Epaper_23-02-8 KHI

Wednesday, 8 February, 2023 I 16 Rajab, 1444

Changan becomes sixth company to increase prices over past week

Profit

LHC sides with consumers in case against NEPRA

Imports restrictions, non release of machines hampering coal mining

PakisTan desPaTches Rescue TeaM as deaTh

Toll in TuRkiye-syRia quake

g pm says pakistan would extend all possible support to turkiye in testing times

oVerwhelmedrescuers struggled to save people trapped under the rubble as the death toll from a devastating earthquake in turkiye and syria surpassed 5,200 on tuesday, with despair mounting and the scale of the disaster hampering relief efforts.

turkish president tayyip erdogan on tuesday declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces devastated by two earthquakes that killed more than 5,200 people and left a trail of destruction across a wide area of southern turkiye and neighbouring syria.

an official 51-member pakistani rescue team was also set to touchdown in istanbul today, federal minister saad rafiq said on twitter.

a relief fund for the earthquake victims of turkiye was formally established under the direction of prime minister shehbaz sharif on tuesday. pm shehbaz is set to depart for turkiye to express solidarity today.

a notification in this regard was issued by the office of the controller general of accounts. the fund “g-12166” was created under the title “pm’s relief fund for turkiye earthquake victims’.

earlier, during a federal cabinet meeting, the prime minister had announced the establishment of the relevant relief fund for the quake affected people of turkiye, pm office media wing said in a press release.

the prime minister appealed to the philanthropists, institutions and general public to make generous donations to the newly established account under ‘pm relief fund for turkiye earthquake Victims”. the prime minister observed that a 7.9 magnitude quake had brought huge destruction in the brotherly country of turkiye in which thousands of people lost their lives, the press release said.

turkiye had always supported the national interests of pakistan and its people in difficulties with generous and sincere help. during the 2005 quake, and during 2010 and 2022 floods devastation, turkiye had supported pakistan with generosity. expressing solidarity with the people of turkiye, the prime minister further said that in this difficult situation, the government and people of pakistan would extend all possible support to their turkish brothers and sisters.

he said helping the people of turkiye was also their religious duty.

in the turkish city of antakya near the syrian border, where 10-storey buildings had crumbled onto

the streets, reuters journalists saw rescue work being conducted on one out of dozens of mounds of rubble. the temperature was close to freezing as the rain came down and there was no electricity or fuel in the city.

the magnitude 7.8 quake hit turkiye and neighbouring syria early on monday, toppling thousands of buildings including many apartment blocks, wrecking hospitals, and leaving thousands of people injured or homeless. in turkiye, the death toll climbed to 3,381 people, turkiye’s disaster and emergency management authority (afad) said.

the death toll in syria, already devastated by more than 11 years of war, stands at more than 1,500, according to the syrian government and a rescue service in the insurgent-held northwest.

rescuers in turkey and syria braved frigid weather, aftershocks and collapsing buildings tuesday, as they dug for survivors buried by an earthquake that killed more than 5,000 people. disaster agencies said several thousand buildings were flattened in cities across a vast border region — pouring misery on an area already plagued by war, insurgency, refugee crises and a recent cholera outbreak. through the night, survivors used their bare

cRosses

5,200

pak army, rescue 1122 teams reach for relief opration

PM Relief Fund for Turkiye’s earthquake victims established

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

a relief fund for the earthquake victims of turkiye

hands to pick over the twisted ruins of multi-storey apartment blocks — trying to save family, friends and anyone else sleeping inside when the first massive 7.8-magnitude quake struck early monday. “where is my mum?” asked a distraught seven-year-old girl who was pulled — her face, hair and pyjamas covered in dust — from a collapsed building in hatay, on the turkish side of the border. the sense of disbelief was widespread, as residents struggled to comprehend the scale of the disaster. some of the heaviest devastation occurred near the quake’s epicentre between kahramanmaras and gaziantep, a city of two million where entire blocks now lie in ruins under gathering snow.

as residents tried to clear a mountain of masonry, plasterboard and furniture that had been a multi-story building, another collapsed nearby — sending crowds screaming and clamouring for safety. with aftershocks rattling the area, many terrified and exhausted survivors spent the night outdoors, too afraid to go home.

‘Can’t go home’: some huddled under bus shelters, some wrapped themselves in plastic to repel the freezing rain and others burned debris to keep warm. mustafa koyuncu packed his wife and their five children into their parked car.

was formally established under the direction of prime minister muhammad shehbaz sharif on tuesday. a notification in this regard was issued by the office of the controller general of accounts. the fund “g-12166” was created under the title “pm’s relief fund for turkiye earthquake victims’. earlier, during a federal cabinet meeting, the prime minister had announced the establishment of the relevant relief fund for the quake affected people of turkiye, pm office media wing said in a press release. the prime minister appealed to the philanthropists, institutions and general public to make generous donations to the newly established account under ‘pm relief fund for turkiye earthquake Victims”. the prime minister observed that a 7.8 magnitude quake had brought huge destruction in the brotherly country of turkiye in which thousands of people lost their lives, the press release said. turkiye had always supported the national interests of pakistan and its people in difficulties with generous and sincere help. during the 2005 quake, and during 2010 and 2022 floods devastation, turkiye had supported pakistan with generosity. expressing solidarity with the people of turkiye, the prime minister further said that in this difficult situation, the government and people of pakistan would extend all possible support to their turkish brothers and sisters. he said helping the people of turkiye was also their religious duty.

“we can’t go home,” the 55-year-old told afp. “everyone is afraid.” turkey put the latest death toll at 3,419 in that country alone — bringing the confirmed tally in both turkey and syria to 5,021. there are fears that the toll will rise inexorably, with world health organisation (who) officials estimating up to 20,000 may have died.

DETAILS STORY ON PAGE 05

Pakistan Certificates’

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

the government on tuesday revised the rates of return for rupee denominated islamic naya pakistan certificates (npc) of different maturities.

according to a notification issued by the finance division, the rate of return for rupee denominated npcs with a maturity of three months has been revised from 9.5% up to 15% while the six-month return has been raised from 10% to 15%.

the one-year return has been revised up from 10.5% to 15.5%, while the three- and five-year returns have been increased from 10.75% to 14% and 11% to 13.5% respectively.

last month, the government increased the

rate of return for us-dollar denominated npcs, too. three-month certificates were raised from 5.5% to 7% while the six-month return was raised from 6% to 7.2%. the one-year return had been revised up from 6.5% to 7.5% while three- and five-year returns were increased to 8% from the previous rates of 6.75% and 7% respectively.

similarly, the rates for pound-denominated npcs had also been revised up to 5.5% for a maturity period of three months, 6% for six months, 7% for one year and 7.5% each for a period of three and five years respectively.

for euro-denominated npcs, the government had revised the rates of returns to 4% for a maturity period of three months, 4.5% for six months, 5% for one year and 6.5% each for a period of three and five years.

‘Inflationary adjustments’ in medicine prices

Story on Back Page

Story on Back Page

Story on Back Page

Story on Back Page

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Rupee-denominated Naya

rates of return increased

g

Imran’s IndICtmEnt PostPonEd In hEatEd toshaKhana CasE hEarIng

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

aDISTRICTand sessions court in Islamabad granted a temporary medical exemption to Imran Khan, the chairman of Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf (PTI), deferring his indictment in the Toshakhana reference.

The court, in the previous hearing on January 31, had slated the announcement of charges against Khan for February 7. The former prime minister is currently

recovering from a gunshot wound sustained during a rally in November of last year.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Ali Bukhari and Gohar Ali Khan represented Khan while the Electoral Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was represented by Saad Hasan. The proceedings were conducted by Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal.

At the outset of the proceedings, the judge asked for the submission of surety bonds and inquired about Khan’s appearance, to which his counsels replied that his health was a concern, and that they

Backed by nation, govt-armed forces committed to exterminate terrorism: President

PESHAWAR

staff RepoRt

President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday declared that the government and Armed Forces were enjoying full support of the nation and expressed the resolve to exterminate the menace of terrorism from the country. President Dr Arif Alvi expressed the views during visit to Lady Reading Hospital where he enquired after the health of injured persons of Police Lines’ mosque blast. Caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan accompanied the president. The President said the nation, Security Forces did combat terrorism in an unprecedented manner and they would once again collectively fight the menace. He talked to the doctors and hospital administration about the wellbeing of the injured. He expressed solidarity with families of martyrs and prayed for the early recovery of injured persons. Dr Arif Alvi also enquired after the health of an injured woman and condoled martyrdom of her family members.

Funeral of former military dictator musharraf offered in Karachi

KARACHI

afp

Thousands of people attended funeral prayers on Tuesday for former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who became a key American ally during the “War on Terror” following the 9/11 attacks in the United States. Musharraf, who fled Pakistan in 2016 after a travel ban on him was lifted, died on Sunday aged 79 in Dubai, having suffered a long illness. Prayers were held at the grounds of the Malir Cantonment neighbourhood of Karachi in a ceremony attended by around 10,000 people, mostly retired and serving military officers, an AFP reporter observed. Former army chiefs Qamar Javed Bajwa, Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Aslam Beg were also present. Neither the serving army chief, the prime minister, nor the president attended the funeral, which was not officially announced by the military or government and was not aired on television. The body was set to be transported to a nearby military graveyard. His body was repatriated from Dubai on Monday and flown to the megalopolis, where his family settled after leaving Old Delhi following the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The repatriation was facilitated by the consulate general of Pakistan in Dubai, and was met with heavy military security on its arrival in Karachi. In Pakistan, where the military is supremely powerful and enjoys significant support, Musharraf remains a divisive figure. In an editorial published by a nation’s leading English language newspaper on Monday, Musharraf was described “as something of an enigma as his authoritarian rule was also interspersed with liberal reforms”. “Yet the late general’s mistakes were considerable, the biggest and most unforgivable being the derailing of the constitutional order.”

had not yet received certified copies related to the case from the prosecution.

The ECP lawyer said the copies had already been provided. The judge then directed the commission to provide the PTI counsels with all necessary documents and the next hearing date will be determined once this has been done.

The proceedings were marked by a heated exchange between the two sides.

Hasan accused Khan’s legal team of bringing a miraasi (broken records) to the proceedings, to which the PTI’s counsel

responded by calling the ECP team munshi (clerks). The judge intervened to prevent further insults being exchanged.

The case centres on a government department known as Toshakhana — which during the Mughal era referred to the treasure houses kept by the subcontinent’s princely rulers to store and display gifts lavished on them. Government officials must declare all gifts to the Cabinet Division, but are allowed to keep those below a certain value.

More expensive items must go to Toshakhana under the administrative control

of the Cabinet Division, but in some cases, the recipient can buy them back at around 50 percent of their value — a discount Khan raised from 20 percent while in office.

The ruling coalition of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) parties has for months alleged the former prime minister and his wife, Bushra Maneka, received lavish gifts worth millions during trips abroad. They included luxury watches, jewellery, designer handbags and perfumes.

Wikipedia unblocked after PM Shehbaz intervention

ISLAMABAD afp

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) unblocked Wikipedia on Tuesday, a day after the prime minister ordered it to restore access to the online encyclopedia restricted last week for “blasphemous content”.

Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, and social media giants Facebook and YouTube have previously been banned for publishing content deemed sacrilegious. Minister of Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb tweeted a copy of the order that read:

“The Prime Minister is pleased to direct that the website (Wikipedia) may be restored with immediate effect.”

The Wikimedia Foundation — the non-profit fund managing Wikipedia — told AFP on Monday that it “was made aware that the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority had been directed to restore access to Wikipedia” and hoped to see online traffic in Pakistan “resume soon.” Last week, the PTA gave Wikipedia 48 hours to remove content deemed “blasphemous”, before it ultimately blocked the website. An agency spokesman had said Saturday that Wikipedia would “remain blocked until they remove all the objectionable material”, without specifying what content was at issue.

‘Unintended conseqUences’:

According to the order published Monday, Shehbaz Sharif had instructed a committee made up of three government

ministers to examine the PTA’s decision to block Wikipedia.

The committee found that the “unintended consequences of this blanket ban… outweigh its benefits”, the document, signed by the principal secretary to the prime minister, Syed Tauqeer Shah, said. Another ministerial committee would be established to further examine the issue, it added.

“The people of Pakistan rely on Wikipedia both as a knowledge resource and as a pathway to share their knowledge with others”, a Wikimedia spokesperson said.

“Lifting this ban means that the people of Pakistan can continue to benefit from and participate in its growth within a global movement that strives to spread and share knowledge that is

Top PTI leaders move LHC against transfers, postings in Punjab

LAHORE staff RepoRt

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday filed a petition in the Lahore High Court against new transfers and postings in various departments, especially in the constituencies where by-elections are scheduled to be held.

The petitioners including: Hammad Azhar, Fawad Chaudhry, Shafqat Mehmood, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and Asad Umar, among others, requested the court to set aside all such notifications, including those through which transfers and postings have already been made since the dissolution of the provincial assembly on January 14, 2023.

The lawmakers also requested the court to restrain the quarters concerned from making further transfers and postings in the constituencies where the by-elections are to be held. In their petition, the lawmakers have challenged the legality and constitutionality of a

notification issued on February 4 by the chief secretary and caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, through which various public officials were posted and transferred in several districts of the province.

The petitioners contended that the said notification clearly violates the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Election Act 2017, as well as the law settled by the superior courts of the country in various judgements. The lawmakers have stated that they are the candidates for the by-elections for various constituencies of the assembly to be held within the province, announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

It is important to mention here that on January 12, 2023, former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi had advised the governor to dissolve Punjab Assembly in exercise of his constitutional powers under Article 112. On January 14, 2023, pursuant to the advice of the then chief minister in accordance with terms of Article 112(1) of the Constitution, the assembly stood dissolved.

Saudi diplomats leave Afghanistan, relocate to Islamabad: sources

ISLAMABAD ReuteRs

Saudi diplomats have left Afghanistan for “training” and will return, the Taliban administration said, though three sources familiar with the matter said security concerns had contributed to their departure. A diplomatic source and two other sources said Saudi Arabia’s diplomats had left by air and relocated to Pakistan late last week due to warnings of heightened risks of attacks in the capital of Kabul.

The Taliban said their departure was temporary and not for security reasons. “Some employees of Saudi Arabia’s

embassy have gone out for a kind of training, and will return,” Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban administration, said. The Foreign Office of Pakistan referred Reuters to the Saudi embassy in Islamabad for comment. Riyadh’s government communication office and foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comments. It was not immediately clear how long the Saudi diplomats intended to be based outside Afghanistan, or how many had left the country. Several countries have run their Afghanistan embassies from Pakistan and Qatar since US-led foreign coalition forces withdrew from the country and the Taliban took over in 2021 after a 20-year insurgency.

Elahi to approach LHC against interim government’s ‘actions’

LAHORE

staff RepoRt

After meeting with the legal team, former Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has decided to approach the Lahore High Court (LHC) regarding the interim government’s actions.

According to a private TV channel, senior lawyers including Mohsin Raza, Khubaib Zaman Baloch, Wasim Sandhu,

Tayyab Usman, and Asif Hafeez along with Raja Basharat, Sajid Bhatti, and other political leaders were also present during the meeting.

Sources learnt that the illegal actions of the interim government were discussed in the meeting.

The participants also discussed the strategy to stop the developmental projects started by the caretaker government and the arrest of political

opponents during the meeting.

The raids and arrests from the secretary of the Assembly Muhammad Khan’s residence were strongly condemned.

The former Chief Ministersaid, “The caretaker government had no regard for anyone’s privacy or honour, the nation will respond to such vile acts for the sake of political revenge in the form of voting in the general elections.”

verified, reliable and free.”

The organisation did not immediately respond to an AFP query on if it had taken any action to remove certain content.

It said in a previous statement that “the Wikimedia Foundation does not make decisions around what content is included on Wikipedia or how that content is maintained.” “We respect and support the editorial decisions made by the community of editors around the world,” it added.

Free speech campaigners have highlighted what they say is a pattern of rising government censorship of Pakistan’s printed and electronic media. Pakistan blocked YouTube from 2012 to 2016 after it carried a film about the prophet that led to violent protests across the Muslim world.

ECP considers army deployment to oversee KP elections

ISLAMABAD

staff RepoRt

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was in touch with the Ministry of Interior and Defence for the deployment of Pak Army troops/ Frontier Corps (FC) to ensure peaceful elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja. Chairing a meeting held to discuss the security and political situation with provincial authorities before announcing the election date. CEC told Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Imdadullah Bosal and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Moazzam Jah Ansari that more spade work should be done regarding the deployment of Army and Frontier Corps and inform the Election Commission so that relevant quarters can be contacted in time. The Chief Election Commissioner instructed to complete working regarding the deployment of Army and FC in elections and inform the commission so that the relevant institutions can be contacted. Stressing ensuring transparency, CEC directed the provincial government, the Chief Secretary and the IG to ensure that the transfers of the officers posted to all the administrative posts in the province were done immediately, besides ensuring the appointment of impartial staff before the elections. He said any complaints against the political affiliation of returning officers and district returning officers, who were appointed to supervise National Assembly by-elections, should be sent to the election commission for immediate action. Chief Secretary Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assured to implement the instructions of the election commission. He said impartial officers will be appointed in all districts before the elections. He said they are demanding the federal government to increase the election budget. IG KP said the police force was facing a shortage of 57,000 personnel to conduct the elections. The additional police forces will be called from Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, but still the required personnel will not be met. The police chief said Frontier Corps and Pakistan Army personnel will be required to meet the shortage of police force. Briefing on the security situation, IG KP informed the meeting that there were 494 attacks on police in 2022. So far in 2023, 93 personnel have been martyred in 46 attacks, he added. Furthermore, 119 policemen were martyred in 494 attacks in 2022.

IhC Forms largEr BEnCh to hEar dIsqualIFICatIon

PlEa agaInst Imran Khan tomorrow

ISLAMABAD

staff RepoRt

tHEIslamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday formed a three-member larger bench to hear the disqualification case against PTI chief Imran Khan for of hiding information about his alleged daughter Tyrian White.

The three-member larger bench

By-elections to na-158 to be held on march 19

MuLtAn staff RepoRt

By-elections for NA 158 (Multan) will be held on March 19 as the Election Commission of Pakistan has issued a complete schedule here.

According to the ECP notification, nomination papers of the candidates will be received from February 10-14, whereas the list of contestants will be displayed on February 15. The documents of the candidates will be scrutinized on February 18, while nomination acceptance or rejection will be decided between February 2227. The final list of the contestants will be displayed on February 28, it added. However, the last date for withdrawal of candidature will be March 1. The candidates can receive forms from the office of Returning Officer at 4Bukhari Street near Northern Bypass chowk.

aIIB appreciates govt’s reforms, economic policies

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

headed by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and comprising Justice Mohsin Akhter Kayani and Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir would take up the case for hearing on February 9 (Thursday).

The chief justice IHC had decided to form the larger bench after PTI’s head raised objections to the single-member bench.

Imran Khan had stated in his plea that the petition was not maintainable as he was no more a member of parliament. The

petition was moved by a citizen Muhammad Sajid seeking disqualification of Imran Khan under article 62 and 63 of the constitution. The petitioner said that the PTI’s chief had not declared his daughter in his nomination papers submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan. During a previous hearing, his associate lawyer Salman Butt informed the court that Salman Akram Raja skipped proceedings as he has to appear in Supreme Court (SC) in

another case. He told court that Imran Khan had submitted his reply in Tyrian White case through his counsel Salman Akram Raja. To this, IHC chief justice said that Imran Khan in his reply had contended that he is no more a parliamentarian.

Imran’s counsel urged the court to adjourn the hearing of the case till March.

IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq adjourned the hearing till February 9 and

Imports restrictions, non release of machines hampering coal mining

COntInuED fROM BACK PAgE

With the country already facing economic obstacles and challenges, any delay in the growth of a certain solution should be resolved quickly, so Pakistan can at least meet the necessary demands of the public. Projects such as the Thar Coal are and will continue to play a pivotal role in the energy security of Pakistan, he concluded.

It may be mentioned here that electricity consumers are set to face another shock as power tariff is likely to be increased following the free fall of Pakistani rupee against the US dollar in the past one week.

Pakistan is gripped by a major economic crisis, with the rupee plummeting, inflation soaring, and petrol prices reaching record highs coupled with a huge short-

age of energy supply for the public.

The country is battling severe energy shortages with capacity challenged by poor infrastructure and mismanagement compounding the misery of the consumers and industries alike. Last week, the whole country was plunged into a day-long blackout because of a fault in the national grid that followed a cost-cutting measure. In addition, the world’s fifth-biggest population has less than $3.7 billion in the state bank, enough to cover just three weeks of imports. “Pakistan’s energy production consists of oil, natural gas, and coal. The country heavily relies on imported sources of fuels as nearly 40% of its total primary energy supply is imported,” reads the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program (Carec) in Energy Outlook 2030.

‘Inflationary adjustments’ in medicine prices

COntInuED fROM BACK PAgE

According to sources, “80% of the raw material for the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals is imported. The persistent exchange rate fluctuations has created a situation wherein the pharmaceutical companies can’t sustain their operations in Pakistan. This is compounded with the imposition of duties and tariffs on imported raw material.”

The pharmaceutical companies lamented in the letters, “the cost of fuel, electricity, freight charges and packing material also witnessed unprecedented increase during the same period. Simultaneously,the rupee has devalued by more than 67% against the US dollar since July 2020.”

Our sources informed us that the production of pharmaceuticals in Pakistan requires significant energy.

costs. The exodus of multinational pharmaceutical companies has accelerated in recent years. In July 2022, Sanofi Aventis Pakistan limited also exited, sellings its plants to local companies.

The consequential unavailability of medicines can inevitably trigger a national health emergency. Health professionals are concerned about the potential scarcity of medicine. the WAy forWArd?

The only apparent solution is to increase the prices of medicines available in the market. Our source adds, “our government can not sustain the pharmaceutical industry from its own pockets. The only possible solutions are degranulation and price adjustments according to inflation and rupee devaluation.”

decided to form larger bench in the case. In his reply submitted through lawyer Salman Akram Raja, the PTI chief contended that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) while exercising constitutional jurisdiction could not examine any affidavit issued by him as he has already resigned as a member of the National Assembly.

He maintained that IHC could not proceed in this matter as he has already ceased to be a member of the parliament.

Iran ready for cooperation with Pakistan to end terrorism: Pir lorin

QuEttA

staff RepoRt

Chief Economist of Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), Erik Berglof here on Tuesday appreciated the economic policies and reforms of the present government for social uplift of the masses. During a call on meeting with Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Berglof highlighted the role of AIIB in infrastructure development projects and investment in Pakistan and discussed future cooperation in development projects especially eco- friendly and climate resilience. Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Finance, Tariq Bajwa, SAPM on Revenue, Tariq Mehmood Pasha and senior officers from finance division participated in the meeting, according to press statement issued by the finance ministry. On the occasion, the finance minister shared with Erik Berglof the current economic outlook of the country. He apprised him about the economic policies and reforms of the government for sustainable economic development and social uplift of the poor segment of society. He said that despite economic challenges, the government was determined to set the things in right direction and put the economy on positive trajectory. He also apprised about the economic losses due to the devastated floods in Pakistan and rehabilitation and reconstruction in the flood affected areas.

“Boilers and chillers need to operate on a massive scale to ensure the smooth manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. However, the energy costs have risen beyond sustainable levels.”

A potentiAl collApse of phArmAceUticAl compAnies

This means that many pharmaceutical companies will cease their operations in Pakistan. “The collapse of the pharmaceutical sector could result in the nonavailability of medicines to the patients and the public at large,” the companies cautioned the government.

In fact, Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Humalog medical insulin used to treat diabetes has already closed its operations in Pakistan, as the pharmaceutical industry struggles to survive amidst the increasing product

Similar measures were taken in Sri Lanka in April 2022. As the Sri Lankan rupee depreciated to Rs 370 against the dollar, the government raised the prices of medicines by 40% to ensure the smooth availability and accessibility of medicines in the country.

Dilawar reiterated that, “due to the uncertain economic situation, it has become entirely unsustainable for firms to manufacture and ensure the availability of medicines beyond the next seven days. The pharmaceutical companies have reached a consensus that they will not be able to continue production if they are not allowed to increase prices.” “Over 100 factories have shut down over the past few months and if the industry is not allowed to make price adjustments, many more will cease to operate,” Dilawar further asserted.

Rain, snowfall expected in western, upper parts on 9th, 10th

ISLAMABAD

staff RepoRt

Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast rain-wind/thunderstorm with snowfall over the hills in western and upper parts on Thursday and Friday.

A westerly wave was likely to enter the country on February 08 (night) and likely to grip upper parts on 09th and may persist over northern areas till February 10.

Under the influence of this weather system, rainwind/thunderstorm and snowfall over the hills with

few moderate to isolated heavy falls are expected in Murree, Galliyat, Kashmir (Neelum valley, Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Hattian, Bagh, Haveli, Sudhanoti, Kotli, Bhimber, Mirpur), Gilgit-Baltistan (Diamir, Astore, Ghizer, Skardu, Hunza, Gilgit, Ghanche, Shigar), Chitral, Dir, Swat, Manshera, Kohistan, Shangla, Buner, Haripur and Abbottabad from February 08-10.

Rain-wind/thunderstorm with isolated hailstorm is expected in Islamabad, Potohar region, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot.

ECP regional office announces schedule for NA-16, 17 by-elections

ABBOttABAD staff RepoRt

The regional office, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday released the by-election schedule for the vacant seats of NA-16 Abbottabad-2 and NA-17 Haripur9. The public notice for NA-16 Abbottabad-2 will be issued by the Returning Officer on February 8.

According to the District Election Commissioner/Returning Officer Zeeshan Khan, the candidates can obtain and submit nomination papers from February 10 to 14, 2023, from the office of the concerned Returning Officer/District Election

Commissioner. According to the schedule issued by the ECP regional office, the polling for NA-16 Abbottabad 2 seat will be held on Sunday, March 19, 2023.

Regional Election Commissioner Hazara Division Abbottabad Aziz Bahadur has been nominated as District Returning Officer and District Election Commissioner Abbottabad Zeeshan Khan as Returning Officer.

Form NA-17 Haripur 9 candidates have received nomination papers to participate in the by-elections, the process of obtaining nomination papers for the byelections for the National Assembly seat vacated from constituency NA-17 Haripur has started.

Former federal minister and PTI leader Omer

Ayub Khan, Pakistan Muslim League -N leader Babar Nawaz Khan, PPP leader Ejaz Ali Durrani, including Zubair Khan, Ali Zawar Naqvi, Bilal Nawaz Khan, Asad Usman, Iftikhar Abbasi have received nomination papers.

Aziz Bahadar, Regional Election Commissioner as District Returning Officer (DRO) administered oath to Zeeshan Khan, District Election Commissioner Abbottabad as Returning Officer (RO), Muhammad Naseer, Deputy District Education Officer (Male) and Sardar Muhammad Nawaz, SubDivisional Wildlife Officer, Abbottabad as Assistant Returning Officers (ARO).

Deputy Consul General of Iran Pir Lorin on Tuesday said that Pakistan-Iran relations have always been exemplary and Iranian territory would not be utilized against any country and was ready for all possible cooperation with Pakistan. He expressed these views while talking to journalists on the occasion of his visit to Quetta Press Club. Quetta Press Club President Abdul Khaliq, newly elected President of Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) Irfan Saeed and other journalists were also present. Iran’s Deputy Consul General Pir Lorin congratulated the newly elected cabinet of Balochistan Union of Journalists and expressed hope that the journalist community would play a key role in further strengthening Pak-Iran relations. He said that as a good neighbor, Iran has friendly relations with Pakistan. Peer Lorin said that Iran was ready to provide gas, petrol and electricity to Pakistan because there was no international restriction regarding the supply of Iranian gas. He said that Iran was supplying 104 megawatts of electricity to the border city of Gwadar and would now provide another 100 megawatts this year The activities of armed organizations in Iran were exaggerated by hostile countries and unrest in Balochistan was not in Iran’s interest. He said that Iran was ready for all possible security cooperation with Pakistan to end terrorism. Newly elected President of Balochistan Union of Journalists Irfan Saeed thanked the Deputy Consul General Peer Lorin for his visit to the Press Club.

Pakistan highlights lack of self-determination rights for Kashmir and Palestine at un

unItED nAtIOnS staff RepoRt

Pakistan has urged the Security Council and the General Assembly to “actively” work to resolve festering disputes through the modalities available under the United Nations charter, while pointing out that the people of Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir have yet to exercise their basic right to self-determination. “There are too many instances of injustice, inequality and oppression among and within States,” Ambassador Munir Akram said in the 193-member assembly’s debate on the secretary-general’s priorities for 2023. “We have not achieved the universal realisation of the core and fundamental right of self-determination for all peoples — certainly not for the peoples of Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir,” the envoy said. In this regard, he called for efforts to ensure “consistent and universal” respect for the core principles of the charter, Security Council resolutions and international law, emphasizing that those must be equitably considered in the 15-member council and — when that is not possible, in the General Assembly — to promote implementation.

Senate haS no houSing Society: Shahadat awan

MInISTeRof State for Law and Justice Shahadat Awan on Tuesday said the Senate did not have any housing society but parliamentarians had their quota in private housing schemes.

Responding to a supplementary question, raised by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s Senator Fida Muhammad Khan, he made it clear that the Senate had not developed any housing society besides advising the parliamentarians to seek their due quota from the private housing schemes.

PTI’s Senator Saifullah niazi urged the chair to take stern action against builders

who were using the name of Senate for housing society.

Shahadat Awan said the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had launched an aggressive campaign against illegal housing societies from time to time.

He said if an individual had any complaint against any housing society, he should come to Senate Standing Committee on Interior for its redressal. The committee would provide all its helping hands to resolve it amicably, he added.

Senator Fida said there was an employee of Senate who submitted dues against a plot in 1987 but he was not provided the plot even after his death.

On the basic question of PTI’s Senator Fawzia Arshad, he said as per Revised

Modalities and Procedures (2020) framed under Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) (Zoning) Regulation, 1992 (As Amended) proposals for housing schemes was processed in two stages.

In the first step Layout Plan (LOP) was approved then on completion of subsequent formalities, the no Objection Certificates (nOC) were issued, he added.

He said during the execution phase of the scheme site, visits were frequently arranged by CDA for monitoring the development work as per the approved LOP. In case, deviation from approved LOP by the sponsors was observed, the authority issued show cause notice and finally cancelled it, he added.

He further said if any changes were re-

quired as per revenue matters or site situation, the LOP may be reviewed on request of sponsors by the authority any time incorporating the changes as per prevailing rules and regulations.

Moreover, two Directorates of Building Control such as; Building Control north and South were established for effective building control and checking violation of approved LOP, he said adding that subsequently, after handing over possession of the plots to allottees, as per ICT Building Control Regulations 2020, building plans were examined/ approved in Directorate of Building Control CDA. He said in case of any violation in approved LOP, the building plan of the unit was not approved by the authority concerned.

Railways plans to restore cargo train service from Peshawar: Divisional Superintendent

PESHAWAR staff RepoRt

Pakistan Railways Divisional Superintendent Peshawar, Muhammad nasir Khalily said the institute was planning to restore freight train service from Peshawar to Karachi to facilitate trade and business.

He asked Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry to share details/data of potential sectors to resume the cargo train service from Peshawar on a fasttrack basis.

Muhammad nasir Khalily was talking to SCCI President Muhammad Ishaq during a meeting held here at the chamber’s house on Tuesday. Vice President of SCCI, ejaz Khan Afridi, PR Divisional Transportation/Commercial Officer Anwar Sadat Marwat, Divisional Me-

chanical engineer Peshawar Javed Shah, Divisional Assistant electrical engineer Jamilur Rahman were present during the meeting. Ishaq in his remarks said, “Railways is the most useful and one of the fastest means of transportation across the world.” The DS Railways realized that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was lagging in freight as compared to other cities of the country. He stressed it was essential to restore cargo train operation from Peshawar. The senior official said the railways department had designed a holistic plan for resumption of freight train service from Peshawar.

DS railways assured the SCCI president that they would take up the issues faced by the business community with relevant departments and authorities and would promptly resolve them.

The senior official furthermore emphasized to use railway transportation service to improve trade, exports and businesses to stabilize the national economy. The SCCI chief assured the senior official of providing data and details of the potential sectors in order to resume

cargo train service. Ishaq said the Pakistan Railways would earn huge revenue if the cargo train services were resumed. Muhammad Ishaq suggested giving SCCI representation in the Railways Advisor Committee, to which the DS Railways Peshawar agreed.

Who is new State Minister Jawad Sohrab Malik?

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s office has announced that renowned businessman Jawad Sohrab Malik has been appointed as Sharif’s Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) with the status of a State Minister.

But, who really is Jawad Sohrab Malik and how did he make it to the level of the State Minister?

Jawad Sohrab Malik belongs to a well-heeled and renowned business and political family of Pakistan, based out of Islamabad. He is nephew of Mohammed Mian Soomro who has served as Governor Sindh, Chairman Senate, Prime Minister and President of Pakistan and Minister for Privatisation.

Jawad Sohrab is grandson of former nazima of Jacobabad, Begum Saeeda Soomro. His mother Maliha Malik currently has a stronghold on the politics in Jacobabad and is extremely active.

Jawad Sohrab Malik qualified as a lawyer from London. He obtained his law degree from the University of Cardiff.

After finishing his law education, Jawad Sohrab focussed full time on his businesses with the aim to modernise and innovate. He has been successfully running a vast business empire stretched to London, Pakistan and Dubai. The businesses include real estate development, general trading, information technology and spans through to various

other sectors.

The businessman has been diving his time between London and Islamabad. He has developed good contacts internationally including with the American members of Congress, British parliamentarians, global business elite, Gulf royal families and political parties in Pakistan across the board.

He was hailed as a Pandemic hero when Pakistan was locked down during the Covid outbreak. Through his charitable wing called Sohrab Foundation, Jawad Malik has been serving the country by providing relief to the most disadvantaged sections of the society. His work was recognised at the national level and was

Over 20 died in passenger bus accident at Kohistan

ISLAMABAD Ghulam abbas

Over 20 passengers were died while many others injured in a bus accident in Upper Kohistan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday night.

As per reports a bus carrying more than 25 passengers hit a car in Upper Kohistan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and both vehicles fell into a gorge, killing over 20 people. As per initial report of Police the passenger bus was travelling from Ghizer (Gilgit) to Rawalpindi on the Karakoram Highway.

SP Diamer Sher Khan said a police team has pulled out 22 bodies from the vehicles, while 15 injured have been shifted to a hospital in Chilas.

The accident occurred near the Satiyal checkpost near Diamer. Rescue efforts are underway by locals and

School education secretary, PeF boss discuss ways to enhance quality

LAHORE staff RepoRt

awarded by Pakistan Army for his contribution in the relief work.

Jawad Sohrab Malik led the fight for justice for his slain brother Barrister Fahad Malik. The London law graduate was killed in August 2016 in cold blood by a notorious Islamabad land grabbing gang. Jawad Sohrab led a campaign for justice for his brother gallantly, fighting several odds and facing real threats from the powerful mafia elements but he didn’t give up.

It was due to his efforts that the mater of killing was discussed in the UK Parliament and at the influential UK Home Affairs Parliamentary Committee where the UK Home Secretary spoke about the killing and demanded justice for the family. eventually, all killers were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Jawad Sohrab Malik has been working with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s cabinet on several tasks since Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition came to power after Imran Khan lost vote of no confidence in the parliament, paving his ouster.

Jawad Sohrab Malik has been made the SAPM with the status of State Minister to help the government improve governance and he has been handed over focal tasks related to functioning of the govt along with special assignments directed by the Prime Minister. It is understood that he has been assisting the government for several months now.

The secretary for school education, Faisal Fareed, visited the office of the Punjab education Foundation (PeF) in Lahore on Tuesday. The managing director of PeF, Manzar Javed Ali, gave a briefing on PeF’s educational plans, including training programs for teachers and head teachers, and updates on the Cholistan Community School, Cholistan Mobile School, and Roshan Thal Project. Ali said PeF has trained 48,925 teachers and 15,184 teachers, and is planning to educate a further 100,000 teachers in the current academic year to improve the quality of education offered in partner schools. He was of the view that an increase in the compensation of partner schools was the need of the hour. During the meeting, Fareed appreciated the educational projects of the foundation and noted that the public-private partnership model was the most feasible approach. He and Ali both agreed to further improve the monitoring system of the foundation. He said that a performance monitoring system was important in an institution. The Secretary praised PeF’s exceptional contribution to the education sector, noting that PeF partner schools were illuminating the path of education in regions of Punjab where government schools were unavailable.

Fia arrests four for illegal issuance of SiMs

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), in collaboration with Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), carried out another successful raid, against illegal activation of SIMs, at two franchisees of a mobile company in Rawat and arrested four suspects on Tuesday. During the raid, besides apprehending four suspects, Biometric Verification System (BVS) devices, silicon thumbs, original CnICs and SIM cards were confiscated. Further investigation is underway at FIA. earlier, PTA had filed a complaint with FIA based upon information regarding suspicious issuance of SIMs at the sale channels. The raids are part of PTA’s efforts to actively prevent attempts to circumvent the Multi-Finger Biometric Verification System (MBVS). This demonstrates PTA’s determination and persistent efforts in stopping illegal issuance of SIMs.

4000 sqm China-Pakistan trade centre unveiled in Shenzhen

ISLAMABAD:

staff RepoRt

police personnel.

Upper Kohistan district police chief Tahir Iqbal said there were six occupants in the car, out of whom five have been killed.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Gilgit Baltistan Muhammad Khalid Khurshid has instructed administration in Chilas to make arrangements at hospitals for treatment to those injured in the accident.

In a statement Foreign Minister Bilawal BhuttoZardari and PPP leader Asif Zardari have expressed grief over the tragic accident. The former president condoled with the families of the accident victims.

While showing his grief over the accident, Advisor to PM on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira has sought all-out efforts to save the lives of those injured.

A centre dedicated to China-Pakistan trade and investment cooperation was unveiled by the Pakistani ambassador in China Moin ul Haque at an unveiling ceremony in Shenzhen, according to China economic net (Cen). Located at the Shenzhen Hi-tech Park, the centre “covers an area of 4000 m2 with an investment of RMB 30 million and is estimated to start operation in May,” Jian Peng, Pakistan’s honorary investment counsellor in China told Cen in an interview.

Jian noted, the centre will act as

a permanent showroom for Pakistan, with multiple functions to promote bilateral collaboration. “It will primarily serve the purposes of Pakistani commodity display, distribution channel development, and commercial liaison establishment,” he added. The honorary investment counsellor added that the platform will also be “a window” to show Pakistani history, culture and art as well as “a bridge” for the people of the two countries to communicate with each other.

It is learned that the trade and investment centre will be jointly operated by the commercial sections of the Pakistani embassy in China

and the Pakistani consulate in Guangzhou, and Chinese operators.

In a post on Twitter-like Weibo, the Pakistani embassy said that the centre will be “a significant platform for strengthening PakistanChina economic ties.” The launching ceremony was also attended by Ghulam Qadir, Commercial Counselor in the embassy of Pakistan, Rabbia nasir, Third Secretary of the embassy, Sardar Muhammad, Head of Mission/Acting Consul General of Consulate General of Pakistan in Guangzhou, and Muhammad Irfan, Commercial Counselor of Consulate General of Pakistan in Guangzhou.

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

Pakistan desPatches rescue team as death toll in turkiye - syria quake cross 5,200

Continued from page 01

“tHEREis a family I know under the rubble,” said 20year-old student Omer El Cuneyd in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa.

“Until 11:00 am or noon, my friend was still answering the phone. But she no longer answers. She is down there.”

Overwhelmed medics struggled to treat the estimated 20,000 injured.

The initial earthquake was so powerful it was felt as far away as Greenland and was followed by a series of aftershocks, including a

7.5-magnitude tremor that struck in the middle of search and rescue work on Monday.

All and any: The impact was devastating and sparked a global response, with dozens of nations from Ukraine to New Zealand vowing to send help. But a winter blizzard has covered major roads into the area in ice and snow and officials said three major airports have been rendered inoperable, complicating deliveries of vital aid.

Much of the quake-hit area of northern Syria has already been decimated by years of war and aerial bombardment by Syrian and Russian forces that destroyed homes, hospitals and clinics. The conflict is already shap-

ing the emergency response, with Syria’s envoy to the United Nations, Bassam Sabbagh, seemingly ruling out reopening border crossings that would allow aid to reach areas controlled by rebel groups.

The Syrian health ministry reported damage across the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Tartus, where Russia is leasing a naval facility.

Even before the tragedy, buildings in Aleppo — Syria’s pre-war commercial hub — often collapsed due to the dilapidated infrastructure. Officials cut off natural gas and power supplies across the region as a precaution,

and also closed schools for two weeks.

The UN cultural agency UNESCO expressed fears over heavy damage in two cities on its heritage list — Aleppo in Syria and Diyarbakir in Turkey.

At a jail holding mostly Islamic State group members in northwestern Syria, prisoners mutinied after the quakes, with at least 20 escaping, a source at the facility told AFP.

Offers of help: The United States, the European Union and Russia all sent condolences and offers of help.

President Joe Biden promised his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the United States will send “any and all” aid needed

Sharjeel expresses solidarity with earthquake victims of Turkiye, Syria

Sindh Minister for Information, Transport and Mass

Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon has said that devastated earthquake has caused extensive damages to human lives and infrastructure in Turkeye and Syria. The Government of Sindh and the people of Sindh express their solidarity with the earthquake victims in this difficult time.

He added that Sindh Cabinet in its meeting held other day expressed its grief and sorrow over the loss of human lives and property in the earthquake and immediately approved 100000 tents for Turkeye . Mr. Memon said that the Pakistani nation and Sindh government assure their Turkish brothers of all possible support in this difficult time. The provincial minister said that the government of Pakistan and the government of Sindh could never forget the generosity and

services rendered by the Turkish government and people in every difficult time. He said that the government of Turkeye and Turkish people had provided immense support and relief assistance to the flood victims of Sindh.

Sindh Information Minister has expressed deep sorrow and regret over the deaths and losses caused by the earthquake and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured persons.

to help recover from a devastating earthquake.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to provide “the necessary assistance” to Turkey, whose combat drones are helping Kyiv fight the Russian invasion.

Chinese state media said on Tuesday that Beijing was sending rescuers, medical teams and other supplies. Turkey is in one of the world’s most active earthquake zones.

The Turkish region of Duzce suffered a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in 1999, when more than 17,000 people died. Experts have long warned a large quake could devastate Istanbul, a megalopolis of 16 million people filled with rickety homes.

PIMEC to highlight maritime potential of Pakistan

Economic activity in the ocean is being catalyzed by growing population, globalization and depleting land resources. By 2030, strong growth is expected in the maritime industry employing approximately 40 million jobs and opening newer avenues of entrepreneurship and commercial innovation. Faster growth is expected to occur in offshore wind energy, marine aquaculture, fish processing and port activities. Scientific and technological advances are therefore expected to play a crucial role in the development of ocean-based economic activities and addressing ocean-related environmental challenges. Pakistan is blessed with over 1000 km long coastline extending from Sir Creek to Jiwani. pr

Executive Appointment: Mashreq names Irfan Lodhi as CEO for Mashreq Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, Sardar Saleem Haider said that people of Pakistan have strong historical and blood ties with people of Kashmir and no power on earth can disrupt this relationship. He said that the government will raise and fight Kashmir issue at every international forum and expose blatant violation of international laws by the Indian government and the brutality and oppression of Indian occupied forces in Kashmir. Addressing on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day at OPF Girls College, F-8/2, Islamabad, SAPM said that the roots of freedom movement of people of Kashmir are grounded in the two-nation theory of Quaid-e-Azam. The dream of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the sub-continent would not be complete without the freedom of Indian Occupied Kashmir. We still believe in the peaceful solution of Kashmir Issue according to the will of people of Kashmir, as guaranteed by the UN resolutions. He further said that the sufferings of the people of Kashmir have not ended due to inaction of the international community. staff report

Dr Shaista Sohail visits ICCI

To connect Quaid-iAzam University (QAU) with relevant industries and to discuss the opportunities for commercializing the university research, Dr. Shaista Sohail, Vice Chancellor QAU, visited the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ICCI) here on Tuesday. The Vice Chancellor met with Engr. M. Azhar-Ul-Islam Zafar, Vice President, ICCI, and discussed possible avenues of cooperation. She said that industry-academia collaboration is integral to enhance knowledge, innovation, and entrepreneurship. She said this kind of partnership would play a vital role in the quest for ideas, innovation, and economic growth of the country. The Vice Chancellor highlighted the achievements of QAU professors and asked the IICI to benefit from the research potential of QAU. Prof. Dr. Hazir Ullah, Director of ORIC & Business Incubation, Manager Business Incubation Center, and Manager ORIC, QAU, accompanied the Vice Chancellor. pr

Zameen.com launches construction cost calculator tool for the masses

The Construction Cost Calculator is a tool that utilizes Zameen.com’s in-house algorithms to calculate the amount of materials to be used in the construction of a house or building. It provides the latest material costs applicable in each city, which can further be amended according to the specific bylaws of a particular housing society. pr

Privatisation of prime Lahore real estate incomplete despite full payment by bidder

Continued from baCk page

However, subsequently, the PC downward revised the minimum price to Rs1.949 billion in June this year. Despite 15 months to the issuance of Letter of Acceptance (LoA), the privatisation of Services International Hotel (SIH) Lahore is still incomplete.

According to details learned by Profit, an extensively advertised open public auction was held on August 26, 2021, in which Faisal Town (Pvt) Limited offered the highest bid of Rs 1,951,718,500 for the purchase of SIH in Lahore. The bid was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) in a meeting held on September 10, 2021, and ratified by the federal cabinet on October 27, 2021. The relevant process of permissions and documentation was completed and LoA was issued later in the year on November 2, 2021.

The buyer also deposited the full payment on January 6, 2022. Subsequently, an update was provided to the Prime Minister’s Office on privatisation in June, 2022, and on further directions the details of SIH transaction were directed to the CCoP in a meeting held on June 24, 2022.

The sub-committee under the chairmanship of Abid Hussain Bhayo, the Minister for Privatisation, and included representatives from Finance Division, Law and Justice Division and Secretary, Privatisation Commission to review the SIH transaction. After detailed deliberations, the sub-committee decided to conduct a fresh valuation of the property through an independent valuer. The valuer submitted the valua-

tion report on August 15, 2022 and assessed the fresh value of Rs 1,951,076,000 adopting ‘Market Value Approach’ and Rs 1,461,000,000 based on ‘Residual Land Value’ or ‘Discounted Cashflow Method’. The valuation was sent to FIA for review after which the sub-committee confirmed it.

On the other hand the buyer, Faisal Town (Pvt) Limited, issued a legal notice on October 4, 2022, for delaying the signing of sale deal and transfer of title.

The CCoP discussed the case in detail in the last week of December 2022 in which the secretary of Privatisation Division highlighted that due diligence was carried out while privatisation process of the SIH in accordance with Privatisation Commission Ordinance of 2000. It was added that if at the current stage the transaction was reverted it would not only cause a negative impact on the privatisation programme but the deal could also be challenged by the buyer. The secretary of Law and Justice Division observed that the transaction was conducted in the prescribed manner, fulfilling all the requirements and there were no legal lacuna found. However, the SAPM on Government Effectiveness raised objection on the its review by the FIA as it has no mandate for the valuations of property and suggested Law and Justice Division to review.

The forum directed Ministry of Privatisation to refer the case to Law and Justice Division for review and confirm whether due privatisation process of SIH was carried out in accordance with prescribed privatisation laws and submit a report there on the within a week to the CCoP for consideration.

Mashreq, one of the leading financial institutions in the MENA region, has appointed Irfan Lodhi as the new Chief Executive Officer for Mashreq Pakistan. In his role, Irfan Lodhi will lead the charge in establishing Mashreq as a key player in the country. He will manage and execute Mashreq’s digital strategy across all banking segments in Pakistan, with a focus on delivering unmatched experiences to customers. Moreover, he will deliver a sharp emphasis on enriching Mashreq’s digital ecosystem, partnerships, and next generation capabilities in both Mashreq’s Neo, NeoBiz and NeoPay. As part of his responsibilities, he will also collaborate closely with stakeholders in the country to deliver on Pakistan’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) offering a superior client experience through digital innovation and information led transformation. pr

APC on terror resurgence postponed again

Continued from baCk page

The prime minister has also extended an invitation to the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party for the conference. Economic Affairs Minister Ayaz Sadiq reached out to its top leaders, including former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser and former defense minister Pervez Khattak, inviting them to the meeting. However, PTI senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry claimed the party has not yet received a written invitation. Pakistan is facing a resurgence of violent attacks, with analysts saying the government must immediately devise a strategy to counter the threat to internal security as the country heads into general elections. The recent wave of militancy, combined with economic hardships, is the backdrop for the APC. On January 30, a mosque bombing in Peshawar resulted in the deaths of over 100 people, mostly police officers. Additionally, foreign exchange reserves have declined to a low of $3.09 billion, which experts predict will not cover more than three weeks’ worth of imports.

LHC sides with consumers in case against NEPRA

Continued from baCk page

The last direction given to the authority was regarding the change type of tariff based on the classification of a business. The court directed Nepra, “not to unilaterally change the type of tariff from Industrial to Commercial without hearing such consumers”.

The Lahore High Court also issued directions on the same line to the federal government as well. Firstly the court stated that the government should “provide a maximum subsidy to the domestic consumers of 500 units per month”. Furthermore the court directed the government “not to demand extraordinary taxes having no nexus with the con-

sumption of energy which may be recovered through other modes”. However no other modes have been specified or elaborated on. Providing a potential solution to the ailing energy sector the court stated that the government should “further explore the Solar, Hydal, Nuclear and Wind sources of producing electricity” and to “arrange for cheap purchase of sources of electricity from other countries”. Questions..

Although the concerns of positive fuel charge adjustment have been addressed by the court, questions still remain if there is a negative adjustment in the scenario that the predicted prices are higher than the actual prices. Additionally energy sector

experts have raised questions on the vague nature of directives issued by the Lahore High Court, for instance what would qualify as an exorbitant tariff?

To add to these queries the court stated “the financial burden will also be shared by the companies under a rational proportion”, first who would decide this rational proportion and how this would be quantified in the already complicated calculations of tariffs.

Although the decision seems to be in the favour of the petitioners, the case has raised more questions than answers and according to informed sources, Nepra is set to appeal this decision of the high court in the supreme court.

‘Govt will raise, fight Kashmir issue at every international forum’

Pakistan Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft carrying members of Search & Rescue team and blankets from PAF Base, Nur Khan has landed in Turkiye. The PAF aircraft is carrying relief goods from people of Pakistan for the earthquake affected brethren of Turkiye. The transport fleet of Pakistan Air Force has always been at the forefront to respond to natural disasters and calamities both inland and abroad.

Struggling since inception

ForEIgN exchange reserves with the central bank continue to fall as talks with the IMF continue.

The latest number will be updated in the next two days and there is an expectation that the figure will be below the $3 billion mark. This would be less than half a month’s import cover, at best. With the Fund in no mood to show any leniency, most if not all of its austerity-based inflationary conditions will have to be agreed upon before any default-avoiding emergency funds are released. With inflation accelerating to 27 percent last month, affording essentials for the common man will become even tougher in the days to come. Pakistan has been here before, on the cusp of default, but perhaps not as hopelessly as it is this time round; completely at the mercy of the lender of the last resort. It is therefore necessary to identify, accept and understand why we are periodically in a position where the economic future of the country, a nuclear power no less, is uncertain to the extent that it may fail.

one can point out many errors made in the short to medium term resulting in the failure of key macroeconomic indicators to improve or at least stabilize.

But on the larger scheme of things, it is the abrupt and unwarranted disruption in long term economic policy and reform implementation that has plagued the country, more or less, throughout its existence. There have been no less than six finance ministers in the past four and a half years between two governments. What is more, the latest change, the unceremonious replacement of Miftah Ismail with Ishaq Dar, was as hostile a sacking as it comes, and this is within the same political party that, one would assume, was working towards a common goal.

However, the stumbling blocks aren’t limited to just the incompetency, stubbornness or premature sacking of finance minister, or any one individual, really. The malaise runs deeper, to a more fundamental recurring problem; the chaos caused by the manufacturing and dismantling of governments. The effectiveness of any economic manager and his team, no matter how talented, will always remain limited if the external forces, the string-pullers, that have expectations and ideas that are not founded in realism or sustainable economic policymaking. Pakistan will come out of this current crisis, one way or another; bruised and battered. But if it the running of the country and economy remains ‘business as usual’, it will be in another, possibly worse crisis, yet again very soon.

The message to Secretary Blinken

Department’s definition of antisemitism which includes legitimate criticism of Israel.

In my remarks, I attempted to place the recent events in the context of decades of failed US policies that have brought us to where we are today. The asymmetry of power that has existed between the Israelis and Palestinians has been amplified by the USA’s asymmetrical approach to both. We have given full-throated support to Israel, while applying pressure mainly to the Palestinians.

about Netanyahu’s efforts to run roughshod over Israel’s democracy, while falling silent in the face of his proposed responses to the recent terror attack— all of which (including home demolitions and expulsions) are clear violations of international law. And it’s not enough to continue to express support for a two-state solution and speak about “the equal worth of Israelis and Palestinians.” The two-state solution is no longer possible and US silence in the face of Israeli actions makes it clear that we will not defend Palestinian rights or respect their humanity.

Iwas part of a small delegation of Arab Americans invited to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken the day before his recent visit to Egypt, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority. our meeting came on the heels of two tragic days in Israel/Palestine. on January 26, 10 Palestinians were killed during an Israeli undercover raid into Jenin. Nightly Israeli invasions of heavily populated Palestinian communities have taken almost three dozen lives so far this year. These raids and killings coupled with a new round of mass expulsions and intensified settler violence have left Palestinians both seething in anger and despairing of any improvement in their lives.

The next day a lone Palestinian gunman murdered eight Israelis as they walked home from their synagogue in a settlement to the east of Jerusalem.

Both mass killings were deplorable and yet tragically predictable.

While all of this left the region concerned that the violence would spin out of control, it appears that things may remain on a low boil. While extremist elements in the Israeli government may want to accelerate matters with more violence, Netanyahu himself intensified a series of repressive measures that included: sealing the homes of the Palestinian attackers and the arrests and/or expulsion of their family members and friends; sending more Israeli forces into the occupied Territories; and issuing more weapons to settlers. For its part, the Palestinian Authority condemned the raids into Jenin and said it would cease security cooperation with Israel, but both the PA and Hamas appeared to have more interest in tamping things down than accelerating toward more violence.

We met with Secretary Blinken against this tense backdrop. We expressed our concerns including: admitting Israel into the US visa waiver program without Israel guaranteeing full reciprocity and respect for the rights of Arab Americans to enter and depart without harassment; plans to build the US embassy on Palestinian-owned land in Jerusalem; and the State

When Palestinians have taken actions with which the USA has disagreed, we’ve called them out or taken punitive measures to sanction them. But when Israel has acted contrary to international law or our own policies, we’ve responded, when at all, timidly with private communiques or public statements of concern. knowing that there would be no consequences to their bad behavior, the Israelis would either simply proceed, or delay until the heat was off.

The result of having no consequences for Israel’s bad behaviour has been devastating on multiple levels. We have enabled Israel’s drift to the far right. our enabling of hardliners and their policies has weakened Israel’s peace forces, who came to realize that they would have no backing for their opposition to human rights violations and the deepening of the occupation. At the same time, as prospects for a two-state solution became impossible to implement, we have discredited those Palestinian moderates who endorsed the oslo Accords, while also emboldening Palestinian hardliners and advocates of violence as the only way forward. I made it clear that this was not the result of the last two years, but decades of US failed policies.

It’s not enough for the USA to express concern

To dig our way out of this hole and begin to transform the downward spiralling dynamic, I recommended that the USA reverse course. The Israeli side needs to hear that there will be consequences to policies that violate rights and international law and provoke violence. I suggested that we remove the sanctions that have been placed on the ICC, meet with and offer direct financial support to the Palestinian human rights organizations that Israel has banned, and make it clear that there will be direct consequences in aid and political support for any further movement on settlement expansion, home demolitions, and expulsions.

Such actions won’t make immediate change, but they will send a message to the Israeli right that their decades-long impunity is over. It will strengthen those forces in Israel who support ending the occupation, give hope to Palestinians that they have US support, and open the door to new possibilities. Change will not be overnight. It’s taken us decades to dig this hole that we, Israelis, and Palestinians are in. There’s no time like the present to stop digging and reverse course. If we don’t, the violence and repression will continue, and we will have only our inaction to blame.

The writer is President of the Arab American Institute

Dwindling work ethics and motivation: A barrier to economic performance

Unfortunately, in the regional comparison, Pakistan has the lowest level of work ethics and the lowest rate of labour productivity. The International Labor organization (ILo) reports that China’s output per person has increased by 388 percent between 2000 and 2019, while India’s has grown by 177 percent, Bangladesh’s by 109 percent, and Pakistan’s increased by only 32 percent. According to APo’s Productivity Databook-2022, Pakistan’s productivity is lower than that of other regional competitors. From 2015 to 2020, it expanded at a 1.6 percent annual rate in Pakistan, compared to 4.9 percent in Bangladesh, 2.6 percent in India, 4.7 percent in China, and 5.2 percent in Vietnam.

tween coworkers, moral principles, independence, and recognition are factors that have the potential to have an intrinsic influence on employee motivation. Intrinsic motivation promotes optimal productivity and positive sentiments by decreasing stress and anxiety.

Work ethics refers to a set of moral principles, values, and attitudes concerning how to behave at work. The discourse of labour in Pakistan primarily focuses on terms and conditions of the jobs and other facets such as labour participation rate and gender inequality in the labour force, among others. However, labour productivity, which refers to the output attained by using specific inputs, is an important measure of economic performance that receives little attention.

Labour, capital, and materials are all considered critical inputs as these have a direct impact on productivity. However, the provided inputs are intermittent because they are material in nature and are simply external components that may or may not be productive at all times. Whereas morality and work ethics are inherent characteristics that finely shape a person’s character, and are critical for long-term national prosperity and development.

The entire country is plagued by a sluggish and less productive work environment, and the bandwagon effect is visible among the labour force. Lower productivity can be attributed to a lack of motivation, incentives, or simply to an employee’s dissatisfaction with his job. This is compounded by a workplace culture devoid of ethical values. Employers treat their employees as though they are slaves. That’s the kind of culture that leads to a squabble between employer and employee, resulting in the employee losing interest in the employer. Businesses, rather than addressing the fundamental source of the problems, hire managers on top of it and begin playing politics. This is the kind of business culture that breeds sluggishness.

The open secret is that all levels of employees and management in the services and public sectors have a blatant disdain for ethical norms (corruption and incompetence, nepotism, embezzlement, and so on). Even our legislators and public officials exhibit weak work ethics. The average attendance rate of the National Assembly is roughly 20 percent, much below the 25 percent quorum requirement.

The driving force that propels an organization toward its goal is regarded as employee motivation. Workers typically lack intrinsic motivation, which refers to enjoyment and satisfaction from engaging in the behaviour. The development of skills, the use of creativity, relationships be-

Nevertheless, in the majority of the scenarios, departmental or institutional leaders deal with employees autocratically because they lack knowledge and expertise about contextual reality and individual psychology. Subordinates are only momentarily motivated and lose interest in any changes as a result of managers’ harsh behaviour. Studies show that it’s important for managers to build relationships of trust with their staff members, who should also feel proud of and linked to their successes.

The outlook is bleak as far as the business or workplace environment is concerned at the present; yet, there is a glimmer of light; and strategies for instilling work ethics may be devised and maintained. To prevent employees from slacking off, employers must offer them financial incentives such as improved compensation and incentives along with stringent monitoring procedures and accountability. By promoting the importance of work in the curriculum, work ethics must be fostered. The cornerstone of a solid work ethic is laid by inculcating in students the idea that work is a creative, personally rewarding, and socially beneficial activity. Schools should place an emphasis on performanceoriented learning, support students in developing excellent work habits based on organization, punctuality, and teamwork, and support the growth of a harmonious connection between the person, the workplace, and society.

Almost all religions emphasize the significance of work ethics. Islam is a multifaceted religion with a dynamic framework that promotes work ethics. Islam prohibits time-wasting, idleness, dependence on others for sustenance, and other antisocial traits. As the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “ No nourishment is better for a man than that which he obtains via physical labour”

Organizations and employers must prioritize intrinsic employee motivation in addition to an extrinsic motivation to increase productivity. Extrinsic motivators (monetary rewards) have the propensity to smother intrinsic motivation

(see Sahih al-Bukhari, 2072). Formal religious instruction is required at all educational levels (elementary, secondary, and higher levels), and ethical qualities like piety, honesty and transparency must be promoted via the media and cultural organizations. Additionally, managers should provide training and courses to their staff members to educate them on Islamic work ethics. organizations and employers must prioritize intrinsic employee motivation in addition to an extrinsic motivation to increase productivity. Extrinsic motivators (monetary rewards) have the propensity to smother intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation (intangible rewards, such as admiration, promotion, and authority) creates favourable effective conditions and can considerably increase labour productivity by lowering stress and despair.

Repeating the same mistakes and expecting a different outcome is insanity

Dr. Muhammad Abdul Kamal is working as Assistant Professor at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan. He can be reached at kamal@awkum.edu.pk

It’s not enough for the USA to express concern about Netanyahu’s efforts to run roughshod over Israel’s democracy, while falling silent in the face of his proposed responses to the recent terror attack

Significance of the Khar-Momen meeting

Helping to overcome the burden of the past

Bangladesh and Pakistan must be improved.

It is evident that for the last two years, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran khan, and his government had been trying to strengthen relations with Bangladesh and given that both Bangladesh and Pakistan share same political history and similar cultural and social norms and more importantly, that both countries tend to gain economically through improved trade and investment relations, it is important that relations between these two countries are cemented as soon as possible.

Editor’s mail

The world needs a prudent approach

AT the end of World War II, global leaders and policymakers, especially from Europe and the United States, resolved to formulate policies to provide a progressive outlook under the umbrella of the modernisation theory. The theory was proposed for the purpose of propagating Westernstyle liberal democracies and capitalism across the world.

As the once mighty superpowers, like the great Britain, were pushed to the edge by the decolonisation process, new emerging powers, like the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union, divided the world with their Cold War policies for decades until the end of the Soviet bloc.

Though the modernisation theory has continued to serve the purpose of providing development through international institutions, many intellectuals have over the years questioned the existence of the project.

The capitalist order added the colour of progress and peace in its bid to stem the rising tide of communism. However, the recent turn of events points towards its failure to achieve peace and prosperity in the world.

The stand-off between the US and China is once again a serious threat to the global security and peace in multiple ways. This is happening exactly the same way as was the case in the 20th century, marked by a whirlpool of vulnerabilities and uncertainties.

The more the world has advanced, the closer it has got to disruption. The Indo-Pacific ocean is now a battleground for two superpowers to fight on. It is basically not just a war of economic interests, but is also ideological and political in nature. The US has always vied for power. It is the main cause of wars throughout history. It has more than 700 military bases established in different countries, primarily because it is a battlehardened state rather than the guardian of democratic values in any sense.

PAkISTANI Minister of state for Foeign Affairs Hina rabbani khar and Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul kalam Abdul Momen on Saturday discussed “mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation” in several arenas, especially economy and trade. They met on the sidelines of the Independence Day celebrations inSri Lanka.

According to Radio Pakistan, khar expressed her satisfaction with the growing commercial relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh. She emphasised the importance of enhancing economic, trade, and investment ties, as well as increasing tourism and people-to-people interactions.

She also highlighted the shared perspectives of Pakistan and Bangladesh on various international issues, particularly those related to the Muslim world. Her comments reflect the growing cooperation and positive momentum between the two countries, analysts said.

Pakistan and Bangladesh have made significant progress in strengthening their relationship over the years. The relationship took a positive turn in March 2021 when then-prime minister Imran khan wrote a letter of congratulations to his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, on the occasion of Bangladesh’s 50th independence anniversary.

Bangladesh’s response was positive, with Sheikh Hasina stating that her country was committed to maintaining peaceful and cooperative relationships with its neighbouring countries, “including Pakistan”. Despite being South Asian countries, sharing the same religion, culture, and history, the relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh aren’t warm at the present time.

The lukewarm relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan even five decades after Bangladesh’s secession from Pakistan and its liberation through a particularly violent liberation war are because of two main reasons: the hurt of the 1971 liberation war is still quite raw and because Pakistan has not officially apologized for the war crimes it committed during the 9-month long liberation war in 1971.

However, as they say, quite a bit of water has since flowed down the Buriganga and the Indus rivers. There are now new realities that call for both sides to appreciate and mutually empathize with the evolving dynamics. Both Bangladesh and Pakistan need to resolve their problems and move forward. Policymakers from both sides need to be sensitive to each other’s expectations as well as challenges. Indeed, for the sake of prosperity and security of both the nations, relations between

The younger generation of both countries are very keen to forge stronger ties between these two Muslim majority countries in the region. There is huge potential for bilateral economic and trade cooperation. Among other things, the trade imbalance between the two countries must be addressed. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan’s exports to Bangladesh in 2019 stood at $736 million, while Bangladesh’s exports to Pakistan were only $44 million.

Despite some challenges, the good news is that bilateral trade between Pakistan-Bangladesh is growing, albeit, gradually. According to the media report and statements of the ‘State Bank of Pakistan’ Pakistan’s trade with Bangladesh witnessed an increase of 46.65 percent during the first six months of the financial year (2021-22) as compared to the corresponding period of last year. The overall exports to Bangladesh from Pakistan were recorded at $399.408 million during July-December against exports of $274.246 million during the same period last year, showing a growth of 45.63 percent, Meanwhile, on a yearon-year basis, during December 2021, exports to Bangladesh from Pakistan increased 52.01 percent, from $54.433 million to $82.746 million. Similarly, on a month-on-month basis, imports rose by 14.38 percent during December 2021 in comparison with exports of $72.339 million in November 2021. It is true that Bangladesh and Pakistan can benefit from growing trade ties. Pakistan and Bangladesh should ink a free trade agreement to boost up the trade volume.

In today’s globalized world of free trade, every country is, leaving to the extent possible, politics behind and focusing on closer economic and trade ties for mutual benefits. There are also moves to establish compatible economic zones and alliances.

However, given the history and recent horrific memories of war violence that Bangladesh suffered at the hands of the Pakistan military in 1971, forging closer ties between Bangladesh and Pakistan is anything but easy. relations between these countries have been mostly sour or bumpy at best. For example, relations between the two countries which have been okay but not the warmest nosedived in 2016 when in a 1971 War Crime trial, Bangladesh executed several leaders of the Jamaat Islami for their participation in the 1971 war crimes. Pakistan, where Jamaat Islami has a strong following and many of the Bangladeshi Jamaat leaders who were sentenced to death and were executed used to be former colleagues of the Pakistan Jamaat and thus the latter, condemned in the Pakistan Parliament the execution of their former colleagues and labelled the executions as politically motivated actions. Bangladesh saw this as Pakistan’s “interference” in the internal matters of Bangladesh and as a result, relations between the two countries deteriorated to the extent that diplomats were expelled from respective sides

Since Imran khan became the Prime Minis-

ter of Pakistan in 2018, things started to improve significantly. His phone call to the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in December 2020 was proof that Pakistan is ready for a change. During the phone call Imran khan invited Sheikh Hasina to visit Islamabad.

In August 2021, Imran’s phone call was followed up with what has come to be known in diplomatic circles, the “Mango Diplomacy” –the Bangladesh Prime Minister’s gift of a basket of Bangladesh’s famous mangoes to Imran.After this, the Pakistani envoy to Bangladesh met with Bangladesh PM Hasina Wazed in october 2021. During the meeting, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh expressed her desire to strengthen bilateral trade ties with Pakistan. Indeed, there were indications of melting the ice between the two strained ties. Now these must be continued for bolstering relations.

These are signs that both countries are warming up to each other and this is realpolitik.

Realpolitik also implies that Pakistan must never interfere into Bangladesh’s internal affairs nor question Bangladesh’s close ties with India, a country that has actively helped Bangladesh in its liberation, a relation that has passed the test of time and is historic. Therefore, Pakistan must respect and appreciate these realities and work its way through issues more pragmatically and maturely.

In other words, Bangladesh and Pakistan must capitalize on the recent goodwill promoted by Imran khan and ‘follow up’ with measures that translate these into tangible outcomes. A more viable and less painful way is indeed through stronger economic ties as such ties can not only benefit both countries and in the process and over the years create better empathy and bonding between the people of these two estranged countries, but strong economic and political ties may also be of immense geopolitical benefits to both the countries. Therefore, it is important that both countries take steps to reduce tensions and take steps to re-bond and work together to promote the well-being of both nations at multiple levels.

It is noteworthy that both Pakistan and Bangladesh seem to be moving ahead though cautiously. Both countries have taken some initiatives to develop closer diplomatic, economic, and cultural relations. Indeed, it is time to restructure relations. Pakistan should have a lasting dialogue with the Bangladesh government on how to move the bilateral relations in a positive direction. Both should work together and advance their relationship on any issue related to trade, culture, and mutual interests.

Bangladesh and Pakistan together make up five percent of the world’s population. The people-to-people contact, religious tourism, scholarship exchange, and so on, can be potential sectors to explore to promote better understanding and mutual empathy between the two peoples. At the economic level, reconnecting ports (air, sea) between the two states is very necessary to bolster the ties and in this regard, Bangladesh should explore usage of Pakistan’s seaports (karachi port, gwadar port, keti Bandar, port Qassim, CPEC).

At the same time, Pakistan can take advantage of Bangladesh’s emerging and buoyant consumer market and more importantly, through Bangladesh’s port facilities, access the landlocked markets of Nepal, Bhutan, and Southeast Asia more generally. Closer economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties between Bangladesh are key to the mutual benefits of both these countries and more importantly, essential to the broader prosperity of the region.

The writer is a freelance columnist

The rise of the self-proclaimed right to rule the world, the West at large is doing nothing but devouring human lives. For instance, it was recently reported that germany is responsible for more than 800 attacks on Muslim mosques from 2014 to date. There are many reasons behind the rise of far right in the world, but the prime ones are the failure of liberal democratic regimes, such as the Philippines and Hungary, which used to follow a democratic rule but the increase in issues demanded some other authoritarian policies to deal with them; as a fallout, they had to turn authoritarian and encouraged the rise in right-wing forces.

A QADEER SEELRO LARKANA

In the love of Urdu

IT all started with my desire to subscribe for myself and a friend the Mahana Akhbar Urdu published by the Idara-i-Farogh-i-Qaumi Zaban (IFQZ) in Islamabad. The initial shock was that the subscription amount could be sent only through money order; no cheque, no payorder, nothing. An online transaction entailing direct transfer to IFQZ’s bank account, I suspect, was not something the officials working there might have even heard about.

Anyway, that is not the reason I am writing these lines. In August 2022, I sent two money orders of the relevant amount each through Johar Town post office in Lahore, as can be seen in the accompanying image. After a fortnight, I tried many a time to contact the relevant IFQZ official, but could not. There was some fault in its telephone exchange that left the caller frustrated, irritated and clueless. It used to terminate the call right after a lengthy welcoming recorded message. So, cutting a long story short, I could not contact anybody at IFQZ. I then requested a friend in Islamabad to visit the relevant office, which he was kind enough to do. All he got there was a telephone number of an official who was not around at the time. When contact was established on cellphone, the gentleman concerned informed that the magazine had not been published yet, and that it would be sent to me and my friend as soon as the IFQZ received it from the printer. After a few days, my friend did receive his copy, but my wait has continued to date. There is no end in sight despite that fact that many months have passed. Is there anyone at IFQZ, or anywhere else, who may help me out?

S S TANWEER HUSSAIN LAHORE

Healthcare collapse

ADMITTEDLy, there is an urgent need for prudent measures to confront the impending healthcare catastrophe to stave off the miseries of the ailing people, and to improve the deplorable condition of the country’s healthcare sector. red-tapism has always created hurdles in the way of having a better healthcare system than the one that exists today plagued by flawed policies. Taking into account government policies about the healthcare sector, which already faces several issues, there may well be a severe health crisis waiting in the wings. It is indeed worrying that basic medicines, like Disprin and Panadol, as well as life-saving cardiac pacemakers routinely become unavailable in the market. The legal procedures, such as delays in opening letters of credit for importers, which is a condition for the registration of all medical imports with the Drug regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap), have further escalated the healthcare crisis. The government needs to addresss these critical issues urgently.

MUHAMMAD SALMAN KARACHI

Enjoying snowfall

rECENTLy, it was forecast that there would be snowfall in Quetta. This weather forecast, fortunately, proved true and there, indeed, was snowfall across the city. Many people were happy and excited to enjoy this beautiful moment. But one thing that deterred people from enjoying in the real sense was restrictions on visiting some places which are extremely picturesque during snowfall in the city, including Quetta Cantonment and the University of Balochistan. one can see trees and the whole landscape blanketed under snow at these places where entry is restricted for the common man. The authorities concerned should allow people to visit such places that are really worth visiting during winters after a snowfall. It is our basic right to enjoy the beauty of our land. Such restrictions only foster resentment among the people. I hope these places will not be out of bounds for the people in the winters ahead. These are the little pleasures in Pakistan that make life worth living. What is the point of snatching even that away from us? ABDUL

JABBAR GOLA

meHJAbIN bHANu

ForeigN aFFairs Vali Nasr

ovER the past five months, a wave of protests has rocked Iran. Young women calling for an end to the compulsory headscarf have been joined by students, laborers, and professionals demanding individual rights, political reform—and even, increasingly, an end to the Islamic Republic itself. These demonstrations posed the most significant threat to Iran’s government since 1979, fueling speculation that today’s theocratic regime could ultimately go the way of yesterday’s monarchy.

For now, the regime has retained the upper hand, thanks to a harsh crackdown by security forces and a lack of leadership and coordination among the protesters. But popular anger is still mounting, and dire economic conditions make further unrest all but inevitable.

So precarious is the regime’s position that many insiders have publicly broken with the government line. Grand ayatollahs in Najaf and Qom, former senior government officials, and even decorated former commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have criticized the government’s reaction to the protests and decried the extent to which a small group of hard-liners around President Ebrahim Raisi has consolidated control. News outlets popular with hard-liners and close to the IRGC have openly faulted Raisi for his mismanagement of the economy, and regime stalwarts, including former Presidents Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani and former parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani, have condemned the government’s harsh reaction to the protests. Such critics have called for meaningful change if the Islamic Republic is to weather the storm.

But there is no evidence that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is listening. Since the start of the crisis, hardliners have tightened their grip on the reins of power. This faction opposes engagement with the West and does not wish to return to the 2015 nuclear deal. At home, it favors isolationism and tight control of the social and political spheres. Abroad, it favors aggressive regional policies and increasing collaboration with Russia. Far from chastened by the protests, in other words, the regime that is now emerging from the initial phase of the unrest is even more intransigent and potentially aggressive than ever before.

KHAMENEI’S HARD LINE: Iran’s hard anti-Western

iran’S hard-linerS are winning

turn is not driven by a desire to defend the regime’s Islamist ideology. In every speech since the demonstrations began, Khamenei has said little about religion—and a great deal about foreign meddling. Khamenei views the protests as a U.S. conspiracy, hatched in concert with Israel and Saudi Arabia, to weaken Iran and topple the Islamic Republic. In his mind, Iran must mobilize all its resources to respond to this assault. Security officials, taking their cue from Khamenei, have blamed satellite television stations and social media campaigns originating in Europe for stoking unrest in Iran and mobilizing public opinion against the Islamic Republic. They have also blamed turmoil in Iran’s Baluch and Kurdish regions on foreign interference. Last fall, Iran mobilized troops along its border with Azerbaijan and warned Iraq that it might cross the border into that country to close down Kurdish separatist camps.

Khamenei is determined to preserve the regime that he has ruled over for more than three decades. He is 83 years old and rumored to be in ill health. Compromise with dissenters at this stage would sully his legacy and could even prove counterproductive. He witnessed firsthand how accommodating protesters only hastened the collapse of the monarchy in 1979.

Instead of caving to the demonstrators or heeding the advice of critics, Khamenei has turned to violence and repression. Since September, hundreds of protesters have been killed and many more maimed in crackdowns by security forces. Thousands of protesters and dissidents are now in jail; four have been executed after summary trials, and several more face the death penalty. The regime has used sophisticated surveillance; threats against families, employers, and businesses of protesters; and propaganda and economic pressure to quell the unrest.

Khamenei has also relied more heavily on the counsel of hard-liners within the IRGC, the intelligence agencies, parliament, and the media. To Khamenei, these are the people who understand the problem as he does, share his distrust of the West, and oppose the nuclear deal as a trap designed to cage Iran. In Khamenei’s mind, their distrust has been vindicated, so they should be empowered to shun the West, restrict and censor the Internet, and pursue economic and cultural autonomy. These views have long existed within the halls of power, but the protests have added to their prominence.

The protests have also dimmed the prospects for restoring the 2015 nuclear deal. Since the demonstrations erupted in September 2022, Western leaders have winced at the suggestion that sanctions could be lifted as part of a nuclear agreement. The Biden administration is even reluctant to pursue the release of U.S. prisoners held by Iran, fearful of the domestic backlash it would incur if Iranian assets were unfrozen as part of any deal. But hard-liners in Tehran are unfazed by Western opprobrium

and have invited still more sanctions by executing young protesters and raising the possibility that the EU could designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

Iran is heading into choppy waters at the United Nations as well. Tehran’s nuclear infractions have alarmed the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose chief recently told the European Parliament that Iran has amassed enough highly enriched uranium for “several nuclear weapons.” The International Atomic Energy Agency could soon refer Iran to the UN Security Council for censure, raising the possibility that it will reimpose UN sanctions, especially since France, the United Kingdom, and the United States are all eager to maintain an embargo on the sale of arms and missiles to the Islamic Republic. Iran has threatened that it would respond to such a scenario by leaving the Nonproliferation Treaty, effectively declaring that it will become a nuclear state. Doing so could lead to confrontation with Israel, which last month attacked a weapons-manufacturing facility in the Iranian city of Isfahan, and potentially with the United States. As U.S. President Joe Biden has repeatedly stated, his administration will not tolerate Iran becoming a nuclear state.

FROM TEHRAN TO MOSCOW: Iran has responded to its deepening international isolation by drawing closer to Russia. Khamenei and the IRGC have long viewed the Kremlin as a vital ally. Khamenei and Russian President vladimir Putin share the same jaded view of the West, and Russia’s war in Ukraine has brought into sharper focus Tehran’s and Moscow’s common grudge against the United States. Khamenei brushed aside criticism from within the ruling elite to approve the supply of sophisticated drones to Moscow, which the Russian military has used to wreak havoc in Ukraine. With the United States and its European and Middle Eastern partners arrayed against the Islamic Republic, Khamenei argued, Iran must consolidate its relationship with Russia where it matters most: on the battlefield. Russia’s poor military performance in Ukraine makes Moscow a more valuable strategic crutch because as long as the Kremlin needs Iranian weapons, it is unlikely to turn its back on Tehran.

Iran’s decision to provide Russia with drones predictably deepened Western anger at the Islamic Republic, which in turn pushed Tehran even closer to Moscow. In this vicious cycle, the winner will be hard-liners who have always favored closer ties between Iran and Russia and decoupling from the West. As Iran drifts further into Russia’s orbit, the power of these hard-liners will grow, improving the odds that they will prevail in Iran’s looming succession battle.

Iran is now seeking to become indispensable to Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. The more Putin needs Iran, the more likely he is to flout Western sanctions and pro-

the age of reporters is ending - ai chatbots are the new journalists

Jerusalem Post roN sCHlEiFEr aNd YEHUdit YEHEZKElY

tRADITIONAL news outlets, such as print media and broadcast journalism, has been transformed in the past few decades, following the trend of 1960s New Journalism. New Journalism is a media style that involves subjective reporting, with a conscious intention of relaying specific messages, as opposed to neutral and objective journalism. In other words, the New Journalist is not just reporting news and transmitting information, but is also expressing his own personal opinion. This trend is especially prevalent in political reporting.

ChatGPT, based on artificial intelligence and brought into the world by genius billionaire Elon Musk, has already made us long for New Journalism. The chatbot is a digital computer program that enables reporters to receive immediate information and answers, by tapping a key on a keyboard, without having to be on the scene at all.

AI collects information in any realm and on any topic and prepares it for reading (and reporting). With the press of a button, reporters can receive stories without any investigation required before publishing it. This process has made journalism obsolete — and it might even cause it to disappear. Chatbot use might even lead to articles and broadcasts without any connection to reality, their source being the internet and not

reality itself.

This process might make us look back nostalgically at the good old times, when reporters actually went out into the field to collect information and bring back real first-person reports. Today, few journalists do this – instead, using online media information without verifying whether it is true or false or agenda-driven –thus confirming that the era of mass communication is over and is being replaced by a new form of media: that of AI.

Furthermore, chatbots that retrieve online material in Israel will be mostly anti-right wing, as traditionally, the Right hasn’t known how to make use of the media and deliver it according to its views. Instead, the Right prefers to simply ignore it. The Left, however, understands that the media is an important and worthy weapon in the political world, and so the internet is now filled with pro-Left and anti-Right articles, which will be duly used by the bots against the Right.

In other words, since the chatbot can use only online articles, media coverage of the Right in Israel might appear worse than it is. This situation compels the Right, and the government elected by a right-wing majority, to attempt to flood the Internet with its own media, which reflects reality from its point of view. This effort in the era of chatbots must be worldwide, not just in Israel, in these days of rising antisemitism. It must take place in the US, Europe, and Latin America, in order to cope with the new reality and the latest technology-media challenge.

At the same time, today we are witnessing a change in the human factor in the media. The age of reporters and anchors is decreasing, since young people can be paid less and they remain in the profession for only short periods, eventually moving on to more lucrative professions. Media organizations will thus turn to chatbots to minimize costs and receive accessible material quickly. The era of searching for real and accurate information sources is over; digital bots are much easier to process. Fifty years ago, reporters would go into the field to verify stories and information. Then they’d go downstairs to the newspaper archives and read the clippings that had been collected on the topic in the past, building their articles upon them.

Nowadays, in the Google era, this process is unnecessary. The new New Journalist uses Wikipedia and other online sources, without searching on the scene for what is or isn’t there.

If, in the past, a reporter could stand behind his article and say, “I spoke the truth,” today’s reporter can only say, “I (data) mined the truth.”

Journalists in this new media era have gone from being information suppliers to information recyclers. The opportunity for manipulation is now much greater than it used to be.

Dr. Ron Schleifer is a senior lecturer at Ariel University’s School of Communication. Dr. Yehudit Yehezkely is a journalist and analyst of political communication.

vide Tehran with vital military hardware and technology, including advanced fighter jets and air defense systems. Media outlets connected to the IRGC reported last month that Iran will receive two dozen advanced Russian Sukhoi Su-35 air defense fighters by March and is looking to acquire helicopters and an advanced S-400 air defense system, which is capable of tracking U.S. F-35 fighter jets. Such acquisitions would significantly boost Iran’s military capability, enabling it to better counter Israeli air power in Syria and Iraq, as well as U.S. military pressure in the Persian Gulf. They would also give Tehran the confidence to absorb Western pressure and plan for a potential military attack in response to its expanded nuclear activities. For all these reasons, Iran’s neighbors are growing increasingly alarmed by Tehran’s drift toward Moscow, fearful that it could further entrench Iranian hard-liners and make Iran even more dangerous. Ultimately, the West could face not just separate crises involving Russia and Iran but also the additional problem of managing their joint behavior—a problem that would be larger than the sum of its parts.

ACTION OVER HOPE: Some Western officials and analysts hope that the power grab by Iran’s hard-liners will accelerate the protests and eventually lead to regime change. But hope is a poor substitute for action. Thus far, the United States and European countries have relied on sanctions and threat of war to deter Iran’s aggressive behavior. But Israel is restive and could escalate its efforts to sabotage Tehran’s military and nuclear programs. Doing so would only reinforce Iran’s militant anti-Western convictions and risk an open conflagration that the United States and its allies can ill afford in the midst of their standoff with Russia and China.

Washington and its allies must therefore devise a credible strategy to at least slow Iran’s hard-line turn. Such a strategy will require coupling threats and punishments with dialogue on the most urgent dangers emanating from the Islamic Republic, including Iran’s role in the war in Ukraine and the expansion of Tehran’s nuclear program. Iranian and Ukrainian officials recently met in Oman to discuss Iran’s role in the war. This was a good start. Europe and the United States should build on such efforts, launching a broader diplomatic initiative that goes beyond the stalled nuclear talks to encompass Ukraine and regional issues. Otherwise, Iran’s hard-liners will continue to push the country in an ever more dangerous direction.

VALI NASR is Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Stop inSatiable greed for money by the politicianS

Nigerians top the list, followed by Kenyans, Ghanaians, Indonesians and South Africans

NatioN, KeNya

Editorial

Kenya’s MPs are among the highest-paid and yet the country is not one of the richest. Indeed, it has been reeling under a serious economic crisis with many of the citizens unable to afford one meal a day. And since last year, nearly four million Kenyans have faced starvation due to severe drought in the arid and semi-arid lands.

One of the challenges for the government is a bloated public wage bill and the MPs and MCAs are making it worse by constantly clamouring for higher pay and allowances. This, of course, raises the question as to whether leadership is a calling to serve or an avenue for a few to pocket easy money.

Before the 13th Parliament got down to business last year, the 400 MPs put up a fight for higher pay, unbothered by the sinking economy. They have been battling the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) over their earnings. An MP’s gross salary is Sh710,000, with allowances pushing the pay to nearly Sh1 million, in a country with an average wage of Sh20,000. Reports have shown that four out of five of the highest-paid MPs are from African countries. Nigerians top the list, followed by Kenyans, Ghanaians, Indonesians and South Africans. In 2010, Kenyan MPs awarded themselves a 25 per cent pay rise, joining the league of the highest-paid politicians. And they still want more. The SRC has hinted at another increment coming before July. But, sadly, this while slashing ECDE (pre-primary school) tutors’ pay. While the lowest paid earner, a farm worker, is paid about Sh8,000 a month, MPs have in the five years to 2022 got a 33 per cent increment on basic salary.

Worse, they have tried to disregard the SRC and set their own pay, which is unacceptable and a recipe for disaster. The MCAs earn Sh144,375 and pocket more in allowances. Now, they want their salaries tripled to Sh400,000 a month.

The SRC, whose independence the lawmakers have attempted to undermine, must soldier on and not allow the politicians to usurp its constitutional mandate. The politicians’ greed for taxpayers’ money must be tamed urgently.

HOW MONTHS OF PROTEST FORGED AN EVEN MORE INTRANSIGENT REGIME

IRAN IS SEEKING TO BECOME INDISPENSABLE TO RUSSIA’S WAR EFFORT IN UKRAINE

WITH THE PRESS OF A BUTTON, REPORTERS CAN RECEIVE STORIES WITHOUT ANY INVESTIGATION REQUIRED BEFORE PUBLISHING IT. THIS PROCESS HAS MADE JOURNALISM OBSOLETE — AND IT MIGHT EVEN CAUSE IT TO DISAPPEAR

corporate corner

LAhOrE: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali in a group photo with LCCI President Kashif Anwar, Senior Vice President Zafar Mehoom Ch, Vice President Adnan Khalid Butt and others during a visit to the chamber. Staff photo

NOT-BY- PROFIT

ExpErts Call for 70pC inCrEasE in tax on tobaCCo to hElp ailing national EConomy

ISLAMABAD

DHAI-R Administrator Brig Muhammad Jawad opened ‘possession of residential plots’ in Sector-J Phase-5 for construction of houses. The development work for this project has been completed within stipulated period of two years. Secretary DHAI-R along with senior officials were also present at the occasion. It was attended by a large number of respected members and Real Estate community. pR

HBL partners with PMEX to promote electronic warehouse receipt trading

KArAchI: HBL and Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaboratively create awareness of using the PMEX trading platform for HBL clients. HBL and PMEX will work together to create awareness amongst the smallholder farmers for the adoption of the Electronic Warehouse Receipt Financing (EWRF) to achieve the broader objective of financial inclusion and poverty alleviation. Speaking on the occasion, Aamir Kureshi, Head Consumer, Agriculture & SME Banking – HBL, said, “HBL is the market leader in Electronic Warehouse Receipt Financing (EWRF) and has actively partnered with the stakeholders for uptake of EWRF regime in Pakistan. EWRF has been established as the most convenient and cost-effective system of farmer financing against the crop harvest stored under quality warehousing. Through this partnership, we look forward to facilitate the farmers with better market access, price visibility, and transaction settlement.” pR

FFC holds first corporate briefing for Year 2023

Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC), held its First Corporate Briefing for the year 2023, as part of its best corporate governance practices. FFC has been recognized by Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as first amongst Top 25 Companies consecutively for 12 years attributed to its Compliance of Code of Corporate Governance, Company Performance and Efficient Management. In the same backdrop the subject briefing for the year ended 31st December 2022 was held at FFC’s corporate Head Office, Rawalpindi. Virtual access was also provided to all the desirous stakeholders. Prominent capital market analysts and dignitary from Pakistan Stock Exchange attended the event. Company Secretary FFC, Brig Asrat Mahmood SI(M) (Retd) opened the briefing and apprised the house about significance of the event. Chief Financial Officer, Syed Atif Ali briefed the house about FFC’s performance for the year 2022 and assured Company’s commitment to achieve higher standards of performance and sustained earnings. pR

Martin Dow joins hands with ABHI to provide earned wage access to employees

KArAchI: ABHI is offering Earned Wage Access to hundreds of companies as a financial wellness benefit to their employees. The new partnership with Martin Dow aims to provide a comfortable environment for their employees to work and thrive in. ABHI is providing Earned Wage Access (EWA), which will enable the healthcare group employees to access their earned salaries before their payday, allowing them to make immediate financial decisions with ease and improve their financial wellbeing. Martin Dow Group is a leading multinational healthcare group in Pakistan, creating distinction for over 60 years by shaping and leading the future of healthcare and consistently rendering extraordinary healthcare services to the masses through its innovative and technologically advanced practices. Martin Dow Group remains committed to its vision and is better positioned than ever to deliver quality healthcare to patients worldwide. On the day of signing Shahrukh Masood – Group Director HR & Corporate Communications said. pR

aTa webinar hosted by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), experts called for the government to increase the tax on tobacco products by 70% of the retail price. This move is seen as critical for boosting revenue in the struggling economy. Dr Shafqat Munir, Director of Resilient Development Programme at SDPI, stated that Pakistan is the 10th largest tobacco-consuming country and needs immediate action from the government. He urged the government to implement a 70% increase in tobacco tax to support the economy and reduce tobacco-related diseases.

Managing Director of the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), Asif Iqbal, discussed the need to manage price hikes by tobacco retailers if the tax increase were to go through. He recommended

adopting a medium-term tax policy to prevent manipulation in the tobacco industry and ensure fair taxation. Current estimates show that a 70% tax increase could generate over Rs 65 billion in revenue.

Dr Waqar Ahmed, Joint Executive Director at SDPI, suggested increasing the brand registration fee and renewing it annually, as well as imposing tax collection in advance to generate higher revenue and discourage consumption. He also proposed taxing tobacco farming to bring tobacco farmers into the tax net and discourage farming.

Senior Research Associate at SDPI, Wasif Ali Naqvi, highlighted that 170,000 deaths in Pakistan are caused by tobacco each year, along with associated diseases. Despite global declining tobacco consumption, 24% of Pakistanis still consume tobacco and 10.7% of 13-15 year olds smoke. He mentioned that Pakistan is a signatory to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the

Several Pakistani pharmaceutical companies warn of halting production

ISLAMABAD NEWS DESK

At least 40 pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan have expressed their inability to continue production, citing unavailability of raw material and delays in their cases seeking price increases. The companies informed the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) on Monday that they would halt production within a week if the issues were not resolved.

The pharmaceutical industry is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and has been hit hard by the increased prices of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in the international market since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The companies have requested inflation-

ary adjustments in the maximum retail prices of medicines, however, the government and DRAP have failed to take any measures to remedy the situation.

The chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association has demanded a 28.5% across-the-board increase in prices, and the executive director of the Pharma Bureau has said the companies are facing a severe shortage of dollars. The Ministry of National Health Services has assured the public that there will be no shortage of medicines, and the director general of the ministry stated that they would take appropriate action after receiving the companies' letters.

To read the full article visit www.dawn.com

Mixed feelings about crypto market

In a report by Reuters that was picked up by Dawn on Tuesday, it was brought to light that the volume of Bitcoin and Ethereum options trading on Deribit, a leading crypto-focused exchange, increased in January. The volume of Bitcoin options rose 82% and Ethereum options rose 38% compared to December. The trend in futures indicates that more investors are positioning themselves for price gains with the majority of the volume skewed to bullish call options, which pay a premium for the option to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum at a future date and agreed price, rather than the bearish put options to sell. According to Deribit data, calls made up 71.1% of total Bitcoin futures open interest and 77.5% for Ethereum. The surge in options trading indicates that investors are torn about the direction of crypto markets, preferring low-risk, low-reward options instead of buying Bitcoin or Ethereum. The surge coincides with a 40%

ISLAMABAD pR

Riyadh, Saudi aRabia: The Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), the international organization to promote digital prosperity for all, has successfully concluded its second General Assembly today in Riyadh with a Ministerial Declaration calling for open collaboration among nations to bridge the digital divide.

The DCO Ministerial Call for Action, which was issued on behalf of all 13 Member States, recognized the crucial role that the digital economy plays in shaping a more equitable and thriving future, and called for increased interna-

jump in the price of Bitcoin in January and a 32% jump for Ethereum. However, the trend in futures may not necessarily be bullish for Bitcoin or Ethereum as investors also use these derivatives as hedges against falls in their other investments. The macro backdrop of a potential US recession or further tightening by the Federal Reserve could derail the latest rally. After US jobs data came in better than expected last week, markets are betting that the Fed may raise interest rates, which could dampen demand for riskier assets such as cryptocurrencies. The CEO of Relm, a digital asset insurer, described Bitcoin's rally as "explosive."

Despite the increased demand for call options, there are concerns about a potential pullback after the massive run-up in prices. The founder of a crypto derivatives-focused hedge fund noted that people are trying to get some protection on both sides of the equation.

To read the full article visit www.dawn.com

World Health Organization recommends a 70% tax on retail prices, but the current federal excise duty is 44.3%. Only 2 tobacco companies pay 98% of the entire tax, while the rest pay 2%, leading to underreporting and illicit trade.

Head for Track and Trace at FBR, Abdul Wahid Uqaily, discussed the track and trace system that has been imposed on 8 companies and is being implemented in 9 more. He stressed the importance of educating the public on the system to reduce illegal sales and counterfeiting.

Research Lead at Heartfile, Ammar Rashid, called for countering under-reporting of production and sales, which research shows to be between 27% to 47%. He suggested making penalties for tobacco companies stricter in line with their profits and improving data availability to create robust tax policies.

To read the full article visit https.www.app.com

Challenging government's economic forecast

ISLAMABAD NEWS DESK

Writing for The Express Tribune, Salman Siddiqui reports that the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) has challenged the Ministry of Finance’s projection of a $3 billion surplus in the balance of trade and remittances for the current fiscal year 2023. The PBC called the projection “unrealistic” and instead estimated a deficit of $4 billion. The PBC also rejected the government’s projections for the trade deficit, which it claimed would reach $31.5 billion in the current fiscal year, and for workers’ remittances, which it stated would amount to a maximum of $27.5 billion in the year.

The PBC also challenged the government’s projections for imports, which it estimated would stand at $60.5 billion, and said they were unrealistic due to the expenses of Haj and fuel imports.

The business advocacy platform agreed with the Ministry of Finance’s projection for exports at $29 billion in the fiscal year 2023. The Pakistani currency partially recovered 0.46% to Rs275.30 against the US dollar in the interbank market on Monday, following a slump of 16.5% in the previous seven working days. Exporters are now receiving payments and selling dollars in the market, as they see the rupee consolidating at current levels.

Additionally, the PBC has also criticized the government's projection for the current account balance, stating that it will be in deficit of $4 billion, instead of the government's projected surplus of $3 billion. The PBC warned that the trade deficit will only worsen if the imports continue to decline, leading to higher unemployment and economic instability. To address this issue, the PBC suggested that the government focus on promoting exports and improving investment in the country to spur economic growth. The organization also called for more transparency in the government's projections and encouraged a more realistic approach to balancing the trade and remittances in the current fiscal year 2023.

To read the full article visit www.https.tribune.com.pk/

Footpaths in Capital to be restored: Housing secretary

ISLAMABAD:

Iftikhar Ali

tional dialogue to identify and promote successful approaches, and impactful initiatives that will empower nations to create sustainable, inclusive and equitable growth of the digital economy. The General Assembly, the first full in-person gathering of the DCO, brought together delegation(s) from the DCO member states, DCO observer partners, and other international stakeholders in the digital economy. The Assembly was also

attended by H.E. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology, People's Republic of Bangladesh; and H.E Mohammd Almanni, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, State of Qatar, as guests of the DCO. The DCO calls for international cooperation to coordinate efforts and develop sustainable solutions that are specifically tailored to address four major concerns.

Shallwani, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Works held a meeting today on 7-02-2023 regarding encroachments and illegally constructed structures in government residences in the federal capital. Capt. (Retd.) Noor-ul-Amin Mengal, Chairman CDA, Irfan Nawaz, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad and Ghulam Sarwar, Director General Estate Office Islamabad also attended the meeting. During the course of meeting, Ghulam Sarwar, DG Estate office apprised the officials regarding the implementation status of recommendations by National Assembly standing committee on Housing and Works upon the issues pertaining to additional construction and subletting of federal government owned residential accommodations. Officials were also briefed about the recent survey being done by this Ministry. Staff REpoRt

DCO calls for open collaboration among nations to bridge digital divide

China, US, EU qUiCk to offEr aSSiStanCE to qUakE-hit tUrkiyE, Syria

ERDOGAN DECLARES EMERGENCY AS DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO RISE CALLS FOR LIFTING SANCTIONS ON SYRIA PICKING MOMENTUM

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

tUrKISHPresident Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces devastated by two earthquakes that killed more than 5,100 people and left a trail of destruction across a wide area of southern Turkiye and neighbouring Syria.

A day after the quakes hit, rescuers working in harsh conditions were struggling to dig people out of the rubble of collapsed buildings in a “race against time”.

rights groups have urged US to lift sanctions over quake-hit Syria as death toll mounts.

Countries around the world have mobilised rapidly to send aid and rescue workers after a massive earthquake killed more than 5,000 people in Turkey and Syria.

Offers of assistance came from countries across the world. Here are some of the chief pledges of support.

EuropEan union: The European Union has mobilised 27 search and rescue

and medical teams from 19 countries to help Turkey, together over 1,150 rescuers and 70 rescue dogs, EU crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic confirmed Tuesday. unitEd StatES: President Joe Biden said that US teams were “deploying quickly to begin to support Turkish search and rescue efforts”.

National security spokesman John Kirby said the United States was sending two search-and-rescue teams of 79 people each, while the Pentagon and USAID were coordinating with their Turkish counterparts.

China: China said the first Chinese rescue teams started work in Turkey on Tuesday and that it was sending $5.9 million in emergency aid to the country, including rescue and medical teams, state media reported.

Deng Boqing, vice director of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, told state broadcaster CCTV that Beijing would also coordinate “urgently needed disaster relief materials” for Syria but did not say how much would be sent.

Britain: Foreign minister James Cleverly said the UK was sending a team of 76 search

and rescue specialists, equipment and rescue dogs. Britain was also sending an emergency medical team to assess the situation on the ground.

ruSSia: President Vladimir Putin promised to send russian teams to both countries in telephone calls with Syria’s Bashar alAssad and Turkey’s recep Tayyip Erdogan. The defence ministry said 300 military personnel deployed in Syria were helping with the clear-up effort. unitEd nationS: “Our teams are on the ground assessing the needs and providing assistance. We count on the international community to help the thousands of families hit by this disaster, many of whom were already in dire need of humanitarian aid in areas where access is a challenge,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. india: Two of India’s National Disaster response Force teams comprising 100 personnel with dog squads and equipment were ready to be flown to the affected area, the foreign ministry said. Doctors and paramedics with medicines were also being readied.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he

was “anguished” and “deeply pained” by the deaths in Turkey — with whom India has frosty relations — and Syria.

GErmany: Germany — home to about three million people of Turkish origin — will “mobilise all the assistance we can activate”, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said.

ukrainE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his war-torn country was “ready to provide the necessary assistance to overcome the consequences of the disaster.”

GrEECE: Kyriakos Mitsotakis, prime minister of Turkey’s historic rival Greece, whose relations with Ankara have suffered from a spate of border and cultural disputes, pledged to make “every force available” to aid its neighbour.

iSraEl: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had approved the sending of aid to Syria — whose government does not recognise Israel — after receiving a request through diplomatic channels. A Damascus official denied they had requested help.

The government will also send humanitarian assistance to Turkey, Netanyahu said.

Gulf StatES: Qatar said it would send

120 rescue workers to Turkey, alongside “a field hospital, relief aid, tents and winter supplies”.

The United Arab Emirates pledged assistance worth around $13.6 million to Syria, including search and rescue teams, urgent relief supplies and emergency aid. Official news agency WAM said the UAE had already dispatched a first plane to southern Turkey, where it is planning to establish a field hospital.

iran: Iran is ready to provide “immediate relief aid to these two friendly nations”, President Ebrahim raisi said, offering condolences on the “heartbreaking incident”. alGEria: The country sent a 89-member risk-management team, including medics, to Turkey with 17 tonnes of equipment, and another team will go to Syria, civil defence said.

tuniSia: President Kais Saied ordered “humanitarian aid” for both Turkey and Syria, including 14 tonnes of blankets and food, officials said. Tunis also appealed for volunteer medics to be flown out on Tunisian military aircraft. Japan: The government in Japan — which frequently suffers earthquakes — is dispatching the Japan Disaster relief rescue Team to Turkey.

US recovering balloon debris with no plans to return it to China

WASHINGTON afp

The United States is recovering debris from the downed Chinese balloon in the Atlantic for analysis by intelligence experts and there is no plan to give the remains back to Beijing, officials said Monday China says the balloon was an errant weather observation aircraft with no military purpose, but the United States says it was a sophisticated high-altitude spying vehicle. “They have recovered some remnants off the surface of the sea and weather conditions did not permit much undersea surveillance of the debris field,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said two days after a US fighter jet shot down the balloon US personnel will “in the coming days be able to get down there and take a better look at what’s on the bottom of the ocean, but it’s just started,” Kirby said. General Glen VanHerck, head of the US Northern Command, separately told reporters that a Navy ship is in the process of mapping the debris field, which is expected to measure about 1,500 by 1,500 meters (yards).The balloon itself was up to 200 feet (60 meters) tall and carried a payload weighing several thousand pounds that was roughly the size of a regional jet aircraft, he said. After slowly traversing the middle of the United States, reportedly over several top secret military sites, the balloon headed out over the east coast, where President Joe Biden ordered it to be shot down. Kirby said there was no intention to send the pieces back. “I know of no such intention or plans to return it,” he said. VanHerck said the balloon debris would be carefully studied. “I don’t know where the debris is going to go for a final analysis, but I will tell you that certainly, the intel community along with the law enforcement community that works this under counterintelligence will take a good look at it,” he said.

China calls for early end to Ukraine crisis

BEIJING

Staff RepoRt

A senior Chinese diplomat on Monday called on all parties to the Ukraine crisis to work toward an early end to the conflict. “China once again calls on relevant parties to bear in mind the interest of the people, strive to promote peace and try every possible way to push parties to the conflict to resume peace talks and end the war at an early date,” Dai Bing, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council briefing on the humanitarian issue of Ukraine. The envoy said that over the past year since the Ukraine crisis broke out, the humanitarian situation there “has always tugged at our heartstrings,” adding that conflicts on the ground show no signs of easing up, the logic of military solution still prevails and a large number of heavy weapons keep pouring into the battlefields.

44th edition of PCB PodCast features imad, rizwan and shadaB

LAHORE StAFF RePoRt

wITHthe HBL PSL 8 now just six days away, the Pakistan Cricket Board Tuesday released the 44th edition of the PCB Podcast, which features Imad Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan. The PCB Podcast released last week included Babar Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Both the podcasts are available here for free viewing, downloading and editorial use.

Imad Wasim, who has played 58 T20Is for Pakistan, will captain 2020 champions Karachi Kings, Mohammad Rizwan will hope to inspire Multan Sultans to their third successive final, while Shadab Khan will attempt to make Islamabad United the most successful HBL PSL franchise by winning the title for the third time.

Rizwan will feature in the opening match of the HBL PSL 8 when his side will take on defending champions Lahore Qalandars in Multan on 13 February, Imad will be in action on 14 February when he will go head to head with Babar Azam-captained Peshawar Zalmi in Karachi, while Shadab will walk out for the toss for the first time in 2023 with Imad in Karachi on 16 February.

The three champion cricketers spoke candidly with PCB Digital on wide-ranging cricket-related matters and also previewed the tournament, which will culminate in La-

hore on 19 March.

Imad Wasim: “HBL PSL is one of the best leagues in the world, which is very close to our hearts. We wait for this league for 10 months during which we prepare, plan and set goals. Then, we enter into this great event to achieve our collective objectives, help our sides win and this cycle continues.

“Last year, Karachi Kings were hampered with injuries, but for 2023, we have all bases covered with high-quality players who all are match-winners. The most important thing for us is to play T20 the way it should be played, which is with a positive attitude and aggressive intent.

“We will go step-by-step and match-bymatch in this tournament with our first target being to secure a place in the play-offs. One of the best things about this HBL PSL is we will have home matches. So, we are aiming to make the best use of our first five matches at home and build the momentum that can carry us into the play-offs.

“This year, every side is equally balanced and it is difficult to predict an outright winner. All sides boast some outstanding talent and they will enter the event with different combinations and strengths. This clearly reflects how the HBL PSL has evolved and why it has now become an extremely challenging and exciting league.”

Mohammad Rizwan: “I missed few matches in the early part of the HBL PSL, but I will not blame anyone. It is all part of the game as each side has its own strategy

and game plan, but I am now giving importance to each match I play so that I can make up for the lost time. Captaincy and batting can be challenging, but we have a good group of people who have not only empowered me but also back and support me so that I can strike the right balance and continue to give my best.

“The philosophy of Multan Sultans is simple: play as champions irrespective of the opposition or the outcome. Consequently, we are not afraid of the results. We have been able to induce this approach in the side because we are a closely-knit side and the credit for this cohesion must be given to the team management. Also, we have a good mix and combination of coaches, which also helps me to captain the side.

“It is always challenging to face Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali. And this doesn’t only apply to me but to all the batters as they are seriously quick and effective bowlers with plenty of variety. But it works both ways as we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Having said that, they have a slight advantage as they have more opportunities to stage a comeback and dismiss the batters, but they are difficult bowlers for all batters across the globe.”

Shadab Khan: “What I am today is solely due to HBL PSL. I entered in this competition as an Emerging Category player, but this tournament gave me the opportunity, belief and confidence to grow and develop as a cricketer and I am pleased that

Previous HBL PsL media reLeases:

20 January – HBL PsL 8 schedule announced

24 January – Fans to nominate Hamaray Heroes for HBL PsL 8

25 January – Teams strengthen rosters in HBL PsL 8 replacement draft

31 January – Babar azam will aim to notch maiden century in HBL PsL

1 February – shaheen raring for his comeback in HBL PsL 2023

3 February – New boys on the block

4 February – Fakhar, Haris and sharjeel on making of aggressive openers

5 February – amir, shaheen, Wahab and Wasim on fast bowlers in HBL PsL

6 February – azam and usama join amir, Fakhar, Wahab on HBL PsL’s impact on their careers

I am now a Platinum Category player.

“When I started my cricket, I thought I could be a good U19 or domestic cricketer, but then I got the opportunity in HBL PSL 1 where I was able to deceive and trouble the then world’s best batter Kumar Sangakkara with my wrong’un or leg-spin. This turned things around for me as I started believing in myself and now I can play in any competition, against any opponent and in any tournament with the conviction that I can perform.

“It was the HBL PSL that provided me with the chance to demonstrate my captaincy

Australia T20 captain Finch retires from international cricket

SYDNEY

AFP

Australian men’s T20 captain Aaron Finch retired from international cricket on Tuesday, ending his 12-year career as one of the most prolific run scorers in limited-overs formats.

A destructive opening batter at his peak, Finch’s position had been under a cloud since Australia failed to make the knockout stage of last year’s T20 World Cup at home.

It was not immediately clear who would replace the Victoria-born batter, who has captained the team in 76 of the 103 T20s he has played since debuting against England in 2011.

“Realising that I won’t be playing on until the next T20 World Cup in 2024, now is the right moment to step down and give the team time to plan and build towards that event,” he told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

“To be able to represent Australia for 12 years and play with and against some of the greatest players of all time has been an incredible honour.”

The 36-year-old was in 2018 crowned the best T20 batter in the game, and captained Australia to their maiden T20 World Cup victory in Dubai in 2021.

Only five players have scored more runs than Finch in T20 internationals.

Finch retired as Australia’s one-day skipper last September, replaced by 29-

u19 Kashmir day Girls squash: top-seeded zohra enters semi-finals

PESHAWAR AgencieS

Top-seeded Zohra Abdullah took berth into the semi-finals on Tuesday after recording a victory against her tough rival Afsah from Abbottabad in the ongoing ‘Kashmir Day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Girls Junior Age Group Squash Championship’ being played here at Qamar Zaman Squash Complex. Zohra, who also played international squash, took no time in toppling her strong rival Afsah from Abbottabad in the marathon five sets battle, the score was 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 14-12 and 12-10. Both girls, Zohra and Afsah played a good game and gave each other a tough fight in the marathon fiveset battle that lasted for 49 minutes. Zohra has full command over her strong smashes from the back of the court and succeeded in putting Afsah on the back foot besides exhibiting some perfect nicks and drops which created a panic-like situation for Afsah in the 3-2 battle. In the second quarter-finals, Iqra Shah (Abbottabad) defeated Rida Hussain by (3-0), the score was (11-6 11-7 11-4). She made it to straight sets against Rida Hussain of Peshawar in the match that lasted for 23 minutes.

year-old fast bowler Pat Cummins.

Cummins also leads Australia’s Test squad, but selectors may be reluctant to add the T20 captaincy to his workload.

Finch said winning the T20 World Cup and the ODI World Cup in 2015 were the two cricket memories he would “cherish the most”.

He holds the record for the highest score in a T20 international — 172 runs off 76 balls against Zimbabwe in 2018. He also hit the third-highest T20 international score — 156 against England in 2013.

An AustrAliAn ‘greAt’: Cricket Australia chairman Lachlan Henderson said Finch was one of Australia’s “finest white-ball players”.

“While he was a tough competitor on the field, Aaron always played the game with a smile on his face and in the right spirit,” Henderson said.

“As one of only four men’s players to captain Australia to a World Cup victory, Aaron will always have a special place in Australian cricket’s history.”

Finch’s Melbourne Renegades club called him a “great of Australian cricket”. Although prolific in limited-overs formats — he scored 5,406 ODI runs and 3,120 in T20 internationals — Finch failed to make an impact in Tests. He played five Tests for Australia in 2018 but was dropped after failing to impress selectors. Finch is expected to continue playing T20 cricket in Australia’s domestic league.

and batting abilities with performances and establish myself as a useful and effective allrounder. Cricket is not only about skill, but also about mental toughness and I think HBL PSL provided me that platform where I was actually able to identify and trust my talent and abilities.

“The quality and standard of bowling is far superior than any other league. And it is not me who is saying this, but it is shared publically by the top players who have played in HBL PSL. Personally, it gives me a lot of happiness when world’s best cricketers praise our league and its standard.

Cricketer asad shafiq becomes student at Ku

KARACHI AgencieS

Renowned cricket star of Pakistan Asad Shafiq has got admission to the Karachi University BS Health Physical Education and Sports Sciences (HPESS) and become a student at the University. Asad Shafiq along with the chairman HPESS Professor Dr Basit Ansari met the KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi at the VC Secretariat, said a statement on Tuesday. He scored 12 test centuries so far in his career and made nine centuries while batting at number six which is a world record and makes him the most prolific ton scorer at the test level. He has broken the previous world record of Sir Garfield Sobers who previously held the record by scoring eight centuries at the same number for West Indies. Asad Shafiq will be a student of BS Third Year in the evening shift. Asad said during his meeting with the KU VC that he was unable to study further after completing graduation because he was playing domestic and international cricket and due to his commitments to national duty and sports. He said that now is the best time to complete his higher studies. He hoped that other fellow cricketers would also resume their educations in near future. Meanwhile, Prof. Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi while welcoming the test cricketer to the University of Karachi said that this is a good sign and trend that sportsmen are now coming to campus to complete their dreams and it would give them opportunities to fulfill their degrees.

South Africa look for home comfort after troubled World Cup build-up

CAPE TOWN

AFP

South Africa will seek to take advantage of home conditions in the Women’s T20 World Cup which starts on Friday despite a troubled build-up.

South Africa play Sri Lanka in the opening match at Newlands in Cape Town.

The hosts will hope to improve on the performances of their country’s men’s team who failed to reach the knockout stages in the only two global men’s cricket events held in South Africa, the 2003 World Cup and 2006 Champions Trophy.

South Africa were also under-performing hosts of the 2005 Women’s World Cup, when they finished seventh out of eight teams taking part.

Crowds were sparse and media exposure was minimal at a time when interest

in women’s cricket was almost non-existent. The 2023 event will, however, have a higher profile, with significant pre-publicity and live television coverage.

Controversy over the omission of former captain Dane van Niekerk on fitness grounds has been the biggest news event of the build-up.

All-rounder Sune Luus will continue to lead the side, a role she has fulfilled in a caretaker capacity since 2019 when Van Niekerk suffered the first of a string of injuries. “We are used to the conditions, we know what to expect from every ground we’re going to be playing on. Hopefully, we can use that to our advantage,” said Luus. Luus made a point of mentioning Marizanne Kapp as one of the team’s “standout” players and whose form will be crucial to South Africa’s hopes.

Kapp was one of South Africa’s stars when they reached the semi-finals of the 50-overs World Cup in Australia last year,

taking 12 wickets and scoring 203 runs at a strike rate of 92.

Kapp is married to Van Niekerk and was given compassionate leave from a triangular tournament final against India last week in order to support her wife following the World Cup squad announcement. Despite Kapp’s absence, South Africa won a low-scoring match but Kapp re-

mains committed to the World Cup campaign. She has, though, been outspoken in support of Van Niekerk.

“It is a massive setback for me, Dane and the team that she is not in the World Cup squad,” Kapp told the Rapport newspaper at the weekend, adding that Van Niekerk’s experience as a player and “magnificent leader” would be sorely missed. South Africa’s strength is in fast bowling in which Kapp, Shabnim Ismail and Ayabonga Khaka form a formidable trio. Nonkululeko Mlaba is an improving left-arm spin bowler and Luus has resumed her slow leg-spinners after recovering from a finger injury which limited her bowling last year.

Laura Wolvaardt, Luus, Kapp and the big-hitting Chloe Tryon are the leading batters in a department hit by the absence of Van Niekerk and the retirements of Lizelle Lee, also because of fitness issues, and Mignon du Preez.

ChAngAn beComes sIxth ComPAny to InCreAse PrICes over PAst week

PRICES RISE BY RS1.05M, PROTON FOLLOWS SUIT WITH SAGA AUTOMATIC NOW EDGING OVER RS3M

LAHORE

daNiyal ahmad

mASTERChangan Motors Ltd announced its first price increase for 2023 on January 6 for its entire portfolio. The new prices are as follows:

Changan’s decision now makes it the sixth company to have increased its prices in a matter of a week. Previously, Honda and DFSK had increased their prices on February 4 and February 1 respectively. Similarly Hyundai, KIA, and Peugeot all announced their revised prices on January 31.

Speaking to Profit, Syed Shabbir Uddin, Director of Sales and Marketing at Master Changan Motors, explained the rationale behind the increase stating “Our completely knockeddown (CKD) kits, like that of all other companies, are imported. The reliance on imported inputs, especially sheet metal, and their connection to the foreign exchange rate has a significant impact on our costs of production,” Shabbir Uddin continued.

The Pakistani Rupee began its rapid depreciation against the US Dollar on January 26 with it having lost Rs 19.87 against the Dollar since. Over the past week of price revisions, the Rupee has depreciated by 2.77% for a total of Rs 7.41 against the Dollar.

Changan’s decision to revise its prices comes sixth months after its last revision in August. “We tried to postpone it for as long as possible,” says Shabbir Uddin. “We felt the Rupee stabilise when we saw it trading at Rs 270 against the Dollar, and subsequently decided to announce our price increase in one go. We decided to do this rather than utilise the incremental revisions other manufacturers opted for. This has given us more visibility on the macroeconomic position,” Shabbir Uddin continues.

When asked about whether the Rupee could be expected to depreciate further in the future, and subsequently trigger further rounds up of price increases, Shabbir Uddin responded by stating “I wish it (the US Dollar) would not appreciate fur-

LHC sides with consumers in case against NEPRA

On Monday, February 6, 2023, the Lahore High Court gave its verdict on a case filed by hundreds of petitioners, particularly about the recovery of exorbitant fuel price adjustment charges by the National Electricity Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).

The decision of the court in favour of the petitioners reads, “demand of Fuel Price Adjustment, Quarter Tariff Adjustment, Change of status of tariff from Industrial to Commercial by the NEPRA not constituted fully under section 3 of the NEPRA Act, 1997 is illegal.”

Fuel Cost Adjustment: According to NEPRA, fuel cost adjustment (FCA) is a mechanism for recovery of leftover fuel cost components. To understand this better we must first understand the basics of the energy sector supply chain.

Each month in your electricity bill there is a charge under the “fuel cost adjustment”. It’s charged in two parts, firstly for example my electricity bill will represent the tentative cost of electricity based upon the predictions of fuel cost used to make that electricity.

Now if the tentative or predicted cost is higher than the actual cost of the electricity produced, then the consumer would witness a negative fuel charge adjustment, that is the government would

adjust the bills of the consumer.

To simplify it let’s say for the month of February I was charged a fuel cost adjustment of Rs 5/kWh, however the actual cost of the electricity based on international prices of fossil fuels was Rs 2.5/kWh. In this scenario the government would adjust this in the bill of the following month of March by subtracting this component from the bill. And the opposite would be applicable if the tentative cost of electricity was lower than the actual cost.

What is section 3 of the nePRA Act, 1997?

The “Section 3” of the NEPRA act focuses on the establishment of the regulatory authority and further dictates the executive structure of the company. Furthermore it elaborates on the prerequisite skills and qualifications required for the members of the board. According to the act, the Nepra board would consist at any given time of a Chairman and four members, one from each Province, “appointed by the Federal Government after considering the recommendations of the respective Provincial Governments”.

This was put into law to ensure that all the provinces and respective stakeholders were on the same page in regards to any laws or proceedings of Nepra that could have a direct impact on the consumers. The petition…

‘Inflationary adjustments’ in medicine prices

KARACHI

Bakht NooR

On Monday 6 February, 70 pharmaceutical companies wrote a letter urging the government to increase the prices of medicines in Pakistan due to the rising inflation and significant rupee depreciation in the country. The letters were addressed to the federal minister and secretary of Ministry of Health Services, Regulation and Coordination and CEO of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP).

A copy of the letter is available with Business Recorder. According to the letter, the medicinal companies called the government to adjust the maximum retail prices of medicines according to inflation. They also indicated that failure to make such adjustments could lead to the collapse of the domestic pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan.

The former chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association (PPMA), Mansoor Dilawar informed Business Recorder, “every company is sending separate letters to the relevant authorities. Around 70 com-

panies have already written letters to the leadership to communicate their grievances and a total of nearly 300 letters will reach the government in the next few days.”

The impact of inflation and rupee devaluation

The companies reminded the government officials that the ubiquitous availability of medicines in Pakistan was dependent on the uninterrupted import of raw material. However, the pharmaceutical industry had suffered significantly due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The pandemic led to an exponential increase in the prices of pharmaceutical ingredients including the raw materials used in drug manufacturing in the international markets.

This conflated with skyrocketing inflation and the profound rupee devaluation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 27.6% in January 2023 as compared to its amount in the same period in 2022. The rupee has also been facing sharp depreciation since the past few weeks. On Monday, the local currency closed at Rs 275.3 against the dollar.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

The “basic legal question” presented by the petitioners before court was the constitution of Nepra defined in Section 3 following the amendments to the Act and the Supreme Court’s decisions.

Even though Section 3 of the Nepra act unequivocally states that, “no act or proceeding of the Authority shall be invalid by reason only of the existence of a vacancy in, or defect in, the constitution of the Authority”. The petitioners however argued that under Section 3 subsection 4(A), “the Authority as a whole shall comprise the requisite range of skills, competence, knowledge and experience relevant to its functions”.

The petitioners contended that “the Authority contemplated in section 3 had not been completed” because, aside from the Chairman and two members, the rest of the board had not been appointed by the Federal Government.

As a result, the authority was not fully operational at the time of calculating adjustments to the approved tariff due to monthly variations in fuel charges.

To simplify the point of contention in this matter, the representatives from the provinces each occupy a senior executive role in the Nepra board through which the rights and interests of the consumers can also be guarded and all relevant stakeholders can be kept in the loop.

The petitioners state that, “provincial representation is essential not only to protect the national interest but also to ensure

that none of the Provinces feels deprived of their role in contributing into the running of the affairs of the country/Federation”.

The court decision…

The Lahore High Court in its decision on the matter ordered Nepra to “notify customers of charges on a monthly basis”, and “the fuel price adjustment shall not exceed seven days”, and “the Quarter Tariff Adjustment shall not exceed the statutory period”.

Furthermore the court states that, “not to charge any exorbitant tariff beyond the paying capacity of the domestic consumers”. However clear values and definitions as to the decision of the court have not been provided, for instance what would qualify as an “exorbitant tariff”.

Additionally the court decision directed Nepra to “fix the responsibility of over-charging on the basis of line losses and the less efficient power plants and the financial burden will also be shared by the companies under a rational proportion”. Apart from this, the court also gave similarly vague and generalised directions to Nepra. For instance the court directed Nepra “to explore the cheap modes of producing electricity and will evolve mechanisms for its quick availability” and “to ensure the smooth supply of electricity based on demand”.

APC on terror resurgence postponed again

ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

Marriyum Aurangzeb, the information minister, Tuesday announced the government has postponed for a second time a multi-party conference convened to discuss the resurgence of violent attacks in Pakistan, this time for an indefinite period, as the prime minister is scheduled to travel to earthquake-hit Turkey on Wednesday. Originally slated for February 7, the meeting was Tuesday rescheduled for Thursday, February 9. No reason was given for the change in the date. Aurangzeb said Shehbaz Sharif will depart for Ankara to offer condolences and show support to President Erdogan and the people of Turkey following the earthquake that according to its head of disaster services, Yunus Sezer, killed at least 2,921 people and wounded more than 15,800 others. The quake is believed to be the strongest to hit Turkey since 1939, when an earthquake of the same magnitude killed 30,000 people. The minister announced that the postponed All Parties Conference (APC) will have a new date established after consulting with the ruling coalition, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). The conference aims to address important challenges facing Pakistan and will involve discussions on a joint strategy to combat terrorism and a review of the National Action Plan (NAP) adopted following the attack on Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar in 2014.

ther. I pray, and I wish. However, like any other person who knows anything about economics, it is unlikely that the Rupee will stay at this price in the long-term. We will have to see what will happen with the IMF”.

Meanwhile, Proton Pakistan also announced its first price increase for 2023. The upward price revision is, however, limited to just the automatic variant of the Saga. The price change is as follows:

Proton’s decision makes it the seventh company to have revised their prices upwards over the past week. Previously, Changan, Honda, and DFSK increased their prices on February 6, February 4, and February 1 respectively. Similarly Hyundai, KIA, and Peugeot all announced their revised prices on January 31.

Privatisation of prime Lahore real estate incomplete despite full payment by bidder

ISLAMABAD ahmad ahmadaNi

The controversial privatisation of Services International Hotel (SIH) in Lahore continues to remain incomplete despite the hotel’s buyer already having paid the purchase price in full. While the valuation of the property by an independent valuer from Punjab through Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) have also been completed, top officials at the Ministry of Privatisation and members Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) are creating roadblocks for a smooth transition, informed an inside source who wishes to remain anonymous. The Privatisation Commission (PC) had given approval for the privatisation of the hotel that is on prime real estate in Lahore August 2021 at just Rs2 million above the downward revised minimum price of Rs1.94 billion. The price at which the PC board allowed to sell the Services International Hotel – a over 15 kanal 3 marla property located at Mall Road Lahore, was Rs300 million lower than originally approved price of Rs2.25 billion by the PC board in March 2021.

Imports restrictions, non release of machines hampering coal mining

ISLAMABAD Ghulam aBBaS

Amidst an economic crisis, and the country scrambling for cheap energy, restrictions on imports and non release of machinery are severely impacting coal mining activities. Moving to cheaper fuel sources such as Thar Coal can help the country contain power costs and meet the energy demand of consumers and industries in a stable manner. However, Pakistan’s coal mining industry is facing significant challenges due to stringent import restrictions and banks refusing to open letters of credit (LCs). According to industry sources, there is an urgent need to support the release of these critical equipment and parts so that mine operations continue as planned, and production goals are met. The Thar Coal project is generating a total of 2,640MW of cheap electricity from Block-I and Block-II, and its contribution is almost 30% to the country’s national grid. Given the unprecedented high prices of imported fuel, the Thar Coal project expansion could also provide a huge relief for FOREX reserves of Pakistan with savings of approximately USD 2.5 billion ($700 million at normalised prices). It can also result in the reduction of more than Rs 100 billion in circular debt on an annual basis. “Hence, the Thar Coal project is playing a pivotal role in resolving the crippling foreign exchange challenge being faced by Pakistan,” said Syed Saifullah Kazmi, Head of Investment Banking at Intermarket Securities Limited. But, he added that the government should ensure the required equipment does not get stuck at the port because of the non-opening of LCs as happened with some spare parts earlier this month. “It is important that the Thar Coal mine and power plants be fostered in all facets to ensure the short- and long-term energy security of the country,” he continued.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05 CONTINUED ON PAGE 03