g I m r a n K h a n t a k e s o u t t w i c e - d e l a y e d p e a c e f u l r a l l y f i n a l l y

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Monday announced a historic power show at Minar-i-Pakistan on Sunday March 19 as the party s twice-delayed elect on ral y was f nally taken out peaceful y

The ral y was origina ly schedu ed for Saturday and then Sunday but was postponed after the party failed to get re ief e ther from the E ect on Commission or the Lahore H gh Court against the caretaker Punjab government s order of impos ng Section 144 in the provinc al capital

Po ce was seen arresting PTI activists despite the fact that the d strict administration had given perm ss on for the ra ly The inter m Punjab government had imposed Section 144 c t ng a Pakistan Super League match in the Qaddafi Stad um and a marathon race n the city However in a not fcation on Sunday the administrat on had allowed the PTI to take out the pub c ra y on Monday (today) but mentioned that it would carr y h ghsecurity risk due to the general and specif c threats aga nst po itica gatherings and previous instance of attack on the ex-prime minister

The perm ssion was g ven after an undertak-

PM approves to set price of cotton at Rs8500 per 40kg for this year

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has accorded inprinc ple approval to set the price of cotton at 8500 rupees per 40 kilogram for this year The approval was granted dur ng a review meeting of the Agr cultural Task Force that was held in Lahore on Monday with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Shar f n the chair Dur ng the meet ng a detai ed discussion was held on increasing the product on of cotton and setting its support price The meeting was informed that last year there was a substantial reduction in cotton production due to f oods rains shortage of cana water and fertilizer crisis The total product on of cotton th s year is estimated at 12 77 m ll on ba es while not only the area under cotton cultivation but a so the y eld per acre is expected to ncrease s gnif cant y The per acre coast of cotton and ts comparison w th other crops was also presented to the meet ng The Prime Minister d rected to submit the support price of cotton to the Economic Coordination Comm ttee for approva at the earliest He sa d the provinc al governments should ensure the provision of f xed pr ce of cotton to the farmers He also drected the federa government to provide al poss ble assistance to the prov ncial governments to implement the fixed support price The Prime Minister sa d the government is taking steps on pr ority basis to increase the per acre product on of cotton For this purpose he directed the Ministr y of Nat onal Food Security to speedi y complete its work in formulating proposa s to ncrease the per acre y eld of cotton ing by the organiser to the “eff e c t t h a t i n c a s e o f a n y u n t o w a r d i n c d e n t h e s h a l l b e h e l d r e s p o n s i b l e T h e n o t f i c a t o n h a d also barred speeches against the const tutiona o f f i c e s i n c l u d n g t h e m i l i t a r y a n d j u d c i a r y T h e e ection ra ly kicked off from Zaman Park today w th Imran lead ng t n a bu letproof veh cle

Reaching Data Darbar Imran addressed the rally from inside h s vehicle thanked PTI workers and supporters for the r partic pation and announced Sunday s Minar-i-Pakistan power show set for 2pm

This ral y wi l be n the day and it wi l be my sixth in Minar-i-Pakistan in the last 12 years, he added Imran said he would address the ra ly and explain how to take the countr y out of its current issues He called on the peop e of Lahore to start preparing for the power show

It is clear from today s ra ly why this imported government did not allow our [previous] ral y he said referring to the PT s March 8 plans

Imran also pa d tribute to PTI worker A i B lal also known as Zil e Shah who ost h s life on March 8 as the caretaker Pun ab government used force to block a rally ca led to launch the party s campa gn for the April 30 elect ons n the prov nce

I m sending a message on my nat on s behalf to those peop e [behind his death] that and the nation will never forget this or forgive you Unti those police off cia s and those who tortured him are not brought to ustice, [we wil not rest] and wil get them sentenced The PTI chief said he was not str ving for his personal sake but for the people He a leged that the “ b g crim na s ” in power were attempting to run away from the e ect ons and registering cases against him and PTI off ceholders to somehow disqualify us from elect ons He also addressed the recent public re ease of the Toshakhana gift records and said t was now made clear who was actually oot ng the Toshakhana Videos shared by the PTI showed people throng ng Imran s vehic e and shower ng it with petals The rally thereafter turned back for Imran s Zaman Park residence Imran a so paid tribute to PTI worker Al B lal, also known as Zil e Shah, who ost h s life on March 8 as the caretaker Pun ab government used force to block a rally ca led to launch the party ’s campa gn for the April 30 elect ons n the prov nce

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 03 01 FRONT PAGE (14-3-2023)_Layout 1 3/14/2023 1:46 AM Page 1

BoK profits fall by more than 50% af ter attempted expansion

g Bank ’s expansion plan coupled with troubled economy hindered its profitability for the year

PESHAWAR: a z i z B u n e R i increased by a whopping 26% on a yearly bas s from Rs 5 295 million in 2021 to Rs 6 650 m l ion n 2022 Moreover profitab lity during the year has been mpacted by a s gnif cant ncrease in the interest rate on the bank s fixed rate investment portfolio which resulted in the bank paying more money to its nvestors DeTaIlS of The fInancIalS : The bank s net income jumped up by 9% from Rs 7 812 mil ion in 2021 to Rs 8 533 m l ion in 2022 The ncrease was because of a surge in prof ts n foreign currency and income through bank charges Income from fore gn exchange increased by

38% from Rs 478 mi lion in 2021 to Rs 660 milion in 2022 However the volatile stock market ow ng to the countr y s deteriorating economic conditions decreased prof ts from investments in the stock market resulting in reduced income for the bank The annual report shows that dividend ncome declined by a massive 192% (Rs 25 mil ion) n 2022 from Rs 38 mil ion in 2021 to only Rs 13 mil ion n 2022 Desp te a 9% ncrease in total income the

However the Islamabad H gh Court (IHC) last year in September quashed the terror charges and directed to transfer of the case to a re evant court under the remaining sect ons n the FIR

The Toshakhana case was n tiated on a comp aint filed by the Election Comm ssion of Pakistan (ECP) which accused Khan of conceal ng details of gifts from the Toshakhana he retained after payment while in off ce

During the proceedings Khan s lawyer Khawaja Harr s argued his client cou d not appear in court due to secur ty threats and had filed pet tions in the Is amabad H gh Court (IHC) and Lahore High Court (LHC) for the appearance of his client via video l nk He also subm tted another p ea asking the court to declare the pet tion fi ed by the ECP seeking cr minal proceedings aga nst the former prime minister inadm ss ble questioning the competence of the authority that f led the complaint

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 03

MQM founder loses £10m proper ties case to MQM-P in London

LONDON S ta f f R e p o R t

Muttah da Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder has lost a case of s x properties n London worth £10 m ll on to MQM-Pakistan (MQM-P) after a ega battle at the Un ted Kingdom (UK) High Court According to details a London high court heard a case regarding the ownership of six propert es ncluding the MQM secretar at n London Federa M n ster Syed Aminul Haque represented the MQM-P in the UK court During the hear ng Judge C ive Jones ruled that MQM founder had resigned from the party after his August 2016 speech In th s regard, MQM-P is the true beneficiaries of the trusts that control London s properties he added The judge noted that MQM-P is the real MQM and ts members are the actua owners of London propert es which are currently under the control of Altaf Hussain Federal Minister Aminul Haque fi ed the case Party eader Nadeem Nusrat appeared in the London court to record his statement whi e Farooq Sattar recorded his words via v deo link The tr al of the second part of the case will also begin where n the income from the properties wi l be heard It is pert nent to ment on here that MQM Founder was facing proceedings before the UK high court after MQM Pakistan pet tioned to get control of seven London properties worth over £10 mill on belonging to the politica party

Punjab Elections: Filling of nominations papers under way

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

The process of fi ing nominat on papers for elect on of Pun ab Assembly s under way and the candidates can file their nom nation papers with Returning Officers til Tuesday The names of nominated candidates w ll be pub ished on Wednesday while scrutiny of nom nation papers wi l cont nue t ll 22nd of this month Candidates may withdraw the r papers on 5th of next month while final ist of candidates w ll be pub ished on the same day Election symbols w ll be a lotted to contesting candidates on 6th of next month while poll ng w ll be held on 30th nstitutions Nonper form ng loans ncreased by 12% from Rs 10 521 mil on n 2021 to Rs 11 756 m lion in 2022 an ncrease of Rs 1 235 m ll on Looking for ward the bank has been investing in bui ding ts capac ty to grow its business which should enab e a sustainable increase in profitability in the coming year It is also ooking to dversify its financing portfo io by gradual y moving from government backed end ng to the pr vate sector for fresh oans with potential of anc l ar y bus ness and trade finance opportunities

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