C itizen acc uses former PTI law minister, grandson of hurling life threats over monetar y issue

RAWALPINDI E j a z a r s h a d C h E E m a

rasheed urges elections for nation’s sur vival

RAWALPINDI s ta f f r E p o r t

Awami Muslim League (AML) president Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said that holding elections was crucial to Pakistan s survival warning that attempts to evade elections could lead to the doctrine of necessity Ahmed an ally of former prime minister Imran Khan noted that President Arif Alvi had set April 30 as the election date for Punjab and that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was yet to make a decision He criticised politicians for engaging in audio leak conspiracies instead of focusing on Pakistan s agenda, and also condemned the government’s imposition of an Rs3 5 per unit surcharge on electricity In contrast, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal emphasized that the elections should be held under the new census suggesting October as a suitable time for the polls He noted that the Constitution requires elections to be held based on constituencies and that new constituencies must be formed after the census for a transparent election Iqbal questioned whether Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) wanted to hold elections under circumstances that would create more conflicts and chaos in the country He also claimed that Khan s dissolution of the KP and Punjab parliaments was intended to choke the system rather than for good intentions

kundi: ppp ready for elections

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r E p o r t

Faisal Karim Kundi the special assistant to the prime minister on poverty alleviation and social safety confirmed on Saturday that his Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is prepared for elections in Pakistan and will follow the constitution In an interview with a TV station Kundi emphasised that it is the duty of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce the election date and no single individual should impose their will on others using force He said: The decision of elections will not be taken on the dictation of one person, and added that a person deprived of power” was threatening state institutions and maligning opponents to serve his personal interests He maintained that the constitution, democracy, and current system cannot be held captive by bullying and propaganda In response to a question Kundi alleged that during the previous four-year regime of Imran Khan institutions were misused to fulfil personal ambitions and sensitive issues were exploited to create controversy He underlined that the PPP adheres to democratic norms and does not believe in the politics of abuse and victimisation

kfW team visits pcsp projects in nowshera

PESHAWAR s ta f f r E p o r t

A senior delegation of the KfW Development Bank led by Marlene Schild Portfolio Manager KfW and Imran Khan, Senior Governance Specialist, visited the implementation areas of Pakistan Community Support Project (PCSP) in Nowshera The purpose of the visit was to gather feedback from the local community and review the progress of the community-led development work facilitated by the PCSP The PCSP and World Bank task teams facilitated the visit While interacting with the communities, Marlene Schild, who is in-charge of the KfW portfolio in Pakistan appreciated the inclusive and participatory role of the communities to ensure that they benefit from the development opportunities being offered by the PCSP The PCSP is one of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) projects in Pakistan which also comprises Germany as a key funding partner The delegation visited different community-led project sites in Nowshera including a 2 103 feet farm to market road in Turkman village which is being completed at a cost of PKR 8 3 million to benefit more than 400 households in the village The community members shared that the road has resolved their longstanding mobility issues including easier access to transportation, education, health, and other basic services

The KfW delegation also went to Sheikhan village in Nowshera to visit a solar-powered irrigation tube well which has been completed at a cost of PKR 7 4 million The community informed that the tube well has been irrigating 15 acres of land which has spurred the agricultural productivity as the crop production was dependent on rainfall previously The water supply and irrigation channel have now enabled the local farmers to grow wheat maize sugarcane and cash crops

A citizen has lodged a complaint with police against former law minister Punjab Basharat Raja and his grandson accusing them of hurling life threats to him over a monetary fraud allegedly committed by the grandson of PTI leader, informed sources on Friday

The complaint was lodged with police Station Morgah by Mr Navid Nafees on which the police investigators had summoned both parties for inquiry, the sources said According to sources Navid Nafees in the application told police that he is property dealer by profession and had contracted a plot deal with Fahad Shafique through Raja Shah Nawaz the grandson of Basharat Raja former law minister He said that his party had paid full amount to owner of plot from which Raja Shah Nawaz pocketed Rs 1 4 million He said that Raja Shah Nawaz had also admitted all these facts in a jirga and pledged to return the amount he had embezzled Later the applicant said Raja Shah Nawaz had refused to return the amount and started hurling threats at him

BofA, C itigroup trim investing banking headcount in A sia: S ources

PR OfIt r E u t E r s

Bank of America (BAC N) and Citigroup (C N) have cut some investment banking jobs in Asia people familiar with the matter told Reuters joining global peers in paring headcount as China deal making slows Bank of America (BofA), which is shrinking its investment banking business globally, did away with around half a dozen Hong Kong-based jobs on Thursday, two people familiar with matter said David Lam, a managing director in BofA’s Greater China equity capital markets team, and Kevin Yang, a managing director in the bank’s China investment banking team were among those laid off they said Lam confirmed his departure when contacted by Reuters Kevin Yang could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday Citi on Thursday trimmed four jobs from its China investment banking team said one of the two people and a separate person The Wall Street bank is laying off less than 1% of its workforce globally, people familiar with the matter have said BofA and Citi both declined to comment on layoffs involving investment bankers in Asia All sources were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be named

The number of the banks’ remaining Chinafocused investment bankers could not immediately be learned After record deal making activity in 2021 M&A volumes and stock floats globally tumbled last year as volatility in capital markets and geopolitical tensions took their toll China-related deals were particularly hard hit as harsh COVID-19 curbs lifted only late in the year hammered the economy

Other major banks that have trimmed Asia headcount include Goldman Sachs (GS N) and Morgan Stanley (MS N) JPMorgan (JPM N) has also cut around 20 investment banking jobs, mostly mid-level bankers focused on China deals, according to two separate sources Bloomberg reported on Feb 21 that the bank was laying off 30 bankers in Asia

“We regularly review our business needs and a small number of employees across Asia Pacific have been affected ” a JPMorgan spokesperson said declining to comment on the number of layoffs and teams affected Nomura Holdings Inc (8604 T) has cut 18 Asian banking jobs most of them China-focused investment banking roles sources have said