Pakistan stands by Turkiye, Syria as PM sets up Rs10 relief fund for quake victims
Ghandhara Tyre announces plant shut down for February
Pharmaceutical industry fears shortage of medicines if govt does not intervene
ECC approves discontinuation of Kissan, Zero Rated Industrial packages
g SAYS COUNTRY WOULD RECEIVE $1.2B DISBURSEMENT IN FORM OF SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS AFTER REVIEW’S COMPLETION
AFTER the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued its press release about concluding their visit to Pakistan, finance minister Ishaq Dar announced a tax imposition of Rs 170 billion before the mini-budget to secure the bailout package.
The press conference which was scheduled to take place late night on February 9, 2023, to deliver, as promised by the minister a ‘good news’ was delayed to early morning of February 10. Despite the ten days talk, from January 31 to February 9, a staff-level agreement about the bailout package could not be achieved.
Dar said in the presser that the talks had ended positively and tax collection of Rs 170 billion was necessary to revive the loan programme. He also confirmed that Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) has been received. “I am confirming that the MEFP draft has been received by us at 9am today,” he said. “We will completely go through the draft over the weekend and will hold a virtual meeting with fund officials on Monday. It will obviously take a few days.”
The MEFP is a key document that describes all the conditions, steps and policy measures on the basis of which the two sides declare the staff-level agreement.
The finance minister shared that the country would receive a $1.2bn disbursement in the form of Special Drawing Rights after the review’s completion.
Further policy agreements
The minister clarified that the fiscal gap of Rs 170 billion will be recovered through indirect taxes as opposed to rumours around Rs 700-800 billion fiscal gap. The measures will take the shape of indirect tax, instead of direct tax to “minimise the burden on the common man as much as possible,” he added.
In addition, the government had agreed to minimise untargeted subsidies in the energy sector. There has also been an agreement to not increase the gas sector’s circular debt. The minister highlighted that the government had already fulfilled the commitment to raise the petroleum development levy (PDL) on petrol to Rs 50 per litre, whereas the PDL on diesel would also be raised to Rs 50 in the coming months. However, the general sales tax would be readjusted within the upcoming finance bill and prices of petrol will be increased in two phases by Rs 5, on March 1 and April 1.
Additionally, some relief measures have also been agreed upon. The Benazir Income Support Programme’s (BISP) allocation has been increased from Rs 360 billion to Rs 400 billion to support the most vulnerable in the economy.
During the conference, Dar mentioned that the government’s performance has weakened the credibility with the IMF has weakened. “They say not only did the previous government not implement the agreement but also reversed when the vote of no-confidence was brought (against Imran Khan),” he remarked.
g SAYS PDL ON PETROL ALREADY RAISED TO RS50 AND NOW PDL ON DIESEL TO BE RAISED TO RS50 PER LITRE IN COMING MONTHS
PROFIT REPORT: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has informed the Pakistani economic team that it will continue virtual discussions in the coming days to finalize the implementation details of policies such as revenue measures, untargeted subsidies, market determined exchange rate and preventing further accumulation of circular debt.
IMF in its statement stated that an IMF mission led by Nathan Porter visited Islamabad during January 31- February 9 to hold discussions under the ninth review of the authorities’ program supported by the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement.
“The IMF team welcomes the Prime Minister’s commitment to implement policies needed to safeguard macroeconomic stability and thanks the authorities for the constructive discussions. Considerable progress was made during the mission on policy measures to address domestic and external imbalances”. Key priorities include strengthening the fiscal position with permanent revenue measures and reduction in un-targeted subsidies, while scaling up social protection to help the most vulnerable and those affected by the floods; allowing the exchange rate to be market determined to gradually eliminate the foreign exchange shortage; and enhancing energy provision by preventing further accumulation of circular debt and ensuring the viability of the energy sector.
The timely and decisive implementation of these policies along with resolute financial support from official partners are critical for Pakistan to successfully regain macroeconomic stability and advance its sustainable development. “Virtual discussions will continue in the coming days to finalize the implementation details of these policies,” it concluded.
Earlier, this morning, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in a news conference said that the government would impose Rs 170 billion fiscal measures through taxes as part of the prior actions of the 9th review of the IMF programme.
Finance minister said everything was mutually agreed after which the Fund’s courtesy call was also arranged with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif through the Zoom meeting and the premier reiterated commitment to implement the agreed reforms.
He said that reforms in the energy sector included to stop flow of circular debt, minimizing untargeted subsidies, and the flow of circular debt in the gas sector to be reduced to zero from Rs 260270 billion.
Dar said that fiscal measures would be introduced through Ordinance or Bill in the Parliament. Dar added that the commitment of petroleum levy has almost been fulfilled except Rs10 per litre increase on diesel – to Rs 50 from Rs 40 – ad this would be increased in two instalments of Rs 5 each from March and April, adding that sales tax on petroleum products was not agreed with the Fund. The Finance Minister said that after reaching an agreement on board contours of the review, draft MEFP is provided to Pakistan and he would go through it ahead of a virtual meeting with the Fund on Monday. He said that Pakistan would be disbursed US$ 1.2 billion once the review is approved by the Executive Board meeting of the IMF.
SHAHZAD PARACHA
CONTINUED ON PAGE 05
LAHORE STAFF REPORT
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan to immediately announce the date for elections in Punjab.
Pronouncing the much-anticipated verdict reserved earlier in the day, LHC Justice Jawad Hassan ruled that the ECP was bound to carry out elections within 90 days of the assembly’s dissolution and that it should issue the election schedule.
“The ECP is directed to immediately announce the date of election of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab with the notification specifying reasons, after consultation with the governor of Punjab, being the constitutional head of the province, to ensure that the elections are held not later than ninety days as per the mandate of the Constitution,” reads the court verdict.
The PTI had on Jan 27 approached
the LHC seeking orders for the Punjab governor to immediately announce a date for an election in the province since the assembly had been dissolved on Jan 12.
The ECP had recommended the elections be held between April 9 and 17.
Legally, an election must be held within 90 days of an assembly’s dissolution.
The petition, filed through PTI General Secretary Asad Umar, stated at the time that more than 10 days had passed since the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly but Governor Rehman had failed to fulfill his constitutional duty of announcing an election date.
PTI Vice President Fawad Chaudhry welcomed the “historic” decision, saying that it was a victory for the Constitution and the law. “The federal government should sit with us and discuss the national election,” he said.
PTI Senator Faisal Javed also celebrated the verdict, saying the people would make their decisions in the election. Meanwhile, speaking on TV talk
show, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said the government has nothing to do with when the elections should be held.
“This [matter] is between the ECP and courts,” he added.
However, he said that the government believed that if the general and provincial elections were held together later, they would be more free, fair and acceptable.
“The results will be accepted and there will be weight in those elections,” he said, adding that if the elections are held early, people who lose will resort to long marches and staging protests.
“If the election is held, we are ready for it. Be it April, October or together, we will contest it.”
In the hearing today, Justice Hassan asked about the chief secretary and inspector general of the Punjab police, saying they were also summoned.
The two officials arrived at the courtroom as the proceedings were under way. The IG told the court that he was not
aware of the case background.
“We will implement whatever decision the ECP takes in this regard,” the senior cop told the judge. The court said it was looking forward to such an assurance from the police chief.
The chief secretary also reiterated the stance adopted by the IG, saying he was also bound to implement the ECP and court orders.
The commission’s counsel raised objections to the admissibility of the petition, saying the plea pertained to an announcement of the election date, which he said was not the domain of the ECP.
He argued that the commission could not be made a respondent in the plea. The counsel said the LHC had itself stated that it would not issue an order whose implementation was complex.
He contended that neither the president nor the federal government had been made respondents in the petition.
“The police, judiciary, and other institutions have refused to sanction staff for
poll duties. How can we hold elections in such circumstances,” the counsel asked.
He said the election date had to be given either by the governor or the president. “We require Rs14 billion for the whole electoral exercise in the province,” the ECP lawyer told the court.
He pointed out that the elections of provincial assemblies and the lower house could not be transparent if they were held on separate days.
“It is not written anywhere in the Constitution that the ECP will give the date of general elections,” he argued.
When he spoke, Punjab governor’s lawyer Shehzad Shaukat said he had submitted a written reply to the court on behalf of his client.
In his reply yesterday, the governor said that he was not obligated to announce a date for the general election in the province as he had not dissolved the provincial assembly on the chief minister’s advice.
ABBOTTABAD
S ta f f R e p o R t
PA K I S TA N Muslim LeagueNawaz s Senior Vice President and Chief Organizer Maryam Nawaz Friday said the incompetent and corrupt rulers of Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) had left Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in shambles during their 10-year government
All the sectors, including education, healt h , i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , a n d s a n i t a t i o n s e r v i c e s h a d b e e n r u i n e d a s t h e p r o v i n c e was now in a state of affairs which it had a c e n t u r y a g o , s h e s a i d w h i l e c h a i r i n g a m e e t i n g o n t h e p a r t y s r e - o rg a n i s a t i o n i n
K h y b e r P a k h t u n k h w a , i n c l u d i n g t h e Hazara Division M a r y a m N a w a z s a i d t h a t t e r r o r i s m was a big challenge, however, the coalition g o v e r n m e n t w a s t a k i n g s t e p s f o r
protecting life and property of the people P M L - N P r e s i d e n t E n g r A m i r M u q a m a n d G e n e r a l S e c r e t a r y M u r t a z a J a v e d A b b a s s i , b e s i d e s t h e l e a d e r s h i p o f d i ff e r e n t p a r t y w i n g s , a t t e n d e d t h e meeting M a r y a m N a w a z a p p r e c i a t e d A m i r M u q a m a n d M u r t a z a A b b a s i f o r t h e i r leadership role in the party s organisation in the KP L i k e t h e H a z a r a D i v i s i o n , t h e r e s t o f
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was also becoming a stronghold of the party, she added She said she was proud of the workers who were giving sacrifices for the party T h e i d e o l o g i c a l a n d c o m m i t t e d w o r k e r s w o u l d b e h o n o u r e d a n d t h e i r problems would be addressed on priority, she added E a r l i e r o n h e r a r r i v a l i n t h e c i t y, s h e w a s a c c o r d e d a w a r m w e l c o m e b y t h e party leaders and workers
KARACHI
S ta f f R e p o R t
A remarkable and vibrant Flags Hoisting Ceremony was held at Pakistan Navy Dockyard, Karachi, to formally commence the proceedings of 8th
Multinational Maritime Exercise
AMAN-23 A large number of senior military representatives from participating countries observers diplomats and Pakistan Navy officials attended the ceremony The opening of the Exercise was marked with simultaneous hoisting of flags of all the participating nations of AMAN-23
The Message of Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi was read during the ceremony In his message, the Naval Chief warmly welcomed the participants of Exercise
AMAN-23 The Admiral underscored that the AMAN Exercise is a regular feature that involves regional and extraregional navies to create a secure and favorable maritime environment for
smooth and unhindered maritime activities in the region The Naval Chief in his message further underlined that Pakistan Navy has been a forerunner in its quest for promoting collaborative maritime security in the region besides generating the camaraderie as highlighted under the Exercise motto
Together for Peace The Admiral emphasized that this bond will continue to grow and bring us even closer to the cherished goals of realizing regional peace and shared prosperity
Speaking on the occasion, Commander Pakistan Fleet, Vice Admiral Ovais Ahmed Bilgrami warmly welcomed all the participants and thanked them for their wholehearted participation in the
ISLAMABAD
S ta f f R e p o R t
Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Friday brushed aside speculations that the country was on the brink of default, saying Pakistan will never default and government should take stringent measures to stop smuggling of foreign currency to the tune of 40 million dollars on a daily basis to other countries He remarked that everyone should improve one s behaviour for the good of the country Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial made the observation while heading a threemember bench comprising Justice Ayesha A Malik and Justice Athar Minallah hearing the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) petition, challenging the Lahore High Court (LHC) order whereby it has suspended collection of Super Tax from large scale industries The government had imposed a one-time ten percent tax on industries’ profits to ease the impact of the rising inflation on the poor A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial heard the case At the outset of the hearing, the FBR lawyer told the court that the final decision of the Lahore High Court was announced Faisal Siddique, the counsel for FBR, said that the LHC had suspended the implementation of the order till the final decision in the case He said that the apex court often asked the companies to submit 50% of the payment in tax cases However the companies lawyer Ferogh Naseem contended that after the release of the final decision of the high court in the case, the FBR petitions had become ineffective The court could not order for the imposition of 50% super tax after the petitions were rendered ineffective, he maintained On the occasion, CJP Bandial suggested fixing the cases hearing next week saying that the FBR came to the court in the super tax matter with good intention
Exercise He sought their cooperation in achieving the Exercise objectives and hoped that the Exercise would prove mutually rewarding for all He also acknowledged the flags of participating countries from across the globe fluttering together as an embodiment of the Exercise motto, ‘Together for Peace’ AMAN-23, the 8th Exercise of the AMAN series is being held from 10-14 February 2023 The exercise is one of the major events of Pakistan Navy held biennially to signify the commitment towards making seas safer for positive human activities while inviting regional and extra-regional navies This year the AMAN Exercise is being attended by more than 50 countries with their ships,
aircraft, Special Operation Forces and a large number of observers
Besides another mega event of Pakistan International Maritime Expo & Conference (PIMEC) commenced at Karachi Expo Center a protruding initiative of Pakistan Navy under the patronage Ministry of Maritime Affairs aimed to raise awareness amongst national stakeholders and international fraternity about the huge untapped potential of Pakistan s Blue Economy The opening ceremony of PIMEC was graced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Chief of the Naval Staff was also present during the event Besides, a large number of civil military, foreign & local delegates attended the event Chief of the Naval Staff in his message of PIMEC highlighted that Pakistan Navy being the major stakeholder in shaping the maritime thought in the country is proactively playing its role in creating the requisite maritime awareness for exploitation of untapped potential of Blue Economy
ISLAMABAD
S ta f f R e p o R t
Supreme Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on Friday raised questions over the conduct of Pakistan Tehrike-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and his party d u r i n g t h e h e a r i n g o f t h e p e t i t i o n c h a l l e n g i n g amendments to NAB Ordinance
During hearing Justice Shah inquired that if Imran and his party abstained from voting on the National Accountability Ordinance amendments He wondered that what right a party does have to c h a l l e n g e t h e a m e n d m e n t s i n t h e c o u r t o f l a w w h e n i t a b s t a i n s f r o m v o t i n g o n i t ’ ! H e f u r t h e r i n q u i r e d i f i t w a s s a g a c i o u s o n t h e p a r t o f a p a r l i a m e n t a r i a n t o l e a v e h i s p l a c e e m p t y i n t h e parliament house H e a s k e d I s i t a n a t t e m p t t o w e a k e n t h e p a r l i a m e n t i f p e o p l e b r i n g m a t t e r s t o t h e c o u r t s w h i c h s h o u l d h a v e b e e n r e s o l v e d i n t h e parliament Justice Shah went on to say that if the P T I M N A s ’ r e s i g n a t i o n s w e r e n o t a c c e p t e d , i t meant that their membership was still intact “An M N A i s a t r u s t e e o f t h e c o n f i d e n c e o f h i s c o n s t i t u e n t s I s i t f a i r i f t h e t r u s t e e o f t h e c o n s t i t u e n t s b o y c o t t s t h e p a r l i a m e n t ? ” t h e j u d g e wondered T h e j u d g e r e m a r k e d h o w w e c o u l d e s t a b l i s h t h a t t h e N A B a m e n d m e n t s c a s e w a s i n p u b l i c i n t e r e s t H e w o n d e r e d i f i t w a s t h e j o b o f t h r e e judges sitting here in the court to determine what w a s i n p u b l i c i n t e r e s t ! H e s a i d i t h a d n o t b e e n elaborated which amendments to the NAO were in c o n f l i c t w i t h t h e b a s i c r i g h t s H e r e m a r k e d t h a t
I m r a n K h a n ’s l a w y e r s h a d b e e n d i s c u s s i n g o n l y t h e I s l a m i c c l a u s e s a n d b a s i c s t r u c t u r e o f t h e constitution
ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has urged the coalition parties to not contest by-polls due to fear of defeat, citing sources
Media reports said that a PML-N delegation met Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders and requested to not contest the upcoming by-polls The PML-N leaders expressed fear that it is an inappropriate time to contest the elections
They said that the defeat in the by-elections will impact the vote bank of the coalition parties in the general polls
They expressed suspicions that another wave of inflation following the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement will increase disappointment among the voters
Sources said that PML-N has also requested other political parties in Karachi to avoid taking part in the upcoming by-elections
F e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t l a w y e r M a k h d o o m A l i Khan said that had Imran wanted, he could have d e f e a t e d t h e N A B a m e n d m e n t s i n t h e a s s e m b l y Had all the PTI members attend the assembly they would have been in majority, he added At this, C h i e f J u s t i c e o f P a k i s t a n U m a r A t a B a n d i a l remarked that the court would seek a reply from Imran Khan The CJP further asked if it was logical not to hear a case of public interest if the conduct of a petitioner was not right Every leader tries to refer to the constitution to declare his actions right, the c h i e f j u s t i c e s a i d a d d i n g t h a t b o y c o t t i n g t h e p a r l i a m e n t w a s P T I ’s p o l i t i c a l s t r a t e g y b u t i t wasn’t necessary that there should be some legal reason to this political strategy
C h i e f J u s t i c e o f P a k i s t a n B a n d i a l r e m a r k e d t h a t s o m e t i m e s l e g a l s t r a t e g y s e e m e d t o b e a political stupidity He observed that it happened all o v e r t h e w o r l d t h a t p a r l i a m e n t s w e r e b o y c o t t e d and the history of parliamentary boycott was even longer in the subcontinent
J u s t i c e I j a z u l A h s a n r e m a r k e d t h a t t h e p e t i t i o n e r c h a l l e n g e d t h e N A B a m e n d m e n t s i n public interest The questions on Imran s conduct could have only been raised, had he got personal b e n e f i t f o r i t B u t a p p a r e n t l y i t s e e m s t h a t t h e petitioner is not accruing any personal benefit from i t , t h e j u d g e o b s e r v e d C J P B a n d i a l r e m a r k e d i t seemed obvious that Imran knew that he could not have succeeded in the parliament and he came to the court J u s t i c e M a n s o o r A l i S h a h e x p r e s s e d h i s bafflement if the court nullified the NAB law then t o m o r r o w a n o t h e r p e t i t i o n e r w o u l d h a v e c o m e f o r w a r d a n d c h a l l e n g e t h e l e g i s l a t i o n i n t h e
Supreme Court
ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t
Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Friday summoned former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on February 15 in a Section-144 violation case ATC judge Raja Jawad Abbas Hasan passed the o r d e r s w h i l e h e a r i n g a p l e a f i l e d b y I m r a n K h a n seeking extension in his interim bail Babar Awa, the c o u n s e l f o r t h e P T I c h a i r m a n , f i l e d a p l e a s e e k i n g
e x e m p t i o n o f t h e c o u r t a p p e a r a n c e o f K h a n o n medical grounds
The prosecutor opposed the request and stated that all the medical reports are of Shaukat Khanum Hospital, which has no legal status The law is being mocked, he added The court rejected Khan s plea for exemption from personal appearance in the case and summoned him in person on February 14
The court directed Babar Awan to ensure his counsel’s appearance in the court else it will pass the orders on the interim bail The court also directed the
prosecutor to prove that all people gathered outside ECP for the protest on the directions of Imran Khan
It was worth mentioned here that several members of the local leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were booked in a terrorism case over alleged vandalism during the protests in Islamabad after ECP disqualified Imran Khan in Toshakhana reference The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana reference under Article 63(1)(p)
RAWALPINDI
S ta f f R e p o R t
Two officers of Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom on Friday after an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded during a sanitisation operation in Kohlu area of Balochistan, the military’s media informed on Friday
In a news release the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the sanitisation operation was conducted on credible intelligence to deny terrorists any liberty of action in Kohlu area of Balochistan
The ISPR added that during the ensuing sanitisation of the area, the IED exploded close to the leading party
The martyred soldiers were identified as: Major Jawad and Captain Sagheer who embraced Shahadat (martyrdom) and laid their lives in defence of the motherland against an externally perpetrated threat
The sanitisation operation was continued in the area to apprehend perpetrators and enemies of peace
It added that such cowardly acts by inimical elements could not sabotage the hard earned peace and prosperity in Balochistan
“The security forces are determined to neutralize their nefarious designs even at the cost of blood and lives, the ISPR said Kohlu attack in Balochistan is the latest in a series of terrorist attacks, which spiked since the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended the ceasefire with the government in 2021
According to a report, 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
Last week, a Coast guard was martyred and seven others were injured in a landmine explosion and subsequent ambush by armed militants in the Jiwani area of Gwadar district
PeSHAWAR
a z z B u n e R
TR A D E R S and manufactures, dealing with exports, urged the authorities concerned to carry out one time checking and examination of vehicles-laden with export cargo instead of multiple occasions to avoid huge financial losses and bring swiftness in the clearing process
ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t
The matter/ issue was taken up by a businessmen delegation led by Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) president Muhammad Ishaq during a meeting with Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Regional Directorate Commander, Brig Abdul Manan here at the regional office of the ANF, said a press release issued on Friday
The traders’ delegation was consisted on president Frontier Customs Clearing Agents
Association (FCCA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president and former senior vice president Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, former senior vice president of the SCCI Engineer Saad Zahid, senior member Khalid Shehzad, Dr Muqbool Khan, Mumtaz Khan, Asif Khan, Mazharul Haq, Syed Ejaz Ali Shah, Khalid Sultan Khawaja and others
The Anti-Narcotics joint director RD Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, incharge Bacha Khan International Airport
Peshawar, Aza Khel dryport, IT branch, DDR Branch Karachi port, and incharge Investigation cell were also present during the meeting Muhammad Ishaq during the meeting informed the commander Brig Abdul Manan and other senior officials of anti-narcotics force and participants of the meeting regarding grievances and reservations of business community regarding multiple checking, scrutiny and examination of export-laden cargo
consignments, which has not only causing wastage of time but also slowing down process of clearance
Ziaul Haq Sarhadi said huge financial losses were being inflicted to traders owing to multiple times checking and scrutiny of export cargo, demanding an end to the practice of re-examination after clearing of export cargo at Peshawar dryport
Saad Khan Zahid told the meeting about problems of industrialists due to multiple
checking and examination of the export cargo and suggested a number of proposals for their amicable resolution
The SCCI president thanked the senior officials of the anti-narcotics force for keenly listening to issues of the traders’ community and giving assurance for all those issues which had fallen into jurisdictions and ambit of the anti-narcotics force
Ishaq appreciated the ANF has always played a pivotal role in facilitating traders and resolving their issues on priority grounds and providing maximum relief to the community Brig Abdul Manan said the antinarcotics force is fully committed to facilitating businesses trade and exports at every level
ISLAMABAD
S ta f f R e p o R t
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected the plea of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to conduct by-polls on 33 National Assembly (NA) seats on March 19 instead of March 16 According to the ECP sources a public holiday will be announced on March 16 in the respective constituencies due to NA by-polls and ECP will write a letter to the respective provinces for a public holiday Sources added that the election commission is bound to hold the by-elections within 60 days and postponing the polls will be a constitutional violation It may be noted here that PTI Central Secretary General Asad Umar had written a letter to the ECP Secretary in which he urged that a working day is not a suitable day for polling as a large section of the public would be busy carrying out their routine affairs
The PTI leader in his letter requested ECP to revise the schedule and hold the elections on Sunday March 19 which will encourage voter participation
FAISALABAD
S
The Punjab government on Friday promoted three District and Session Judges from grade 21 to 22 on Friday The judges who have been promoted to grade 22 included District and Session Judge Banking Court Faisalabad Arshad Mehmood, District and Session Judge Banking Court Sargodha Abid Hussain and District and Session Judge Hafizabad Mushtaq Elahi The said judges have been promoted to grade 22 after completing seven year service
Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said that the new phase of seed cooperation between Pakistan and China was critically important for Pakistan to meet our food security challenge in the future He said that the South Asian country was in dire need of seed cooperation to meet the climate change challenges
He was talking at an event here Friday to mark the successful return of the seeds, on the sidelines of “Celebration of the Return of Pakistani Seeds from Chinese Space Station” China helped Pakistan take seven herbal seeds to the Chinese space station for space
breeding by exposing them to cosmic radiation and microgravity to mutate their genes
“Pakistan is very vulnerable to climate change, due to which we need smart agriculture, for which we need new varieties of seeds, which are resistant to the new weather challenges, and which are more suitable to the climate change risks, Iqbal said in an interview with Xinhua
Liu Xinming, a chief scientist from China’s Ningbo University, said the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs transferred the seeds to China Manned Space Agency on April 12 last year
The seeds were launched into outer space carried by Shenzhou-14 spaceship on June 5 2022, and after six months of flying, returned to the earth with the
Shenzhou-14 astronaut crew on Dec 4 last year Liu added Atia-tul-Wahab, a professor at the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, said her institute proposed the government to send the herbs’ seeds to space
“We sent some grains to the space and kept the same quantity in our laboratory Now upon their return, we will closely examine them and do their tests at our laboratory Then both seed varieties will be sowed separately to see the end results through comparison, she said Atia said that it was for the first time that Pakistan sent seeds to space and it was a landmark achievement for the country, adding that her lab was eying for sending food staples including rice, wheat and pulses to space for further research
AgeNCIeS
A cartoon mocking the devastating earthquake that killed thousands in Turkey and Syria was published in the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo, triggering strong reactions on social media The magazine shared the cartoon by artist Pierrick Juin in a tweet on Monday
The heading of the image is: “Earthquake in Turkey” Illustrating heaps of rubble and collapsing buildings, the cartoon is captioned: Don t even need to send tanks!
LAHORE: Administration working with excavators to fill a huge crater appeared on Shaukat Khanum Road
NeW DeLHI ag e n c i e S India’s market regulator is investigating Adani Group’s links to some of the investors in the conglomerate’s aborted $2 5 billion share sale, two sources said, amid growing concern in New Delhi about a U S shortseller ’s allegations against one of the country’s top industrial groups The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is looking into any potential violation of Indian securities laws or any conflict of interest in the share sale process said the two sources who have direct knowledge of the matter
The watchdog is investigating relationships between Adani and at least two Mauritius-based firms
Great International Tusker Fund and Ayushmat Ltd which participated as anchor investors among others said the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the probe
Under India’s capital and disclosure requirement rules, any entity related to a company’s founder or the founder group is ineligible to apply under the anchor investor category One of the sources said the focus of the probe would be whether any of the anchor investors are “connected” to the founder group
The ports-to-energy conglomerate controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest people has seen shares in its seven companies lose more than $100 billion in market value since the Jan 24 report by Hindenburg Research which accused it of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation Adani has denied the charges Last week, the group s flagship entity Adani Enterprises (ADEL NS) pulled its secondary share offering, India s largest ever because of the sharp selloff SEBI and the Adani Group did not respond to requests for comment about the investigation Great International Tusker Fund and Ayushmat Ltd also did not respond to requests for comment
urgently needed aid for millions of people”, including through food, shelter and emergency health services
Also under the SEBI scanner are Elara Capital and Monarch Networth Capital, two of the 10 investment banks that managed the share offering, the sources said, adding that SEBI had approached the two firms last week The roles of Elara and Monarch are being examined by the market watchdog to rule out “any conflict” in the share offering process, one of the sources said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the market regulator, told India s top court at a hearing on Friday about investor losses following the publication of the Hindenburg Research report that: “SEBI is on top of the matter ” M e e t I n g w I t h M o d I’s o f f I c e: Hindenburg has alleged one Adani private entity had a small ownership stake in Monarch – which has previously worked as a bookrunner for the group – saying “this close relationship seems to pose an obvious conflict of interest ” The short-seller also alleged that a Mauritiusbased fund of Elara has invested 99% of its market value in three Adani stocks
Many users have reacted to the cartoon with anger criticising it for making light of the devastating earthquake that has killed at least 20,000 people and left many homeless Dr Omar Suleiman a US Muslim scholar, condemned the cartoon for celebrating the tragedy, calling the French magazine a despicable publication” “Mocking the death of thousands of Muslims is the ‘peak of how France has dehumanized us in every way , he added Reactions from users on Twitter came in Turkish French and English denouncing the cartoon, and calling Charlie Hebdo a disgrace to humanity for publishing it The cartoon was accused of promoting hate speech and was called “racist” by Twitter users A Turkish presidential spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, also reacted to the drawing “Modern barbarians!” he tweeted “Suffocate in your hatred and grudges ” I n t e r p r e tat I o n s: The satirical cartoon can be interpreted as a comment on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attacks against Kurdish militias in northern Syria, a region that corresponds to the areas affected by the earthquake reported DW News The German news agency said that the cartoon could also be interpreted as an indirect reference to Europe’s weapons exports Germany s hesitation to send tanks to Ukraine has been a topic of international discussion In the 1990s, Germany provided hundreds of tanks to Turkey, a NATO ally with the only condition being that it did not sell or give them to any third party Turkey later used those tanks in a 2018 military operation against Kurds in northern Syria added DW News
The United States on Thursday announced an initial $85 million aid package to help Turkey and Syria recover from the devastating earthquake, while also granting a temporary relief of some Damascus-related sanctions
The 7 8-magnitude quake struck early Monday near the Turkish-Syrian border and by Friday morning the death toll in both countries topped 21,000 Search efforts persist but chances of finding survivors are dimming The US Agency for International Development said the funding will go to partners on the ground to deliver
The funding will also support safe drinking water and sanitation to prevent the outbreak of disease USAID said in a statement
The announcement comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier
Thursday spoke by telephone with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss the NATO ally’s needs
We are proud to join the global efforts to help Turkey just as Turkey has so often contributed its own humanitarian rescue experts to so many other countries in the past,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters as he described the call
The Treasury Department later announced a temporary lifting of some Syria-related sanctions hoping to ensure that aid moves as quick as possible to those affected The move authorizes for 180 days all transactions related to earthquake relief that would be otherwise prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations,” the department said in a statement
It stated however that US sanctions programs “already contain robust exemptions for humanitarian efforts
The United States has sent rescue teams to Turkey and has contributed concrete breakers generators water purification systems and helicopters, officials said Thursday USAID said rescue teams were
focused on badly hit Adiyaman – a city in southeastern Turkey – seeking survivors with dogs cameras and listening devices
Following major damage to roads and bridges, the US military has sent Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters to transfer supplies, it said
Assistance in Syria is going through local partners as the United States refuses to deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, from whom Washington demands accountability over abuses during the brutal civil war
“We call on the Assad regime to immediately allow aid in through all border crossings; allow the distribution of aid to all affected areas; and to let humanitarians access
all people in Syria who are in need, without exception, Blinken said in a statement Thursday evening
An aid convoy earlier Thursday reached rebel-held northwestern Syria for the first time since the earthquake going through the only open border crossing – Bab al-Hawa on the Turkish side
Russia the key international backer of Assad, has wielded its veto power at the UN Security Council to stop other crossings and authorize Bab al-Hawa only six months at a time as it tries to promote the sovereignty of the Damascus government
As of Friday morning the death toll from Monday’s earthquake topped 21,000 in Turkey and Syria
ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
Pakistan’s Ambassador-designate to Ukraine Major Gen. (Retd) Nadir Khan on Friday assured that he would work to identify new business opportunities for Pakistan in Ukraine and facilitate the business community in promoting trade with Ukrainian counterparts.
He said that lots of business and investment opportunities would be avail
able in Ukraine during its reconstruction phase and stressed that the entrepreneurs and investors of Pakistan should
be ready to capture them.
He stated this while addressing the business community during his visit to the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).
Nadir Khan said that Pakistan-Ukraine bilateral trade was less than US$ 1 billion and the trade balance was highly in favour of Ukraine as Pakistan’s imports were over US$ 700 million and exports were around US$ 70-80 million.
He stressed that the business community of Pakistan should make efforts to export more products to Ukraine to improve the trade balance, and assured of
taking all possible measures to facilitate them in that regard.
ICCI President Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari said that Pakistan could export many products to Ukraine, including pharmaceuticals, surgical and medical equipment, textiles, cutlery, construction material, IT products, sports goods, leather products, fruits, and emphasised that the embassy of Pakistan in Ukraine should cooperate in promoting business linkages between the private sectors of both countries to explore new avenues of trade promotion. He said that Pakistan needed to boost exports to improve its foreign ex -
change reserves, which had tumbled down to below US$ 3 billion and urged the Commercial Sections of Pakistan in foreign countries to identify the demand of Pakistani products in their respective markets to improve exports.
He said that direct air links between Pakistan and Ukraine were important to promote B2B and P2P relations between the two countries.
Vice President of ICCI, Engineer Muhammad Azhar ul Islam Zafar said that Pakistani commercial counselors should be given annual export targets and their performance should be ana -
ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
Senior working and retired journalists, photojournalists, columnists and broadcasters were given awards to acknowledge their contributions and services at a prestigious and memorable function of “First Media Awards 2022-23” here at Rawalpindi Arts Council.
Veteran politician and artiste Senator Taj Haider, former Naib Tehsil Nazim Sajjad Khan, President of All Pakistan Overseas Youth Federation Asma Ismail,
Director of FM Radio Channel Dosti Ms.
Hoping Ping, Chairman of PAI Khurshid Barlas, social and political leader Jamshed Khan, promoter of cultural events and former bureaucrat Tayyab Khan, executive member of Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce Tariq Mughal, Secretary of Pakistan Newspaper Vendors Federation and ExFederal Minister Tikka Khan, Former President of PFUJ Nasir Zaidi, President of PFUJ Afzal Butt, National Press Club President Anwar Raza, Treasurer Nayyar Ali, senior broadcasters Ishrat Fatima and Taskeen Zafar and families of journalists par-
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has detected another 21 Covid-19 infections with no fatality during the last 24 hours, showed the statistics released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Friday morning. According to the NIH data, the death toll in the country remained the same at 30,640 whereas the number of total infections now rose to 1,576,464 after adding the fresh 21 cases. During the last 24 hours 4,526 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 0.46 percent. The number of patients in critical care stood at 10. A single-injection antiviral treatment for newly-infected Covid-19 patients reduced the risk of hospitalization by half in a large-scale clinical trial, according to a study published on Wednesday. Stanford University professor Jeffrey Glenn, coauthor of the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), said the new drug “showed profound benefits for vaccinated and unvaccinated people alike.” While the number of Americans dying daily of coronavirus has fallen to around 500, treatments for the disease remain limited. STAFF REPORT
ticipated in large numbers.
In recognition of the services and abilities of the media persons, awards were given to the journalists in the ceremony. Over two hundred media persons were given beautifully designed awards while the senior most were also given a Jinnah Caps.
A musical was also arranged for the entertainment of the audience. Young singers Rajiya Iman and Hammad Raja also performed. Nasir Aslam Raja, the moderator of the event, said that apart from acknowledging the services and abilities of journal-
ists, getting those journalists out of their homes who are confined to their homes after retirement or are a little disappointed due to illness, was the major objective of the award ceremony. He said the purpose of the ceremony was to organize an entertainment for the families of the working journalists. Journalists participating in the ceremony described the awards ceremony as memorable and historic event and said that in this era of price hike and inflation, the presence of all journalists without discrimination made the ceremony memorable.
LAHORE STAFF REPORT
Renowned playwright, poet and educationist Amjad Islam Amjad died at the age of 78, here on Friday. The literary icon of Pakistan died of a heart attack, according to his family sources, whereas his funeral has not yet been announced.
However, his burial would take place in Lahore, according to the family members. mjad Islam Amjad was among Pakistan’s best-known Urdu poets. He was immensely popular among Urdu-lovers due to his brilliant poetry and excellent screenplays. He had been a regular feature at poetry readings all over the world for the last four decades. Some of his plays, dramatised by the television channels, had won international acclaim.
Waaris’, ‘Samandar’, ‘Waqt’, ‘Dehleez’, ‘Raat’ and ‘Apne Log’ were among his most popular screenplays.
Amjad Islam Amjad was born on August 4, 1944 in Lahore. He received his MA (Urdu) degree from the Punjab University in 1967, and was appointed a teacher at the Urdu Department of MAO College Lahore from 1968 to 1975. Later on, he appointed as deputy director of Punjab Arts Council in August 1975.
In the 1990s, Amjad Islam Amjad’s services were assigned to the Department of Education and he again joined the teaching department at MAO College. He also held the responsibility as the director of Children’s Complex.
Amjad received the Graduate Award in 1975 for the TV drama ‘Khawab Jaagte Hain’.
His poetry collection ‘Barzakh’ and translations of modern Arabic poems were published under the title of ‘Aks’. His translation of poems by African poets was also published, while his book of critical essays was published under the name of ‘Tasirat’, which became very popular.
In 1976, he was awarded ‘Writers Guild Award’; in 1987, the Presidential
As a megaproject with a cumulative investment of $65 billion in 2022, the CPEC has created 192,000 jobs, 6,000MW of power supply, 809km of highway, and 886km of transmission line, which laid a solid foundation for Pakistan’s socioeconomic development.
This was stated by Rana
Ihsan Afzal khan, Coordinator to Prime Minster of Pakistan on Commerce and Industry, in an interview with China Economic Net (CEN). Citing an example of a road project under the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor, Rana said, “it used to take almost 24 hours to travel from Islamabad to Gilgit Baltistan. As soon as the
Pride of Performance Award, and in 1998, the Star of Distinction.
He received the Nagar Award as the Best Film Writer twice, while he was also honored with numerous domestic and foreign awards including the PTV Award.
Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman expressed deep sorrow over his demise and prayed to Allah Almighty to rest his soul in heaven.
The governor said that his literary contributions would be remembered for ages, adding that Amjad’s demise had deprived Pakistani literature of a great author and poet.
CPEC came in and the road network was improved with traveling time shortened by half, we saw that all of a sudden there was a boom of tourism and economic growth in Gilgit, he added.
According to the official website of the CPEC Authority, five transport projects under the CPEC have been completed, and among them, three are motorway projects, including KKH Phase II, Multan-Sukkur Motorway(M5), and Hakla – D.I Khan Motorway, adding 809 km to the road network of Pakistan and driving economic activities in the cities along the road. Meanwhile, the Orange Line Metro train and the Cross Border Optical Fiber Cable lay the foundation for the moderniza-
lyzed on the basis of those targets. He said that some commercial counselors should be taken from private sector, who could help in improving exports.
GUJRAT STAFF REPORT
Police on Friday arrested two secretaries of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid leader and former federal minister Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain in Gujrat. Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain is the younger brother of PML-Q chief and former prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. According to media reports, Kamran Butt and Hameedullah Bhatti have been taken into custody by the the Rehmania Police. Charges against the arrested remained unknown as per the initial report. The Punjab police have raided the house of PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in the past week. Earlier, Police booked close relatives of former Punjab chief minister Ch Pervaiz Elahi under anti-terrorism and telegraph charges.
ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
The government of Japan has agreed to provide new grant assistance worth 48.8 million Japanese Yen (equivalent to around 0.37 million USD/ around 101.6 million PKR) for enhancement of the antiquities conservation and exhibition capacity of Taxila Museum. A signing ceremony for the assistance was held at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Islamabad. Mr. WADA Mitsuhiro, Ambassador of Japan, Mr. KINOSHITA Yasumitsu, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Dr. Kazim Niaz, Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs, and other officials from both countries attended this ceremony. The Taxila Museum is located in the middle of ancient Gandharan Buddhist ruins in Taxila, a UNESCO World Heritage site with Gandharan arts of great historical and cultural value. The museum preserves and exhibits the precious artifacts excavated in this area. As of now, only approximately 30% of the ruins at this site has been excavated, and the excavation is still under progress.
tion of Pakistan’s transport system.Motorways are an important part of Pakistan’s “National Trade Corridor Project” and CPEC, which aims to link its three Arabian Sea ports (Karachi Port, Port Bin Qasim and Gwadar Port) to the rest of the country through its national highways and motorways network and further north with Afghanistan, Central Asia and China.
“The network of roads and Gwadar Port have been established. Now we are moving towards the Gwadar new international airport and the ML1 railway project, which will further improve logistics, the speed of trading, and people-to-people contact, ” Rana stated.
About “Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Rana said, it is an initiative of connectivity of not only infrastructure but of economy, trade, and people to people. When connectivity is improved, so does the accessibility to different economies, and trade and movement of technologies will be enhanced.
That is BRI to the world, a catalyst for economic growth and cultural exchanges,” said Rana Ihsan Afzal. “In the past five years, CPEC has improved connectivity within Pakistan and helped us control load-shedding across the country. Pakistan is looking forward for it to be mature and reach its true potential,” Rana added.
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FE D E R A L Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday assured that the federal government would enure maximum relief to people after finalizing an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Addressing a news conference at Abbottabad Press Club, Marriyum Aurangzeb,
who was flanked by Federal Minister Murtaza Javed Abbassi, said the first phase of negotiation with IMF team had been completed and shortly there would be a final agreement in this regard
She said previous Imran Khan regime had approached IMF for an agreement and the present government had no option except to negotiate for the revival of suspended programme
The Minister said PML-N supreme leader, Nawaz Sharif had successfully concluded the agreement with IMF in 2014 and not a single
rupee increase was witnessed in the prices of daily-use commodities at that time
To a question she said that PTI lawmakers had tendered resignations on their own initiative, after casting aspersion on the parliament and asked How PTI s lawmakers would now sit in the same House after defaming the parliament ” She said that policy decisions would be taken in accordance with the law and Constitution and surely not on the whims of Imran Khan, the PTI leader
She said PML supremo Nawaz Sharif had taken the initiative to construct Hazara Motorway and launched Sehat Card for poor people during 2014 while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had now inaugurated Hazara Electric Company for local people
These projects reflected the strong commitment and affection of PMLN leadership towards people of Hazara Division in particular and KP in general, she added
The Minister said the economy was ruined during the last four years of Imran Khan at the
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Federal Minister for Climate Change
Senator Sherry Rehman on Friday said the purpose of Imran Khan’s return to parliament was to interfere in the election of the caretaker government and abuse the parliament
In a flurry of tweets, the minister said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) insisted on accepting the resignation from the National Assembly for eight months and Imran Khan made loud claims that he did not recognize this Assembly and would not go back to it
“After his resignation was accepted, he was recalled to the Parliament and on his resignations’ politics he had to face
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The governor had said he never dissolved the provincial assembly in terms of Article 112 of the Constitution; therefore the provisions of Articles 105(3) and 224, which deal with the announcement of a date for election by the governor, would not apply in the case at hand Shaukat had submitted the governor s reply in a petition filed by Munir Ahmad, a lawyer Rehman’s counsel told the judge today that the governor was bound to announce the election date only if he dissolved the assembly He urged the court to reject the PTI petition PTI’s lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar submitted that it was clearly written in the Constitution that the polls should be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies
Justice Hassan asked about the criteria for the announcement of the election date
Barrister Zafar said a notification had to be issued carrying a date of the election PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said the ECP statement claiming it lacked funds to hold polls was “ridiculous” This statement is frivolous and tantamount to denting the reputation of the country at the international level Chaudhry told the court PTI’s counsel requested the court to omit the inclusion of the statement related to the unavailability of funds as part of the case record After hearing arguments from both parties, the court reserved the verdict on the petition
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Replying to the question, the finance minister said that the lifeline consumers would not be burdened through electricity tariff adjustment He added that reforms in some sectors is in the interest of the country and added that power sector is one of them whose recovery is Rs 1800 billion against the generation cost of Rs 3000 billion, he said adding that out of gap Rs 550 billion is included as subsidy in the budget and remaining Rs 650 billion has to park either in fiscal deficit or somewhere else The Finance Minister said that the government would increase BISP allocation by Rs 40 billion to Rs 400 billion for the vulnerable from existing Rs 360 billion He said that the government is implementing the Fund programme signed by the previous government in 2019 He said that debt servicing has increased from Rs 1750 billion to Rs 5 trillion in the last five years and held the previous government responsible for the current situation In replying to a question about foreign exchange reserves he said that friendly commitments from friendly countries would materialize and some payments made would be rolled over once the programme is finalized Additionally he said that the privatization process of power plants, Hewali Bahadur Shah and Balloki, is on track and the prime minister has also chaired meetings on their privatization Finance minister accused the previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf of creating credibility issues by reversing the measures which were agreed with the IMF when a vote of no confidence was moved against it
humiliation He took a U-turn to Parliament from Zaman Park after the resigns were accepted,” she said The minister said that the PTI’s nomenclature should be Tehreek UTurn” not Tehreek-e-Insaf She added that it had become his habit to take a Uturn with his very decision and statement S e n a t o r R e h m a n s a i d t h e P T I
M N A s w e r e s t i l l n o t r e t u r n i n g t o t h i s parliament for representing the people rather they were coming to save Imran Khan’s politics Imran Khan fears that their politics will end after the resignations and dissolution of assemblies They only need the support of Parliament to save their sinking politics,” Sherry Rehman added
Oxford University Press (OUP) organizer and producer of Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) held a press conference at The Arts Council Karachi to announce the salient features of the 14th edition of the KLF Lovers of literature, culture and the arts will finally get the chance to interact with their favourite literary luminaries celebrities academics and scholars
The theme of this year ’s KLF is People, Planet and Possibilities focusing on the current economic and geo-political challenges facing Pakistan the impact of climate change resulting in catastrophic floods in Pakistan and recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria and exploring possibilities through thought-provoking panel discussions and book launches
Keynote speeches will be delivered by Sherry Rehman Federal Minister for Climate Change and
Noor ul Huda Shah, an eminent author and poet at the inauguration; Shehan Karunatilaka Booker Prize winner for 2022 and veteran journalist and author Ahmed Rashid at the closing ceremony There will be over 200 speakers including 10 international speakers from eight countries (Pakistan, UK, US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Germany and France) As always, the KLF 2023 like the ones before aims to encourage thoughtprovoking discussions providing an environment of openness, pluralism, and intellectual discourse
Lahore p r
As the world gears up for technological disruption, social media is increasingly becoming vital for businesses and individuals to build their online presence and engage with their audience With ChatGPT disrupting the internet and AI-Powered tools challenging modern-day technology Social Champ a leading MarTech platform hailing from Pakistan, is now proud to enhance its powerful suite by introducing AI-powered tools to simplify social media management Champ AI Suite, an advanced suite of AI tools designed to revolutionize social media management, is integrated with Open AI s ChatGPT the Suite offers a personalized approach to social media management, making it easier for businesses and individuals to create high-quality content schedule posts and respond to comments and messages all from one centralized dashboard
The Suite includes three powerful tools to help users maximize their social media presence The AI Imaginator converts text descriptions into high-quality
images making it easier to create engaging visual content The AI Content Wizard generates meaningful content in seconds, making it easy to produce high-quality posts quickly And the advanced AI bot in the Sentiment Analysis tool offers users the ability to understand the context and sentiments of their audience, making it easier to engage and build strong relationships
"The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Social Champ is imperative as technology progresses Our AI Suite offers small to mid-sized businesses agencies, and influencers the ability to produce highquality content and designs using Predictive AI, Generative AI and Diffusion AI models" said Sameer Ahmed, CEO of Social Champ
The Suite is also intended to simplify and streamline social media administration, allowing organizations and marketers to focus on generating high-quality content connecting with their audience and meeting their marketing objectives With innovative AI technology at its heart the Champ AI Suite is the ideal solution for organizations and people looking to elevate their social media presence
centre and 10 years rule of PTI in Khyber Pakthunkhwa, adding PTI government miserably failed to construct even a single hospital in the province that exposed its poor governance She assured the members of the Abbottabad Press Club to redress their genuine problems related to furniture, digital labs and provision of equipment for studio facility
The Federal Minister said that payment to media outlets including electronic ones, would be halted in case they failed to pay salaries to staff and workers
Karachi p r
Friesland Campina Engro Pakistan Limited (FCEPL) announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2022 Building upon the growth trajectory, FCEPL delivered another record year with highest ever topline and operating profit of PKR 73 5 Billion and PKR 5 3 Billion respectively The topline grew by 41% over last year driven by volume growth mix improvement and expansion of the retail footprint despite aggressive competition and distribution challenges The Company witnessed gross profit growth of 37% while the gross margin declined by 50bps due to higher commodity prices, global geo-political environment, foreign exchange constraints Rupee devaluation and floods While the gross margin has declined, the operating margin improved by 60bps over last year due to initiatives such as cost rationalization and driving efficiencies across the value chain Profit After Tax grew by 37% despite higher interest rates and imposition of super tax S c h o o l M i l k P r o g r a M: Keeping in view the Company’s purpose of nourishing Pakistan, the Company collaborated with University of Education and University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences to gauge the health benefits of daily milk consumption on children For this purpose, School Milk Program (SMP) was conducted by providing milk to 8000+ children in 89 primary schools in Attock and Sheikhupura The program generated encouraging research-based evidence that highlights the need to develop a policy for providing milk in schools at a national level to improve the status of nutrition in Pakistan
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The committee also considered another summary of the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) and granted approval for the declaration of commerciality (DOC) Field Development Plan (FDP) and Development and Production lease (D&PL) for the period of five years w e f January 2, 2022, over Jugan Field (Latif Block) to M/s United Energy Pakistan (UEP) Beta
The ECC also considered another summary of the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) was considered and granted two years extension in renewal in Missa Keswal Development and Production Lease (D&PL) covering an area of 23 43 Sq kms in district Rawalpindi, Punjab w e f April 11, 2022 Lastly the ECC approved in principle a technical supplementary grant of Rs 450 million in favour of the Ministry of Defence
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Hence the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products has become completely unviable and unsustainable at the prices ” According to details, the exchange rate of the US dollar against Pakistani rupee back in July 2019 was 158 which went up to 239 11 by July 2022, registering a 51 34% increase
Similarly the packaging material for medicine also increased substantially as one glass bottle’s cost was Rs 5 67 in 2019 and now it is available at Rs 10 45 with 84 30% increase
And one carton was available at Rs 54 in 2019
which now costs Rs 82 after the increase of 51 85%
The prices of utilities also witnessed huge raises as the cost of one unit of electricity was Rs 14 96 in 2019 and today it is around Rs 41 33 – the increase of 176 27%
In the same vein, the cost of one unit of gas was Rs 74 03 in 2019 and today one unit is available at Rs 167 34 with an increase of 126 04%
The price of one litre diesel was Rs 127 30 in 2019 and it touched Rs 236 67 in 2022 after witnessing an increase of 85 92% The price of one litre petrol was Rs 113 20 in 2019 and it went up to Rs 234 42 in 2022 with an increase of 107 08%
The industry is also bearing the brunt of high freight cost as per carton freight cost has gone up to 77% from 2019 while the minimum wages also witnessed around 55% increase since 2019
In the present circumstances Haq said the impediment of growth in the pharmaceutical industry would deny patients and the public at large access to safe, effective potent and economical drugs
She added that the local pharmaceutical industry recognises the need of the common man to have access to such drugs and in order to facilitate them it is imperative that the industry is supported by the concerned authorities
tH E inconclusive end of talks between Pakistan and the IMF on thursday after 10 days on thursday, which included an unscheduled threeday extension has left Pakistan without a letter of intent being issued or a staff-level agreement reached, though a Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies was made there has been an understanding that further negotiations will take place virtually, but that is just a polite way of saying that the IMF has not yet agreed to release the $1 1 billion tranche of the stuck-up Extended structural Adjustment Facility that is considered crucial by friendly countries which have linked their loans to Pakistan on the IMF agreeing to resume the programme
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has not entirely given up, and in a press conference after the IMF team’s departure, announced that there would be a mini-budget for Rs 170 billion in new taxes, after which the agreement would be finalized Overall, the failure to reach an agreement left Pakistan precariously poised on the edge of default, with the state Bank of Pakistan announcing that foreign exchange reserves were down to $4 2 billion, which was barely enough to cover three weeks of imports
It also became obvious that the government was in severe need of coordination the PPP cannot really be blamed for distancing itself from this particular trainwreck, not when the PML(N)’s own Khurram Dastagir Khan the Energy Minister was nowhere to be seen or heard even when his Ministry was supposed to take the tough decisions necessary on the power tariff, which are necessary for the IMF to sign off on the package resumption Prime Minister shehbaz sharif has also restricted himself to cryptic statements the replacement of Miftah Ismail by senator Dar seems to have been the point at which it went awry for the government, with his ill-advised attempt to curtail inflation by reducing the rupee’s dollar parity through artificial means the PML(N) was at pains to point out no doubt accurately, that it was merely implementing an agreement originally reached with the PtI government, but that does not cut much ice with the electorate While the IMF’s preconditions were brutally punishing, they are dwarfed by the consequences of the default that has inched closer And that will not be any more palatable to the voters
of which is a close competitor to the amount of debt
Pakistan has to service If defence expenditure is vital for Pakistan’s physical security, debt servicing is vital for Pakistan’s economic survival Now, both factors–defence expenditure and debt servicing– are competing with each other for their survival
PA K I s tA N is in the habit of learning a simple lesson the hard way All kinds of economists were available to prognosticate an economic disaster on the way, but Pakistan dithered Pakistan s economy kept treading the unconventional path of spending more and earning less, thereby relying on some supra-natural powers to keep pouring coins in– until today
Pakistan s nemesis the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has spurred into action to deny Pakistan the perpetual divine help the IMF has brought Pakistan back to the realities of the earth to realize that without a bailout package, the country cannot run its economy A full stop for Pakistan’s economic wizards has been delivered the IMF s mission is concluding its discussion with Pakistan’s negotiating team, which has tried its best to hide from the general public the full array of discussion Much has been leaked out through social media
the IMF has turned down Pakistan’s plan of restricting its budget in its own way there is no way but the IMF way the IMF has put forth at least nine demands, as pre-conditions, for Pakistan to accept before it agrees to dole out a $1 3 billion tranche– to help Pakistan service its debt
First: privatize certain state-run entities incurring incessant losses this demand is not infeasible Hyphenated by martial laws, every stint of civilian political government has tried to woo voters by employing more people than required in certain staterun organizations and bodies such as PIA, Pakistan Railways, Karachi steel Mills, among others One of the consequences is bankruptcy, while another is underperformance Pakistan has reached the point where it has to sell its assets to fill the gap between expenditures and earnings
Second, reduce the defence budget by 10 percent to 20 percent per annum, to at least one third of the current spending the Pakistanis were told that, after attaining nuclear capability, there would be little need for a large army Most nuclear capable countries, such as the uK and France, trimmed the size of their armies to make them small but smart armies to spare funds for the utility of the civilian sector
However, after 1998, Pakistan forgot this pledge and decided to retain an oversized army the budget
Nevertheless, it is still a mystery how could the family of Pakistan s former Chief of Army staff (COAs), Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, makde a fortune of Rs 12 7 billion in six years (from 2016 to 2022), as per the leaked tax record vented by Fact Focus by an investigative journalist, Ahmad Noorani this kind of news does not shy away from transcending geographical boundaries and landing on the table of donor agencies, including the IMF Pakistan is now paying the price of all such mysteries which helped army generals–who belong to the salaried class–amass wealth in millions and billions
Third, declare assets of government officers, both civil and military Civil officers, especially those who work closely with political governments are prone to indulging in dishonesty, but the military officers who happen to work along frontiers, which are prone to smuggling are not clean either smuggled goods from Afghanistan and Iran cannot reach urban cities such as Lahore and Islamabad without the collusion of the security forces deployed along the borders the scourge of corruption has marred the face of civil and military alike No exception Both are culpable
Nevertheless, the IMF’s condition has implied the assets of the judges must be revealed Certainly, if the judiciary enjoys the facility of independence in the federal structure, the facility does not empower the judiciary to stay immune from financial accountability Interestingly this demand of the IMF militates against the status of sacred cows granted to both the military and the judiciary Regrettably, the IMF is dismissive of any power that could enjoy monopoly on national affairs
Fourth, counter the circular debt of Rs 900 billion this is a staggering amount unfortunately Pakistan is bereft of financial sources to pay even the circular debt– not to say the foreign debt Pakistan’s current COAs Gen Asim Munir is moving from pillar to post to secure some financial relief for Pakistan
He may not succeed because, as expressed through former us President Donald trump on 1 January 2018, the usa was annoyed with Pakistan for its noncompliance in the war on terror the current us administration would also not help Pakistan out
Fifth, increase tariff (levy) on gas and electricity utilized for energy purposes the Pakistanis tend to conspicuous consumption they have not developed the habit of living and spending economically: frugally and thriftily Instead, wastefulness is part of national life Now they have to learn to be frugal and thrifty to the extent of being parsimonious
Sixth, increase tHE General sales tax to 17 PERCENt on all petroleum products such as petrol diesel and kerosene oil Petroleum products permit the running of day-to-day business Money changes hands and so the economy moves on With the rise
short-lived peace in the country
A f t e r Ju n e , Pa k i s t a n w i l l h av e t o n e g o t i a t e a g a i n w i t h t h e I M F fo r t h e f u t u r e . O n e t h i n g i s c e r t a i n , t h e I M F s h a ck l e i s p e r p e t u a l . I n s h o r t , t h e I M F i s s ay i n g t h a t Pa k i s t a n s h o u l d r e s t r u c t u r e i t s e c o n o my t o m e e t t h e n e e d o f e q u i t a b l e a n d j u s t d i s t r i bu t i o n o f f i n a n c e s a c ro s s a l l s e c t o rs o f s o c i e t y
in the price of petroleum products the price of all commodities is bound to soar Hyperinflation may induce hypo-consumption
Seventh introduce amendments in audit and accountability laws including the Acts governing the Federal Investigating Agency and National Accountability Bureau Both have to work in coordination to discourage corruption
Eighth, introduce anti-money laundering laws in line with the conditions imposed by the Financial Action task Force this is despite the fact that, from 2018 to 2022, Pakistan undertook numerous steps to satisfy the FAtF
Ninth, impose taxes worth Rs 300 billion immediately through a mini-budget
After June Pakistan will have to negotiate again with the IMF for the future One thing is certain, the IMF shackle is perpetual In short, the IMF is saying that Pakistan should restructure its economy to meet the need of equitable and just distribution of finances across all sectors of society
The writer can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo com
Ju s t when we thought peace had been achieved and the head of extremism cut off, the tehrik taliban Pakistan (ttP) struck back with their merciless attack on a mosque in Peshawar With the suicide attack in the house of God, that led to the killing of more than a hundred innocent namazis, the tPP announced its resurgence in the country the ttP has remained one of the major threats to the national security of Pakistan the militant group was established in 2007 with the sole aim of armed struggle against Pakistan’s security forces and establishing an Islamic political system in Pakistan with their conservative interpretation of shariah the ttP s ideology is inspired by the taliban and Al Qaeda, whereas the group is also perceived as an extension of both It has long enjoyed local support in the frontier regions of Pakistan However, following military operations in 2014, ttP militants were eliminated from the erstwhile FAtA the security forces were successful in restoring peace and order in the tribal region, while the political parties paved the way for peace and prosperity through the merger of FAtA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
However, the resurgence of ttP is posing a threat to the
the last year or so has witnessed a significant increase in terrorist attacks by ttP militants It is believed that ttP fighters have been emboldened by the victory of the taliban in Afghanistan and by the withdrawal of the usA During the first year of the taliban rule in Kabul, Pakistan witnessed a 51 percent increase in terrorist activities Following the failure of the ceasefire in the spring of 2022, the ttP launched “Al-Badr”, a military offensive against Pakistan ttP claims that its fighters have carried out 367 terrorist attacks in 2022 According to the report by PIPs, ttP carried out most of the terrorist attacks in the year 2022 In the current phase of insurgency ttP conducted one of the major attacks last December when members of the group took hostages inside the Counter terrorism Department of Bannu
With the rise of the taliban government in Afghanistan, it was propagated that Pakistan would be the main benefactor of the taliban government On the contrary Pakistan and Afghanistan are on the brink of a possible major crisis due to the issue of the ttP Afghan taliban and the ttP have strong ideological connections due to which the militant group finds shelter in Afghanistan since the taliban rule in Kabul the ttP s attacks in Pakistan have increased, cross-border tensions
along Durand Line have escalated, and the movement of banned outfits along the Pak-Afghan border has intensified After the us invasion of Afghanistan, the ttP provided shelter and operational bases to the Afghan taliban in the tribal region; in return the ttP expects the same from the Afghan taliban
In the Doha agreement, the Afghan taliban assured Pakistan that the ttP would not be allowed to conduct terrorist activities against Pakistan from the soil of Afghanistan On the contrary, the ttP s presence in Afghanistan has increased significantly during the taliban government the Afghan taliban also offered to mediate talks between the ttP and Pakistan as it believes that dialogue is the only way to resolve the ttP problem
Although a militar y operation against TTP is inescapable , it may lead to more burden on the already shaky economy of the countr y. Pakistan needs to gather international suppor t against the TTP and put pressure on the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to act against the sanctuaries of the TTP inside Afghanistan
According to reports, three rounds of talks were held leading to the ceasefire However, the ttP ended the ceasefire in November 2022 urging its fighters to wage attacks across Pakistan
In the wake of the taliban regime established in Afghanistan, the ttP remains a major hurdle between Islamabad and Kabul As the ttP intensified its attacks against Pakistan, the two neighbouring countries find each other in a diplomatic bind the re-emergence of the ttP is worrisome for both Pakistan and Afghanistan Islamabad and Kabul cannot have independent and friendly relations as long as there is a looming threat from the ttP therefore the taliban must ensure the elimination of ttP strongholds from inside Afghanistan and curb any support for the ttP from within their own ranks the sudden rise of the ttP is detrimental to Pakistan’s security and economy Pakistan’s economy is already facing challenges with foreign reserves at their lowest the worsening law and order situation in the country is only going to exacerbate the economic condition of the country Although a military operation against ttP is inescapable, it may lead to more burden on the already shaky economy of the country Pakistan needs to gather international support against the ttP and put pressure on the taliban regime in Afghanistan to act against the sanctuaries of the ttP inside Afghanistan It must not be allowed to recapture strongholds in Pakistan and sabotage peace Pakistan’s security and political leadership needs to unite on a single-page agenda to deal with the threat of ttP and end this battle once and for all
The writer is a Research Officer at the Balochistan Think Tank Network (BTTN) Quetta
Th e re n ow s e e m s o n l y t h e u n kn ow n to s ave t h e co u nt r y f ro m d e f a u l t
TH E political climate during the Zia regime was characterized by authoritarianism military dictatorship and suppression of civil liberties the regime sought to establish strict moral and social codes based on Islamic principles Religion played a central role in the policies of the Zia regime, as it sought to establish itself as the defender of Islam and promote Islamic values the introduction of blasphemy laws was a part of this broader agenda the blasphemy laws were introduced in the 1980s, and they made it a criminal offence to insult or criticize Islam or its prophet the impact of these laws was immediate as they were used to silence political opponents, religious minorities, and other dissenting voices the Zia regime sought to manipulate religious sentiment for political gain, and the blasphemy laws were used to tap into the deep religious convictions of the population this helped the regime to cultivate a strong support base and maintain its hold on power the blasphemy laws were also used to enforce strict moral and social codes, as the Zia regime sought to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic values on the population this included restrictions on religious minorities, women’s rights, and personal freedoms the blasphemy laws have contributed to the deterioration of Pakistan s social fabric and stability, as they have been used to further divide the country along religious lines and undermine the rule of law the laws have created a culture of fear and intolerance where people are afraid to express their opinions or beliefs for fear of being accused of blasphemy this has had a chilling effect on free speech and has led to the suppression of dissent and creativity, negatively impacting the country s cultural, social, and intellectual growth Blasphemy laws have been used as a tool to incite violence against individuals accused of blasphemy, often resulting in mob violence and lynching In many cases false allegations of blasphemy have been made against individuals for personal or political reasons, leading to mob violence and vigilante justice
the cases of Asia Bibi and Mashal Khan are two prominent examples of the impact of blasphemy laws in Pakistan and the devastating consequences they can have on individuals and their families
Both Asia Bibi and Mashal Khan s lives have been forever impacted by the blasphemy
S e n d y o u r l e t t e r s t o : L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r, Pakistan today, 4 - S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h L a h o re P a k i s t a n E - m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d t o Pakistan today e x c l u s i v e l y
…
PA N O Aqil, a city between sukkur and Ghotki in sindh, is facing a major solid waste management crisis As is the case with most civic issues, the matter of growing municipal waste is not specific to any city or area It is a challenge on the national scale Pano Aqil is part of a region that is home to many political veterans and has one of the largest cantonments in the country, but that means nothing when it comes to sorting out civic issues
With the population of the city growing rapidly, the amount of waste generated is also increasing the city’s existing municipal infrastructure is unable to cope with it the most pressing issue is that of improper waste disposal, which is made worse by lack of public awareness and sense of civic responsibility that being so, garbage dumps piling up on roadsides are a common sight in the city
Ironically, in the vicinity of the residential area right beside a National Highway Authority (NHA) signboard that reads, “throwing garbage within the jurisdiction is strictly prohibited , tonnes of garbage and solid waste are found round the clock round the year making one wonder which came first; the signboard or the garbage! the site, which is filled with municipal waste, has been growing steadily both horizontally and vertically over the last few years and is now a major eyesore in the area
As a law student, I tried to put my legal knowledge to good use to find out if the garbage dump in question is actually a landfill site or if it is the result of municipal negligence Besides if there are any other designated landfill sites in the city, their capacity, the amount of garbage collected from the city, and other related data to this end, I relied on Article 19-A of the Constitution and the sindh transparency and Right to Information Act, 2016, as well as section 151 of the sindh Local Government Act, 2013, which outlines that every citizen shall have the right to information about any office of the district government taluka tehsil municipal administration and union administration”
laws in Pakistan Despite being acquitted in Asia
Bibi’s case and being exonerated posthumously in Mashal Khan’s case, their lives have been ruined by the accusations and the consequences that followed Bibi was forced to flee the country and live in hiding, while Khan lost his life in a brutal and senseless act of violence these cases serve as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by blasphemy laws and the impact they can have on individuals and their families the case of Junaid Hafeez, a former professor at Bahauddin Zakariya university (BZu) in Pakistan, is another example of the impact of blasphemy laws in the country In 2013, Hafeez was accused of blasphemy after he allegedly made comments critical of the Prophet Muhammad (PBuH) on social media He was arrested and faced numerous death threats while in jail
Despite being held in protective custody, Hafeez’s life was still in danger, and he was eventually moved to an undisclosed location for his own safety the blasphemy laws have encouraged intolerance and discrimination in the country the laws have been used to target religious minorities, including Christians Hindus, Ahmadis, and others, leading to a decline in religious freedom and human rights the laws have also contributed to a culture of fear and mistrust, where individuals are afraid to express their beliefs or opinions for fear of being accused of blasphemy
Blasphemy laws exist in many countries around the world but their interpretation and enforcement can vary widely In Pakistan blasphemy laws are particularly strict and have been used to justify violence and discrimination against religious minorities In contrast, other countries have managed to balance the protection of religious beliefs with the protection of individual rights and freedom of expression
Many European countries have abolished blasphemy laws or have significantly reduced their scope For example, in Denmark, blasphemy laws were abolished in 2017, while in Ireland, the blasphemy laws were effectively made unenforceable in 2010 In these countries, the protection of individual rights and freedom of expression is given greater weight than the protection of religious beliefs
In Australia, blasphemy laws have been limited to specific provisions in some states, which criminalize hate speech and vilification these laws have been designed to balance the protection of religious beliefs with the protection of in-
dividual rights and freedom of expression For example, the Racial and Religious tolerance Act 2001 in Victoria, Australia, prohibits religious vilification but also provides protections for freedom of expression
In Pakistan, the accusations of blasphemy are overwhelmingly made by men, not women this is an interesting and telling observation that sheds light on the role of gender in this highly charged and emotional issue While the laws themselves are gender-neutral, the reality is that women are less likely to be involved in the enforcement of these laws, and more likely to be the victims of false accusations One could say that the reason women are less likely to be involved in blasphemy accusations is because they are more peaceful and nonviolent by nature While men are more prone to taking the law into their own hands and resorting to violence women are more likely to use dialogue and understanding to resolve conflicts
In a country where blasphemy laws are often used to justify mob violence and vigilante justice, this peaceful approach taken by women can be seen as a positive aspect of society
Women in Pakistan have shown that they are capable of using their influence to promote peace and tolerance For example in the case of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who was falsely accused of blasphemy, a large number of women’s rights activists spoke out in her defence and advocated for her release this showed that women can play a crucial role in advocating for human rights and challenging the misuse of blasphemy laws in the country However despite this positive role played by women, it s important to acknowledge that the underlying issue of blasphemy laws still remains and that these laws continue to be used to justify violence and discrimination against religious minorities, regardless of the gender of the accused the fact that women in Pakistan are less likely to be involved in blasphemy accusations is a positive aspect of society, but it also highlights the need for a larger conversation about the misuse of blasphemy laws in the country By working together to promote peace and tolerance, and by advocating for human rights and challenging the misuse of these laws, women and men alike can help to create a more just and equitable society for all
The writer is a freelance columnist and he can be reached at usama maverick@gmail com
to my surprise, those at the municipal office had no knowledge of such data or if it even existed thus all my attempts in this regard proved futile this made me realise that granting rights on paper is not enough; they must be available on the ground and in practice People living in the vicinity of the landfill face a wide range of problems from physical to psychological Moreover, the hazardous material has been infested with pests, including rats, and flies that are spreading infectious diseases in the area the foul smell emanating from the landfill is also having a major impact on the local environment and the quality of life of the local people swift action is essential to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the area residents the contaminated site must be thoroughly cleaned and maintained If the site is designated as a landfill, it must be relocated to a suitable area in accordance with relevant guidelines and protocols the authorities concerned need to pay attention to the harm posed by the garbage dump
ABDUL QADEER CHACHAR PANO AQILt H E slogan ‘I can’t breathe’, associated with Eric Garner, an unarmed man who was killed by a chokehold executed by a New York City police officer, never felt more relevant to me until I landed recently in my hometown, Lahore, in its infamous ‘fifth season’, marked with poisonous smog
If you are visiting Lahore after a couple of years, nothing refreshing is waiting the city will speak volumes about how political anarchy mars the quality of life in an eminent, historic and powerful city where people are deprived of their most fundamental right to life; to breathe staying longer in the city will mean endless visits to hospitals, loads of medicinal intake and sporadic outbursts of vomits due to the hazardous air quality, which is 40 times worse than the standards set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Yes, 40 times Prolonged or heavy exposure to hazardous air causes varied health complications including asthma lung damage, bronchial infections, strokes, heart problems, and shortened life expectancy the problem is even more grave for those who go out for work or exercise using bicycles such people suffer from chest infection which renders them unable to work for many days the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution estimated in 2019 that 128 000 Pakistanis die annually due to illnesses related to air pollution
Decision-makers, on the other hand, have been sluggish, to say the very least; if not incompetent Many officials and politicians continue blaming stubble burning by Indian farmers as the main cause for Lahore’s smog problem Blaming India may be a tit-for-tat response to similar Indian accusations, but it is not an accurate assessment the smog in Lahore according to a member of the united Nations’ International Resource Panel, is caused by a confluence of metrological and anthropogenic factors the long list includes vehicular emissions, industrial pollution fossil fuel-fired power plants the burning of waste materials, and coal being burned by thousands of brick kilns scattered across the province these are all part of the problem
A Food and Agriculture Organisation s (FAO) source appropriation study in 2020 singled out power producers, industry and the transport sector as the main culprits the government must take steps on a war footing to combat alarmingly high level of air pollution in Lahore there is a dire need to prioritise bicyclists and pedestrians, who made up almost 45 per cent of traffic in Lahore back in 2015 there is a clear absence of bicycle lanes or even sidewalks And while Lahore has invested in expensive Metro bus and rail projects, the feeder transit system is in a shambles
Lahore, along with the rest of Pakistan, desperately needs to shift away from its reliance on fossil fuel Doing so would help clean up the transport and energy production sectors simultaneously
Decision-makers in Lahore should focus on Band-Aid solutions as well For instance on particularly pollution-heavy days offices and schools should be closed to lessen human exposure and reduce traffic emissions Punitive measures should also target farmers who burn stubble and clamp down on brick kilns Experts suggest that Lahore needs a multipronged approach to contend with its environmental woes, including air pollution, which in turn necessitates attention to improved urban planning as well Regularising urban slums that lack any form of waste management could help address problematic practices, such as trash burning More efficient urban management can reduce energy consumption and vehicular emissions Instead there is a profusion of encroachment into surrounding agricultural areas to create gated communities without much thought to the enormous environmental stress that is caused by unplanned urban sprawl Lahore’s 13 million residents find themselves choked, suffocated, poisoned by the hazardous smoke, with everyone yelling, “I can’t breathe” the administration needs to listen before it gets too late Or is it already too late?
MUHAMMAD ALI FALAK LAHORE
aN area 12 times the size of Belgium was hit by 20 earthquakes in two days The Turkey-Syria earthquake, which measured 7 8 on the richter scale, released an explosion the equivalent of 7 5m tons of TNT This was soon followed by a 6 7 magnitude aftershock in central and eastern Turkey, and a 5 6 magnitude aftershock on the Turkey-Syria border There have been nearly 800 aftershocks recorded
Up to 21 million people have been affected At the time of writing - and these figures are changing by the hour - 17 674 in Turkey and 3 377 in Syria have lost their lives, with 72,879 injured over 100,000 in Turkey and 300,000 in Syria have been displaced Literally hundreds of multi-storey buildings, some 12 storeys high, have been reduced to heaps of rubble Whole districts are devastated Trunk roads and rail lines between major cities have been ripped up or are choked with aid traffic
Transpose a map of this earthquake on Britain, and the fault itself stretches diagonally from the Severn in the west to the Humber Estuary in the north Much of England including the cities of Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield would have been subjected to a level-seven shaking
These figures sketch merely the contours of this disaster The details will come in the days and weeks ahead
LOSS OF PUBLIC ATTENTION: Dozens of countries have sent search and rescue teams But just three days into this disaster, at precisely the point when a search-and-rescue operation turns into a grim, slow recovery of bodies the tragedy is slipping from the headlines in Europe, Turkey’s immediate neighbour We know what follows this loss of public attention
This week the earthquake was displaced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Britain and Brussels The plucky khaki-clad Zelensky, who has morphed in political consciousness into a cross between Churchill Boudica and Joan of Arc, has become a hot political ticket, as each parliament competes for his presence
The fact that he visited Britain first in preference to France and Brussels was noted as a source of national pride So, too, was the £2 3bn ($2 7bn) in military aid that Britain gave Ukraine last year a sum that Prime Minister rishi Sunak assured us will be matched this year It makes Britain the second-largest military donor to Ukraine
This is the sort of money available in Britain when the political will exists Compare it to the sum the UK government said will be spent on the Turkey-Syria earthquake
When the 15 charities that make up the Disasters Emergency Committee launched their appeal on Thursday to provide rescue and medical aid, shelter, blankets, and food, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced the UK
WHILE NO SIGNIFIC ANT SUMS HAVE YET BEEN R AISED IN BRITAIN, FR ANCE OR GERMANY, THE SAUDIS HAVE COLLEC TED MORE THAN $51M FOUR DAY S AFTER THE SAHEM PL ATFORM WAS L AUNCHED FOR THE RELIEF OF SYRIA AND TURKE Y. IT ’S PEANUTS FOR ANY MEMBER OF THE SAUDI R OYAL FAMILY, BUT A SIGNIFIC ANT DONATION FR OM SAUDIS THEMSELVES. IT PUTS BRITAIN TO SHAME
would match up to £5m ($6m) of the public donations
Cleverly said: “When disasters like these terrible earthquakes strike, we know the British people want to help They have shown time and again that few are more generous and compassionate ” £2 3bn in arms to Ukraine and £5m in disaster relief for 23 million people? Is this for real? Apparently yes
TRANSCENDING POLITICS: There are two ways in which this can be measured on the richter scale of man s inhumanity to man on a humanitarian level disasters on a global scale require a global response which transcend politics - or the degree to which Turkish President recep Tayyib Erdogan or Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are treated as pariahs in gatherings of the great and the good like Davos Within a day of the disaster, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published a cartoon showing a damaged building, a toppled car and a heap of rubble with the caption: “No need to send tanks ”
This was more than just a one-off cartoon in poor taste and Charlie Hebdo is not just any satirical magazine
In 2015, Hebdo became the epicentre of what was described as the defence of democracy and free speech against attacks by fanatics and terrorists - much as Ukraine is presented today Its offices in Paris were attacked by Said and Cherif Kouachi claiming to represent the militant group al-Qaeda, killing 12 people and injuring 11 others
The attack prompted mass demonstrations The chant “Je Suis Charlie went viral Charlie Hebdo became a symbol of free speech under attack from barbarians with beards
To achieve these ends, Charlie Hebdo’s unvarnished racism was brushed under the carpet then as it continues to be today Few media organisations referred to its latest excrescence, although social media was not slow to react
AN ERROR OF MAJOR PROPORTIONS: Much has been written about the slow demise of the US and Europe on the world stage marched off by a rag-tag armies of the Taliban in Kabul or suicidal frontal assaults of Wagner ’s convict army in the Donbas
But the EU s reluctance to be the first responder in this crisis is entirely voluntary It is an unforced error of major proportions This is a chance to show moral leadership and humanity to millions of people It is a chance to speak directly to them not their governments or presidents manoeuvring for re-election This is a chance to show the world that the West can rebuild as well as destroy But this is the last sentiment in the minds of Fortress Europe today Fortress Europe ringfences its wealth Its high electrified fences and drone patrols are there to keep the heathen hordes out What stronger stimulus could you give to millions of people to look elsewhere for leadership?
While no significant sums have yet been raised in Britain France or Germany the Saudis have collected more than $51m four days after the Sahem platform was launched for the relief of Syria and Turkey It s peanuts for any member of the Saudi royal family but a significant donation from Saudis themselves It puts Britain to shame However, let’s abandon morality or any sense of common humanity Let us follow the zeitgeist of self interest
ASTONISHING FIGURES: Before the war in Ukraine the Middle East accounted for 25 percent of asylum seekers in Europe in 2021, and of those the greatest numbers came from Syria, Iraq, and Turkey in fifth place Afghanistan was second
The war in Syria turned Turkey into the world’s largest refugee hosting country, sheltering over 3 6m Syrians refugees and 320 000 persons of concern from other nationalities It spent $5 59bn in humanitarian aid last year, accounting for 0 86 percent of its GDP, which makes it a world leader according to a report by Development Initiatives In terms of money spent, Turkey is second only to the United States These are astonishing figures for a government so often vilified in the West
But this effort is not set in stone Turkish far-right parties, like the Victory party, run campaigns on the prowl, raising funds for bus tickets to deport Syrians Turning for someone to blame for the slow relief efforts, some Turks are turning on refugees in the wake of this disaster
It s absolutely in Europe s interest to ensure that Turkey can cope and continue its policy of resettling refugees in northern Syria But Syria, too, once the focus of so much covert western arming, has been abandoned Syrian refugees were dying of cold a long time before the earthquake struck Aleppo and Idlib
A third of all casualties are thought to be in Hatay province just across from the Syrian border The destruction in Hatay has had an immediate effect on the relief to Syria that passes through the Bab al-Hawa crossing, the umbilical cord of aid for millions of people in Syria’s northwest who live in areas outside Syrian government control Syrians under government control are not faring better The state is shattered by war and like Iran in the early days of the Islamic republic, it is crippled by sanctions
A BIBLICAL FATE: Each year the chasm between the right thing to do, and the things we end up doing grows wider Each year the words uttered by European leaders become more grotesque
Last october the EU’s top foreign policy official Josep Borrell addressed the inauguration of the European Diplomatic Academy in Brussels on 13 october This is what he said, according to the official transcript: “Europe is a garden We have built a garden Everything works It is the best combination of political freedom economic prosperity and social cohesion that humankind has been able to build - the three things together Most of the rest of the world is a jungle and the jungle could invade the garden The gardeners have to go to the jungle Europeans have to be much more engaged with the rest of the world otherwise the rest of the world will invade us by different ways and means ” If ever there was an opportunity to put a stop to this primitive gibberish, it is now Will Europe seize this moment? I doubt it for I have long since abandoned belief in the concept of progress And Borrell’s garden of Eden fully deserves its biblical fate
David Hearst is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye
uS sent ‘weather’ balloons to spy on china and the Soviet union in the 1950s
WHEN C AUGHT, THE EISENHOWER ADMINISTR ATION LIED THR OUGH ITS TEETH ABOUT IT
is making today about what we were up to
The balloons the U S used were oddly enough manufactured by General Mills The General Mills website describes its mission as making food the world loves ” and it’s certainly best known today for its products like Cheerios, Chex, and Lucky Charms But the company bragged in a 2011 blog post that it hired the ‘daddy’ of the balloon industry ” thanks to the Aeronautical research Division it established in 1946 (Another division of General Mills made the Alvin submarine that explored the Titanic )
Intercept
J o n S c h wa r z
fo r the past week, the large Chinese balloon floating over the United States has consumed the attention of the American media Before the balloon was shot down by the U S on Saturday, China’s government stated it was a “civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological For its part, the Pentagon says it has “very high confidence” that the balloon was conducting surveillance
It s understandable that the U S government would be suspicious, given that America sent spy balloons exactly the same size over both the Soviet Union and China in 1956 and made exactly the same claims as China
The General Mills balloons were supplied to the U S Air Force for Project Genetrix, a secret program to garner electronic and photographic information on communist countries The Defense Department’s National reconnaissance office published a book in 2012 titled HEXAGoN (KH-9) Mapping Camera Program and Evolution” that covers Genetrix
The balloons were about 20 stories tall, or around 200 feet CBS reported that the Chinese balloon is believed to have been up to 200 feet tall” in a story breathlessly headlined “Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon Shot Down over Atlantic Was Taller Than the Statue of Liberty ” Perhaps the Chinese chose this size balloon because of the demands of balloon physics, or perhaps they did it to taunt our freedom The cover story to account for the existence of the large balloons stated that the project was part of a worldwide meteorological survey to secure vital high altitude scientific data in conjunction with the International Geophysical Year
The International Geophysical Year was envisioned, as President Dwight Eisenhower stated at the time as a demonstration of the “ability of peoples of all nations to
work together harmoniously for the common good At first this seems distastefully cynical But maybe it was an expression of Eisenhower believing that American spying was the common good and everyone was pulling together to do their part the spies and the spied-upon “HEXAGoN” records that the first of 512 balloons was launched on January 10, 1956 But the Soviet Union quickly noticed what was happening and the program was suspended less than a month later on February 6 after the Politburo’s protests of the 512 balloons only 54 were recovered But the Nro book reports that these 54 balloons provided photographs of 1 1 million square miles of “the Sino-Soviet area This was quite a lot almost one-tenth of the area of the Soviet Union and China combined
The film was analyzed by a photo interpreter team from the U S Army and Navy the CIA the royal Air Force, the Strategic Air Command, and the Far East Air Force “HEXAGoN” optimistically states that “there were many benefits derived from this product New targets were located, and confirmation of intelligence on previously known targets was possible ”
At a February 7 1956 news conference Eisenhower ’s Secretary of State John Foster Dulles engaged in lengthy, hilarious prevarication about the spy balloons
First there was straightforward lying The information that is being sought,” he said, “is not essentially or even at all military information ”
What was the U S goal with all these balloons then?
Why, to help all humanity: “They are gathering an extraordinary amount of new and useful information about these jet stream air currents [It] is a part of a project which has worldwide significance ”
Asked if the United States feels that they have the right to send these balloons at a certain height anywhere around the globe,” Dulles answered, “Yes, I think that we feel that way He did then generously allow that the U S would “try” to avoid the territory of other countries that didn’t like it This generosity apparently didn’t extend to American- (and British-) manned U-2 flights over the Soviet Union which began several years later David Haight, an archivist at the Eisenhower Presidential Library, produced a 2009 article about this general issue titled Ike and His Spies in the Sky In it he writes, based on records of White House deliberations, “Eisenhower authorized aerial intelligence collecting programs in order to better assess the military capability of the Soviet Union, China, and other Communist bloc nations to launch a surprise attack on the United States ”
In other words the U S saw its balloon and U-2 programs as being essentially defensive
If indeed the Chinese balloon turns out to have been carrying out surveillance it s plausible that they saw its incursion over the U S in the same way Internal historical records show that countries almost always see their actions even the most aggressive as an understandable attempt to protect themselves against a dangerous foe
But what the U S did in 1956 didn’t feel like that to the Soviet Union and China so China shouldn t be surprised that it doesn’t feel like that to some in the U S today
In any case, the lesson of the current balloon excitement is unclear It may be that China is 70 years behind the U S in either weather or spying technology, or both But there are some who believe we are on the brink of a Balloon revolution and this is merely the first shot in what sounds like something fun but wouldn’t be: a Balloon War
islamabad N e w S d e S k
aC C O R D I N G to former finance minister Miftah Ismail, Pakistan will likely have to enter another International Monetary Fund (IMF) program after the current one ends in June due to a significant decline in foreign excdhange reserves He stated that at the end of the current program in June, the country will only
Combination RDI, regenerative agri tech promise preser vation of water resources in countr y: PARC chief
I s l a m a b a d: The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) teamed up with Eva-Anna farms and Responsive Drip Irrigation (RDI) from the United States to host a program called Responsive Drip Irrigation in Pakistan: A Transformative Water Management Solution to Improve Livelihoods and Climate Resilience The event took place at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad on Friday The event was attended by the Chairman PARC, Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali as Chief guest of the event along with water resources experts, senior scientists & members from NARC, RDI, Eva-Anna farms, INGOs, NDMA, and ICARDA According to Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali, the Chairman of PARC, combining Regenerative Agriculture with Responsive Drip Irrigation can reduce the waste of water and fertilizer while also preserving the soil's nutritional health He expressed that Responsive Drip Irrigation has the potential to transform agriculture in water-scarce regions of Pakistan like Thar, Cholistan and Thal deserts The Chairman emphasized the significance of youth involvement in the agriculture sector and guaranteed that PARC is always ready to offer technical support for agricultural advancements He added that Responsive Drip Irrigation has been successfully tested at NARC and at farmers' fields Dr Bashir Ahmad, the Director of CEWRI at NARC, demonstrated how the system works and spoke about the advantages of watersmart agriculture p r
have a meager $10 billion in reserves, which would only be enough to cover a month and a half of imports In light of this situation, the country will be forced to seek loans from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, which will require it to enter another IMF program I s m a i l e m p h a s i z e d t h a t d u e t o the high amount of debt repayment t h a t t h e c o u n t r y h a s t o m a k e , e s t imated at $20 billion in the near fut u r e , i t w i l l l i k e l y h a v e t o e n t e r
back-to-back IMF programs
He described the IMF as a lender of last resort likening it to being admitted to the intensive care unit The former finance minister stated that the country must start living within its means and adopting a sustainable economic policy in order to avoid relying on IMF programs
He emphasized that if the country continues on its current path of alternating between boom-bust cycles it will have to keep going to the IMF as
a lender of last resort
To avoid this scenario, the country must start making responsible financial decisions and pursuing rational and intelligent economic policies In conclusion Ismail stated that the country must take steps towards financial stability and independence to break the cycle of relying on IMF programs
To read the full article visit www dawn com
islamabad
N e w S d e S k
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) saw a surge in new company registrations in January 2023, with a total of 2,409 new companies added to the existing 185,173 During the month a new record was set with 174 companies being registered in a single day The paid-up capital of newly incorporated companies was reported at Rs 2 7 billion
Of the new companies, 57% were registered as private limited companies, 39% as single-member companies and 3% as unlisted public companies not-for-profit associations, trade organizations, and limited liability partnerships The vast majority of
the companies were registered online, with 101 foreign users also registering from overseas
The real estate development and construction industry was the leading sector for new company formations with 407 companies followed by information technology (334), trading (321), services (250) and tourism (99)
Other industries with significant new company registrations included food and beverage education, e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, textile, marketing & advertisement engineering healthcare and chemical production
Foreign investment was reported in 62 new companies with investors from countries including Afghanistan, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, South Korea, the
Writing for The Express Tribune, Salman Siddiqui reports that Pakistan's banking ombudsman has stated that justice to consumers is being delayed in one out of every five cases due to banks not responding to complaints
The highest number of complaints are against the top five banks in the country, with 85% of complaints being lodged against the top 10-11 banks
over the past five years The ombudsman has resolved disputes worth almost Rs 1 billion in the past year and amicably resolved 62% of the 35,265 complaints received in 2022
The ombudsman explained that banks often do not share basic requirements such as evidence, records, and documents, which leads to a delay in resolving complaints Some banks even deliberately delay sharing information, giving the impression that they are trying to hide the truth
Examples of complaints dealt with by the om-
islamabad p r
Pakistan Medical & Dental Council has started working formally the day Bill was inked by the President of Pakistan Taking up all the relevant matters and affairs PMDC started its registration Portal as a priority after making all necessary arrangements of transition from PMC to PMDC
As promised by Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel, PM&DC has started issuing permanent Registration Certificates from 8th February 2023 to doctors who graduated from Pakistani Medical and Dental colleges, without the requirement of National Licensing Examination (NLE) As per previous law of PMC the local graduates had to appear and pass the NLE exam before getting their permanent registration Pre-
viously as per PMC Law, NLE was undertaken from the doctors graduated from Pakistan s approved medical and dental colleges which was highly criticized by doctors community throughout the Country In this regard several protests and demonstrations were held by different doctor forums and organizations at different levels and PTI Govt was appealed repeatedly to withdraw the said black law
In this regard an interactive PM&DC online portal has been launched to facilitate doctors throughout the country On the first day 1500 registration certificates have been issued PM&DC has also started issuing good standing certificates and renewals PM&DC welcomes and informs all the local graduates, which are approximately more than 10,000 waiting for their permanent registration to apply online for registration
bushra bashir
Shameful incident of a girl being beaten by her fellow students at a so called haut monde schoolin Lahore remained a top story in the news andits videos a major trend on social media in the last couple of weeks Just a few days later, a similar incident in other aristocratic schools in DefenceLahore erased the images of the Scarsdale School episode
As per instagram, a group of boys belonging to superlative elite-class from ISL Aitchison and Learning Alliance raided LGS Phase V and demanded to handover a boy from that school due to a conflict which they had earlier in a café near their schools They tried to assault the school guard and threw traffic cones over the walls of the school one of which hit the school principal on her head The boys from LGS Phase V created the same brawl outside ISL the very next day Some parents waiting to pick their kids informed the police and few boys were arrested
The events followed by the arrest concluded on the same end as of Scarsdale School In the same week a private school in Karachi came under limelight, when a teacher painted the face of student with black ink for speaking Urdu in the school premises The story does not end here The teacher further asked the co students to ridicule that poor Urdu speaking girl,adding insult to injury The intransigent response of school management is another point to mention in this regard This very instance blatantly indicates the value system, these so called educational institutions or more appropriately business enterprises are giving to our children The rampant drug culture that goes without checking coupled with indifference of parents leaving their children at the mercy of digital devices and violent online games instead of giving them quality family time has lot to contribute in this regard The question here is, if the parents and teachers are not responsible for inculcating
ethical and moral values in their children, who else has the onus for it?
A considerable number of Pakistani teenagers are either victims or are perpetrators of physical or mental abuse in the schools and the rest are a witness Yet, this has been a phenomenon in the schools of lower strata of population where poverty related problems cause stress and aggression among the teens in the South Asian countries like Pakistan However, the vehemence in the private schools is a newfound phenomenon or possibly, social media has facilitated its reporting This growing violence and bullying must send a shock wave among the parents of teenage children from upper middle class studying in similar schools This definitely is a cause of anxiety for those, who have cut down on their luxuries as well as necessities to send their children to private schools in a quest for better education in today s competitive environment Aggression and psychosocial maladjust-
Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Singapore, Switzerland, Tanzania, the UK, and the US China was the largest contributor of foreign investment with 32 companies, followed by Chile and Canada with 3 companies each
As a result of the SECP's integration with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and other provincial agencies, 2,255 firms were registered with the FBR for the creation of a National Tax Number (NTN), 40 companies with the Employees' OldAge Benefits Institution (EOBI), 41 companies with the Provincial Employees Social Security Institution (PESSI/SESSI), and 30 companies with the excise and revenue department
To read the full article visit www propakistani pk
budsman include a bank charging an annual renewal fee for a blocked credit card, unauthorized use of digital banking, and issues with ATM machines and financial transactions abroad The ombudsman stated that while dissatisfied parties have the right to appeal to the President of Pakistan, the President has upheld 98% of the decisions made by the ombudsman Out of 175,000 complaints resolved over the past five years, only 350 are in the courts
To improve outreach the ombudsman has opened two new offices in Faisalabad and Muzaffarabad and introduced an online portal for customers to lodge and track complaints
To read the full article visit www tribune com pk
Karachi p r
To mark the auspicious occasion of its 99-year-old legacy, MG Pakistan is celebrating by hosting a vintage show displaying an array of classic MG cars from the past each with its own unique story to narrate This is not just happening in one place The vintage display is hosted at all MG dealerships across Pakistan The grand vintage display will unveil many hidden gems from the past, such as the stellar 1960s MG MGA, MG MIDGET, and MG MGB along with many other MG heritage cars Brought forth in a classic MG experiential fashion, these vintage cars represent British origin, timeless designs, and value Celebrating its 99-year-old legacy the brand represents the thrill of motoring life, heritage, and value This is a testament to its sporty DNA and constant innovation that even today s MG feels like generations of good times built into its DNA
ments among adolescent boys is not a novel thing and is common all over the world though it does not justify it Yet, the incident of Scarsdale school indicates that children of so called elite schools, irrespective of gender are heading towards afflictive emotions to an alarming scale Violence among the juvenile students is the upcoming menace threatening the welfare and peace of our society It is astounding that suchincidents are on a rise constantly and the background story of all these incidents and events that take place afterwards are all the more depressing as they all are related to the “powerful and unbeatable elite” of our society The incidents mentioned above are just a tip of the iceberg Yet, they blatantly indicate the culture of these institutions The schools’ administration in all these cases managed to cover it up under “Adolescent Rage” The girl in Scarsdale School was beaten up for good forty five minutes, the students around managed to make video clips but school management
didn’t even dare to stop all that This whole event speaks volumes about the support such children have at their back This episode also reminds of the ShahrukhJatoi case where he ended up killing a youngster The recent acquittal given to him and the victory sign he made on his release is a sign of impunity enjoyed by this class
This calls for an urgent intervention at state level without which substantial improvement cannot be expected Mandatory drug testing as well as certified Anger Management programmes on a school-wide basis may be a first step to curtail this growing menace Media has to play its role as well
The drama serial Pinjra being aired these days has highlighted similar issues The writer of the serial deserves appreciation for bringing multiple such issues to spotlight Last but not the least,parents have to become more vigilant about the activities of their children in and outside home
The writer holds MastersDegrees in Business Administration and Media Studies from UK with a special interest in social issues
THE death toll from the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria kept on climbing Thursday, topping 21,000 as the first UN aid reached Syrian rebel-held zones but hopes of finding more survivors faded.
The chief of the World Health Organization said he was on his way to Syria, as bitter cold hampered the search of thousands of flattened buildings and threatened the lives of many quake victims who are without shelter and drinking water.
Relatives were left scouring body bags laid out in a hospital car park in Turkey’s southern city of Antakya to search for missing relatives, an indication of the scale of the tragedy.
“We found my aunt, but not my uncle,” said Rania Zaboubi, a Syrian refugee who lost eight members of her family.
Chances of finding survivors have dimmed now that the 72-hour mark that experts consider the most likely period to save lives has passed.
The 7.8-magnitude quake struck early Monday as people slept, in a region where many had already suffered loss and displacement due to Syria’s civil war.
WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday that he was heading to Syria.
“On my way to Syria, where WHO is supporting essential health care in the areas affected by the recent earthquake,”
Tedros tweeted.
But in a potentially life-saving development, an aid convoy reached rebel-held northwestern Syria earlier in the day, the first since the quake, an official at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing told reporters.
The crossing is the only way UN assistance can reach civilians without going through areas controlled by Syrian government forces. A decade of civil war and Syrian-Russian aerial bombardment had already destroyed hospitals, collapsed the economy and prompted electricity, fuel and water shortages.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the Security Council to authorise the opening of new cross-border humanitarian aid points between Turkey and Syria to deliver aid.
SRINAGAR STAFF REPORT
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, complete shutdown will be observed, tomorrow, (Saturday) to mark the 39th martyrdom anniversary of prominent Kashmiri leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt. Call for the shutdown has been given by All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.
India had hanged Muhammad Maqbool Butt in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail on 11th February in 1984 for his leading role in the Kashmiris’ ongoing freedom movement and buried him in the premises of the prison. APHC leaders, paying rich tributes to Muhammad Maqbool Butt, maintained that the martyrs are the real assets of the Kashmiris’ freedom struggle against Indian yoke. They said the sacrifices of Kashmiri martyrs will not be allowed to go waste and their mission will be accomplished at all costs. Meanwhile, the posters in IIOJK appealed to people to observe complete shutdown, tomorrow. The people were also asked to hold prayer meetings for the Kashmiri martyrs.
Twitter blocks official handle of APHC in IIOJK
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Twitter has blocked the official handle of the Srinagarbased All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).
The APHC announced from its new Twitter handle that its previous official account had been withheld as it was creating awareness on the Kashmir situation globally.
“Dear Friends, Our previous account was withheld. Our efforts to bring awareness to the situation in Kashmir worldwide will not stop. Please help us reach a wider audience so that our voices are heard.
Censored, not silenced. Thank you,” the APHC wrote.
Four million people living in rebel-held areas of northwest Syria have had to rely on the Bab al-Hawa crossing as part of a crossborder aid operation authorised by the Security Council nearly a decade ago.
“This is the moment of unity, it’s not a moment to politicise or to divide but it is obvious that we need massive support,” Guterres said.
Temperatures in the Turkish city of Gaziantep plunged to minus five degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) early Thursday, but thousands of families spent the night in cars and makeshift tents – too scared or banned from returning to their homes.
Parents walked the streets of the city –close to the epicenter of Monday’s earthquake – carrying their children in blankets because it was warmer than sitting in a tent.
Gyms, mosques, schools and some stores have opened at night. But beds are still at a premium and thousands spend the nights in cars with engines running to provide heat.
“I fear for anyone who is trapped under the rubble in this,” said Melek Halici, who wrapped her two-year-old daughter in a blanket as they watched rescuers working into the night.
International rescuers have said the intense cold has forced them to weigh whether to use their limited fuel supplies to keep warm or to carry out their work.
“Not a single person has failed to mention this, the cold,” Athanassios Balafas, a Greek fire official, said in Athens. “Obviously we chose to keep operating.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged on Wednesday that there were “shortcomings” in the government’s handling of the disaster.
Monday’s quake was the largest Turkey has seen since 1939, when 33,000 people died in the eastern Erzincan province.
Officials and medics said 17,674 people had died in Turkey and 3,377 in Syria from Monday’s 7.8-magnitude tremor, bringing the confirmed total to 21,051.
Experts fear the number will continue to rise sharply.
Anger has mounted over the government’s handling of the disaster. “People who didn’t die from the earthquake were left to die in the cold,” Hakan Tanriverdi told reporters in Adiyaman province, one of the areas hardest hit.
The Joe Biden administration’s handling of the Chinese balloon case last week was meant to showcase the United States’ strategic strength amid fierce attacks by Republicans and the low approval ratings of US officials.
But instead it has shown to the world how immature and irresponsible — indeed hysterical — the US has been in dealing with the case.
To begin with, many US officials, media outlets and political pundits claim it was a “spy balloon” despite not having any evidence to back up their claim and regardless of China explaining that it was a balloon for research, mainly meteorological research, which went out of control and deviated far from its planned course due to strong winds.
For at least a week, the whole US has been obsessed with the Chinese civilian balloon, as US politicians and media projected it as a grave threat to US national security. But they should realize that it does not make sense for China to spy on the US using a balloon the size of three school buses while modern surveillance satellites can do a much better job, and surreptitiously too.
Speaking of spying, no country
employs surveillance more widely and aggressively than the US, including its frequent military surveillance flights near China’s shores, which even people such as former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger and former US national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski regarded as provocative. How would the US respond if China were to conduct frequent surveillance flights off the coast of California, New York or Florida?
The Biden administration’s decisions on the balloon episode were hijacked by US domestic politics. Republicans, from new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to Senator Marco Rubio, have spared no ef-
NEW DELHI AGENCIES
The Supreme Court (SC) of India has rejected a request seeking a ban on BBC in the country over its documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reported local Indian media. The court, while rejecting the petition filed by Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta who sought a ban on BBC’s operations in India, said the request was “misconceived”.
“How can a documentary affect the country,” Indian media quoted the Supreme Court as saying.
The documentary “India: The Modi Question” looks at the tensions between Modi and the country’s Muslim minority, “investigating claims about his role in the 2002 riots that left over a thousand dead.”
When the film was released, those with knowledge of the situation reported that the I&B Ministry used emergency powers granted under the Information Technology Rules, 2021, to compel the removal of the links, and both YouTube and Twitter agreed to comply.
forts to attack Biden for “being weak” in handling the case. The fierce attacks came just days before Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, at a time when public opinions are not in his favor.
The latest Gallup poll shows that most Americans remain unhappy with the way things are going in the US. Only 23 percent say they are satisfied, while 76 percent say they are dissatisfied, including 48 percent who are “very dissatisfied”.
Biden’s approval rating in the second year in office is only 41 percent, among the lowest since president John F. Kennedy and only slightly higher than Donald Trump’s 40.4 percent.
A top Indian university also banned the screening of the documentary, after students in New Delhi had planned to watch it, defying efforts by Indian authorities to restrict its showing. But a memo from the university’s registrar ordered students to cancel the event and warned it would take “strict disciplinary action” if its edict was disobeyed.
However, some defiant Indian students said they would hold more screenings.
Senior lawyer Pinki Anand, who was representing the petitioner, argued that the BBC was “deliberately maligning India’s image” and also asked for an investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the “conspiracy” behind the documentary, NDTV reported.
“This plea is misconceived, how can the Supreme Court pass such orders,” the judges said.
BEIJING AGENCIES
China’s consumption has been recovering quickly, with some sectors almost returning to their pre-pandemic levels.
The vigorous rebound has prompted central and local governments to introduce more policies, which experts believe will build on the growth momentum and unleash further consumption potential.
RECOVERY IN FULL SWING: Domestic tourism was one of the sectors that took the lead in staging a rebound. During China’s weeklong Spring Festival holiday that ended on Jan. 27, some 308 million domestic trips were made, up 23.1 percent from the Spring Festival holiday last year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The figure has recovered to 88.6 percent of
the level in 2019.
Other industries such as retail and catering are also thriving. The combined revenues of major retail and catering businesses rose 6.8 percent from the last Spring Festival holiday, the Ministry of Commerce said.
China’s cinema box office during this year’s Spring Festival holiday reported its second-highest gross figures for the holiday to date, raking in a total revenue of nearly 6.76 billion yuan (about 1 billion U.S. dollars), according to data from the China Film Administration.
“During this year’s Spring Festival, we have seen a comeback of booming consumption activities, with spending in the transprovincial tourism, catering and film sectors picking up rapidly,” said Wang Yun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research.
Such promising signs have ensured a good start to full-year economic growth, Wang added.
MORE POLICY SUPPORT: Promoting consumption is high on China’s policy agenda for this year, as the annual Central Economic Work Conference held in mid-December last year noted that the country would prioritize the recovery and expansion of consumption.
A State Council executive meeting held in late January also urged timely measures to promote an early recovery of consumption as the main economic driving force.
Boosted by this positive outlook, local governments have been moving to unveil an array of pro-consumption measures designed to fuel the growth of specific spheres.
Some parts of China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have introduced meas-
ures to subsidize purchases of new passenger vehicles priced within a certain range.
Shanghai, China’s financial hub, has announced that it will offer a 10 percent onetime subsidy of up to 1,000 yuan to
consumers who purchase green and smart home appliances, while northwest China’s Shaanxi Province is set to nurture its sports, healthcare, elderly care and nursery sectors, as well as other growth spots.
MANCHESTER United have reportedly opened talks with Qatari investors as speculation intensifies over the future ownership of the Premier League giants ahead of a deadline for bids.The American Glazer family, who completed their takeover of the 20-times English champions in 2005, announced in November that they were open to a sale or investment. British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos company officially joined the race to buy the club last month the only bidder to publicly declare an interest so far.
Potential buyers are understood to have until February 17 to table offers. It stated a group of private investors from
With the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League now just few days away, Karachi Kings gear up for yet another exciting season as they held their first training session.Players stretched their arms before indulging in rigorous batting, fielding and bowling drills at Karachi’s National Bank Cricket under the watch of head coach Johan Botha and assistant coach Michael Smith.
Australia’s Ben Cutting, who arrived earlier on the same day, also participated in the first training session of the team alongside captain Imad Wasim and other local players of the Karachi Kings’ squad.During the session, multi-talented skipper, Imad, was also seen showcasing his skills with a football, a glimpse of which was also shared by the Karachi King’s social media.
It is pertinent to mention here that the upcoming edition of PSL will be played across four venues from 13 February to 19 March. The Multan and Karachi-leg matches will be held from 13-26 February, before action shifts to Lahore and Rawalpindi where 20 matches will be played from 26 February to 19 March. Karachi Kings, on the other hand, will play their first game on February 14 against Babar Azam-led Peshawar Zalmi at National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.
Qatar want to buy United and talks have taken place with the club’s hierarchy, confident that theirs would be the strongest bid.
Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, was interested in buying United, just weeks after the energyrich Gulf state hosted the World Cup. But the emir bought French champions Paris Saint-Germain in 2011 through Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) — meaning a full buyout of United would not be permitted under current UEFA regulations.
Britain’s Press Association said QSI was considering the purchase of a minority stake in United or another Premier League club. United are third in the Premier League this season after an improvement in form under manager Erik ten Hag, who took over before the start of the current campaign.
KARACHI: Paymob, the leading financial services enabler in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENA-P) announces its official sponsorship of the HBL PSL franchise, Quetta Gladiators for the 2023 season which debuts on February 13, 2023. The official signing ceremony was held in Karachi with star pacer Muhammad Hasnain and legendary fast bowler and bowling coach Umar Gul in attendance. PR
KARACHI STAFF REPORT
Former Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi has given his thoughts on the potential return of two of the country’s most famous cricketers, Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim, to the national side. During a recent interview with a local news channel, Afridi said that both players could make a case for themselves if they produce exceptional performances in the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL). Amir, who retired from international cricket in 2020 after accusing the team management of mental torture, has seen speculation that he could reverse his decision following the recent change in leadership at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Similarly, Imad Wasim has been participating in T20 leagues worldwide and has been the subject of rumors regarding a return to the national team.
FG Polo team and Newage Cables/Master Paints qualified for the main final of Century 99 Punjab Cup Polo Tournament after winning their respective semifinals played here at Lahore Polo Club on Friday.
Phenomenal performance of Raul Laplacette helped FG Polo beat BN Polo team by a narrow margin of 5-4½ in the first semifinal of the historic tournament. Raul Laplacette displayed outstanding polo skills and techniques and thrashed in three tremendous goals while Saqib Khan Khakwani also excelled with a contribution of a beautiful brace. For BN Polo, which had a half goal handicap advantage, Juan Maria Ruiz Guinazu and Roberto Iturrioz Arias thrashed in two goals each.
The first semifinal of the day
went neck-and-neck and the slight half-goal lead that FG Polo took in the first chukker, remained intact till the final one, as both the teams kept on launching attacks on each other’s goal and also succeeded in converting goals but when the final bell was rung, FG won the crucial match by a close margin of 5-4½. John Fisher and Chris Hyde officiated the match as field umpires.
Simon Prada shone in Newage Cables/Master Paints’ 5-2 triumph over Diamond Paints in the second semifinal of the day. Simon Prada was in sublime form and did the magic with mallet and polo pony and also contributed with three tremendous goals. His teammates Raja Temur Nadeem and Juan Cruz Greguol converted one goal each. From Team Diamond Paints, both the goals were struck by Ahmed Ali Tiwana.
Diamond Paints started the match by banging in a brace against
one goal by Newage/Master Paints to take a 2-1 lead. This was all that Diamond Paints could gain from the match as after that, they couldn’t score a single goal while Master Paints smashed in two goals each in the second and fourth chukkers to win the encounter by 5-
2. John Fisher and Chris Hyde supervised the match as field umpires.
In another match of the day, contested between Remounts and HN Polo for the place in the subsidiary final, the former outpaced the latter by 6-3. Manuel Sundblad emerged as hero of the match by hammering an impressive hat-trick of goals while Jota Chavanne banged in a brace and Ahmed Zubair Butt scored one goal. Haider Naseem scored the only goal for Remounts, which had a handicap advantage of two goals. John Fisher and Chris Hyde were the field umpires.
Afridi stated that the PSL will be the perfect platform for both players to make their comeback, adding that it depends on their mindset and if they have any goals set for the tournament.
“I think that depends on your mindset if you have any goals set for the PSL. It depends if you want to stay average or compare yourself with the likes of Shaheen, Haris, and Naseem,” he said. “Mohammad Amir has been playing cricket for a while; the same goes for Imad. Both of them would like to perform, given the opportunity. I think it [PSL] is the platform which you can use to make a comeback.”
He also noted that the outcome of the PSL can tell a lot about the players and that they would like to perform given the opportunity. Regarding the poor performance of the Karachi Kings in the PSL, Afridi said that there could be multiple reasons for the team’s struggles and that blaming the captain alone wouldn’t necessarily be fair.
“I think a team’s performance can tell you a lot, and I think there can be multiple reasons. It could be captaincy; it could be team management and planning from coaches. And if you are not performing, it means that errors are being made,” he said. He suggested that other factors, such as team management, coaching, and planning, could also play a role in a team’s success or lack thereof.
Lionel Messi will miss Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 trip to Monaco on Saturday with a hamstring injury, raising concerns that he may not be fit in time for his team’s Champions League showdown with Bayern Munich next week.
PSG confirmed on Friday that the Argentine World Cup winner had suffered the injury in the club’s 2-1 defeat against Marseille in the French Cup on Wednesday and would continue to undergo treatment over the next 48 hours.
They added that Messi would return to training on Monday, the eve of the last-16
first leg against Bayern in Paris.
PSG coach Christophe Galtier played down concerns that the 35-year-old may not be ready in time for that huge game.
“Leo will not be available for the match against Monaco but he will be back in training on Monday so you can forget about him being a doubt,” Galtier told reporters.
“We know the importance of Leo to the way we play. With his absence we will maybe need to play in a different way, make sure we have a more compact and solid spine.
“Obviously when you go to Monaco without Leo it is unfortunate but that is just part of what happens in a season.”
The French champions are already with-
out Kylian Mbappe for the meeting with Monaco and the Bayern first leg as he recovers from a thigh injury and they have several other players on the sidelines too.
They have struggled to rediscover their best form since the World Cup, losing three times already in all competitions in 2023.
“You think you have a balanced squad and then all of a sudden you get fatigue, suspensions, injuries. These injuries often happen when you have a lot of matches,” Galtier added.
“Without looking for excuses there was also the World Cup in the middle of the season which means lots of players are tired.”
PSG are eight points clear at the top of Ligue 1 before their meeting with fourthplaced Monaco in the principality.
PRIME Minister Shehbaz
Sharif said on Friday that 220 million people of Pakistan are standing with the people of Turkiye and Syria in these testing times, saying the federal government has established a Rs10 billion relief fund for earthquake-hit brethren and urged people across Pakistan to “generously donate” for the victims.
“Pakistan and Turkiye are bound to one another by the bond of brotherhood goes back to centuries,” PM Shehbaz remarked, reiterating the resolve not to spare any effort to reach to the brethren in their hour of need.
Speaking at a ceremony at Lahore Airport in Lahore, from where relief goods are being sent to Turkiye, the premier said that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will purchase relief items — such as winterized tents, clothes, blankets and dry food — from the fund and dispatch them to Turkiye.
According to officials and medics, the death toll from 7.8 magnitude earthquake has crossed 19,674 in Turkey and 3,377 in Syria, and which is on the rise with every passing moment.
Pakistan has been at the forefront of the relief efforts, with a special military aircraft en route to the region from
Turkey to carry aid supplies. A Pakistan International Airline (PIA) flight carrying 12 tons of supplies departed from Pakistan on Friday morning while another special flight of the national airline with 30 tons of relief goods is expected to depart soon from Islamabad.
Talking to the media alongside Turkish Consul General in Lahore Emir Ozbay, PM Shehbaz said that thousands of people in Turkiye and Syria had died in the deadly earthquake, while millions were rendered homeless.
“The destruction of such magnitude is less seen where parents have lost their children and infants have become orphans. There are dreadful visuals everywhere,” he noted.
ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
Senators from both the treasury and opposition benches on Friday traded barbs over Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial’s “incomplete parliament” remarks with the ruling party senator raised objections to the CJP’s statement, saying that only parliament and not the judiciary and the armed forces, is the representative of the people of the country. Criticising what he said irrelevant remarks of apex court about parliament, PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui said parliament was sovereign and it must be allowed to work independently. “Parliament is complete and working independently. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws were passed by the parliament after proper deliberations. Parliament must not be made controversial as the House represents the people of Pakistan,” he added. He also maintained that the apex court enjoys the power to strike down unconstitutional laws. On Thursday CJP Bandial during hearing of PTI Chief Imran Khan’s plea against amendments to NAB law, had observed that the problems being faced by the country could only be addressed through the people’s decision. He had asserted: “The current parliament has been systematically kept incomplete. The legislation taking place in the current parliament is also becoming controversial [as a result].”
The prime minister, however, asserted that under the leadership of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the people of Turkiye would emerge out of the crisis.
“And so will our brothers in Syria.”
“The night the earthquake was reported, I called President Erdogan and told him that the people of Pakistan, as brothers and Muslims, will help the quake victims as much as possible. He recalled that during the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, Turkiye had stepped up and supported the country until the “last man was moved home”.
“Today, we have to move forward with the same passion.”
The premier revealed that an air bridge had already been established be-
tween Pakistan and Turkiye through which medical teams and other relief aid were being dispatched to the country.
He said that a Pakistan International Airline (PIA) flight carrying 20 tons of supplies, including winterized tents, departed on Friday morning while another special flight with 100 tons of relief goods was expected to leave in a couple of hours.
Another 144 tonnes of relief aid will also be sent in the upcoming days.
“Yesterday, I called the chief ministers of all the provinces and requested them to open centres for aid. They will collect the relief aid and send it to NDMA. Similarly, the donations will be transferred to the Prime Minister’s account.
“I have also told them that students in schools across the country should donate Rs10 per child for their Turkish brothers and sisters,” he said, elaborating that pupils in colleges and universities can donate Rs15-Rs20 each.
PM Shehbaz added that he had requested religious leaders to pray for the quake victims in mosques across the country today and appeal for donations.
“Today, I urge the people of Pakistan, especially businessmen, traders, welfare organisations and philanthropists, to step forward and help the Turkish people,” he appealed, highlighting that this was the time to display the love Pakistan had for Turkiye.
Several multinational firms for example, fear being forced to suspend manufacturing. Non-availability of raw materials and a huge jump in the cost of production is making the manufacturing of some of the most basic but important drugs unsustainable.
Through a letter sent to the Ministry of National Health Services on February 7, 2023, Pharma Bureau, a representative body of multinational pharmaceutical companies, has said that with the present economic conditions and the rupee’s devaluation, input costs have witnessed a multi-fold increase. Hence, the global price of raw material is rising and pharmaceutical companies are finding it difficult to continue producing lifesaving medicines.
The bureau has demanded immediate, across-the-board price adjustments to deal with
the impact of devaluation and inflation.
While talking to a selected group of journalists in Islamabad on Friday, Ayesha T Haq, Executive Director Pharma Bureau, has stated “Cost of production has massively increased by 60%.” She said that due to the massive increase in the price of raw material compounded by devaluation of the rupee and an unprecedented inflationary trend, companies are unable to ensure facing availability of drugs in the market.
It is important to remember that various manufacturers have already stopped manufacturing the most commonly used drugs, severely aggravating the suffering of all those who need these medicines.
Haq also explained that no industry can grow if it is compelled to sell its product at an unreasonable, unjust price which is fixed in absence of a fair assessment of price based on just con-
siderations of increase in the total cost of production, devaluation of currency and rate of inflation.
“Unfortunately, the pharmaceutical industry suffered a devastating blow as prices of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients i.e. raw material used in the manufacturing of drugs increased exponentially in the international market since the outbreak of COVID 19 CoronaVirus pandemic,” she said, adding that “… factors of production like cost of fuel, electricity, freight charges and packing material witnessed unprecedented increase during the said period.”
She also reiterated the fact that the rupee has devalued by more than 50% against the US Dollar within the last one year and due to the volatile economic situation presently prevalent in the country, it is projected that it will continue to further devalue.
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Ghandhara Tyre & Rubber Company Limited has notified the Pakistan Stock Exchange that it will observe non-production days from February 13 to February 17. The company will recommence operations on February 20.
The company has blamed the unwillingness by commercial banks to issue it letters of credits as the main reason for the plant shutdown. Ghandhara Tyres states that this unwillingness has disallowed the company from obtaining the necessary raw materials to carry out its production activities.
Hussain Kuli Khan, CEO Ghandhara Tyre & Rubber Company Limited, had already highlighted the issue earlier this week in conversation with Profit. “The Government should allow the opening of letters of credit (LCs) for raw materials, as most of the raw materials are imported. The Government would ultimately save forex as the local value addition is very high at around 40%,” said Khan. Khan had stated this as part of this three-part solution to resolving the ongoing crisis across the domestic tyre manufacturing industry.
Read more: Tyre industry fears closures due to shutdowns across auto industry
The Letter of Credit Fiasco
The issues pertaining to the letters of credits goes back to May 20, 2022 when the State Bank of Pakistan extended its administrative oversight over all imports in the automotive sector. It did so through EPD Circular Letter No. 09 of 2022 in a bid to stabilise Pakistan’s wavering balance of payments. The measure was revoked by the State Bank on December 27, 2022 through EPD Circular Letter No. 20 of 2022. However, the State Bank of Pakistan had told commercial banks to prioritise issuing letters of credits for those imports that were essential to the economy.
Speaking to Profit when the State Bank issued the circular, Munir Bana, Chairman of the Pakistan Association of Auto Parts & Accessories Manufacturers, stated “The auto industry is not an essential item and therefore our imports will continue to be controlled and rationed by SBP”. Profit had highlighted how the circular left room for opacity, and subsequently left many onlookers from the automotive sector in the dark. Ghandhara Tyres seems to have become the latest victim of this opacity.
PROFIT REPORT
SHAHZAD PARACHA
The Economic Coordination Committee
(ECC) has approved the discontinuation of the Kisan Package as well as Zero Rated Industrial package from March 1, 2023, under the Rs 952 billion Revised Circular Debt Management Plan (CDMP). This has been done on the instructions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar presided over the meeting of the ECC.
Sources said that the energy ministry has informed the ECC that a new iteration for forecasting of power purchases price which is around 90% of total power sector revenue requirement has been carried out and the revised base case circular debt is Rs 952 billion on the latest assumptions for FY 2023.
The main objectives of CDMP consists of reducing circular debt, enabling monitoring of circular debt, cost of electricity, tariff increase, subsidies, PHL markup, settlement of IPP stock/ markup, non payments from K-Electric, DISCOs’ losses as well as recoveries, payment of taxes, governance
and monitoring of CDMP.
Sources also said that the energy ministry has projected Quarterly Tariff Adjustment (QTA) From February to March 2023, at Rs3.21/unit, QTA From March to May 2023, at Rs0.69/unit and QTA from June to August 2023, at Rs1.64 per unit besides improvement of DISCOs’ losses will be minimed to 16.27% through timely tariff increases by end FY 2023. Moreover, the government will also discontinue Kissan and ZRI packages from March 1, 2023.
Under the package, markup saving due to IPP stock payment will be Rs 11 billion , FCA recovery till June 2023, Rs31 billion, PHL markup surcharge recovery Rs 68 billion, GST and Taxes on collection basis Rs 14 billion, reimbursement from FBR Rs 5 billion and additional subsidy from government would be projected at Rs 335 billion.
Meanwhile, the projected circular debt flow for the year will be Rs 336 billion whereas the revised circular debt projection after stock payments will be Rs 122 billion.
The circular debt stock will be Rs 2374 billion in FY 2023, which includes Rs 765 billion parked in PHL, Rs 1509 billion payable to power producers and Rs 100 bil-
lion GENCO’s payable to fuel suppliers.
The CDMP intends to reduce the flow of circular debt to its minimum possible level while the plan also envisages measures to reduce the stock of circular debt by paying off arrears of power producers.
The Ministry of Energy (Power Division) presented another summary on refinancing of Power Holding Limited’s debt and a surcharge to recover markup payments.
The ECC after discussion approved the proposal to recover Rs 76 billion while exempting non-ToU domestic consumers having consumption ≤ 300 units and private agriculture consumers in four months, from March 2023 to June 2023 to recover the markup charges of PHL loans and allowed to impose additional surcharge of Rs 1/unit for FY 2023-24 to recover additional markup charges of PHL loans which are not covered through the already applicable FC surcharge. These surcharges will be applicable to K-Electric consumers to maintain uniform tariff across the country.
The ECC also deferred PHL’s principal installments payable in respect of Rs
283.287 billion for a period of two years from the date of execution of fresh facilities. It directed the finance division to issue a Government Guarantee for repayment of principal as well as interest/fees, etc for the fresh facilities of Rs 283.287 billion.
The ECC considered and approved the proposals contained in another summary of the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) regarding recovery of staggered FCA applicable for the months of August and September 2022. The ECC deferred the electricity bills for the month of September 2022 for commercial consumers in the flood affected areas till the next billing cycle and waived off electricity bills for the months of August and September 2022 for the non-ToU domestic consumers having ≤ 300 units consumption. The ECC also approved an additional supplementary grant of Rs 10.34 billion to cover waiver of electricity bills in the flood affected areas.
Maximum Retail Prices (MRPs) of Paracetamol and others drugs
The ECC considered a summary of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination on Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of Paracetamol products. It
approved the recommendation of the Drug Pricing Committee (DPC) for increase in Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of Paracetamol products and fixed the price of Paracetamol Plain Tablet 500 mg at Rs 2.67 and Paracetamol Extra Tablet 500 mg at Rs 3.32.
The committee considered a summary of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination and allowed the fixing of MRPs of 18 new drugs as recommended by the DPC. The prices of these 18 new drugs are at the lowest as compared to the prices of the same drugs in neighbouring countries, especially India.
Yet another summary of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination was considered by the ECC. It approved the recommendation of the DPC for reduction in MRPs of 20 drugs.
The ECC considered and approved in principle a summary of the Finance Division on Kamyab Pakistan Program and entrusted the State Bank of Pakistan. This was to validate the claims of Wholesale lenders (WLs) after due diligence, due to the nonexistence of the Program Management Unit (PMU) at the Finance Division.
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