PAKISTAnI vlogger MAKIng SPl ASh In ChInA

BEIJING s tA f f R e p o R t rE S I D I N G in China since 2016 a Pakistani girl, Mahzaib Abbasi currently pursuing a master s degree in the Chinese language at a top university in Beijing has explored different parts of the country

“I have always been fascinated by the Chinese language and culture,” Mahzaib told China Economic Net (CEN) and added it’s a valuable skill that can open doors for my future career ”

An avid traveller, Abbasi has travelled to more than 50 cities in China over the years, and with a 15-day vacation this Spring Festival, she sets foot westward to China’s southwestern province of Yunnan, more than 2 000 kilometres away from Beijing

As China relaxes its COVID-19 measures, I am able to travel freely and explore different parts of the country ” the globetrotter said as she films the dancing tourists and locals and grazing hordes

“The locals are polite and lovely and I love their culture and lifestyle,” Mahzaib told CEN excitedly, In Yunnan, I saw so many people in the streets they were enjoying their vacations Alhamdulillah, now everything is normal

As she treks through different parts of the country, Abbasi feels the need to share what she sees with more people To this end, she started vlogging in late 2020 and posted vlogs on Chinese and international social media platforms “I started vlogging to show what the real China is like,” she explains, “many people have never been to China and have stereotypes against the country ”ť With over 161,000 followers on YouTube, the Pakistani vlogger navigate to garner viewers predominantly from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and other

Asian countries In a 2021 vlog about how the Chinese celebrate Eid in China’s northwestern city of Lanzhou, Abbasi received over 8,000 comments expressing thanks and appreciation for her efforts with the video reaching a million views in less than a week

Interestingly, her vlogs are tri-lingual where she presents in Urdu with Chinese and English subtitles Mahzaib explains, she wants to promote her native language Urdu through vlogging “I feel more comfortable in my native language,” she says, “I also want to use my vlogs to reach out to people from other countries who understand Urdu such as India and Bangladesh ”ť

PTA degrads Wikipedia ser vices over unlawful content

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A h M A D A h M A DA n i

P a k i s t a n Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n A ut h o r i t y ( P TA ) h a s d e g r a d e d Wikipedia services in the country on a c c o u n t o f n o t b l o c k i n g / r e m o v i n g s a c r i l e g i o u s c o n t e n t s According to the PTA, Wikipedia was approached for blocking / removal of the unlawful contents by issuing a

Inflation jumps to 27.55pc, highest in almost 48 years

CoNtINuEd from paGE 01

As per the data the CPI index on month-on-month basis increased to 2 9 percent in January 2023 as compared to an increase of 0 5 percent in the previous month and an increase of 0 4 percent in January 2022 This takes the seventh month of fiscal year 2022-23 average inflation to 25 4 percent compared to 10 3 percent in the same period of last fiscal year With food inflation at 43 percent, the impact of the rupee devaluation and petrol/electricity/gas is yet to be realized As per the data CPI inflation in urban areas increased to 24 4pc on a year-on-year basis in January as compared to an increase of 21 6pc in the previous month and 13pc in January 2022 On a month-on-month basis, it increased to 2 4pc in Jan 2023 as compared to an increase of 0 3pc in the previous month and an increase of 0 1pc in January 2022 Meanwhile, CPI inflation in rural areas increased to 32 3pc on a year-on-year basis in January 2023 as compared to an increase of 28 8pc in the previous month and 12 9pc in Jan 2022 On a month-onmonth basis, it increased to 3 6pc in Jan 2023 as compared to an increase of 0 7pc in the previous month and an increase of 0 9pc in Jan 2022 It may be mentioned here that the CPI figure shown by PBS was higher than the government s expectation of 26pc, which itself was more than double the budgeted 11 5pc target A day earlier, the Ministry of Finance had forecasted the CPI inflation on a year-on-year basis for January to be in the range of 24-26pc In its Monthly Economic Update & Outlook issued on Tuesday, the ministry also made an upward revision in its inflation forecast to 24-26pc for the year, from 21-23pc it had estimated in December It said rising prices of onions and wheat are key factors affecting the general price level Late last month, the government removed an unofficial cap on the USD-PKR exchange rate, as a result of which the local currency lost Rs38 74 between Jan 26-30 Separately, it also hiked petrol prices by Rs35 a liter The full impact of these measures is yet to be reflected in the CPI According to experts, food inflation was the major driver behind the hike It increased from 162 23 in January 2022 to 231 89 in January 2023, a jump of almost 43pc Shortage of essential items amid import restrictions have increased prices of food items i e chicken, wheat and onions notice under applicable law and court order(s) An opportunity of hearing was also provided, however, the platform neither complied by removing the blasphemous content nor appeared before the Authority Given the intentional failure on part of the platform to comply with the directions of the PTA, the services of Wikipedia have been degraded for 48 hours with the direction to block / re- move the reported contents In case of non-compliance by Wikipedia the platform will be blocked within Pakistan The restoration of the services of Wikipedia will be reconsidered subject to blocking / removal of the reported unlawful contents, said PTA P TA i s c o m m i t t e d t o e n s u r i n g a s a f e o n l i n e e x p e r i e n c e f o r a l l P a ki s t a n i c i t i z e n s a c c o r d i n g t o l o c a l laws PTA added

Analysis: Pak istan moves toward deal- or- default endgame

CoNtINuEd from BaCk paGE

DIFFICULT TIMES

Such a restructuring of Pakistan’s bonds would represent its first international default since 1999, according to the Bank of CanadaBank of England Sovereign Default Database

With just $8 6 billion worth of such bonds, compared to the $30 billion Pakistan owes to China Ismail said Islamabad might be better off “just going to those countries that we owe a lot, or to the institutions we owe a lot, and trying and get some more long-term loans ”

Sharif is optimistic that the IMF will resume disbursements An agreement with the IMF, God willing will be done he said at an event last week in Islamabad, the capital “We will soon be out of difficult times ”

Multilateral and bilateral financing pledges for Pakistan’s rebuilding efforts after the floods also depend on a green light from the IMF

But even domestic analysts believe the government will find matters tough, as the IMF is likely to demand significant belt-tightening that is bound to be unpopular with voters already grappling with decades-high inflation and fewer job prospects

IMF officials have been eager to support

BEIJING

Ag e n c i e s

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday sent a message of condolence to President Arif Alvi over a deadly terrorist attack on a mosque in Peshawar On behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, Xi extended condolences over the sad incident and expressed sincere sympathy to the bereaved families and the injured

In his message, the Chinese President con- poorer countries and Pakistan promises to be a crucial partner for the West but paying out gets trickier when a programme is close to its end and a new government could come in and try and tear up a deal If the disbursements do not arrive by June, there could be a six-month gap before the new government takes office during which Pakistan would be starved of funds effectively pushing its population of 220 million to the brink

The lack of reserves will make it to tough to stay afloat Just $500 million of interest or ‘coupon’ payments are due on Pakistan’s international bonds this year, but the chief of the central bank chief has said $3 billion is needed to meet overall external debt payments

The political timing is also critical After the government s tenure ends in August, a special caretaker government will take charge for up to 90 days to ensure free and fair elections

However, the caretaker government is not empowered to sign an IMF pact, raising the question of whether the government and opposition can cooperate on a joint pledge to push through any IMF demands in order to avert a default “If something happens with the disbursement and then the elections get in the way, they might have a problem ” Gramercy’s Exum added demned the attack and added that China resolutely opposed all forms of terrorism and was willing to deepen counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan to jointly maintain peace and security in the region and the globe C h i n e s e P r e m i e r L i K eqiang had also sent a message of condolence to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the same day over the attack The blast occurred on Monday in a mosque in Peshawar when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest in the front row of the prayer congregation