‘Cour t arrest drive’: Police to keep PTI leaders in separate jails across Punjab

LAHore

S ta f f r e p O r t

The leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who volunteered their arrest in Lahore as part of the “Jail Bharo movement would be detained in various cities

Sources said PTI’s Senior Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi had been sent to Attock, General Secretary Asad Umar and Murad Raas to DG Khan and Azam Swati had been sent to Rahim Yar Khan

Former home minister Omar Sarfraz Cheema will be detained at Bhakkar jail while Waleed Iqbal will be kept in Layyah jail Sources said 10 party workers would be kept with each leader in a jail

Meanwhile, the Punjab home Department has created space to keep 10 000 people in the jails if the

PTI workers and party leaders presented themselves for the arrest Sources said barracks had been cleared to accommodate the party leaders and workers Furthermore, police sources said the arrested people could be detained for one month and would not be allowed to meet anyone Imran Khan-led party on Wednesday kicked off its court arrest drive in Lahore against the violation of fundamental rights and worsening economic situation Police said around 90 people had courted their arrest while the PTI leaders claimed there were over 200 arrests The leaders and workers of the party in Peshawar region will present themselves for court arrest today (Thursday) as the movement entered its second day The court arrest drive will move to Multan on Feb 25, Gujranwala on Feb 26, Sargodha on Feb 27 and Sahiwal on Feb 28

“Front man Zahid Rafique is notorious in legal fraternity for earning money through his influence With an account, expenses incurred on educational activities of Justice Naqvi s daughter are paid,” he alleged Alleging that Justice Mazhar had been guilty of misconduct and amassing assets beyond his known sources of income, he requested the Supreme Judicial Council to investigate the allegations leveled against the judge

Petition Filed In Lhc Challenging Size Of Federal Cabinet

LAHore S ta f f r e p O r t

T h e L a h o r e h i g h C o u r t ( L h C ) r e c e i v e d a c h a l l e n g e t o t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h e f e d e r a l c a b i n e t t h e l a rg e s t i n P a k i s t a n ’s p a r l i a m e n t a r y h i s t o r y, o n T h u r s d a y T h e p e t i t i o n , f i l e d b y B a r r i s t e r A z h a r S i d d i q , c l a i m e d t h e e v e r- e x p a n d i n g f e d e r a l c a b i n e t o f 8 5 m e m b e r s v i o l a t e d A r t i c l e 9 2 ( 1 ) o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , w h i c h s p e c i f i e s t h a t t h e s i z e o f t h e c a b i n e t c a n n o t e x c e e d 4 2 S i d d i q a rg u e d t h e o v e r s i z e d c a b i n e t w a s a b u r d e n o n P a k i s t a n a n d p l e a d e d w i t h t h e c o u r t t o i s s u e a n i m m e d i a t e o r d e r t o r e d u c e i t s s i z e O n F e b r u a r y 8 , S h e h b a z S h a r i f a p p o i n t e d f i v e n e w s p e c i a l a s s i s t a n t s t o t h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r, i n c r e a s i n g t h e n u m b e r t o 4 0 a n d b r i n g i n g t h e t o t a l n u m b e r o f t h e c a b i n e t t o 8 5 T h e f e d e r a l c a b i n e t d i v i s i o n i s s u e d a n o t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e a p p o i n t m e n t s

ghulam Dogar reinstated as lahore ccpo

LAHore S ta f f r e p O r t

Ghulam Muhammad Dogar has been reinstated as Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) following the verdict of Supreme Court (SC) According to details the federal government withdrew the suspension order of former Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Mehmood Dogar after Supreme Court (SC) reinstated him It is pertinent to mention here that the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) suspended the order of former CCPO Lahore Ghulam Mehmood Dogar s transfer

G ovt to distribute 100,000 laptops among youth

iSLAMABAD S ta f f r e p O r t P r i m e M i n i s t e r ( P M ) S h e h b a z S h a r i f o n T h u r s d a y a n n o u n c e d t h a t t h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d distribute 100,000 laptops among top achiever youths across the country purely on meri

T h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r m a d e t h e s e r e m a r k s w h i l e addressing a ceremony for cheque distribution among t h e b e n e f i c i a r i e s o f t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r Yo u t h L o a n P r o g r a m m e PM Shehbaz Sharif said that country’s progress was linked to the success of the Youth Loan Program which besides supporting the unemployed youngsters also benefited the national economy he said the loan scheme was the continuation of the PM Youth Loan scheme launched in 2013 by that time prime minister Nawaz Sharif and billions of rupees were disbursed among the entitled youth

The prime minister recalled that CM Loan Scheme was also launched in Punjab and 75,000 youths were also given vehicles on loan he said the recovery ratio of the scheme was around 99 percent which manifested the honesty of the country’s youngsters P M Shehbaz said that the 99% recovery ratio of the youth and Kissan loan schemes falsified the misconception about the risks involved in the individual loans by the banks he said Pakistani youths never got their loans waived off – a problem that inflicted huge losses to the national economy The prime minister congratulated the beneficiaries of the loan scheme and appreciated the services of SAMP Shiza Fatima Khawaja, banks and other partners for their efforts to make this program a success he said considering their immense potential the government would never disappoint the youth and would scrape the maximum resources to extend them loan facilities The prime minister also announced that the federal government would distribute 100,000 laptops among top achiever youths across the country, purely on merit he said those who used to criticise the laptop scheme in the past should have witnessed that the very laptops helped the youth to earn sustenance, particularly during the COVID pandemic i D E n n o m i n at E s f o r m E r m a s t E r c a r D c h i E f B a n g a t o h E a D W o r l D B a n k uS President Joe Biden said Thursday that Washington is nominating former Mastercard Chief executive Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank, after its current chief David Malpass announced plans to step down early The development lender has just started accepting candidate nominations in a process set to run until March 29, with the bank saying that women candidates would be “strongly” encouraged The president of the World Bank is typically

NEPRA delegation led by member Rafique Shaikh visits K-Elec tric

kArACHi p r

NePRA senior officials’ team led by Member (Technical), Rafique Ahmad Shaikh visited K-electric (Ke) head Office to review Ke’s performance and status of compliance with NePRA’s Act, Performance Standards (Distribution) Rules 2005, Distribution Code and other applicable regulations, devised by the regulatory authority Ke CeO, Moonis Alvi, accompanied by senior management apprised NePRA Authority about the power company’s status of initiatives and proactive measures being taken, pertaining to supply and demand over the summer months especially in the upcoming holy month of Ramadan Further to this, Ke management also briefed the Authority about the financial and operational challenges being faced and sought NePRA’s support on such matters

Ghandhara sees quar terly gains but half yearly profits shell of former self

CoNtiNueD froM BACk pAGe on the Rs 17 98 million it saw previously On a YoY basis, the eTR represents a significant increase on the 31 4% incurred in Q2FY22 whilst total earnings represent a 79 98% decline from the Rs 110 3 million earnt over the same period last year

H F Y23 e a r n i n G s

On a hFY basis, the company saw its hFY23 sales dip to Rs 7 1 billion This represents a 12 23% YoY decline from the previous Rs 8 1 billion Cost of goods sold, however, fell by 14 76% YoY from Rs 7 1 billion to Rs 6 06 billion This in turn led to the hFY23 gross profit to rise to Rs 1 1 billion representing a 4 9% YoY increase The GPM also rose from 12 89% to 15 41% Profit from operations, similarly rose to Rs 668 million representing a 1 4 YoY increase The company’s finance cost, however, rose to Rs 587 million for a whopping 94 75% increase on the Rs 301 million it incurred in hFY22 Its earnings from Ghandhara Industries also recorded a 161 75% YoY decrease from the Rs 3 03 million it saw in hFY22 The company s eTR rose from 33 11% in hFY22 to 49 3% in hFY23 The company ended its half yearly report with a 83 39% YoY decline in its final earnings, as it recorded a measeley Rs 40 million in hFY23 against the Rs 241 million from hFY22

American, while the leader of the International Monetary Fund is customarily european

Banga 63 is Indian-American and currently serving as vice chairman at equity firm General Atlantic he was previously chief executive at Mastercard

Banga has critical experience mobilizing publicprivate resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change,” said Biden in a statement Last week current World Bank President Malpass who was nominated to the post by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump in 2019 said he would step down nearly a year early, ending a tenure that was clouded by questions over his climate stance his term would originally have ended in 2024

Banga’s nomination comes amid a push for development lenders to revamp and address global problems like environmental issues more effectively

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen earlier said that lenders core models where countries borrow to make specific investments addressing developmental constraints, is “insufficient to meet the moment ”

The United States is the World Bank s largest shareholder r e e n t r a n s i t i o n

Speaking to reporters, a senior US administration official said: “At Mastercard and General Atlantic, Ajay has made combating climate change and mobilizing private capital to help power the green transition a priority ”

“These are experiences and priorities that will guide and drive his work in the years ahead at the World Bank,” the official said

In a separate statement, Yellen said Thursday that she applauded Biden s decision

Banga “has the right leadership and management skills, experience living and working in emerging markets and financial expertise to lead the World Bank at a critical moment in its history,” Yellen said

She added that his record of forging partnerships b e t w e e n t h e p u b l i c s e c t o r p r i v a t e s e c t o r a n d n o np r o f i t s w i l l s e r v e h i m i n h e l p i n g t o “ m o b i l i z e t h e p r i v a t e c a p i t a l a n d p r e s s f o r t h e r e f o r m s n e e d e d t o meet our shared ambitions

Asked about the World Bank’s encouragement for women candidates, a US official told reporters that Banga who was born raised and spent an early part of his career in emerging market India had a “personal conviction and excellent track record” in promoting diversity in his work

SBP set to increase interest rates in off- c ycle review, say investors

pr ofit r e u t e r S

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is set to raise interest rates as early as this week in an off-cycle review investors said, as the country faces pressure to mend its finances amid a $1 billion loan it is seeking from the International Monetary Fund

Market participants in a recent treasury bill auction are expecting at least a 200 basis points increase in the central bank s policy rate, which stands at 17 per cent The expected increase is based on the rates the government set in the auction to raise the funds

The government raised Rs258 billion in the auction on Wednesday The cut-off rates for the three-month, six-month, and 12-month tenors jumped 195 bps, 206 bps, and 184 bps higher than the previous auction

The cash-strapped country is undertaking key measures to secure IMF funding, including raising taxes, removing blanket subsidies, and artificial curbs on the exchange rate While the government expects a deal with IMF soon, media reports say that the agency expects the policy rate to be increased The next meeting of the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled for March 16 Off-cycle rate reviews are not uncommon though Assistant Vice President of Research at Pak Kuwait Investment Company, Adnan Sheikh, said that a rate hike is imminent, and it could be as soon as Friday “The next policy meeting is too far Given the circumstances, it’s already being priced in,” Sheikh said

The SBP and the IMF did not immediately respond to requests for comment head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, Fahad Rauf, said that the IMF has given a target to at least keep rates higher than core inflation Pakistan has two core inflation readings i e , Urban (15 4pc for Jan) and Rural (19 4pc) and no national core number is released If the SBP tries to bring rates above rural core inflation, it requires a rate hike of 200-300 bps, he said Mohammad Ayub Khuhro, a fund manager at a local fund, said that recent economic data on government finances suggest that it was running low on its cash balances held with the central bank This is why the government went ahead with picking up their desired targets despite a signalling effect it would send to the markets, Khuhro said

The government has effectively bypassed the central bank in order to fulfill IMF conditions by accepting a higher cut-off he added