicians were shy to criticize

In this context and in advance of the February 2003 meeting of the Democratic National Committee Representative Jesse Jackson Jr and I submitted a resolution we hoped might spur a debate on the impending war Our resolution, using temperate and respectful language called on our party to urge the Bush administration “to pursue diplomatic efforts to achieve disarmament of Iraq, to clearly define for the

american people and Congress the objectives, costs, consequences, terms and length of commitment envisioned by any US engagement or action in Iraq, and to continue to operate in the context of and seek the full support of the United Nations in any effort to resolve the current crisis in Iraq ” From polling, we knew that the majority of americans and a supermajority of Democrats supported these positions and, as we wrote in an op-ed that was published in a number of US newspapers, we also knew that if Democrats failed to challenge the rush to war we would not only risk losing the support of voters, but also fail to fulfill our responsibility to avert a war we knew would prove devastating to our country and the Middle East region at the DNC meeting, party leaders subjected me to intense pressure to withdraw the resolution they argued that we needed to defer to the Democratic candidates who were running for president With only one of the major candidates howard Dean vigorously opposed to the war, they claimed that passing such a resolution would make it appear we were supporting his candidacy and, in their view, opposing the war would make it appear that the party was weak on national defense I refused to withdraw the resolution and insisted on my right to introduce it and be heard In my remarks to the committee I warned that it was unconscionable that we send young men and women into a war in a country about which we knew so little in terms of its history culture and social composition I observed that the administration’s miscalculations about Iraq ran the very real danger of beginning

Twenty years later, it gives me no satisfaction to say that we were right to oppose that disastrous war. It proved to be even more devastating than we feared.

“a war without end” and that going to war without UN authorization would risk U S legitimacy I concluded by noting that “raising the right questions, demanding answers and winning allies to our case is not being weak on defense It s being smart on defense after completing my presentation, the chair ruled that there would be no vote and the resolution would be allowed to die, without debate or discussion twenty years later, it gives me no satisfaction to say that we were right to oppose that disastrous war It proved to be even more devastating than we feared thousands of americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were killed and countless others have had their lives shattered by the consequences of the war While the neoconservatives told Congress that the war would cost only $2 billion, in fact the price tag is in the trillions and still growing the war didn’t extinguish extremism Instead extremism was fueled metastasizing into ever more virulent forms and america emerged from the war weaker and less respected while Iran emerged empowered and emboldened to project its menacing and meddlesome behavior into the broader region I know that passing our resolution would not have stopped the Bush administration s march to war at least, however, it would have put Democrats on record in opposition, potentially strengthening the resolve of members of Congress to speak out more forcefully and voice their dissent that’s how a democracy is supposed to work and when it doesn’t work we all pay a steep price

The writer is President of the Arab American Institute

power and internet lines to the university the documentary claims that in the Gujarat Genocide 2002, Modi was the Chief Minister, and systematically planned the genocide along with explicit involvement of state institutions he ordered the police to turn a blind eye and not to intervene the violence was politically motivated to purge Muslims from hindu areas the Godhra train incident was taken as an erupting point of Gujarat genocide, which was later proved to be the result of an accidental fire the BBC documentary claims that even if the Godhra train incident had not happened, Modi would get another excuse to initiate the Gujarat genocide

In his quest for hindu Raj, he brutalized and victimized Muslims in India in collaboration with the police machinery he created a climate of impunity for mob attacks by maintaining unperturbed precarious silence on such incidents, thus enabling violence, as riots were impossible without the climate of impunity the British broadcaster said it used a “wide range of voices, witnesses and experts for the film, including responses from people in the BJP” they offered the Indian government the right to respond to the issues raised in the documentary but they refused to respond the second episode of the documentary highlights how mob culture against Muslims was made to flourish under the BJP regime his politics revolves around instigating hatred and bigotry against minorities by hate speeches stirring them to mob vigilantism People’s lives are at stake because they are Muslim, Christian or Dalit they are not sure the very next moment they will be targeted for eating meat, talking to a hindu girl, or being the child of a lesser god coming across the superior caste the threat of violence is lingering on them making their lives insecure Modi’s vote bank comprises the emotionally driven people whose support he gains before the

elections by subjugating Muslims minorities particularly or by launching false flag operations against India’s nuclear neighbour, Pakistan the mob culture strengthened under the BJP regime has threatened the very identity and nature of India the documentary also highlighted the systemized efforts of the BJP to make the Muslims stateless by introducing the Citizenship amendment act they were creating refugees inside the state by denying them citizenship the students who were protesting against the act were meted with violence and vandalism Politicians were threatening the protesters, towing political lines to please the BJP this fascist regime wants to accommodate hindus and disenfranchise Muslims to make India a hindu nation working on akhand Bharat ideology In Delhi’s 2020 protests, police instead of protecting all of India’s people, were on the hindu side throwing stones at Muslims the amnesty International report on this human rights violation by police was denied by the Delhi police

This documentary and the BJP government’s response illustrated that India is no more a democracy and has become a place where there is no place for dissenting voices. As per V-DEM repor t 2022, India has turned into an electoral autocracy.

calling it biased and malicious the videos of police beating protesters to death went viral but still no action was taken against them this documentary and the BJP government’s response illustrated that India is no more a democracy and has become a place where there is no place for dissenting voices as per V-DEM report 2022, India has turned into an electoral autocracy India has become a majoritarian state where the social fabric for minorities is shrinking as UN Secretary-General antonio Guterres said, humanity is just one misunderstanding and one miscalculation away from nuclear inhalation the West that claims to be the sole upholder of a rule-based international order is serving its interests as regards human rights violations

The author is a Research Officer at the Center for International Strategic Studies AJK

Why do we lynch?

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

Ideological blinkers

t h I S is with reference to the article Why the ttP is undefeatable , which practically called the afghan taliban and the tehreek-i-taliban Pakistan (ttP) the proverbial two sides of the same coin, and insisted that the delusion stands fully exposed now honestly such assertions show the author ’s lack of understanding that makes one say and write such words, and to equate terrorists with freedom-fighters the ideological blinkers of our self-styled intellectuals are irritating and embarrassing at the same time the writer has directly implored the security establishment to embark upon a killing spree in the tribal areas Finding a solution in bloodshed is hardly reflective of intellectualism the lack of such insight will only end up further weakening Pakistani society which already stands polarised

AMJAD HUSSAIN PESHAWAR

In the name of ‘ar t’

I t is common to see at and around traffic signals in Karachi able-bodied persons invariably a male approaching you under the disguise of an animal ‘art performer ’ however, the fact is that such persons are professional beggars Such a person would have a baby monkey under his arm holding him tight Criminality surpasses cruelty as the ‘baby’ is snatched from its mother and on top of that the poor soul faces punishment in the name of training for the art performance It is the responsibility of all tiers of governance federal, provincial and local to ensure proper enforcement of laws related to animal rights also, it is society’s moral and social obligation to do whatever it can to dis- courage such unethical practices

KHAWAJA ABDUL SAMEE KARACHI

Planting moringa

Th E phenomenon of mob violence particularly lynching, is a complex issue that cannot be reduced to a single cause or explanation While it is true that poverty, unemployment, and a lack of education can all contribute to feelings of frustration and desperation that may lead some individuals to participate in mob violence, it is also important to recognize that these factors alone do not fully explain the problem

One important factor that must be considered when analysing mob violence in Pakistan is the role of political instability and weak governance

In some cases, political leaders may incite or condone mob violence for their own gain, either by stoking fears of religious extremism or by manipulating public opinion to further their own political agenda Furthermore, the lack of rule of law and the inability of the authorities to effectively enforce the law can also contribute to a sense of impunity among those who participate in mob violence another important factor to consider is the role of religious extremism in some instances of mob violence While the vast majority of people in Pakistan are peaceful and do not condone such acts a small minority of extremists may use religion as a tool to incite violence and justify their actions It s important to remember that religion is often used as a tool by those who want to achieve power and control over a population

Media also plays a big role in escalating and spreading the news of mob violence Sensationalized and unverified news can incite people to participate in mob violence It’s important for the media to be responsible and verify the news before publishing it another dimension that is often overlooked is the cultural dimension In some cases the cultural norms and values of a society may condone or even encourage mob violence For example, some communities may have a strong tradition of vigilantism, where individuals take justice into their own hands rather than relying on the legal system this can make it difficult to address the problem of mob violence, as individuals may not see their actions as criminal but rather as a form of moral righteousness additionally, the impact of poverty and inequality on mob violence should also be considered Societies with high levels of poverty and inequality tend to have a higher rate of mob violence In such societies, people may be more

likely to turn to mob violence as a means of expressing their frustrations and seeking justice, as they may not have access to other forms of redress Moreover, poverty and inequality can also lead to a lack of trust in institutions and the legal system In societies where the rule of law is weak, individuals may not have faith in the ability of the authorities to bring criminals to justice or to provide protection and security this can lead to a sense of lawlessness and a belief that individuals must take matters into their own hands to further elaborate on the role of poverty and inequality in mob violence In societies with high levels of poverty and inequality individuals may feel a sense of hopelessness and despair which can lead to feelings of frustration and anger these feelings can be exacerbated by a lack of access to opportunities for education employment and upward mobility

When individuals feel that they have been left behind and have no means of improving their situation they may turn to mob violence as a way of expressing their frustrations and seeking justice

On the other hand, addressing poverty and inequality can help to prevent mob violence

For example policies that focus on reducing poverty and inequality, such as increasing access to education and job training, providing social safety nets and promoting economic growth, can help to improve the lives of individuals and reduce feelings of frustration and hopelessness

It’s also important to note that poverty and inequality are not only economic issues, but also social issues they are interconnected with other dimensions such as education, governance and cultural norms therefore, it’s important to adopt a multidimensional approach that addresses both the economic and social aspects of poverty and inequality in order to effectively prevent mob violence

Mob violence is a complex issue that cannot be attributed to a single cause However, pover ty and inequality are key factors that can contribute to the problem and addressing these issues can help to prevent mob violence All these dimensions are interconnected, and it’s impor tant to consings for hidden goalsader all of them to understand and address the problem of mob violence . It is impor tant to take a holistic approach to address this complex issue and involve multiple stakeholders such as the government, civil society, media, and the education sector to work tog ether towards a common goal of preventing mob violence

One example of a case of mob lynching in Pakistan is the 2014 incident in which a mob of over 1000 people attacked a factory in the city of Lahore the mob, which was incited by allegations that the factory s management had desecrated the Quran killed seven people and injured dozens more the incident received international attention and sparked widespread

condemnation, with many countries and international organizations expressing concern about the growing trend of mob violence in Pakistan this incident had a significant impact on Pakistan’s foreign policy, as it brought to light the issue of religious extremism and sectarian violence in the country Many foreign governments and organizations criticized Pakistan for its failure to address the problem of mob violence and for allowing extremist groups to operate with impunity this criticism led to increased pressure on Pakistan to take action to curb mob violence and to address the underlying social and economic issues that contribute to the problem In response to the incident, the Pakistani government took a number of steps to address the problem of mob violence these included the launch of a nationwide crackdown on extremist groups the introduction of new laws and policies to curb mob violence and increased investment in education and job training programs to address the underlying social and economic issues that contribute to the problem however, despite these efforts the problem of mob violence in Pakistan remains a concern Many human rights organizations have criticized the government for failing to take sufficient action to address the problem, and have called for more effective measures to be put in place to protect minority communities and to bring those responsible for mob violence to justice Mob violence is a complex issue that cannot be attributed to a single cause however, poverty and inequality are key factors that can contribute to the problem and addressing these issues can help to prevent mob violence all these dimensions are interconnected, and it’s important to consider all of them to understand and address the problem of mob violence It is important to take a holistic approach to address this complex issue and involve multiple stakeholders such as the government civil society media and the education sector to work together towards a common goal of preventing mob violence

The writer can be reached at usama maverick@gmail com

S I N C E the beginning of time the plant known as moringa oleifera has been praised for its therapeutic properties It contains a lot of beneficial antioxidants and bioactive plant substances It is mostly present in the subcontinent and other tropical and subtropical regions in asia and africa the leaves, flowers, seeds and roots of the plant have all long been used in traditional medicine It has long been used as a treatment for bacterial viral and fungal infections as well as diabetes and chronic inflammation In addition, cancer, heart disease and joint pain patients are also known to have benefitted from moringa in terms of medicinal relief a number of vital vitamins and minerals are found in moringa the leaves contain 15 times more potassium than banana, seven times more vitamin C than orange, and 15 times more calcium than milk additionally, it contains iron protein and amino acids all which aid in healing and muscle growth among humans It is abundant in antioxidants that can both strengthen the immune system and protect cells from harm the nutritional punch of moringa leaves is strong and they are also anti-inflammatory they are a sort of ‘superfood’ because of their antioxidant and cellular healthpreserving attributes they reduce glucose level as well as some of the production of inflamma- tory enzymes People may have these frequently in their diet to reap a number of health benefits It would be appro-priate to encourage morinaga plantation on a mass scale across the country MANSOOR ALI GHOTKI

Project , or nuisance?

t h I S refers to the increasing air pollution in Karachi s Gulshan-i-Iqbal area that has seen a rapid increase in the use of private transport and the number of industrial units that have popped up in recent years as if these issues were not enough to spread pollution, the construction work initiated in connection with the Bus Rapid transit (BRt) Red Line project across University Road has ensured a spike in environmental degradation the project, which may be beneficial to the masses in the long run has been a nuisance for the people living in the area; and there are millions of them this has been a source of both air and noise pollution, with clouds of dust engulfing the area and constant noise of heavy machinery working at the project site even in the middle of the night leaving people sleepless all this has increased the risk of serious health hazards, including breathing difficulties, chronic diseases, lung damage, nausea, fatigue, etc the hospitals in the area have already seen an unexpected rise in the number of patients showing symptoms of chronic illnesses, and it is important for the government to take notice of the emerging scenario at the earliest Owing to the seriousness of the situation the relevant authorities should curb air pollution and decrease the risk of people being affected by it, for having a safe environment and peace of mind are also fundamental human rights

AIMAN AHMED KARACHI

Project delays

t h E term construction refers to all economic operations that involve planning, designing, constructing, renovating, repairing or expanding fixed assets, such as buildings, land, engineering upgrades, and other infrastructure projects like roads bridges dams etc the construction sector is one of the main areas of economic activity according to Pakistan Economic Survey 2021, the construction sector is expected to contribute 14 8 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country Unlike developed countries, the construction sector in Pakistan experiences slow growth which has hampered its productivity the major reason behind low productivity of the sector is mainly project delays, which has affected the national construction sector Other factors involved in project delays are conventional methods of construction, slow documentation processing lack of governance inadequate funds corruption and fund embezzlement the government must pay attention and take concrete measures to uplift the national construction sector as it happens to be the backbone of the national economy Effective policies and strategies should be devised to overcome project delays It will not only boost economic sustainability, but will create job opportunities as well

BBC MODI fIlM: TOry pEEr’s rACIAlly ChArgED ATTACk

On BrITIsh pAkIsTAnIs MusT BE ChAllEngED

ment invoked emergency laws to ban the documentary

On 20 January Lord Ranger wrote a letter to the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, condemning the corporation’s “insensitive, one-sided documentary”

In the letter which closely reflected the Modi government official line, he added: “The BBC documentary has opened old wounds by creating hatred between British Hindus and Muslims by attempting to paint India as an intolerant nation where Muslims are persecuted If this had been the case, the Muslims would have left India by now In a loaded comment he asked Davie to “kindly confirm if your Pakistani-origin staff were behind this nonsense”

the Conservative Friends of India, did not respond to questions from MEE MEE also approached Lord Ranger, suggesting that the remarks were “unacceptable and racist” - and asking for a response Lord Ranger replied by WhatsApp that the “BBC has succeeded in dividing British citizens of India and Pakistani communities with dire consequences for our social integration He added: I hope that you will not stoke more hatred Thank you The cause is the United Kingdom and not Rami Ranger ”

BR I T I s H Prime Minister Rishi sunak, still licking his wounds from the Nadhim Zahawi affair is being drawn into a fresh crisis following inflammatory and apparently racist remarks made by senior Tory peer Rami Ranger about British Pakistanis

Lord Ranger, who has given more than £1m to the Conservatives, is patron of the Conservative Friends of India group Fellow patrons include former Conservative leader Iain Duncan smith, former Prime Minister Theresa May - and sunak significantly, security Minister Tom Tugendhat is another patron

Lord Ranger ’s remarks came in the wake of this month’s BBC documentary series on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi s relationship with India s Muslims

After the first episode, which featured a UK government report that criticised Modi’s conduct during the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat the Indian govern-

$60 billion in COVID fraud?

Tr y $4 trillion

EditoriAl BoArd

i s s u e s & n s i g h t s

As auditors and congressional investigators try to figure out just how much federal COVID relief went to fraudsters, they are missing the trillions of dollars in fraud committed by the federal government itself in a war that we had no chance of winning

Last week, the Government Accountability Office reported that fraudsters took in about $60 billion in unemployment checks That’s on top of the tens of billions in fraudulent claims made through the Paycheck Protection Program the tens of billions handed o u t t h r o u g h a s m a l l B u s i n e s s A d m i n i s t r a t i o n p r ogram, and on and on

This Wednesday the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability will hold a hearing “to investigate rampant waste of taxpayer dollars in COVID relief programs Rep James Comer R-Ky the chairman of the committee, said “we owe it to Americans to identify how hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars spent under the guise of pandemic relief were lost to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement ”

That’s all well and good But what we really need is an investigation into how the war against COVID wasted trillions of taxpayer dollars, imposed massive disruptions, handicapped millions of students, and probably didn t save many if any lives

That sort of investigation, if done honestly, would likely conclude that we would have been better off if we d done nothing at all beyond asking people to wash their hands and stay home if they’re sick shocking?

Impossible to believe? Let’s review the evidence

start with the fact that since COVID-19 first landed on U s shores three years ago, 1 1 million have died from the virus, according to the Centre for Disease Control Even now, deaths are averaging around 4,000 per week

Way back in early March 2020, the CDC met with experts from around the world met to map out COVID19 scenarios “Between 160 million and 214 million people in the U s could be infected over the course of the epidemic, reported the Yale school of Medicine

“As many as 200,000 to 1 7 million people could die ”

That assumed the country did nothing to mitigate COVID s spread

so, the U s embarked on an unprecedented effort to slow the disease’s spread and develop vaccines in record time, spending trillions of dollars in the process

For months the entire nation was locked down People were ordered to stay at home Businesses were forced to stay closed Church services were suspended students were locked out of their schools The elderly weren’t allowed to have outside visitors In many areas,

‘UNACCEPTABLE AND RACIST’ Lord Ranger then broadened his criticism in a series of interviews on Indian TV We know what Pakistanis are capable of doing and how they kept Osama bin Laden hidden for 10 years while they were getting paid from America,” he said in an interview on the Indian television channel NewsX “so therefore I do not have any faith in the country which only wants to export terrorism so therefore I just wanted to make sure that there is no Pakistani connection in that documentary ”

Middle East Eye understands that sunak’s Conservative Party has been briefed about at least some of Lord Ranger ’s comments - but has so far done nothing

Last night, Downing street brushed aside questions from MEE on whether sunak would investigate and potentially suspend Lord Ranger ’s membership, saying that “since he’s not an MP this is for Conservative Campaign Headquarters

In fact, in common with all peers, Lord Ranger is indeed a member of Parliament MEE also left a question at Conservative Party headquarters but there had been no reply as this article was published Theresa May and Iain Duncan smith, patrons alongside Lord Ranger of

mask-wearing was mandatory, even outdoors

The economic result was catastrophic The nation s GDP collapsed by 30% in the second quarter of 2020 Unemployment, which had just reached 3 5% – a 50year low – shot up to 14 7% in April 2020

The federal government rushed through trillions of dollars in relief legislation In March 2020 alone, Congress approved three aid packages totaling $2 43 trillion By the following March COVID relief spending was close to $4 trillion

All of this spending was with borrowed money, and paying off this monstrous debt is a burden future generations will have to bear But the harm caused by these interventions goes beyond the explosion in the national debt shutting down schools had a tragic impact on education Reading and math scores plunged as schools struggled with remote learning Reading scores saw their biggest drop in 30 years Minorities suffered the most Masking children for years will likely have longterm effects on their social development as well Meanwhile depression anxiety and suicide all increased A CDC study found that one in four people between 18 and 24 contemplated suicide during the shutdown Even car crash deaths which had been trending downward for decades, started climbing again in 2020, and have continued to increase, most likely because reckless driving became more common thanks to prolonged shutdowns and more empty roads

And what did we get for all this? Look at those f a t a l i t y n u m b e r s a g a i n A t t h e s t a r t o f C O V I D e xperts said doing nothing would result in 1 7 million deaths We did plenty, but the death count is steadily a p p r o a c h i n g t h a t n u m b e r a n y w a y R e s e a r c h e r s a t J o h n s H o p k i n s U n i v e r s i t y d i d a m e t a - a n a l y s i s o f studies done on the effectiveness of COVID mitigation efforts Their stunning conclusion: We find no evidence that lockdowns, school closures, border closures, and limiting gatherings have had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality

But the researchers found that all these interventions “have contributed to reducing economic activity, raising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence and undermining liberal democracy ” We will concede that the rapid development of COVID tests, three different vaccines and improved treatment regimens saved lives although just how many is unknowable

But what if we d done nothing beyond that, other t h a n f o l l o w s t a n d a r d g u i d e l i n e s w h e n a d i s e a s e i s s p r e a d i n g ? s t a y h o m e i f y o u ’ r e s i c k Wa s h y o u r h a n d s Av o i d h i g h l y c o n g e s t e d a r e a s W h a t i f , i nstead of spreading widespread fear public health off i c i a l s f o c u s e d o n t h e p o p u l a t i o n m o s t a t r i s k : t h e sick and elderly?

Our guess is that just as many people would have died from COVID But we wouldn’t be climbing out of the deep economic hole we dug Our children wouldn t have lost a year of education Fewer would have died from suicide, overdoses, and other lockdown ills

Few of us who ve lived through the three years of nonstop warnings mandates and hysteria would be willing to admit that this war was all for nothing But if we’re going to avoid repeating these mistakes in the future we d better learn from these mistakes now

A ‘PAKISTANI HAND’ In the XNews interview, the anchor referred to remarks made by a British MP of Pakistani origin and asked whether Lord Ranger saw Pakistan’s hand in the documentary?” Lord Ranger responded by saying that “Pakistanis should know that their country is bankrupt They have no money they should not be talking big ” Lord Ranger went on: “Indian Muslims are much more smarter, better and cleverer than the Pakistanis He added that they are quite capable of looking after themselves” Later in the interview, he asked: “Which community commits the maximum crime in [the] United Kingdom? Before adding: “These Pakistanis have no right to speak ” These remarks were made over the weekend However, 10 days have passed since Lord Ranger s letter to the BBC, and there has been no response from sunak The situation may be complicated by the unspoken electoral alliance that appears to exist between the Conservative Party and groups in Britain affiliated with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

DEAFENING SILENCE: During the 2019 UK general election, the general secretary of the National Council of Hindu Temples, which has links with the BJP, was suspended after revelations that he had been advocating for the Conservative Party on social media

In the same year, the president of the Hindu Forum of Britain (of which Lord Ranger is a founding member) was videoed telling an audience that she would ban Labour politicians from Hindu functions A group called Overseas Friends of BJP UK meanwhile invited 300 Indians to a meeting with Bob Blackman, Tory MP for Harrow East Blackman has blamed “Islamist extremists” for the recent Leicester riots and lamented appalling attacks on Hindus in Leicester, Birmingham and elsewhere in the UK”, failing to mention attacks on Muslims In 2018, Blackman hosted in parliament the influential Hindu nationalist leader Tapan Ghosh, who before his death in 2020 called on the UN to “control the Muslim birth rate world over”

Hate speech directed at religious minorities has become a routine feature of public life in India From 2009 to 2014 there were 19 recorded instances of hostile rhetoric towards minorities by high-ranking politicians But from 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP entered government, to the start of 2022, there were 348 such instances - a surge of 1 130 percent Today some experts speak of a possible genocide against India’s Muslims

Lord Ranger is still widely courted by senior Tories, despite facing an inquiry into an unrelated issue by the House of Lords standards commissioner Earlier this month he hosted an event for Theresa May at the Carlton Club

The silence is deafening Rishi sunak risks allowing his Conservative Party to become a safe haven for bigotry and racism

Peter Oborne won best commentary/blogging in both 2022 and 2017, and was also named freelancer of the year in 2016 at the Drum Online Media Awards for articles he wrote for Middle East Eye

Imran Mulla has written for The Critic, Conservative Home Athwart Panoramic the Magazine and Traversing Tradition among others

Can Erdogan run for third term in Turkey’s upcoming election?

There is one path by which Erdogan could stand for re-election that is agreed on by all parties: if parliament calls an early election through a three-fifths majority rather than the president bringing forward the vote The People’s Alliance doesn’t have a three-fifths majority the three parties have 335 seats between them, 35 votes short of the 360 needed in the 600-seat chamber This means Erdogan seems set on calling an early poll and denying himself the option of running for a third time under the legitimacy of a vote initiated by lawmakers The opposition has naturally decried Erdogan’s “unconstitutional” candidacy

Al Monitor A n d r e w w i l k s

As Turkey rushes toward elections in midMay, one issue surrounding the polls has risen above others: whether incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is constitutionally allowed to run for a third term

The argument swirling around the presidential election, which is due to be held alongside a parliamentary vote on May 14, centers on Article 101 of the Turkish Constitution The eight-paragraph clause states that a presidential term runs for five years and a candidate can be elected for a maximum of two terms

Erdogan was first elected president in August 2014, having previously served as prime minister since 2003 He was re-elected in an early election in June 2018 The constitution, therefore, appears to rule out an Erdogan candidacy But Erdogan is running as the candidate for the People’s Alliance the electoral pact between his Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Great Unity Party (BBP)

His supporters back the legality of his candidacy by arguing that constitutional changes introduced in a 2017 referendum which came into force in the following year ’s election, mean Erdogan’s first, post-2014 term does not count The referendum ended Turkey s previous parliamentary system and brought about a presidential regime that concentrated power in the hands of the president, which had been a largely ceremonial role, as both head of state and government

Therefore, according to the argument of Erdogan’s backers, his 2018 victory was the first under the new system and should be considered his initial term in office

“The constitutional amendment adopted in 2017 is so clear that it does not allow for the slightest discussion,” Erdogan told crowds in Denizli western Turkey on saturday “Turkey switched to a new administrative system with the 2018 elections In this respect, the stopwatch was reset By the law the president who was actually elected in 2018 is the first president of the new system ”

The six party-strong Nation Alliance formed of the Republication People’s Party (CHP) the Iyi Party the saadet Party, the Demokrat Party, the Gelecek Party and the Deva Party‚ issued a statement Thursday outlining their position “It is not possible for Mr Erdogan to be a candidate in the elections to be held on May 14 unless the parliament decides to call an early election, it read The president s announcement of his candidacy for the third time, contrary to the constitution, is another tragedy he has added to our history of democracy We do not accept this action that ignores the constitution

The final say on Erdogan’s candidacy lies with the High Election Board (YsK), which in recent years has delivered a succession of decisions favoring the ruling party CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who has emerged as the opposition’s most likely candidate to stand against Erdogan reflected the widely held view of the YsK’s partisanship last week

“Let’s say we objected to [Erdogan’s candidacy],” he told journalists in Kocaeli northwestern Turkey on Jan 23 “The High Election Board has the final say It’s Erdogan who appointed the YsK members There is nowhere to object to YsK s ruling Even the Constitutional Court cannot reconsider their ruling

“Therefore, we have no intention of being locked into the debate of whether Erdogan is a candidate or not Erdogan may or may not be a candidate, but we want to win the election by securing it with integrity and bringing Turkey to the side of democracy

Other opposition figures such as Iyi Party head Meral Aksener have stressed that they will “beat him at the ballot box Only Deva Party chief Ali Babacan has pledged to challenge any YsK decision in favor of Erdogan’s candidacy

Idris sahin, once an influential AKP lawmaker but now spokesman for the Deva Party, recalled debates with in the ruling party at the time of the 2017 constitutional changes

“Even then, in party circles, I remember conversations where people asked, ‘Will he do it for life? He will be 75 or 76 years old in 2029 Isn t that enough? he said, referring to the end-date for a third Erdogan term had early elections not been held in 2018 Consideration was given to amending Article 101 to smooth the way for a third term, according to sahin, but the necessary clause was “forgotten ”

LORD RANGER WROTE A LET TER TO THE BBC’S DIRECTOR GENERAL TIM DAVIE, CONDEMNING THE CORPORATION’S ‘INSENSITIVE, ONE-SIDED DOCUMENTARY’

corporate corner

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Pav

IsLAMAbAd s ta f f r e p o r t

PA K I S TA N pavilion won the “Best New Exhibitor Award at New York Travel & Adventure Show 2023 The two-day event was held at Jacob K Javits Convention Center New York on January 28-29, 2023 CEO of New York Travel & Adventure Show presented the award to Aftab ur Rehman Rana - Managing Director Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC)

Speaking at the occasion Managing Director PTDC - Aftab ur Rehman Rana stated that participation of Pakistan in Travel and Adventure Show at New York has been highly impactful in terms of response from the public and engagement of all the

Commander Kenya Nav y visits Naval Headquar ters Islamabad

islamabad: Commander Kenya

Navy, Major General Jimson Longiro Mutai visited Naval Headquarters

Islamabad and called on Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi Upon arrival at Naval Headquarters, the honourable guest was received by Chief of the Naval Staff A smartly turned out contingent of Pakistan Navy presented the Guard of Honour Thereafter, the dignitary laid floral wreath at the Shuhada’s Monument and was introduced to the Principal Staff Officers at Naval Headquarters Later, Commander of the Kenya Navy called on Chief of the Naval Staff at his office

During the meeting matters of mutual interest including bilateral collaborations and regional maritime security milieu were discussed The Naval Chief highlighted Pakistan Navy initiatives for ensuring maritime security and peace in the region through Regional Maritime Security Patrols The visiting Admiral appreciated and acknowledged Pakistan Navy’s efforts and commitments in support of collaborative maritime security in the region Later, Commander of Kenyan Navy was given detailed briefing on Pakistan Navy roles and operational capabilities pr

Kite -flying a dangerous game for human life, proper ty: I E S C o Chief

i s l a m a b a d: Chief Executive IESCO Dr Muhammad Amjad Khan has said that kite flying is a dangerous game which is definitely causing danger to human life and property

The tripping of electricity feeders by use of metal wires during kite flying is not only causing interruptions in power supply but also increasing the numbers of damaged electricity transformers and meters which causing loss to the institution

IESCO chief has appealed to the esteemed consumers to stop their children from this life-threatening and damaging game He has also issued instructions to all the field formations to register FIRs in the respective police stations against such elements causing danger to human life and distribution system with the cooperation of the district administration and not accept any kind of pressure in this regard He has further requested the consumers to report such kite flyer to the concerned police stations and If you see any kite or metal wire entangled near the transformers or electricity poles installed near your houses pr

team members throughout two days of the show

Awn Chaudhry - Advisor to Prime Minister on Tourism & Sports and Managing Director – PTDC congratulated all the members of Pakistan s delegation including the provincial tourism departments and private sector tour operators for their dedication and

S harjeel Memon disc usses BRT Red Line Projec t with ADB delegation

KARACHI

s ta f f r e p o r t

Provincial Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon has suggested Asian Development Bank to set up a camp office in Karachi to strengthen coordination so as to resolve day to day issues and obstacles in Pakistan's first Biogas Public Transport Project (BRT Red line project) so that project is completed on time The provincial minister floated this proposal in a meeting held at his residence with a high-level delegation of the Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank delegation was

headed by Senior Urban Transport Specialist Lloyd Wright, while the delegation included Senior Operations Manager Lisa Jane, Senior Project Officer Shaukat Shafi Project Coordinator Tahir Sheikh, and Consultant Sadiq Aftab Secretary Transport Abdul Haleem Sheikh Managing Director Sindh Mass Transit Authority Zubair Chana, General Manager Infrastructure Trans Karachi Pir Sajjad and others also attended the meeting The meeting reviewed the progress of the ongoing infrastructure development work of the BRT Red Line being carried out with cooperation of Asian Development Bank from Model Colony to Numaish Chowrangi

207 roll out at passing- out of Railways Police Training S chool Walton

LAHoRe p r

207 trainees of the 5th Intermediate 26th Lower and 1st Short Armourer School Courses received training in 8 important subjects in 16 weeks of training that include Railway Law Ethics, Character Building, Physical Training, Weapon Handling and Firing, including Stress Management and Control of Anger (SMCA) Training in charge DIG North Dr Muhammad Waqar Abbasi gave a warm welcome to Chief Guest IG Railways Rao Sardar Ali Khan Principal Walton Syed Ibrar Abbas in the beginning delivered the speech and apprised the audience about training module taught to the trainees in the duration of four months

IG Railways, in his address, congratulated the trainees for their outstanding achievement He appreciated the efforts of the instructors and the principal and expressed that Railways Police Training School Walton is considered as a valuable institution which inculcates outstanding qualities in its trainees IG Railways further said that special attention is being paid to best professional training in Railways Police to speed up promotion of personnel on the basis of merit and seniority He said that digitization has been started in Railways Police to meet the requirements of the modern era and it would be appropriate to say that with the special efforts of DIG North Dr Muhammad Waqar Abbasi, half century old manual system of police stations has turned into digital

commitment

They also highly appreciated the support of team of PTDC, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and Pakistan Consulate General at New York to make all this happen

Pakistan pavilion in two day Travel and Adventure show was organized by Pakistan Tourism Development corporation (PTDC) in collaboration with Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Tourism Departments of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Azad Jammu & Kashmir

Gilgit – Baltistan and 20 Private sector stakeholders of tourism and hospitality industry

The New York Travel and Adventure Show 2023 concluded with the belief that B2B and G2G meetings of Pakistan with the counterparts of USA will bring in the international tourists and foreign investment in the country

Karachi: Miss Tara Uzra Dawood, President, Dawood Global Foundation - LADIESFUND, paid a courtesy call on the Honourable Governor of Sindh Kamran Tessori They discussed programming for women and girls in Sindh through the LADIESFUND and Educate a Girl programmes as well as finalized the date for the 14th LADIESFUND Women's Awards for Pakistan 2023 which will be held at Sindh Governor House Karachi on Saturday, 4 March 2024 with the Honourable Governor as Chief Guest and the Honourable State Bank Governor of Pakistan Jameel Ahmad as Guest of Honour staff photo

FBR surpasses budgetar y target for month of Januar y 2023

Federal Board of Revenue has demonstrated a commendable revenue collection performance during January 2023 and has not only achieved the monthly budgetary target of Rs 533 billion but surpassed it by Rs 4 billion According to provisional figures, FBR has collected Rs 537 billion in the month of January 2023 thereby showing an impressive growth of 23% compared to the same month last year Cumulatively, FBR has collected Rs 3,965 billion in the first seven months of the current financial year against Rs 3,367 billion collected in the corresponding period of last year depicting a growth of 18% The Third quarter of the current year started with an impressive performance and the team FBR is committed to meet the annual budgetary target of Rs 7,470 billion for the current financial year despite economic challenges Direct taxes collection has grown at a robust pace, which has shown growth of 48 % during the first seven months of the current financial year which is reflective of Government’s policy of shifting tax burden to wealthy and affluent segments of society It is also highlighted that the administrative and enforcement measures of the FBR have yielded the results which is reflected in the growth of direct taxes in special and the domestic taxes at large pr

C limate -Friendly, Reliable & Cost-Effec tive: PAEC adds another 1100MW to national grid

MWs and its addition to the national grid will surely help reduce load shedding especially during summers

MuHAMMAd AftAb ALAM

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is all set to gift the nation with yet another 1100 megawatts (MWs) of clean reliable and cost-effective electricity by inaugurating the much-awaited Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-3 (K-3) today

Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian

Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will be the chief guest on this occasion

PAEC Chairman Dr Raja Ali

Raza Anwar has congratulated Member Power PAEC and his team of diligent scientists, engineers and technicians for taking this giant leap to revolutionize the energy sector of the country K-3 is the second GenerationIII nuclear power plant (NPP) in Pakistan with generation capacity of 1100

Inauguration of K-3 is a memorable moment for Pakistan and its civil nuclear power program It is the result of collaborated and continuous efforts of PAEC and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which culminated in a successful nuclear power program for Pakistan The history of Pakistan’s civil nuclear power program goes back to 1965 when construction of the first Nuclear Power Plant namely KANUPP of 137 MW capacity commenced in Karachi

Since then PAEC has constructed four Nuclear Power Plants at Chashma with the assistance of China These plants have total generation capacity of 1330MW The first plant of Generation-III technology, Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 (K-2) went into commercial operation on 21st May, 2021 Both K-2 and K-3 are based on evolutionary design with improvements based on rich experience and extensive Tests and Analyses satisfying National and International Safety Codes, Standards and Practices

It is to mention here that the groundbreaking of K-3 was performed on November 26, 2013 by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif With the addition of this unit, Karachi Nuclear Power Generating Station (KNPGS) alone has started providing 2200 MW of electricity to the national grid and as a whole the nuclear power generation capacity of Pakistan has reached about 3600 MW In addition to usual project exigencies, COVID-19 pandemic was an unforeseen challenge which was tackled by the brave workforce of PAEC in such a manner that delay in the project s completion was insignificant

PAEC is making a steady progress to meet the target set by the government of producing 8,800 MWs of nuclear power by 2030 and 40 000 MWs by the year 2050 for the county Pakistan’s nuclear power plants, including K-2 and K-3, are under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards

As far as efficiency of the PAEC operated NPPs is concerned Pakistan’s Chashma Nuclear Power

Plant Unit-2 made a national record in the country’s history in 2020 by running for a year continuously, becoming the second electricity generation plant of the country to achieve this milestone Previously, Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit-4, had made the record of running for continuous 365 days, on July 1, 2020

These records of efficient and safe operations speak volumes of the acumen and hard work of PAEC’s teams of technicians, scientists and engineers Currently Chashma Power Plants (C-1 to C-4) are producing electricity at an average tariff of Rs 11 16/kWh while operating at above 95% of Capacity Factor Whereas the total energy production from Nuclear Power Plants in Pakistan had reached 125,147 GWh till March 2022

PAEC gives highest priority to the Safety and Security of its nuclear installations and that is why it has adopted “Safety First” as a slogan for the nuclear power plants PAEC is cognisant of the fact that a country requires affordable and reliable energy to prosper Pakistan s Nuclear Power Program is an important component of

our quest for reliable, cost-effective and clean energy with zero carbon emission Nuclear Power Program can also contribute significantly in mitigating effects of the climate change

Furthermore, PAEC power plants also play an important role in the uplift of surrounding areas by improving infrastructure, creating jobs, imparting education and providing modern health facilities Nearly 75% employees working in Chashma are locals

Similarly, K-2/K-3 projects have given employment to over 2 000 skilled local workers The successful coming online of K-3 would not be possible without cooperation from brotherly China especially its China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA), China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), China National Nuclear Corporation Overseas Ltd (CNOS), China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation (CNEIC), and Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of China Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) also deserves appreciation for their efforts in ensuring the nuclear safety of these projects

On national level, kind patronage

from Government of Pakistan, especially Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Power and all relevant government departments from Sindh deserves a standing ovation We have to realise that nuclear Power is the future of Pakistan for being second most cost-effective base-load energy source after hydel power It is environmentally less harmful because of nearly zero emission levels and most importantly, the nuclear fuel is strategically viable for long-term storage as fuel for over one-year operation of nuclear power plants can be stored at the site unlike furnace oil It is therefore a reliable option in terms of securing energy security for a country It is high time we embrace nuclear power with open arms because in Pakistan’s energy mix, nuclear option deserves a far better and prominent place than it currently occupies PAEC management also deserves nation’s tribute for its untiring efforts to bring about socio-economic development of the country and successfully pursuing Strategic Development Goals (SDGs) in line with IAEA and the United Nations

k

s ta n

i l i o n w i n s ‘ B e s t n e w e x h i B i t o r ’ awa r d at n Y s h o w 2 0 2 3

Group picture of National Foods Limited and Allah Walay Trust representatives with students of Government Primary School Bhatta Pind, Lahore on the ocassion of MoU signing ceremony for School Khana Program pr

Pakistan’s leading IT company, NdcTech participated in Temenos Kick-Off 2023 as the Silver Sponsor and their representatives networked with the Temenos community and partners across the globe NdcTech was also recognized by Temenos as the Best Partner in the SaaS World owing to its exceptional offerings pr

BIden rejects F-16s For UkraIne as rUssIa cl aIMs advances

WASHINGTON

A F P

PR E S I

D E N T Joe Biden said the United States would not provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, as Kyiv expands the list of weaponry it needs to be better able to drive Russian forces from occupied territories

Fighting continued at key points along the long front as Russian forces sought to expand their hold on territory in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine

The Kremlin-appointed Donetsk leader Denis Pushilin claimed Russian forces were advancing near Vugledar, a strategically valuable town southwest of Donetsk city

“Now we can say that units have established positions in the eastern part of Vugledar, and work is also being carried out in the vicinity,” Pushilin said, according to Russian news agencies But Kyiv rejected the claim, while conceding that the fighting there was tough

There are constant attempts to break through our defence,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Sunday

“The enemy maintains a high intensity of the attack ”Last week, Western coun tries including the United States and Germany approved the delivery of heavy battle tanks to Ukraine

The move is a departure from a previous position that tanks were considered a step too far in their support for Ukraine and could

risk a widening backlash from Russia

But Biden on Monday appeared to draw the line on supplying American fighter jets to Ukraine No he said when asked by reporters at the White House if he was in favour of sending F-16s or others B r a z i l h a s ‘n o i n t e r e s t’: But European leaders said they were open to the idea, even if Ukraine has not yet formally requested advanced fighter aircraft from its allies for the war

Analysts believe both Ukraine and Russia are gearing up for significant offensive movements in the coming months and Western aircraft could increase Kyiv s strength, with its own air force significantly depleted by 11 months of the war

Indian Ministr y refuses to include Muslim dynasties in exhibition

NEW DELHI

The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), an organisation under the Ministry of Education organised an exhibition on Medieval Indian dynasties, highlighting 50 different dynasties However, the exhibition did not feature any Muslim dynasty

The exhibition on ‘Glory of Medieval India:

Manifestation of the unexplored Indian dynasties, 8th18th Centuries’ was organised by the ICHR at the Lalit Kala Akademi in Delhi The exhibition will be open to visitors till February 6 On being asked as to why Muslim dynasties like Bahmani and Adil Shahi were not part of the display, Professor Umesh Ashok Kadam member secretary of the ICHR said he didn t consider Muslim dynasties as Indian dynasties “Those people (Muslims) came from the Middle East and didn’t have direct connect with Indian culture,”

Kadam told India Today “Islam and Christianity came to India during the Medieval period and uprooted civilisation and destroyed the knowledge system,” Kadam said, adding that while Islamic dynasties were certainly a part of Indian history history shouldn t be Mughal/Sultanate-centric Minister of State for Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, who inaugurated the exhibition, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked ministers to remove “colonial hangover”

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday he would not rule out giving fighter aircraft to Ukraine but warned against the risk of escalation in the conflict

Macron had talks with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has already floated the idea of sending Dutch F16s to Ukraine “Nothing is excluded in principle,” Macron said

Any arms delivery “must not weaken the capacity of the French armed forces,” he said, adding that France would have to be confident that the weapons would not be used to strike inside Russia, which could escalate the war

“There is no taboo but it would be a big step,” said Rutte

Over in South America, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Brazil “has no interest in sending ammunition to Ukraine during a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz the first Western leader to meet the leftist premier since he took office

“Brazil is a country of peace My suggestion is that we create a group of countries to sit at the table with Ukraine and Russia to try to reach peace,” Lula said

He added that he had discussed this idea with Macron and would bring it up with Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in future planned visits Lula caused a stir last year when he claimed that Zelensky was “as responsible as” Russian President Vladimir Putin in the conflict

Now, he said he believes Russia “made the classic mistake of invading another country’s territory” but maintained his position of non-engagement

If one doesn t engage then the two (sides) won’t fight,” Lula said a rt i l l e ry s h e l l s : With Ukraine s supplies of artillery munitions heavily depleted, France and Australia announced Monday a deal to jointly produce 155 mm shells for Kyiv’s forces

“Several thousand 155 mm shells will be manufactured jointly, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said

“There are some unique capabilities that exist in Australia and some synergies that can be achieved by Australia and France working together,” said his Australian counterpart Richard Marles

Tehran warns any US militar y ac tion will be declaration of war

MOSCOW

Ag e n c e s

The Iranian Permanent Mission to the United Nations warned on Tuesday after the recent drone attack in the province of Isfahan, allegedly carried out by Israel, that Tehran would consider any military action by the United States against Iran as a declaration of war which would be met with retaliatory measures

“In Iran’s perspective, the use of the military option at any level means U S entry into the war For now Iran considers such a possibility to be weak the mission told US Newsweek news magazine Tehran also said that if the US “ m i s c a l c u l a t e s a n d s t a r t s a w a r, ” t h e n Wa s h i n g t o n w o u l d b e r esponsible for the consequences of such a conflict “for the region and t h e w o r l d , ” t h e n e w s o u t l e t r eported In such a case Iran will be capable of ensuring its own secur i t y a n d d e f e n d i n g t h e c o u n t r y ’s i n t e r e s t s , N e w s w e e k c i t e d t h e

mission as saying Washington has so far denied any involvement in the recent attack on Iran, the media outlet reported “We’ve seen the press reports, but can confirm that no U S military forces have conducted strikes or operations inside Iran We continue to monitor the situation but have nothing further to provide,” a Pentagon spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Newsweek

On Saturday night, an explosion occurred in Isfahan’s northern neighborhood, at one of the military enterprises of the Iranian Defense Ministry, media reported Minidrones reportedly attacked an ammunition depot No casualties were registered The same night, an explosion and a subsequent fire occurred at an industrial oil production plant in the city of Azarshahr in northwestern Iran

Us scholar says china continues to be major engine of global growth

CHICAGO X n h uA

When advanced countries might suffer from deep recession, “only China is the country that will continue to be a major engine of global growth,” a U S scholar has said

To deal with COVID, the United States kept printing money to practice stimulus and “because of the policy, we have inflation So the Fed is going to raise the interest rate more and we might be slipping into a recession,” Khairy Tourk, professor of economics with the Stuart School of Business at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, told Xinhua

According to Tourk, countries in Europe also expect to have a recession because of the conflict in Ukraine and the energy crisis China doesn t have this problem (of inflation) What we have here are productive workers coming back to work in factories So they have a competitive advantage said Tourk “The Chinese market will be the bright spot in global growth in the next two years ” No country could match China when it comes to attracting foreign investment, especially now that China has opened up he said The country’s industrial base is that it has highly productive labor force discipline, and the skills are improving over time said Tourk The supply chain in China is so wide, it’s a complete supply chains It covers all kind of components from A to Z You don’t find this in any other place ”

Addressing that China will have a middle class population much larger than any other country, Tourk said “Chinese market is the largest in the world and this market is very attractive to every multinational ” With the advantages of first class infrastructure, high quality workers and huge market, China has become “indispensable” in the world, the scholar noted He also praised China’s COVID-19 policies for not only saving millions of lives, but also a major factor behind the revival of the Chinese economy “You have healthy workers coming back to work in factories healthy environment The COVID-19 policies were the best proof that it is good to have a short-term pain for long-term gain,” he said

Stalingrad: 80 years ago, a vic tor y that changed World War II

The Battle of Stalingrad, which turned the tide of World War II 80 years ago when German forces capitulated to the Red Army, remains a powerful symbol of patriotism in Russia as it presses its war in Ukraine

One of the largest battles in history, the fighting raged for more than six months in 1942 and 1943 before the Russians defeated Nazi soldiers trapped in the ruined city in the depths of winter

By the time it was over, on February 2, 1943, between one and two million people had died

The first-ever surrender by the Nazis was glorified in Russia as the event that rescued Europe from Adolf Hitler

Today, some of the most enthusiastic supporters of President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine are to be found in Stalin s so-called “Hero City” of Stalingrad, now called Volgograd

kilometres (559 miles) southeast of Moscow, pre-war Stalingrad was a crucible of Soviet industry with factories in the city of 600,000 people churning out military hardware

Stalingrad also acted as a gateway to the oil fields of the Caucasus as well as to Central Asia and the Caspian Sea

For Hitler, who had in June 1941 pulled out of a German-Soviet non-aggression pact, its name alone made it a tantalising target and worthy of an epic fight 200 d ay s a n d n i g h t s : The battle began in July 1942 and lasted for 200 days of grinding aerial bombardments and houseto-house fighting between the Germans on one hand and Soviet soldiers and civilians on the other

The Soviets were under strict orders from Stalin to stand their ground “Not a single step back,” he ordered, warning that troops who retreated would be shot

The 6th Army of German general Friedrich Paulus managed to gain control of 90 percent of the city

But in November, the Red Army staged

a forceful counter-offensive, overcoming the enemy troops who were trapped and left to starve in the Soviet winter

In January 1943, the Soviets launched a final offensive, retaking the ruined city district by district until the last German troops capitulated on February 2 1943 F r o m s ta l i n g r a d t o V o lg o g r a d: Originally called Tsaritsyn, the city became Stalingrad during Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s rule in 1925

As part of the “de-Stalinisation” process launched by his successor Nikita Khrushchev, the newly rebuilt city was renamed Volgograd in 1961

In 2013, lawmakers in the city voted to revive the name Stalingrad for ceremonial purposes six days a year including February 2, to commemorate the Nazi surrender, and May 9, to mark the final Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 gloriFied Battle: The city is steeped in nostalgia for the former Soviet Union, fuelling a brisk business in historical tourism Looming large over the city is a hilltop

memorial to the battle that includes a towering 85-metre (279-foot) sculpture of a woman with a raised sword, known as “The Motherland Calls”

“Defenders of Stalingrad have passed a

great heritage to us: love for the Motherland, readiness to protect its interests and independence, to stand strong in the face of any test,” Putin said in 2018 on the 75th anniversary of the surrender

21 international , 15 local pl ayers to make debut in Hbl psl 8tH

aS many as 21 foreign internationals and 15 local players will make their debuts in the HBL Pakistan Super League 8, which will be played in Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi from 13 February to 19 March Multan will host five matches, Karachi and Lahore will stage nine matches each and Rawalpindi will stage 11 matches

The internationals to appear in the HBL PSL for the first time include: Adil Rashid, Akeal Hosein (both Multan Sultans), Andrew Tye (Karachi Kings), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Peshawar Zalmi) and Dwaine Pretorius (Quetta Gladiators), Fazalhaq Farooqi, Gus Atkinson (both Islamabad United) Izharulhaq Naveed (Multan Sultans), James Fuller (Karachi Kings), Jimmy Neesham (Peshawar Zalmi), Josh Little (Multan Sultans), Kusal Mendis (Lahore Qalandars), Matthew Wade (Karachi Kings), Naveen-ul-Haq, Nuwan Thushara, Odean Smith (all Quetta Gladiators), Richard Gleeson (Peshawar Zalmi)

Shane Dadswell (Lahore Qalandars) Tabraiz Shamsi (Karachi Kings), Tom Curran (Islamabad United) and Wanindu Hasaranga (Quetta Gladiators)

In addition to the foreigners, the local lads aiming to make a big impression in their debut event are: Aamer Jamal (Peshawar Zalmi), Ahsan Bhatti (Lahore Qalandars) Aimal Khan (Quetta Gladiators), Arafat Minhas (Multan Sultans), Haseebullah (Peshawar Zalmi),

neymar expected to miss psG’ trip to montpellier

PARIS

R e u t e R s

Paris St Germain are expected to be without Neymar when they travel to Montpellier for a Ligue 1 game on Wednesday as the Brazil forward is suffering from muscle fatigue the club said on Tuesday

“Neymar has muscle fatigue and will remain in care today,” the Ligue 1 leaders said in a statement

PSG have 48 points from 20 games and lead secondplaced RC Lens by three points

Christophe Galtier ’s side have had a mediocre start to 2023, losing their last two away games at Lens and Stade Rennais before being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Stade de Reims on Sunday

They host Bayern Munich in their Champions League last 16 first leg on February 14

Hassan Nawaz (Islamabad United) Irfan

Khan Niazi (Karachi Kings), Mirza Tahir

Baig (Lahore Qalandars), Mohammad ‘Karnal’ Zahid (Quetta Gladiators), Mohammad Sarwar Afridi (Multan Sultans), Omair Bin Yousuf (Quetta Gladiators)

Saud Shakeel (Quetta Gladiators), Shawaiz Irfan (Lahore Qalandars), Sufyan Muqeem (Peshawar Zalmi) and Tayyab Tahir (Karachi Kings)

In the HBL PSL 8, Lahore Qalandars

will aim to become the first side to win back to back title, while Islamabad United will aim to become the first team to win three titles since the event started in 2016

In the seven impressive years of HBL PSL, Babar Azam is the leading run-getter with 2,413 runs in 68 matches, but is yet to notch up his maiden century Kamran Akmal who will miss the event is the second leading run-getter with 1,972 runs in 75 and is the holder of most centuries – three Explosive opener Sharjeel Khan has smashed two centuries while Fakhar Zaman, Rilee Rossouw, Cameron Delport, Colin Ingram, Chris Lynn, Usman Khawaja, Harry Brook and Jason Roy have stroked a century each Wahab Riaz of Peshawar Zalmi is the only bowler who has broken the 100wicket barrier in the HBL PSL He has taken 103 wickets in 77 matches and is followed by Hasan Ali (81), Shaheen Shah Afridi (70) and Shadab Khan (65)

In the absence of Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan of Multan Sultans will aim to become the most successful wicketkeeper in HBL PSL Rizwan (60 dismissals) trails Kamran by two dismissals while Sarfaraz Ahmed is third on 43 dismissals

A aqib Javed advises stable team formation for World Cup success

ISLAmAbAD s tA f f R e p o R t

Former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib

Javed is confident about Pakistan s chances in India’s upcoming 2023

ODI World Cup

He says playing in India will not be a problem for the Pakistan team and believes their strong bowling attack, including Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah will give them an advantage

Aaqib also suggests that the Pakistan Cricket Board form a stable team for the World Cup and avoid making frequent changes

“Playing in India will not be a problem for Pakistan Pakistan has always given India a tough time When the Pakistan team goes to India for the World Cup, it will not face any problem playing on the pitches there,” Aaqib said

“India recently scored many

runs against New Zealand in the ODI series But the bowling of Pakistan is not the bowling of New Zealand so the Indian batsmen scored four hundred runs,” he maintained

He believes a set team will allow for better development lead-

dane van niekerk: south africa all rounder out of Women’s t20 World cup squad

CAPE TOWN Ag e n c e s

Dane van Niekerk has been left out of South Africa’s squad for February s Women s T20 World Cup after failing “to meet the minimum criteria for fitness” Cricket South Africa said all-rounder Van Niekerk, 29 did not achieve the required time for a twokilometre run Captain in all formats since 2016, Van Niekerk, who has been recovering from a broken ankle, last played international cricket in September 2021 Sune Luus will captain the side in Van Niekerk s absence Van Niekerk posted a message on social media to say that she was “absolutely broken” Van Niekerk was dropped from the squad for the recent tri-series against West Indies and India, but she was given another opportunity to prove her fitness before the World Cup, which starts in South Africa on 10 February

Her wife and fellow star all-rounder Marizanne Kapp has been named in the squad Dane was given an extensive opportunity to meet the minimum criteria for the fitness benchmark,” said selector Clinton du Preez Many other players have gone down this route everyone is quite familiar with the situation and what is required In December, we set it out clearly with where she needs to be Dane will always be missed on the cricket field We have reminded her of that We also appreciate the effort she tried to put into meeting the fitness level ”

Van Niekerk is the only South African female cricketer to have scored more than 1 500 runs and taken more than 50 wickets in women’s T20 internationals She missed South Africa’s multiformat series against England in the summer of 2022 with injury and both her skills and leadership were sorely missed by an inexperienced side as they were thrashed 14-2

ing to the tournament

“Make a team that will not change until the World Cup

Think and understand what our combination will be and the playing eleven The sooner you decide, the more your team will develop,” he concluded

Van Niekerk’s omission comes after South Africa batter Lizelle Lee retired from international cricket in the middle of that series against England, claiming that failing a weight test was a “significant factor” in her decision to step away Lee told the BBC World Service s Stumped podcast that the experience was “emotionally draining” South Africa were semi-finalists at the previous T20 World Cup in 2020, where they were knocked out by eventual champions Australia

India hockey coach quits af ter World Cup debacle

hockey coach Graham Reid resigned Monday, the sport’s administrators said, a day after a World Cup that the side embarrassingly exited at the group stage

Once a powerhouse of hockey with eight Olympic golds to their name India hosted the tournament but went out when they lost to New Zealand in a play-off for a quarter-final place Hockey India (HI) said president Dilip Tirkey and secretary Bholanath Singh “met with players and the support staff of the team to understand and analyse the

Analytical coach Greg Clark and scientific adviser Mitchell David Pemberton also quit the governing body said

P C B t u r n s t o h o m e g r o w n t a l e n t w i t h n e w c h i e f s e l e c t o r

ISLAmAbAD

s tA f f R e p o R t

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed a new chief selector focusing on utilizing the country’s domestic cricket talent pool

The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has the authority to appoint the chief selector, selection panel, and captain He has considered the available resources and pressure on the current captain

“Chairman has the authority to appoint the chief selector, selection panel, and captain

If he asks for my opinion, I think we have to see what resources are available to us Do you have enough candidates who can play the leadership role? Media is quoting that there is

a lot of pressure on the captain because of leading the side in all formats Chairman will look into all these things and then decide if there need to be separate captains or just one all-format captain,” said Haroon

Chief selector Haroon Rasheed emphasized the importance of providing proper opportunities to players before making decisions about their future

“I have been following domestic cricket Pakistan has a good pool of players, and we need to focus on them Too many changes can also affect the team We have to give a player a proper opportunity before deciding their fate The majority of our players are between the age bracket of 21 to 27, so once they mature Pakistan can be a top team in

one or two years,” he said Haroon Rasheed has a wealth of experi-

ence and was appointed by Najam Sethi due to their competence Experience has no substitute Najam Sethi believes I am a competent professional, which is why he gave me major roles in his last tenure and has now given me the responsibility of Chief Selector I hope to fulfill the role to the best of my ability,” he said

The selection panel is still a work in progress, and the PCB is considering representation from all regions and selecting members who can bring a modern approach to cricket Data will also be used to gather information about past player performance, but the chief selector has emphasized the importance of physically observing their fitness

“Data provides you with information, so there is nothing wrong in using it If you want to see past records of players and in which conditions they have performed, then you take the help of data But you have to physically be present to judge the current form and fitness of a player, which is most important, said Haroon Rasheed,

The PCB is taking a comprehensive approach to its cricket operations and hopes to bring success to the team in the future “Selection panel is a work in progress I will hope there is representation from all regions and choose selectors who can help us with modern-day cricket We are looking at various aspects and will soon announce our selection panel members he concluded

OG R A n O t I f I e s R s 6 0 / K G h I K e I n L P G P R I C e f O R f e b R u A R y

tH E Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has jacked up the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by Rs 60 per kg for the month of February 2023, and issued a notification in this regard

According to the OGRA notification, LPG price has been fixed at Rs 264/kg after witnessing a hike of Rs 60/kg while the price of domestic cylinder has been increased by Rs 703 and commercial cylinder by Rs 2706 for the ongoing month of February 2023

Following the issuance of the OGRA notification LPG for February 2023 will be available at Rs 264/kg, domestic cylinder will be available at Rs 3115 and commercial cylinder at Rs 11984 in the open market of the country

After approving a massive hike in the per litre price of petrol and diesel, the government has succumbed to the pressure of LPG mafia by jacking up the LPG price significantly, said sources

The LPG mafia without waiting for OGRA’s notification on the new price of LPG has already started selling it at exorbitant prices and minting money from the consumers of LPG, they added

On January 29 the government approved a gigantic hike in the prices of all petroleum products with immediate effect The price of petrol and highspeed diesel (HSD) has been increased by Rs 35 per litre, the price of Kerosene oil and Light Diesel Oil (LDO) by Rs 18/litre These will be applicable till February 15 2023 across the country At

Gov t calls for unit y against ‘anti-Pakistani elements’

islamabad

Condemning the disastrous suicide bombing inside a Peshawar mosque, which claimed at least 100 lives and injured over 220 people, government has stressed the need for national consensus just like the one reached for operation Zarb-e-Azb against terrorism across the country and the need for unity against ‘anti-Pakistani elements’ While condemning the tragic Peshawar blast, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged all political forces to join forces in an attempt to build a united front to counter terrorism in the country Taking to Twitter, the PM said that “through their despicable actions, terrorists want to spread fear & paranoia among the masses and reverse our hard-earned gains against terrorism and militancy My message to all political forces is one of unity against anti-Pakistan elements”, he said adding that “we can fight our political fights later”

Meanwhile Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the tragedy of the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar which occurred on 16th December 2014 claiming the lives of about 150 innocent students, teachers and non-teaching staff of the school had not been forgotten yet as another incident of terrorism happened in the country A successful war was fought against terrorism from 2010 to 2017,” the federal minister said, adding that the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz-led government which was ruling the country eliminated the menace of terrorism “Several APS-like incidents occurred in KP [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa],” Asif said, adding that the terrorism devoured numerous precious lives While talking about the banned terror organisations, the defence minister said that the house (lower house of parliament) was told around two years ago that “these people” could be negotiated but any conclusive decision could not be made on the matter He came down hard on Imran Khan-led government for its instance of dialogue with the proscribed outfits Stressing the need for national unity the minister said that we sowed the seeds of terrorism ourselves” Emphasizing the need for developing national consensus for launching an anti-terror operation like Zarb-e-Azb launched on June 15 in 2014 following a brazen attack on Karachi airport the minister said that National Security Committee (NSC) would decide about the action against the terrorist organisations

China denounces

Peshawar terrorist attack; expresses firm suppor t to Pakistan’s fight against terrorism

islamabad

present, petrol is available at Rs 249 80/litre, HSD at Rs 262 80/litre, Kerosene oil at Rs 189 83/litre and LDO at Rs 187/litre in the open market Chairman LPG Association Irfan Khokhar said that the latest hike in the LPG price is a big blow to the inflationhit masses that are already bearing the brunt of skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, significant increase in transportation charges and the sky-high prices of the petroleum products as well in the country He said that the government should take solid measures to reduce the miseries of the common man by improving the economic conditions of the country Furthermore, he highlighted the importance of relief, saying the government in order to provide some respite

to the public should immediately allow the LPG plant of Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited (JJVL) to start production This has been closed for the last 31 months and has so far caused a loss of approximately Rs 157 billion to the national economy He said around 5000 metric tonnes of LPG is being consumed on a daily basis in the country while the daily consumption of the LPG is around 2000 metric tonnes and the LPG plant of JJVL alone can produce 550-570 metric tonnes of LPG on a daily basis Owing to widening gap in the demand and supply of local LPG, around 60% of the total needs of LPG is being fulfilled through imported LPG explained Khokhar

Historic LPG prices are unbearable for all those who live in remote hilly areas and use the LPG as a fuel for lightening, heating or cooking purposes in case of absence of other fuels he added

S ta f f R e p o R t

China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns a deadly attack at a mosque in Pakistan’s northwest Peshawar city, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said Tuesday “We express our deep condolences for the loss of life in the attack and extend sympathies to the injured and the bereaved families,” Mao told a press briefing in Chinese capital Beijing She said China firmly opposes terrorism in any form and firmly supports Pakistan s efforts in fighting terrorism, defending national stability, and protecting people’s lives

Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan separately issued a statement to denounce the terrorist attack Embassy of China strongly condemns the terrorist attack at the mosque in Peshawar We feel deeply grieved and pay our deepest condolences to the families of victims and injured of the tragedy the statement added

According to media reports, the Monday blast has killed at least 100 people and injured 221 others

Interim KP chief minister says elections to go ahead

PEsHaWaR

S ta f f R e p o R t

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has so far worked out Rs 10 80/unit cut in power price for consumers of K-Electric (KE) and Rs 2 32/unit for consumers of power distribution companies (DISCOs) on account of fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for the month of December 2022

NEPRA on Tuesday conducted separate hearings on the application of KE and the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) to consider variation in FCA of December 2022 After an initial scrutiny of the data, NEPRA has so far hinted at the approval of Rs 10 80/unit cut in power price for consumers of DISCOs and a Rs 2 32/unit cut in the power tariff for the consumers of KE

The hearing was chaired by NEPRA chairman Tauseef H Qureshi and NEPRA members Engineer Rafique Ahmed Shaikh and Engineer Maqsood

Anwar were in attendance

CPPA, in its application on behalf of DISCOs, requested Rs 2 20 per unit reduction in the power tariff while KE, in its plea, sought Rs 1 26/unit cut under the head FCA for December 2022

According to NEPRA, the FCA of December 2022 will not be applicable on DISCO’s lifeline consumers domestic power consumers who use 300 units a month, agriculture consumers and Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS)

“The Authority will issue its detailed judgment regarding FCA of December 2022 after necessary scrutiny of the data, said NEPRA

It added that the FCA of December 2022 will be applicable for only one month

Earlier the CPPA in its application submitted that the total electricity generated with various fuels in the month of December 2022 was recorded at 8,416 81 gigawatts hours (GWh), at a basket price of Rs 7 0441 per unit The total cost of energy was Rs 59,289 million

Power generation from hydel was 1,720 43 GWh, or 20 44% of production, while coal-fired plants produced 1,520 93 GWh, or 18 07%, at a price of Rs 11 4954 per unit

Power generation from residual fuel oil (RFO) was 38 91 GWh, or 0 46% of total generation, at Rs 25 7971 per unit

Gas-based plants produced 1,273 80 GWh, or 15 13% at Rs10 4992 per unit compared to power from regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) totalling 1,153 73 GWh, or 13 71%, at Rs 20 2071 per unit

Production from mixed sources was 2 18 GWh at a price of Rs 3 2781 per unit; from bagasse 101 09 GWh, at Rs5 9731 per unit; from wind 211 57 GWh; from solar 69 46 GWh, at Rs 2 7773 per unit

Generation from nuclear sources was 2,284 86 GWh or 27 15% of the total generation at Rs 1 0726 per unit Electricity imported from Iran accounted for 39 85 GWh at Rs 21 5555 per unit

Data submitted by the CPPA to NEPRA also showed that net electricity delivered to DISCOs in December 2022 was 8,096 88 GWh at Rs 7 1198 per unit, the total price of which was Rs 57,648 million

The CPPA, in its tariff adjustment request, advocated that the reference fuel charges for December 2022, for DISCOs were fixed at Rs 9 3193 per unit while the actual fuel charges were recorded at Rs 10 9833 per unit

According to KE, December ’s FCA request was lower primarily due to a reduction in prices of RLNG, furnace oil, and power purchased from the central power purchasing agency (CPPA) by 17%, 15pc, and 29% respectively as compared to September 2022

It is pertinent to mention that the FCA is reviewed every month as per the tariff regime applicable across the country and is usually applicable to the consumer ’s bills for one month only

FCAs are linked with changes in global fuel prices and passed onto consumer bills under prescribed rules and regulations of NEPRA and the government of Pakistan

Azam Khan, caretaker chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa dismissed rumours that upcoming elections in the province may be postponed due to Monday’s bombing of a mosque in Peshawar

At a press conference in Peshawar Khan said the attack, which claimed the lives of nearly 100 people and injured over 200 others, has nothing to do with the polls and that such incidents have been occurring in the province for the past 40 years, largely due to the volatile security situation in Afghanistan Khan affirmed that the election for the provincial parliament will proceed as scheduled, dismissing rumours of a postponement fueled by some progovernment journalists and media groups

Acknowledging the prevalence of terrorism in the southern regions of Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, and Tank, he urged the public to maintain their resilience, as such unfortunate incidents have been a persistent issue He emphasised the need for the administration and police to work together to combat terrorism and encouraged the public to remain steadfast

Meanwhile, the chief of provincial police, Moazzam Jah Ansari, announced the joint investigation team is reviewing footage and tracking the facilitators behind the attack According to current and former officials, the bombing of the mosque, which is in a walled compound, inside a high-security zone with other government buildings, reflects “security lapses” Yes it was a security lapse said Ghulam Ali the governor of the province Kashif Aftab Abbasi, a senior officer in Peshawar, concurred There was a security lapse and the inspector-general of the police has set up an inquiry committee, which will look into all aspects of the bombing,” he said “Action will be taken against those whose negligence” caused the attack Meanwhile in a post on Twitter a commander for the Afghanistan-based Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group, Sarbakaf Mohmand, claimed responsibility for one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent months

Pa k i s t a n b ra ce s f o r f u e l s h o r t a g e s a m i d l i q u i d i t y c r i s i s islamabad ag e n c i e S

Pakistan could face a crunch in fuel supplies in February as banks have stopped financing and facilitating payments for imports due to depleting foreign exchange reserves traders and industry sources said

The country is facing a balance of payments crisis and the plumetting value of the rupee is pushing up the price of imported goods Energy comprises a large chunk of the import bill

Pakistan typically meets more than a third of its annual power demand using imported natural gas, prices for which shot up following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

There is no shortage this fortnight If we don’t have LCs (letters of credit) open right now, we might see shortages in the next fortnight,” a senior official at one of the oil companies told Reuters

A letter of credit issued by the importer ’s banks is a standard form of payment guarantee in the oil trade to the exporter

Oil traders, however, are shunning countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to an acute shortfall of foreign exchange Pakistan on Sunday raised petrol and diesel prices by 16 per cent to Rs249 80 a litre and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund to unlock a suspended bailout package

State-owned refiner Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pakistan LNG Ltd have left a flurry of fuel tenders unawarded in the last couple of months

At an industry meeting on financial challenges faced by fuel importers, State Bank of Pakistan officials cited severe liquidity issues” faced by the country for delays in the opening of LCs, according to a Jan 19 letter from Imran Ahmed, director general of oil, reviewed by Reuters

At the same meeting the managing di-

rector of PSO said a gasoline cargo due for loading on Jan 13 has already been cancelled due to the non-opening of LCs He added that the country is having limited stocks and such a situation can lead to dry out,” according to the letter

Previously, the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), representing refining, pipeline, and marketing companies, also flagged that delays in the opening of LCs could lead to a fuel shortage in the country

In a Jan 13 letter to the Ministry of Finance, OCAC said Pakistan needs to import around 430 000 tonnes of gasoline 200 000 tonnes of diesel, and 650,000 tonnes of crude oil every month, costing $1 3 billion to meet local demand “If LCs are not established on a timely basis, critical imports of petroleum products would be impacted which may lead to a fuel shortage in the country,” the OCAC said Pakistan bought only 223 000 tonnes of

gasoline in December versus 608,000 tonnes in the same period a year earlier, data from Kpler showed In January this year the country was projected to import 270,000 tonnes of the fuel, compared with 393,000

tonnes in the same month in 2022, the data showed

Some banks have denied delays in issues of LCs, while SBP did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment

NEPRA works out Rs10.80/unit power tariff c ut for K arachiites, Rs2.32/unit for DISCOs consumers