Epaper_23-02-6 ISB

Revo c a t i o n of A r t i c l e 370 wo r s e n s K a s h m i r i s’ p l i g h t : D r

a h a t h i r

COAS lands in UK on maiden 5-day official visit

P M S h e h b a z v o w S t o

‘Biggest blunder ’ in countr y ’s histor y ruined

b r e a k ‘ h a b i t o f b e g g i n g ’

g S ay S i M f S c r u t i n i z i n g, r e v i e w i n g r e c o r d S o f ‘ e v e r y t h i n g, e v e r y S u b S i d y ’

PriMe Minister Shehbaz Shar f on Sunday stressed that being a nat on we have to stay alive but only how alive nations ive and not with begging bowl in hands say ng the international Monetar y fund (iMf) was combing ever y book during the ongoing negotiations over the ninth review of the $7 billion loan programme this has been going on for 75 years we have to put a stop to th s,” the premier said and vowed to break this habit of begging that countr y was embroiled n addressing the azad Jammu and Kashmir (aJK) assembly on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity day in Muzaffarabad on Sunday, pM Shehbaz again said that the fund was scrutin zing the records of various ministries and reviewing “ever ything ” and ever y subsidy he reiterated that the countr y was facing substantial financ al challenges, with the international Monetar y fund (iMf) combing through ever y book during the ongoing negotiations for restor ng the stalled $7 bi lion loan programme “ the iMf is ooking critically at ever y book be t petroleum finance commerce or the power sector the premier said “ they are looking at each and ever ything, ever y subsidy the prime min ster a so shed light on how the countr y has been on a “ begging spree cal ng for it to be stopped once and for all “ this will stop when the ent re nation [stands] united to fight inflation and vows to produce their own resources,” he sa d “ it was ver y easy to say so but doing t was harder we deliver speeches but after an hour i forget what i had said ”

g S t r e S S e S u n i t y to f i g h t i n f l at i o n, p r o d u c e o w n r e S o u r c e S

porter, and the government began the make-or-break discussions last week pakistan needs to complete the rev ew to stave off default

Subsequent y the government had increased liquefied petro eum gas (lpg) price by 30 per cent and finalised a m nimum of rs6 per unit average ncrease in electric ty rates between now and august o v e r t h e w e e ke n d t h e p r e m i e r s a d t h e i M f d e l e g a t i o n w a s g i v n g a v e r y tough time” to finance Minister ishaq dar and h s team

Fawad says to be first to surrender for Jail Bharo Movement from

Sanaullah says knows well how to deal with PTI’s Jail Bharo Tehreek

MULTAN

ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t

former president gen (retired) per vez

Musharraf passed away in dubai on Sunday after a long battle w th rare disease amyloidosis he was 79 pak stan consulate in dubai and his fam ly confirmed the death of the former mil tar y ruler at american hospital in dubai his fami y has f led an application in pakistan consu ate in dubai for sh fting the body of Musharraf

Musharraf had been suffering from amyloidosis a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein ca led amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body

the former general was admitted to the american hospital duba for treatment he was also admitted to dubai hospita s more than once n the past in a statement the inter-Ser vices publ c relations (iSpr) expressed heartfelt condolences over the sad demise of former army ch ef May allah bless the departed sou and give strength to

pakistan to continue support for right to self-determ nation’ the iMf delegation headed by nathan

Meanwh le, prime Minister Shehbaz Shar f Sunday sa d pakistan would continue to extend all kinds of support to Kashm r s t ll they achieve their right to se f-determination talking to members of the azad Jammu and Kashmir legis ative assembly here, he sa d the whole pak stani nation stood with the Kashm ri brothers in their struggle for freedom

Govt, IMF at logger heads over power subsidies, PDL

ISL AMABAD: a deadlock between the internationa Monetar y fund (iMf) and pakistan persisted over power subsidies as well as petro eum development levy (pdl)

Sources sa d that the iMf has been demanding w thdrawal of power subsidy worth of rs100 billion provided to the export-or ented sector and also wants full recover y of rs952 billion gape through ncreasing electricity tariff however the government side has been tr y ng to explain to the iMf that t would be difficult to settle the entire amount in addition, Sources said that the government has a so requested the iMf to decrease pdl target to rs650 bi lion from rs800 billion fbr can only achieve rs500 b ll on from pdl during this year if the government increased pdl on petrol and diesel to rs50 per l tre the petroleum consumption decreased 10% due to increase n prices sources added Sources also sa d that the government wi l impose rs180 b llion f ood levy however additional tax measures would depend on the tax gap that would be determined during the policy level talks S h a h z a d Pa r ac h a

bereaved fam ly the militar y s media wing said per vez Musharraf was born on august 11 1943 in new delh india he who took power n a coup in 1999 and also ser ved as president of pakistan from 2001 to 2008

Musharraf moved with h s family from new delh to Karachi n 1947 when pak stan was separated from india the son of a career diplomat, he lived n turkey during 1949–56 he oined the army in 1964 graduated from the army command and Staff college in Quetta and attended the royal colege of defence Studies n london the former army chief held a number of appointments n the artiller y the infantr y, and commando un ts and also taught at the Staff co ege in Quetta and n the war wing of the national defence co lege he fought n pak stan s 1965 and 1971 wars with india the then prime Minister nawaz Sharif appo nted gen Musharraf head of the armed forces in october 1998

on october 12 1999 wh le Musharraf was out of the countr y Sharif dismissed him and tr ed to prevent the plane carr y ng Musharraf home from landing at the Karachi airport the armed forces, however, took contro of the a rport and other government installat ons and deposed Sharif, paving the way for Musharraf to become head of a militar y government although he was generally considered to hold moderate views and promised an eventua return to c vilian rule, Musharraf suspended the constitut on and disso ved par iament he formed the nat ona Secur ty council, made up of civ ian and militar y appointees to run pakistan in the inter m in early 2001 he assumed the presidency and later attempted to negotiate an agreement with india over the Kashmir region following the September 11 attacks in 2001 in the united States and the subsequent uS invasion of afghanistan later that year, the uS government cultivated close ties with Musharraf in an attempt to root out is-

S ta f f r e P o r t inter or M nister rana Sanaullah said on Sunday that pakistan Muslim league nawaz (pMl-n) is not afraid of elections and t wi l contest and emerge victorious in the upcoming polls across punjab wh e addressing pMl-n workers convention in Multan on Sunday rana Sanaullah said pMl-n Quaid nawaz Shar f had tasked Mar yam nawaz with the party ’s reorgan zation

“propaganda is be ng made that pMl-n is afraid of elections we are ready for e ect ons we will contest the elect ons and w n grab v ctor y across punjab he predicted that pMl-n wi l form ts government in punjab

he said that pMl-n is aware of inflation that increases troubles for the common man he said that pakistan was on the path of prosperity in 1999 and the whole world was te ling that pakistan will become the asian tiger after becoming a nuc ear power

he sa d that former prem er nawaz Sharif had rejected the pressure from foreign countries including the united States (uS) for refraining from nuclear tests

amic extrem sts in the afghan-pakistan border reg on following a movement led by the politica parties Musharraf res gned as the president on august 18, 2008 on March 30, 2014, Musharraf was ndicted for suspending the constitution on november 3, 2007 on december

but nawaz Sharif ordered to conduct of six nuclear blasts in response to india s five nuke tests for sake of the pakistan nation and the Muslim ummah rana Sanaul ah sa d that pakistan secured its future by conducting nuclear tests and nawaz Sharif had brought the countr y out of the crisis he added that Sharif had also brought the countr y out of crisis after becoming the prem er n 2013 he claimed that the menace of load shedding and terrorism were el m nated from the countr y in 2017 but unfortunately Sharif was ousted for not receiving salar y from his son “pMl-n is not afraid of elect ons we wi l contest the polls cr ticizing the pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti) ch ef and expremier imran Khan Sanau lah alleged, “lad ay knows only one thing to do which is hold ng ong marches ladla had hurled abuses against nawaz Shar f and ordered attacks on po ice stations during 2014 long march ” he had conc uded the sit- n after the apS incident the then prem er nawaz Sharif had invited him to sit together for uniting the nation at the t me too

a i

17 2019 a specia court handed Musharraf death sentence in the high treason case against him the former mi tar y ru er left the countr y n March 2016 for dubai to seek medical treatment and didn’t return to pakistan since

G e n e r a l t u r n e d a u t o c r a t M u s h a r r a f p a s s e s a w a y i n D u b

Govt drAFtS New leGISl AtIoN to curb crItIcISM oF

MIlItAry, judIcIAry

Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) with provisions for up to five-year imprisonment for anyone who scandalises or ridicules the army and judiciary through any medium

tH E government of Pakistan

Democratic Movement (PDM) is considering new measures to curb the defamation of state institutions including the judiciary and military, amid the criticism of the political role of these organisations

A draft legislation, authored by the Ministry of Interior and fine-tuned by the Ministry of Law and Justice is circulating to amend the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and

The bill titled Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2023, includes a new section 500A in PPC, titled “Intentional Ridiculing or Scandalising of State Institutions, etc”

The legislation provides that “whoever makes, publishes, circulates any statement or disseminates information, through any medium, with an intention to ridicule or scandalise the judiciary, the armed forces or

Quetta blast injures five, prompts emergency response

QUETTA s

An explosion near the secured Police Lines neighbourhood in Quetta has resulted in at least five individuals being treated for wounds at the Civil Hospital, according to rescue officials The incident prompted a prompt response from the local police and emergency teams who have cordoned off the area At present, the cause of the blast remains unknown, with no official statement from the police, amid a rise in attacks in the past several months However, the banned group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack and indicated that security personnel were the intended target The explosion comes as Pakistan reels from a deadly suicide bombing at a mosque located inside a similar high-security police compound in Peshawar At least 100 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in the deadliest attack in a decade A commander of the TTP claimed responsibility for Monday s attack in which almost all the victims were police officials The Pakistan Taliban has been blamed for more than 100 attacks since walking out of a ceasefire with Pakistan last November

Police arrest four terrorists in Swabi

ISLAMABAD

The police have arrested four terrorists in the Swabi district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a senior police official said Police personnel conducted a raid on the terrorists’ hideout after the police were tipped off about their presence in the district and four terrorists belonging to a banned outfit were arrested during the operation, Swabi District Police Officer (DPO) Najam al-Hasnain told media During the raid a cache of explosive material hand grenades detonators, arms and ammunition were recovered from the possession of the arrested terrorists, said the official He added that the arrested terrorists were planning to launch attacks on security forces and sensitive installations in the province The militants were shifted to an undisclosed location for further interrogation shortly after their arrest

any of their member will be guilty of an offence punishable with simple imprisonment for a term, which may extend to five years or with a fine which may extend to Rs1 million or with both The offense is non-bailable and non-compoundable and can only be challenged in a sessions court

The government is concerned about what it insists is a deliberate campaign aimed at inciting hatred against key state institutions and officials, with the objective of undermining their integrity, stability, and independence

The summary says that officials from the

judiciary and military do not have the opportunity to refute derogatory and scandalous comments in the media

Constitutional experts argue that existing laws already prohibit such acts and there is no need for new legislation

Authorities hunt for perpetrator of Islamabad park gang-rape

ISLAMABAD s tA f f R e p o R t

Islamabad police have released a sketch of one of the two suspects in the rape of a woman in the F-9 Park of the city on Thursday night, against whom a complaint has also been registered The sketch was created using the information provided by the victim whose identity has been withheld, and will be compared to park CCTV footage The suspect is described as approximately 35 years old 5 10 tall and having a dusky complexion

ISLAMABAD

s tA f f R e p o R t

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Qamar Zaman Kaira, said the nation is observing Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5 to show support for the right to selfdetermination

He said Kashmir is a vital part of Pakistan and the nation has always supported the Kashmiri movement for self-determination Kaira urged the international community to play a role in resolving the Kashmir issue

He said the purpose of celebrating Solidarity Day is to draw attention to India’s atrocities against

the innocent people of Kashmir

He emphasized that the government and all sectors of society in Pakistan support the demand for self-determination by the Kashmiris Kaira added that India s efforts to suppress the freedom struggle of the Kashmiris will fail

Ghulam Muhammad Safi, a senior leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, thanked Pakistan for supporting the Kashmiris in their struggle for freedom

A large number of officials, students, journalists, and others participated in the Solidarity walk, carrying placards and banners calling for justice for Kashmir A minute of silence was observed to express sympathy with the Kashmiri people

Balochistan LG employees deprived of salaries

was not collected immediately, the government would be unable to pay salaries to its employees

The employees of Local Government Department Balochistan were deprived of salaries since the past three months due to persistent decrease in revenue generation and rampant corruption President All Balochistan Municipal Workers Association, Quetta Muhammad Rahim Baloch told media persons that the main reason behind non payment of salaries and shortfall in revenue generation is misuse of resources and corrupt practices

The wastage of revenue of the local department has accentuated financial problems for the province and if the corruption was not eliminated and money

Who will guard the guards?

City Notes

The bomb blast in Peshawar killed 100 people but more horrific than the toll was where it happened: the Police Lines Mosque Peshawar It isn t so much the fact that it was a mosque blast That had happened all too often before But that coppers proved to be as vulnerable as the rest of us was particularly shocking Despite all the human rights they routinely commit, policemen, in the modern age especially are all that stand between us and chaos More people were killed in the 2014 APS blast, 156, mostly schoolchildren and they were killed by

gunfire, with terrorists going into classrooms and shooting children But this time, policemen were killed And apparently by a terrorist disguised as a policeman Schoolchildren look to adults for protection, and adults to policemen And policemen to whom?

One of the more startling facts that came to light in the aftermath is that KP had received Rs 27 billion for its anti-terror capacity How much more money did it need? There was apparently no answer to the question about where this money went I realize that politics is involved, and the PML(N) central government would not have been so blunt in its queries had the PTI not been ruling KP since 2013, having given up office only weeks ago

Perhaps that’s why the PTI won’t be

He lamented that the parking and other lease agreements have not yet been renewed despite passage of four years to the expiry of the agreement Despite completion of parking plaza at circular road by spending billion of rupees last year, not a single penny is earned by the department from the plaza Similarly, the main sources of income including Liaquat and other parks have been bunged for the last four years

Apart from that, bicycle and motorcycle stands in the city have not been auctioned for last four years All their assets should be rented out for generating money and paying salaries to the employees

attending the All-Parties Conference on the subject called by the federal government

Not so much because Mian Shehbaz Sharif is a thief and a dacoit, but because Imran Khan wants to avoid embarrassing questions about where that humongous amount went

Another reason is that Imran doesn t want to see Asif Zardari or Bilaweal Bhutto, who will probably both be there for the PPP I mean, Imran has accused Zardari of plotting to kill him and who knows might take the opportunity of doing the job himself, muttering all the while, If you want something done you have to do it yourself ” Zardari has also sued Imran for Rs 100 million for saying this Another reason for Imran to stay away: he doesn t carry that sort of money around T h a t w a s t h e c h a rg e o n w h i c h S h R a s h i d A h m a d w a s a r r e s t e d T h a t a r r e s t w a s m o r e o f a s h o c k e r t h a n F a w a d ‘ N e l s o n ’ C h a u d h r y ’s , b e c a u s e h e h a d

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the victim and her colleague, Muhammad Amjad, visited the park on Thursday evening when they were approached by two armed men The suspects separated the pair and beat the victim to keep her from making noise When one of the men asked about her relationship with her colleague the victim answered in a loud voice, which resulted in a slap and a threat to bring more attackers The suspects then committed a sexual assault on the victim striking her leg with a gun when she tried to resist The second attacker also committed the same act despite the victim s pleas and offers of money After the attack, the suspects returned the victim’s belongings, and also gave her and her colleague money to keep quiet before running away towards the forest The victim was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for a medical examination

Former MNA of MQM Khawaja Sohail Mansoor joins PPP

KARACHI s tA f f R e p o R t

Khawaja Sohail Mansoor, a former member of the National Assembly belonging to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P) Pakistan announced his formal joining of the Pakistan People’s Party on Sunday Khawaja Sohail Mansoor while addressing a press conference along with Pakistan People s Party (PPP) leaders during which he joined the Pakistan People’s Party Provincial Minister of Labor and Manpower Sindh Saeed Ghani welcomed Khawaja Sohail for joining PPP and said with his entry, the party will be stronger in Karachi Khawaja Sohail Mansoor remained the MNA of MQM in the past On the other hand, People s Party leader Waqar Mehdi said that with the inclusion of Khawaja Sohail, PPP will become stronger in Karachi and we will work together for the development and peace of the city On this occasion, former MNA Khawaja Sohail Mansoor said that he is grateful to the PPP for trusting him and hoped that PPP will make Karachi a city of lights again He said PPP has made sacrifices for the country

m a d e n o s e c r e t o f h i s l i n k s w i t h t h e a g e n c i e s We l l , i f h e c a n b e p i c k e d u p , t h e n s o c a n C h P e r v e z E l a h i f o r h e h a d p u b l i c l y s a i d t h a t I m r a n h a d b e t t e r s t o p saying things about General Bajwa I m e a n a p a r t f r o m c o r r u p t i o n c a s e s there has been a recovery made of alcohol a l l e g e d l y b r o u g h t f r o m I s l a m a b a d T h a t s o u n d s a l i t t l e l i k e t h e b u ff a l o h i s l a t e u n c l e , C h Z a h o o r E l a h i , i s s u p p o s e d t o h a v e s t o l e n b a c k i n t h e B h u t t o e r a T h e c h a rg e m u s t b e s u c h a s n o t t o b r i n g o n e down in the eyes of one’s fellow villagers Buffalo theft, to rural eyes, is not even a c r i m e a m o n g c e r t a i n c a s t e s t h o u g h C h Z a h o o r d i d n o t b e l o n g t o o n e , w h i l e drinking is also not really a crime, though villagers prefer desi (country liquor) You k n o w, t h e s o r t t h a t l e a v e s a b o u t a d o z e n dead and another dozen blind Of course, that seems to happen more in Madras than our villages The Jat who was arrested, Ch Fawad,

h a s s i n c e b e e n g r a n t e d b a i l , s o m e t h i n g N e l s o n M a n d e l a , w h o m h e e q u a t e d himself to didn’t get Mandela did more than 30 years in prison That’s more than o u r N e l s o n B u t N e l s o n o n l y b e c a m e a s y m b o l i n j a i l H e b e c a m e a g l o b a l i c o n by his conduct on being released, and then a f t e r r e t i r i n g I h o p e o u r N e l s o n l e a r n s from that too Ch Fawad’s release made it sort of a r e v o l v i n g d o o r, w i t h S h R a s h i d a r r e s t e d instead He should be bailed out so let’s see who will be arrested next I m r a n i s o n c e a g a i n g o i n g a r o u n d saying that ‘they’ are out to kill him That gives him the halo of martyrdom without having to undergo martyrdom Martyrdom d o e s h a v e d i s a d v a n t a g e s y o u k n o w I mean, look at the policemen martyred in the Police Lines blast For a start, they’re all dead Imran has things to do elections to fight, countries to rule None is possible if you’re dead

LAHORE: Activists of Youth for Kashmir shout anti-India slogans during a rally outside Press Club, taken out to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day photo by zubAiR Mehfooz

M i n i s t e r : N at i o n s t r o n g l y s u

S A l I K d e M A N d S u N t o d e c l A r e u r d u A S I t S

S e v e N t h o F F I c I A l l A N G u A G e

ISLAMABAD

s tA f f R e p o R t

FO R M E R Federal Minister for Population Welfare and Convener, World Minorities Alliance (WMA), J Salik on Sunday demanded the United Nations to disseminate and translate it’s documents and publications in Urdu language and declare it as its seventh official language

He also urged the UN to allow designated minorities observers (days) at its General Assembly to end disparity

The Convener WMA made these remarks while exchanging views with Patron-in-Chief, WMA Muhammad Saeed Faisal on the upcoming international interfaith conference to be held under the auspices of the Alliance in Washington DC

J Salik said the UN should ensure distribution of its documents in Bangla, Turkish, Korean and Swahili as these languages were also spoken by millions of people around the globe

Referring to his principle demand he said the UN should realise that Urdu language is widely understood and spoken

PM Shehbaz vows to break ‘habit of begging’

ConTInUED fRoM pAgE 01

The legislators welcomed the prime minister and thanked him on behalf of the people of Azad and Occupied Jammu and Kashmir for spending the day of February 5 with people of Kashmir

They said Pakistan Muslim League (N) under the leadership of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif always raised voice all over the world to highlight the Kashmir issue and India's oppression perpetrated against Kashmiris

They paid tribute to the prime minister for voicing his views in support of the Kashmiris at the meetings of United Nations General Assembly, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Uzbekistan and Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building

Measures in Asia, held in Kazakhstan

Former prime minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir and MLA Raja Farooq Haider Khan and members legislative assembly Waqar Ahmed Noor, Sardar Aamir Altaf Khan, Shah Ghulam Qadir, Raja Muhammad Siddique, Muhammed Ahmad Raza Qadri, Nisara Abbasi and federal ministers Khawaja Saad Rafique, Rana Tanvir Hussain, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Murtaza Javed Abbasi and Advisor to PM Qamar Zaman Kaira attended the meeting

Ay’: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed gratitude to the people of Pakistan including overseas Pakistanis for their passionate participation in the observance of Kashmir

Solidarity Day

Taking to his Twitter handle he said "I am grateful to people of Pakistan belonging to all walks of life including overseas Pakistanis for their passionate participation in observance of Kashmir Solidarity Day Pakistan has conveyed a powerful message of support to Kashmiris in their just struggle for self-determination "

Sanaullah says knows well how to deal with PtI’s ‘jail bharo’ tehreek

ConTInUED fRoM pAgE 01

The interior minister said that PTI is now going to launch a ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ [Fill the jail movement] He threatened that he will also deal with the PTI s Jail Bharo Tehreek Sanaullah said that PTI leaders should remember the days of May 25 and November 26 He said that the PTI leaders will be kept in the same cells where PML-N leaders were locked up

in the South Asia region and due to rising Indian, Pakistani, Begali, Sri Lankan and Nepali diaspora in the Middle East it is understandable among a large number of people

He added that Pakistan is the only country in the world that has been created by the minorities of the subcontinent against the majority Hindus The flag of Pakistan is also custodian of equal minorities rights and representation in the country he added Salik told the Patron-in-Chief that the international interfaith conference due in

the first week of March is also intended to advocate for equal rights for the minorites like Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, and people of other faiths as the demograpic representation of different faiths varies from one country to the other

He said the UN should also provide special representation and access to observers belonging to different minorites of the world that would enable them to get recognition and safeguard of their rights at the highest international forum

The Patron-in-Chief Muhammad Saeed Faisal welcomed the suggestions of J Salik

Italian delegation disc usses collaboration in agri, environment sec tors with CM Naqvi

A 13-member delegation of Italian Development Cooperation Institution headed by Director Luca Maestripieri met with caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi at CM office on Sunday in which matters pertaining to make a collaboration in the agriculture and vocational training institutions were discussed Matters with regard to coping up with environmental pollution and smog with the help of Italian technical

assistance were also discussed Cooperation regarding renewal of GSP Plus status also came under discussion during the meeting It was agreed during the meeting to extend mutual cooperation for the agriculture sector, vocational training and elimination of environmental pollution Caretaker CM Mohsin Naqvi talking with the delegation stated that the Punjab government would welcome Italian technical assistance to cope up with smog effectively and expressed his gratitude to Italy for providing access to the European Union markets Mohsin Naqvi maintained that the Punjab

government would welcome technical support of Italy to bring improvement in agriculture and other sectors

By imparting training to the TEVTA instructors in Italy would provide an opportunity to harmonize the vocational education of Punjab with the latest requirements

The Head of the Italian delegation remarked that they felt pleased after coming to Lahore and the culture as well as hospitality of the people of Punjab is impressive CEO Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) gave a briefing about investment opportunities in Punjab while

He also expressed his satisfaction on the preparations for the international interfaith conference

He said the conference is a unique combination of artistic exhibition and intellectual discourse that will convene international figures including politicians, diplomats, UN envoys, observers, US Congressmen, philanthropists, civil society and media

Saeed Faisal underlined that the important part of the event is the chariot ride that will carry 25 oil paintings of various international personalities by Markus Salik

Additional Secretary Environment apprised the delegation about air quality index and environmental pollution CEO Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) gave a briefing on investment opportunities in Punjab while Additional Secretary Environment informed about air quality and environmental pollution T h e I t a l i a n d e l e g a t i o n c o m p r i s e d Head of the Monitoring and Evaluation O ff i c e S t e f a n o G l i n i a n s k i , H e a d o f E v a l u a t i o n O ff i c e F r a n c e s c e o Capecchi, Deputy Head of Mission of I t a l i a n E m b a s s y R o b e r t o N e c c i a , F r a n c e s c o Z a t t a , E m m a n u e l l e B e n i n i , J a c o p o B r a n c h i s i , P a r t n e r s h i p E x p e r t Mission Coordinator Honorary Consul o f I t a l y F a h a d I q b a l a n d o t h e r s P r o v i n c i a l I n d u s t r i e s M i n i s t e r S M Ta n v e e r, S e c r e t a r y A g r i c u l t u r e , Secretary Information CEO PBIT and concerned officials were also present on the occasion

General

turned autocrat Musharraf passes away in D ubai

ConTInUED fRoM pAgE 01

C O N D O L E N C E S P O U R I N G I N : Political figures, key government officials and eminent personalities from all walks of life have widely condoled the death of former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, who breathed his last at a Dubai hospital after a prolonged illness He was 79

President Dr Arif Alvi took to his official Twitter handle and expressed grief over the demise of the former military ruler He prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear the loss

Dr Alvi expressed his heartfelt sympathy and condolence with the heirs of the late former president

Reacting to the news, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered his condolences on the former army chief's demise May the departed soul rest in peace, he wrote on his Twitter account Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad, and tri-services chiefs also expressed heartfelt condolences on Musharraf's death, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR)

"CJCSC and services chiefs express heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of General Pervez Musharraf, former president, CJCSC and chief of army staff May Allah bless the departed soul and give strength to the bereaved family " the military s media wing said

Expressing deep sorrow over the former president s death, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani shared his grief with the bereaved family Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)

supremo Nawaz Sharif also expressed sorrow over his death

Former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi while paying homage to the former army chief, said Musharraf's services to the Pakistan Army and the country cannot be forgotten Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior VicePresident Fawad Chaudhry offered his condolences, saying: "Musharraf was a great person [ ] Pakistan first was his theory and vision "

Meanwhile, Chief of the Air Staff Pakistan Air Force Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu expressed deep grief and sorrow over the sad demise of former President General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf

In a condolence message on Sunday the Air Chief expressed heartfelt condolence over death of former Army Chief and President who passed away in American Hospital at Dubai

Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu prayed for the departed soul to rest in eternal peace and courage for the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss with fortitude

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali, Caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan and Advisor to Prime Minister on Political Affaris Engr Ameer Muqam expressed their heartfelt sorrow and grief over the death of former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf

In a separate condolence message, issued here on Sunday, they prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in rest and to grant patience to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss with fortitude

They lauded the services of Musharraf and said that he was a brave leader

G ovt, IMF at loggerheads over power subsidies, PDL

ConTInUED fRoM pAgE 01

Sources said that the IMF has also directed the Pakistani team to use public sector development program (PSDP) funds to curtail the fiscal deficit which would be 7% against 4 5 percent estimated in the budget

Sources also said that the Pakistani team has also informed that the cost of debt servicing owing to recent devaluation has been increased to Rs5 2 trillion, which means that fiscal deficit would be over 7 percent

They also said that the IMF has also asked to increase one percent sales tax across the board However, nothing has yet been finalized with respect to additional taxes even though various proposals were under consideration and a decision would be taken after the gap is determined during policy level talks

Sources said that technical level talks with the Fund have not been extended for two more days to hold further discussion on the power sector They said that the completion of the 9th review to revive the stalled IMF programme is very critical for Pakistan

The second phase of policy level talks would start from Tuesday and will continue till February 9 on memorandum of economic and financial policies

However, the IMF has softened its stance over subsidy under Kissan Package and Balochistan tube wells” in energy sector

The IMF has demanded hike in tax over luxury items, there are proposals to increase tax over cigarettes and drinks A proposal also being considered about

j&K dispute will remain key pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy: bilawal

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called upon India to end its gross human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and reverse its unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019 including demographic changes In his message on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day, the Foreign Minister said India must repeal draconian laws allow UN-mandated investigations into cases of extrajudicial killings and implement relevant UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir

He said Jammu and Kashmir dispute will remain a key pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy Meanwhile Finance Minister Ishaq Dar stated Pakistan is committed to its unwavering political, moral and diplomatic support to the just struggle of our Kashmiri brethren for their right of self-determination In a tweet today he said right of self-determination for Kashmiris is enshrined in the UN Charter and UN resolutions s tA f f R e p o R t

ISPr says no amount of atrocities can suppress spirit of Kashmiris for freedom

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Army pays tribute to the indigenous freedom struggle of brave Kashmiris for their right to self-determination as per the United Nations resolutions and aspirations of people of Kashmir saying no amount of human rights violations and atrocities can suppress the spirit of Kashmiris for freedom, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Sunday ISPR DG Major General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry released the message of the leadership of Armed Forces on Kashmir Solidarity Day on the Twitter handle He wrote: “CJCSC, Services Chiefs & AFs of Pakistan pay tribute to the indigenous freedom struggle of brave Kashmiris for their right to self-determination as per UN resolutions & aspirations of people of Kashmir No amount of HRV / atrocities can suppress the spirit of Kashmiris for freedom ” s tA f f R e p o R t

imposing federal excise duty over air tickets and enhancing 50 paisa per stick excise duty on expensive cigarettes The monetary fund has also demanded restricting the state interference in the economy by privatization as well as it insisted for regular audit in government departments

To meet another condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the federal government has made it mandatory for all government officials of grade 17 and above to declare their assets

A notification to this effect was also issued by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)

According to the notification the government has also asked public servants to submit details of their overseas assets “All 17 to 22 Grade officers have to provide all information before opening a bank account,” the notification read s tA f f R e p o R t

drugs wor th $1.69m discovered from 12-year-old boy

ISLAMABAD: Coast guards seized 26 2 kilogrammes of narcotics from a 12-year-old boy in Balochistan, a statement said over the weekend The coast guards were searching passenger vehicles at a check post when a passenger bus heading to Karachi arrived and its passengers were checked, the statement said The coast guards discovered narcotics worth $1 69 million in the international market from the boy disguised as a woman, it added The boy was hiding the narcotics in the vest that he wore under his clothes the statement said adding that further investigations are underway s tA f f R e p o R t

IndIa’s occupatIon of KashmIr south asIa’s bIggest conflIct lIngerIng for 74 years: sherry

ISLAMABAD

s ta f f r e p o r t

fe d e r A l Minister for Climate

Change Senator Sherry rehman

in her message on Kashmir Solidarity day said Indian occupation of Kashmir was South Asia’s biggest conflict that was pending for 74 years

In her message here, the federal minister said the United Nations and the world must respect the freedom, human rights and just right to self-determination of Kashmiris She said former prime minister Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had announced to celebrate

Kashmir Solidarity day on February 5

Senator Sherry rehman said the purpose of celebrating this day was to express solidarity with the Kashmiris to

condemn Indian state terrorism in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, to raise voice for the right of self-determination of Kashmiris and to highlight the issue of

Ipc to host ‘first International conference on road safety for parliamentarians’

ISLAMABAD

s ta f f r e p o r t

The First International Conference on road Safety for Parliamentarians will be held from 8th to 9th February 2023 According to detail, the International Parliamentarians Congress (IPC) will host the First International Conference on road Safety for Parliamentarians, in collaboration with the Mustehkam Parlimaan, an eU funded project implemented by GIZ and Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS) in Islamabad

The President dr Arif Alvi will inaugurate the Conference on Wednesday 8th February

The IPC road Safety Conference is bringing together 160 participants from various countries, multiple stakeholders and experts on the subject of road Safety

The conference aims to sensitize the legislators on the five pillars recognized by the United Nations in accordance with the resolution passed by the United Nations on Improving Global road Safety

President dr Arif Alvi, President IPC/Chairman Senate of Pakistan Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani Secretary General IPC Senator Sitara Ayaz, Finance Minister Ishaq dar, and other Parliamentarians will address the Conference regarding the Challenges of road Safety Hazards

Secretary General Special envoy on road Safety Mr Jean Tod and director General World Health Organization dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will also address the conference via video link

The Global road safety conference is the first international Conference that will host a huge number of International Parliamentarians from around 10 countries including Uganda, Azerbaijan, Spain, Jordan, libya, Algeria, Guinea, Turkey, Chad and Iran The international organizations include TUrKPA, IPU, and PUIC day one is dedicated to the Stakeholders/experts/Heads of International Organizations to highlight the importance of the five pillars of road safety which include road Safety Management, Safer roads and Public Mobility

Kashmir to the whole world

“I want to convey a message to Kashmiris all over the world, including Occupied Kashmir that the government

of Pakistan and every citizen are standing besides their Kashmiri brethren in their just struggle for freedom,” Sherry rehman added

By abrogating Article 35A and 370 of its Constitution on August 5, 2019, the Modi government considered Kashmir to have become India’s part, she noted India and the world should not forget that the future of Kashmir and Kashmiris will not be decided by amending the Indian Constitution but according to the wishes of Kashmiris and the resolutions of the United Nations, Sherry rahman maintained The world’s criminal silence on Modi government’s state repression in Kashmir was regrettable she said, adding, “We demand the world to take strict notice of Indian state oppression and terrorism in Occupied Kashmir for 74 years ”

Asad urges political par ties to set strong plan for national integrit y in APC

TANK s ta f f r e p o r t

Federal Minister for Communications and Postal Services Asad Mehmood on Sunday called upon all the political parties to play their role to set a strong plan for national integrity in the All Parties Conference (APC)

He stated this while addressing the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected cabinet of district Press Club Tank which was also attended by former MPA Mahmood Ahmed Khan Betani, Tehsil Mayor Saddam Hussain Betani, Tehsil Mayor Jandola Bahadur Khan Betani and Shamsul Zaman Shams

The minister said all the political parties should attend the

APC called by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on February 07 by setting aside their political differences in the larger national interest

Kashmiris not alone in struggle

for self-determination, says sharjeel

KARACHI s ta f f r e p o r t

Sindh Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon on Sunday said that February 5 was a day to renew our pledge in support of Kashmiris for their right to self-determination

He said Kashmiris are not alone in their struggle

And, ‘We all are standing with them ’

In his message on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity day, the Minister said that Kashmiris had kept the Kashmir issue alive with their unmatchable sacrifices He said that no oppression by India could end the spirit of resistance of Kashmiris

He said Jamiat Ulema Islam Fazl (JUI-F) had a solid stand against terrorism and the party would continue voicing against this menace in the Parliament and other national forums

He said the students of seminaries were as much patriotic as anyone else

While talking about Kashmir Solidarity day, Asad Mahmood paid tribute to the Mujahideen who fought for the freedom of Kashmir He said that he stands with the Kashmiris for human rights and considers the independence of Kashmir as the completion of Pakistan

He lauded the role of local media persons in highlighting regional issues through positive journalism

C aretaker KP CM seeks ulema role for promotion of sec tarian harmony

PESHAWAR s ta f f r e p o r t

Caretaker Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muhammad Azam Khan has made an appeal to religious leaders and Ulema belong to all schools of thoughts to play due role for promotion of sectarian harmony in the province

The Chief Minister appreciated the role of re-

ligious leaders and Ulema in pacifying the sentiments of the general masses after an unpleasant incident that took place in a private sector educational institution in Peshawar the other day; and said that the provincial government highly valued their positive role

He has said that religious leaders and Ulema of the province have always been playing very positive role in such matters; and expressed the hope that the Ulema will play the same role in future as well

Muhammad Azam Khan has further said that in the context of the prevailing law & order situation of the province and the peaceful holding of the upcoming general elections; there is a dire need of a peaceful environment in the province as it was ever before adding that the province could not afford any kind of unrest or sectarian issue in the prevailing situation

He once again made an appeal to the religious leaders and Ulema of all sects to further promote sectarian harmony and to play their important role in pacifying the sentiments of the general public in such incidents so that such issues could be dealt with as per law

He further said that Modi government has turned Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) the largest prison in the world by abolishing Article 370 of Indian Constitution

The Minister said that 900,000 Indian troops had made the lives of people miserable in IIOJK adding that Modi had a long-standing dream and agenda, which he had followed to appease rSS and Hindu extremists Sharjeel Memon said that Pakistani nation had a principled and historical stand on the issue of IIOJK He pledged that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would continue to support Kashmiris until their right to self-determination as per a resolution of United Nations (UN)

sindh, oxford universit y to introduce master’s programme for teachers

KARACHI

s ta f f r e p o r t

The Sindh government, in collaboration with Oxford University, has decided to launch a Master ’s degree programme for teachers across the province

According to details, the development was announced by Sindh education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah while addressing an International Teachers Conference in Karachi

Addressing the conference Syed Sardar Ali Shah claimed that the provincial government has addressed the shortage of teachers in Sindh government schools, adding that training of newly recruited was underway

The minister said the government, in collaboration with Oxford University, has decided to launch a Master ’s degree programme, adding that another programme to make the Teachers Training Institute more efficient has been launched earlier in January, the Sindh education department had decided to sack 40 ghost teachers across the province According to the Sindh education department, 40 teachers including staff and clerical department employees will be sacked The employees include 17 junior school teachers, 8 higher school teachers, 4 guards, 1 junior clerk and 1 lane assistant A show-cause notice was issued to these 40 ghost employees Upon no response, the education department would strip them of their posts

LAHORE s ta f f r e p o r t

Punjab Inspector General of Police dr Usman Anwar on Sunday categorically declared that no any delay in the registration of FIr was acceptable and indiscriminate strict departmental action will be taken against responsible officers and officials The IG Police directed all rPOs CPOs and dPOs should ensure registration of FIrs of all confirmed incidents of theft, robbery and dacoity and submit a certificate in this regard to the Central Police Office by 12 midnight on Monday dr Usman Anwar directed that the CPOs and dPOs should ensure that no

FIrs of confirmed cases of dacoity, robbery and theft are left pending He stressed upon CPOs and dPOs to improve the process of monitoring and even if anyone is found involved in such delay tactics, there should be no hesitation in taking action against him The IG Police directed that the show cause notices of the SHOs who were suspended for not taking timely action on the complaints of the citizens should be decided within 24 hours and complete departmental action against them The IGP said that show-cause notices should be made a part of the service record of SHOs and they should never be posted in these police stations again IG Punjab clarified that only the

officers who consider problems of citizens as their own problem will be able to stay on field posting because our main job is to protect the life and property of the public The officers who fail in this responsibility will have no right to stay on good posting He reiterated that the officers and officials who do not register the cases of robbery, dacoity and theft in time should prepare themselves for action He issued these instructions to the officers during a surprise visit to 1787 Complaint Centre IG Punjab listened to the calls of citizens and reviewed action taken on the complaints

Moreover, IG Punjab dr Usman Anwar encouraged the traffic wardens

who performed their duties diligently and awarded them with certificates of appreciation and cash prizes Inspector rana Ahsan and Traffic Warden rizwan traced the fake number plate vehicle and detained it in Police Station Factory Area within a few hours, on which IG Punjab gave rana Ahsan and rizwan CC1 certificates and cash reward IG Punjab said that encouraging the officers and personnel of good performance during duty is a good tradition so rPOs and dPOs should continue to encourage hardworking, capable and dutiful personnel in their districts On this occasion, CTO lahore Captain retired Mustansar Feroze was also present

PARlIAmeNTARIANS deCl ARe THAR

‘bulwARK Of eNeRgy SeCuRIT y’

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

mE M B E R S of Parliament of Pakistan have termed the Thar as bulwark energy security and said that the country s natural wealth is key to revive the national economy instead of relying on IMF

Headed by Chairman Senate Defence Committee, Senator Mushahid Hussain

Syed, a delegation of Parliamentarians paid three-day visit to CPEC projects in Sindh

The visit was organized by Pakistan-China Institute (PCI), in cooperation with Power China in Port Qasim and Shanghai Electric and Sindh Electric Coal Mining Company

(SECMC) in Thar

During the 3-day visit the delegation first visited the Power China project at Port Qasim, which generates 1320 megawatts of e l e c t r i c i t y P o w e r C h i n a C E O G u o w e lcomed the delegation and briefed them on the project

The Port Qasim power plant an Early Harvest project of CPEC, provides electricity to over 4 million homes through clean energy and it emits environment-friendly white smoke, using supercritical technology

The project has generated jobs, provided revenue to Pakistan worth over $ 600 million in taxes and duties, and contributed to resolving Pakistani chronic energy shortage

On day two of the Sindh CPEC projects

tour, the delegation flew to Thar where it first toured the Sindh Electric Coal Mining Company (SECMC), which is a joint private-public partnership with support of the Sind government and China witnessing the driving of dumper trucks by Thar women, in a living example of Women empowerment

The delegation also visited the newly established 1320 megawatts power plant established with investment from Shanghai Electric China s total investment has been $26 billion, generating 85,000 jobs, including 12,000 in Thar, plus 28,000 Pakistani students now study in China, resulting in a huge socio-economic transformation of the country, thanks to CPEC

Over 5000 megawatts of electricity have

been added to the national grid and some 700 kilometres of road infrastructure have knit the Federation of Pakistan closer together facilitating easier and faster travel

Speaking to the workers of CPEC projects in Port Qasim and Thar, Senator Mushahid Hussain termed CPEC as single most transformative initiative for economic development in the last 30 years, as it provided a basis for energy security, employment and changing lives and livelihoods of the people of Pakistan

The Senator said that Pakistan huge natural resources, including mineral wealth, natural gas and maritime wealth which needs to be exploited for the blue economy Thar alone has 175 billion tons of coal reserves,

more than the oil reserves of Iran and Saudi Arabia put together Thanks to CPEC, this black gold is now contributing to the national economy The natural gas reserves in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are several times higher than these reserves in Sui Senator Mushahid further stated if we truly exploit and utilise our mineral wealth, natural gas, and offshore blue economy, cumulatively worth almost a trillion dollars Pakistan can bid goodbye to the IMF handouts, which we have received for 23 times, without bringing about quality change He urged the need to change national economic priorities instead of policies that undermine national sovereignty and people s dignity Parliamentarians belonging to different political parties lauded CPEC as a guarantor of a better tomorrow for Pakistan and thanked China, as a trusted all weather friendly, for reposing such confidence in the future of Pakistan by investing in CPEC projects in Pakistan They also lauded the role of these companies in promoting people-centric development through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

SWA DPO reviews sec urity measures in A zam Warsak NAVTTC organizes walk to express solidarit y with Kashmiris

SOUTH WAZIRISTAN S ta f f R e p o R t

District Police Officer Shabbir Hussain Marwat visited the Azam Warsak area near sub-division Wana and checked the security situation in the bazaar

According to a police spokesman the DPO was briefed about the security situation by the Additional SHO of Azam Warsak Police Station Usman Khan Mehsud over which the former expressed his satisfaction During the visit, the district police chief also met with the tribal elders and traders of Azam Warsak bazaar and mingled with the people

India set worst example of HR violations in IIOJK , says Sanjrani

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani has said that the Indian government has set the worst example of human rights violations by snatching the special status of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIoJK) through an illegal move on August 5, 2019 to suppress the freedom struggle of the people Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani in his message on Kashmir Solidarity Day, said India would not be able to sustain its illegal occupation through such draconian laws and actions Expressing complete solidarity with the people of IIOJK, he said the people of Pakistan were firmly supporting Kashmiri brethren in struggle for their just cause The increasing Indian brutalities, cruelties and the worst violation of human rights in Kashmir have exposed the ugly face of India to the whole world he added He said now the time has come that human rights leaders, institutions and organizations should take steps to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the United Nations resolutions The Senate Chairman said that Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan and all the political parties of Pakistan have taken steps for a peaceful solution to the lingering dispute Senate Deputy Chairman Mirza Muhammad Afridi said that February 5 is a day of solidarity for the sacrifices made by Kashmiris for freedom He said that all the political parties, institutions and the entire nation of Pakistan are of the same language regarding the Kashmir dispute

T h e p u b l i c e x p r e s s e d h a p p i n e s s a n d s a t i s f a ct i o n b y s e e i n g t h e d i s t r i c t p o l i c e c h i e f a m o n g t h e m

They were of the view that if the DPO himself was visiting the market and assessing the security situation it proved that peace has been established in the area They assured full cooperation with the police department in every possible way for maintaining the peace in the area

Speaking on the occasion, the DPO said no one would be allowed to disturb the peace adding that police would not hesitate in rendering any type of sacrifice in that regard

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

The Excise, Taxation, and Narcotics Control Department, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) in collaboration with the Ministry of National Health Services on Sunday continued the enforcement campaign for tobacco vendors’ licensing in the federal capital Director Excise, Taxation, and Narcotics Control, Bilal Azam said that the drive was launched to enforce the tobacco vendors’ act in the capital

Under the act, tobacco retailers are bound to get licenses and follow several conditions including not selling tobacco products to teenagers or near educational institutions, he added

He said that the Excise and Taxation office Islamabad, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Health Services project Tobacco-Free Islamabad issues licenses to point of sale every year

He said it was the responsibility of the police to protect the lives and properties of the citizens which will be fulfilled at any cost The tribal leaders paid tribute to the hard work and sacrifices of the DPO and said the public was f e e l i n g s e c u r e a f t e r h i s a r r i v a l M o r e o v e r, t h e y said, the people s trust in the police has increased T h e D P O w h i l e t a l k i n g t o t h e t r i b a l e l d e r s s a i d y o u p e o p l e a l s o h a v e a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n m a i n t a i n i n g p e a c e T h e p o l i c e w i l l a l w a y s b e t h e r e t o s e r v e a n d p r o t e c t y o u ” h e a d d e d H e stressed on the collective efforts of police and elders to suppress anti-social and anti-peace elements

Project Manager, Tobacco-Free Islamabad, Muhammad Aftab Ahmed appreciated the efforts of the Islamabad administration to make Islamabad a tobacco-free city

He said the health department considers precautionary measures as its priority He said that the campaign was aimed at controlling, regulating and discouraging the sale of tobacco He said that the civil administration in collaboration with the health ministry was determined to make Islamabad a smoke-free city He said that the World Health Organization already recognized Islamabad as a smoke-free city The move, he said, would not only help in compiling shopkeepers’ data but also increase the revenue of the department, besides controlling tobacco sales to youth

He said that licensing of tobacco sellers has proved to be a very effective way to curb the illicit sale of cigarettes in the capital

Nine killed, 1,092 injured in 1,053 accidents

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

At least nine people were killed while 1 092 injured in 1,053 traffic accidents in Punjab during last 24 hours Out of the total injured, 601 people were seriously injured who were shifted to different hospitals, whereas, 486 minor injured victims were treated at the incident site by rescue medical teams said spokesman for Rescue 1122 here on Sunday The analysis showed that 558 drivers, 32

underage drivers, 187 pedestrians, and 450 passengers were among the victims of these road traffic crashes The statistics showed that 238 accidents were reported in Lahore which affected 247 persons placing the provincial capital at top of the list followed by 92 in Faisalabad with 86 victims and at third Multan 64 with 67 victims As many as, 991 motorcycles, 87 rickshaws, 113 cars, 14 vans, 11 buses, 23 trucks and 79 other vehicles and slow-moving carts were involved in aforesaid road traffic accidents

National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) under the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training on Sunday organized a walk on Kashmir Solidarity Day from Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) to D-Chowk Islamabad

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

A large number of NAVTTC officers and staff participated to express solidarity with the Kashmiris

Participants of walk were carrying placards inscribed with slogans of condemnation of state terrorism by India, Kashmiris’ right of self-determination and appreciation for their freedom struggle

On the occasion Chairman NAVTTC, Shahid Khan highlighted the Kashmir issue in the light of its regional and global implications

He said the human rights violations, remained a big challenge to the conscience of the international community He said the Kashmir issue is a long standing issue on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council Resolving the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UNSC resolution would pave the way for peace and long stability for all of South Asia and help the region attain its true economic potential NAVTTC management also launched a campaign on its social media handles i e NAVTTC Pakistan (@NavttcP) / Twitter and https://www facebook com/navttchqs/ to express solidarity with Kashmiri people Kashmir Solidarity Day stresses the fact that people of Indian occupied Kashmir are not alone in the struggle against tyrannical Indian occupation and entire Pakistani nation is with them in true letter and spirit

This day is being commemorated since 1990 to draw the attention of international community towards the Kashmir issue Basically, Pakistani nation celebrates Kashmir Solidarity Day to express its commitment to the cause of Kashmir Kashmiris pay deepest regards to Pakistan for advocating their case on international arena On this particular day the whole nation pays tribute to Kashmiri people of their struggle for self-determination, their struggle for their fundamental right which is given by International Law and to their rightful liberation against Indian occupied armed forces Every nation has right to exercise political freedom according to their collective will

A JK obser ves K ashmir S olidarity D ay with full enthusiasm, renewed pledge

MIRPUR (AJK)

‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ being observed amidst full throat slogans of Kashmir Baney Ga Pakistan by the people across AJK on Sunday with unprecedented zeal and fervor to express solidarity with Kashmiri brethren fighting against the tyranny of occupational forces in the Indian Illegally occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIoJK)

The day was primarily marked with capacious programs including day-long rallies and demonstrations through making human chains joining hands with Pakistani brethren gathered at all the entry points of AJK

By observing the day people renewed their resolve to continue extending the fullest moral, political and diplomatic support, shoulder to shoulder Pakistan to freedom-loving brethren in the Indian Illegally occupied Jammu & Kashmir in their just and principled struggle for the achievement of Kashmiris’ legitimate right to self-determination and liberation of the motherland from the Indian clutches

As a public holiday, people representing various

walks of life including political, social and human rights organization took out rallies in all big and small cities across AJK including the capital city of Muzaffarabad and at the district and tehsil headquarters of all ten AJK districts including Mirpur, Kotli, Bhimbher, Rawalakot, Bagh, Palandri, Haveili, Hattiyan and Neelam Valley held seminars and vowed to be with their oppressed

brethren in their hour of trial

The Day was observed with renewed pledges and commitments to continue diplomatic, moral and political support to Jammu Kashmir people in their just and principled struggle for the achievement of the right to selfdetermination and the cause of Kashmir

Observance of this day was also aimed at highlighting the long-standing unsettled dispute of Jammu & Kashmir at International and apprising the people of Jammu & Kashmir that they are not alone in this hour of trial and turmoil as people of Pakistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir are wholehearted with them

One-minute silence: As a mark of respect to the valiant struggle of Kashmiris in Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, a one-minute silence was observed at 9 58 a m to pay respects and homage to the martyrs of Kashmir as all rail and road traffic came to a standstill

Human Chain: Human chain was formed on all seven bridges including at Mangla Kohala Dhalkot Azad Pattan, Bhimbher and Holar besides at Bararkot the entry and ex points that connect AJK with Pakistan Thousands of people belonging to AJK and Pakistan

areas and gathered at these bridges and formed a huma chain in to reiterate complete solidarity between them

The human hands chain formed both by Pakistani and Kashmiri people was aimed at to reiterate the unity and fraternity of this fact that both people have bonds of love and affection towards each other Flowing of rivers towards Pakistan and ways linked with land transpire the natural accession with the country, a center of Kashmiri people’s hopes and expectations

In Mirpur district a large number of people from adjoining Punjab province led reached at Mangla bridge, the gateway to this part of Jammu & Kashmir State, and mada e human chain to express solidarity with the people of AJK who had also gathered at the bridge to make human chain joining hands with the people of Pakistan to mark the day Thousands of people belonging to all walks of life from Mirpur division earlier drove to Mangla bridge through big processions, led by Commissioner Mirpur Division Ch Shoukat Mahmud Deputy Commissioner Ch Amjad Iqbal, Acting DIG Police Mirpur Division Raja Irfan Saleem, ADC (G) Yasir Riaz, AC Sardar Abdul Qadir MS Div

To b a c c o ve n d o r s ’ l i c e n s i n g e n fo rc e m e n t d r i ve c o n t i n u e s

IMF mission wraps up P

No longer time for shor t-term measures

E r H A P s it was symbolic of Pakistan’s desperation that the very arrival of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation to negotiate over the stalled IMF tranche in its latest package was accounted a victory by the government Pakistan is dangerously close to default, and the IMF knows it well Because of this, it will press all the harder on its conditionality’s, which the government had initially rejected, or dragged its feet on, because they were unpopular It should not be forgotten that the IMF no longer has any easy conditions to offer as they were offered and accepted a long time ago, and now all the conditions are politically difficult for the government to implement

It5 should not be forgotten that the IMF is trying to turn around the country’s economy too: after all, it wants its loans repaid However the conditions it is laying are difficult for a government to accept when it is just months from an election, and perhaps weeks from elections in two provinces the condition the IMF has laid down is ending the subsidy for lifeline consumers, which is part of the plan to manage circular debt, which has reached rs 2 9 trillion the IMF also wants a pay cut for government employees considered, and also a hike in the petroleum levy by rs 10 per litter, which lead to another round of petrol price hikes, as it compounds the effects of a rapidly devaluing rupee

Perhaps the problem is not so much bad policies as policies aimed at the short term Pakistan s economy has of late been run by snake-oil salesmen at worst smooth talkers at best, men who have claimed to have solutions, but who have actually had, at best, only a short-term fix that would keep the donor agencies satisfied the latest example, Ishaq Dar, is typical: he came in promising the money and was dedicated to defending the rupee against the dollar Because of that when the rupee was allowed to float freely under IMF insistence, the rupee plummeted, and forced an unprecedented increase in petrol prices Economic realities cannot be avoided If Miftah Ismail had to take tough and unpopular decisions to get the IMF to come back, replacing him as Finance Minister by senator Dar did not prove to be the solution for he had to take tough decisions for the same reason there is no longer the option of running to the ‘friendly countries’ for help, for they have now made their aid conditional on IMF Policies must be such that they take the country out of the debt trap permanently not lead it into a dreamland

Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami

K a s h m i r S o l i d a r i t y D a y R e v i s i t e d

abuses which keep going on in Held Kashmir

Ev E ry year, Kashmir solidarity Day is observed on February 5 by people throughout Pakistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) Pakistan observes this very day to express country’s unwavering political moral and diplomatic support to the just struggle of Kashmiri brethren, as enshrined in the uN Charter and relevant uN resolutions the day is marked by public processions, seminars, protests and special prayers in mosques by people across Pakistan and AJK which are carried out against the Indian oppression in the disputed territory of Held Kashmir and for its liberation

In order to maintain its illegal control India has continued its repressive regime in Held Kashmir through various machinations showing complete disregard of the Constitution Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accelerated implementation of the Hindutva ideology the Indian Constitution which claims India is a secular state, was torn into pieces on 5 August 2019 when the extremist government revoked Articles 35A and 370 which gave a special status to Held Kashmir the Indian government bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh to be ruled by the federal government

On the same day, strict military lockdown was imposed in Held Kashmir, which continues unabated

In fact the very tragedy of Kashmiris had started after 1947 when they were denied their genuine right of self-determination they organized themselves against the injustices of India and launched a war of liberation which New Delhi tried to suppress through various forms of state terrorism since 1989 various forms of state terrorism have been part of a deliberate campaign by the Indian army and paramilitary forces against Muslim Kashmiris It has been manifested in brutal tactics like crackdowns curfews, illegal detentions, massacre, targeted killings, sieges, burning the houses, torture, disappearances rape breaking the legs molestation of Muslim women and killings in fake encounters the deployment of more than 900,000 military

I n c o m p e t e n c e G a l o r e

challenge, this time the old and tried, the security situation marred by terror waves Peshawar unfortunately became yet another target of a terrorist attack on January 30, in one of the biggest attacks in the city and its law-enforcing agencies

troops in Held Kashmir who have martyred tens of thousands of Kashmiris, including women and children, through brutal tactics like fake encounters, while closure of mosques shortage of foods medicines for patients have further increased the plight of the Kashmiris to hide human rights violations communication services have been cut off and foreign journalists forbidden from entering the region Indian forces have been also availing such draconian laws as Armed Forces special Powers Act (AFsPA), the Public safety Act (PsA) etc in martyring the Kashmiri people and for arbitrarily arresting any individual indefinitely the Modi regime has intensified its plans, bringing demographic changes in Held Kashmir In this context, India has amended the law, allowing Indian citizens to buy land in Held Kashmir , issued domicile certificates to over 80 0000 non-Kashmiris and registered almost 2 5 million new non-local voters the regime has also sent gangs of rss-BJP volunteers to be permanently stationed in the occupied Kashmir Despite the use of chemical weapons pellet guns and phosphorus bombs, Kashmiris have accelerated the war of liberation,, as recognized by the related uN resolutions Notably during the partition of the sub-continent, the people of Jammu and Kashmir which comprised a Muslim majority, decided to join Pakistan But, Dogra raja, sir Hari singh, a Hindu ruling Kashmir in collusion with Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Governor General Lord Mountbatten, joined India the radcliffe Boundary Award gave Gurdaspur District,a majority Muslim area to India to provide a land route to the Indian armed forces to move into the J&K Indian forces invaded srinagar on 27 October, 1947 and forcibly occupied Kashmir in utter violation of the partition plan When Pakistan responded militarily, on December 31, India appealed to the uN security Council to intervene and a ceasefire ultimately came into effect on 1 January 1949 following uN resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir the security Council adopted a resolution of 21 April 1948, which promised a plebiscite under uN auspices to enable the people to determine whether they wish to join Pakistan or India On 5 February 1964, India backed out of its plebiscite commitment Instead, Indian Parliament declared Kashmir-an integral part of the Indian union Western media human rights groups leaders of various countries and the uN have repeatedly condemned Indian illegal measures and human rights

A year after India abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, uN human rights experts on 4 August 2020 called on India and the international community to take urgent action to address the “alarming” human rights situation in Kashmir,“to investigate all cases of human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and arbitrary detentions ”

Par ticularly, Pakistan’s missions abroad also commemorate special events to inform the international community about the persecution faced by Kashmiris under the illegal Indian occupation

Amnesty International also said on 29 september 2020 that it is “stopping its work in India because the government has frozen its bank accounts” on september 10 for highlighting rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir” In the recent past, the uN security Council in its meetings has thrice reiterated that the Kashmir issue requires to be settled in accordance with the principles of the uN charter and the related security Council resolutions, as the world has refused to believe in the Indian story that its actions regarding Held Kashmir are its internal matter recently, the uN General Assembly has adopted a Pakistan-sponsored resolution on universal realization of the right of the People to self-determination with the consensus of 72 countries On this day, special transmissions were broadcasted on media to highlight the Kashmir cause However, the current situation is the worst in recent history, as through cotinuous illegal and unilateral steps Modi’s government has created an environment of fear and chaos for the Kashmiris Kashmir has become the world’s largest prison, and the most militarized zone on earth In this respect, Pakistanis and Kashmiris abroad also highlighted Indian atrocities and continued struggle for the Kashmiris’ legitimate right of self-determination at various international forums, emphasizing the Kashmir issue should be resolved in accordance with the related uN resolutions Particularly, Pakistan’s missions abroad also commemorate special events to inform the international community about the persecution faced by Kashmiris under the illegal Indian occupation Islamabad will continue to extend moral, political and diplomatic support to just cause of people of Held Kashmir till realization of their right to self-determination in accordance with the uNsC resolutions February 5 iwa observed Kashmir solidarity Day to pay homage to Kahsmiri martyrs and to show solidarity with the freedom fighters who continue the war of liberation demanding their legitimate right of self-determination, as recognized by the uNsC resolutions

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations and can be reached at: sajjad logic@yahoo com

Ju s t a few months ago everyone thought that the looming political crisis was the biggest challenge that Pakistan faced and with 2023 marked as the election year, it was expected that we would get rid of this political crisis and return to normalcy As 2023 approached the dream of normalcy started to fade away Pakistan was in the stranglehold of another crisis this time on the economic front One Finance Minister was replaced with another in a hope that the new one would take the challenge more effectively but to everyone s dismay the newer one turned out to be more of the same

Just when the egos of our ruling elite allowed the much-awaited and much needed return to IMF and when the things were expected to change for better we faced another

On the same day, Pakistan desperately a w a i t e d t h e u A E P r e s i d e n t t o l a n d i n I slamabad so much so that a public holiday was announced in the Capital However, at t h e e l e v e n t h h o u r, h e b a c k e d o u t o f h i s visit citing bad weather as a reason while t h e a u t h o r i t i e s i n I s l a m a b a d w e r e l e f t dumbfounded in the broad daylight on this last moment cancellation It is hard to rec a l l a n y o t h e r i n c i d e n t w h e n t h e g o v e r nm e n t i n I s l a m a b a d w a s s o d e s p e r a t e t o h o s t a f o r e i g n d i g n i t a r y a n d t h e v i s i t o r equally uninterested It is a new low in the c o u n t r y ’s d i p l o m a t i c h i s t o r y t h a t h a s brought nothing, but consternation, if anyone could feel it N o w, r e w i n d b a c k t o M a r c h 2 0 2 2 , n o t e v e n a y e a r a g o W h e n N a t i o n a l G D P w a s g r o w i n g b y 6 p e r c e n t , P a k i s t a n d i d n o t n e e d f o r e i g n d i g n i t a r i e s t o b a i l i t o u t t h o s e w h o v i s i t e d P a k i s t a n , v i s i t e d f o r g o o d w i l l a n d m u t u a l i n t e r e s t s P a k i s t a n

hosted a 50 plus delegation of foreign dign i t a r i e s i n a n O I C c o n f e r e n c e i n I s l a ma b a d i n M a r c h 2 0 2 2 E v e r y t h i n g m i g h t n o t h a v e b e e n r o s y a t t h a t t i m e b u t t h i n g s were certainly a lot better and more stable t h a n w h a t i s f o u n d t o d a y Considering the

situation in the country, one would imagine that the prime agenda of the intelligence

agencies would be to counter the threat which is looming on their heads Pakistan certainly needs to take it on war footing, as more than 80,000 Pakistanis have lost their lives to terrorism, more than any other war that the country has fought I n t h e r e c e n t i n c i d e n t , m o r e t h a n 1 0 0 p e o p l e h a v e l o s t t h e i r l i v e s i n o n e o f t h e b i g g e s t c a s e s o f i n t e l l i g e n c e f a i l u r e , i n t h e h e a r t o f P e s h a w a r 1 0 0 l i v e s l o s t m e a n 1 0 0 f a m i l i e s d es t r o y e d f o r e v e r, i n a b l i n k I n a n y o t h e r c i v i l i z e d n a t i o n h e a d s w o u l d h a v e r o l l e d , b u t n o t h e r e I n P a k i s t a n , t h e m a s s e s d o n ’t e v e n k n o w w h o i s g o i n g t o t a k e t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i f t h e y a r e t h e n e x t o n e s t o l o s e t h e i r l i v e s i n a n o t h e r a t t a c k a n d then be forgotten by the state as c o l l a t e r a l d a m a g e I n c o m p et e n c e g a l o r e i n d e e d !

Not just that, in the same week more than 50 youth lost their lives in Kohat because an overloaded boat drowned in a river and the passengers were not following the safety measures

smuggled petrol from Iran which caused the fire Not so surprising again, because for many of the elite in our country the dollars earned through smuggled items are more precious than human lives

today our Parliament has no Opposition per se two of our major provinces have no provincial assemblies It has been weeks since the provincial assemblies of Punjab

back with excuses Cherry on top, that our justice system looks clueless on this abrogation of the constitution Incompetence galore, indeed t h e r e i s a g r o w i n g s e n s e o f d e s p o nd e n c y a m o n g P a k i s t a n i s a t t h e m o m e n t e s p e c i a l l y t h e y o u n g e r l o t P r o f e s s i o n a l s and highly qualified youth are choosing to m i g r a t e o u t o f t h e i r n a t i v e c o u n t r y b ec a u s e t h e y f e e l t h a t t h e s t a t e h a s f a i l e d t h e m

Pakistan at the moment is too fragile to bear the weight of tainted politicians The masses have had enough of the experiences, let them be the deciders of their own destiny. Let the path of normalcy lead through political stability, which can ultimately lead to economic stability and a secure environment Pakistan, for once, deserves better. Pakistanis deserve better

Not surprising, because, the bureaucracy selected through the Css examination (which itself needs to be reformed)seems to be more interested in the photo ops than their actual duties of management and administration similarly, more than 40 plus people lost their lives in an unfortunate bus accident in Lasbela Balochistan because the bus carrying the passengers did not meet the safety guidelines the bus was carrying

and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were dissolved Article 105(3) of the Constitution says that the new elections must be announced within 90 days of the dissolution of the assembly, but both the Governors and Election Commission of Pakistan when reminded about this constitutional obligation are replying

From justice system to political system, security apparatus to quality of life, the future looks bleak to them there are cases of growing human rights abuses, media persons are gagged, politically-informed masses are threatened and chased down, beaten, humiliated and even killed Hence, brain drain is another major concern that Pakistan faces today the junior officers of KP Police are threatening mass resignation if the perpetrators of Peshawar Attack are not brought to justice Nowhere else in the world, security personnel are seen protesting for their own security the situation in the country is not less than chaotic, somewhat like a volcano, ready to erupt Let us be very clear that Pakistan at the moment is too fragile to bear the weight of tainted politic i a n s t h e m a s s e s h a v e h a d e n o u g h o f t h e e x p e r i e n c e s , l e t them be the deciders of their own d e s t i n y L e t t h e p a t h o f n o r m a l c y l e a d through political stability, which can ultimately lead to economic stability and a sec u r e e n v i r o n m e n t P a k i s t a n , f o r o n c e , deserves better Pakistanis deserve better T h e w r i t e r i s a f re e l a n c e c o l u m n i s t

Let us be very clear that

The

Peshawar attack was par t of a pattern

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

Proving one’s loyalt y

W E have often been critical of the West especially the united states and the united Kingdom But we, especially our politicians, never follow what political leaders and even royal family members in the West do to serve their society, country and the people in the name of loyalty to the national cause For example, in some European countries, royal family members are required to serve in the armed forces and this service is mandatory for them Going through the rigours of military training is mandatory, and in some instances royal family members have even served the military and were sent to the conflict zones like Afghanistan Prince Harry for instance joined the British military and spent time in Afghanistan as a military helicopter pilot and saw actual combat there this mandatory military service made him loyal to his country and a good, honest citizen It is unfortunate that our politicians, who are more royal than the British royals, become what they are only to have luxuries for themselves and their families And these political bigwigs enjoy these luxuries not without the support of their voters who revere them and vote them to power Can we even imagine sons of our politicians going through military training serving in the armed forces at some location in the country leave alone experiencing action in a war and putting their lives at stake for the nation?

Honestly speaking, we cannot blame only the politicians for being our masters and demagogues We have chosen to be their slaves on our free will Most Pakistanis are devoted and loyal to a political or a religious party All constitution violations and acts of corruption of the politicians are ignored and, even worse, defended by their followers who just about worship them I wonder why Can we proposer and stand along with developed nations having such sickening and slave mindset?

A Letter from Prometheus

work as the second fiddle to the superclass

fence Minister and by his colleague, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari because Khawaja Asif asked the parliamentarians whether we are sovereign or a mortgaged nation He is also not clear about who is taking decisions in the country

Khawaja Asif, while remembering Ziaul Haq's era, mentioned that Pakistan provided services to the usA on rent for fighting Afghan Jihad against russian troops

Khawaja Asif s questions are appropriate but he knows he cannot hold anyone accountable because the powerful do not like to answer what they do and they are not answerable to anybody

WI t H a big bang terrorism is back again in Pakistan, the sacrifices of over 80,000 innocent people have gone down the drain and we are standing where we were in early 2013 Our sons in uniform who gave their lives in anti-terrorism operations have the right to ask from their graves whether they sacrificed their souls to reinstall terrorists in Pakistan their questions can include why they left their families by choice at the mercy of monsters who had been invited back to live in Pakistan

On February 3, an Apex meeting was held in Peshawar to review the law and order situation in the country after the massacre of over 100 people who were praying in the Police Lines mosque Prime Minister shehbaz sharif was asking, who relocated terrorists from Afghanistan to Pakistan?

Do we not remember that the Parliament was briefed when the PtI-led government invited terrorists back to Pakistan and briefings were given by the former COAs and former DG IsI to politicians including shehbaz sharif? the PML(N) is blaming former Prime Minister Imran Khan for reinventing terrorism by rehabilitating terrorists in Pakistan while Imran Khan is naming the former COAs and the former DG IsI for this action

We know that whosoever was responsible for this reckless action would never be questioned therefore wasting the time in raising such useless questions that had answers within them must be avoided and we must move forward We always move forward by forgiving and forgetting what had happened to us and who was responsible for our disasters We are a very resilient nation indeed

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on February 2, informed parliamentarians that the PtIled government after the Fall of Kabul sent a message to the then opposition (now the government) that “talks could be held with terrorists Khawaja Asif claimed that nevertheless briefings were given by the then COAs and the then DG IsI but meetings had remained “inc o n c l u s i v e a n d p o l i t i c i a n s w e r e o n l y i nf o r m e d a b o u t t h e d e c i s i o n s t h a t h a d a l r e a d y been taken and Parliament never endorsed dec i s i o n s I c a n o n l y b e s o r r y t h a t a D e f e n c e Minister is asking Parliament who should be held accountable for the bloodshed nowadays Pakistan is facing Khawaja Asif raised questions that must be answered by Khawaja Asif himself as the De-

Inclusive curriculum

these allegations are not unfounded because the superclass tailors the system where only handpicked and chosen ones can reach the political institutions that are responsible for decisionmaking remember former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had been selling the dreams of sharing political opportunities with the working class, fielded only electable candidates in the 2018 general elections Now he claims that others were taking decisions for his party as well as his government

Terrorism, Parliament, and the Superclass

Questioning someone is possible when you have at least some status and some leverage of power over that which is being enjoyed by someone you are questioning How can a civilian Parliament ask anything from anybody that is a member of the all-powerful and supreme elite? D a v i d r o t h k o p f , a n A m e r i c a n s c h o l a r i n h i s f a m o u s b o o k s u p e r c l a s s : t h e G l o b a l P o w e r E l i t e a n d t h e Wo r l d t h e y A r e M a k i n g , w r i t e s t h a t t h e n e t w o r k o f business, government, m i l i t a r y a n d c u l t u r a l e l i t e s a r e r e d e f i n i n g p o w e r i n t h e g l o b a l era He is of the view that each one of them i s o v e r a m i l l i o ns t r o n g a n d t h e y r u n o u r g o v e r n m e n t s o u r l a rg e s t c o r p o r a t i o n s , the powerhouses of international finance, the m e d i a a n d f r o m t h e s h a d o w s t h e w o r l d s most dangerous criminal and terrorist organiz a t i o n s t h e y a r e t h e g l o b a l s u p e r c l a s s , a n d

If all best become superclass and they rule the rest, then histor y tells us societies go through drastic chang es and nature finds some way to free the “rest” from the “best” because , without this natural course , there is nothing to stop those who hold the most power doing what they want and tyrannizing ever yone else

they are shaping the history of our time you can disagree with him but questions he raises in his book need thoughtful introspective behaviour to understand that somehow or other his viewpoint cannot be just thrown away

He discusses commonalities among partners of the superclass and their common approach to controlling their own countrymen His more important question is who sets the rules for a group that operates beyond national laws? the answer to his question needs in-depth investigation and this superclass that also controls aids and funds needed for research organizations would never allow working on this in-depth investigation

Meanwhile, the corporate media which is a softpowered tool of the superclass redirects such questions toward poor, powerless, and orphan democracies

Many of today s corporate sector-sponsored thinkers and researchers say democracy is responsible for every ill in Pakistan because politicians are corrupt, incompetent, outdated, and

Our democracy is a legacy of Greek and roman political systems where state-friendly philosophers like Plato and Aristotle favoured a kind of democracy that could ensure “the rule by the best over the rest, an aristocracy based on merit rather than blood” Aristotle also said that a good monarchy was better than a democracy Aristotle s criticisms of democracy were often insightful and farsighted His key objection to democracy was that it undermined the rule of law while a functioning state requires that laws govern everything Aristotle might understand that the superclass had resources and means to subjugate poor and weak politicians and it is difficult to control rich and powerful monarchies A n y h o w i t i s a l o n g d i s c u s s i o n o f what Aristotle thought a b o u t d e m o c r a c y a n d w h a t k i n d o f m o n a rc h y h e p r o m o t e d A ri s t o t l e w a n t e d t h e rule by the best over the rest” Do we find the best around us? the b e s t a r e t h o s e w h o h a v e t h e s k i l l t o a c q u i r e p o w e r a n d r e s o u r c e s a n d t h e y o b v i o u s l y a r e part of a superclass If all best become superclass and they rule the rest then history tells us societies go through drastic changes and nature finds some way to free the “rest” from the “best” because, without this natural course there is nothing to stop those who hold the most power doing what they want and tyrannizing everyone else

While finishing my degree in Political Philosophy, I extensively read German philosopher Hegel because his ideas influence the generations to come since his death in 1831 He believes that “rulers, statesmen, Nations, are used to be emphatically commended to the teaching which experience offers in history But what experience history has taught is - that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it”

The writer is an international award winning journalist who has been in the field since 1988 and appears in national and international media as analyst and political scientist

I t is imperative to understand that the purpose of a curriculum is two-fold: one is to enhance employability, and the second is to promote citizenship the 2017 National Education Policy draft called for a uniform curriculum in Pakistan In this regard two phases of single national curriculum (sNC) have been completed based on standardised minimum learning objectives for each grade and subject area, model textbooks, teacher training, and concept-based assessment framework

However, sNC has faced criticism on account of numerous curriculum deficiencies First and foremost, the National Curriculum Council (NCC) has no robust statistical regime there is not a single tehsil in Pakistan for which we have accurate data regarding the number of educational institutions within its jurisdiction second, the model textbooks are of low quality, meaning sub-standard with no supporting documents available this not only serves as a learning hurdle for the students but also makes it difficult for teachers to facilitate third the proposed students learning outcomes-based examination policy promotes rote learning Instead of promoting learning by doing, we are promoting doing by learning approach; hence, there is a need to reverse the trend so that we may develop critical thinkers Fourth, the compulsion of overflowing religious content has raised serious concerns Excessive content related to any single subject is difficult for the students to absorb at a young age

Lastly, the sNC content is not enough to fulfil the learning objectives of private schools In turn, this is affecting the performance of students associated with the Cambridge system Moving forward we need to identify the end goal of our national curriculum What kind of student do we want to shape? some serious consideration in pursuit of an inclusive national curriculum would include the need of a robust list of schools at disaggregated level, incorporation of middle-tier curriculum stream, inclusion of heritage content covering local culture and traditions, and introduction of climate change as a core subject Besides, the existing gap between curriculum development and publica-tion of textbooks should be reduced

BILAL AFTAB ISLAMABAD

European Union: A missionar y based organization

E u r O P E A N union is a missionary based Organization this is comprised of European states without united Kingdom and the exemplary unity has made the member states as welfare countries the union has the positive attitude towards sister member states the euro currency has proved its strong image among other international currencies

Aims and values

Aims: the aims of the European union within its borders are: Promote peace, its values and the well-being of its citizens; offer freedom, security and justice without internal borders, while also taking appropriate measures at its external borders to regulate asylum and immigration and prevent and combat crime; establish an internal market; achieve sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and price stability and a highly competitive market economy with full employment and social progress; protect and improve the quality of the environment the aims of the Eu worldwide are: uphold and promote its values and interests; contribute to peace and security and the sustainable development of the Earth contribute to solidarity and mutual respect among peoples, free and fair trade, eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights strict observance of international law VA l u e s

The european union is founded on the following values:

Human dignity: Human dignity is inviolable It must be respected, protected and constitutes the real basis of fundamental rights

Freedom: Freedom of movement gives citizens the right to move and reside freely within the union Individual freedoms such as respect for private life, freedom of thought, religion, assembly, expression and information are protected by the Eu Charter of Fundamental rights Democracy: the functioning of the Eu is founded on representative democracy A European citizen automatically enjoys political rights Every adult Eu citizen has the right to stand as a candidate and to vote in elections to the European Parliament equality: Equality is about equal rights for all citizens before the law the principle of equality between women and men underpins all European policies and is the basis for European integration It applies in all areas the principle of equal pay for equal work became part of the treaty of rome in 1957

Rule of law: the Eu is based on the rule of law Everything the Eu does is founded on treaties, voluntarily and democratically agreed by its Eu countries Law and justice are upheld by an independent judiciary the Eu’s values are laid out in article 2 of the Lisbon treaty and the Eu Charter of Fundamental rights In 2012, the Eu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe

TARIQUE KHAN KARACHI

KAShmIr IS bleedIng.

SO IS ItS eCOnOmy

hasn t had elections in seven years Yet it should now increasingly be clear if it wasn’t previously, that sidelining democratic processes and principles, and steamrolling constitutional provisions aren’t working in improving the region’s security or economic allure

FOLLOW THE MONEY

The abrogation of Article 370 allowed non-residents to buy and own land in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time Critics of the region’s previous special status frequently cited restrictions on land ownership as a major reason why private sector industries were reluctant to set up businesses there

al JazeeRa

m a k n o o n Wa n i

ON January 1, 2023, as the world celebrated the start of a new year, several families were mourning in the Rajouri district of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir Armed men stormed a village and killed four civilians, injuring six others

Two more civilians were killed the following day

Just a few weeks earlier, on December 13, India s Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai had presented investment data for Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir The numbers spoke for themselves: investments have fallen by 55 percent over the past four years

Together the killings and the declining investments contradict two central arguments that have been at the heart of the Indian government’s rationale for the 2019 abrogation of the semi-autonomous status that the region previously enjoyed: that the move would help improve security and spur economic development

In the past federal governments in New Delhi have often blamed Jammu and Kashmir ’s woes on local governments in power in the region That s no longer an excuse that works

When the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi eliminated Article 370 of the Indian constitution which gave Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir special status” it also carved out the territory of Ladakh from the region Kashmir ’s statehood was withdrawn and it was made a union territory, directly controlled by New Delhi

Jammu and Kashmir doesn t even have the disempowered legislature that other union territories have the region

The wandering balloon episode shows Biden's lack of crisis management

years: There were 279 incidents in 2017, 322 in 2016 208 in 2015 222 in 2014 and 170 in 2013, the year before Modi came to power

WHAT’S REALLY AT PLAY

The Indian government had claimed that Article 370 restricted people’s participation in the political process and led to a few families dominating the politics of the region However, since 2019, Modi s Bharatiya Janata Party has taken steps to further disempower local Kashmiris

Awandering balloon - an utterly harmless civilian airship used for meteorological research, blown by wind and accidentally entered into US airspace via Westerlies - has made the US, a superpower which shows off its military muscles around the world, react as if it were confronted by a formidable enemy

However data published by the Indian government’s Ministry of Home Affairs and made public by Rai calls a bluff on those claims Total investment in 2021-22 in Jammu and Kashmir stood at $46m, down from $50 5m the previous year and dramatically less than the $102 8m spent in 2017-18

While the COVID-19 pandemic no doubt affected Kashmir ’s economy, the statistics suggest that wasn’t the biggest factor in investments drying up After all, the steepest fall in investments came the year that the Indian government ended Kashmir s semi-autonomous status, before the pandemic, halving from $72 3m in 2018-19 to $36 3m in 2019-20

T R A C K T H E B U L L E T S : T h i n g s

a r e n ’t m u c h b e t t e r o n t h e s e c u r i t y front Although political protests have s u b s i d e d b e c a u s e m o s t p r o - i n d e p e nd e n c e l e a d e r s h a v e b e e n i m p r i s o n e d , armed groups appear to have changed their tactics

Attacks on civilians have increased in the last few years and are increasingly being directed at non-resident Hindus and the minority Kashmiri Pandit community A S Dulat, the former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, India’s external intelligence agency, recently highlighted the sophistication of these attacks The targeted killings, he said, demonstrated that the armed groups have a strong intelligence network and possibly have members within the government

At least 18 Kashmiri Pandits and non-resident Hindus have been killed in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370

As with the economy the Indian government’s own data does not support claims that armed groups have been contained The number of attacks by such groups was 229 in 2021, not significantly different from many previous

First constituency boundaries for the region’s legislature were redrawn in a way that gives Hindu-majority Jammu a greater say in elections than its population, relative to Muslim-majority Kashmir ’s, merits In effect, that strengthens the chances of the BJP coming to power in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir

T h e n a r e v i s i o n o f t h e v o t e r l i s t was carried out, giving voting rights to outsiders Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is home to hundreds of thous a n d s o f m i g r a n t w o r k e r s a n d a r m y p er s o n n el if allo w ed to v o te, th eir electoral influence is going to be significant

Some Kashmiri leaders have invoked the region s 1987 elections which were allegedly rigged and were considered a tipping point when the armed separatist movement in Kashmir took off M e a n w h i l e , a r m e d g r o u p s m a y continue to adopt attacks on non-local c i v i l i a n s a s t h e m a i n s t a y o f t h e i r s t r a t e g y t o s i g n a l t h e i r o p p o s i t i o n t o d e m o g r a p h i c c h a n g e s a t t e m p t e d b y N e w D e l h i

While Kashmiris and non-locals alike suffer, there is no reason to expect that Modi and his government will change their policy towards the region The BJP’s hardline approach towards Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir helps it bolster its image in the rest of India as a party that is tough on “terrorism and separatism The truth of course is more complicated The BJP’s policies have led to increased insecurity for people living in the region whether they’re Hindu or Muslim And there has been no economic payoff, either Maknoon Wani is a researcher and a n i n c o m i n g g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t a t O xford Internet Institute University of Oxford Maknoon has extensively covered t h e K a s h m i r c o n f l i c t , i n t e r n e t s h u td o w n s a n d a n t i - m i n o r i t y h a t e s p e e c h in India His interest also lies in technology policy and internet governance

Members of Congress shrieked about the so-called threats to US national security, as if Doomsday was approaching Amid the screams the balloon turned into a target of a US F-22 fighter jet's "first kill " The act of rudely damaging Chinese civilian property quickly drew criticism from Chinese Foreign Ministry and Chinese Ministry of National Defense

However in the US the political farce surrounding the wandering balloon is continuing, which helps us comprehensively understand the main challenge confronting China-US ties as well as the ill nature of US domestic politics

Compared with the frank, open and calm manner of the Chinese authorities the performances of some US politicians in the current Biden administration can be said as hysterical

According to a statement of US Department of Defense issued on Saturday, "the balloon did not pose a military or physical threat Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration " The US is the world's largest military superpower In December 2022, US President Joe Biden approved a record $858 billion defense spending bill for 2023 The figure not only ranks the first on global scale, but is also more than the military expenditure of the next nine countries combined Yet the superpower somehow freaks out about a wandering balloon, which exposes it as a paper tiger From the perspective of modern military technology, balloons have long been logged off from mainstream military toolkits The use of balloons especially the type involved in the latest incident, which can be sent to the Earth s stratosphere, is for collecting meteorological information

Yet Politico magazine made a "serious" analysis, claiming they are cheap, can carry a lot and can hang out for a long time" for "surveillance missions " To put it bluntly, this is deliberately pretending to be anxious If such balloons were as efficient as surveillance equipment, they would have appeared in the Pentagon s purchase list long ago Anyone who understands this technology knows that US satellite surveillance system, as well as regular closein reconnaissance toward China, are the ones that can be described as aggressive and amok

Seeing how the incident was hyped up in the US, people can clearly see that US domestic political struggles are compressing the room for Washington to make responsible decisions for crisis management and strategies for stability

In light of the historical development of the strategic games of great powers after World War II crisis management and strategic stability require effective communication and exchanges among major countries on emergencies based on facts and seeking truth from facts

In the practice of China-US relations, the US has been talking about crisis management all the time with various terms and concepts including "setting guardrails " Now, when the west wind blows over a balloon, time has arrived to show US' rational prudent professional and responsible attitude But how it turned out?

Political figures in Washington are jumping up and down yelling and screaming seizing the opportunity to show their toughness and firmness, without the decency or grace they are supposed to have and they have made China-US ties the victim of political infighting among different factions, when they are hitting and biting one another They are extremely irresponsible

Another manifestation of such irresponsibility is displayed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's reportedly planned visit to China It is supposed to be a follow-up of the China-US summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022 But the US side seems to have mistakenly believed that Blinken's Beijing trip is some kind of gift from the US to China, and the US side can make it work if it likes, and can cancel the trip if it doesn t

As Chinese Foreign Ministry points out, "One of the tasks of the diplomatic teams on both sides is to properly manage bilateral relations, particularly to manage some unexpected situations in a cool-headed and prudent manner In fact, neither side has ever announced that there would be a visit It is a matter for the US to make its latest announcement, and we respect that That being said be it the narrative that Blinken was planning to visit China, or the reports that the trip was postponed, they are all monologues from the US which are not in line with either diplomatic management or the rulesbased laws that the US has been talking a lot, or the consensus reached by the two sides after consultation The one-man show of the US will do no good to help China-US relations back to the sound track as soon as possible

The wandering balloon episode echoes an old Chinese saying - life can be really simple, but some insist on making it complicated The reaction from the US is bringing troubles on oneself It is hoped the US diplomatic team can amend its improper approach break away from the shackles of American political infighting, manage bilateral ties in a truly responsible manner meet the Chinese side half way and calmly and prudently deal with emergencies and accidents That is crucial to both the China-US ties and the world

The author is director of the Research Institution for Global Cyberspace Governance at Fudan University

US-China war by 2025: A self-fulfilling prophecy?

The

powers

“IH O P E I am wrong My gut tells me we will fight in 2025,” Minihan reportedly wrote in a memo to his officers, obtained by media outlets The message instructs AMC personnel to train and get their affairs in order so that they are “legally ready and prepared ”

This prediction is the most direct and blunt yet from an American official on the prospect of a potential conflict between the US and China, besides President Joe Biden s indications that the US would intervene on the side of Taiwan if China invaded Of course, Minihan is not a policymaker, and the memo is not an official statement of US military policy towards China But the influence of the US military and by extension, the military-industrial complex, on US foreign policymaking and on the mood in Washington in general, should not be underestimated

The reality is, especially as seen in Ukraine, that the risk of a major-power conflict is arguably at the highest it has ever been since the end of World War II or the

height of the Cold War That is because the US sees itself as a rightful and permanent global hegemon It also sees the competition catching up, however, and is ready to use all means necessary, and to take massive risks, to prevent the rise of rival powers As such the US and China risk falling into the so-called, “Thucydides Trap,” which is described as “an apparent tendency towards war when an emerging power threatens to displace an existing great power as a regional or international hegemon”

The current distribution of power in the world is described as emerging multipolarity Following three decades of American unipolarity, when the US ruled unchallenged, a number of emerging powers are changing the international order Multipolarity differs from bipolarity,” where two powers compete for hegemony, the best known example being the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War While bipolarity brings a form of stability, as the m i l i t a r y c a p a b i l i t i e s o f b o t h p o w e r s a r e e v e n l y matched and the stakes of a potential conflict are ext r e m e l y h i g h , h i s t o r y s h o w s m u l t i p o l a r i t y t y p i c a l l y b r i n g s i n s t a b i l i t y a s i t c r e a t e s a n i n s e c u r e , u n p r edictable, and competitive international environment

m a t e l y c o m b u s t e d i n t o t h e F i r s t Wo r l d Wa r A s c o m p e t i n g w o r l d p o w e r s e x p a n d e d t h e i r i m p e r i a l i s t ambitions they sought to contain others by forming alliances and starting arms races S o u n d s f a m i l i a r ? I t s h o u l d To d a y ’s w o r l d h a s some disturbing parallels The US - an insecure hegem o n w h o s e r e l a t i v e p o w e r i s d i m i n i s h i n g a s o t h e r world powers emerge - is desperately seeking to degrade, undermine and contain its rivals by triggering arms races and expanding alliance systems Already, the focus on expanding NATO has provoked the conflict in Ukraine, but worse still, the Biden administration is actively seeking to expand that model to East Asia against China, in the form of blocs such as the Quad and AUKUS

While these alliance systems are in theory supposed to establish deterrence and project American power, in practice history shows this behaviour only provokes, rather than prevents, conflict The Cold War is the only exception in all history, and the Ukraine conflict has only affirmed this Because when one state seeks to arm itself with the focus of deliberately targeting another the other responds, creating an escalatory cycle Each state therefore races to enhance their capabilities with the goal of responding to the other and the cycle becomes self-reinforcing

How do arms races break out into wars? The answer

is that in a climate of growing political paranoia, suspicion and distrust which comes with these military tensions, some states like to ask themselves “what happens if they attack me first?” or “are they planning an attack?”

The danger stems from when a state perceives that it is facing military containment, or a potential pre-emptive attack, their “only choice” is to attack first and land the first blow This is again rooted in the lessons of history from World War I

Once Austria-Hungary (an ally of Germany) declared war on Serbia, Germany believed that war with France (an ally of Russia) was inevitable Therefore, the decision was made to pre-emptively attack France, through Belgium Why is this relevant today? Because what if at some point, China decides it has no choice but to attack the US or Japan first, before they step in with force of arms to protect Taiwan? Rest assured, we aren t quite there yet, and Beijing is normally risk averse when it comes to this kind of thing

The comments by the US general are, of course, overly dramatic, at least at this point Yet they are dangerous because they reflect the sentiment that sooner or later, war is inevitable, and when it is believed that war is inevitable it is treated as such and thus war becomes a reality Right now, it might seem unthinkable, but so were many other wars in the past As the US continues to drive up tensions with Beijing a tipping point or a miscalculation, becomes ever more likely, and that’s where the danger lies

world of 1914, where a theatre of competing European

scrambled for international dominance u l t i

corporate corner M u r a D o K ay S $ 4 . 1 M f o r M o D e r n

Communic ations Ministr y, NHA renew suppor t for K ashmiri brethren

ISLAMABAD: The officials of National Highway Authority and Ministry of Communications across the country, expressed solidarity with Kashmiri brethren facing brutal attacks at the hands of Indian troops in held valley of Kashmir It is to recall that February 05, is observed as the Kashmir Solidarity Day On this occasion, National Highway Authority, as per directive of Federal Minister for Communications and Postal services Mr Asad Mahmood and under supervision of Federal Secretary Communications and Chairman NHA Capt (R) Mohammad Khurram Agha, placed pictorial banners, posters, placards, billboards and brochures at buildings of NHA Headquarters, regional offices located in the country AJK and Gilgit Baltistan and all the toll plazas situated on motorways and national highways networks In his statement, condemning the Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir Asad Mahmood urged the comity of nations to play their due active role for implementation of United Nations resolutions on Kashmir speaking for giving the right of self determination to the Kashmiris p R

AIOU holds Kashmir solidarity walk, seminar

ISLAMABAD: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) observed Kashmir Solidarity Day with full determination and enthusiasm A Kashmir solidarity day Walk and Seminar was organized, and different radio programs were broadcasted throughout the day regarding Kashmir, various events were also organized in other regional offices of the AIOU including Muzaffarabad, Rawalkot and Mirpur The walk was led by the Registrar, AIOU, Raja Umar Younis Principal officers, faculty members, officers and students of the university also participated in the walk The walk started from the main gate of the university and ended at the Vice Chancellor Secretariat The participants of the walk carried placards and banners with the message of solidarity Director General Regional Services, Dr Malik Tauqeer Ahmad Khan presided the seminar Registrar, Raja Umar

Younis, Director Students Advisory and Counseling Services, Syed Ghulam Kazim Ali, Dr Abdul Basit Mujahid and Dr Samiullah Zuberi were among other speakers

Three students (Hiba Fatima, Iman Fatima and Ilham Rafiq) highlighted the Kashmir issue in their speeches Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr Nasir Mehmood said in his message that Kashmiris should get the right of selfdetermination according to the resolutions of the United Nations Dr Nasir further said that every citizen of Pakistan is standing with Kashmiri brothers and will continue to support them for the freedom of Kashmir

I E S CO to eradicate elec tricity pilferage: CE

ISLAMABAD: Electricity theft is certainly a religious, moral and national crime which is highly condemnable act Indiscriminate and intensive operations are going on in the IESCO region for the elimination of electricity theft, which is being directly supervised by Chief Executive IESCO Dr Muhammad Amjad Khan According to the details, during the month of January 2023, IESCO operation, M&T and surveillance Directorate teams identified 3423 meters in which 3361 meters were found slow, direct supply of electricity was being taken from 57 meters while 5 meters were being tampered and using the electricity illegally

C y b e r K n I f e M a C h I n e S at J P M C

KArACHI

S ta f f R e p o R t

SI N D H Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah announced a grant equivalent to $4 1 million Patients Aid Foundation (PAF) to replace the old Cyberknife machines and equipment with the latest technology at Jinnah Post Medical Centre (JPMC) so that patients from all over the country could be benefited

This he said while speaking at a signing ceremony of the Agreement between the Sindh government and the Patients’ Aid Foundation for developing a working partnership at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Karachi for different projects, particularly the Cube knife here at a local hotel on Sunday The programme was attended by Advisor Law Murtaza Wahab Parliamentary Secretary Qasim Soomro, Secretary Health Zulfiqar Shah, Executive Director JPMC Prof Shahid Rasool and donors and philanthropists

The CM said that he has been told that the Cyberknife facility has a waiting list of around 2,000 patients In order to address this grave situation the chief minister also announced the Enhancement of t h e A n n u a l G r a n t t o t h e P a t i e n t s A i d F o u n d a t i o n from Rs340 million to Rs540 million from the next financial year

Patients’ Aid Foundation (PAF) has been serving

the poor and needy patients at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Karachi since 1991

Mr Shah said that after the devolution of JPMC to the Sindh government the Patients’ Aid Foundation (PAF) has enhanced its bed capacity from 1100 to 2208 beds for which his government has already notified this new bed strength for the next fiscal year budget for the JPMC

The CM said that the PAF has installed two Cyberknife and Tomotherapy which were jointly operated by the Sindh govt and the PAF “Alhamdulillah, through this joint effort today JPMC is amongst the top 10 centers in the world having two Cyberknifes & Tomotherapy and is the only center on the planet that offers absolutely free cancer treatment with cutting edge technology irrespective of nationality reli-

C hina a potentially big market for Pakistani potato

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

China is a potentially big market for Pakistani potato, because the price of potato in China is higher, especially from January to April every year Gwadar Pro quoting Syed Ijaz ul Hassan, director of Potato Research Institute Sahiwal reported “We can say that potatoes are cultivated and harvested in Pakistan in some form around the whole year We have three crops of potatoes The first is called Autumn crop

We sow it in October and harvest it in February The second is an imported variety, which is harvested from January to April The third is the hill crop cultivated from April to September ” Syed explained

Syed also mentioned that the appearce of Pakistan potato can be a plus point In international markets like Dubai’s market they demand Pakistan’s potatoes more because of their beauty and color If we use this advantage, we can export to China China has a large market If we cannot export fresh potatoes then we can export them as starch and frozen fries too The report added Potato is one of the very rare cases in which Pakistan is not just self-sufficient for domestic use and seed development, but also an exporter

During the first four months of the current fiscal year, overall vegetable exports of Pakistan swelled by 90 percent in quantity and 57pc in value thanks to brisk potato shipments

“Vegetables were exported every year depending on their availability but potato and onion hold a big share A bumper potato crop has proved highly helpful in offsetting the falling exports of onion, said Waheed Ahmed, Patron in Chief of All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA)

Last year, floods in Sindh and Balochistan have devastated onion crops, while Pakistan’s potato production soared to 7 937m tonnes in FY22 from 5 873m tonnes in FY21 up by 35pc as floods did not hit Punjab which is a hub of potato production

However the industry is still facing a lot of challenges “Potato is not a crop for poor people because its initial cost of production is high 35-40% of the cost goes to seeds ” said Syed Ijaz ul Hassan, director of Potato Research Institute Sahiwal Pakistan imports 20 000 tons of potato seeds every year To change this situation, Potato Research Institute Sahiwal is making efforts to develop local potato varieties “The institute has create the potato varieties including PRI, Sadaf, Sahiwal, Cosmo, and Ijaz 22 Some of the seeds grown in Sahiwal produce as much as foreign breeds and some produce even more,” added Syed Pakistan potato is exported mainly to CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries like Russia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, UAE, Oman, the entire gulf and Singapore, Malaysia in the Far East

The Kashmir S aga and S olidarity Day

ZAfAr SuLtAn

Ghulam Muhammad Mir a noted Kashmiri researcher and intellectual, laments that Kashmiri leaders themselves became arai•sond’ê•tre of all atrocities which befell Kashmir Hemoans: every day in the calendar is a Martyr s Day It is an unforgiving

fact that barbarous invaders Mehr Gul and Zilchu Khan who annihilated the Kashmiris wantonly, enjoyed the indigenous support Similarly the Mughals the Afghans and the Sikhs (who were no less brutal than Mehr Gul and Zilchu Khan) were also invited to invade Kashmir by none others but the Kashmiris themselves

It is hard to deny the fact that none of the rulers of Pakistan and Kashmir made any sincere effort(s) to engage the international community to get the Kashmir issue resolved While there is no denying that wars of 1947 and 1965 were fought to liberate Kashmir but due to lack of proper planning, uncanny haste and gross insincerity of civmil leadership, those efforts bore no fruit: the military endeavors failed to alleviate the grief of the people of Kashmir

Every year, On 5February, Kashmir Solidarity Day is observed AJK and Pakistan to express support to Kashmiri brethren But

would mere on a day to celebrate and make speeches help liberate Kashmir or garner the international opinion in its favour? In this context one must not forget the historical speeches delivered very eloquently by erstwhile foreign minister Sir Zafar Ullah Khan (1954) which failed stir the conscience of global community

While observing the Kashmir Solidarity Day, people must not forget that in Shimla Agreement (1972), Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto altered the status of cease fire to line of control (LOC), thereby practically dividing people of Azad Kashmir and the occupied Kashmir Later, the infamous four point formula advanced by general Musharraf followed by Asif Ali Zardari plan to freeze Kashmir for thirty years further damped and dumped the Kashmir issue Nawaz Sharif also chose silence on Kashmir issue and preferred trade over the tragedies of Kashmir Shockingly, he suggested the Kashmiri leadership to seek the solution to Kashmir staying within the ambit of the Indian constitution Equally appalling are the recent revelations about former Army chief ’s plans to invite Indian PM, NarendraModi to join the annual four-day pilgrimage to the Hinglaj Mata Mandir in Lasbela Baluchistan The subsequent plan to open Hinglaj corridor

between the two countries by connecting Barmer to Hinglaj Mata Mandir and clandestine meetings of former spymaster, General Faiz Hameed with Indian National Security Advisor, Ajeet Doval in Dubai to open trade and resume cricketing ties with each other traumatized people in Pakistan and AJK However, majority of people in Azad Jammu and Kashmir deeply reveres former PM Imran Khan for thwarting that schema and raising the Kashmir very boldly at 74th United Nations General Assembly Session in 2019

Even more scything reality is that gross indifference of Kashmiri leadership, to Kashmir issue has confused our new generation as regards its significance, nature of struggle and any viable solution The more agonizing fact is that the Kashmiri leadership, by and large, is insensible to the historical, civilizational and cultural realities of Kashmir It is more concerned about power corridors in Muzaffarabad and Islamabad (appeasing Nodero and Raiwind) than sufferings in Srinagar In this backdrop, it is hard to expect any substantial contribution from them

Today when we are yet again observing the Solidarity Day 5 February 2023 we must recall the ghastly incidents that un-

gion and ethnicity ” he said

Mr Shah said that to make this historic partnership formal, the Patients Aid Foundation and the Government of Sindh have signed an Agreement for 25 years to operate various facilities at JPMC to further improve the free diagnosis and treatment facilities that would otherwise be beyond the reach of a common person

According to the Chief Minister, the JPMC is the only public sector hospital in Pakistan that offers free PET-Ct & PET-MR irrespective of the type of cancer There is no free PET SCAN facility anywhere in Pakistan ” he said and added that in private healthcare centers, it could cost as much as Rs90,000 per scan

The CM said that the doctors have told him that a cancer patient may require two to three PET scans d u r i n g t h e t r e a t m e n t P e t s c a n a n d c y c l o t r o n a t JPMC is also a joint project of the Sindh government and Patients’ Aid Foundation, which I had init i a t e d i n 2 0 1 6 , ” M r S h a h r e c a l l e d a n d s a i d t h a t J P M C e n t e r t a i n s t h e l a rg e s t n u m b e r o f p a t i e n t s compared to any other center in Pakistan

The Cyberknife Unit chief Prof Tariq told me that he still has a waiting list of around 2,000 pat i e n t s I n o r d e r t o a d d r e s s t h i s g r a v e s i t u a t i o n I am announcing the approval of Enhancement of the A n n u a l G r a n t t o P a t i e n t s A i d F o u n d a t i o n f o r t h e year 2023-24 from Rs340 million to Rs540 million

Walk marks Kashmir

Solidarit y Day at D-Chowk Islamabad

ISLAMABAD

p R

Adviser to Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and GilgitBaltistan, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Chairman Sweet Homes Zamurd Khan, Chief Commissioner Islamabad Noorul Amin Mengal, IGP Islamabad Dr Akbar Nasir Khan along with senior police and administration officers, a large number of officials, students, journalists and others also participated in the Solidarity walk commenced from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and concluded in D-Chowk Islamabad The students of Pakistan Sweet Home (PSH) had specially participated under the leadership of its CEO Zamrud Khan IGP Islamabad Dr Akbar Nasir Khan along with other officers checked the security arrangements in red zone and directed the officers to make it more effective The participants had carried placards, banners and posters prescribing that Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan, the international community should break the silence, Kashmiris are waiting for international justice, Kashmir issue has become a human crisis and Pakistan would continue to support the Kashmir cause They also chanted slogans such as Kashmir wants freedom from Indian illegally occupation struggle would remain to continue till freedom, and the entire nation is standing with Kashmir One minute silence was also observed during the walk to express their sympathies with the Kashmir people in this difficult time Adviser to Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and GilgitBaltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira said Pakistani nation was observing the Kashmir Solidarity Day on Sunday (February 5) across the world to give a strapping message of supporting the right to self-determination

folded in early 1930s On 5 February 1932 in a mosque in Uri on day of jumatul

Widah, the Muslims, having offered prayer, protested against the tyrannies of Dogra Raj

It prompted the army to fire butchering 9 and injuring more than forty people Before that carnage, the killing spree in Srinagar Jail had maimed seventy some and more than one fifty Kashmiri Muslims

In the aftermath of Jamia Masjid closure, and the desecration of The Quran wide protests erupted which resulted in more deaths Those incidents incited Maha Raja to devise heinous plans quell the protesters

After sacking George Wakefield, Maha Raja appointed Raja Hari Kishan Kaul as the prime minister of the state, who committed to repress the movement within four months

To bring the situation under control the government cobbled a Glanci Commission in November 1931 In the meantime Mr Jivan laal Minto, one of the agents of the Prime Minister Kaul kindled a movement in Mirpur and Rajuri, provoking people to nonpay the land tax to the government In fact his sinister plan was to infuriate the government irritating it to launch a severer action

Feeling visibly agitated, to put down the massive unrest, the Maharaja asked the British Indian government for military aid and action As a result, for the first time, two Irish Infantry Divisions and one Horse Cavalry Regiment launched an assault on the

armless farmers of Mirpur and Rajuri That outright butchery resulted in murder of around a thousand Muslims in Mirpur and around four hundred in Rajuri The number of injured farmers was never revealed

After carnage in Mirpur, Sheikh Abdullah who was in Srinagar jail telegrammed the government completely dissociating himself with the movement in Mirpur and Rajuri and the subsequent murders of Muslims there Following that announcement Sheikh Abdullah was released from jail, compounding miseries of the Muslims

Last year on February 5 the then PM Imran Khan addressed the Kashmir Assembly in Muzaffarabad and asserted to serve as an ambassador to the people of Kashmir It is a fact that IK continued to uphold that commitment, despite enormous hurdles created by establishment and bureaucracy This time some other government dignitaries are likely to visit Muzaffarabad and demonstrate solidarity with the people of Kashmir

Many raise these pertinent questions Is merely observing the Kashmir Solidarity Day an answer to angst of the Kashmiris? Do Kashmiris have any strength, liberty and farsightedness to chalk out and pursue a plan to liberation honour and peace?

The writer is an academic based in Islamabad and can be approached at sliklight55@gmail com

Fierce battles in bakhmut as russian missiles hit kharkiv

BAKHMUT, UKRAINE

ag e n c e s

hE AV y fighting was underway

Sunday in the northern parts of the frontline hotspot Bakhmut, while Russian missile strikes on Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv wounded five people

Despite the flow of Western weapons to Ukraine, Russia has in recent days claimed gains around war-ravaged Bakhmut in the eastern region of Donetsk

However, the head of Russia’s mercenary group Wagner said Sunday that the Ukrainian army was not retreating and that fighting raged on in northern parts of Bakhmut “In the northern quarters of Artemovsk, fierce battles are going on for every street, every house, every stairwell, yevgeny Prigozhin said in a statement, referring to Bakhmut by its old name

The Ukrainian armed forces are fighting to the last,” he said Russian forces have been trying to seize control of Bakhmut in the eastern region of Donetsk for months in what has become the longest and bloodiest battle since Russia invaded Ukraine last February – ‘I came to pray for peace’ –

The fight for Bakhmut has turned the town with a pre-war population of roughly 75,000 into a ghost town dotted with hedgehog anti-tank defences and burnt-out cars The town has no water, gas or electricity

About 20 people, including two soldiers, attended a Sunday mass in the basement of the golden-domed All Saints church in the deserted town

Three women sang hymns, punctuated by sounds of mortar shells in the background The room was lit by two dozen candles and a portable light used by the two priests to read from the sacred book

“Today I prayed that everything will be better for me after I die said 20-year-old

Serafim Chernyshov standing outside the church, with loud sounds of a steady exchange of small arms fire and the pounding

at least 23 dead as dozens of wildfires torch forests in chile

SANTIAGO

R e u t e R s

Dozens of wildfires blazing through Chile caused the government to extend an emergency order to another region on Saturday, as a scorching summer heat wave complicates efforts to control fires that have claimed at least 23 lives so far

More than 1,100 people have sought refuge in shelters while at least 979 people have been reported injured by the raging fires, according to an official briefing later on Saturday

The latest emergency order covers the southern region of Araucania, next to the previously declared Biobio and Nuble regions, located near the middle of the South American country s long Pacific coastline “Weather conditions have made it very difficult to put out (the fires) that are spreading and the emergency is getting worse,” Interior Minister Carolina Toha told reporters at a news conference in the capital Santiago

We need to reverse that curve she added noting that on Friday 76 more fires had ignited

Another 16 fires sparked to life on Saturday, according to officials as local temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere summer exceeded 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius)

The sparsely populated three regions covered by the emergency orders are home to many farms, including where grapes apples and berries are grown for export plus extensive tracts of forest land

Officials told reporters on Saturday that the governments of Spain the United States Argentina Ecuador, Brazil and Venezuela have offered help, including planes and firefighters

modi gov t openly displaying anti-minorit y policy: chidambaram

forces retain control of Bakhmut and speed up deliveries of heavy tanks

In his evening address on Saturday

Zelensky acknowledged that the situation was getting tougher Russia he said was throwing more and more of its forces at breaking down our defence”

“It is very difficult now in Bakhmut, Vugledar, Lyman and other areas,” he added referring to the frontline towns in the east of the country

The British defence ministry said on Sunday that over the past week Russia had made “small advances” in its attempt to encircle Bakhmut

of mortar shells to and from Russian positions echoing in the background

Last night a missile flew into my garden and a bullet flew inside my house, it could have hit me,” he added “I might die now or in 30 years If I m killed it will be God’s will ”

“I came to pray for peace,” added Lyubov Avramenko, 84

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Kyiv s troops would fight for Bakhmut “as long as we can ”

He urged the West to supply Kyiv with sophisticated weapons to help his

The two main roads into the city for Ukrainian troops “are likely now both threatened by direct fire, following the Russian advances,” the British defence ministry said Bakhmut is increasingly isolated – Missile strikes in Kharkiv –

For months Moscow has systematically targeted Ukraine s civilian infrastructure, including the energy grid, leaving millions in the dark and cold in the middle of winter

In Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, a missile strike hit a residential building on Sunday, wounding four people, said Oleg Synegubov, head of the regional administration Another strike left a security guard injured when a missile hit an institute in the northeastern city, he said

Former Israel PM: Putin promised not to k ill Zelensky y

TEL AVIV

t h e a s s o c i at e d P R e s s

A former prime minister of Israel who served briefly as a mediator at the start of Russia s war with Ukraine says he drew a promise from the Russian president not to kill his Ukrainian counterpart

Naftali Bennett emerged as an unlikely intermediary in the war ’s first weeks becoming one of the few Western leaders to meet President Vladimir Putin during the war in a snap trip to Moscow last March

While Bennett’s mediation efforts appear to have done little to end the bloodshed that continues until today, his remarks, in an interview posted online late Saturday shed light on the backroom diplomacy and urgent efforts that were underway to try to bring the conflict to a speedy conclusion in its early days

In the five-hour interview which touched on numerous other subjects, Bennett says he asked Putin about whether he intended to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr

Zelenskyy

“I asked ‘what’s with this? Are you planning to kill Zelenskyy?’ He said I won t kill Zelenskyy I then said to him ‘I have to understand that you’re giving me your word

BEIJING

ag e n c i e s

Sunday marks the Lantern Festival the final day of the traditional Chinese New year celebrations, which are about family reunions

Xi Jinping general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, values getting together with family members for festivities Family gatherings are the most joyful occasions, and reunions are the happiest he said at the 2018 Spring Festival gathering held by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council Xi also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has proven time and again that statement himself, and has long been making time for family on special occasions despite his tight schedule

In 2001, Xi, then governor of east China’s Fujian Province, wrote his father Xi

Zhongxun a heartfelt letter after missing the family celebration for his 88th birthday

Xi would spend time with his mother whenever he was available, having dinner, taking a walk, or chatting

Xi s wife Peng Liyuan a celebrated singer, used to perform at the annual Spring Festival gala broadcast nationwide on the eve of the holiday in Beijing So when he worked in the provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang as long as Xi had time to spend the Spring Festival with his family in Beijing, he would make dumplings at home while watching the gala and waiting until Peng finished her work The family would boil the dumplings when Peng was home and have their festival dinner together

These dumplings by Xi, as well as the best wishes for an auspicious future that they symbolize, have also been shared by others

Since assuming the Party’s top job in

that you won’t kill Zelenskyy ’ He said I m not going to kill Zelenskyy ’”

Bennett said he then called Zelenskyy to inform him of Putin s pledge

‘Listen, I came out of a meeting, he’s not going to kill you ’ He asks, ‘are you sure?’ I said ’100 percent he won t kill you

Bennett said that during his mediation, Putin dropped his vow to seek Ukraine s disarmament and Zelenskyy promised not to join NATO

There was no immediate re-

November 2012, Xi has always taken time to join the family reunions of local people, those in difficulties in particular extending his festive greetings and learning about their difficulties ahead of the Spring Festival

Ahead of the Spring Festival in 2019 Xi toured a “hutong,” or a traditional alley, in central Beijing’s Qianmen area He visited two courtyard homes in the hutong, including the home of retired worker Zhu Maojin, then 72 Xi gladly chatted with locals and made dumplings with them, asking about the improvements to their living conditions after a renovation project in their neighborhood and their festival purchases

“As per tradition in Beijing, we used to go to fairs days before the festival We don’t have such markets in the city now, but we still go to the supermarkets to buy things and cook food at home for the Lunar New year,” Zhu said

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has attacked the Modi-led Indian government for discontinuing the Maulana Azad National Fellowship, saying that the government is on an “overdrive” to make life more difficult for students from minority communities

P Chidambaram in a written reply in Lok Sabha said earlier this week Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani had said, “As the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) Scheme overlaps with various fellowship schemes for higher education, the Government has decided to discontinue the MANF Scheme from 2022-23 ”

In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said, “The Government’s excuse for scrapping the Maulana Azad National Fellowship and the subsidy for education loans to study abroad to minority students is grossly irrational and arbitrary ”

Even admitting that there are overlapping schemes, is the fellowship and subsidy to minority students the only schemes that overlap with another scheme, the former Indian minister asked The Government is on overdrive to make life more difficult for minority students, he added “Government is openly displaying its antiminority policy as if it was a badge of honour Shame the Congress leader said on Twitter

us shoots down chinese spy balloon over ‘unacceptable’ violation

WASHINGTON

aFP

sponse from the Kremlin, which has previously denied Ukrainian claims that Russia intended to assassinate Zelenskyy

Bennett, a largely untested leader who had served as prime minister for just over six months when the war broke out unexpectedly thrust himself into international diplomacy after he had positioned Israel into an uncomfortable middle ground between Russia and Ukraine

Israel views its good ties with the Kremlin as strategic in the face of threats from Iran but it aligns itself with Western nations and also seeks to show support for Ukraine

An observant Jew and little known internationally, he flew to Moscow for his meeting with Putin during the Jewish Sabbath, breaking his religious commitments and putting himself at the forefront of global efforts to halt the war

But his peacemaking efforts did not appear to take off and his time in power was short-lived Bennett’s government, an ideologically diverse union that sent current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into a brief political exile, collapsed in the summer over infighting Bennett stepped away from politics and is now a private citizen

A US fighter jet on Saturday shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, the Pentagon said, over what it called Beijing s unacceptable violation of American sovereignty The craft spent several days flying over North America, ratcheting up tensions between Washington and Beijing before it was targeted with a missile shot from an F-22 plane, Pentagon officials said, falling into relatively shallow water just 47 feet (14 meters) deep US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called the operation a deliberate and lawful action that came in response to China’s “unacceptable violation of our sovereignty ”

Saturday afternoon was the military s first chance to take on the balloon “in a way that would not pose a threat to the safety of Americans,” a senior defense official told reporters, while still allowing authorities to collect the fallen debris from US territorial waters In an eyewitness video posted to social media, the balloon appeared to disintegrate in a white puff before its remnants dropped vertically into the ocean below Twitter user Haley Walsh posted that she “heard and felt the explosion” in Myrtle Beach, a popular resort town in South Carolina

President Joe Biden, who earlier Saturday had promised to take care of the balloon, congratulated the fighter pilots involved “They successfully took it down And I want to compliment our aviators who did it Biden told reporters in Maryland

‘Force majeure’ The controversy erupted Thursday, when American officials said they were tracking a large Chinese “surveillance balloon” in US skies

Dumplings and other foods are not only a matter of diet for Xi, as he understands they are related to people s well-being Behind the idea of a family reunion is love

“Never let long distances sever family ties, and never forget loving or expressing love, no matter how busy you are Xi said at the 2017 Spring Festival gathering

X i Fo c u s - C l o s e u p : Fa m i l y re u n i o n s, b e s t w i s h e s fo r a b e t te r

Quetta Gl adiators beat Peshawar Z almi by three runs in l ast-ball thriller

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

Qu E T TA Gladiators beat Peshawar Zalmi by three runs in a thrilling finish in PSL exhibition match on Sunday in Quetta

Chasing a total of 185 Mohammad Haris silenced Quetta crowd by hitting Naseem Shah for multiple boundaries in the first over Babar Azam also opened his account by hitting Mohammad Hasnain for back to back boundaries in the second over of the innings, Haris continued his aggressive approach as hit Mohammad Nawaz for a six over long off

There was no stopping Mohammad Haris as he welcomed Naseem back with a hat-trick boundaries Babar hit Naseem over third for a six to take Zalmi to 60 in 5 overs Babar was caught behind for 23 on the bowling of Hasnain in last over of powerplay Shahid Afridi came in next and hit a boundary on his first delivery

Haris continued to accelerate as he took advantage of Aimal Khan s inexpe-

rience and took 20 runs of his first over

The fast-paced partnership between Haris and Afridi ensured Zalmi raced to 109/1 in just 10 overs Nawaz came back in the attack to remove Afridi, who was stumped while trying to hit the left-arm spinner over his head Haris completed his fifty in just 29

balls, to keep Zalmi’s chase on track He was ably supported by Saim Ayub, who hit a big six against Nawaz over fine leg Quetta turned to Iftikhar and he continued his magic as he dismissed Haris for 53 Azam came in next and hit Hasnain over his head for a boundary But Hasnain had the last laugh as Azam was

caught on next ball for 6 by Nawaz

Iftikhar weaved his magic again as Ayub was caught and bowled for 19 Danish Aziz didn’t hold back from the get go and hit umaid Asif for back to back boundaries

But Zalmi kept losing wickets at regular intervals and was left with needing nine runs in the final over by Naseem Naseem held his nerves and bowled immaculate lines to defend the total to win the match for Quetta

Earlier, Ahsan Ali, opening alongside Bangalzai, smashed Salman Irshad for a boundary in the first over Wahab Riaz removed Ahsan for five in the next over as he was caught on the boundary

Wahab Riaz struck in the same over as he also dismissed umar Akmal for a duck in the same over Local boy Abdul Wahid Bangalzai smashed first six of the match against Irshad in the third over Bangalzai continued to attack as he hit Wahab for a boundary towards the leg side

Sarfaraz was clean bowled by a Yorker from Aamir Jamal

E m p owe r m e n t key t o M e l b o u r n e

C i t y ’s s u c c e s s, s ay s c o a c h

MELBOURNE R e u t e R S

d o s i c

Fast bowler naseem joins balochistan police as honorar y dsP

QUETTA

S ta f f R e p o R t

Tearaway fast bowler Naseem Shah has been appointed as the goodwill ambassador of Balochistan police The police appointed the pacer as the honorary DSP (Deputy Superintendent of Police) of the force in a ceremony held at the office of the provincial police chief in Quetta Addressing the crowd gathered at the venue, Shah expressed his gratitude and said: “As a child I had been scared of policemen My parents would scare me by mentioning the police However, as I have grown up, I have come to realise the sacrifices they make to keep us safe ”

“They don’t just put their lives at risk for us, but I have a far more simple example of their service “Those appointed with us at the NCA [National Cricket Academy] stay awake at night to protect us I cannot even function if I do not get a good night s rest I have immense respect for the police and am deeply grateful for their assistance,” he added Shah is not the first bowler who has been bestowed with this honour In July of last year, Shaheen Shah Afridi was named the goodwill ambassador of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police

remington Pharma wins 3rd allama iqbal Polo tournament

Green’s

‘surprise’ progress leaves mcdonald hopeful ahead of first test

SYDNEY

R e u t e R S

Australia coach Andrew McDonald remains hopeful Cameron Green can feature against India when the first test between the nations begins in Nagpur on Thursday after the all-rounder ’s finger injury made “significant” improvement Green damaged his right index finger during the Boxing Day test win over South Africa in Melbourne and was only given clearance to return to training by his doctor on Monday following surgery

The 23-year-old bowled with soft balls for 30 minutes in the nets at the Australian camp in Bangalore before doing an hour s batting practice McDonald said Green still had progress to make before he could be considered for the series opener

We ve got a fair bit to work through him before the first test match,” McDonald told reporters “We haven’t put a clear line through him or put him on the team-sheet yet “I wouldn’t say he was in discomfort when he was bowling One of the deliveries jarred the bottom of the bat and that can create discomfort for anyone There s a bit of awareness around that finger He’s made some significant steps forward in the last couple of days, probably to my surprise There s still an outside chance that, everything going well, he might be on the team sheet ” With Green unlikely to be able to bowl in the first test, captain Pat Cummins looks like being paired with Josh Hazlewood in the attack with Mitchell Starc yet to arrive in India as he also recovers from a finger injury

Melbourne City head coach Rado Vidosic wants his players to continue taking responsibility and enjoying themselves on the pitch after the A-League leaders handed Macarthur FC a 6-1 thrashing on Saturday The win, which saw Dutchman Richard van der Venne hit a hat trick was City s first in four games after three consecutive draws and moved Vidosic’s side eight points clear of Central Coast Mariners in the standings

There are teams where there s no one in charge or no one takes charge and those teams are poor,” said Vidosic There are teams where coaches are in charge and the coach makes all the decisions and I think those teams are average

“But to be an elite team you need players to be able to make all the right decisions We’ve been working towards that

It won t work every week but if we really want to empower them we need to give them freedom and we need to accept sometimes there s going to be mistakes and sometimes we’re going to cop the goal

“But the more they have fun

the more they’re going to produce the goods ”

City lead the current A-League standings despite having played one game fewer than their nearest rivals and look destined to cruise into the end-of-season finals

The club has been the dominant force in the division in recent years, winning the A-League Premiership for topping the regular season table in the last two seasons while also claiming the A-League Championship in 2021

Despite that record, Vidosic, who took over as head coach in November after his predecessor Patrick Kisnorbo left to work with

French side Troyes, is continuing to look for ways to enhance his team further

“We want to be better,” he said “We want to improve we want to lift our standards and keep lifting our standards

“It’s up to the players to not be complacent and take the next game as the most important game in their life If we can manage that then there is no ceiling, we can keep improving Right now we talk about being unstoppable and what can we do to be unstoppable How does that look? This was a good example of how that looks

Multan getting ready to host PSL 8 opening ceremony

S

LAHORE

Remington Pharma won the title of the 3rd Allama Iqbal Polo Tournament sponsored by Lahore Smart City after beating Diamond Paints by 9½-7 in the final played here at the Jinnah Polo Fields on Sunday The chief guest on the occasion was Project Director Lahore Smart City Brig Muhammad Nadeem Aslam (R) who distributed prizes among the winners at the prize distribution ceremony Jinnah Polo Fields President Lt Col Shoaib Aftab (R), Secretary Maj Ali Taimur (R) and a large number of spectators were also present there to witness and enjoy the enthralling final on the occasion of Kashmir Day

The final match proved a very challenging and exciting one, and after a tough fight, Remington Pharma registered an impressive 9½-7 triumph over Diamond Paints Phenomenal Hamza Mawaz Khan emerged as hero of the final as he gave a brilliant performance and malleted eight excellent goals for Remington Pharma, which had also a half goal handicap advantage, while the remaining one was beautifully converted by Ahmed Bilal Riaz Nico Roberts though played outstanding polo and impressed the spectators with beautiful mallet and pony work and also fired in five fabulous goals while his teammates Bilal Hayat Noon and Mir Shoaib Ahmed slammed in one goal each yet their efforts proved futile and they lost the title clash by 7-9½ John Fisher and Amirreza Behboudi supervised the match as field umpires

M u lta n: The colourful opening ceremony for the 8th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will be held on February 13 at Multan Cricket Stadium and star players from across the world will participate in the mega event In this regard, the Multan Waste Management Company (MWMC) has been entrusted with decorating the stadium and maintaining cleanliness, said MWMC CEO Shakeel Ahmed Bhatti during his visit to the site on Saturday He stated that hosting the opening ceremony was a big honour for the city and added that exemplary arrangements would be made for the event Besides this, the whole city would be decorated and cleaned in time for the players arrival Multan Cricket Stadium will host five matches of the PSL and the MWMC has started taking steps to beautify the city and maintain cleanliness, Bhatti concluded S ta f f R e p o R t L a h o r e G y m k h a n a w i n s L a h o r e I n t e r c l u b G o l f To u r n a m e n t

Talking to media after clinching the title, Captain of Remington Pharma Hamza Mawaz Khan said: “The team Remington Pharma played very well in this season and it was because of hard work as well as team work due to which we have been recording title victories one after another We will work harder and try to lift more titles in the remaining events of this season

LAHORE

The annual Lahore Interclub Golf Tournament concluded on Sunday, with Lahore Gymkhana winning the coveted team championship

This is their fourth win since the tournament began eight years ago

The tournament is played annually with three participating clubs that include Lahore Gymkhana, Royal Palm and Defense Raya Traditionally, the tournament is held in the last week of December, however, due to disagreements over player handicaps, and preplanned amateur events, the 2022 edition was postponed till now Day one was hosted by Defense Raya and

the playing format was alternate shot The day’s honors belonged to Gymkhana, with 23 points, Royal Palm at 20, and Raya at 17 Royal Palm Golf Club was the venue for day two, with the three clubs competing in a best ball match play format At the close of play, Royal Palm managed to close the lead to just a single point, with the scores standing at Gymkhana 48 Royal Palm 47 and Raya 25

However, Lahore Gymkhana was able to outplay both the clubs on the final day of singles matches on the back of fantastic performances by the host s second tier team that comprised of players with handicaps between 10 and 16 Stand out players included Dawar Lashari Shahnawaz Durrani and

Osman Khan who remained unbeaten throughout the three days

The final scoreline for the tournament saw Lahore Gymkhana winning by17 5 points, the highest margin in the tournament s history

The trophy was handed over to the Lahore Gymkhana team captain Taha Mehmood by last year s winning captain from Royal Palm, Abdullah Sharif Speaking at the prize ceremony, Mehmood said, “it was a fantastic team effort, we had a number of first timers playing for us who were guided by the more experienced players in the team, and the collective performance turned into the largest victory in the history of this tournament

P M F o R e n h A n c e D u n i t y t o i n F u s e

A s h M i R c A u s e w i t h v i g o u R , s t R e n g t h

commitment in

Fawad says to be first to surrender

for Jail

Bharo Movement from Jhelum

PR I M E Minister Shehbaz

Sharif on Sunday stressed the need for forging unity and solidarity by shunning all political differences which would further infuse vigour and strength into the Kashmir cause

Addressing a special session of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly (AJKL) on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day’, the prime minister said the Founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had declared Kashmir as ‘a jugular vein of Pakistan’

The prime minister said that divisions were apparent in the society which was regrettable, but in Muzaffarabad, AJK and Pakistan, all the political parties, their leadership and the assembly members were in unison which reflected the national unity harmony and solidarity that certainly perturbed India

“When a society moves with unity, its goals are achieved, giving it further power and strength,” he observed The prime minister said that the entire 220 million Pakistani nation and the Kashmiris, on the day, gave a clear message of national unity

In Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), for the last 75 years he said the blood of innocent Kashmiris was spilt mercilessly

The prime minister referred to one of

the gory incidents in IIOJK in which a little kid was seen sitting on the chest of his slain grandfather with melancholic looks

The whole world witnessed the heart-wrenching spectacle, he said, adding thousands of Kashmiri Muslims had been subjected to cruelties and brutalities unleashed by Indian occupation forces while thousands were martyred

He recalled that during 2019, Prime Minister Modi had deprived the IIOJK of its special status turning the whole occupied valley into an open jail

The prime minister said that the barbaric and inhuman treatment of Kashmiri people would not last of long, as the mothers, sons and children had given huge sacrifices with valour which would see light of the day

Revocation of Ar ticle 370 worsens Kashmiris’ plight: Dr Mahathir

ISLAMABAD

s ta f f r e p o r t

Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia and a renowned global statesman, Sunday said the Kashmir Solidarity Day reminded the world that the plight of people of Kashmir had worsened since India s unilateral revocation of article 370 and 35A of its constitution in August 2019

In a statement on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day, he said while India continued to insist that revocation was its right, its follow up actions and the impact of the decision was definitely wrong and against all basic principles of relations between nations

When the rest of the world imposed lockdowns to contain the spread of Covid-19, India imposed lockdown on Jammu and Kashmir to contain protests and opposition to its emergency law and revocation of the autonomous status of the territory, he added Mahathir said, “If lockdowns in other parts of the world, were then intended to save human lives and further sufferings, the lockdown on Jammu and Kashmir resulted in the exact opposite and worst

The world came to know horrific stories of Indian forces carrying out mass extra judicial killings, torture, and these stories continued to emerge despite repeated protests and concerns expressed by international bodies, he concluded

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N)

Senior Vice President and Chief Organiser

Maryam Nawaz slammed PTI Chief Imran Khan for “ruining the country from economy to political culture”, elaborating that Imran was the ‘biggest blunder’ in the history of Pakistan which was also admitted by the former army chief General retired Qamar Javed Bajwa

“Though Gen Bajwa admitted to the ‘blunder ’ but mere acceptance is not enough and now it is time to clean all the stains

Maryam Nawaz said while addressing PMLN Workers Convention in Multan on Sunday

“Everyone knows Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) chief and former premier Imran Khan is responsible for the skyrocketing inflation in the country due to his agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Maryam Nawaz said She said she knew the difficulties being faced by the masses due to the skyrocketing inflation as the prices of essential commodities and fuel products had been increased across the coun-

The prime minister said referred to events in Sudan, North Ireland and East Timor which had been divided on religious and political basis In Bosnia the world conscience woke up when thousands were killed Mass graves were unearthed which spoke volume of cruelties

On one hand, these scenes moved the world while on the other hand efforts were being made to equate the aggressor with the victims in IIOJK, the prime minister regretted

Despite all this, the prime minister said that the Pakistani people and all the political governments always raised their voice for the Kashmir cause and wholeheartedly supported it as Kashmir was their jugular vein

He said in 1954, Nehru had made a

Kashmiri people their right to self-determination, but later, it proved as falsehood

Lok Sabha to give

The prime minister assured the Kashmiri people that they would always stood in solidarity with them in their struggle for freedom from the illegal Indian occupation

He said that Kashmiris were right in raising the questions as to why the issue lingered on for the last 75 years Kashmir and Palestine issues could not be resolved while atrocities of enormous proportions were being carried out

He said Kashmiri people would get freedom soon, but along with slogans, words and speeches, they would have to prove with practical steps

The prime minister said Japan and Germany had been destroyed during World War, resulting in huge casualties while their major cities were turned into ruins but after 60 years they once again prevailed over the world and the Europe due to their hard work They turned their destruction into success on the basis of hard work and commitment, he opined

The prime minister also stressed that the Muslim world had been gifted with huge resources and with unity, they could resolve issues confronting them

The prime minister said as prime minister of allied parties and representative of 220 million Pakistani people he fully assured Kashmiri brethren that they would continue their support for their due right of self-determination

COAS lands in UK on maiden 5- day official visit

LONDON s ta f f r e p o r t

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir reached the United Kingdom on a five-day highly important official visit starting from Monday

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir visiting the UK on the invitation extended by Britain’s Ministry of Defence Accompanied by senior military commanders, Gen Asim Munir will discuss security-related strategic issues with the British military leadership during the visit

This is Gen Asim Munir s first visit to the UK after taking over as Pakistan's powerful army chief at the end of November last year

The COAS landed in the UK late on Saturday night Apart from other engagements, the Chief of Army Staff will address the 5th joint UK-Pakistan stabilisation conference at Wilton Park being held from February 5 to 8th

The Wilton Park is an executive agency created by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office to foster open dialogue and contacts between Commonwealth states governments

Co-hosted by UK Army Chief General Sir Patrick Sanders, the conference is themed "Regional Stability in South Asia: the return of geopolitics and other challenges "

try “Every Pakistani knows well about the person who bring the inflation ”

Speaking the charged workers, the PMLN SVP said today is Kashmir Solidarity Day and Kashmir will become part of Pakistan one day

She saluted the Kashmiris and their martyrs for the struggle for self-determination

She claimed that mega development projects had been introduced in Pakistan and inflation went down during the government of former premier Nawaz Sharif Maryam claimed that the prices of electricity, oil and sugar were not increased during Nawaz Sharifled government She claimed that the flour price was maintained at Rs35 per kilogram during the four-year tenure of Nawaz Sharif

The PML-N VP said that the prices would not rise if the ruler knew the nation’s difficulties

“An agreement with IMF was also signed by [former prime minister] Imran

Khan

The reason for today’s inflation is the IMF agreement which Imran Khan signed

Today IMF is not ready to believe in us after being deceived by Imran Khan Our hands are tied due to the IMF agreement ”

Maryam claimed that Nawaz Sharif will

The conference will also focus on the Ukraine war's impact on the EU, UK, and its consideration for Pakistan

Though there is no “words” from the ISPR on details of the visit it is seen as highly important in view of the rising issue of Taliban militancy and the situation in the South Asian region

According to sources both countries are attaching great importance to the visit

The COAS will visit the headquarters of the British military and address senior military commanders including the UK army chief According to the source, Gen Munir will also address a security think-tank towards the end of his visit

bring the country out of the crisis once again She mocked PTI leaders for shedding tears everywhere after facing detentions for a few hours She added that neither Nawaz Sharif nor any PML-N leaders had wept despite spending several months in jail

Criticising the PTI s Jail Bharo movement, she said that the former premier kept running the ‘Jaib Bharo [Fill the pocket]’ movement but now he is ordering his workers to start to fill the jail movement She said that the PTI chief should be ashamed of selling Toshakhana wristwatches

Maryam slammed Imran Khan for ordering the political workers to fill the jails but he is hiding in Zaman Park’s bunker and stood women outside his residence to avoid arrest

She said that Shehbaz Sharif has not taken any revenge but everyone will have to give the answer for the wrongdoings

Maryam Nawaz announced that PML-N will actively take part in the upcoming elections and it is the only political party that can bring the country out of the crisis

‘PML-N capable of combating challenges’

Minister of State for Interior Abdur

JHELUM s ta f f r e p o r t

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said on Sunday that they are ready to follow Imran Khan’s call for Jail Bharo movement and he will be the first to surrender from Jhelum While addressing PTI workers in Jhelum Fawad Chaudhry praised the former military ruler General Retired Pervez Musharraf who passed away in Dubai on Sunday He said Pervez Musharraf did something good for Pakistan by ousting Nawaz Sharif

He said that he personally respects Pervez Musharraf and considers him a true patriot Fawad Ch slammed Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) for blaming Musharraf for a constitutional violation He questioned whether the Constitution is being exercised in the country He said that the incumbent government is committing constitutional violations for nine months Fawad Chaudhry said that Pervez Musharraf had sensed the truth that the country cannot see the rule of the Constitution in the presence of Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari

He said Nawaz and Zardari had been granted NRO at the behest of the United States (US) and Saudi Arabia

He also criticized the current rulers of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for observing Kashmir Solidarity Day when they occupied the whole country just like Kashmir The PTI VP alleged there is no difference between Rana Sanaullah and the Indian home minister

Earlier on Saturday Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan announced the ‘Jail Bharo’ movement

The PTI chief said it is better to start the Jail Bharo movement than protest on road They are fond of getting us jails, we will let them get their wish, he added Imran Khan said after the coming 90 days whoever stays in the government, article 6 will apply to them

The nation is expecting that the judiciary will stand by the constitution

The PTI chairman lambasted the PDM-led government he said that the prices of petrol electricity and gas have hiked up and it will increase more in near future He predicted that the PDM government is now looking for escape amid the increasing inflation

PTI FINALISES LISTS OF WORKERS

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has finalised lists of workers, who will voluntarily surrender for the ‘jail Bharo movement announced by former prime minister Imran Khan

PTI has kicked off preparations for the ‘Jail Bharo’ movement and the regional and district level bodies have been assigned targets

On the call of Imran Khan, 500 workers will surrender from every provincial constituency of the country The sources said the PTI has devised a threephase strategy for the Jail Bharo movement

In the first phase, central leaders and the parliament members will surrender and in the second phase, 500 workers will surrender from every provincial constituency In the final phase, the general public and PTI voters will surrender themselves for the ‘Jail Bharo’ movement

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan announced the Jail Bharo’ movement The PTI chief Imran Khan said it is better to start the ‘Jail Bharo’ movement than protest on road They are fond of getting us jails we will let them get their wish, he added

Imran Khan said after the coming 90 days whoever stays in the government, article 6 will apply on them

The nation is expecting that the judiciary will stand by the constitution

: Mar yam

Rehman Khan Kanju said on Sunday nation was well aware that PML-N was capable of combating economic challenges in an amicable way and thus they reposed confidence in PML N only

He said this while addressing the Workers Convention here Kanju stated whenever

Pakistan was faced with crises, it was only PML-N which steered it out of challenges

He stated the PML-N would be victorious in future also as it enjoyed the support of millions of people in the country, adding he also thanked the party workers for joining the convention in large numbers

‘Biggest blunder ’ in countr y ’s histor y ruined economy