Epaper_23-02-04 ISB

Plan to phase out furnace oil

Profit

Imran says won’t ‘recognize govt’ installed through conspiracy

Import restrictions proving catastrophic for auto industry

Expected additional FED on carbonated beverages alarms industry

Civil, military top brass vows not to let suCCess against terrorism squandered

g apex committee oKayS up-gradation of nacta, ctd and poLice with weaponS, tech

SaleeM JadooN

primeminister Shehbaz Sharif on friday declared that despite repeated terrorist attacks, not a single inch of the land of Khyber pakhtunkhwa was under the control of any terrorist group or individual that reflected strong writ of the government, called for rising above personal likes and dislikes and leaving the double standard politics to curb terrorism and extremism.

addressing an apex committee meeting here at Kp’s governor house on friday, pm Shehbaz said all political-religious parties’ leadership irrespective of their political, religious and linguistic ideologies should stand united to win the fight against terrorism.

“it’s time for forging national unity against the menace of terrorism and all the stakeholders should shun their differences and sit together to wipe out terrorism in its all forms and manifestation”, the prime minister underscored. he expressed his government’s strong resolve that the fight against terrorism would continue till its logical end and extermination. the participants saluted the armed forces, pakistan rangers, frontier constabulary, counter-terrorism department, police and other law enforcement agencies (Leas) for their unprecedented valour against terrorism, and paid tribute to the officers and soldiers who were martyred in the terror incidents.

the apex committee reiterated the resolve not to squander the sacrifices of the martyrs and successes achieved so far against terrorism.

the committee also reviewed the implementation of the national action plan and deliberated over the suggestions put forth for its improvement in accordance with contemporary needs.

the meeting also gave in-principle approval to the proposals for the up-gradation of national counter terrorism authority (nacta), ctd and police, and the provision of training, weapons, technology and other necessary equipment to them.

the meeting reviewed in detail the incidents of terrorism, particularly the attack on police Lines and the situation that followed during which representatives of intelligence agencies briefed the committee on the overall security situation and operations against terrorists in the country.

the apex committee agreed that the centre

g pm caLLS for nationaL unity to taKe anti-terror fight to LogicaL end

g announceS rS2m for each martyr’S famiLy, rS0.5m for each injured of moSque bLaSt

g SuggeStS probe, audit of rS417b given to Kp

Since 2010 for LeaS’ capacity-buiLding

addressing an apex committee meeting, the prime minister said that undue criticism, propaganda and blames over the police lines’ mosque blast was highly condemnable. “we have to admit the facts behind the blast that had made the whole nation grieved and sadden.”

he said that it would be probed that how the terrorist sneaked into the mosque and carried out such a huge blast that claimed around 80 to 85 innocent worshipers and many others injured.

the prime minister said the federation and provinces should jointly fight out terrorism as after every incident in the past the federation was blamed for not cooperating with Kp in that regard.

‘PRobe AND AuDIt of RS417b GIveN to KP SINce 2010’

and provinces would adopt a uniform strategy to counter terrorism and eliminate the internal facilitators of militants.

‘SoLIDARIty WIth heIRS of bLASt vIctIMS AND PeoPLe IN GeNeRAL’

according to the statement issued by pmo, the apex committee’s meeting chaired by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, was held at governor’s house in the wake of the deadly suicide blast inside mosque at malik Saad Shaheed police Lines and was also attended chief of army Staff general asim munir.

the meeting agreed to abolish all the sources assisting the terrorists in the country and directed the authorities concerned to devise an effective strategy in this regard.

adopting a zero-tolerance approach against all kinds of terrorism would be the national motto, while implementation of the decisions would be ensured by national consensus, the huddle decided, the statement added.

the meeting of the apex committee was attended by interior minister rana Sanullah, chief ministers of four provinces, gilgit-baltistan, federal ministers and national and political leadership except for pti leadership.

KP IGP bRIefS PARtIcIPANtS

on the occasion, Kp inspector-general of police muazzam jah ansari briefed participants of the

meeting regarding investigation into the police Lines blast and the progress made so far. the ig police shared details about the incident, routes the attacker used to reach the mosque, his links with terrorists network and the headway made so far to reach to the network.

Shehbaz Sharif disclosed that rs 417 billion were provided to Kp since 2010 under the national finance commission award that was supposed to be spent for capacity-building, infrastructure development and equipment for the counter-terrorism department and wondered where that huge amount was spent in Kp. he suggested a complete probe and audit of the spending of such a huge amount in Khyber pakhtunkhwa.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Nation together will root out menace of terrorism: Gen Asim Munir

RAWALPINDI: chief of army Staff (coaS) general Syed asim munir on friday appreciated the high morale of Khyber pakhtunkhwa police personnel and Law enforcement agencies (Leas) and paid rich tribute to the martyrs of police who have laid down their lives for defence of the motherland. “we as a nation together will root out this menace of terrorism till enduring peace and insha allah we shall achieve this,” said a press release of iSpr quoting gen asim munir as saying. according to iSpr, chief of army Staff (coaS) gen Syed asim munir visited site of the blast at the peshawar police Lines, where at least 100 people—mostly policemen—lost their lives when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a packed mosque earlier this week. the inter-Services public relations (iSpr) said the army chief met with officers and men of the Khyberpakhtunkhwa police during his visit. the coaS appreciated the bravery and contribution of K-p police and law enforcement agencies (Leas) in the war against terrorism, the iSpr said. the army chief said that the K-p police was one of the bravest forces and has fought as a frontline force against terrorism. Separately, an apex committee meeting held earlier today expressed determination to protect the lives and property of the people at every cost, and to make an example of the terrorists who shed the blood of pakistanis. Staff report

Rupee plunges to new lows as IMf tightens rope

g interbanK marKet cLoSeS at rS276/uSd amid taLKS with imf reaching a tricKy junction

profit report

Shah Nawaz Mohal the dollar in the interbank market on friday was trading at, what is now its highest ever value against rupee. the week’s trading saw the rupee recovering against the greenbacks. but with increased pressure on pakistan’s falling reserves, the rupee failed to make a full recovery. rather, within days, it nosedived further, crossing the 270 barrier and eventually the 275. on thursday, the interbank trading closed at rs. 271.36/uSd. the Sbp’s foreign exchange reserves were also recorded at a record low of $3.09 bil-

lion on thursday, after a decrease of $592 million during the last week.

talking to the apex committee on friday, the prime minister said that the imf was giving pakistan a hard time over unlocking $1 billion, in the current unimaginable circumstances of pakistan. the premier’s statement is said to have stirred a negative sentiment amongst the market. according to media reports, the talks that started with the imf at the start of this week, after 4 days, are still nowhere near their conclusion. earlier this week, the imf asked for political consensus on its prior conditions, introducing a “charter” of sorts.

in addition to that, in the meeting conducted on friday, the fund has shown discontentment with pakistan’s debt servicing ability. the fund has also relayed a need to increase the prevalent sales tax to 18% to bridge the taxto-gdp ratio. the imf mission plans to introduce fiscal reforms in the country and the government has also shown willingness to do so. however, under record-high inflation, which is expected to go north of 30% in the months to come, a fiscal tightening might prove to be fatal. not just for the lower income groups of the country, but also the political journey of the ruling party(ies).

Saturday, 4 february, 2023 I 12 Rajab, 1444

peSHAWAr

ECP Plans huddlE with PolitiCal PartiEs as sChEdulE for by-Polls to 31 na sEats unvEilEd

ELECTIONCommission of Pakistan (ECP) has organized a consultative meeting with country’s political parties in federal capital on February 9 to discuss, peaceful elections of provincial assemblies, code of ethics and other constitutional and legal issues with them and get their feedback for ensuring immaculate elections.

According to spokesperson for the ECP, the decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja held also to deliberate the dates for holding elections of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.

ECP Secretary Omer Hamid Khan briefed the forum about arrangements for the elections of provincial assemblies of Punjab,

PM welcomes China’s interest to invest in Pakistan’s nuclear energy sector

ISLaMaBaD Staff RepoRt

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and by-elections to 86 National Assembly constituencies.

The ECP members, Secretary and other senior officers attended the meeting. Secretary told the forum that the registrars of Lahore High Court and Peshawar High Courts have been asked to provide the services of judicial officers for holding free, fair upcoming elections of provincial assemblies.

The meeting decided to hold another meeting on Tuesday (February 7) in which chief secretaries of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa along with Inspector General of Police of both the province will brief the commission about elections of provincial assemblies, National Assembly by-elections, law and order situation and other issues in their respective jurisdictions.

Schedule for by-pollS to 31 NA

SeAtS oN MArch 19: Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by-

polls to 31 National Assembly constituencies will be held on March 19. The seats had fallen vacant due to resignations of PTI MNAs.

The notification says the returning officers (ROs) will issue a public notice in this regard on February 8, while the candidates will be able to file their nomination papers with the ROs from February 10-14, followed by publication of a list of the nominated candidates next day. The scrutiny of documents will be carried out till February 18.

The appeals against the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers by the ROs can be filed on Feb 22. Last date for devising of appeals by the appellate tribunals will be Feb 27, followed by publication of the revised list of candidates on February 28. The candidates can withdraw their nominations papers and publication of revised list of candidates is fixed as Mar 01.

The candidates will be allotted election symbols on March 02 and the polling will be conducted on March 19. The seats were vacated when the National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepted the resignations of PTI lawmakers.

The by-elections will be held in these constituencies: NA-02 Swat-I; NA-03 SwatII; NA-05 Upper Dir-I; NA-06 Lower Dir-I; NA-07 Lower Dir-II; NA-08 Malakand ProtectedArea; NA-09 Buner; NA-16 Abbottabad-II;NA-19, Swabi-II; NA-20, Mardan-01; NA-28, Peshawar-II; NA-30, Peshawar-IV;NA 34, Karak;NA-40, Bajaur-I; NA-42, Mohmand;NA-44, Khyber-II;NA-61,Rawalpindi-V;NA-70, Gujrat-III;NA-87, Hafizabad-I; NA93,Khushab-I;NA-96, Mianwali-II; NA-107,Faisalabad-VII;NA-109,FaisalabadIX;NA-135, Lahore-XIII;NA-150, Khanewal-I; NA-152,Khanewal-II;NA-158,

Musadik tells Senate cargoes of Russian crude oil to begin from April

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Staff RepoRt

China is interested in investing in Pakistan’s nuclear energy sector and delegation-level talks in this regard will be held in near future. This was informed in a meeting held between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a delegation of China National Nuclear Corporation led by Charge d’Affaires of the Chinese embassy Pang Chunxue. The meeting was also joined by federal ministers Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, and Khurram Dastagir, PM’s Adviser Ahad Cheema, and Special Assistants Tariq Fatemi, Tariq Bajwa, and Jahanzeb Khan. The prime minister welcomed the interest shown by China to invest in the country’s nuclear energy sector. He mentioned that the inauguration of K-3, the third unit of Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUP) yesterday with the assistance of China would help Pakistan overcome its energy needs. He said the strategic relationship between Pakistan and China spanned over decades and would continue to strengthen with time.

Pakistan to attend Moscow meeting on afghan crisis next week

MoSCoW agencieS

A meeting on Afghanistan between the secretaries of the security councils of Central Asian countries — including Pakistan, India and China — will be held in Moscow next week, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan, Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov told TASS on Friday. “Yes, that’s true,” he said replying to a question on the matter. “There will be regional participants, the secretaries of the security councils of countries in the region are invited — our Central Asian partners, as well as Pakistan, India and China,” the diplomat explained. On May 27, 2022, a fourth round of multilateral consultations on Afghanistan between top security officials was held in Dushanbe. It should be noted that under the US withdrawal deal signed by the Trump administration in the year 2020, the US army withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the Taliban took control of Kabul. After the US departure, all the regional countries became active to stabilise Afghanistan and prevent its land to to be used for terrorism — which haunted the neighbouring countries for decades.

The vessels carrying Russian crude oil and other products would start arriving Pakistan from April this year, Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik told Senate Friday.

Replying to the question of Senator Mushtaq Ahmed during question hour in Senate, he said negotiations with National Shipping Corporation (NSC) were going on for transporting Russian oil. High level meetings were held

between Pakistani and Russian delegates on trade of petroleum products in the month of January, 2023. Long-term contract for the import of crude oil to meet up to 20% of Pakistan’s crude oil import requirements is under discussion with Russia. Matters including commercial terms, crude oil specification, freight arrangements and insurance coverage’s, would be discussed in upcoming meetings.

The details related to import of Russian fuel would be finalized by March next. Imports of oil from Iran

would be difficult due to sanctions imposed on Iran.

Currently some trade was going on with Iran on barter basis.

Earlier, Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik had said that Russia could start exporting oil to energy-starved Pakistan after March and discussion were underway whether payment could be made in the currencies of “friendly” countries. Pakistani officials and Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov, who was in Islamabad for an annual

Sheikh Rashid booked for ‘immoral’ remarks against Bilawal Bhutto

Staff RepoRt

A case has been registered against Awami Muslim League (AML) president Sheikh Rashid Ahmed in Karachi for making “immoral” remarks against Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

According to sources, the case was registered at the Mochko police station by a PPP worker over the former minister’s comments against the PPP Chairman. Sources said a police team has been formed and will leave today to arrest the AML leader, adding that he would be brought to Karachi after arrest.

The former interior minister was earlier arrested by Islamabad police in a late-night raid on his residence in a private housing society for publically accusing former president Asif Ali Zardari of hatching a plot to assassinate PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

On Thursday, an Islamabad court remanded him into two-day police custody following his latenight arrest. Rashid was arrested by the Abpara police after a case was registered against him under sections 120B, 153 A, and 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the complaint of Raja Inayat, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Rawalpindi Division vice president.

Police said the former interior minister was booked for criminal conspiracy, creating rift among two groups and giving hateful statements. After the

arrest Rashid was brought to the Abpara police station in Islamabad, from where he was taken to the Polyclinic Hospital for medical check-up.

Inayat told police in his complaint that on January 27, he heard an interview of Rashid on a private TV channel, in which he [Rashid] spoke about a conspiracy saying the PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari had hired some terrorists who wanted to kill Imran.

Inayat claimed that Rashid had attempted to defame the former president, and thereby creating a permanent threat to Zardari and his family. He added that Rashid wanted to create enmity between the PPP and the PTI by mentioning “a fabricated and baseless conspiracy”.

PM says Pakistan has no option but to accept ‘tough IMF conditions’

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Staff RepoRt

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday acknowledged that the International Monetary Fund (IMF), delegation holding discussions on the ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme, was giving a “very tough time” to the government team.

“The IMF delegation is giving a “very tough time” to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team during discussions being on the ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme.” Without elaborating, the PM said: “Our economic challenge at this moment is unimaginable. The conditions we

have to fulfil [to complete the IMF review] are beyond imagination.”

The prime minister admitted the conditions government has to fulfill are beyond imagination, but the country has no option but to accept them.

“You all know we are running short of resources,” Sharif said, adding the country was “facing an economic crisis”. He made the comments while addressing an Apex Committee meeting in Peshawar.

The IMF delegation, headed by Nathan Porter, and the government began the makeor-break discussions on the completion of the ninth review on Tuesday. Pakistan needs to complete the review to stave off default.

The country’s reserves have depleted to a critically low level of $3.09 billion as of Jan 27, which can cover only 18 days of imports, according to Arif Habib Limited. Completing the IMF review would not only lead to a disbursement of $1.12bn but also unlock inflows from friendly countries and other multilateral lenders. As meetings began, the IMF mission chief sounded adamant on upfront, calibrated and strong measures to bridge the daunting fiscal gap — between Rs2 trillion to Rs2.5tr.

“You don’t have any other option” was the critical message, as members of the mission engaged with the finance and power ministries led by Ishaq Dar and Khurram

Multan-V;NA-164, Vehari-III; NA165,Vehari-IV;NA-177,Rahim Yar Khan-III and NA-187, Layyah-I.

Membership of three more parliamentarians restored Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday restored the membership of three more parliamentarians after submission of assets’ details. Earlier, the ECP suspended the membership of as many as 271 lawmakers over their failure to submit details of their assets and liabilities.

The parliamentarians restored by the ECP include one member of the National Assembly and two members of the Sindh Assembly. The restored members included MNA Ghulam Bibi, NA 115, Jhang-II and Provincial Assembly Sindh members Jamal Uddin Siddiqui, PS-106 Karachi East-VIII; Naseem, a member of provincial assembly (MPA) on reserve seat for women, said a notification issued by ECP.

inter-governmental commission on trade and economy, said the key elements of the deal had yet to be agreed.

It said in October it was considering buying discounted Russian crude, citing neighbouring India, which has been purchasing from Moscow.

“As for the supply of crude oil and petroleum products, we conceptually agreed on the development and signing of an agreement that will determine and resolve all issues of logistics, insurance, payment, volumes,” Shulginov told reporters in Russian, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

Shulginov also said “negotiations are going on” about settlement in the currencies of “friendly” countries, meaning non-Western countries that have not imposed economic sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Citizens take to streets in KP against rising terrorism

Staff RepoRt

Citizens in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took to the streets on Friday against the recent wave of terrorism in the province. The rallies come as Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorism, mostly in KP, but also in Balochistan and the Punjab town of Mianwali, which borders KP. A terror attack also reached as far as the peripheries of Islamabad. On Jan 30, a powerful explosion ripped through a mosque in Peshawar’s Red Zone area where between 300 and 400 people — mostly police officers — had gathered for prayers. The suicide blast blew away the wall of the prayer hall and an inner roof, claiming the lives of 101 people. January was the deadliest month since 2018, in which 134 people lost their lives — a 139 per cent spike — and 254 received injuries in at least 44 militant attacks across the country. On Friday, several rallies organised by local rights organisations were held in KP’s Shangla district. The leadership of different political parties, including the PTI, PPP, Awami National Party (ANP) and others, also addressed the rallies. The participants, carrying white flags, demanded justice for the victims of the ghastly blast in Peshawar on January 30 as well as sustainable peace in the region. The main rally began from Karora area and upon reaching the district headquarters of Alpuri, turned into a huge gathering as others joined. The speakers said protecting citizens was the responsibility of the authorities concerned, lamenting that they did not seem interested and only engaged in political matters.

Dastgir Khan, respectively, sources close to the meetings told Dawn.

The government has taken a number of measures to complete the IMF review, including lifting an unofficial price cap on the exchange rate, hiking petroleum rates by up to 16 per cent and increasing the LPG price by 30pc.

The two sides would remain focused on technical-level deliberations in the first round, slated to run until Friday (today), then move on to the crucial policy-level negotiations over the next weekend until Feb 9.

On other hand, Pakistani rupee hit a record low against the US dollar in a steep slide since last week.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed Chinese investment and said China is interested in doing investment in Pakistan’s nuclear energy sector and delegation-level talks in this regard will be held in near future.

This was informed in a meeting held between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a delegation of China National Nuclear Corporation led by Charge d’Affaires of the Chinese embassy Pang Chunxue.

The meeting was also joined by federal ministers Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, and Khurram Dastagir, PM’s Adviser Ahad Cheema, and Special Assistants Tariq Fatemi, Tariq Bajwa, and Jahanzeb Khan. The prime minister welcomed the interest shown by China to invest in the country’s nuclear energy sector.

ISLaMaBaD Staff RepoRt

bilawal sPEaKs at PrayEr brEaKfast in washington, EMPhasisEs iMPortanCE of faith

fOREIGNMinister Bilawal Bhutto

Zardari was the keynote speaker at the International Luncheon, an important part of the National Prayer Breakfast activities in Washington DC on Thursday.

Earlier during the breakfast, which was attended by more than 1400 guests from the United States and around the World, the Foreign Minister was recognized as a young and dynamic foreign minister by the

sK to issue work visas to thousands of Pakistani skilled workers

ISLaMaBaD

Staff RepoRt

South Korean Ambassador in Pakistan Suh Sangpyo said Friday has said that the entire world was aware of the close relationship between Pakistan and South Korea. In an interview, he said that South Korea would soon issue work visas to the Pakistani skilled workers. “In this regard, South Korea has started considering an agreement with the Ministry of Overseas Pakistan,” he added. He stated that thousands of skilled workers and artisans from Pakistan would be sent to South Korea during the current year, adding that thousands of Pakistani students had been studying in South Korea on scholarships. He also said that the South Korean government and universities would give more scholarships to the Pakistani students. “The embassy of South Korea in Pakistan is providing all facilities for visa. South Korea laid the foundation of motorways in Pakistan,” he pointed out. “South Korea is working on eight hydropower projects in Pakistan. South Korea is also planning to work on power projects in the future,”.

“Pakistan is an excellent country in terms of hospitality. There is a need for an effective strategy for tourism in Pakistan,” he stressed. “The historic sites in Taxila can attract many tourists from South Korea.

lhC overrules office objection to plea of former Pti Mnas

LaHoRe

Staff RepoRt

Foundation organizing the event.

In his remarks, the Foreign Minister emphasized the role of faith and prayer in life, both individually and collectively as a global community. He said, “faith in one Creator that watches over us, guides us and give us strength is the bonding feature of all faiths. This sense of unity enables us to see the humanity in those who are different from us, and to treat them with same kindness and respect that we would want for ourselves.”

The Foreign Minister said, “In Islam the rights of our fellow human beings –Haqooqul-Ibad – constitute one of the most

important pillars of our faith. By asking its adherents to treat all people with kindness and respect, regardless of their background or belief, Islam seeks to create a society where discord and strife are replaced by unity and harmony.”

The Foreign Minister referred to the many challenges facing the world today and emphasized the need to reaffirm our belief in the importance of compassion and empathy in addressing global issues. “Our fate is tied to the fate of others and we must work together to build a better future for all.”

He emphasized the need to build bridges

of understanding, tolerance and compassion in pursuit of our common desire to have peace and amity.

The Foreign Minister also spoke about the devastating floods in Pakistan and thanked the international community for coming forward and assisting Pakistan in this hour of need.

The National Prayer Breakfast is a high profile event, held annually since 1953, that gathers US and international leaders for a discourse on contemporary issues with key emphasis on the importance of faith and democracy. This year’s Breakfast was also

Education minister hints at licensing for professional development of teachers

KaRaCHI Staff RepoRt

Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah, on Friday, said that government was mulling over teachers’ licensing in the province for ensuring employment opportunities and legal protection.

The minister while speaking at the International Teachers’ Conference, at Government Elementary College of Education said that candidate would be able to get grade-16 job after acquiring teacher’s license and it would be a sign of a teacher’s professional quality and significance.

The conference aimed at providing an opportunity for healthy discussion and suggestions for further improvement of the teacher training sector was attended by people from the education sector.

The conference was informed that the Sindh government was working on a plan to start a Master’s

degree program for teacher trainers in collaboration with Oxford University and social organisation Durbeen and consultation with all stakeholders has begun. The education minister said that the problem of shortage of teachers in government schools has been solved while there was a need to improve the training and quality of newly recruited teachers.

To carry out the constitutional obligation of ensuring free and quality education and developing education sector, civil society and all other stakeholders would be taken along, Sardar Shah said.

He thanked the representatives of Oxford University and Durbeen and said that the support and guidance in the Master’s degree program for teacher trainers will further improve this profession.

He said that Sindh has inclusive, life skill base and pluralistic curriculum while a program has been started to make teachers training institutes across Sindh more active.

Pakistan committed to support Kashmiris until freedom from Indian occupation: Munir Akram

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Pakistan is committed to continuing its support to the people of occupied Jammu & Kashmir until they achieve their legitimate rights, freedom and liberty, Ambassador Munir Akram reaffirmed Friday at a webinar in which nine distinguished speakers joined in calling for knocking at the world’s conscience to push for the immediate resolution of the decades-old Kashmir dispute.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday overruled objection to a petition filed by 43 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNAs challenging the acceptance of their resignations by the speaker of the National Assembly. The plea was fixed as an objection case before Justice Shahid Karim after the registrar’s office put an objection to it. However, the court, after hearing arguments of the counsel for petitioners, removed the objection and directed to fix the matter before a single bench. Riaz Fatyana and 42 others had filed the petition and pleaded with the court to set aside the decision of the speaker and the subsequent action of the Election Commission of Pakistan of declaring their seats vacant.

"The struggle of the Kashmiri people for freedom and self-determination is legitimate, under the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and international laws," he said in his opening remarks at the webinar, which was organized by the Pakistan Mission to the UN, to commemorate Kashmir Solidarity Day on Feb 5.

Former Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua delivered the keynote address from Islamabad in which she called for "concrete and meaningful" steps for the full implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir.

"History tells us that struggles for freedom cannot be vanquished," Ms. Janjua said, adding that the valiant Kashmiri people are bound to realize their cherished goal of freedom.

Other participants included the Ambassador to the

UN of Turkiye, Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia as well as Ghulam Nabi Mir, Chairman of the Kashmir Diaspora Coalition & President of the World Kashmir Awareness Forum(WKAF); Victoria Schofield, a noted British author and activist; Abdel Hamid Siyam, Professor of Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; Mushaal Hussein Malik, an advocate of rights of women and children in war/conflict zones; Salman Khan, a human rights activist; and Hashir Ali Awan, a youth activist.

At the start of the webinar, Ambassador Akram said that India’s occupation of Jammu & Kashmir is illegal, contrary to the UN Charter and the resolutions of the Security Council.

India had violated the human rights of Kashmiris for over 70 years, he said that this repression has intensified in the aftermath of the unilateral measures initiated by India since 5 August 2019, noting that Indian campaign of oppression has not succeeded in extinguishing the desire and demand of the Kashmiri people for freedom and self-determination.

"Their freedom struggle continues and will continue," the Pakistan envoy added.

Turkiye's UN Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu said that India's August 2019 unilateral decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 had complicated the longstanding dispute.

ihC serves notices on agP, ag islamabad, others in contempt case of sh rashid

ISLaMaBaD

Staff RepoRt

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday served notices to the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP), Advocate General (AG) Islamabad and police in a plea filed by Awami Muslim League (AML) head Sheikh Rashid Ahmed for initiating contempt proceedings over his arrest. Sheikh Shakir Shafiq, nephew of the AML chief, stated in the petition that despite suspension of the police summon notice by the IHC he was arrested and an first information report (FIR) was also registered him . During the hearing, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri asked which order of the IHC had been violated. The court (on Feb 1) had only suspended the summon notice (of the police) and not stopped the police from registering an FIR. He asked the petitioner’s lawyer to read out the previous plea and observed that the courts granted bail to an accused in one case and he/she was arrested by the police in another case. Sheikh Rasheed’s lawyer argued that the police should have not registered the FIR when the high court had suspended the notice. At that time investigation was underway and the FIR was registered on its basis. Later the court adjourned the case till Monday. The Aabpara Police (Islamabad) lodged the FIR against the AML chief for levelling allegations against former president Asif Ali Zardari of hatching a conspiracy to murder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan.

ECP fails to decide dates for election of Punjab, KP

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The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has failed to decide dates for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The ECP met again for consultation on the election dates in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in line with the letters forwarded by the governors. The country’s supreme electoral body’s Law Wing briefed the members on the letters written by the governors of Punjab and KP for the by-elections. The sources within the ECP have vowed to clear all the legal hurdles for the by-polls in the provincial assemblies. The Election Commission of Pakistan wrote letters to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governors on January 25.

Custom officials allegedly mint millions in fraudulent assessment of vapes e-cigarettes

ISLaMaBaD Shahzad paRacha

The custom officials posted at Islamabad Airport have minted millions in an allegedly fraudulent assessment of the Goods Declaration filed for the custom clearance of vapes e-cigarettes

Sources said that the newly created collectorate of customs International Airport Islamabad has issued explanation memos to four principal appraisers, namely, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Habibullah Malik, Sana Saeed and Anika Malik for their failure to classify the assessed goods in the correct and appropriate PCT heading 8543.4000 in which they were required to charge 20 percent customs duty on the assessed goods.

It has been found that while assessing GD No. 14366 of Ayan Enterprises, GD No 14288 of S.N Enterprises, GD No 14287 of Ayan Enterprises, GD No 14246 of Ayan

Enterprises, GD No. 13855 of ADB Corporation, GD No 11520 of Deewan and Sons and GD No 13905 of ABD Corporation, all GDs filed for the custom clearance of vapes e-cigarettes, the named

custom officials avoided to apply the correct and appropriate PCT heading 8543.4000 (CD 20%) and instead assessed the goods fraudulently under the wrong and inapplicable PCT heading 8543.9090 where the goods are exempt from custom duty thus causing a massive loss of custom duty on all the GDs so assessed fraudulently.

The explanation memos served on the officials state that this inefficiency and negligence on your part has resulted in loss of duty/taxes to the national exchequer worth Rs 6.106 million and your conduct falls within the definition of “Inefficiency & misconduct” as defined under civil servants (E&D) rules, 2022.

The explanation memos further state that you are hereby directed to explain your position within three days of the receipt of this explanation letter as to why disciplinary action under E&D rules 2020 may not be taken against you.

Sources said that importers collude with the custom officials and take advantage of the loopholes of WeBOC system but customs high ups continue to keep these loopholes open and have almost eliminated the cost of minting money through these loopholes for those custom officials who collude with the importers and cause huge recurring revenue losses to the cash starved economy of Pakistan.

Recently, two importers have been identified to have misused WeBOC system’s integration with the PTA in clearing without duty and taxes around 5700 mobile phones reported by examining officers as short shipped but assessed by the appraising officers against nominal and negligible duty and taxes in order to present these phones actually cleared fraudulently without leviable duty taxes to PTA for their activation and use.

Although customs collectorate,

Islamabad issued show cause notices to the custom officials involved in this mega phones fraud but the collectorate took precaution to exclude these officials from FIR as initiation of any criminal proceedings against them could risk disclosure of the whole customs hierarchy with whose clandestine support and backing such mega frauds not only occur but also repeat in regular cycles.

There has been so far no direction from FBR high ups to entangle and include in criminal proceedings all those custom officials who are found to have colluded with importers in custom frauds causing massive and recurring government revenue losses. This no cost for custom officials for committing custom frauds has made the examiners and appraisers at customs dry ports a regular engine to drive such frauds right under the nose of custom collectors and other supervising custom officers.

WaSHINGtoN Staff RepoRt

attended by King of Jordan, His Majesty King Abdullah II. The invitation to the Foreign Minster as a keynote speaker at the International Luncheon is a recognition of Pakistan’s important voice in this discourse.

Chinese CompAny pReseRves bReeD of ‘supeR’ pAkistAni buffAlo

ISLAMABAD staff rEport

AChinese company has successfully preserved the breed of a superior but aged Pakistani buffalo through OPU-IVF-ET technology by obtaining pregnancy from her embryo.

“We obtained eggs from a ‘Nili Ravi’ buffalo, the grandmother of a young buffalo which yielded a world record of 28.3 kilograms of milk during a competition held at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad,” Dr Qaisar Shahzad, technical manager of Buffalo Embryo Production at Royal Cell Biotechnology (Pakistan) told Gwadar Pro.

He said that the buffalo had not given birth to an offspring in the last four years due to ageing (20 years). Four eggs were collected from this buffalo using

ultrasound-guided OPU and two embryos were produced as a result.

One embryo was transferred to a

RDA launches anti enforcement operation against land mafia

RAWALPINDI

Ejaz arshad ChEEma

Police along with officials of Enforcement Department of Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) on Friday launched anti enforcement operation against land mafia in Mandowal area of Chontra and demolished the bunkers of criminals associated with an illegal housing society. Likewise, a heavy contingent of police and Elite Force commandos, under the supervision of SP Saddar Division Bilal Mehmood Sulehri also carried out a search operation in Ladian to flush out terrorists and anti social elements from the areas. Separately, two cops of Dolphin Force also suffered bullet injuries when unknown assailants opened indiscriminate firing on them at Chakri Road. According to sources, police, following orders of City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Shehzad Nadim Bukhari, and Enforcement Department of RDA conducted an operation against the illegal infrastructures built by owners of illegal housing societies to give refuge to militants to grab public land and to launch attack on police parties. During operation, the bunkers built by militants in illegal housing society Blue World City were demolished with heavy machinery. CPO Syed Shehzad Nadim Bukhari stated that strict action is being taken against the land mafia and owners of illegal housing societies involved in land.

younger buffalo at Ibrahim Dairy Farm, Faisalabad and pregnancy was obtained. At this farm, a total of six pregnancies

China-pak blockchain co-op high on agenda: pbi chief

BEIJING staff rEport

were achieved after transferring the embryos in eight buffaloes, while results from other farms are awaited, Dr Qaisar said.

Commenting on the significance of the results, Dr Qaisar said that they had preserved the breed of a ‘super’ buffalo. “It will enable us to produce scores of buffaloes with similar super qualities as the donor. Also, a healthy buffalo can give birth to 4-5 offspring in her lifetime.

However, through the OPU-IVFET, we are able to reproduce around 15 calves a year. This will increase the population of animals of superior breeds and help in increased milk production,” he said.

The OPU-IVF-ET (Ovum Pick-Up, In-Vitro Fertilisation, Embryo Transfer) technique involves obtaining egg cells from a buffalo (or other animals) of superior breed and transferring the embryo into other buffaloes.

‘India quit Jammu and Kashmir’ march commences from Chakothi

CHAKOTHI staff rEport

To express solidarity with the oppressed people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, “India quit Jammu and Kashmir” march has started from Chakothi area of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and will reach Muzaffarabad on February 5, the Kashmir Solidarity Day.

According to Kashmir Media Service, Pasban-eHurriyat Jammu and Kashmir Chairman Uzair Ahmad Ghazali, Vice Chairman Usman Ali Hashim, Khawaja Muhammad Sadiq, Muhammad Ishaq Shaheen, Faisal Farooq and Muhammad Fayyaz Khan are leading the march.

The march is aimed at drawing attention of the United Nations towards Indian illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir and the war crimes being perpetrated by Indian troops in the occupied territory. The protesters are marching on foot against the ongoing Indian brutalities in IIOJK and urge the UN to take steps to grant the Kashmiris their right to self-determination.

The participants of the march, holding black flags, are raising high-pitched anti-India and profreedom slogans. They are also carrying banners and placards with anti-India and pro-freedom slogans.

Pasban-e-Hurriyat

Chairman Uzair Ahmad Ghazali and Usman Ali

Hashim, addressing the participants of the march in Chakothi said that the world should take notice of the war crimes being committed by Indian troops in Kashmir.

Other speakers demanded of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to help stop Indian attacks on Islamic rituals and identity in IIOJK. They also expressed concern over the plight of illegally detained Hurriyat leaders and activists languishing in different jails of India and the occupied territory and demanded their immediate and unconditional release.

pakistan reports 12 coronavirus cases during 24 hours

LAHORE staff rEport

Pakistan has reported no death in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of confirmed positive cases surged to 1,576,344. The nationwide tally of fatalities stood at 30,640 on Friday. According to the latest figures issued by the National Institute of Health (NIH), at least 12 people were tested positive for Covid across the country in the past 24 hours. Pakistan has conducted 4,812 tests in the past 24 hours, out of which 12 people were tested positive. The Covid positivity ratio was recorded at 0.25 per cent.

mobile phones, junk food, energy drinks banned in schools

LAHORE staff rEport

The Punjab School Education Department on Friday introduced stringent measures for students in Punjab private schools, banning mobile phones within the school premises.

In a notification issued here, the education department has banned mobile phones, junk food and energy drinks in all private schools of Punjab.

“China is far more advanced than other countries [in the blockchain industry], and Pakistan has a high level of passion to move forward, so we are collaborating on these bases to share knowledge and human resources to develop our own products.”

This was stated by Ahmad Manzoor, founder & CEO of Pakistan Blockchain Institute (PBI) in an interview to China Economic Net (CEN).

To boost cooperation with China in blockchain, PBI signed an agreement in January with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a research arm of the Chinese ministry of industry and information technology, to hold online training sessions for Pakistani students and practitioners.

According to Manzoor, the deal is aimed at providing training with Chinese blockchain experts in the blockchain industry, technologies and policies, and building capacity for future blockchain projects. He noted, the two sides will launch the first basiclevel course to help Pakistani youth and professionals understand and adapt to the technology.

It is learned a training certificate will be awarded to trainees after the course, certified and stored digitally on the Blockchain Infrastructure and Facility (BIF), a blockchain & identifiers infrastructure built by CAICT. To further advance the industry, Manzoor told CEN that PBI will publish a roadmap to deploy blockchain technology in Pakistan. “We want to convert our nation from a project management nation to a product management nation, and both countries will work together on future upcoming technologies.”

sC upholds dismissal of punjab police officer for illegally detaining citizen

ISLAMABAD app

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the dismissal of the Punjab Police officer for illegally detaining a citizen and rejected the appeal against the dismissal of CIA Lahore Police Officer Liaquat Ali.

A three-member SC bench comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ayesha A Malik and Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition filed by Liaquat Ali seeking reinstatement of police service. During the course of proceedings, the apex court declared that Liaquat Ali's transgression of authority had been confirmed in the departmental inquiry. It observed that Liaquat Ali illegally held a citizen hostage for three days and had been convicted of misconduct.

The chief justice said that the Supreme Court would not interfere in the departmental inquiry.

PAkIstAnI PrIsoner releAsed from GuAntAnAmo, sent to BelIze

islAmABAd

Staff report

APakistani who was tortured by the CIA and held in the Guantanamo Bay prison for 16 years after admitting to helping AlQaeda was released to Belize, the US military announced.

Majid Shoukat Khan, captured by US authorities in 2003 and interrogated by US intelligence for three years before being sent to Guantanamo, admitted in a 2012 plea deal

to joining a plot to assassinate Pakistan’s president and acting as a money courier for an Indonesia hotel bombing plot.

But, as one of the US “high value” prisoners captured in the wake of the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States, Khan, now 42, was sentenced only two years ago.

He was officially given 26 years in prison but was promised release in 2022 based on his original plea deal. In his sentencing hearing Khan became the first of the “high value” prisoners to testify to the US

military court about being tortured.

He told the court of being held for days partially suspended by chains without food or clothing, and of being repeatedly beaten and raped by CIA interrogators. Khan said he admitted early on to what he had done, but the abuse continued for years.

“The more I cooperated and told them, the more I was tortured,” he said. The Pentagon said Khan had honoured his cooperation agreement and was credited in a sentence reduction, and that Belize, a country in Central America, had agreed to ac-

cept him. “I have been given a second chance in life and I intend to make the most of it,” Khan said in a statement released by his attorneys. “I deeply regret the things that I did many years ago, and I have taken responsibility and tried to make up for them,” he said. He said that in Belize he hopes to open a restaurant or food truck. “I am a great cook and would love to introduce everyone in my new country to Pakistani food,” he said.

Wells Dixon, an attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights who has represented

VCs urge govt to restore HEC Ord 2002 to original form

islAmABAd Staff report

The Vice Chancellors of all public sector universities of Pakistan have urged the Government to revive the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Ordinance 2002 in its original form and strengthen HEC.

During the 48th Vice Chancellors Committee meeting chaired by Dr. Iqrar Ahmad Khan online, the university heads emphasised that the development of higher education sector made in the past two decades can be consolidated only by strengthening HEC.

The forum unanimously opposed the proposed amendments to HEC Ordinance and demanded the Government to ensure HEC’s autonomy if it wants the higher education sector to continue playing its part in economic stability and growth. The amendments, if materi-

alised, will cause a severe dent to the higher education sector and will be tantamount to undoing the progress made so far, they underlined.

The university heads also discussed, in detail, the financial, governance and administrative issues of the higher education institutions. They demanded of the provincial governments to share the burden of the federal government and contribute to the universities funding.

Chairman HEC Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed also joined the online session and briefed the Vice Chancellors on the recent developments pertaining to the TTS and BPS models, HEC’s quality assurance measures, and the repercussions of amendments to the HEC Ordinance. He emphasised the need for strengthening national institutions and underlined different countries are now setting up higher education entities on the HEC model.

Referring to financial crisis, the Chairman asserted that no new universities or campuses should be established unless there is economic stability in the country. He urged the Vice Chancellors to ensure good financial and administrative governance at the higher education institutions. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed underlined that the universities need to strengthen themselves in such a manner that they are approached by the quarters concerned to play the role of think tanks in policymaking at the state level.

“Our youth have a great potential, however we need to work on developing in them the skillset relevant to the national and global market,” he emphasised. He took a categorical stance on giving affiliations to colleges, saying that HEC will soon ban affiliations as they compromise quality due to anomalies. He also sought input from the Vice Chan-

cellors on resolving the issues arising out of the TTS and BPS models.

He informed the university heads that HEC is planning to set up ‘Seerat Corners’ in the libraries of universities to promote the teachings of Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).

The Vice Chancellors forum also discussed how the search committees constituted for selection of Vice Chancellors can be made effective. They also shared views on the grant of private charters on private members bills under the University Acts, in addition to detailed deliberations on private affiliations, segregation of universities into three tiers, the concept of Professor of Practice, quality assurance through professional accreditation councils, and revival of student societies. They agreed to frequently hold the forum meetings for discussions and decisions on the issues of higher education sector.

Civil, military top brass vows not to let success against terrorism squandered

Continued from pAge 01

He said that a well-equipped counter-terrorism department (CTD) and a modern forensic lab were established in Punjab and that a forensic lab, safe city project and infrastructure for CTD could also be established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after receiving Rs417 billion. He said that peace could have been established in KP if one-fourth of the said amount was spent in the province.

‘Package for martyrs’ families’: The prime minister on this occasion announced Rs2 million for each martyr’s family and Rs0.5 million for each injured in the police lines’ mosque blast. He said that the purpose of the convening of the Apex Committee meeting in Peshawar was to express solidarity with the bereaved families of the martyrs and injured and appraised all the stakeholders about the law and order situation in the province.

Referring to recent terrorist attacks on CTD Bannu and Police Lines Peshawar, Shehbaz Sharif said the whole nation was worried that the menace of terrorism, which was wiped out by the Nawaz Sharif government, had reemerged in KP, which he said was highly deplorable.

He said the successful operations of Zarb-e-Azab and Raddul Fasad had immensely helped in wiping out of terrorism from the province and lauded the sacrifices of security forces, government offi-

cials, people, civil society and civil armed forces for the protection of their country. The premier strongly condemned social media speculations and propaganda in the wake of the police lines mosque blast, adding that the rumors of a drone attack and others allegations related to the blast were inappropriate. He clarified that it was a suicide attack. The prime minister said the practice of criticism for the sake of criticism should be avoided and facts should not be distorted and supremacy of truth should prevail.

The prime minister said all the national political and religious parties’ leadership including the one who did not want to shake hands with him, were invited to today’s Apex Committee meeting and APC committee meeting to be held on February 7 in Islamabad.

‘Protection of life & ProPerty at every cost’: The Apex Committee Friday expressed determination to protect life and property of the people at every cost and make an example out of the terrorists who shed blood of Pakistanis.

The committee assured the nation that those who attacked innocent Pakistanis, would be punished and the government would come up to its expectations.

The meeting reviewed, in detail, the incidents of terrorism, particularly the suicide attack on the mosque in Police Lines Peshawar on January 30 and its aftermath. The officials of the intelligence agencies briefed the participants about

the overall security situation and the action taken against the terrorists.

The participants prayed for the elevation of ranks of martyrs in Jannah, grant of patience and fortitude to the bereaved families, and for early recovery of the injured. While sympathizing with the affected families, the meeting assured that the blood of the martyrs would not go waste, and the government and the nation stood with the heirs of the martyred.

It was decided that a CTD headquarters would be built immediately in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, besides establishing a forensic laboratory like the one in the Punjab province. Moreover, on the pattern of Lahore and Islamabad, a safe city project would be initiated in KP, and the capacity building of the police and CTD would be carried out, besides providing them with the latest equipment.

The meeting reviewed the mechanisms of border management control and immigration, besides deliberating over the processes of investigations against terrorists, prosecution and their conviction. It was decided that all the state organs would work in complete cohesion and coordination, and with utmost dedication for the elimination of terrorism and the achievement of collective national goals. Necessary legislation would also be carried out in that regard.

The Apex Committee principally agreed to adopt a united approach and strategy by the Center and the federating units for the elimination of terrorism, and

Japan Foundation’s Travelling Exhibition

KArAChi pr

Travelling Exhibition called Photographic Images and Matter – Japanese Prints of the 1970s was inaugurated at the Japan Information and Culture Center. It’s been organized by the Consulate General of Japan in Karachi in collaboration with Pakistan Japan Culture Association – Sindh, in cooperation with Japan Foundation. It is a seven days long exhibition open for everyone to visit in Karachi. 51 art pieces from 14 Japanese artists are being exhibited since the 1970s.

The Consul-General of Japan in Karachi, Mr. ODAGIRI Toshio, was also present at the inauguration and made an opening speech, welcoming everyone to visit the prestigious exhibition, which takes place once a year.

Many famous personalities were part of the event including Ms. Noor Jehan Bilgrami who was the keynote speaker, Ms. Rabia Farooqui who was the guest speaker and some famous artists were present including Mr. Farrukh Shahab and Mr. Tanveer Faruqi.

The Japan Foundation continuously conducts the “Traveling Exhibitions Program” to introduce Japanese

directed to formulate an effective strategy for the purpose.

The meeting decided to plug in all the sources of support to the terrorists within the country and instructed to carry out an effective screening for the purpose. The committee decided that zero tolerance for terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations would be the national objective and that all the said decisions would be implemented through a national consensus.

The participants lauded the prime minister’s decision to call an All Parties Conference and expressed the hope that the national political leadership would sit together to forge a way forward for eradication of terrorism and take decisions through consensus. They appealed to the Ulema and religious scholars to use the pulpit for elimination of terrorism. They should inform the public about the categorical announcements of ‘Paigham-e-Pakistan’ and guidelines of religious institutions that terror attacks were sinful, and against the teachings of Holy Quran and Sunnah, and that those who shed the blood of innocent people had nothing to do with Islam. Later, collective Fateha was offered for eternal peace of the departed souls and speedy recovery of the injured in the police lines blast.

Earlier, the prime minister was received by KP Governor Ghulam Ali, Caretaker CM Azam Khan and officials of the KP government.

Khan since 2006, said he was “thrilled” by the release.

“Majid’s transfer is the culmination of decades-long litigation and advocacy by the Center for Constitutional Rights to challenge the worst abuses of the ‘war on terror’ and close the Guantanamo Bay prison,” he said in a statement. Khan, who grew up in Pakistan and moved to the United States at the age of 16 when he attended high school in Baltimore, said his decision to help AlQaeda was poor judgment.

He was recruited to help Al-Qaeda by family members in Pakistan while he was there in 2002 to find a bride. Out of around 800 prisoners at its peak, the Guantanamo facility, on a US Navy base on the southeast coast of Cuba, now holds 34. Of them, 20 have been approved for release and the US government is seeking countries to accept them, whether their home countries or others.

Pakistan, Afghanistan sign draft convention to avoid double taxation

islAmABAd pr

House, Islamabad from 1st -3rd February, 2023 for the third round of negotiations on the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Afghan delegation was headed by Mr. Nida Muhammad Seddiqi, Revenue Legal Services Director, while Mr. Sajidullah Siddiqui, Director General, Directorate General of International Tax Operations, FBR headed the Pakistan side. Both delegations thoroughly deliberated over all the outstanding issues identified during the second round of negotiations held in Islamabad from 27th-30th December, 2021. The negotiations were conducted in a friendly atmosphere where both sides presented their respective viewpoints. After detailed discussion, the two sides agreed over a consensus draft of the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Import restrictions proving catastrophic for auto industry

Continued from BACK pAge

The CEO claims, the manufacturers’ margins are witnessing further pressure as the US dollar has touched an all-time high against the Pakistani Rupee making the sector’s volumes remain dull. Despite these issues, the Hybrid Electric Vehicles HEV policy development is underway for creating an eco-friendly environment. “The IMC will introduce HEV with the highest ever localisation in the SUV category in Pakistan, following Toyota’s global vision of shifting towards carbon neutrality,” said Jamali. “This whole situation is posing a bleak future for the auto industry and to deal with all these issues, support from the government is critical.

We are a customer centric company and for them we have provided an option for full refund along with interest, considering production will be very low in Feb-23 and Mar-23. The auto industry cannot deal with all these issues until and unless the government provides support to the industry on various fronts,” he explained. Lastly, “The government has to think out of the box. Some critical factors would be political stability, harmonising trade relations with neighboring countries and adopting daylight saving,” he concluded.

arts and culture overseas. This exhibition is one of the Exhibitions which is part of this program. These art pieces are exhibited in various countries around the world and now it’s Pakistan’s turn to exhibit these Japanese cultural items. The exhibition depicts important trends in prints during the 1970s, focusing on print-inspired trends in contemporary art of the same period. The exhibition is divided into 2 sections: An age of Photographic Expression and Images of Autonomous Matter.

An age of Photographic Expression is the section that focuses on prints made using techniques like silkscreening, offset printing, and photo engraving making it easy to transform photographic images. The images of Autonomous Matter section is displaying images that show a new trend that emerged in the art using simple substances such as stone, wood, paper, cotton, and steel sheets.

All-Parties Conference

THE absence of any PTI representative from Friday’s apex committee meeting in Peshawar was a gloomy indication of the likelihood of the party’s intentions of attending the All Parties Conference in Islamabad on February 7. The PTI was invited to both meetings, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself, which had been called to concert measures to deal with the fresh wave of terrorism which had hit the country, symbolised by the suicide bombing on Monday in a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines, which has so far caused 100 deaths with 150 people injured. The refusal was because the PTI was running a movement against the incumbent government, but also implied that this movement was greater than this particular moment to national soulsearching. It is worth noting that a PTI delegation, including Chairman Imran Khan, attended the 2014 allparties conference in Peshawar on the Army Public School attack, where there were 140 killed, which makes it a worse attack than the Police Lines mosque

However, the national Action Plan that APC produced remained un-implemented, especially because of the distinction that was drawn between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban. The PTI cannot wash its hands of responsibility for this, as for the two attacks, the worst the country has faced. While in 2014 it was in office in Peshawar, this time around it has just relinquished charge to a caretaker. While it was out of office at the Centre both times, it had held office in between for over three years, and had been as negligent as both its predecessors and successors of the nAP. After the APS massacre, there was a resolve to uproot terrorism from the Waziristan Agencies, which led to their being cleared of terrorists and merged into KP. However, when the Taliban finally took Kabul once again, instead of that meaning an end to terrorism, it merely meant that terrorism against Pakistan suddenly took on a new life. The Taliban repaid Pakistan for its support during the War on Terror by providing the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan safe havens from which it could conduct terroristic activities.

That Pakistan is beset by this menace when it also faces an unprecedented economic crisis makes it all the more necessary that all the parties present a united front on this issue as well as on the economy. Problems have reached the point where the country faces an existential threat, and there will be point in fighting if there is nothing to fight over.

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Editor

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

CSS 2023: English Essay

A test of thinking, not rote learning

While chatting with a friend who lives overseas, I mentioned to him that investing in Pakistan’s real estate market is a better option compared to investing in the US stock market. He laughed at this notion thinking it was another snake oil salesman pitch, since with high rupee devaluation, it would be impossible to make money in dollar terms from Pakistan. The average return from the S&P 500 index, which represents the largest net worth companies of the world with valuations even greater than Pakistan’s GDP, was 14.8 percent from 2012 to 2021. This particular decade was one of the best ones in US stock history as the average annualized return over the past 50 years hovered around 10 percent. This time period also saw the index hit record highs in 2021 during one of the biggest handouts given by the US government through a $2 trillion stimulus package during corona. This time period also doesn’t incorporate the recession that followed in 2022 which wiped out $8 trillion from US stocks and hence reduced the annualized return average from 2012 to 2022. In comparison, the returns from our real estate market on average have been at par in dollar terms despite all the devaluation and socio-eco-

On February 1, the Federal Public Service Commission held the yearly country-wide examination of Central Superior Services (CSS) for the recruitment of officers (BPS17). The first paper was English Essay, the topics of which invited attention.

The essay paper was meant for exploring the CSS candidates’ whole gamut of abilities and skills such as exploring an issue, analyzing it critically in a coordinated organized way, and reaching a plausible conclusion. Critical analysis is a guarantee of success. Conversely, descriptive or narrative essays are unlikely to let a candidate pass the paper.

The paper astounded not only CSS candidates but it also flabbergasted CSS coaching academies which had dispensed guesses and conducted mock tests to beguile the candidates. The paper discouraged the regurgitation of parroted knowledge that CSS candidates were holding to express. The paper presented a fair chance to the candidates who had cultivated original understanding, creative exploration and critical analysis.

The paper circumvented all guess-able topics such as globalization, economy, climate change, democracy, energy crisis, human rights, terrorism, and so on. In the paper, whereas the topics given were easy, the compulsion was that an essay had to be developed then and there in the examination hall. Only those candidates who had practised writing original essays, could perform. The paper also obliterated any room for bespoke essays– to the disappointment of essay gurus and pundits. As a throwback to the thinking essays of 2017, the paper decides the viability of a CSS candidate, whether he or she should carry on or lose heart.

The first essay topic was this: “Instruction in youth is like engraving in stone.” Many candidates, who had memorized multiple themes on education eagerly mistook the word “youth” for “childhood”, and considered it a veiled topic on “early education”. In fact, it was not. The essay topic means that, at a young age, the youth are most amenable. Their personality can be moulded to affect the trajectory of the rest of their lives. Youth is the age when second nature is built such as discipline, punctuality, attitude, and so on. The second nature, whether pos-

itive or negative, can be superimposed on the primary nature to portend the youth’s success or failure in life. Environment plays a crucial role in constructing second nature. To make the essay analytical, discussion could be drifted to the debate between nature (inherited) and nurture (environment). Sources of nurture could be family, school, religion, and social and political groups. The next stirring topic was this: “One who uses force is afraid of reasoning.” The topic means that any person who is incapable of reasoning tends to use force to get heard. That is, any person with the power of reasoning prefers (or needs) not to fight. Here, reasoning means a sound argument that weighs both sides (pros and cons) to express one’s stance. Generally, politicians are disinclined to waging a war compared to generals running a country: war is too serious a matter to be left to generals. Even after a conflict, the warring parties have to sit on a table to give reasons for truce and the way forward. The forum such as the United nations is destined for reasoning, and condemning the use of force. For reasoning, a refined and educated brain is required, whereas force personifies a beast, which may still be hiding inside man. Reasoning is an expression of modern age, whereas force is an expression of the primitive age. For analysis, a comparison can be drawn between two ages and areas.

The next interesting topic was this: “The fool speaks and the wise listen.” The topic means that wise people grow the habit of listening to garner more information and then ruminate on it. That is, by not listening patiently, the listener may miss new propitious ideas. Moreover, an avid listener is less prone to committing mistakes than a habitual chatterer does. For instance, Einstein was a known keen listener. Similar examples are required to be argumentative.

The next absorbing topic was this: “Both parents should assume equal responsibility for raising a child.” The topic means that both parents are shirking equal responsibility for raising a child. To qualify the statement, a CSS candidate had to mention causes, effects and the way forward.

The next topic was this: “A friend walks in when everyone else walks out.” The topic means that a friend in need is a friend indeed. This could be a descriptive essay.

The next fascinating topic was this: “Online learning is not only convenient but often more effective than traditional classroom instruction.” The topic means that traditional teaching is less convenient and effective in conveying the message of education. A CSS candidate had to take a position and give arguments.

The next captivating topic was this: “People have become overly dependent on technology.” The topic means that, not dependence, but over-dependence, on technology invites certain hitches. Interestingly, the use of technology is unavoidable in the modern age. However, owing to technology’s indispensability, one may get addicted to it. A CSS candidate had to mention reasons for dependence, ooze effects (both favourable and unfavourable), and give ways to avoid

Underselling our potential

We’re paying the price of borrowing rather than attracting investment

nomic instability.

There are two reasons for telling this story. One is that we have always undersold ourselves. Countries like Cambodia and Laos market themselves as ideal destinations to invest in real estate for high returns to the US investors despite giving lower returns than us, but we Pakistanis have never even considered this idea as worth pitching to any foreign investor either at government or at individual level.

The countries mentioned above have successfully marketed themselves as the best new frontier markets for overseas investors to invest in. On the other hand, Pakistanis spend more time convincing their own relatives that any investment in Pakistan is a lost cause. The same applies to our successive governments who have never actively pursued foreign direct investment opportunities by providing legal and administrative facilitation and well targeted marketing. Instead the focus has been on state-level large-scale infrastructure projects built on loans, eventually leading us to the crisis we now face.

The paper also obliterated any room for bespoke essays– to the disappointment of essay gurus and pundits. As a throwback to the thinking essays of 2017, the paper decides the viability of a CSS candidate, whether he or she should carry on or lose heart

overly dependence.

The next motivating topic was this: “To encourage healthy eating, higher taxes should be imposed on soft drinks and junk food.” The topic means that soft drinks and junk food be discarded for their being unhealthy eating. One of the ways to do so is by imposing taxes, though other ways to achieve the same objective are also available. A comparison can be drawn. The bottom line is that junk food does not replace main food. A critical analysis can entail that junk food may be required to attain instant energy in short times, especially in an industrial city on a busy day. Junk food also meets the need of taste and aroma to feel aesthetic about life.

The next exciting topic was this: “Boys will be boys.” The topic means that boys would remain boisterous and even rumbustious owing to their hormonal constitution. An implied point could be how to construct harmony with girls, whether or not feminization of boys in their attitude and behavior (by tempering them down) is possible and feasible.

The writer can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo.com

elled by foreign loans and the bust from the inability to repay the same loans or from the massive current account deficit it causes.

Western world were fully established and the Vietnamese government started facilitating businesses that wanted to invest in their country from overseas. Ever since, it has ranked highly on ease of doing business global rankings with its status marked as “Easy” and has constantly been in the top five among the Asian economies.

The current crisis presents us with both an opportunity and a set of challenges. The challenges and their short term solutions have been already discussed thousands of time in media by various experts, but should we come out of this current crisis in one piece then we should shift focus to deep rooted structural reforms

In contrast, Vietnam in the meantime has grown into an export powerhouse from a country which had less exports than Pakistan in 1995. This was the year when their trade relations with the

Although cheap labor and lower input costs have also helped, without government facilitation none of those would have counted for anything if the government hadn’t stepped up and opened Vietnam’s doors as a manufacturing haven to overseas companies by offering tax benefits, ease of setting up, removal of red tape, setting up industrial zones with low cost energy inputs to boost output.

In 2020 the total export volume of Vietnam was above $300 billion and was roughly equal to the entire GDP of Pakistan.

Secondly this story shows that there is no dearth of necessary startup capital that can come from the private sector and from overseas Pakistanis, to stimulate our economy and growth without relying on expensive foreign loans. The problem is that it is either misdirected or isn’t being properly utilized. Historically all our growth has come in the form of boom and bust cycles with the boom being fu-

At the same time, hardly has this growth translated into a rapid increase in exports like in the case of Vietnam. From 2013 to 2023 our exports have registered only minimal growth whilst debt has surged by tens of billions of dollars highlighting that it is either used on building infrastructure or to finance our budget deficit. Similarly private capital is also extremely focused in particular segments of the economy like real estate and cars which fuel consumption financed through precious dollar reserves but fail to bring any returns.

It also highlights lack of investment in agriculture to ensure food security in the country, hence the need to import billions of dollars of foodstuff. If this same capital was even partially directed towards the manufacturing and IT sectors along with development of the agricultural sector, our trade balance would have shown significant improvement and our reserves would have grown like India’s from $3 billion in 1994 to almost $600 billion in 2023 rather than going from $6 billion in 1994 to $3.6 billion today. The current crisis would have been avoided while we would have been able to build as many motorways as we wanted without begging for foreign loans from China or others. We would also have the money to ensure continuous economic growth financed with reserves and foreign investment rather than the current pattern of three to four years of growth followed by deep recession. Furthermore our human development index would also have fared better since we would have been able to allocate greater resources towards public health, education, social security and dispensing of justice thus making a more prosperous and just society overall.

The current crisis presents us with both an opportunity and a set of challenges. The challenges and their short term solutions have been already discussed thousands of time in media by various experts, but should we come out of this current crisis in one piece then we should shift focus to deep rooted structural reforms that are now the need of the hour to ensure we can as a nation grow and come out of our current disposition.

The writer can be reached at ragheeb40@gmail.com

MuhaMMaD ragheeb

Dr Qaisar rashiD

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Forms of Hatred: A sociopsychological perspective

tion. e. Physical health: Prolonged feelings of hatred can lead to stress, which can in turn lead to physical health problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, and heart disease. f. Legal Consequences: expressing hatred in certain ways might lead to legal consequences such as hate speech laws. It is important to note that while hatred can have negative effects on an individual, it is also important to recognize that individuals are not inherently hateful and that it is a learned behaviour that can be unlearned through education, therapy, and other interventions.

Hatred can have a wide range of negative effects on society as a whole. Some of these effects include: a. Discrimination and prejudice: Hatred can lead to discrimination and prejudice against individuals or groups based on their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, or other characteristics. This can lead to social and economic inequality and injustice.

can help to promote understanding and acceptance of diversity. d. Community programmes: Community programmes such as conflict resolution and dialogue programmes can help to bring different groups of people together to build understanding and reduce hostility. e. Legal interventions: Laws and policies that criminalize hate speech and hate crimes can help to protect targeted individuals and groups and deter others from engaging in hateful behaviour. f. Media and social media campaigns: These can help to raise awareness of the negative effects of hatred and promote messages of tolerance and acceptance.

It is important to note that addressing and reducing hatred is a complex and ongoing process that requires a multifaceted approach.

Editor’s

Research usability and ethical issues

RESEARCH plays an important role in determining a country’s economic progress, social development and its ability to positively contribute to all fields of knowledge, education, science and technology. Simply put, humanity would not move forward without enquiry and substantial research. However, what makes me wonder is the quality of research that is produced in Pakistan, including the ethics the researchers follow and to what extent the output benefits the country.

There is a large number of PhD faculty members teaching in Pakistani universities, in the process producing voluminous ‘research’. The acceleration in ‘research’ activities has been phenomenal in recent years. The credibility and usefulness of such large-scale research should be an issue of great concern for the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

Right from the admission process to the conduct of research, evaluation of the thesis and the award of degree, there are several loopholes in the entire process which universities’ advanced research boards and quarters concerned in HEC and its provincial offices should seriously consider. We, as a nation, unfortunately, tend to believe in shortcuts and target quick results regardless of their value, appropriateness and utility. The purpose of research seems to be limited to the publication of the required number of papers for promotion to the next grade.

This (mal)practice not only fuels huge business of ‘predatory journals’, but also questions the worth and standard of research outlets that publish the papers within a few days if one is willing to pay a handsome amount that ranges from Rs30,000 to Rs60,000 in the name of ‘publication fee’. This makes one wonder where we stand when it comes to research ethics. What about academic honesty? The concept of institutional review board (IRB) might not be new to the researchers. It is a mandatory part of clinical research. However, the higher administration and officials responsible for research activities in most public-sector general universities in Pakistan are in a state of oblivion in this regard. The constitution and functioning of IRB seems to be the most significant element of any higher education institution, for it works for quality, appropriateness and usefulness of any kind of research being conducted. More importantly, it oversees all ethical aspects any research project might incur and involve.

The protection of human research subjects, sensitivity of the research topic, informed consent and regulation/monitoring of research tools are among the factors that are strictly evaluated before any research project gets under way. How, why and what that project costs in terms of potential benefits and risks remains their key concern. My current engagement at Michigan State University as visiting postdoctoral researcher had made me realise where do we, the public-sector universities in Pakistan, stand when it comes to reviewing and scrutiny before any research project is undertaken. The university IRB ensured I undertake all the trainings and guidance I may need as a researcher before I began collecting data for my project.

What makes it difficult for the HEC to implement adequate measures for institutional, if not departmental, IRBs to set forth structure, policies, procedures and codes for credible, safe and ethical conduct of research?

THE origin of hatred is a complex and multifaceted topic that has been studied by many different disciplines, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, and philosophy. There is no single agreed-upon explanation for the origin of hatred, as it can stem from a variety of sources.

From a psychological perspective, hatred may be rooted in past experiences or learned behaviour. Similarly, a person may learn to hate a certain group of people if they are exposed to negative stereotypes or prejudices from their family, friends, or society at large. From a sociological perspective, hatred can be seen as a natural response to certain situations or stimuli. Additionally, social identity theory suggests that people tend to form an in-group and out-group, and may feel hostility towards those in the outgroup. From an evolutionary perspective, some scientists suggest that hatred might have an adaptive value, as it can help to protect the individual and the group by identifying and responding to potential threats.

In a nutshell, it is a strong emotion characterized by feelings of intense hostility and aversion towards a person or group of people. In psychology, it is often studied as a negative emotion that can have detrimental effects on both the individual experiencing it and those targeted by it. Hatred can lead to harmful behaviour and can be a contributing factor in the development of prejudice and discrimination.

Hatred can have a number of negative effects on an individual’s development and overall wellbeing. Some of these effects include: a. Emotional distress: Experiencing or expressing hatred can lead to feelings of anger, anxiety, and depression. b. Social isolation: Holding hateful views or behaving in a hateful manner can lead to difficulty in forming and maintaining healthy relationships with others. c. Psychological disorders: Prolonged or intense feelings of hatred can contribute to the development of mental health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, and depression. d. Cognitive distortions: Holding hateful views can lead to cognitive biases and distortion of reality, such as stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimina-

b. Violence and hate crimes: Hatred can lead to violence and hate crimes against individuals or groups. This can lead to physical harm, trauma, and even death. c. Division and fragmentation: Hatred can divide and fragment society, leading to mistrust and hostility between different groups of people. This can make it difficult for people to work together and collaborate to achieve common goals.

d. Limiting opportunities: Hatred can limit opportunities for individuals or groups based on their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, or other characteristics. This can lead to reduced access to education, employment, housing, and others. e. Impact on mental health: Hatred can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and depression for individuals and groups targeted by hate. f. Economic Costs: Hatred can lead to economic costs such as decreased productivity, increased healthcare costs, and decreased property values in areas affected by hate crimes. g. Limiting freedom of speech and expression: Societies that have high levels of hatred may limit freedom of speech and expression, which can be detrimental to democracy and human rights. There are a variety of treatment options available for addressing and reducing hatred. Some of these include: a. Therapy: Therapy can help individuals understand and work through the underlying causes of their hatred, as well as learn new ways of coping with and managing their emotions. b. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and other evidencebased therapies can be effective in addressing hateful thoughts and behaviour. c. Education: Education can help to challenge and dispel stereotypes and prejudices that may contribute to hatred. Programmes such as sensitivity training, multicultural education, and anti-bias education

There have been many recent research studies on hatred, examining its various forms, causes, and effects. Some recent research findings include: a. The role of social media in the spread of hate speech: Studies have found that social media platforms can be used to spread hateful ideologies and that exposure to hate speech on social media can lead to increased prejudice and discrimination. b. The impact of hate speech on mental health: Research has shown that exposure to hate speech can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and depression for individuals and groups targeted by hate. c. The relationship between hate crimes and mental health: Studies have found that individuals and communities affected by hate crimes can experience longterm mental health consequences, such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety. d. The role of implicit bias in hate crimes: Research suggests that implicit bias, or unconscious stereotypes and prejudices, can play a role in hate crimes. e. The effectiveness of interventions: Studies have found that interventions such as anti-bias education, dialogue programs, and sensitivity training can be effective in reducing prejudice and discrimination. f. The impact of hate speech on children: Studies have shown that children who are exposed to hate speech can experience negative effects on their mental health, such as anxiety, depression, and self-esteem issues. Thus, research on hatred is a dynamic field that is constantly evolving and updating as society changes.

The writer is a Youth Motivator, presently Professor of Political Science and Dean of Social Sciences along with Dean, Student’s Welfare (DSW), at B.N. Mandal University, Madhepura (Bihar), India. His 22 books published in addition to 900 articles in national and international journals and daily newspapers from 25 foreign countries.

By taking this route, I am sure we can improve significantly in terms of quality, quantity and usability of research we are producing, curtailing abnormally huge number of research degrees we are awarding without any significant impact on the overall quality of education, society and the country.

DR SUMERA UMRANI MICHIGAN, USA

Discrimination

IT is incomprehensible to understand why there is a step-motherly treatment by the authorities of people living on both sides of the Islamabad Expressway beyond Koral interchange. Commuting on the expressway beyond the interchange has now become a nightmare, and tests the skill and patience of the drivers, especially in case of an emergency. The Korang bridge expansion project was to be completed by the end of 2021, but, even after an additional year, looking at the ongoing pace of work, it does not seem like it will be completed anytime in the near future.

It was unwisely believed that once the ill-planned and faulty PWD interchange was functional, housing societies, including Korang Town, Media Town, Doctors Colony, Bahria Town, Pakistan Town and PWD Society, would use the newly-constructed service road to access the Islamabad Expressway, and that the traffic would not get clogged down at the PWD and Korang exits on the expressway. It was wrongly presumed that both these points would be closed on becoming superfluous and redundant. However, one wonders what is stopping the authorities concerned from removing or remodelling a small portion of the median, at the PWD Town exit, that presently obstructs the traffic coming from different societies to the newlyconstructed dual carriageway service road. What are the impediments? Will someone enlighten the masses who happen to be the ultimate sufferers? MUHAMMAD K

Motorway safety

WE often travel from Islamabad to Multan to meet our grandparents. Despite the rather heavy toll tax, we use the motorway because of a variety of reasons even though in recent times the condition of rest areas and the public washrooms therein, especially between Faisalabad and Multan, has taken a turn for the worse.

During our recent visit, we had a horrible accident. A few miles before Abdul Hakeem interchange, an animal trying to cross the road rammed into our car, resulting in serious damage to the vehicle. Luckily, all the six of us in the car remained safe, and were able to park the car by the roadside. Stuck in the middle of nowhere, we called the national Highways and Motorway Police (nHMP) helpline 130. We were put on hold for an irritatingly long time considering it was an emergency helpline and no one had asked us what the emergency was. Eventually, help did arrive and our car was towed away to safety. During all this chaos, I kept wondering how an animal even entered the fenced motorway. During a family discussion later, I came to know that locals of the area cut the fences to facilitate their own movement mindless of the fact that it is a serious threat to the life of commuters. The issue needs to be sorted out immediately so that such accidents may not occur again. Certain proposals must be considered by the relevant authorities, like regular fence monitoring and repairs.

It is a strong emotion characterized by feelings of intense hostility and aversion towards a person or group of people. In psychology, it is often studied as a negative emotion that can have detrimental effects on both the individual experiencing it and those targeted by it

BurNINg the Qur’AN Is Not ‘free speeCh’

IT IS STRANGE THAT, IN SWEDEN, IT IS ILLEGAL TO BURN FLAGS BUT NOT SACRED RELIGIOUS TEXTS

But others have been more conspicuous in their criticism.

Sweden’s head of government did not cover himself in glory. His statement seemed to prioritize that “freedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy.” Yes, but burning the Qur’an for the sole design of attacking the religious identity of Muslims in Sweden and elsewhere should not be seen as freedom of expression. It is strange that, in Sweden, it is illegal to burn flags but not sacred religious texts.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson noted that burning holy books is a “deeply disrespectful act” and sympathized with offended Muslims. But this downplays the severity of the incident. Burning a Qur’an, like a Bible or a torah, is more akin to an act of violence. And his sympathies should be with all people who cherish the respect for and embrace of everyone in their society, and globally. Lamentably, such acts have only multiplied in the days since.

In the Netherlands, another far-right politician tore and desecrated a Qur’an. Meanwhile, Paludan has burned Qur’ans in front of a mosque and the turkish embassy in Copenhagen, vowing to do so again until Sweden is admitted into NAtO.

Chinese spy fridges are making the new Cold War even chillier

IS THERE ANY PROOF FOR ANY OF THIS? NO, BUT WHEN WAS ANY EVER NEEDED? THE GOAL IS TO DELIBERATELY CREATE FEAR TO UNDERMINE THE MARKET POSITION OF CHINESE PRODUCTS

RT Timur Fomenko

Next time you open your fridge for a late-night snack, watch out, because China might be spying on you! Or so reads a recent report from a Washingtonbased think tank called Observe, Orientate, Decide, Act (OODA), and it claims that Chinese appliances, through the microchips used in their construction, may have the ability to commit espionage against you by sending information back to Beijing.

It is not just Muslims who should be offended. everyone with an interest in dialogue and coexistence should join in the condemnation of the recent burning of a Qur’an by right-wing activists in Sweden. In itself, what happened was a terrible and provocative act, designed only to inflict pain on observant Muslims. Arguing that it is a form of worthy “free speech” is a cop-out that compounds the insult.

Such affronts to human dignity can have consequences. there is no justification for violence in response, but it is hardly a surprise that extremists anywhere might try to use this event to further their aims. the US State Department’s warning this week of the potential for a terrorist attack on synagogues, churches and diplomatic missions in Istanbul serves as such a reminder.

tensions remain high since last month’s desecration of Islam’s holiest book at a political demonstration in front of the turkish embassy in Stockholm, which occurred amid ongoing deliberations between the two countries related to Sweden’s NAtO accession bid. the debate is not religious in nature and making it about religion reveals everything about the intentions of the provocateurs here.

Rasmus Paludan, who burned the Qur’an, is the leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line. He has engaged in similar acts before, designed primarily to spark outrage and garner attention. Muslim groups, as well as Christian, Jewish and other organizations in the West, have all unambiguously decried his behavior. Among Jewish communities, those in Sweden and Denmark condemned Paludan, as well as several US-based organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and B’nai B’rith International.

these actions have been entirely counterproductive to Sweden’s NAtO entry, which requires the unanimous support of the alliance’s existing members. turkish President Recep tayyip erdogan has said he will oppose Sweden’s accession because of what has happened.

the ultimate fallout may be worse. Beyond diplomatic tensions, these escalating attacks against the religion of Islam and its adherents can threaten regional stability at a time when NAtO should be united in the face of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

Non-Muslims in europe and elsewhere must step up. they should think deeply about how we treat the burning of a book that means so much to the 1.8 billion Muslims in the world. And they should see that the acceptance of their beliefs is just as much at stake.

“Disrespectful” does not capture the pain and the damage caused by such actions. It is not for me to determine the criminal status of such behavior in different countries, but we certainly need a different mindset and approach. I applaud the Finnish authorities for saying they will not allow any Qur’an burning on their territory.

Condemnation is a start. education goes a step further, demonstrating that this does not fall under the scope of rightful protest. But perhaps best would be a more comprehensive approach toward protecting whole groups of people from hateful insults.

Rabbi Marc Schneier is president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and a noted adviser to many Gulf states. He is recognized as one of the most influential Jewish figures in the Muslim world.

Sound familiar? It’s the same line US politicians used against Huawei, and are currently using against tiktok and numerous other things from China. Is there any proof for any of this? No, but when was any ever needed? the goal is to deliberately create fear to undermine the market position of Chinese products and shore up American protectionist goals, a classic tactic from the US playbook. the report was actually sent to UK ministers by a former diplomat, and the alarm in its wake is being raised primarily in British media. While most of the headlines talk about potential spying on British citizens, the threats mentioned include industrial espionage and the tracking of US weapons sales.

It doesn’t take much to figure out the American roots of the new “Chinese spy fridge” scare. Not only is OODA based in the US capital, but most of its experts and advisers boast backgrounds serving in, or working with, the US military, the CIA and other government and intelligence agencies. the UK, for its part, is Washington’s key ally in its efforts to contain and counteract China.

In the United States, the biggest industry and market of all is in fact weaponized fear. the government has the ability, working in tandem with the establishment media, to incite mass panic and paranoia against a given target in order to meet the government’s goals and objectives. Despite claiming to be a “free thinking” and enlightened democracy, the US population, as well as that of its allies, are arguably more subjected and more receptive to tactful manipulation than any other in the world.

It was the experience of World War II and the Cold War that shaped the ability of the US elites to instil mass fear as a weapon. It always has the same simple logic to it: x is a dire threat to the freedom and democracy of the United States, therefore we must act. While McCarthyism is one of the most famous examples of how unhinged this culture can become, the most telling example of all time is how the US fabricated a lie that Saddam Hussein held

weapons of mass destruction and was going to give them to terrorists to use against America. In doing so, the US framed a war of geostrategic aggression into a falsified discourse of national security. there are numerous other examples. However, with China, it has taken a new dimension. that is, the utilization of fear and McCarthyism in order to undercut Beijing as a commercial competitor. this has involved the recycling of Cold War I style paranoia of “infiltration” to target specific products and services. For example, while Republicans still utilize the whole “reds under the bed” rhetoric in attacking Chinese students, spies, etc, this time around they also apply it to any company, service or technology, if the US equivalent cannot compete against the Chinese one.

For example, this becomes “Huawei is spying on you” or “tiktok is spying on you.” But in this case, a US think tank has taken it to a new dimension arguing that “Chinese-made fridges and household appliances are spying on you.” While the media will portray these allegations as serious fact and analysis, what they are really doing is scaremongering. the real goal behind this rhetoric is to push for US protectionist goals in order to discredit China’s advances in high-end technologies. these types of allegations are used to create political consensus for bans and blacklisting, so that Chinese products (such as 5G) are removed from the market. the US acts, then pushes allies to do the same. the specific attack on fridges and other appliances stems from the news that, despite US sanctions, China’s semiconductor capabilities and industry are beginning to grow, and US efforts have not been able to stifle Chinese progress in the form of low-end chips. this has allowed China to advance up the value chain in terms of sophisticated consumer goods, such as fridges, televisions etc., and threaten established competitors. So what is the US reaction to this development? It is not to compete fairly, but to act in bad faith and accuse them of being vehicles for espionage. It doesn’t matter if there is no evidence behind these allegations, because it is a “guilt by association” logic and it sticks in the public mind. therefore, it should be expected that there will be a push, possibly from US senators or representatives, to either ban, restrict or further tariff Chinese high-end consumer products made with Chinese semiconductors, to protect American markets. It is designed to supplement the logic of “America first.” When it comes to protecting and advancing its own interests, the US is ready to play dirty, and inciting mass paranoia in its own citizens is one of the ways it does so – from weapons of mass destruction to Chinese spy fridges.

Maulana Azad’s vision of education

AN EXCERPT FROM ‘MAULANA AZAD: A LIFE,’ BY S IRFAN HABIB

while addressing the educational conference, Azad again reiterated that “education, at any rate, must be pushed forward as rapidly as possible. We must not, for a moment, forget that it is the birthright of every individual to receive at least the basic education, without which he cannot discharge his duties as a citizen.”

AZAD CONCEDED WITH A SENSE OF GUILT AS MINISTER OF EDUCATION THAT THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT HAD ALLOTTED ONLY 1 PER CENT OF THE FUNDS IN THE BUDGET FOR EDUCATION AND HE THUS PLEADED IN THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY TO RAISE THE EXPENDITURE TO 10 PER CENT

BeFORe I come to the education policies that had to be reworked and redesigned in national interest, I want to briefly touch upon the issues of equity and access because we inherited a colonial educational structure which was based on diverse injustices. thus, soon after Independence, one of the important issues for Azad was the democratisation of education, particularly when India had emerged out of two hundred years of colonialism, going through varied forms of discriminations and deprivations.

His commitment to a change in the British educational system can be seen in the 1920s during the Non-cooperation Movement. In a pamphlet published then, called talimi taraqi-Mawalat, he began with a statement that “of all the bonds of association with the British government which needs to be broken forthwith, education is the most important one.” Maulana Azad was not lacking in vision and emphasised several Quranic principles in the context of equity – he stressed on adl or justice, the supreme principle that brings the creative process to its completion.

Justice is all the more relevant to education as a process of harmonious nurture. Indeed, social justice commands a pivotal place in Azad’s general perspective, which influenced his educational outlook quite profoundly. He was conscious of the fact that a class or caste-ridden education system needed to be replaced by a more inclusive and just educational order. In 1948,

Azad also realised that equity in education is not conceivable merely through the expansion of school education. He was aware of the huge adult population that needed serious attention. For him adult literacy and education were crucial for any idea of inclusive and equitybased education in India. As he was an Islamic scholar, he used Islam as a democratic and modernist movement, quite in contrast to what is being done in the name of Islam today all over the world. He saw Islam as “a perfect system of freedom and democracy whose function consists in bringing back to mankind the freedom snatched away from it.” He also defined Islam as “the message of democracy and human equality to the world suffering from chronic type of class discriminations.”

Azad expanded Islamic values on a national scale, going beyond the narrow confines of faith, to explain and understand the problems of the newly-independent nation, particularly the access to education on a universal scale. India’s emergence on August 15, 1947 as the largest democracy in the world was itself a great political achievement and challenge. Azad, being a great democrat himself, took the challenge as an opportunity to make education a vanguard of democratic life in the country.

With a view to gearing education towards the cause of democracy, he, in his very first official statement, referred to Disraeli’s verdict: “A democracy has no future unless it educates its masters.” In independent and democratic India, with universal franchise as the key principle, the voter was truly the master of democracy, and Azad wanted this voter to be educated and aware. He was conscious of the sad inheritance of colonial inequalities, where 85 per cent of the country’s population was

illiterate on the eve of Independence. Several class and caste discriminations and disabilities were never discussed before and had to be removed immediately.

Azad was convinced that the state had to play a key role in combating such social afflictions and provide everyone with the means to “the acquisition of knowledge and self-betterment”; however, the most disconcerting factor was the lack of necessary funds to carry forward the state’s responsibilities. Azad conceded with a sense of guilt as minister of education that the central government had allotted only 1 per cent of the funds in the budget for education and he thus pleaded in the Constituent Assembly to raise the expenditure to 10 per cent.

He pursued the issue with passion and was able to raise the allocation from 20 million to around 350 million during his tenure as minister of education. On September 30, 1953, Azad addressed the nation on All India Radio, reiterating that “every individual has a right to an education that will enable him to develop his faculties and live a full human life.” He felt that our objectives could not be realised unless we shake off our narrow-mindedness, which has been our greatest hindrance. elaborating further, he said: “like an actor it masquerades in disguise. In the domain of religion, it appears in the form of blind faith and wants to deceive us in the name of orthodoxy. In politics it wants to overpower us in the guise of nationalism. In learning and culture, it makes an appeal to us in the name of our nation and country. It behooves us not to be taken in by these fictitious names. We must remember that the root cause of all this is nothing but narrow-mindedness.”

Azad was inspired by the values of our freedom struggle and was convinced that those values would come in handy for nation building, where the universal right to education should be seen as true freedom for all the citizens

of this newly-independent nation. In this context of age-old discrimination and deprivation, Azad also emphasised women’s education, which had so far been nearly building non-existent. He felt that the education of women was doubly purposeful: first that they need to be educated as citizens of free India, and second that their education facilitated the task of educating the younger generation. He raised this issue in the Constituent Assembly as well in 1949, demanding greater educational opportunities for Indian women.

ARAb NewS rabbi marC SCHneier

ScRoll S irFan Habib

CORPORATE CORNER

NOT-BY-PROFIT

Pakistan's Road to Economic REcovERy HingEs on dEEP REfoRms

laHORE: Turkish Ambassador Dr Mehmet Pacaci in a group photo with LCCI President Kashif Anwar, Senior Vice President Zafar Mehmood Ch and others during a visit to the chamber.

MMBL joins hands with Avanza Solutions to launch DOST Corporate Portal

Islamabad: Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited

(MMBL) has collaborated with Avanza Solutions to develop and deploy a stateof-the-art enterprise banking solution, DOST Corporate Portal. This platform is part of MMBL’s strategic pursuit to optimize operations and explore greater technical prowess to ultimately fulfill the growing banking and financial needs of various business segments. Mobilink Microfinance Bank is part of the VEON group, a global digital operator that provides converged connectivity and online services across seven countries. As part of its digital operator strategy, VEON is transforming people’s lives, creating opportunities for greater digital inclusion, and driving economic growth across countries that are home to more than 8% of the world’s population. Chief Operating Officer, MMBL, Sardar Mohammad Abubakr and Chief Executive Officer, Avanza Solutions, Omer Ahmed Khan inked the agreement in Islamabad earlier this week along with senior leadership from both organizations at the MMBL Headquarters. pR

Ministry of Education shows commitment to observe Kashmir Day

Islamabad: In order to enthusiastically observe Feb 05 as Kashmir Day to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir in their just struggle for freedom from Illegal Indian Occupation Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and for their right of self-determination and a just struggle in the face of India’s increasingly oppressive policies and atrocities, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training is making efforts to mark the day in full swing. A consultative meeting, chaired by Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training, Rana Tanveer Hussain, was held at Ministry of Education today in this regard. During the meeting it was decided that all departments under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education will show solidarity with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir by observing the day with full enthusiasm and commitment. pR

Challenges for Pakistan’s Economy and Way Forward

'The current challenges offer a chance to seriously re-examine Pakistan’s economy.’

This was the key message of the eminent speakers at the seminar on ‘Challenges for Pakistan’s Economy and the Way Forward’ organised by the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS) in Islamabad. Speakers included Syed Mohammad Shabbar Zaidi, Former Chairman, Federal Board of Revenue; Dr Nadeem ul Haque, Vice Chancellor, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics; Mr Haroon Sharif, Former Minister of State and Chairman Board of Investment; Dr Usman W. Chohan, Director, Economic Affairs and National Development, CASS, Islamabad. The seminar was concluded by President CASS Air Marshal Farhat Hussain Khan (Retd), while Ms Zahra Niazi, Research Assistant at CASS moderated the proceedings. Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan (Retd) attended the seminar as Guest of Honour. Staff RepoRt

IGP Islamabad, chief commissioner visit blast site in Police Lines Peshawar

Islamabad: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad

Dr Akbar Nasir Khan and Chief Commissioner Islamabad

Noor ul Amin Mengal visited police lines headquarters Peshawar and Yadgar-e-Shuhada. They offered Fateha for the martyred souls and laid a floral wreath at the Yadgar. IGP Islamabad said that, we as a nation are indebted to the eternal sacrifices of our martyrs. The history of the police is full of eternal sacrifices for the safety of our country and the nation, cowardly terrorist actions can not lower the morale of the police personnel. The officers and jawansof Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police have made endless sacrifices, which will never go in vain. pR

Islamabad newS deSk

WRITINgfor Dawn, Faisal Bari, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives, and an associate professor of economics at LUMS. discusses the current debate in Pakistani society regarding the future of the IMF program and the ability of the country to put its house in order.

The author notes that while the

hope is that the IMF program will unlock loans and help from friendly countries, the message from these countries is that Pakistan needs to carry out reforms and put its house in order before receiving such assistance.

The author raises the question of whether Pakistan is capable of enacting the reforms needed to get its act together, as previous governments have resisted imposing the costs of reforms for fear of losing popularity.

The author also points out that

Tackling the wealth divide - A call to action

Islamabad newS deSk

In an op-ed for The Express Tribune, Syed Mohammad Ali delves into the disturbing state of global inequality, as outlined in Oxfam's recent report "Survival of the Richest". Ali holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne and is the author of Development, Poverty and Poverty in Pakistan.

Despite promises from global elites to end poverty, the world continues to become a more unequal place. Oxfam's report reveals that the top 1% of the global population, the so-called global elite, have captured nearly two-thirds of all new wealth created since 2020, an estimated $26 trillion. This increase in wealth held by the global elite comes at a time when extreme wealth and poverty are both on the rise simultaneously for the first time in a quarter of a century.

Ali argues that the current top-down growth models, where policymakers incentivize big businesses to ensure growth, have not reduced inequality. The elite's capture of

there has been some discussion of "reimagining" Pakistan, but there has been limited thought put into what deeper reforms are needed and how they will be implemented and sustained.

The author specifically mentions the need for reforms in education, tax, and other sectors of the economy, but raises concerns about the quality of the bureaucracy and its ability to implement reforms.

The author also mentions India's experience with reforms in the late 1980s and early 1990s, pointing out

wealth, non-productive use of wealth, and widespread tax evasion have sustained persistent levels of inequality. To curb extreme inequality, Ali suggests taxing the ultra-rich and implementing measures such as the Tobin tax, inheritance, property, and land taxes, net wealth, and inheritance taxes.

Additionally, Ali states that the pursuit of economic growth without consideration for the environment has taken a toll on the planet and has already cost us dearly in the form of climate disasters. By taxing the rich, revenue can be generated to invest in improved service delivery for those in need of basic services such as sanitation, healthcare, and education. Inequality is not a natural state of being but is instead a result of exploitative political and economic choices. Ali calls for moderate and steady leadership to harness the anger of the have-nots and curb the excesses of the ultra-rich, as populist leaders often use identity to manipulate exploited workers.

To read the full article visit tribune.com.pk

that they did detailed work and had the competence levels needed to implement the reforms, which allowed their economy to respond quickly.

The author concludes that the next few years will likely be difficult for Pakistan and that the country may not carry out the needed reforms, but even if they do, they may not have the background work and competence levels necessary to successfully implement them.

To read the full article visit www.dawn.com

World looks on to see Pakistan’s economic woes

Islamabad newS deSk

In an article published by Deutsche Welle, the state of Pakistan's faltering economy is discussed following a nationwide power outage caused by a breakdown in the national grid. The shortage of fuel and frequent power outages have affected the daily lives of citizens and the economy. On January 26, the Pakistani rupee fell 9.6% against the dollar, resulting in hundreds of foreign containers being stranded at ports. The Prime Minister's government is now seeking to renew its loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avoid a default. Salman Shah, Pakistan's former finance minister, believes the IMF loan will help improve the balance of payment but may lead to inflation.

Pakistan's political situation is also causing problems for the economy, with politicians engaged in a tug-of-war over who should govern the country. The former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has been demanding early elections, but experts believe the economy should be fixed first. The recent suicide blast at a mosque demonstrates why the economic crisis is also a security risk for the region. A new United Nations report states that economic privileges given to Pakistan's elite groups, including the corporate sector, feudal landlords, the political class, and the military, total an estimated $17.4 billion. This is causing disillusionment among citizens, who feel the ruling elite is not addressing their needs. The situation in Pakistan is dire, with citizens unable to afford basic necessities, a shortage of fuel and power, and a political and constitutional crisis.

To read the full article visit www.dw.com

IMF conditions: Banks to access asset data of federal employees

Writing for Dawn, Mubarak Zeb Khan reports that the government of Pakistan has allowed banks to access the asset declarations of civil servants of BS17-22 as a condition for opening bank accounts. This move is part of good governance and anti-corruption measures, as required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The first phase of the implementation will be for federal employees, with the second phase expected to extend to provincial employees.

According to a senior tax official, the access to assets has no revenue implications and is a due diligence measure under the anti-money laundering act of 2010. The banks are required to keep the information confidential and not release it to the public. This conditionality was agreed upon in 2018, and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) worked with the banks to finalize the rules for the implementation. The FBR has now notified the rules for Sharing of Declaration of Assets of Civil Servants through SRO80 of 2023. These rules will apply to federal employees, except members of the judiciary

and armed forces. Banks are normally required to verify the source of income at the time of opening a bank account, but with the new rules, they will access the asset data of the civil servants.

The bank officer will receive a onepager declaration of the civil servant's basic particulars, and send it to the FBR for verification of assets. The FBR will then provide a simplified version of the declaration to the bank. The bank's head of compliance will use a single authorized email address to communicate with the FBR and keep the information confidential. The FBR can only deny a request in exceptional cases, and the bank will pro-

UNEP to enhance cooperation with Pakistan on climate resilience and adaptation

Islamabad

Staff RepoRt

Chairing a meeting with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) delegation at her residence in Karachi, Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman highlighted the challenges of resilient recovery after the devastating floods of 2022. Welcoming the delegation on their return from flood affected areas of Sindh, the Minister said, “It is very important for us that Ms. Andersen came here herself in response to my invitation and saw and felt the magnitude of the challenge.” The Minister added that while many have forgotten about this crisis,

even the most optimistic analysis suggests that recovery is going to be slow, largely because resource-barriers make it challenging to coordinate responses to such a huge catastrophe. Homelessness is a terrible thing to face, especially when the land so many communities lived on is no longer safe or habitable to resettle on.

The minister emphasized that no one wants to become a climate migrant, so our response needs to be more than just strategic. It would require us to move communities to safer ground but for that one needs to create livelihood incentives, and those are few and far between in a landscape scarred by extreme climate impacts.

vide bi-annual feedback on the use of the information received.In conclusion, the new rules for Sharing of Declaration of Assets of Civil Servants will allow banks to access the assets of federal employees as a condition for opening bank accounts. This move is in line with good governance and anti-corruption measures required by the IMF and is expected to extend to provincial employees in the future. The FBR and the banks have worked together to finalize the rules and ensure the confidentiality of the information.

To read the full article visit www.dawn.com/

Pakistan launches currency declaration app for international travelers

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday launched a mobile app to assist with currency declaration for international travelers. Federal Board of Revenue' member Customs Operations Mukarram Jah Ansari along with officials of National Information Technology Board launched a mobile app namely “Pass Track” to facilitate passengers. FBR after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) instructions revised the cash-carrying limits for outbound passengers. The Central Bank of Pakistan has also made it mandatory for every person carrying foreign currency to file a declaration with Customs. FBR members said the app will facilitate the passengers to declare currency while traveling to/from Pakistan even before coming to the airport. Testing of the app has been completed and many new features have been incorporated so that passengers can easily fill in all the required information. The app is available on App Store and Play Store for downloading adding that the web version of the App is also available. It is also accessible from all over the world and the App provides step-by-step guidance to travelers making it easier for them to file declarations. He said that any person can register on the App using his/her mobile number and the declaration form is available both in Urdu and English languages. Staff RepoRt

China ends speCULation aboUt ‘spy baLLoon’ hoverinG over Us skies

iSlAMABAD

stAff report

CHInaon Friday the airship [balloon] being labeled by western media as ‘spy balloon’ is basically a civilian airship of China used for research, mainly meteorological purposes.

“The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course,” Ms Mao ning, the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of People’s Republic of China, made these remarks during media briefing in Beijing.

“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure. The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure,” she added.

The clarification made by Chinese side brought an end to the US media speculation on Friday about a “Chinese spy balloon” flying over the United States for a couple of days.

US officials also termed the balloon as ‘spy balloon’ on Thursday, just days ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by US Secretary of State antony Blinken.

“Fighter jets were mobilised, but military leaders advised US President Joe

Biden against shooting the balloon out of the sky for fear debris could pose a safety threat, advice Biden accepted,” US officials said.

The unnecessary hype be the US officials may have a negative impact on Secretary Blinken’s visit to Beijing that has been scheduled to bridge gaps and misunderstandings between the two nations.

The United States said authorities had taken “custody” of the balloon when it entered US airspace and had observed it with piloted US military aircraft, one of the officials told reporters on condition of anonymity. Separately, Canada’s defence ministry said a “high-altitude surveillance

Germany authorises manufacturers to send Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine

Berlin

Agencies

Germany said Friday it has issued authorisation for Leopard 1 tanks to be sent to Ukraine, in a further boost for Kyiv as it seeks heavier weapons to counter Moscow’s forces. Berlin has already said it will provide Ukraine with 14 Leopard 2s from its military stocks, but manufacturers also want to send tanks they have in storage. “I can confirm… that an export licence has been issued,” government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told a regular press briefing when asked about Leopard 1s. He declined to give further information, saying more details would likely emerge in the coming days and weeks.

First entering service in the 1960s, the Leopard 1 is the forerunner of the more advanced Leopard 2, which is widely used by armies across Europe. German magazine Der Spiegel reported that it concerned 29 Leopard 1s, which were in storage at a military manufacturer.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper meanwhile reported that two manufacturers want to refurbish dozens of Leopard 1s to send them to Ukraine, although they have faced problems in procuring ammunition.

Last month, Berlin finally agreed to sending the powerful German-made Leopards to Ukraine, following weeks of sustained pressure from Kyiv and its European allies. Under German law, Berlin has to approve the export of the tanks, even in cases when other countries who bought them want to re-export them.

While scores of nations have pledged military hardware for Ukraine in recent weeks, Kyiv has been clamouring for the more sophisticated Leopards, seen as key to punching through enemy lines.

balloon” was detected and that it was monitoring a “potential second incident”, without giving further details, adding that it was in frequent contact with the United States.

The news initially broke as CIa Director William Burns was speaking at an event at Washington’s Georgetown University, where he called China the “biggest geopolitical challenge” facing the United States.

“The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now,” Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters.

“The balloon is currently travelling at

an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao ning earlier in the day had said that Beijing was “verifying” the situation.

“I would like to emphasise that until the facts are clarified, speculation and hype will not be helpful to the proper resolution of the issue,” she told a regular daily briefing in Beijing on Friday. However, the western media kept hyping the issue.

US officials said they raised the matter with their Chinese counterparts through diplomatic channels.

“We have communicated to them the seriousness with which we take this issue,” a US official said. One US official admitted the fact that the balloon was assessed to have “limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective.”

Blinken is expected to travel to China next week for a visit agreed to in november by Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was not clear how the discovery of the spy balloon might affect those plans.

US lawmakerS add to the media hype: US Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, said the spy balloon was alarming but not surprising.

“The level of espionage aimed at our country by Beijing has grown dramatically more intense & brazen over the last 5 years,” Rubio said on Twitter.

Republicans oust Ilhan Omar from high-profile US house committee

WASHinGTOn Agencies

U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on Thursday ousted Democrat Ilhan Omar from a high-profile committee over remarks widely condemned as antisemitic, two years after Democrats removed two Republicans from committee assignments.

The deeply divided House voted 218-211 along party lines to remove Omar from the Foreign affairs Committee with Republicans citing the 2019 remarks for which she later apologized. One Republican voted “present.”

Omar, who arrived in the United States as a refugee from Somalia, is the only african-born member of Congress and one of the only Muslim women in the House. She was in line to be the top Democrat on the foreign affairs panel’s africa subcommittee.

Shortly after the vote, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries made a countermove, announcing that he intends to appoint Omar to a seat on the Budget Committee “where she will defend Democratic values against right-wing extremism.”

Republicans, who won a narrow House majority in november’s

election after years in the minority, said they wanted Omar, a third-term House member, off Foreign affairs for statements that included a 2019 tweet which read, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” suggesting that Israel’s supporters in U.S. politics were motivated by money rather than principle.

Benjamin Franklin, whose signature on the 1776 Declaration of Independence and 1787 U.S. Constitution earned him the reputation as a founding father, is portrayed on the $100 bill.

During debate, Republican Mike Lawler said, “Words matter, rhetoric matters. It leads to harm. The congresswoman is being held account-

people under domestic violence orders can own guns, Us appeals court rules

WASHinGTOn

Agencies

a US appeals court on Thursday declared unconstitutional a federal law making it a crime for people under domestic violence restraining orders to own firearms.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals is the latest victory for gun rights advocates since a Supreme Court ruling last June granting a broad right for people to carry firearms outside the home.

That ruling, new York State Rifle & Pistol association v. Bruen, announced a new test for assessing firearms laws, saying restrictions must be “consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” and not simply advance an important government interest.

In Thursday’s decision, Circuit Judge Cory Wilson said banning people under domestic violence restraining orders from owning firearms “embodies salutary policy goals meant to protect vulnerable people in our society.”

able for her words and her actions.”

Omar and other Democrats said that any such remarks were made years ago and that Omar had deleted the posts and apologized at the time.

Moments before the House expelled her from the committee, a defiant Omar said, “My leadership and voice will not be diminished if I am not on this committee … my voice will get louder and stronger.”

Omar has said in the past that U.S. forces and those of other countries should be held to the same standards of accountability when their actions hurt or kill civilians.

The ouster, led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, was viewed by Democrats as revenge for their voting in 2021 to remove Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar from their committee assignments after incendiary remarks.

In 2021, Greene had compared COVID-19 mask requirements and vaccinations to the nazi Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews. She eventually apologized. Before her 2020 election to Congress, she voiced unfounded conspiracy theories, including an antisemitic claim suggesting a space laser possibly was used to deliberately start a California wildfire.

But the judge, appointed by Donald Trump, said the Bruen ruling made such a consideration irrelevant, and that from a historical perspective the ban was “an outlier that our ancestors would never have accepted.”

The court threw out the guilty plea and six-year prison sentence for Zackey Rahimi, who admitted to possessing guns found in his Kennedale, Texas, home after prosecutors said he participated in five shootings in Dec. 2020 and Jan. 2021.

Rahimi had been under a restraining order since Feb. 2020, following his alleged assault of a former girlfriend.

a federal public defender representing Rahimi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

U.S. attorney General Merrick Garland, in a written statement disagreed with the 5th Circuit’s ruling and said the Biden administration would appeal.

“Whether analyzed through the lens of Supreme Court precedent, or of the text, history, and tradition of the Second amendment, that statute is constitutional,” Garland said. “accordingly, the Department will seek further review of the Fifth Circuit’s contrary decision.”

The 5th Circuit is based in new Orleans, and its decision applies in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

It had upheld the federal law last June 8, just over two weeks before the Bruen decision, but withdrew its opinion and ordered additional briefing.

Adani enterprises shares suspended as price slumps again

neW DelHi

Agencies

Shares in the flagship firm of beleaguered Indian tycoon Gautam adani were repeatedly suspended on Friday as a rout triggered by allegations of accounting fraud deepened.

adani Enterprises fell 10 percent at the open, while adani Power, adani Green Energy, adani Total Gas — in which French giant TotalEnergies has a 37.4 percent stake — and adani Transmission were also suspended when they hit their trading stops.

Trading in adani Enterprises later resumed, only for them to immediately fall another five percent, triggering another halt.

The conglomerate’s combined market capitalisation has plummeted by more than $100 billion since US short-seller Hinden-

burg Research — which makes money by betting on shares falling — released an explosive report last week.

adani himself has seen his fortune plummet by tens of billions of dollars, dumping him out of the real-times Forbes rich list top 10 and depriving him of his title as asia’s richest person.

adani late Wednesday cancelled a $2.5billion stock sale meant to help reduce debt levels — long a concern — restore confidence and broaden its shareholder base.

Big banks including Credit Suisse and Citigroup have stopped accepting adani bonds as collateral for loans to private clients, according to Bloomberg news.

That fuelled worries about how adani will raise fresh funds, with adani dollar bonds trading at distressed levels and signs of contagion in Indian markets increasing,

Bloomberg reported. according to Hindenburg Research, adani has artificially boosted the share prices of its units by funnelling money into the stocks through offshore tax havens.

This “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme” is “the largest con in corporate history”, Hindenburg said.

adani said it was the victim of a “maliciously mischievous” reputational attack and issued a 413-page statement on Sunday that it asserted showed Hindenburg’s claims were “nothing but a lie”.

Hindenburg said in response that adani failed to answer most of the questions raised in its report.

Critics say adani’s closeness to Prime Minister narendra Modi, also from Gujarat state, has helped him win business and avoid proper oversight.

Shaheen afridi tieS the knot with Shahid afridi’S daughter in karachi

SHAHEENShah Afridi and Ansha Afridi tied the knot in a beautiful daytime nikkah in Karachi on Friday. A reception was held for the couple at the DHA Golf and Country Club after their nikkah and attended by a lot of Shaheen’s teammates from the national cricket team.

The groom said ‘qabool hai’ at the mosque surrounded by his brothers and father-in-law, former cricketer Shahid Afridi.

After the nikah ceremony was a reception at the Golf Club. The garden area was bedecked with pink and white flowers, drapery, and white and cane furniture with the sea as a spectacular backdrop.

The groom wore a light grey-silver coat of sorts — we’re hesitant to call it a sherwani because of the neckline — with silver accent buttons and matching embroidery on the neckline, sleeves as well as pocket. He paired the look with a silver watch and gel backed hair. Pictures of the bride have not been publicised.

We like that Shaheen experimented

with his outfit rather than going the traditional white sherwani route but it was his father-in-law Shahid who stole the limelight with his well-cut all-white sherwani.

Guests at the event included Shaheen’s teammates, Babar Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah, among others. Actor Adnan Siddiqui was also in attendance as was former squash champion Jehangir Khan.

Event organisers Gathering Events shared behind the scenes clip of the

Star germain striker Mbappe to miss champions League due to injury

PARIS

Agencies

St-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe will miss the first leg of his side’s Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich with a thigh injury.The France forward was injured on Thursday’s 3-1 win at Montpellier and has been ruled out for three weeks.

It proved to be a night to forget for the 24-year-old who missed two penalties and an open goal before being forced off after 21 minutes.

PSG host the German champions on Tuesday, 14 February. Mbappe will also miss his side’s French Cup tie against Marseille on 8 February and a Ligue 1 game against Monaco three days later.

The forward has scored 25 goals in 26 appearances for his club this season. The second leg against Bayern takes place in Germany on 8 March.

The one and only Dr Dre: Celebrate him with a mix of his greatest tunes and chats. ‘I hated his comedy’: Steve Coogan chats to Nihal Arthanayake about British humour and cancel culture.

karachi kings announces SkMch as official charity partner for hBL PSL 8

tain on his big day. The team’s all-rounder, South African-Namibian cricketer David Wiese, wished Shaheen in a video message saying, “Hey Shaheen, hope all is well on your side. Congratulations on the wedding day, I wish you all the love and happiness in the world. And just remember one thing that happy wife, happy life. Enjoy, mate.” Pace spearhead Haris Rauf also wished Shaheen in a video and excused himself for missing out the nikah due to “professional commitments”. But he promised to celebrate Shaheen’s big event during the PSL season when they reunite on the field.

space that was full of ivory and pink hues. The video clip pans to the brown, white and pale pink decor with white and pink roses on the tables. The same floral setting can be seen hanging from the structure and along the aisle with some leaf elements. Three floral arches bedecked with white roses were also seen placed behind an ivory love-seat where the couple was likely going to sit.

The Lahore Qalandars’ team shared messages on Instagram to wish their cap-

Shaheen’s is one in a long line of cricket weddings this winter. Shadab announced that he got married in a nikah ceremony recently and requested people to respect his family and wife’s privacy while sending prayers and love for all. In his statement he wrote, “I am becoming part of my mentor Saqi Bhai’s [Saqlain Mushtaq’s] family. When I started playing cricket, I wanted to keep my family life separate, my family has also opted to stay out of public light. My wife has asked for the same, she wants her life to remain private.”

PCB introduces season passes for weekday HBL PSL 8 matches

LAHORE stAff report

The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced details of ticket prices for the eighth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League.

Online tickets for the Multan and Karachi-leg matches will be available online on Saturday at 1100 and fans can visit cricket.bookme.pk to book their tickets. Physical tickets will also be available to the fans during the course of the tournament from the box offices at the four venues. Tickets for the Rawalpindi and Lahore matches will go on sale in due course.

Tickets for the tournament opener between defending champions Lahore Qalandars and the 2021 title winners Multan Sultans at the Multan Cricket Stadium on 13 February have been set at PKR6,000 for the VIP enclosures, PKR3,000 for Premium, PKR2,000 for First Class and PKR1,000 for General.

Ticket prices for the 15 February Multan Sultans versus Quetta Gladiators match have been set for PKR2,900 (VIP), PKR1,900 (Premium), PKR950 (First Class) and PKR650 (General), while ticket prices for the remaining three matches featuring the home side have been fixed at PKR4,000 (VIP), PKR2,000 (Premium), PKR1,500 (First Class) and PKR1,000 (General).

For the non-Sunday matches in Karachi, ticket prices have been set at PKR2,900 (VIP), PKR1,900 (Premium), PKR950 and PKR650 for First Class and General Enclo-

sures, respectively.

For Sunday, 19 February, mouth-watering match between Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars, ticket prices have been fixed at PKR5,000 for the VIP enclosures, PKR3,000 for the Premium, PKR2,000 in First Class and PKR1,000 in General. For the final fixture in Karachi on Sunday, 26 February, between Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans, ticket prices have set for PKR4,000 (VIP), PKR2,000 (Premium), PKR1,500 and PKR1,000 for First Class and General Enclosures, respectively.

The PCB, for the first time, have introduced discounted season passes, which will cover weekday matches. This is to encourage cricket fans and families to purchase cheaper tickets to attend the matches and watch in action some of best shortest format cricketers vying for the biggest price in Pakistan cricket.

Season pass for the four Mul-

tan matches (excluding the opener) has been set for PKR16,830 (VIP), PKR9,630 (Premium), PKR5,715 (First Class) and PKR3,555 (General).

Likewise, season pass for the five Karachi matches on 16, 20, 21, 23 and 24 February, has been fixed at PKR13,050 (VIP), PKR8,550 (Premium), PKR4,275 (First Class) and PKR2,925 (General).

The PCB has also confirmed one ticket can be purchased on one CNIC. For those who do not have CNIC, they can purchase the tickets using the passport, while those under the age of 18 will require BForm. All spectators will be required to bring the government-issued ID through which they have bought the tickets.

ENCLOSURE NAMES:

Multan

VIP – Imran Khan, Fazal Mahmood

Premium – Zaheer Abbad, Javed Miandad

Karachi Kings has announced Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) as its Official Charity Partner for HBL Pakistan Super League 8. Imad Wasim will lead 2020 winners Karachi Kings this season. The team will clash with Peshawar Zalmi in their first match on February 14, 2023 in Karachi, which is one day before the International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day. Karachi Kings and SKMCH&RC will engage in various activities to highlight the cause of fighting cancer through the platform of cricket because we must unite to close the care gap and address avoidable and unfair disparities in cancer outcomes for patients resulting from who they are or where they live. The team represents Karachi where Pakistan’s largest tertiary care cancer centre is under construction, expected to open in late 2023. Together, we can close the care gap for cancer patients of Southern Pakistan by providing equitable access to cancer treatment under one roof, irrespective of their ability to pay. pr

new boys on the block: Six young stars to watch out for in hBL PSL 8

LAHORE

stAff report

The HBL Pakistan Super League has served as a launching pad for several talented youngsters over the years as the exposure to quality cricket in the presence of national and international stars helps them to enhance their skillset. Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali and Mohammad Haris are examples of players who have shot to prominence from the HBL PSL platform and gone on to prove their mettle on the international stage. Some of the newcomers excited to showcase their skills in HBL PSL 2023 include Multan Sultans’ Arafat Minhas, Karachi Kings’ Muhammad Irfan Khan, Peshawar Zalmi’s Haseebullah, Lahore Qalandars’ Shawaiz Irfan, Quetta Gladiators’ Aimal Khan and Islamabad United’s Hassan Nawaz. All six future stars with the exception of Arafat, selected in the supplementary round, have been picked in the emerging category for their respective franchise. This young lot will be eager to establish their credentials as the tournament commences in Multan on 13 February with the opening match between Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars. Arafat Minhas – Multan Sultans

Arafat has enjoyed a successful run in the series between Pakistan U19 and Bangladesh U19 in November 2022, where he bagged the player of the series award at the end of the three one-days having scored 171 runs with two half-centuries. He also managed to take three wickets. His impressive performances in the Pakistan Cup saw him being attached to Pakistan Test squad for the first Test against New Zealand in December with the objective of providing international exposure and experience. Belonging to Multan, Arafat is looking forward to representing the city of his birth. “It is an unbelievable feeling and a great opportunity to express myself. I want to prove that I can compete on big stage. To be honest I am not giving myself and specific targets and goals, I just want to go out and express myself and learn from the biggest stars of the game.” “I hope to get tips from the best hitter in the game David Miller with whom I’ll be sharing the dressing room. My favourite memory from the HBL PSL is Rilee Rossouw’s breathtaking hundred in Multan against Quetta Gladiators in HBL PSL 2020.”

Muhammad Irfan Khan – Karachi Kings

A product of the PCB’s age-group programme, middle-order batter Muhammad Irfan Khan has represented Pakistan in two ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cups in 2020 and 2022. The 20-year-old made 141 runs in nine innings in the National T20 2022-23 at a strike-rate of 153.26 with a 31-ball 57 against Balochistan being the highlight of his campaign.

Former cricketer Hafeez gets enrolled in KU HPESS program

KARACHI

stAff report

The renowned all-rounder and former captain of the national cricket team Mohammad Hafeez got admission to the BS Health Physical Education and Sports Sciences (HPESS)program at the University of Karachi (KU).

Mohammad Hafeez met the KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi at the VC Secretariat on Friday.

The Chairman HPESS Professor Dr Basit Ansari was also present on the occasion.

The former cricket captain Mohammad Hafeez informed the KU VC Professor Dr Khalid Iraqi that due to his commitments to

national duty and sports, he was unable to continue his studies but now he had a chance to fulfill one of his dreams.

On this occasion, Mohammad Hafeez expressed that he was delighted to be a part of the country’s largest public sector university and hoped that HPESS would help him in achieving his dreams of pursuing higher education.

Meanwhile, the KU VC Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi while welcoming Muhammad Hafeez to the University of Karachi said that students would learn a lot from the former captain’s cricketing experience.

He mentioned that our young generation should also participate in sports as it is essential for mental and physical development.

He said that people should learn from the spirit of competition rather than getting jealous of someone’s success.

The KU VC Professor Dr Khalid Iraqi said that the University of Karachi provides curricular activities as well as extra-curricular activities to students.

He informed Mohammad Hafeez that after the remarkable victory against India and New Zealand in the T20 World Cup 2021, the University of Karachi had announced fully paid scholarships for the team members and also decided to provide the best facilities and bear all the academic expenses of the sportsmen and sportswomen who have named the country in the international competitions.

Plan to Phase out furnace oil

pROfIt REpORt

tHENational Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan 2022-31 (IGCEP2022) which envisaging phasing out furnace oil by 2031.

NTDC had submitted Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan 2022-31 (IGCEP-2022) in keeping with the relevant provisions of the Grid Code 2005.

It is pertinent to mention that IGCEP is a dynamic document covering a planning horizon of ten (10) years and will be revised annually.

It will act as a primary document for adding new capacity for genera-

tion to meet future electrical demand in a scientific and systematic manner, thus avoiding the boom and bust cycles that have become a recurring issue in the country.

The IGCEP-2022 builds on the plans laid down by the preceding iteration and proposes a gradual shift from an energy mix heavily dominated by imported fossils like Coal, Furnace Oil and RLNG towards one pillared by indigenous sources of energy, including Hydel, Thar Coal, Wind and Solar.

Furnace oil is expected to be phased out by 2031. Similarly, electricity generation from RLNG and Imported coal will drop to 2% and 8%, respectively, in 2031.

At the same time, there will be a

Pakistan, IMF to resume policy level talks from Monday

ISLAMABAD staff report

Pakistan and International Monetary Fund (IMF) will resume the policy level negotiations from Monday. Sources said that the technical talks between the Pakistan economic team and IMF concluded today (Friday). Both sides reportedly discussed a number of matters including increasing the GST rate upto 18% to collect more taxes and audit of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Both sides also discussed matters related to debt servicing, which could peak to a whopping Rs5.2 trillion in the current fiscal year 2022-23.

In addition, the IMF during the technical talks asked Pakistan to withdraw un-budgeted electricity subsidies for exporters and other sectors.

Reportedly, IMF during the technical talks also asked Pakistani authorities to take strict action for filling a yawning gap on account of fiscal slippages in

order to restrict the primary deficit within the envisaged limits.

Meanwhile, FBR on the recommendations of IMF also issued SRO with regard to declaration of assets from grade 17 to 22 officials to banks. The IMF was pressing Pakistan for the last many months that the government should publicise the assets and details of civil servants.

Sources said that the IMF and Pakistani team will resume the policy level talks from Monday and the Finance minister will also participate in these meetings.

It is pertinent to note that the Prime Minister on Friday also disclosed that the IMF delegation is giving a “very tough time” to the government team.

“The IMF delegation is giving a “very tough time” to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team during discussions being on the ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme”, the PM said: “Our economic challenge at this moment is unimaginable.

substantial increase in the electricity generated by hydel, wind and solar PV. The contribution of hydel, wind and solar PV which currently stands at 28%, 4% and 1% respectively will be increased to 39%, 10% and 10% respectively, thereby increasing the total share of green electricity to around 59%.

Nepra said that the Authority is satisfied that the IGCEP-2022 is based on the utilization of indigenous and Renewable Energy resources for generation of low cost, environment-friendly electricity.

The IGCEP-2022 also provides details for six additional scenarios, simulated to cater for any unforeseen events in the future.

These include scenarios dealing with lower and higher electrical de-

mands as well as four sensitivity scenarios dealing with early commissioning of Diamer Bhasha Hydropower Project in 2029, commissioning of Chashma Nuclear (C-5) in 2029, inclusion of local coal power projects in 2027 and 2030 and unconstrained addition of projects based on renewable energy.

The power regulator has appreciated the efforts of the planning department of NTDC which developed the IGCEP2022 using indigenous capability. Further, the Authority recognizes the efforts of all power sector stakeholders especially the energy departments of the provinces and Power Division of Ministry of Energy, who have provided their very useful inputs in the preparation of IGCEP-2022.

govt’ installed through conspiracy

LAHORE staff report

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief and former premier Imran Khan on Friday launched a broadside at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying his party will never participate in an apex committee meeting convened by “person installed through regime change conspiracy.”

Taking to his twitter handle on Friday, the PTI chief lamented the 10 months of “fascist” rule by the incumbent coalition government had pushed to the verge of default and destruction. Maintaining his previous stance against the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, in a tweet, Imran said he would not recognise “this imported government installed through conspiracy and horse-trading”.

“How can Shehbaz Sharif be so shameless given his government’s destruction in 10 months of our economy and democracy with brazen fascism, end of fundamental rights and rule of law; and allowing terrorism to spread under his watch?” the tweet read.

The tweet also shared a brief summary of the political persecution the PTI and its allies allege to have suffered during the incumbent government’s tenure, including the ‘murder’ of journalist Arshad Sharif, an alleged assassination attempt at Imran himself as well as the arrests and alleged torture of leaders including Shahbaz Gill,

import restrictions proving catastrophic for auto industry

LC PAYMENTS PENDING UNTIL JANUARY 2023 RESULTED IN MASSIVE FINANCIAL LOSSES: CEO IMC

pROfIt REpORt

The auto industry, much like many other sectors, has also started facing multiple challenges for import restrictions, making it difficult for the manufacturers to stay afloat.

Azam Swati among others.

The tweet comes after the PTI declined an invite from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to participate in the apex committee discussing the Peshawar mosque tragedy. PTI Spokesperson Shaukat Yousafzai stated that the PTI leadership has decided against participating in the apex committee that is scheduled to meet today to discuss the terror attack that occurred in Peshawar on Monday.

Yousafzai questioned how the PTI could participate in such a forum when it was protesting the policies of the incumbent government. It may be noted here that the PM had urged all political entities to join forces in an attempt to build a united front to counter terrorism in the country.

“My message to all political forces is one of unity against anti-Pakistan elements”, he had said adding that “we can fight our political fights later”.

Meanwhile, the government went on to arrest former interior minister Shiekh Rashid on Thursday with reports of a raid at former Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi’s family home surfacing as well, both of whom have been close allies of the PTI.

‘Imran not to attend APC’

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) General Secretary Asad Umar said on Friday confirmed Imran Khan will not attend Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s convened All-Parties Conference (APC).

“The local auto industry has faced a severe blow with the prevailing economic conditions that show little or no signs of abating. As a result, volumes are expected to remain under pressure this year as well,” said Ali Asghar Jamali, Chief Executive, Indus Motor Company (IMC) while talking to a group of journalists in Islamabad on Friday.

“The core issue pertaining to continuing import restrictions on CKD kits has proven catastrophic for the auto industry. Consequently, we are forced to currently operate at 40-45% of our capacity. Unless these restrictions are eased, plant closures and non-production days will be inevitable,” he said adding that the exponential depreciation of the rupee, rising inflation and tighter fiscal and monetary measures have had an adverse effect on the auto industry coupled with an all-time dampened consumer demand, that may continue in the upcoming periods.

According to Jamali, the cumulative impact of these abrupt decisions along with the fragile economic conditions of the country, will further deteriorate the demand of the industry, which is already working at reduced capacity. The continued weakening of the rupee will push the cost of production higher, in turn restricting manufacturers’ bottom line in the forthcoming quarters because of reduced volumes, demand and supply issues, and low margins.

It is to be noted that the SBP has replaced the quota system, allocated to automakers for import of CKD kits with a priority list handed over to the banks, along with the responsibility of opening LCs. The said list prioritises import of essential items, leaving little room for auto imports.

The LC payments that remained pending until January 2023, have resulted in massive financial losses. Despite these challenges, the IMC will not lay off any of its employees, said Jamali. In addition, at this time of dire need, they are also providing interest-free loans to their suppliers.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

Expected additional FED on carbonated beverages alarms industry

pROfIt REpORt

Ghulam abbas & Nisma riaz

In a letter addressed to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on February 1, 2023, the Ministry of Industries and Production highlighted Pakistan’s beverage industry’s pressing concern over an expected additional Federal Excise Duty (FED) of around 4%.

The letter informed FBR that Coca-Cola Icecek (CCI), a company that has significant investment in Pakistan, has expressed concerns over the potential increase in FED in the upcoming mini-budget. It was highlighted that the impending tax increment will “greatly jeopardise the business plans of the company.”

The ministry made a reference to an earlier letter dated January, 25, 2023, that was sent by the CCI’s Chief executive officer to the Prime minister of Pakistan, informing that the company has invested over USD 750 million in Pakistan since 2013. It was further iterated that CCI has been a source of employment to over 12,500 individuals.

The letter asserted that CCI’s contribution towards the national exchequer, through its revenue, is an estimated PKR 48 billion. Moreover, it was relayed that the company’s expansion plans include an expected investment of approximately USD 280 million in

the next two years. The ministry highlighted the economic impact of CCI’s operations in the country, followed by its outcry over the new tax policies.

Why is this happening and what are the potential consequences?

The predicted increment in FED, as mentioned in the letter, is a direct consequence of the government’s plans to impose additional taxes on various sectors, in a desperate attempt to generate greater revenue and meet the IMF’s conditions.

As per sources, the government is planning to impose additional taxes on several sectors, especially the ‘Aerated Waters’ sector (sugary drinks), by introducing a minibudget to cover the shortfall.

This is not the first time that the beverage industry has borne the brunt of government policies. Available documents reveal that CCI has repeatedly vocalised how the beverage industry has dealt with discriminatory taxes and policies. It is the only industry, within the Food & Beverage (F&B) sector, that is paying the FED. It is also the only one amongst various water consuming industries that is paying water charges, as well as the only industry within the F&B sector that is being threatened with the imposition of the Health Levy.

The carbonated beverage industry is cur-

rently paying 13% FED, along with a 7% super tax and 17% GST to the government. Further implementing the Sugar Levy, on top of high FED, will double taxation and potentially cause legitimate tax paying manufacturers in the beverage industry to collapse.

According to the beverage industry, increment in FED has always adversely impacted production volumes, considering that the product is highly price elastic. The consequences then trickle down to others, threatening employment, the incomes of auxiliary businesses across the chain, and causing an overall rise in the substitution effect, whereby customers switch to sub-standard beverages.

What were the industry’s demands?

The letter endorsed CCI’s demands, urging that in order for the industry to grow sustainably, FBR must provide a multi‐year roadmap to bring excise on beverages down to 10%. According to CCI, a 10% FED rate is ideal for balancing growth, investment and revenues.

Lastly, the industry demanded the revision of tax policies, such that they enable local manufacturers to survive, if not thrive. Both previous and new tax policies are not only stunting the industry’s growth and potential, but also impacting its current business operations.

Imran says won’t

‘recognize