Epaper_23-03-13 LHR

‘Instead of checking corruption’, FBR continues ‘crackdown’ on whistleblowers

PTI TAkEs ouT ‘PosTPoNEd’ rAlly TodAy As AdmIN grANTs PErmIssIoN

IMRAN SAyS PoSTPoNED SUNDAy RALLy To ‘PREVENTING BLooDSHED’

LAHORE staff report

THELahore district administration granted permission to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for its public rally in the provincial capital, scheduled to take place on Monday (today) in connection with its campaign for the upcoming general elections in Punjab.

According to sources, the Lahore administration allowed the party to hold public rally on the instructions of caretaker Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Mohsin Naqvi.

In this regard, the district administration officers met with the PTI leaders and apprised them of the decision. Earlier, the PTI announced the party will hold its rally on Monday (today) after the administration did not allow its scheduled public rally for a second time on Sunday.

According to the schedule released by the party’s Lahore chapter, the rally will be taken out from Zaman Park at 2pm on Monday and it will culminate at Data Darbar after passing through Allama Iqbal Road and Railway Station.

The PTI Lahore president claimed that it will be the biggest rally in the country’s history. adequaTe securITy: Earlier in the day, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demanded adequate security arrangements for public rally in Lahore, which was postponed till Monday after the Punjab government imposed Section 144 for a day.

The PTI has penned down a let-

oPPoSITIoN PARTy MoVES CoURT, ECP AGAINST IMPoSITIoN oF SECTIoN 144

Pakistan Super League (PSL) match in the city for invoking the law and forbidding public gatherings. Police also sealed off all roads leading to Khan’s residence in Lahore to prevent PTI workers from attempting to reach the venue.

Subsequently, PTI challenged the imposition of the ban by approaching the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) offices and the courts, seeking to declare Section 144 null and void. Despite the legal challenges, Khan eventually decided to call off the rally, urging his party workers to avoid falling into the “trap”.

No ban on political activities in Lahore, claims Naqvi

By-polls to 37 NA seats halted: ECP scuttles to comply with high courts’ order

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday announced suspension of the schedule for byelections to 37 National Assembly (NA) seats in compliance with the orders of the Islamabad, Peshawar, Sindh and Balochistan high courts. These National Assembly seats had fallen vacant after the resignations of PTI lawmakers. The Election Commission of Pakistan, on Jan 27, had announced by-elections to 33 National Assembly seats on March 16 while on February 3, the commission announced by-elections to another 31 NA seats after the NA speaker accepted more resignations of the PTI MNAs. But earlier this month, the high courts of Peshawar, Sindh and Balochistan had suspended by-elections in their respective provinces while the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had suspended the de-notification of three PTI MNAs from the capital territory.

ter to Secretary Home Department, Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) Police Lahore and Superintendent of Police (SP) Security, demanding adequate security arrangements for public rally in Lahore – on Monday in connection with upcoming general elections in Punjab.

The letter noted that the rally –which was scheduled to be held on Sunday – has been postponed till tomorrow (Monday). It added that the party has apprised the district administration of the rally.

The letter further stated that PTI Chairman Imran Khan will lead the rally, pointing out that Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Mohsin Naqvi said – in a tweet – that there is no ban on political activities in Lahore.

“No ban can be imposed on rallies as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced the election schedule”, it said,

adding that the route will remain the same.

Imran PosTPones PTI rally aFTer ‘Illegal’ ImPosITIon oF secTIon 144: Earlier, Imran Khan, the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), cancelled his party’s scheduled election rally in Lahore on Sunday following the eleventh-hour imposition of Section 144, suspending public gatherings in the provincial metropolis, by the caretaker government of Mohsin Naqvi.

The ban on public gatherings in the provincial capital was put in place last night for unspecified “security threats,” hours after Khan announced a fresh rally as an act of defiance against the interim setup’s crackdown on the party’s March 8 rally, which killed at least one supporter of the former prime minister. The district administration cited concerns in the aftermath of an HBL

In a series of tweets, he claimed that Section 144 had been unlawfully imposed exclusively on his election campaign, while other public activities in Lahore, including a political gathering by rival Maryam Nawaz, continued as usual.

“Clearly, like March 8, Punjab [chief minister Naqvi] and police want to provoke clashes to file more sham FIRs against the PTI leadership and workers and use it as a pretext for postponing elections,” he said.

“I AM TELLING ALL PTI WoRKERS NoT To FALL INTo THIS TRAP,” he added, in an all-caps tweet. PeaceFul sTruggle: Separately, during a press conference in Lahore, another Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, Hammad Azhar, announced the party would be postponing their rally, declaring that they didn’t want “more bodies to fall.”

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ISLAMABAD

shahzad paracha

Saudi King Salman has approved the extension of a deferred oil payment facility worth $1.2 billion to Pakistan till February 2024.

According to sources, the Saudi government has extended the facility through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD). “It is expected that Pakistan will avail the extended facility from March 23 to Feb 24,” they claimed.

It may be noted that the facility was going to expire this month due to which the government of Pakistan asked for a

year’s extension.

It is worth mentioning here that the SFD and Economic Affairs executed an export finance agreement for imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products from Saudi Arabia in Feb 2019 on deferred payment basis.

Sources said that Pakistan had imported oil worth $769 million in the first year and $1.11 billion during the second year under the agreement. They said that Pakistan imports oil on a deferred payment basis worth $50 million every month. Under this facility, the Saudi government has tasked Saudi Arabian oil Company (Saudi Aramco) and Saudi Aramco

In four separate notifications issued on Sunday, the electoral watchdog said that until further orders from the respective courts, the by-elections schedule for one NA seat in Balochistan, three in Islamabad, nine in Sindh and 24 in KP is being suspended.

This includes the following constituencies: NA-02 SwatI; NA-03 Swat-II; NA-04 Swat-III; NA-05 Upper; Dir-I; NA-06 Lower Dir-I; NA-07 Lower Dir-II; NA-08 Malakand Protected Area, NA-09 Buner; NA-16 Abbottabad-II; NA-17 Haripur-I; NA-18 Swabi-I; NA-19 Swabi-II; NA-20 Mardan-I; NA-25 Nowshera-I; NA-26 Nowshera-II; NA28 Peshawar-II; NA-30 Peshawar-IV; NA-32 Kohat; NA-34 Karak; NA-38 D I Khan-I; NA-40 Bajaur-I; NA-42 Mohmand; NA-43 Khyber-I; NA-44 Khyber-II; NA-52 Islamabad-I; NA-53 Islamabad-II; NA-54 Islamabad-III; NA-241 Korangi Karachi-III; NA-242 Karachi East-I; NA243 Karachi East-II; NA-244 Karachi East-III; NA-247 Karachi South-II; NA-250 Karachi West-III; NA-252 Karachi West-V; NA-254 Karachi Central-II; NA-256

Karachi Central-IV and NA-265 Quetta-II.

PTI resIgnaTIons and hIgh courTs’ orders: The National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf, after stalling the process for eight months, swiftly moved to accept the resignations of PTI lawmakers, pending since April 2022, in an apparent bid to scuttle the opposition’s purported plan to bring a confidence motion against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

oil payment facility till Feb 2024

Products Trading Company to export crude oil and PoL products wherein PARCo and NRL are designated importers from Pakistan due to long term crude oil agreements with Aramco.

Sources said that the Pakistani government is liable to bear the exchange rate differential due to variation in exchange rates over the period of deferred payments.

It is worth mentioning here that the government is negotiating with the Russian government for importing oil. Reportedly, the first cargo of oil from the world’s largest country will land in Pakistan in the current month.

Silicon Valley Bank failure rattles US startup ecosystem

Maryam castigates Imran for displaying ‘cowardly behaviour’

another aircraft carrying quake relief goods departs for turkey

KARACHI ANAdolu AgeNCy

A cargo plane carrying 90 tons of relief goods, including 1,200 winterised tents, departed for quakehit turkey on Sunday. it was the second aid flight sent to turkey for earthquake victims over the past 48 hours, national disaster Management Authority (ndMA) said in a statement. On Saturday, another cargo plane carrying 90 tons of relief goods arrived in the southern Adana province, the statement added. Khawaja Hassan, the prime minister’s special assistant, is accompanying the relief aid. “Both flights are part of a special air bridge operation which will fly more than 34 chartered cargo aircraft for dispatching tents to turkey,” the statement added. A second ship of the Pakistan navy departed on Saturday with 500 tons of relief supplies for people affected by the twin powerful earthquakes in turkey and Syria on February 6. the ship, PnS Moawin, which departed from Karachi, is carrying 2,600 winterised tents and 38,000 blankets for turkey and 22,000 blankets, ration packets, and generators for Syria. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week announced that Pakistan would send 50,000 winterized tents for earthquake victims in turkey by March 23.

10 dead as tractor trolley plunges into canal in dg Khan

MULTAN the AssoCiAted pRess

A tractor-pulled trolley transporting villagers to a shrine fell into an irrigation canal in the dera Ghazi Khan district of Punjab, killing at least 10 people, a rescue official said. Ahmed Kamal, the head of the rescue service in the district, said 27 of the 46 people onboard the trolley were rescued after the Friday accident by the time the operation was suspended due to darkness. Five bodies were retrieved and some of the rescued were injured, he said. Kamal said another five bodies were retrieved when searchers began again Saturday. He said the dead included three children and seven women. nine people were still unaccounted for Saturday. Such incidents often take place in Pakistan where transportation infrastructure is often substandard, especially in rural villages, and people largely disregard safety standards.

motorway police seize huge cache of weapons near burhan

Imran playIng ‘dIrty polItIcs over dead bodIes’: marrIyum

LAHORE

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miniStERfor information and Broadcasting

Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday said after the failure of deploying all ‘political gimmicks’, Pakistan tehreeke-insaf (Pti) chairman imran Khan was now “playing dirty politics over the dead bodies of poor people to get petty political gains”.

Addressing a press conference here, she castigated the Pti chief that “how many more lives he would use for gaining political mileage”.

the minister said that “imran niazi is hellbent on creating anarchy and lawlessness in the county”. She recalled that when the no-confidence motion was tabled against imran last year, he allegedly concocted the story of cipher and foreign interference without thinking that this would damage Pakistan’s foreign relations.

Marriyum said now “imran niazi is tendering apologies to the United States and giving clarifications over his selfconstructed cipher conspiracy”.

She said the Pti chief was not bothered a bit by dragging the country towards anarchy just for his “political vested interest”.

She said the former prime minister was using the said tactics to regain power at any cost. For these reasons, the minister said imran decided to “play with the cipher” and coerced the Speaker, deputy speaker of the national Assembly and even the president to violate the Constitution under his nefarious political agenda.

She said behind closed doors, imran offered life lifetime extension to the former army chief, but when his offer was rejected he started “attacking national institutions”.

Marriyum said despite all his efforts, he could not spread anarchy and

lawlessness in the country and his alleged desire of the “dismemberment of Pakistan after the fall of his government was not fulfilled”.

“From cipher manipulation, he shifted his propaganda to imported government and foreign conspiracy to gain his nefarious designs,” she maintained. She said that every single political gimmick of the Pti leadership, including allegations of imported government, had failed miserably. the minister alleged that “imran Khan handed over the country to the iMF and played with the country’s economy”.

Marriyam Aurangzeb said during the

Imran greets President Xi Jinping, welcomes KSA-Iran’s resumption of diplomatic ties

Former prime minister and Pakistan tehreek-e-insaf

(Pti) Chairman imran Khan has congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping on his re-election for a third term.

“Heartiest congratulations to President Xi Jinping on his re-election for a third term as China’s President,” the former prime minister said in a brief statement on twitter. in a historic move, Xi Jinping was handed an unprecedented third term as President of China. the appointment comes after he was handed in October another five years as head of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) and the military.

Meanwhile, the former prime minister and Pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (Pti) chairman welcomed the normalization of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and iran. taking to twitter, the former premier shared a news story regarding the restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and iran, welcoming the development.

imran Khan noted that his government had taken an initiative to bring iran and Saudi Arabia together for dialogue “as part of our policy of wider engagement for peace and unity of the Ummah”. He also appreciated

China’s role in the diplomatic breakthrough.

iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish relations after seven years of hostility after reaching an agreement in Beijing. According to a joint statement, tehran and Riyadh agreed to resume diplomatic relations and re-open embassies within two months. the agreement was reached between Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme national Security Council of iran, with Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban and Wang Yi, China’s most senior diplomat.

Pti tenure, the practice of horse-trading during the Senate elections was rampant and at the time of no trust vote, an audio leak of imran surfaced about the purchasing of loyalties of legislators exposing his so-called democratic credentials.

“When imran’s narrative of foreign conspiracy and the imported regime fell flat, he started his long march during which the firing incident occurred and he started the “politics of dead bodies”. She recalled that a television channel reporter Sadaf naeem ran after imran’s container in the discharge of professional responsibilities, but she was not allowed to take the interview of imran. Rather, unfortunately she met an accident and was crushed under the container but the PML-n leadership never accused imran of her death, the minister upheld.

the minister alleged that during the Pti’s rule journalists were arrested, and kidnapped and their ribs were broken, and at the international level, imran earned the name of a “predator of journalists”.

She questioned how many “dead bodies imran would need for his dirty politics”? the minister said that on imran’s directions, provincial ministers of KP and Punjab were asked to write letters to sabotage the deal with the iMF.

Former punjab governor sarwar joins pml-Q

LAHORE stAff RepoRt

Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, a former Punjab governor who was removed from his position by his former Pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (Pti) party almost a year ago, has announced his joining of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q). Sarwar, who made the announcement after meeting with the party’s supremo Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, had been offered to join the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and PML-Q earlier this year, as the battle for the “Punjab throne” intensified during the assembly dissolution episode in January. Reportedly, Hussain had met the former Pti leader twice back then and offered him to join his party. Local media reported the former governor had decided to join the PML-Q two days ago, and the official announcement was made today. during a press conference Sunday, the politician said his first priority would be to “strengthen the party” and expressed his dissatisfaction with the current state of political affairs in the country, saying that politicians are not willing to sit together in the most difficult of situations. When speaking about his accomplishments during his tenure in the governor’s house, Sarwar said he appointed the university’s vice-chancellor on merit.

Judge’s sons serve defamation notice to lawyer over misconduct claim

ISLAMABAD

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ISLAMABAD

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the Motorway Police, in a successful operation on Sunday, foiled an attempt to smuggle a large cache of weapons near Motorway M1, Burhan. the recovered arms included 81 pistols of 30 bore, 72 pistols of 9mm, an M-14 rifle, 2,700 live rounds of SMG, 9,700 live rounds of 30 bore, and 165 magazines. the accused were believed to be bringing the weapons from Peshawar. According to the Motorway Police, a suspicious vehicle was signalled to stop near Burhan. However, the accused drove away from the spot, prompting a high-speed chase by the police. the accused drove recklessly, but they were eventually caught. On searching the vehicle, a large number of weapons were found. the accused managed to escape from the spot, and the search for them is ongoing. Further legal action is being taken against the accused. the recovery of such a large amount of weapons is a major success for the Motorway Police, and it will help to maintain peace and security in the area.

the sons of Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar naqvi have issued a legal notice to Barrister Mian dawood, demanding a public apology within 15 days for defaming the Supreme Court, according to the news. dawood had previously filed a misconduct complaint against Justice naqvi in the Supreme Judicial Council, alleging that the judge and his family members were involved in malpractices and the misuse of power during his tenure in a criminally-designed pattern.

the complaint was filed seeking Justice naqvi’s removal after his name emerged in connection with recent audio leaks, purportedly involving him, former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi, and others.

the lawyer further accused the judge of using his position to help his sons and daughter study abroad and gain financial benefits from Zahid Rafique. in response, Sayed tassaduq Mustafa naqvi and Sayed tassaduq Murtaza naqvi, Justice naqvi’s sons, have asked

be fashionable in Pti circles, but they are not the reason why Shah Mehmood Qureshi made bail.

dawood to issue an apology.

“You are also to issue a corrigendum in the same mode and manner, failing which, you prepare yourself to face legal action (civil and criminal) for injuring the reputations of the undersigned, as an integral part of a reputed establishment,” reads the legal notice.

“Such proceedings will include but are not limited to, a suit for damages (inclusive of all costs, etc), and these remedies are without prejudice to any

the ball for the long spells in the 1982-3 series against india that got him 40 wickets. Or does imran have any special reason for not wanting to admit to backache?

“in response to your allegations, it is informed that the undersigned(s) possess a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of London, a master’s degree in law from indiana University Bloomington, and a speciality in business and commercial law,” the brothers stated. they further stated that they have been practising before the Lahore High Court (LHC) since August of the year 2017 and are fully financially independent.

Ididn’tknow imran Khan was so sick. in his bail application to the islamabad High Court, he said he had piles and had suffered a rectal prolapse. the latter usually happens to women, according to the internet, and old people. But as we all know, imran is a young man, and particularly appeals to the youth vote. that prolapse is pretty bad. it can lead to rectal incontinence. So if there’s a sudden brown stain, and an unmistakable smell, well, the court should have given him bail.

i’m a little confused. imran has been sitting around only recently, so why would he have developed piles. Well, piles might

As a matter of fact, the rectal prolapse path isn’t the one you should be taking. that can easily be examined. On the other hand, backache is a much better option. no examination, no diagnostic test available, can say you don’t have a backache. if the patient claims he’s got it, he’s got it. the doctor might identify the reason: spinal misalignment, a torn muscle, whatever. Or he might not. the judge might be as disbelieving as he wants, but he can’t reject the claim. He may allow the accused appearance lying on a stretcher, but he can’t deny the claim.

imran can make the claim better than most other people, as he suffered a stress fracture of the back, back in 1983, from pounding in

it will be interesting to see how imran balances appearances at campaign rallies with his claim that his wounds prevent him from appearing in court. Of course, there’s been one angry video claiming the piles and prolapse claims are propaganda. After all, they don’t fit in with imran’s image of an allconquering hero. it wasn’t a campaign rally, but a rally to express solidarity with the judiciary, which ended badly for one Pti supporter, who ended up dead. What were the torture marks on him, who inflicted them, is being disputed, but no one has denied that he was killed. the Pti claims that he was killed in police custody; the police merely shuffles its feet and gets embarrassed. that he was killed in police custody is possible. But it hasn’t happened for some

other remedy that the undersigned is entitled to as per law,” the legal notice added. the duo termed the allegations of the complainant criminally motivated and an attempt to blackmail and defame them.

“All you have done is reveal yourself as a jealous, hateful man in crisis running malicious campaigns against people you cannot even dream to stand by,” they said, adding the actions will be dealt with by the law.

time. the Pti supporters need to man up, for they could end up in police custody these days. Who said being part of a human shield was going to be easy?

Somebody should ask Ch Parvez Elahi if it’s easy. After all, he is now the Pti’s President. the great actor, Qawi Khan, passed away in Canada first, but the delay was not because of him. it should be remembered that Qawi, who played so many memorable roles in all formats, went a little offbeat when he played a policeman in Andhera Ujala. it is with such cops that Ch Pervez may have to deal with, now that Muhammad Khan Bhatti, his fixer, is singing like a canary, and who is said to have recorded a confessional statement under Section 164 CrPC, which implies that the statement is before a magistrate, who has assured himself that there is no police pressure. i seem to hear a shadowy police spokesman saying that only the Army has claimed noninterference. the police are there

the two said the complainant even did not qualify to be called a legal practitioner, since he had not even attended a law school, and added that it was in itself a blatant violation of the law and rules applicable to advocates that, on the one hand, he poses himself as a lawyer and also operates media platforms for his publicity, which is also clothed with defeat and shame.

“Before you go on to point fingers at the undersigned(s), provide us with a record of your career as a legal practitioner and justify exactly how you became a lawyer,” they asked the complainant.

to provide service as before. i was interested to see that Pakistan has got billions of dollars stuck in foreign aid. We shouldn’t expect much money from the World Bank. not with its Chief Economist an indian, indirect Singh Gill. He went to St Stephen’s College, new delhi, before doing his doctorate fro the University of Chicago. And then there’s Gia Gopinath, the Calcutaborn Harvard Phd who’s dMd of the iMF after having been its Chief Economist. no wonder they haven’t been releasing their tranche! i know these indians are probably ‘coconuts’ (White on the inside), but does anyone remember the trouble we had with FAtF? the sheer persistence with which india tried to get Pakistan kept on the gey list, or better yet, blacklisted, says that if need be, RAW will kidnap Gill’s and Gopinath’s relatives, and threaten to torture them unless Pakistan is not given any money.

LAHORE stAff RepoRt

busInessmen condemn punJab govt’s ‘meddlIng’ In trade polItIcs

ISLAMABAD stAff RepoRt

tHEbusiness community on Sunday expressed its serious concern over the involvement of Punjab caretaker government in trade politics and driving campaign for a particular group, violating the election code of conduct, as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rules bar a caretaker set-up from performing such acts. the Election Act 2017 unequivocally restricts a caretaker set-up to only run everyday affairs of the incumbent government as well as assist the ECP.

they said that the Punjab Caretaker Minister for industries, Commerce,

investment and Skill development S.M

tanveer has started the election drive in favour of the United Business Group (UBG) in various official functions and meetings.

in a hurriedly called meeting held here today, the representatives of various trade organizations, chambers of commerce and industrial associations of all major sectors of the country, have condemned such act of the Punjab Caretaker Minister, as he is visiting different chambers in interior Sindh along with the office-bearers of the UBG to persuade the members of his rival group of the Businessmen Panel (BMP) for voting in favour his group, which has been the loser for the last three consecutive years in FPCCi elections.

ptI lawmaker from Karachi ‘picked up’

KARACHI stAff RepoRt

they said that Caretaker Minister of industries has revived the Punjab Chamber of Commerce Coordination Committee, which includes the representatives of chambers, industrialists and govt officers with a view to take steps to solve the problems faced by the industry of Punjab, but actually this committee is being used to force the voters of BMP to join the UBG, which is totally unfair. they appealed the caretaker government to work only for ensuring the provision of all possible facilities to the investors instead of indulging its ministries in political affairs of the business community. they also criticized him to attend the UBG 41st meeting at Gohar Group of Companies head office in Karachi as a

‘Sponsorship Hajj Scheme’ would help in generating $194m, hopes minister

ISLAMABAD

stAff RepoRt

Minister for Religious Affairs and interfaith Harmony

Mufti Abdul Shakoor has expressed the hope that the Sponsorship Hajj Scheme would help generate $194 million out of the total $284 million required for the smooth sailing of Hajj operation 2023.

He said the Ministry of Finance had pledged to provide the remaining approximately $90 million dollars.

Shedding light on the Sponsorship Hajj Scheme, the minister said it was introduced for overseas Pakistanis to meet the shortage of foreign exchange and fulfil the total quota of Hajj 179,210 pilgrims assigned by the Saudi government to Pakistan this year.

yusuf raza gilani hails services of lawyers for democracy

MULTAN stAff RepoRt

Former prime minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) central leader Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani hailed the services of lawyers for the promotion of democracy, here on Sunday. talking to a delegation of lawyers led by High Court Bar Association

President Rana Asif Saeed and People Lawyers

Forum Shiekh Ghias Ul Haq, Syed Yusuf Raza

Gilani said if the lawyers had not extended sacrifices, then there would have been another shape of democracy. He said that the Pakistan Peoples Party gave the Constitution to the country. Similarly, he restored the Constitution to its original shape. Gilani maintained that he was jailed for 15 years but he did not become part of any deal. He stated that opponents could not bear jail hardships for even one week. the High Court Bar Association’s delegation also extolled the services of Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani for democracy. Gilani also appreciated matchless uplift work done during Gilani’s tenure.

Karachi games will become sindh games in future: tessori

KARACHI stAff RepoRt

Sindh Governor Kamran Khan tessori said Sunday that Karachi Games will become Sindh Games in future and similar sports activities will be held in the whole of Sindh. He said this while addressing the prize distribution ceremony of the donkey derby race held on the last day of the Karachi Games 2023. Karachi Games were not held after 2008. during PSL in Karachi, a coward incident took place in the city after which it was decided that large-scale sports competitions should be organized in Karachi. “i would like to thank Administrator Karachi dr. Syed Saifur Rehman for working hard day and night to organize the Karachi Games in a peaceful atmosphere. i congratulate the winners of the donkey derby Race in Karachi Games, all the participants of the race have worked hard and this hard work and dedication should be appreciated.

revolutionary poet Jalib remembered on 30th death anniversary

ISLAMABAD stAff RepoRt

the 30th death anniversary of revolutionary poet Habib Jalib was observed on Sunday to pay glowing tributes to him for his notable services in the field of literature. Habib Jalib was born on 24 March 1928 in Hoshiarpur of indian Punjab. He was titled as the poet of the people by his followers. Habib Jalib migrated to Pakistan after the partition and worked with a newspaper as a proofreader. His simple and attractive style touched the hearts of people and remained loyal to his progressive school of thought despite being jailed for several times but also remained resilient when it comes to his poetry. He is among the most influential urdu poets in Pakistan, who supported democratic ideals and expressively opposed martial laws and authoritarian rule. Some of his famous literary works of the great political and social activist of his time include “Zulmat Ko Zia”, “Watan ko Kuch nahi Khatra”, “Main ne Uss Se Yeh Kaha” and “Aisay dastoor Ko”.

He said the federal cabinet had approved the Hajj Policy 2023, therefore, the ministry had decided to collect the Hajj applications from March 16 to 31 through 14 designated banks and hold Hajj balloting on April 5, according to the schedule.

He made it clear that the ministry was charging the Hajj expenses from the government pilgrims as it would be spent on their facilities throughout the holy journey.

According to the financial breakup, the estimated cost of Hajj from the northern Region (islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Rahim Yar Khan, Sialkot) was Rs 1,175,000, while for the Sponsorship Hajj Scheme (northern Region) was approximately $4,325, he said, adding that the estimated cost of Hajj from Southern Region (Karachi,

caretaker minister which was also attended by the UBG secretary general and other leadership. the Caretaker industries minister has himself admitted on media that he had visited Sahiwal and Okara Chambers along with the chairman of the UBG to reinforce his group. He also visited different Sidh chambers, asking his office-bearers to visit all chambers in interior Sindh for the election campaign for the FPCCi elections. the minister said on media, “We are working together and jointly covering the campaign which should also be done here in Sindh. Please ensure and promise with me that from today UBG is being active now and we had to cover every chamber in Sindh.”

Quetta, Sukkur) was Rs1,165,000 while for the Sponsorship Hajj Scheme (Southern Region) was approximately $4,285. the minister assured that in case of savings from the above-mentioned Hajj package, it would be refunded to the Hajj pilgrims through the bank accounts provided by them, adding that the applicants of the Sponsorship Hajj Scheme having no bank accounts, would be provided money in cash. He said last year, on his personal request, the mandatory Hajj expenses were reduced by the Saudi Minister for Hajj and Umrah, as compared to the previous year. But this time, the global inflation had increased the cost of facilities in Pakistan as well as in Saudi Arabia and apart from this, the fall in the value of Pakistani rupee had a significant impact on the Hajj package, he maintained. Abdul Shakoor said last year, our pilgrims were not able to get train facility, but this year, they could avail of the train facility in Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat. However, the pilgrims would have to bear the cost of this facility, he added.

PTI takes out ‘postponed’ rally today as admin grants permission

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Azhar alleged the murder of party supporter Ali Bilal, also known as Zill-i-Shah, had been covered up, but emphasised that the party sought a peaceful struggle.

While addressing the media, Azhar indicated the Pti would announce the new rally date soon, and that it could potentially take place tomorrow. He urged party workers to remain prepared for any future developments.

Azhar pointed out the Pti had halted its rallies in March and november last year, citing the fear of violence. However, he made it clear that the party would not give up its fight and would not be intimidated.

“the rally scheduled for today is being postponed. Workers should prepare themselves. it is possible that the rally will take place tomorrow or after tomorrow, but it could be held tomorrow as well. We will provide an update shortly,” he added.

ILLEGAL MOVE: the party has challenged the imposition of Section 144, with its leader Babar Awan filing a plea in the election tribunal on the instructions of Khan.

the petition argues the imposition of Section 144 violates paragraph 15 of the Supreme Court’s order and that the routes of the rally and the cricket match are different.

the party asserts that the election campaign is their constitutional right and that the provincial government is illegally stopping their campaign.

Speaking to the media later, Awan reiterated that the timings and routes of the match and rally are distinct.

Earlier in the day, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, deputy chairman of the party, flanked by Chaudhry, approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the move, which the party said it views as unjustified.

Qureshi claimed the caretaker government wanted to “create a clash” so that the cricket game could be canceled and reasons for arrests of Pti workers be created.

“We have decided to remain peaceful and not lose our patience in front of the chaos that the government had created,” he added.

the Pti petition filed in the LHC said the government’s orders regarding the imposition of Section 144 be set aside in the interest of “justice, fair play, and equity”. it also said that the government should provide sufficient security to the Pti rally. in a separate move, Pti leader Yasmin Rashid has submitted a request against the provincial government’s decision to ban rallies in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office in Lahore.

ECP AskEd tO dECLArE sECtIOn 144

IMPOsItIOn ILLEGAL: President Pakistan

tehreek-e-insaf (Pti) Central Punjab dr Yasmin Rashid on Sunday wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on the issue of stopping the Pti rally. it has been stated in the letter that the Election Commission of Pakistan has issued the election schedule in Punjab, following which Pti announced a rally and the caretaker government imposed Section 144 [to stop the rally]. it was further mentioned that the rally was also brutally manhandled by the police earlier, due to which one of their activist was martyred. the Pti’s rally is going to be held at 2pm while HBL PSL match is at 7pm. in the letter, the electoral watchdog has been asked to take notice of the caretaker government’s role and declare the implementation of Section 144 illegal. it should be noted that after the announcement by Pti Chairman imran Khan to hold a rally today, the caretaker Punjab government has summoned the Rangers by imposing Section 144 in Lahore. CEC COVEns MEEtInG tO rEVIEw PtI

PLEAs: Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja Sunday called an important meeting of the commission tomorrow (Monday) to discuss the petitions submitted to the ECP by the Pakistan tehreek-i-insaf leaders against the imposition of Section 144 which prohibits any rallies and public gatherings in Lahore. the ECP on its official twitter handle announced: “the chief election commissioner has called an important meeting of the commission tomorrow at 10:30 am on the requests of dr Babar Awan and dr Yasmeen Rashid of Pti regarding the implementation of Section 144 by the Punjab government and the ban on election rallies.” Earlier in the day, the Pti challenged the imposition of Section 144 in Lahore in the Election Commission of Pakistan. On the direction of Pti Chairman and former prime minister imran Khan, Babar Awan filed the petition in ECP on Sunday, praying the commission to order the withdrawal of the Section 144.

Awan argued in the application that running election campaign is the constitutional right of the Pti and the ban on rallies is illegal.

it was further stated in the application that the Punjab government has violated the Supreme Court’s decision by imposing Section 144. Rallies are being blocked on the pretext of PSL matches, although routes of the rally and the PSL match are miles apart, it said and added the Pti rally will end at 5:30 pm while the PSL match will start at 7:00 pm. the plea further said that imposition of Section 144 was not witnessed in any city during the PSL match before this one.

A Pakistan tehreek-i-insaf (Pti) lawmaker was reportedly “picked up” from his Karachi residence by unidentified plainclothesmen, according to the opposition party’s provincial spokesperson. Arsalan taj Hussain, the party’s lawmaker from PS-102 (Karachi East-iV), and the general secretary in the city, was seized a day after he criticised Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and Sindh information Minister Sharjeel Memon during a press conference. Additionally, Hussain alleged that the PPP’s ally, the Jamaat-iislami, was the “PPP’s B team.” the Pti spokesperson claimed the police raided Hussain’s house and ransacked it, while the lawmaker’s mother accused the police of taking her son without a warrant and alleged that 20 to 25 people had come to arrest him. the party, on twitter, has shared a video of the parliamentarian being abducted. “PPP has repeatedly showed their true colours, will the media now speak up!?” it tweeted. Responding to the development, Fawad Chaudhry, senior vice president of the party, demanded Hussain’s “immediate release”. the police, on the other hand, said they have received a complaint about Hussain’s disappearance and are investigating. Meanwhile, the Pti has criticised the arrest of its party member, and raids were also conducted at the residences of its provincial lawmakers Khurram Sherzaman and Raja Azhar. the two were not apprehended as they were not at home, but Azhar’s family was reportedly harassed.

saudi aramco earns $161b profit for 2022

CONTINUED fROM BACK pAgE

the profits fuelled overall economic growth in Saudi Arabia, the world´s biggest crude exporter, which officials put at 8.7% in 2022, the highest rate in the G20. Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Saudi Arabia has sought both to open up and diversify its oilreliant economy, spending heavily on much-hyped projects like a futuristic mega-city known as nEOM. Officials have touted growth in non-oil activities, which increased 6.2% in the fourth quarter of 2022 over the same period in 2021, according to data published on thursday by the national statistics authority. Yet government spending “is a major driver for this growth” and that “will always be to some extent linked to oil revenue”, underscoring Aramco’s central role in the economy, said Justin Alexander, director of the consultancy Khalij Economics. Energy prices are expected to stay elevated in 2023, in part because of production cuts approved last October by the OPEC+ that Riyadh co-leads with Moscow — a move harshly criticised by Washington. Aramco’s facilities have in the past suffered drone and missile attacks claimed by Yemen’s iran-backed Huthi rebels, most recently about a year ago. But a surprise deal announced on Friday between Riyadh and tehran to restore diplomatic ties severed in 2016 could mitigate the risk in the months to come. Aramco floated 1.7% of its shares on the Saudi bourse in december 2019, generating $29.4 billion in the world’s biggest initial public offering.

silicon valley bank failure rattles us startup ecosystem

CONTINUED fROM BACK pAgE

Bennett added that an intervention should not be viewed as “bailing out ‘the 1’ or ‘Big tech’,” pointing to the “thousands of the most hardworking, talented individuals” at impacted companies who are currently “struggling.” According to the news website Semafor, hedge funds are offering to front cash to SVB’s corporate clients, but at a 20 to 40 percent discount. Beyond that, Adam Arrigo, boss of virtual gig platform Wave, warned his fellow tech entrepreneurs: “Whether or not you had money in SVB, you are not unaffected. this is going to materially impact everyone.” Like others, Bennett says he is also concerned about the fate of other banks favored by the tech industry, including California’s First Republic, whose stock price fell 30 percent in two days. Some see in the back-to-back failure of two banks, SVB and Silvergate Bank, an example of the financial system’s precariousness. “What happened to everyone talking about how banks (SVB, Silvergate) are safe and better than Crypto dEFi?” tweeted US investor Arjun Sethi. deFi, or decentralized finance, allows users to theoretically access their funds at any time and without intermediary, but comes without deposit protections or regulations.

Plantation of 9,000 saplings afoot to make barren land cultivable in Chitral

CHITRAL stAff RepoRt the Soil and Water Conservation department Khyber Pahtunkhwa Chitral is converting 102 acres barren land at dulomuch in cultivable one. Under this project, one water plant, four check dams, land leveling , terracing and plantation i.e. Planting includes 4,000 olive trees, 3,000 wild plants and 2,000 fruit trees included. director General KP Muhammad Yasin Wazir also inaugurated the plantation campaign by planting an olive tree. in this regard, a simple ceremony was also held at dolomus.

talking to our correspondent, the owner of this land Colonel Retired Shahzada Muhammad Sharif said that before this we have visited offices of Water Management and many other departments times and ago but we are very much disappointed. Since we approached the office of Soil and Water Conservation department at Chitral, by writing a simple application, they sent their technical team and started work on it immediately. Colonel Sharif said that if all the departments in Pakistan start working diligently and honestly like the Soil and Water Conservation, then all the barren land of

Pakistan can be cultivated and other development works can also be completed on time. director General Soil and Water Conservation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Yasin Wazir said that before this it was a slope and barren land and we worked on it and made it under cultivation and we are also planting olives, almonds, pomegranates and other fruit plants on it. it will also be benefit the landowners financially and wild plants are also being planted in it to control the burden on forests and people cut and burn the branches of these trees for cooking and heating purposes. He said that it will not only benefit the landowners

financially and it will also promote tourism as it will attract wildlife and colourful birds, but it will also have a very positive impact on climate change and global warming and it will have good effects.

Mujibur Rehman, who is the district officer of this department, said that this year, 8000 kanals of barren land are being cultivated in Chitral, on which they will be planted fruitful and wild plants, which will be transformed into gardens. People can also grow vegetables and get financial benefit from it by selling fresh and dry fruits. He said that for this purpose any landlord can come to our office and submit a simple application, after which

80% of the expenses are granting by our department , while the farmer contribute only 20% of total cost.

Prince Shuja Riazuddin said that before this land was barren, now soil and water conservation team visited this barren land and making this land under cultivation, it will not only benefit us financially, but when this garden succeeds and becomes a forest. it will also have a very good impact on the surrounding environment. He said that when the trees will succeed on this land which was completely useless, how, colourful birds will come here and will also impact positively on climate change he added.

Death of a PTI supporter

The death of PTI supporter Zil-e-Shah has fallen victim to political jockeying

tHE death of Pti supporter Zil-e-Shah was big enough issue for the Punjab government to have the caretaker cM address a press conference in the company of iGP Usman anwar. though the press conference included a cogent timeline of events, as well as corroborating cctV footage, Zil-e-Shah’s unfortunate death remained a political football, something which could conceivably have been avoided if the government had not been so casual about imposing Section 144 crPc in lahore. the Pti is trying to portray the death of Zil-e-Shah as a death in police custody deliberately committed. this seems problematic, for it is not clear why the police would pick on him, a special person, who was hardly in any sort of Pti inner circle. the police claim he escaped after being arrested, and was hit by a vehicle, whose driver dropped his corpse off at the Services Hospital. the driver of the vehicle, the police claim, has been apprehended, and is said to have confessed the accidental killing. the police claim has been seized upon by the PMl(N) as well as the caretaker Punjab government, to portray the Pti as a party willing to lie for political advantage.

the episode, which is by no means yet over, has revealed two related and uncomfortable truths First, the caretaker government is not as neutral or evenhanded as it should be. instead of being the main driver of a fair poll, it may well prove to be an obstacle. Second, it shows up the incompatibility of normal election activity with impositions of Section 144. Even on Sunday, the Pti wanted to take out a rally from party chief imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence, only to have Section 144 imposed again, leading to the rally being cancelled. the whispers that the Punjab elections, which have been slated for april 30 by the EcP, will not be held are growing louder, and the EcP is to take up the Section 144 issuing a meeting on Monday(today) after being moved by the Pti.

Whatever the result of the meeting, Zil-e-Shah’s death remains a conundrum. only an inquiry by neutral observers will resolve the issue. it is necessary that this is done, otherwise the political parties will try to exploit the death of this innocent. only if the facts are established by an impartial panel will it be possible to end the charges and countercharges.

Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Editor

M. A. Niazi

Joint Editor Umar Aziz Executive Editor

Need for non-austerity policy

Interest rate hikes are deepening the crisis

It strongly appears that the Federal Reserve has adopted an overboard monetary tightening policy, given a significant global aggregate supply shock determinacy of inflation, made all the more worse by the war in Ukraine. in a recent interview to Democracy Now, Nobel Economics laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz pointed out in this regard ‘…as we look at international economic crisis, soaring inflation, devalued currencies, nations across the globe confronting catastrophic debt crisis…’ He pointed out in this regard ‘Well you’ve described it. What concerns me right now, is that all of this is being made worse by monetary policies. the Federal Reserve raising interest rates when the problem is not excess aggregate demand. the problem is supply-side interruptions, demand shifts caused by the very forces that you described– the war, the pandemic. let me be frank, raising interest rates designed to slow the economy down, increase unemployment, is going to be not the right policy for addressing the inflation that we face.’ Raising interest rates more than needed will most likely accentuate inflation in both the USa, and even more so in developing countries suffering from imported inflation as well, at the back of lack of investment likely leading to lower supply; in addition to causing capital flight from developing countries, along with enhancing their difficult debt situation.

Noted economist, isabella M. Weber in a recent interview pointed towards the need for lesser reliance on policy of monetary tightening, and more innovative policies at the fiscal side, given the underlying significant role of global aggregate supply shock in raising and keeping inflation at a high level. She pointed out in her recent interview to ‘60 Minutes australia’ as follows: ‘i think it is a very painful way of fighting inflation, and i think there are alternatives. it’s a way of fighting inflation that often makes the people, who have suffered from inflation, suffer once more. the idea of using interest rate to tackle inflation is a very roundabout way of going about it. it’s a bit like as if you had a fire in your kitchen, and you were going to flood your whole house. So, therefore, i think given the nature of inflation that we have been observing, it will be better to choose more targeted measures, rather than to simply rely on interest rate hikes. …Due to the enormous pain that is being induced by interest rate hikes, i think governments should step up, and should be creative, and try to devise surgical tools to deal with the kind of inflation that we are facing today.’

Pakistan, for instance, has seen sharp and significant increase in policy rate over the last one-and-ahalf year or so; indicating likely over-reliance on monetary tightening to control inflation, when there is clearly a strong supply-side role of determination of inflation, in addition to capital flight also contributing to the imported inflation channel. a March 2 Financial Times article ‘Pakistan raises interest rates to 20%, the highest in asia’ pointed out in this regard ‘Pakistan’s central bank has raised lending rates by 300 basis points to 20 percent, the highest of any country in asia, asit struggles to contain rising prices and a deepening financial crisis.’

Moreover, rather than providing developing countries with debt moratorium/relief, and meaningful allocation of special drawing rights (SDRs), they are being asked to practice austerity, that is reducing aggregate demand and investment levels in the economy; once again not allowing greater fiscal space for enhancing supply, and reducing cost-push inflation, not to mention moving towards greener,

Political stability key to development

The need is for development, not a blame-game

Political stability denotes perennial peaceful conditions in a country. it owes its prevalence to a host of contributory factors including good governance, social harmony, absence of social fault lines, a strong justice-dispensing edifice, absence of economic disparities and social justice.they collectively represent the culture of a country. Studies and Researches done on the impact of political stability on economic growth and prosperity have invariably drawn the conclusions that there was a strong correlation between political stability and economic development. they actually complement each other.

the traditional view about economic development is that it was dependent on four factors of production namely land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship. they may be the vital ingredients to nudge economic growth but they could not prove productive without political stability acting as a catalyst. this is corroborated by the fact that some countries, in spite of having abundance of economic resources, but lacking political stability, remain underdeveloped or less developed whereas others with comparable amounts of development ingredients with political stability have achieved dizzying heights in the domain of economic prosperity. this reality corroborates the maxim that development is always culture-bound.

Germany, other EU countries and some asian states such as Korea, Singapore, china and Malaysia, are the best examples of development being culture-bound. it was after the rise of Germany from the ashes and emergence of EU countries as economic powerhouses in the backdrop of World War ii that the idea of development being culture-bound gained universal recognition and acceptance.

the bottom line is that no country can embark on the path of sustained economic development without the prevalence of political stability. it is imperative for providing a congenial environment for development of state institutions, strengthening democracy, promoting development in the industrial and agricultural domains, attracting direct foreign investment, building a competitive economic environment in the country, nudgingintellectual development , creating an export-oriented industrial machine and above all improving governance.

Unfortunately Pakistan belongs to the group

of countries where political stability has remained an elusive dream ever since its creation. it has great potential for economic development owing to the fact that it has a very strong agricultural base vital for the country’s transformation into an industrial economy and a hydro-power potential of well over 60,000 MW. the question arises as to why Pakistan has failed to use these factors as engines of growth? the answer is very simple.it has been a victim of self-created and self-inflicted political instability and tragedies. Both the military rulers and the politicians are equally responsible for the elusive political stability. their shenanigans and politics of self-aggrandizement respectively are the root-cause of Pakistan being in the economic mess at the moment.

However, the political instability which has prevailed in the country since 2013 is greatly responsible for pushing the country towards the edge of a precipice. Regrettably there seems no end to it.

Political rivalry which is a hallmark of democratic dispensation has been transformed into political enmity akin to tribal enmity. False egos and politics of self-aggrandizement are the main stumbling blocks in the way of defusing the volatile situation and averting economic disaster that stares us in the face. the situation demands impregnable unity among all the political forces and employing their collective wisdom to winch the country out of the economic mess that it is trapped in, resolve contentious issues regarding governance and the way we elect our representatives. that is the only way to ensure political stability in the country and create a congenial environment for economic development. to say that immediate elections are the only and desired prescription to tide over the situation is not a convincing proposition. We have seen the consequences of elections held under the prevalent system of governance invariably leading to the aggravation of political instability in the country. Repeating that exercise without effecting required reforms enjoying consensus of all the major political entities is tantamount to insanity. in the words of Einstein doing the same thing again and again and expecting dif-

There is a need for national dialogue to look at the debilitating factors in our system of governance, economic policies and the mode of elections with a view to introduce required reforms that guarantee political stability vitally needed for changing the economic profile of the country. In view of the present political gridlock probably the praetorian powers and judiciary can play a facilitating role in kickstarting the dialogue

ferent results is insanity. our system of governance and electing the public representatives promotes power politics and an elitist culture fraught with in-built avenues of corruption and misuse of power. it is indeed the root cause of our economic and political woes and failure of successive governments to deliver. the result is that neither the country has moved ahead nor the people— the real owners of this country— have seen any improvement in their lives. there are no two opinions about the fact that the economic crisis gripping the country at the moment is a cumulative result of the incompetence, flawed policies of the successive regimes and their focus on building their own fortunes rather than promoting the economic wellbeing of the masses. However the major blame for the current economic mess lies on the incumbent regime and its predecessor. there is no way to quick-fix the economic aberrations and if somebody says that the elections would bring forth the miracle to revive the economy and mitigate the sufferings of the people, he is surely trying to befool the people. in the prevailing circumstances when a party is unabashedly blaming the state institutions of being biased against it and is already hurling allegations of rigging, i do not think it is advisable to go ahead with elections. Who can guarantee that imran Khan would accept the results if he loses or if he wins the opposition parties would let him rule the roost peacefully? there is a need for national dialogue to look at the debilitating factors in our system of governance, economic policies and the mode of elections with a view to introduce required reforms that guarantee political stability vitally needed for changing the economic profile of the country. in view of the present political gridlock probably the praetorian powers and judiciary can play a facilitating role in kick-starting the dialogue between all the political stakeholders. Perhaps it is a good opportunity for the establishment to refurbish its image by playing a positive and neutral role in bringing the political stakeholders to the negotiating table.

Malik Muhammad Ashraf is an academic. He can be contacted at: ashpak10@gmail.com.

resilient, and more inclusive economies. Here, it needs to be clarified that austerity, as elaborated above in the light of economic literature, is different from reducing inefficient expenditure, belt-tightening with regard to running of government, and expenditure rationalization.

in restraining the making of needed development expenditure, austerity allows further perpetuation of elite capture, since lack of development expenditure/investment into sectors, for instance, like health, education, transportation, and employment/economic opportunities does not empower the masses, in turn, keeping their influence over public policy weak, while that of elites with greater say in public policy, further perpetuates their grip.

in her book The Capital Order: how economists invented austerity and paved the way to fascism ’ published in 2022, noted economist clara E. Mattei highlighted the dangers of austerity in terms of strengthening elite capture as follows: ‘if one subscribes to the argument that austerity is a tool for managing a capitalist economy, as Keynesian economists did and do, then one might believe that a continued deployment of austerity across societies and economies is a form of political irrationality– a wrong economic policy based on wrong economic theory that has never succeeded in achieving its stated ends. …against its promise to stabilize the world economy, the austerity project of the 1920s was a spectacular failure: its reduction of aggregate demand… is cited by many as a cause of the Great Depression… austerity’s capacity to impose and reinforce class structure is the true measure of its efficacy; it was a servant to, and indeed the primary safeguard of, capital order.’

The writer holds PhD in Economics degree from the University of Barcelona, and previously worked at International Monetary Fund.Prior to this, he did MSc. in Economics from the University of York (United Kingdom), and worked at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Statistics (Pakistan), among other places. He is author of Springer published book (2016) ‘The economic impact of International Monetary Fund programmes: institutional quality, macroeconomic stabilization and economic growth’.He tweets @omerjaved7

Editor’s mail

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan today exclusively

Insensitive society

tHE North Nazimabad area of Karachi recently got a new assistant commissioner who is a competent officer in his own right in addition to being a poet who also happens to be a singer. People on social media have often criticised him for his appearance and attire. He is judged not on the basis of performance but because of his appearance even though he also has a marketing and fashion design degree from the United Kingdom. Making fun of the personal lifestyle of a multi-talented officer is clearly in bad taste. People in our society perceive themselves differently from people in Western cultures. in our culture, bureaucrats are seen as people dressed in a suit and a tie, with security guards around them, behaving rudely with their staff, and showing arrogance to the general public. the official concerned is attracting criticism because he has none of these traits.

He has composed numerous songs for some of the famous vocalists around the world, including Jessie J, Future, ciara, Juelz, t-Pain, Jason Derulo and Nicki Minaj. in November 2019, he released his own album, Haram, which was well received globally, and was among the top-ranking albums in Hungry, Egypt, india and South Korea.

AYAZ ALI BHATTI THARI MIRWAH

Power wastage

HBl Pakistan Super league (PSl) is becoming a brand for Pakistan and the event is now an image-building tool for the country. Having said that, has someone tried to work out the cost-benefit ratio of the scheme? in these difficult economic times, it should not become a symbol of our national extravagance.

owing to the shortage of foreign exchange reserves, the country has been facing electricity and natural gas load- shedding to cut down on its oil imports, and the public is being regularly advised to reduce business hours. Sadly, while we have sunny days and pleasant weather, all PSl matches are scheduled to be played after sunset, which certainly seems to be an illogical step on the part of the Pakistan cricket Board (PcB) and the government. Has the minister for power assessed how much power will we end up wasting on holding PSl matches? and, making it worse is the fact that this is being done when the government is constantly talking of austerity drives in these challenging times. Besides, the world has been facing adverse effects of climate change, and we, too, faced destruction last year owing to massive floods triggered by climate change.

SHOAIB TIRMAZI MULTAN

A narrow escape

PRaNKStERS make crank calls to harass or trick people in society. Some naïve people like me fall victim to such unknown callers and expose themselves to the risk of fraud. crank calls are often made to ascertain people’s personal and private information, most of which is related to bank accounts and atM pin codes. i recently received an unknown call. the caller pretended to be from the State Bank of Pakistan, and addressed me by my name along with other details. i was told that my atM card would be blocked within a few days, and some information was required for verification before the card could be revalidated. i was asked to share my account number and atM pin code. i was about to do that, but, thankfully, i somehow smelled the rat and disconnected the call abruptly without giving any information at all. i immediately called my bank and was shocked to learn that i had narrowly escaped a fraud.

In restraining the making of needed development expenditure, austerity allows further perpetuation of elite capture, since lack of development expenditure/investment into sectors, for instance, like health, education, transportation, and employment/economic opportunities does not empower the masses

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late)

Malik MuhaMMad ashraf

THERE is a saying that literature is the reflection of society. i trust literature reflects the attitudes, changes, agonies, honours, tragedies, and collective perception of society. one of my teachers at Government college lahore told me in 1984 that literature mirrors the vices of society with a view to make society realize its mistakes and make amends. Some novel writers typically use characters who, by their words and deeds, convey attitudes, morale, and values of the society in which the novel is written. an excellent novel writer has the skill of perceiving the situation in an extraordinary way and shares his perception with his readers. last week i attended a review session of a Punjabi novel in islamabad that was written in reference to the effect and aftermath of covid-19 on our social fabric.

Written by international award-winning writer Nain Sukh whose short stories and novels got global fame and prizes, including the biggest prize in North america the “Dhahan Prize for Punjabi literature”, the novel covers countless complexities of our society and moves between past and present. His new novel Vaba Tay Wasaib (Pandemic and locale) is about social and psychological changes the society had gone through during lockdowns. the discussion over the novel triggered several ideas and covered historical outlook because the writer is habitual in framing every event through social and historical lenses. this discussion triggered many thoughts, including how we ruined our natural environments by discouraging our local fauna and flora and planting foreign trees and ornamental plants. lahore, the jewel of Punjab, was known for Kikar, Sohanjana (moringa), (acacia hydaspica), Bair (indian jujube), J ammu (Java Plum), Amrood (Guava) and Amb (mango), Sukh Chain (Millettia pinnata), Neem (azadirachta indica) lost almost all of them as they were systematically replaced by foreign fruitless trees

A literary look to document crumbling agriculture in Punjab

by our horticulture department. Fauna and flora are considered an integral part of the identity of any land which is why anthropologists always document fauna and flora of the land under research as they document caste systems, professions, and traits of people.

Since i had been covering civic authorities as a reporter in the past, i can judge that during the last 40 years, over 70 percent of trees in downtown lahore succumbed to widening roads, urbanization, expansion, and reconstruction of old public buildings.it is a testified fact that flora links with fauna, so losing traditional trees and plants is resulting in losing the habitat of traditional fauna in lahore and my children do not know the sound of a qumri (Eurasian collared dove) or a tatiri (red-wattled lapwing/ large plover). in simple words, we are losing our identity swiftly and we are happy with it. there is no doubt change is natural as population growth but other societies have the same features, yet they preserve and conserve basic entities of their social identities like fauna and flora but we do not believe in maintaining what we had and discussing such issues are considered useless and irrelevant discussions. Sometimes i ask my intellectual friends what is relevant to us. Some of them believe our existence

is the only relevant issue for us, so are we truly living on an animal farm?

Providing such crude but honest data and figures about our realities in a piece about a novel review can be considered inappropriate but I have a rationale for mentioning these figures because I believe we still have writers in Pakistan who can trigger thoughts through fiction because we know that good literature records the real-life events from the society and converts these mundane activities

the novel covered several other social themes and keeps moving the readers to different aspects of our lives. like any book of original content, Vaba Tay Wasaib brings me several dimensions including the impact of increasing per kilometre population density, squeezing agriculture lands and decreasing per hectare production due to the massive use of pesticides and bad foreign techniques of farming and agriculture. i consider the above-mentioned factors are Vaba (pandemic) of our Wasaib (locale) and our environments are infected with 230 million people (tentative figure with normal projection rate after last census) comprising 262 persons per square kilometre. if we exclude deserts, mountain masses, and uninhabited areas of Balchistan then our population density is surely over 500 persons per square kilometre with two percent annual population growth. according to available data from 2018 from the Food and agriculture organisation (Fao) of the United Nations, in Pakistan, 22.1 million hectares are cultivated; the rest of the territory comprises culturable waste, densely populated forests, and rangelands and cities. in a real sense, we have 22.1 million hectares

Seismic Iran-Saudi rapprochement isolates US

THE CHINESE-BROKERED DIPLOMATIC DEAL BETWEEN SAUDI ARABIA AND IRAN NOT ONLY OPENS THE WAY FOR RESOLUTION OF REGION-WIDE CONFLICTS, BUT FOILS U.S. MIDEAST DESIGNS BASED ON SAUDI-IRANIAN ENMITY

EVER since the 1979 islamic Revolution that overthrew the U.S.-allied Shah of iran, the rivalry between the two major Middle East powers — iran and Saudi arabia — has been at the heart of every conflict across the region.

the announcement on Friday that iran and Saudi arabia have normalized relations could have a seismic effect on all these conflicts and leave the U.S. on the outside looking in. in lebanon, iranian-backed Hezbollah and Saudi-backed parties might begin to resolve their differences, a unity that would worry israel and lessen U.S. influence in the country.

in Syria, Hezbollah and iranian militias have been battling Saudi-backed jihadists for more than a decade. the Syrian war could now come to an end.

in Yemen, U.S.-backed Saudis have been fighting the Houthi, who have been driven into a closer alliance with iran. obstacles to a peace deal have now been removed. in iraq, reconciliation between Sunni and Shia could make the U.S. presence and influence irrelevant and unwelcomed by all sides.

in Bahrain, iranian-backed Shi’ites no longer in conflict with the Saudi-aligned monarchy could sideline the presence of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in a region on the mend. and in Saudi arabia itself, the state’s tensions with Shi’tes in the eastern oil regions should lessen.

TRANSFORMING: in short, the historic rapprochement and resumption of formal diplomatic ties between Saudi arabia and iran could transform the Middle East. and the United States doesn’t like it one bit. the U.S. has depended on the Saudi-iranian divide to pursue its interests in the region. after this development, the U.S.-israeli front against iran should lose their chief arab ally, Saudi arabia. the Saudis are now in a position to defy U.S. economic sanctions on iran — a nightmare for Washington.

an end to the Yemen war, which the Biden administration has been making noises about, would mean having to accept iranian influence on the arabian peninsula. an end to the war in Syria would be the death knell for the american regime change project in that country. it will put U.S. occupying forces in the east of Syria in an uncomfortable position. and it could spell the end of covert support for some of the most vile jihadists in the region, which depended on Saudi backing. Worst of all for the United States, china has stepped in to be the statesman the U.S. refused to be to resolve differences that have ripped the Middle East apart. that has to produce sleepless nights inside the Beltway. if anything proves china is committed to stability in the world and the U.S. to instability, it is this deal.

DEALING WITH IT: the U.S. had already been alarmed by Saudi overtures to join the BRicS alliance and thereby grow closer to

china and Russia. talk about replacing the petrodollar with a petro yuan was already raising blood pressure in the District of columbia, arlington and langley.

israel reacted angrily to the announcement, saying it demonstrated Washington’s and israel’s “weakness” towards teheran. “there was a feeling of U.S. and israeli weakness and this is why the Saudis started looking for new avenues. it was clear that this was going to happen,” a senior israeli official told reporters traveling with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as reported by axios. the development certainly complicates israel’s longstanding goal to strike iranian nuclear facilities and Washington’s plans to overthrow the iranian government. the U.S. has tried to put a brave face on it.

“the Saudis did keep us informed about these talks that they were having, just as we keep them informed on our engagements, but we weren’t directly involved,” said U.S. National Security council spokesman John Kirby. “We support any efforts to de-escalate tensions there and in the region. We think it’s in our interests, and it’s something that we worked on through our own effective combination of deterrence and diplomacy.”

But this is a diplomatic outcome the U.S. never seriously pursued. and it is costing Washington and benefiting its chief global rival.

aaron David Miller, who served as a Middle East policy adviser at the State Department for 25 years, told NBc News: “i think it demonstrates that U.S.’s influence and credibility in that region has diminished and that there is a new sort of international regional alignment taking place, which has empowered and given both Russia and china newfound influence and status.”

the stunning development of the chinesebrokered normalization of ties has happened in the past year since Russia intervened in the Ukrainian civil war. that move has sped up a process that was inching its way towards realization: namely a world in which the United States no longer calls the shots in the Middle East and elsewhere, where it is a declining power pushed to the margins of a new world arising in defiance of its interests. this new world led by china, Russia and india — and followed by much of africa and latin america — has ignored U.S. calls to sanction Russia and instead is creating a new economic and political order that is turning its back on the vestiges of Western dominance.

WHAT SEEMED UNATTAINABLE: the idea of a Saudi-iranian accommodation that could change the face of the region long seemed like an unattainable goal — as long as the U.S. was the powerbroker in the Middle East. But it was a dream that some quarters, including consortium News, long pushed for as the key to regional peace.

Gareth Porter, in a piece that appeared on cN on aug. 14, 2015, said: “in an interview with National Public Radio two days later,

[President Barack] obama suggested that things could improve if iran changed its ways: ‘[i]t is possible that as a consequence of this engagement, that as a consequence of iran being able to recognize that what’s happening in Syria for example is leading to extremism that threatens their own state and not just the United States; that some convergence of interests begins to lead to conversations between, for example, Saudi arabia and iran; that iran starts making different decisions that are less offensive to its neighbors; that it tones down the rhetoric in terms of its virulent opposition to israel. and, you know, that’s something that we should welcome.’ …

Both of those interviews were marked by a deliberate avoidance of any explicit admission that the United States might actually want to make any political-diplomatic moves toward cooperation with iran. as presented by obama, the most his administration would do is to lecture iran on what it needed to do to correct its misbehavior. Possible positive developments were cast in terms of actions that others might take, and subsequent U.S. support for such actions. an optimistic reading of his remarks might interpret them as veiled allusions to diplomatic aims that obama intends to pursue: cooperation with iran as well as Russia on a Syrian settlement, efforts to bring iran and Saudi arabia together and to get them to reach an accommodation. But such an interpretation would exaggerate the readiness of the obama administration to break with the political consensus in Washington about iran and the region.” on June 26, 2017, i wrote for consortium News: “if [President Donald] trump wanted the U.S. to act like a Great Power he would go even a step further to use american leverage to force an accommodation between the Saudis and the iranians. their rivalry has impacted conflicts in Syria, lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, afghanistan and now Qatar too. in May, [Mohamed] bin-Salman threatened to directly attack iran and iran returned the threat. the Saudis and iranians blame each other as aggressors. But neither is going anywhere. a balance of power is needed to bring stability to the region. instead of facilitating this, trump is lowering the U.S. to the level of the sectarian combatants, openly siding with Sunni Riyadh while threatening iran, thus risking an even larger regional war. a U.S. green light to invade Qatar could well be the prelude to an attack on iran.” the success of the iranian-Saudi normalization and its effect on the Middle East remains to be seen. But it is a start that few thought they’d ever see as long as the U.S. stood in the way.

Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former U.N. correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and numerous other newspapers, including The Montreal Gazette and The Star of Johannesburg.

of productive lands to feed 231 million people. according to the Foreign agricultural Service (FaS) of the USa, Punjab is producing 77 percent, Sindh 15 percent, KPK 5 percent, and Baluchistan 3 percent of wheat while Punjab is producing 52 percent, Sindh 38 percent, KPK 2 percent, and Baluchistan 8 percent of rice.in the last 30 years, all-out foreign funding and technical support came to KPK for increasing yield but the province had failed to provide results and instead had been the main route of wheat, rice, and other edibles smuggling to afghanistan.

there is no doubt that the horizontal growth of housing societies is eating the agricultural land of Punjab and Sindh but still, farmers are trying to retain agricultural lands. However, the iMF can send another blow to Pakistan by putting pressure on heavy taxation on agricultural lands that can multiply the pace of converting agricultural land into minting machines of housing societies.

Providing such crude but honest data and figures about our realities in a piece about a novel review can be considered inappropriate but i have a rationale for mentioning these figures because i believe we still have writers in Pakistan who can trigger thoughts through fiction because we know that good literature records the real-life events from the society and converts these mundane activities into fiction and presents them to the society as a mirror in which people may look at their own images and make amends wherever necessary.

Fascinatingly, Nain Sukh’s novel is in Punjabi language and he artfully represents the land, people, and history of Punjab. Jelena Skulskaja, who is a contemporary Russian writer, believes that writers are part of their language and not the other way around – people’s way of thinking differs from language to language depending on the structure of the language. i believe Vaba Tay Wasaib is fiction that is more than a reality and it connects Punjabi readers with their Punjab on both sides of the political divide.

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

Is this the end of Saudi-Iranian tensions?

INEVITABLY, ARMCHAIR EXPERTS IN THE US AND EUROPE WILL MISS THE BIGGER PICTURE, FOCUS ON CHINA’S ROLE, AND QUESTION WHY THE US WAS EXCLUDED. I DON’T BELIEVE THAT EXCLUSION WAS INDICATIVE OF A LACK OF TRUST; AMERICA REMAINS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND STEADFAST OF SAUDI STRATEGIC ALLIES

ArAb news faisal J. aBBas

THE Saudi-iranian agreement achieved with chinese mediation is a significant development in regional geopolitics, containing an unprecedented commitment from the iranian side of respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs and restoring security cooperation.

CROWN PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN TOLD THE ATLANTIC MAGAZINE A YEAR AGO — THAT WE SEE IRAN AS A NEIGHBOR AND THAT IT WAS IN BOTH PARTIES’ INTERESTS TO RESOLVE MATTERS

if tehran keeps its end of the bargain this could be a true game-changer, heralding an era of regional peace and prosperity not seen in decades. of course, these are early days; there needs to be a trust-building period, and actions on the ground to cement the agreement. Some may be skeptical of Saudi intentions, or indeed call this a U-turn; they are clearly not up to date with the Kingdom’s declared policy. Friday’s agreement is in line with what crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the atlantic magazine a year ago — that we see iran as a neighbor. it was in both parties’ interests to resolve matters, the crown prince said, but the Kingdom’s security concerns must be addressed first. i genuinely hope this is an opportunity for the iranian regime to focus on building its economy and looking after its people, just as our leadership does with us here in the Kingdom. if both countries are thriving and we achieve peace and prosperity, that would be good not just for Saudi arabia but for the whole region, and indeed the world.

Saudi officials will continue to be on high alert, absolutely clear-eyed that what is agreed with iranian foreign policy officials may not be in alignment with the Revolutionary Guards. in the Kingdom we know that throughout this conflict we have been always reasonable and offered an olive branch. Previous attempts have failed; let us hope for everyone’s sake that this one succeeds. inevitably, armchair experts in the US and Europe will miss the bigger picture, focus on china’s role, and question why the US was excluded. i don’t believe that exclusion was indicative of a lack of trust; america remains the most important and steadfast of Saudi strategic allies. Rather it is in the nature of these negotiations that to succeed they must be shrouded in secrecy and conducted through mediators accepted by both parties as fair, without bias or conflict of interest. china fits that bill perfectly; it has good relations with both countries, and unlike the US and most of Europe has no history of regional aggression or colonialism. indeed, as Saudi arabia’s leading oil customer (1.75 million barrels a day), china has an interest in ensuring the safe flow of energy by seeing this agreement through. While Saudi-iranian tensions are far from over, this agreement could be the beginning of the end of a decades-long and bloody chapter.

Faisal J. Abbas is the editor in chief of Arab News.

facts need literature to speak for them

a letter from Prometheus agha iqrar harOOn

Iran, US rEach prISonEr Swap dEal

DUBAI ReuteRs

IRANand the United States have reached an agreement to exchange prisoners, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told state TV on Sunday, adding that he hoped the exchange would take place soon.

“Regarding the issue of prisoner swaps between Iran and the US we have reached an agreement in the recent days and if everything goes well on the US side, I think we will witness a prisoner exchange in a short period,” Amirabdollahian said.

“On our part everything is ready, while the US is currently working on the final technical coordination.”

One of several Americans held in Iran is Siamak Namazi, a businessman with dual US-Iranian citizenship, who

was sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in prison for spying and cooperating with the US government. Emad Sharghi, an Iranian-American businessman was first arrested in 2018 when he was working for a tech investment company, is also jailed in Iran, as is Iranian-American environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, who also holds British citizenship.

Iranian sources told Reuters that two regional countries were involved in the series of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington for the release of prisoners.

For years, Tehran has sought the release of more than a dozen Iranians in the United States, including seven Iranian-American dual nationals, two Iranians with permanent US residency and four Iranian citizens with no legal status in the United States.

Israeli army kills three Palestinian gunmen in West Bank

NABLUS

AFP

Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinian people after they fired at troops in the occupied northern West Bank, the army said on Sunday, as violence in the region continued.

The military said that “gunmen opened fire” at an army position near the Jit junction west of Nablus, with the soldiers responding with “live fire”.

“Three armed gunmen were neutralised during the exchange of fire and an additional armed gunman surrendered himself to the forces,” the army said in a statement, noting none of the Israeli forces were wounded in the clash.

The soldiers, members of the elite infantry Golani reconnaissance unit, grabbed three M-16 rifles and a pistol used by the Palestinians, the army said.

The Palestinian health ministry said it was informed about the deaths of three

men killed by Israeli gunfire near Nablus, without providing further details.

The incident took place a short distance from an illegal Israeli settlement, with the head of the regional Samaria settler council praising the army for “taking out the murderous terrorist squad operating in the area.”

“We will continue to live and build here in Samaria and the entire region, the murderous Palestinian Authority terror won’t deter us,” Yossi Dagan said in a statement, using the name Israel uses for the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

Violence intensified last year, but has worsened in the West Bank since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office in December in a governing coalition with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right allies.

The government of Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption on charges he

‘King Kohli’ gets Test ton after three-year wait

AHMEDABAD AFP

India’s superstar cricketer Virat Kohli hit his first Test century since November 2019, ending his long drought on day four of the fourth Test against Australia on Sunday. “King Kohli” reached his 28th Test hundred off 241 balls with a single off Nathan Lyon, sparking wild celebrations at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad. Appearing to tear up, he acknowledged the crowd and the dressing room before kissing the locket on his gold chain as he smiled and looked up to the sky. Commentator Ravi Shastri screamed, “a 600-kilo gorilla is off his back. He will grow a couple of inches taller by this evening”. A placard in the crowd read “Here to see King Kohli ruling in his kingdom” as children in India shirts bowed in respect. The star batsman resumed on his overnight score of 59 after he got his first Test half-century since January 2022 on day three on a pitch favouring the batsmen. Kohli, 34, went through an extended lean patch last year, failing to reach three figures in more than 1,000 days. He quit as T20 skipper in late 2021 and in January 2022 was sacked from the one-day captaincy and gave up leading the Test side, too. But he hit his first ton after 1,020 days in the Asia Cup T20 tournament in September last year and hasn’t looked back since. Kohli finished the T20 World Cup in Australia as the leading run-scorer and then hit three ODI centuries, including two — 113 and 166 not out — against Sri Lanka in January. The former captain has a Test average of more than 48 in 108 matches since making his debut in 2011 and has struck 75 centuries across the three international formats. Kohli remains behind Australia stand-in-skipper Steve Smith and England’s Joe Root in the number of Test centuries between the “fabulous four” — the leading four batsmen of the modern era. Smith overtook Kohli during the Indian batsman’s lean phase and now has 30 Test centuries since his previous 95th Test.

India will never succeed to conquer Kashmiris through military might: Gulzar

SRINAGAR

stAFF RePoRt

denies, has vowed to continue the expansion of West Bank settlements.

Calls for revenge: On Thursday, a member of the armed wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas opened fire outside a Tel Aviv cafe, wounding three men in their 30s before being shot dead.

Hours before, three armed Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank. Several Palestinian armed groups had called on Tuesday for revenge for the recent deaths of six Palestinians in an Israeli army raid in the northern West Bank.

The Tel Aviv attack came just hours after Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin had called for de-escalation ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan that starts in March and the Jewish holiday of Passover in April.

Austin, following talks with Netanyahu and his counterpart Yoav Gallant during a brief visit to Israel, also

called on the “Palestinian leadership to combat terrorism and to resume security cooperation and to condemn incitement”.

In Beitar Illit, a Jewish settlement in the West Bank southwest of Jerusalem, the army said bomb disposal experts had detonated a suspicious package found on a bus Thursday evening.

A Palestinian from a nearby village was arrested on Saturday for having placed an explosive device on the bus, along with four others suspected of aiding him, the army said.

Since the start of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 81 Palestinian adults and children.

12 Israeli adults, including militants and one policeman, as well as one Ukrainian civilian, have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.

Zalmi thrash Islamabad United in thrilling HBL PSL game

ISLAMABAD stAFF RePoRt

Peshawar Zalmi thumped Islamabad United by 13 runs in a thrilling 29th match and the last game at Pindi Stadium Rawalpindi, of the HBL PSL 8 on Sunday afternoon. Zalmi suffered a middle-order collapse to stutter to 179 for eight and then overcame Faheem Ashraf’s late charge to dismiss Islamabad for 166 in 19.4 overs.

The result meant Islamabad United and Multan Sultans finished their league matches on 12 points each. However, Multan Sultans were placed second and Islamabad United third on net run-rate, meaning Multan Sultans will meet table-toppers and defending champions Lahore Qalandars on 15 March in the Qualifier and Islamabad United will again take on fourth-placed Peshawar Zalmi in Eliminator 1 on 16 March.

The March 15 Qualifier would be a repeat of the HBL PSL 7 final between Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans. The winner of the said Qualifier would progress to the March 19 final, while the losing side will have another opportunity to earn a place in the final when they take on the winner of the March 16 Eliminator 1 in Eliminator 2 on March 17.

After Islamabad United’s top and middle-order made a mess of a straightforward run-chase by slipping from 65 for three to 111 for eight, No.8 batter Faheem Ashraf came to the party and slapped four sixes and two fours in a 13-ball 38 to give his side some hope. In association with Mohammad Wasim (14 not out), the left-hander added 55 runs from 24 balls for the ninth wicket.

With 21 runs required in the final over, Faheem struck a six off the second ball to bring the target down to 14 from four balls. However, Khurram Shahzad castled Faheem and Fazalhaq Farooqi off successive deliveries to seal a memorable win for Peshawar Zalmi, who in the previous two matches had failed to defend totals of 240 and 242.

While Khurram finished with figures of three for 13 in 10 balls, spinner Sufiyan Muqeem caused the middleorder collapse by accounting for Shadab Khan (25), Asif Ali (5) and Hasan Ali (0) to finish with figures of three for 37. Jimmy Neesham picked up the prized scalps of middle-order batters Rahmanullah Gurbaz (33) and Colin Munro (15) to end with two for 23, while Aamer Jamal

scooped the wickets of top-order batters Alex Hales and Sohaib Maqsood (15 each) to finish with two for 28.

Earlier, Mohammad Haris and Bhanuka Rajapaksa put on 115 runs in 58 balls for the second wicket to put Peshawar Zalmi on course for another colossal total when they took their side to 116 for the loss of Saim Ayub (0) at the halfway stage.

But the Strategic Timeout turned things on its head as Islamabad United roared back to capture seven wickets for 63 runs to restrict Peshawar Zalmi to 179 for eight. This included an unfinished 18-run ninth wicket stand from 21 balls between Khurram Shahzad (11 not out) and Sufiyan Muqeem (6 not out).

Haris top-scored with an attractive 79 off 39 balls with seven fours and five sixes, while Rajapaksa slapped four fours and two sixes in a 25-ball 41. Haris’ maiden half-century of this tournament came from 26 balls with five fours and three sixes. He was later adjudged player of the match.

Hasan Ali was the pick of Islamabad United bowlers with three for 39, while Shadab Khan took two for 42.

Scores in brief: Peshawar Zalmi 179-8, 20 overs (Mohammad Haris 79, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 41; Hasan Ali 3-39, Shadab Khan 2-42).

Islamabad United 166, 19.4 overs (Faheem Ashraf 38, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 33, Shadab Khan 25; Khurram Shahzad 3-13, Sufiyan Muqeem 3-37, Jimmy Neesham 2-23, Aamer Jamal 2-28).

In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) senior leader, Ghulam Ahmed Gulzar, has said that Kashmir is not an integral part of India but an internationally recognized dispute. According to Kashmir Media Service, Ghulam Ahmed Gulzar in a statement issued in Srinagar said India will never succeed to conquer Kashmiris through use of its military might and the Kashmiris will never allow RSS to impose its devilish Hindutva agenda in IIOJK. He said killing of innocent Kashmiris, inhuman and degrading torture, random arrest, sealing of properties, bulldozing of houses, imposition of taxes, termination of Kashmiri employees and molestation of womenfolk and other heinous crimes have become order of the day in IIOJK. India has turned the occupied territory into the most militarized zone of the world and its over one million troops are trampling everything under jackboots, he added. Ghulam Ahmed Gulzar said besides using brute force, conspiracies are also hatched to snatch the identity, culture and resources of the Kashmiris. Since 5th August, 2019 the Modi regime has been hell bent to destroy everything and turn Kashmir into a graveyard. But the resilient Kashmiris are showing great courage, determination and steadfastness to counter Hindutva forces, he maintained. He said that Kashmiris have yet again proved that their passion for freedom is invincible and indomitable. He said the great resistance, shown by Kashmiris, have frustrated India and it is brutalizing Kashmiris with atrocious vengeance. He said Kashmiris have defeated India and the day is not far away when Kashmiris will break shackles of slavery and force India to quit. He also appealed to the United Nations and other human rights organizations to play its role in resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

Youth found hanging in pulwama

SRINAGAR

stAFF RePoRt

In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, a youth was found hanging in his residence in the Pampore area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. According to Kashmir Media Service, the deceased was identified as Owais Gull (27), a resident of Befina Pampore. Police officials told media men that a youth from Befina committed suicide by hanging in his house. According to reports, family members saw him hanging and shifted him to the sub-district hospital, Pampore, where doctors declared him dead. A police party from pampore reached the hospital after receiving information and they took the body under their custody. After medico-legal formalities, the body of the deceased was handed over to the family for last rites, police officials said.

Bangladesh stun England to seal T20 series

DHAKA Agencies

Mehidy Hasan Miraz shone with ball and bat as Bangladesh stunned England to win the second Twenty20 international by four wickets and seal the series 2-0. Mehidy bowled a career-best 4-12 to help the hosts bowl out England for 117 before he hit 20 off 16 balls as Bangladesh raced to 120-6 in 18.5 overs. Najmul Hossain top-scored at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka with 46 not out for Bangladesh, who have now won at least one series in one format against all Test-playing countries. The hosts won the first match of the series by six wickets in Chittagong. Sent into bat first, England were rarely in the contest after losing their way in the middle of the innings as their batsmen struggled to cope with a low and slow wicket in Mirpur. Shakib Al Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Mustafizur Rahman each complemented Mehidy with a wicket apiece. Ben Duckett top-scored with 28 while Phil Salt made 25 off 19 balls. Taskin dismissed opener Dawid Malan for five but Salt and Moeen Ali showed positive intent to put on 34 runs for the second wicket. The visitors then lost Salt, skipper Jos Buttler (four) and Ali (15) in consecutive overs to ruin their prospect of putting in a big total. Mehidy then struck twice in one over to dismiss Sam Curran (12) and Chris Woakes (0) to deny England a late recovery. Bangladesh in their reply lost both their openers Liton Das (nine) and Rony Talukdar (nine) cheaply but young Towhid Hridoy made 17 to steady the innings. Najmul and Mehidy put Bangladesh in charge with a 41-run stand. England sniffed a chance with a few late wickets as Jofra Archer wracked havoc to finish with 3-13. However, Najmul thwarted the visiting side with his unbeaten 47ball innings featuring three boundaries. Taskin completed the win with consecutive fours off Chris Jordan in the nineteenth over. The third and final match of the series will be held at the same ground on Tuesday. England won the preceding three-match one-day international series 21. The matches are important practice for England on South Asian pitches ahead of the ODI World Cup to be held in India later this year.

Karachi Kings outclass Qalandars to end HBL PSL 8 on high note

LAHORE stAFF RePoRt

Karachi Kings finished the tournament on a high as they trounced table-toppers Lahore Qalandars by 86 runs in the last match of the league stage of the HBL PSL 8 at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Sunday night.

Chasing a challenging total of 196-8, Lahore Qalandars meandered, stumbled and lost their way at 110-9 when Mohammad Umer claimed the wicket of Haris Rauf in the penultimate over of the match.

Lahore Qalandars, led by standin captain David Wiese after Shaheen Shah Afridi opted to rest, never looked to chase a challenging target of 197 runs as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. All-rounder

Hussain Talat was the most successful batter for the Qalandars with 25 runs off as many balls while Fakhar Zaman 13 (11), Kamran Ghulam 11

(10), Sam Billings 11 (13) and Haris Rauf 18 (14) were the others to enter double-figure.

Abdullah Shafique 2 (6), David Wiese 2 (7), and Shane Dadswell 3 (4) could not get going after the pressure of a big total took its toll on the Qalandars batters who lost both of their matches against the arch-rivals Karachi Kings in the HBL PSL 8.

Rashid Khan 6 (13) as he retired hurt after an viciously turning googly by Imran Tahir hit him in the helmet and he was taken out as a precautionary measure. Zaman Khan 6 (7) remained unbeaten. Akif Javed was the most economical bowler for the Kings who conceded eight runs in three overs and grabbed two important wickets of in-form batters Abdullah Shafique and Kamran Ghulam. Imad Wasim, Imran Tahir and Mohammad Umar also picked two wickets each for 26, 24 and 20 runs.

The Kings outsmart Qalandars in all areas during the match which had academic value only as it did not change the standings of the top four teams led by Lahore Qalandars (14 points) and followed by Multan Sultans (12), Islamabad United (12) and Peshawar Zalmi (10). However, Karachi Kings managed to move past Quetta Gladiators to the fifth spot due to a better run-rate although both the teams had 6 points from 10 matches.

Earlier, Karachi Kings posted a challenging total of 196-7 courtesy two fifty plus runs partnerships for the second wicket and fifth wicket after they lost early wicket of Haider Ali who fell for 8 runs in the first over of the match off the bowling of Dilber Hussain. Muhammad Akhlaq, playing his first match of HBL PSL 8, top scored with 51 (36) runs and added 70 runs for the second wicket with Tayyab Tahir 40 (23). Both the batters plundered 68 runs in the first

six overs of the innings. Kings captain Imad Wasim 45 (31) and Ben Cutting 33 (14) notched up another 52 runs partnership for the fifth wicket while Cutting’s innings included two 4s and three 6s. Qasim Akram 2 (3) and Irfan Khan 0 (2) fell cheaply while James Fuller and Mohamamd Umar returned unbeaten on 10 (5) and 1

(2) respectively. Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan and Hussain Talat claimed two wickets each while Dilbar Hussain grabbed one wicket for 37 runs. Ace legspinner Rashid Khan went wicketless and conceded 30 runs in his quota of four overs. Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan were the other two bolwers from Qalandars who

bowled four overs for 52 and 7 runs respectively. Dilbar Hussain and Hussain Talat bowled three overs each and conceded 37 and 24 runs. David Wiese bowled one over for 6 runs.

Muhammad Akhlaq was adjudged ‘player of the match’ for his impressive knock which helped Karachi Kings an insurmountable total of 196-8.

After two days of rest, Lahore Qalandars will face off Multan Sultans in the qualifier of the HBL PSL 8 on March 15 (Wednesday) at the Gaddafi stadium while the eliminator 1 will be played between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi at the same venue on March 16 (Thursday). The loser of the qualifier and winner of eliminator 1 will meet in the eliminator 2 on March 17 (Friday) at the same venue to decide the second team to play final of the HBL PSL 8 on March 19 (Sunday) at the Gaddafi stadium.

KArAchI: Governor Kamran Khan Tessori presents Best Service Provider Hotel Mementos to Mr Yasir Ahmed, General Manager of Hotel Mehran at Khilona Foundation Ceremony held at Sindh Governor House. pr

Int’l Exhibition of Industries, Mines, and Energy kicked off

ChInA-PAKIstAn AgRICultuRAl CORRIDOR tO

RevOlutIOnIze fARMeRs lIves: XIAng YAng

ISLAMABAD app

tHEChina-Pakistan Agricultural Corridor (CPAC) project would bring socio-economic development for farmers in Pakistan and further pave the way for a new era of collaboration between the two allweather strategic partners.

Director China Study Center of the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) Xiang Yang, in an exclusive talk with APP on Sunday, said that CPAC was a project of highly significance and would serve as a model for other countries in the region to emulate and reinforce the belief that cooperation and partnership could lead to significant achievements and benefits for all. She said NUST had signed three documents of understanding with various Chinese institutions to boost agriculture productivity in Pakistan. The agreements were inked with Weifang Engineering Vocational College, Qingzhou Municipal People’s Government and Weifang National Agricultural Open Development Comprehensive Pilot Zone, she maintained. She said that this collaboration would enable to share resources, ex-

KArAchI: The Iranian pavilion is located in an area of 220 square meters. Twelve Iranian companies active in the industry, mining, energy, oil, gas, and construction materials attended the event. This event is considered the first cooperation between two friendly and brotherly neighbors after a cooperation document was signed on January 2023. pr

LKMWT secures services of Paymob

Latif Kapadia Memorial Welfare Trust (LKMWT), a welfare trust providing healthcare to underprivileged in Karachi, announced that they have secured the services of Paymob, a digital gateway for convenient payment processes.

Mr. Raza, Head of Enterprise Business at Paymob, Head of Operations LKMWT Farman Ahmed Khan, and Ms. Nigarish Raihan, Manager Partnerships and Communications at LKMWT shook hands to officially announce the onboarding. This ease in payment method will provide a hassle-free experience for donors who are looking to donate for a good cause and helping LKMWT in ensuring a healthier community. pr

Single, three-phase, net metering meters available in stores: IESCO CEO

ISLAMABAD: Chief Executive Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) Dr. Muhammad Amjad Khan on Sunday said that single-phase, three-phase and net metering meters were available in abundance in the company’s stores and were being provided to all field offices as per their demand.

"No employee or any person of IESCO is authorized to take cash in connection with the issuance of new electricity connections or other related works," he further said. He said the consumers should make all types of payments related to electricity in the respective banks. For any complaint, consumers can contact the Chief Executive Complaints and Monitoring Cell No 051-9259233-4 or can send an email at ceo@iesco.com.pk. "These measures are aimed at discouraging corruption in IESCO, besides exposing black sheep bringing disrepute to the organization," he said. pr

pertise and knowledge between China and Pakistan, and work together towards common goals of improving and promoting sustainable methodologies in agriculture sector.

She said that the agriculture, in the South Asian countries, was struggling with low productivity, supply shortfalls, low returns to farmers, lack of advanced technology and trained professionals and thus threatening food security in the region.

Addressing these issues will have a significant impact on people’s lives, particularly in Pakistan, as it is an agroeconomic country with immense potential for crop production and research in agricultural sciences, she added. Xiang Yang said that NUST was

actively pursuing research on plant biotechnology, environmental sciences, agri-technology and agribusiness with emphasis on precision agriculture, multi-spectral sensing of crop fields, 3D printing and scanning applications, early detection of pathogens and effective plant disease management.

However, contributing to sustainable agriculture resource management systems is still a major challenge at large, she said and expressed the hope that these agreements would play a vital part in filling this gap.

As per the agreements, the institutions would carry out research on the construction of whole agricultural industry chain system between China and Pakistan, research on industrial de-

China, Pakistan join hands to establish joint wheat lab

ISLAMABAD

Staff reporter

Under a new initiative, China-Pakistan joint lab will be established on wheat research. The project will be funded by the Science and Technology Partnership Program of Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).

The newly-established lab will be located at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), in partnership with Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). A joint launching ceremony was held recently at QAU and CAAS last week and attended by the researchers from both sides and representatives from both embassies. The joint lab will work on developing new climate resilient wheat varieties using new DNA-based technologies and will provide training to wheat scientists

of Pakistan. On the inauguration ceremony, Dr. Sarwat Jahan, Dean of Biological Sciences welcomed this initiative and emphasized that QAU will facilitate the joint activities of the lab. Dr. Zhouhua Cao, First Secretary from Chinese embassy in Pakistan said that China has always extended cooperation to Pakistan on Science and Technology and this new joint lab will have all the support needed from Chinese embassy. Ms. Fareena Arshad, Counsellor Pakistan embassy in China welcomed the initiative and said that such partnership programs on food security issues are need of the time and will add value to the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Dr Awais Rasheed from QAU and Dr Zhonghu from CAAS briefed about the proposed joint lab research activities for the next three years.

IIUI session suggests Arabic Language news platform in

ISLAMABAD pr

Participants of a panel discussion at International Islamic University (IIU) have stressed upon establishing an authentic platform of Arabic language keeping in view the news and digital media to portray the true image of Pakistan in Arab countries.

The discussion on the topic of “Digital Media in Pakistan: Challenges, opportunities, and strengthening Pakistan’s relations with Arab countries” was jointly organized by the Department of Protocol and Public relations (P&PR) of IIU and Pakistan Institute of Arabic, at the Faisal Masjid campus of the university.

Sharing his thoughts, Dr Talha Kashmiri, Head of Pakistan Institute of Arabic said that increasing polarization in the digital media landscape is alarming. He said rigidity has swallowed the ethics of difference of opinion. He opined that there is a dire need that people

Pakistan

with a sane approach must come forward and play their role in promoting facts instead of hate speech, radicalization and uncertainty.

Senior journalist and digital media expert Sabookh Syed said on the occasion that knowing the digital media propaganda and tackling it with a positive approach is an art. He also elaborated the terms of misinformation, disinformation and fake news.

In his remarks, Incharge Protocol and Public Relations, Nasir Farid said that academia and senior digital media experts must come forward to work for the cause of image building of Pakistan. Senior Arabic language journalist Abdul Rehman Hayat, Assistant Directors (P&PR) Al-Hassan and Muhammad Nauman and students of the university also shared their thoughts on the topic.

velopment strategy, industrial demand analysis and development prospect forecasting.

They would help in deep processing and industrialization development of local agricultural products besides research and development and integrated innovation of key technologies for efficient standardized cultivation of crops in Pakistan.

They would design joint application for projects in the field of agricultural sciences to work together for the social and economic development of the two countries.

It is worth mentioning here that the agreements signing ceremony was attended by NUST Pro-Rector Academics Dr Osman Hassan, Acting Director International Office, Dr Umer Asghar and his team, Principal Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences with his faculty members and China Study Centre Director Xiang Yang and her team Wang Yong, Deputy Director of Weifang National Agricultural Comprehensive District Promotion Office, Li Xiuming, Deputy Director Weifang National Comprehensive Pilot Agriculture Zone, Chen Wei, Deputy Mayor of Qingzhou Municipal People’s Government and Wang Jinming, Vice President of Weifang Engineering Vocational College.

Book ‘Digital Pakistan’ by Dr Imran Batada launched at IoBM

KARACHI pr

The book "Digital Pakistan" by Dr ImranBatada was launched at the Institute of Business Management (IoBM), here the other day. The book offers a complete digital media guideline for policymakers, industry professionals, and students to move forward, transform, and contribute to the GDP of Pakistan. Dr Ishrat Husain, Former Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan was the Chief Guest at the occasion. Mr. Fahd Haroon, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Public Communication & Digital Platforms also attended the event. Mr. Haroon holds an extensive experience in holding government offices covering a wide range of strategic, media and public relation domains.

Dr. Imran Batada, an esteemed professional whose career spans over 20 years both locally and internationally, is currently serving as the Chief Technology Officer and Director Center for Information Technology (CIT) at IoBM. The speakers at the book launch ceremony considerably appreciated his efforts in writing the book that presents a holistic viewpoint and insights on how to best utilize digital media in Pakistan. Amongst those who attended the event were renowned professionals including Ashfaque Ahmed, Head of Digital, BankIslami Pakistan Ltd., Shaukat Ali Khan, Global Chief Information Officer, Aga Khan University, TabasumAbid, Director IT and Chief Technical Officer, Sindh Police, Hussein Hassanali, GM, Head IT Audit, Habib Bank Limited, Iftikhar Arif, General Manager IT and E-commerce, Muller & Phillips Pakistan; and Sohaib Hassan, Co-Founder Brand & Media Learning Hub.

Oil leakage occurred at PARCO pipeline in Karachi

KARACHI pr

On Saturday evening, an oil leakage occurred at the PARCO pipeline near Shah Latif Town, Karachi. To ensure operational, environmental and community safety, PARCO teams promptly isolated the area and temporarily suspended oil movement operations. No injuries or any loss to private or public property was reported. The initial investigation revealed an unsuccessful oil theft attempt by a group of unidentified men, resulted in the leakage. The perpetrators fled the scene when Police and PARCO’s security team reached the site. PARCO’s Mid-Country Refinery has sufficient crude stocks to continue refining operations. The pipeline operations resumed in approximately seven hours after all necessary steps according to PARCO's SOPs were completed. LEAs are further investigating the incident.

Digital hate: how social media is failing to protect users from harmful content

LAHoRe MuhaMMad ahMad Saad

The proliferation of digital technologies has transformed the way we communicate and interact with each other. In fact, numerous social media platforms have enabled individuals to connect with others from different parts of the world, share their views and opinions, and engage in public debates.

However, the same technology has also provided a fertile ground for the spread of hate speech, bigotry, and intolerance. The menace of digital hate has become a significant issue in today’s fast-changing digital age, affecting all human beings in one way or the other.

Digital hate refers to any form of hate speech or discriminatory behaviour that takes place on online platforms, including social media, messaging apps, and online forums. Digital technologies are purported to propagate hate speech, bigotry, and intolerance for some specific purposes. It takes different forms, including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, religious intolerance, and xenophobia. Digital hate can be expressed in various ways, such as text, images, videos, and memes.

Social media platforms are the most common venues for digital hate. The anonymity and the lack of accountability that social media platforms provide make it easier for people to express their prejudices without fear of reprisal. Digital hate speech can also incite violence and create a toxic online environment that can have real-life consequences.

Racism is the belief that one race is superior to others. Racism can take various forms, such as hate speech, harassment, and discrimination. Digital racism can manifest in memes, posts, comments, and messages that promote negative stereotypes and prejudice against individuals based on their race.

Sexism is the belief that one gender is superior to the other. Digital sexism can take different forms, such as sexual harassment, objectification, and discrimination. Women are the primary targets of digital sexism, and they face a wide range of online abuse, including sexual harassment and revenge porn.

Homophobia is the irrational fear and hatred of individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). Digital homophobia can take different forms, such as hate speech, harassment, and discrimination. Homophobic content can have

real-life consequences, as it can incite violence against LGBT individuals.

Transphobia is the irrational fear and hatred of individuals who identify as transgender. Digital transphobia can take different forms, such as hate speech, harassment, and discrimination. Transphobic content can have real-life consequences, as it can incite violence against transgender individuals.

Religious intolerance is the refusal to accept the beliefs and practices of individuals from different religions. Digital religious intolerance can take different forms, such as hate speech, harassment, and discrimination.

Religious intolerance can incite violence and create a toxic online environment that can have real-life consequences.

Xenophobia is the irrational fear and hatred of individuals from different countries and cultures. Digital xenophobia can take different forms, such as hate speech, harassment, and discrimination. Xenophobic content can incite violence and create a toxic online environment that can have real-life consequences.

Governments around the world have enacted laws to deal with digital hate speech.

The laws aim to protect individuals from online abuse and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions. However, the laws vary

from country to country, and some countries have more robust laws than others. The UK has enacted the Communications Act 2003, which criminalizes the sending of grossly offensive, indecent, obscene, or menacing messages over the internet. The law carries a maximum sentence. The First Amendment protects free speech in the US, but there are limitations to this right, such as when speech incites violence or threatens someone’s safety. The Communications Decency Act also provides immunity to social media platforms for the content posted by their users.

The EU has several laws in place to combat hate speech and online harassment, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which regulates the collection and use of personal data, and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which regulates hate speech on online platforms.

Several counter-measures can be taken to combat digital hate, including educating individuals about the harmful effects of digital hate and promoting tolerance and respect for diversity, which can help reduce the prevalence of digital hate speech. Encouraging individuals to report incidents of digital hate can help identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable for their actions. Regulating so-

cial media platforms to prevent the spread of hate speech and online harassment can also help reduce the prevalence of digital hate.

In recent years, India has been accused of using digital hate against Pakistan, particularly in the wake of the 2019 Pulwama attack. Social media platforms were flooded with hatefilled posts and tweets that blamed Pakistan for the attack and called for retaliation. These posts often used derogatory language and stereotypes to demonize Pakistanis.

In December 2020, the EU DisinfoLab, a UK-based organization that investigates online disinformation campaigns, published a mindboggling report titled ‘Indian Chronicles,’ which exposed an extensive disinformation campaign against Pakistan that had been running since at least 2005. The report evidenced that the extensive worldwide disinformation campaign was orchestrated by an Indian company called Srivastava Group, which had created more than 750 fake media outlets and NGOs to spread disinformation against Pakistan to defame its international image.

The report asserted that the disinformation campaign targeted multiple audiences, including decision-makers, journalists, and the general public, in several countries around the world.

Khurram Murtaza, National Sales Manager and Head of Takaful, Jubilee Life Insurance presenting Safe Hand of Match Award to Kieron Pollard after HBL PSL 2023 match between Quetta Gladiators and Multan Sultans. pr

‘InStead of checkIng corrUptIon’, fBr contInUeS ‘crackdown’ on whIStleBlowerS

ISLAMABAD shahzad paracha

ITseems the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is stick to its ‘anti-public interest policy’ of a hot pursuit of whistle blowers to silence them and discourage them from pointing finger at big frauds and massive revenue hemorrhages, taking place in the customs field formations across the country.

Sources said although the FBR Chairman, as head of the country’s revenue administration, was legally bound to extend to any whistleblowers the statutory protections against FBR’s retaliatory actions provided in section 10 of the Public Interest Disclosures Act, 2017. Yet the chairman has so far made at least two whistle-blowing custom officers “an example” for the other potential whistle-

blowers through retaliatory actions contrary to his obligation under the Public Interest Disclosure Act.

Sources said that the Chairman FBR who should have legally restrained the Member Custom Operations from launching retaliatory actions against the whistle-blowers who pinpointed massive custom frauds, causing revenue losses worth billions of rupees, seems to have blindly followed the member’s advice for using the strategy of retaliation to suppress and conceal from public eye the huge revenue losses which the senior custom officers themselves are allegedly facilitating in the customs field formations for monetary gains at no cost to them.

The whistle-blower whom the FBR has made “an example of” for others is the ex-additional collector of customs ad-

Maryam castigates Imran for displaying ‘cowardly behaviour’

ISLAMABAD staFF report

Senior Vice-President and Chief Organizer of Pakistan

Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz on Sunday took a swipe at former prime minister Imran Khan for his “cowardly behaviour”.

In a tweet on a microblogging site, Maryam Nawaz drew a comparison between a “leader” and a “jackal”, stating that those who hide from the police during protests were jackals, while those who led from the front were true leaders. She went on to praise her father, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, as a “sherdil” (lion-hearted) leader who broke all obstacles to restore the judiciary.

Maryam Nawaz also shared a video montage of her father’s 2007 address and the latest press conference by the PTI leader Hammad Azhar, in which she juxtaposed the two leaders to highlight their supposed differences.

Earlier, PML-N Senior Vice President and Chief Organizer

Maryam Nawaz made a scathing attack on former prime minister and PTI chief Imran Khan, saying that who waits for a dead body is called a vulture and not a politician.

Reacting to Imran Khan’s address, Maryam Nawaz in a Twitter message said that anyone who needs a dead body in his politics knows that all his strategies have failed and he knows that defeat has become his destiny. Earlier, while addressing the organizational meeting in Faisalabad, the main organizer of Muslim League-N said that if the scales are not equal, there is no election, no choice, and the Muslim League will only go to the election to win.

no ban on political activities in lahore, claims naqvi

LAHOrE

staFF report

Punjab Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi on Sunday declared there was no ban on political activities in the province particularly in Lahore.

In a tweet on Sunday, the Punjab caretaker chief minister maintained that all the political parties are allowed to run their election campaigns freely. He, however, stated that the government had restricted rallies and political activities only for today (Sunday) due to PSL matches. The chief minister further said “There are PSL cricket matches being played, there is movement of teams, and a marathon is also being taken place in Lahore which were all planned and announced much in advance.”

It may be mentioned there that the provincial government has imposed Section 144 in Lahore. Punjab Caretaker Minister for Sports Amir Mir requested the PTI to forward its rally date, lamenting that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has once again announced holding a rally on an important day when Lahore is hosting the Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches. “Lahore is hosting the PSL matches. There is also a 40-kilometre-long marathon and cycle race in the city today,” the minister said. Meanwhile, Naqvi took notice of the murder of five people in Sheikhupura and ordered the Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) to submit a report. The chief minister ordered strict action against the suspect. “Such a beast does not deserve mercy,” he said. A security guard had killed a flour mill owner as well as four members of his own family in Farooaqabad area of Sheikhupura yesterday (Saturday, March 11, 2023). According to the report, the guard opened fire and killed a flourmill owner over a petty dispute. The accused, who was identified as Tanveer, also killed his wife, two young children and sisterin-law after killing the flourmill owner.

Silicon Valley Bank failure rattles US startup ecosystem

judication, Faisalabad. The officer had disclosed, through his written communication to the member custom operations that a new custom fraud was taking roots in Multan custom collectorate where junior seizing officers were releasing without adjudication and fine the vehicles used for carriage of the smuggled goods.

The whistle-blower pointed out that this plainly unlawful practice was gaining ground in Multan custom collectorate right under the nose of the collector and chief collector of the region.

Sources said that instead of seeking explanation from the collector and chief collector regarding their inaction to check the “money-making trend” thriving in Multan custom collectorate, FBR took a retaliatory action and transferred the whistle-blowing officer from his position

to the Directorate of transit trade, Lahore, a place to park the officers whom FBR intends to teach a lesson for one reason or the other.

Earlier, collector of customs Gilgit-Baltistan had blown whistle on a usual and traditional huge fraud in GB customs.

Instead of investigating the scam through a high-powered enquiry committee and uncovering all those involved in the scam, the member custom operation transferred the whistle-blowing collector from his position and sidelined him at a lower grade position in FBR.

Sources disclosed that later custom high-ups in FBR allegedly examined the dynamics, causing disclosure of a custom fraud in GB customs which in routine operates successfully and unhindered almost in every custom collectorate.

PIA reduces routine flights to GB by half

Announcement mAde After A 35pc cut in sAlAries of pilots

ISLAMABAD ghulaM abbas

With hundreds of locals and tourists planning to travel to Gilgit Baltistan in spring and summer holidays, Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has reduced almost half of regular flights to the area for unknown reasons.

The airline, which normally flies each one flight to Gilgit and Skardu daily from Islamabad. The reduction in routine flights has been made at a time when thousands of locals who shift to lower parts of the country during harsh winter season are about to return to their native areas.

Besides the tourists, who had already booked flights during March and April are also being told to reschedule their visits to the mountainous region following the cut in flights, Zulfiqar Shigri a travel agent in Skardu informed this scribe.

“Instead of increasing the number of flights keeping in view the rush in Islamabad, PIA has surpassingly decreased the number of flights to Skardu by over 50 percent. There are hardly 12 to 15 daily flights scheduled between Islamabad to Skardu in March and April 2023,” he said adding that following the limited flights available on this route PIA has also raised the fare to over Rs 25,000.

An official however claimed that the ATR service to Gilgit has not been affected by the shortage of pilots. However the services of larger flights (Boeing) to Skardu are affected by the fresh developments.

“In the absence of air travel, buses and car

service providers have also started charging inflated fares. Buses are charging around Rs 5,000 while cars charge Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per passenger for traveling between Rawalpindi and Skardu,” said Z.A Agha owner of a travel service at Pirwadhai Bus Stand, in Rawalpindi.

According to sources, the reduction in flights has been made following the resignation of dozens of pilots of PIA. The resignations had come after PIA announced a 35% cut in salaries, prompting outrage among the pilots and their representative organization, the Pakistan Airline Pilots Association (PALPA). As per reports private airlines are paying Rs. 9 lacs to the first officers and Rs. 16 to 18 lacs to the captain, which the organization argues is not enough to sustain a decent living. According to PALPA the salaries of PIA’s most senior captains are close to Rs. 7 lacs. As a result, more pilots are ready to quit, putting further pressure on the already beleaguered airline. Interestingly, as per PALPA officials, these are the same pilots whose names were on the list of 262 fake licenses.

When contacted, Abdullah Hafeez, Spokesman of PIA claimed that the number of flights would start increasing soon. He claimed that the number of passengers increases one side in different seasons which ultimately affect the flights.

As per the spokesman, the flight operation to GB may also be started from other destinations like Lahore and Karachi in case the demands go up in summer season. He claims the tourist flow would increase after the holy month of Ramazan.

saudi Aramco earns $161b profit for 2022

prOfIT

aFp

Saudi Aramco said on Sunday it achieved “record” profits totalling $161.1 billion last year, drawing an outraged response from activists warning about the ravages of climate change.

The mostly state-owned energy giant, the world’s second most valuable company behind Apple, said in a filing with the Saudi stock market that net income for 2022 was up 46% from $110 billion in 2021. The results — the strongest since Aramco became a listed company in 2019 — were “predominantly due to the impact of higher crude oil prices and volumes sold, and stronger refining margins,” it said.

Global energy prices surged after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. “It is shocking for a company to make a profit of more than $161 billion in a single year through the sale of fossil fuel — the single largest driver of the climate crisis,” Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, said in a statement.

“It is all the more shocking because this surplus was amassed during a global cost-ofliving crisis and aided by the increase in energy prices resulting from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.” Amnesty described Aramco’s profits as “the most ever disclosed by a company in a single year” and said they “should be used to fund a human rights-based transition to renewable energy”.

Risks of underinvestment

Aramco’s gains are consistent with record profits for 2022 reported by the five oil majors Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and TotalEnergies, which in total surpassed $150 billion and would have been closer to $200 billion without costly withdrawals from Russia.

“Aramco rode the wave of high energy prices in 2022. It’s what the company is geared to do,” said Robert Mogielnicki, of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. “It would have been difficult for Aramco not to perform strongly in 2022.”

Saudi Arabia has pledged to

Silicon Valley Bank’s stunning collapse has led to the freezing of tens of billions of dollars stored there by startups and their private equity backers, raising fears of a wider tech sector fallout.

The company, whose website says it is “the financial partner of the innovation economy,” was taken over Friday by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to prevent further damage.

“SVB knew the entrepreneurial community,” Joseph DeSimone, a professor at Stanford University and founder of several startups, told AFP.

“They helped us recruit people, helped with securing mortgages for transplants, gave financial advice to new executives… So their disappearance is a real loss,” he said. The company previously boasted that “nearly half” of technology and life science companies that had US funding banked with them, leading many to worry about the possible ripple effects of its collapse.

For banks that are FDIC-insured, only $250,000 per account is guaranteed. But according to SVB’s latest annual report, 96 percent of its total $173 billion in deposits was uninsured.

The FDIC said Friday that all accounts would quickly get access to the insured portions of their deposits, but that the rest would depend on how much is recovered from sales of the bank’s assets, an often lengthy process.

“The real victims of the SVB fallout are the depositors: startups with 10 to 100 employees, who cannot make payroll, and will have to furlough or shutdown workers as soon as Monday,” tweeted Garry Tan, head of the well-known incubator Y Combinator. He warned that “years of US innovation” are on the line, as an entire “generation of American startups” could be destroyed in a month or two.

‘Doesn’t look good’

Activist investor Bill Ackman raised a similar alarm on Twitter, saying that SVB’s collapse “could destroy an important long-term driver of the economy.” “If private capital can’t provide a solution, a highly dilutive gov’t (government) preferred bailout should be considered.”

According to several US media reports, SVB had discussed on Thursday and Friday a possible buyout with several banks, but could not find a solution quickly enough. Champ Bennett, cofounder of the video platform Capsule, revealed on Friday that the $5 million raised in mid-February during the company’s first seed funding round was housed at SVB and now inaccessible.

“What happens next is anyone’s guess, but it doesn’t look good,” he tweeted.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

US congressman expresses concern over rights violations under Sharif

WASHINGTON Monitoring report

achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2060, drawing scepticism from environmental campaigners. Officials are simultaneously championing further investments in fossil fuels to ensure energy security and stave off inflation and other economic woes.

“Given that we anticipate oil and gas will remain essential for the foreseeable future, the risks of underinvestment in our industry are real — including contributing to higher energy prices,” Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on Sunday.

Aramco has pledged to achieve “operational net-zero” carbon emissions by 2050.

That applies to emissions that are produced directly by Aramco’s industrial sites, but not the CO2 produced when clients burn Saudi oil in their cars, power plants and furnaces.

Growth driver

The company’s yearly net income figure is nearly double the $88.2 billion the firm pulled in in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

US Congressman Brad Sherman, a Democrat representing California’s 32nd congressional district, has expressed his concerns over the “violation” of human rights and democracy in Pakistan, urging the government of Shehbaz Sharif to ensure freedom of speech and the application of rule of law in the country. Sherman’s comments come after he spoke to former prime minister Imran Khan and Dr. Asif Mehmood, a Pakistan-origin philanthropist and Democratic candidate running for Congress. In a video message shared on Twitter by the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Sherman recalled the US and Pakistan have a long history of working together on various global and regional issues since the 1940s. “America must support democracy and human rights around the world and particularly in Pakistan,” he pointed out.

“It is not the role of the United States to involve itself in Pakistan’s internal governmental matters with respect to Pakistan’s constitutional and democratic process. But we must not shy away from raising our voices for human rights and democracy in Pakistan or anywhere else. “The government of Pakistan and every government should respect the right of people to speak, the right to organise, the right to demonstrate,” he said. He noted that Pakistan was facing several internal and external challenges, such as growing extremism, intolerance, and dissent that threatened the country’s social cohesion. Sherman also emphasized the need for a calm, orderly, democratic, and prosperous Pakistan where citizens could freely engage in political dialogue. He also expressed concern over the alleged incidents of “custodial torture” and “sexual abuse” of PTI leaders Shahbaz Gill and Azam Swati, as well as the deaths of journalist Arshad Sharif and party worker Ali Bilal.

Govt makes public much-awaited Toshakhana record since 2002

ISLAMABAD staFF report

The federal government on Sunday made public the much-awaited records of Toshakhana gifts received by public officeholders from foreign governments and dignitaries since 2002, on government’s website.

The record comprising 446 pages included gifts received in Toshakhana from the year 2002 to 2023. Names of former presidents, prime ministers, federal ministers, and government officers were mentioned in the list along with details of the gifts retained by them.

The department has been in the news in recent months in light of proceedings against former prime minister Imran Khan for “not sharing details” of Toshakhana gifts.

Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced the government’s plans to make the entire record public. He had also barred the officials from retaining gifts worth more than $300.

Established in 1974, the Toshakhana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officials by heads of other governments and states and foreign dignitaries.

According to Toshakhana rules, gifts/presents and other such materials received by persons to whom these rules apply shall be reported to the Cabinet Division.

The government put the document on the website containing record of former president Pervez Musharraf and former prime ministers Shaukat Aziz, Yousaf Raza Gilani, Nawaz Sharif, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Imran Khan. Names of present prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Dr Arif Alvi were also included in the list.

The following are some of the more salient findings regarding the gifts retained from the Toshakhana by political leaders over the years: Nawaz ShaRif: Three-time former

prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif retained a Mercedes Benz (Rs4.2m) in April 2008 after paying Rs636,888 for it.

In November 2913, he retained a Rolex wristwatch (Rs1.18m) after paying a total of Rs243,000 for it and some other items. He also kept a Piaget wristwatch (Rs1m) in January 2015 after paying Rs240,000 for it and a box of perfumes.

In January 2016, he retained a Christopher Claret watch (Rs2m), a ring (Rs19.5m) and a pair of cufflinks (Rs16m) after paying a total of Rs7.6m for them and some other items. Meanwhile, his wife Kulsoom Nawaz retained a bracelet (Rs12.7m) and a necklace and earring (Rs41.6m) after paying Rs10.8m for them.

In February 2016, Nawaz retained a Dela Cour watch (Rs3.2m), a ring (Rs8m) and a pair of cufflinks (Rs5m) after paying Rs3.2m for them. In October 2016, he retained a Rolex watch (Rs1.2m) and another Rolex watch (Rs850,000) after paying Rs469,000 for them and some other items.

In March 2017, his son, Hussain Nawaz, retained a Rolex watch (Rs940,000) after paying Rs186,000 for it. Meanwhile, the PML-N supremo himself retained a diamond necklace (Rs1m) after paying Rs207,560 for it and a table watch. In May 2017, Nawaz retained a Rolex wristwatch (Rs4m) after paying Rs808,000 for it.

imRaN KhaN: Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan in September 2018 retained a Graff wristwatch (Rs85m), a pair of cufflinks (Rs5.6m), a pen (Rs1.5m) and a ring (Rs8.75m) after paying Rs20m for them.

In October 2018, he retained a Rolex watch, assessed at Rs3.8 million, after paying Rs754,000 for it. Another Rolex watch (Rs1.5m) followed in the month after paying Rs294,000 for it. In October 2019, he retained a boxed watch, assessed at Rs1.9m, after paying Rs935,000 for it.

In September 2020, Imran retained yet another Rolex watch, assessed at Rs4.4m, after paying Rs2.4m for it and a number of other

gifts. In the same month, his wife Bushra Bibi also kept a necklace (Rs10m), bracelet (Rs2.4m), ring (Rs2.8m) and a pair of earrings (Rs1.85m) after paying Rs9m for them.

It must be mentioned that former prime minister and National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf also retained a Graff wristwatch assessed at Rs890,000 in November 2012 after paying a total of Rs218,000 for it and other items.

aSif ali zaRDaRi: Former president and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari in January 2009 retained a BMW car (Rs57.8m) and Toyota Lexus (Rs50m) after paying a total of Rs16.1m for them and another BMW car (Rs27.3m) after paying Rs4m. In March 2011, he retained a wristwatch (Rs1m) after paying Rs158,250 for it and some other items. In June 2011, he retained a Corum wristwatch (Rs1.25m) after paying a total of Rs189,219 for it and some other items. Another Cartier wristwatch (Rs1m) followed in October 2011 with a payment of Rs321,000 for it and a gun.