Epaper_23-03-18 LHR

LHC granTs proTeCTIve baIL To Imran

In nIne Cases, aLLows poLICe To probe

g B a i l g r a n t e d t i l l M a r 2 4 a n d 2 7 r e s p e c t i v e l y i n c a s e s r e g i s t e r e d b y I s l a m a b a d , La h o r e p o l i c e

LAHORE S ta f f R e o R t

THe Lahore High Court (LHC)

on Friday granted protect ve bai to former prime minister Imran Khan in nine cases while also allowing the police to investigate the FIRs against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and others related to clashes between PTI workers and police at Zaman Park

Meanwhile Justice Tariq Saleem

She kh has directed the federat on and all prov nces to provide complete details of the FIRs and restrained concerned quarters from taking any coerc ve measures against mran Khan until Monday

The LHC s division bench headed by Just ce Tar q, heard the protective bai p eas on eight FIRs registered under anti-terror sm charges The bench granted Imran protective bai s in three FIRs registered in Lahore by March 27 and in five odged in Islamabad by March 24

The PTI chairman after leav ng h s Zaman Park residence in a convoy had arrived at the LHC for hearing on mult p e petit ons to seek protect ve bail in order to get access to re evant courts and details of FIRs registered against him

The court granted protective ba l to the PTI chairman in five cases registered by Islamabad police and three cases registered by Lahore police till March 24 and March 27 re-

g T h e y w a n t t o t a k e m e t o

B a l o c h i s t a n t o t r e a t m e l i k e

G i l l a n d S w a t i , s a y s I m r a n

IHC bars capital police from arresting Imran in Toshakhana case

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The Is amabad H gh Court (IHC) on Friday stopped the capital s police from arresting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Cha rman Imran Khan till Saturday in Toshakhana criminal case on his assurance to appear before the trial court on March 18 Chief Just ce Aamer Farooq wh le hearing the appeal against the verdict of the Additional District and Sessions Court for restoring the non-bailable arrest warrants of Imran Khan, directed the authorities to ensure foolproof security measures in the trial court on Saturday The Reg strar Office had raised some objections to the appeal fi ed earlier in the case However the court took up the case for a hearing During the proceedings, the ch ef just ce obser ved that there were some objections ra sed by the Registrar on the application Imran Khan s lawyer Khawaja Haris said the biometric ob ection had been removed

people in punjab, Kp to be given free flour in ramazan, says pm

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Fr day said needy persons in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be given the gift of free f our in the holy month of Ramazanul Mubarak Speaking at a meeting held here to rev ew arrangements for the provis on of flour to needy persons he said for the first t me n the histor y of the countr y a package had been prepared for the provision of free flour to poor peop e in the month of Ramazan He said no negligence wou d be tolerated regarding the qua ity of flour to be provided to the c tizens The prime min ster said the government was making all efforts to prov de relief to the poor and middle class

It was told that in Punjab 15 8 mil ion households wou d be provided free f our dur ng Ramazan wh le free f our wou d also be provided in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The needy persons can know about their eligibility for a gift of flour by sending the r identity card number on SMS 8171 ass gned by Benazir Income Support Programme It was further told that flour would be availab e on less rates in 50 Sasta Bazaars in Balochistan

China

spectively The PTI Chairman Imran Khan along with his counsel appeared before the court at 5 30pm on being summoned Imran s counsel argued before the bench that Islamabad and Lahore pol ce had registered e ght different cases against his client under the terror sm charges He further subm tted that details of some cases were not avai ab e However the bench obser ved that it would consider only those cases wherein the petitions had been f led adding We could not grant blanket bail" Subsequently, the bench granted protective ba l to the PTI cha rman n eight cases reg stered by Islamabad and Lahore Po ice earlier, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh had summoned Imran Khan to appear before the court in connection with his protective bai at 5 30pm Imran Khan had filed petitions for protective ba l in two cases reg stered at Ramna Po ice Stat on Is amabad, two cases registered at Khana Police Station Islamabad one case reg stered at Bhara Ka hu Police Station Islamabad and three cases registered at Race Course Pol ce Station Lahore

Meanwhile the s ngle bench comprising Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh a so granted protective bai till March 27 to the PTI chairman in a case registered by Sar war Road Pol ce against the PTI leadership over hid ng facts in the PTI worker (Zille Shah) death case

Fawad urges govt to walk the talk on ‘talk mantra’

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

PTI Vice President Fawad Chaudhr y on Friday asked the coalit on government to decide a date and venue for a meet ng to bring together all po itical parties to r d the countr y of the ongoing political as well as economic turmoi Fawad Ch s tweet coincided with the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) which sa d it was ready to convene an A l-Parties Conference for defusing the current polit cal turmoil In a tweet Friday PTI leader Fawad

Chaudhr y said Azam Nazeer

Tarar is mak ng statements ever y day to sit together and solve is-

sues Prime M nister Shehbaz Shar f has also asked for ta ks Take this act on further than statements as well and give a

date and venue for the [po itica ] parties to meet Imran Khan has already favoured dialogues he added His tweet comes a day after PTI Chairman Imran Khan struck a concil ator y tone saying he was ready to talk to anyone and render any sacrifice” for the sake of the countr y I w ll not shy away from any sacrifice for the sake of Pakistan s up ift interest and democracy In this regard I am willing to talk to anyone and take ever y step towards t, the former premier had tweeted Imran s tweet had come a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had once again extended an olive branch to him on Wednesday emphasising that a politica forces will have to sit together to take the countr y for ward Fawad also

re terated the cal for a meeting date and venue while speaking outside the Lahore High Court later today

Addressing the premier and Federal Law M nister Azam Nazeer Tarar he said: You are making statements [so] you should move for ward with it Whatever venue [you dec de and f there is an] inv tation Asad Umar is here You talk we are ready for that

The last time the conversation of all parties coming together had emerged was when the prime minister had cal ed an All Parties Conference (APC) in Februar y and had invited the countr y s polit cal leadership, includ ng Imran to discuss ways to overcome the cha lenges the countr y was facing

Oil rebounds 1% as investors take stock of banking crisis

punjab gov t , pTI reach deal to scale down tension

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The Punjab government and the Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) reached an agreement to defuse ongo ng tension began fol owing c ashes erupted between supporters of the PTI chairman and the personnel of the law enforcement agencies during a bid to arrest Imran Khan n the Toshakhana case Both s des have finalised Terms of Conditions (ToRs) related to holding rallies security of the PTI chief and other egal matters As per the agreement the PTI will cooperate with the admin stration to implement the arrest warrants and search warrants The PTI has nominated Shibli Faraz and Ali Muhammad Khan as focal person whi e SSP Imran K shwar will represent po ice for commun cation Furthermore the PTI wil cooperate w th the po ice for investigation in cases reg stered over c ashes occurred on March 14 and 15 It has also been dec ded that the Imran Khan s party wou d hold public gathering on Monday instead of Sunday whi e it would contact the administrat on for perm ssion The PTI as per the agreement w ll also nform the admin stration five days prior to holding the rally The government wil implement the guidelines formulated for the secur ty of the PTI chief the agreement states adding that the party will submit a request for security to the authorit es concerned The agreement w ll be submitted in the Lahore High Court (LHC) which has halted the operation to arrest Imran Khan t ll 3pm today Punjab pol ce agree to provide security to Imran

10 of same family dead in Kohistan house fire incident

KOHISTAN S ta f f R e p o R t

Ten members of a same family including women and chi dren d ed and 13 others sustained in uries when a house caught fire and subsequently ts roof col apsed in S ri Paye area of Lower Kohistan The incident occurred in wee hours of Friday said District emergency Officer Saj d Ali while ta king to the media He said that during the night a sudden fire broke out in the house of Nawab Wali Muhammad Khan in Siri Paye area of Lower Kohistan He added that as a result of the fire roof of the house collapsed and the residents were trapped underneath The wife of Nawab Khan his five daughters and three sons were ki led on the spot wh le three others susta ned mu tiple injuries Sa id Ali said that upon rece ving information, Rescue 1122 s fire-brigade and ambulance mmediately arrived at the scene and started rescue operat on but due to the intensity of the fire and the people trapped underneath, teams from Upper Kohistan and Shangla were a so requested for he p He said that during the search operation Rescue 1122 rescued 13 people and shifted the injured to a hospital where three of them are undertreatment The blaze was so intense that roof of the multi-storey house burnt quickly and later caved in

another $500m to Pakistan

committed amount of $2 bil on Pak-

istan is currently undergoing a massive liquidity cris s due to a constantly delayed IMF programme A day earlier finance min ster Ishaq Dar had admitted that the Fund was ask ng for the mater al sat on of commitments made by ‘ fr endly countries ’ with Islamabad which remains the only de ay in resumption of the stalled programme Speaking dur ng the Senate s session on Thursday Dar said: At the time of previous reviews certain friendly countr es made commitments to bilaterally support Pakistan But the IMF is now asking

lion out of the total

i o u s l y w a i t i n g f o r c o n f i r m a t i o n f r o m o t h e r a l l y c o u n t r e s l i ke S a u d A r a b i a U A e, a n d Q a t a r, a s w e l l a s f r o m t h e Wor d Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank for fulfilling the external financing needs of $6 bil on until the end of June 2023 T h e I M F t e a m l e f t Pa k i s t a n o n t h e 9 t h o f Fe b r u a r y w i t h o u t s g n i n g a s t a f f l e v e l a g r e e m e n t s i n c e w h e n t h e g o v e r n m e n t h a s b e e n s c r a m b n g t o m e e t t h e f u n d s d e m a n d s a n d g e t t h e v t a l $ 1 1 b i l l i o n r e l e a s e d O n Fe b r u a r y 1 1 t h, t h e g o v e r n m e n t b u l ld o z e d a m i n i - b u d g e t t h r o u g h t h e n at i o n a l a s s e m b l y t o p l a c a t e t h e I M F a n d a g r e e d t o m p o s e R s 1 7 0 b i l l i o n i n a d d i t i o n a l t a x e s t o m e e t t h e f u n d s c o n d i t i o n s In the meantime the government has been tr ying to receive loans from friend y countries to tr y and shore up forex reser ves and avo d default Pakistan has previous y received a $700m loan from China to help in this regard

deposits

1 8 H I V - I n f e c t e d c H I l d r e n d I e d I n

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LARKANA p p i

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tH E Sindh Government’s Health Department has finally revealed the number of HIV positive registered cases number of on-treatment cases and deaths in Larkana and Ratodero after suppressing the vital information from media persons for personal gains

at o d e r o s I n c e 2 0 1 9

In a rebuttal letter issued by Dr Muhammad Naeem Additional Director Communicable Disease Control (CDC), HIV / AIDS, Sindh, which has become viral on social media, he disclosed that the total number of Registered HIV child patients in Larkana is 702 out of which 591 are on treatment and 113 have died He said that the total number of registered HIV positive children in Ratodero is 2189 out of which 2028 are on treatment and 105 have died

first wild polio virus case of year 2023 repor ted in kP

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

The health officials on Friday confirmed the report of first Wild Poliovirus Type-1 (WPV1) case of the current year 2023 According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Health Services the virus has paralysed the three-year old boy in Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa Meanwhile National Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad confirmed the detection of Wild Poliovirus Type-1 (WPV1) as well as Vaccine Derived Poliovirus Type 3 (VDPV3) from the environmental samples collected from Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Ghotki district of Sindh respectively Giving the details of Wild Poliovirus Type-1 (WPV1) detection from the environmental sample collected from Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the official said the environmental (sewage) sample was collected on 21st February 2023 from the Paroa environmental sample collection site This is the first positive environmental (sewage) sample from the endemic zone of South KP this year, and the third positive environmental (sewage) sample from Pakistan at large in 2023

Marriyum accuses Imran of def ying cour t orders

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum

Aurangzeb has said that state institutions were being challenged and attacked in Zaman Park, Lahore In an interview with BBC News, she said police have shown immense restraint to comply with the court orders to arrest Imran Khan in corruption cases He (Imran) on the other hand was not only defying court orders but also inciting his party workers to create anarchy, she added Police had no weapons and were hit with petrol bombs sticks and stones Marriyum Aurangzeb said adding due to these criminal acts of PTI goons 65 police personnel including DIG Operations were injured and hospitalized Imran Khan is using party workers women and children as human shields to avoid arrest and stoke unrest in the streets of Lahore she maintained The recent audio leak was proof that Imran Khan ordered his workers and senior party officials to procure petrol to use it as a weapon against the police contingent Imran Khan, she said was repeatedly given time by the courts but he did not appear and was, trying to influence the courts by his illegal action Imagine what would happen if a leader of a mainstream political party in Britain defies courts, and incites his party workers for violence while hiding himself at home" she questioned N awa z, S h e h b a z c o N S t i t u t e P u N j a b, K P Pa r l i a m e N ta ry b o a r d S: Meanwhile Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid Nawaz Sharif and its President Shehbaz Sharif had constituted Parliamentary Boards for the upcoming provincial assemblies elections of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa She, in a tweet, said the boards were formed to award party tickets to suitable candidates for contesting Punjab and KP general elections The minister also shared notifications on her Twitter handle in this regard

since April 2019 till todate In this way he added out of total 2189 registered HIV positive cases as many as 2028 are on treatment and 218 have died Dr Imran Akbar Arbani, who detected the first outbreak in Ratodero, said Friday that 30% to 35% cases which are sent for blood screening are detected positive in a month, which is alarming He said due to an increase in the number of positive cases screening was reduced to show the

performance as only one person is posted to work for screening in Ratodero who can carry out a few cases daily He said that the affected patients are also looking for the supply of proper medicines for coinfections

When this scribe talked to Imtiaz

Jalbani whose two HIV positive daughters have died out of five positive children, he said that HIV treatment medicines are given to them but drugs prescribed for coinfections are denied hence procured by

Qadir reiterates govt ’s resolve to eradic ate polio from Pakistan

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

A delegation of the French Agency for Development and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Friday met Federal Minister for National Health Services

Abdul Qadir Patel to discuss avenues for cooperation in social protection and health with a focus on polio

eradication

The delegation was visiting Pakistan to identify the country s needs as it works towards interrupting poliovirus transmission in 2023 and to understand areas for support in the light of climate catastrophe of 2022, which left more than 33 million people in need of aid

During the meeting on polio eradication, Abdul Qadir Patel said that our health service infrastructure was severely damaged in many districts and thousands of people lost their homes and livelihoods, placing a severe strain on our social protection mechanisms after

the 2022 floods

We are still recovering, but despite these toughest of times, Pakistan has not diluted its focus from polio eradication We owe our children of Pakistan a poliofree future, like children all over the world, deserve a life free from a preventable paralytic disease ”

The delegation of Gates Foundation was led by J a y We n g e r, G l o b a l H e a d f o r P o l i o E r a d i c a t i o n , w h i l e t h e F r e n c h A g e n c y f o r D e v e l o p m e n t delegation was headed by Agnès Soucat Director of H e a l t h a n d S o c i a l P r o t e c t i o n T h e d e l e g a t i o n members appreciated the progress made by Pakistan l a s t y e a r a n d e x p r e s s e d t h e i r w i s h t h a t t h e e n d t o p o l i o w a s v e r y m u c h i n s i g h t w i t h o n l y s e v e n districts remaining polio endemic

The minister said all polio cases after 2021 have been reported from southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Thanks to the generous support of the international community, Pakistan has been aggressively fighting

No progress until state pillars work in constitutional domain: CM Murad

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that this country would progress and flourish when the three pillars – legislature executive and judiciary would work in their constitutional domain T h e i n t e r f e r e n c e i n e a c h o t h e r s d o m a i n h a s not only affected the genuine uplift of the country b u t h a s s t e m m e d t h e r o t H e s a i d t h i s w h i l e concluding his pre-budget speech on the assembly floor on Friday

Mr Shah said that the provincial assembly, through legislation, had changed the name of Gumbat Institute to Pir Abul Qadir Shah Jilani Institute of Medical Sciences but a court has undone it “I have directed my legal team to prepare an appeal,” he said and added the courts could not undo such legislation Mr Shah said that he has also directed all his departments to prepare a list of such decisions which are acts of interference in the domain of legislature so that appeal could be filed He added that the late Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jilani has served this province as five times MNA and as a federal minister Dedication of an institution in his name [Pir Abdul Qadir Shah] is a recognition of his services and it was done by the assembly, therefore it could not be changed, he said

The CM said that the judges were summoning the chief secretaries, IGPs, and other officers and threatened them to implement their orders, otherwise they would summon their chief ministers He added that this was not a way but an

interference in the matters of the executive

Differentiating between Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohterma Benazir Bhutto with him [Imran Khan] would be an injustice with the history of this country and with the brave and visionary leaders “Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had said that he was ready to sacrifice his life for the sake of this country and went on saying as he would not hesitate to sacrifice his children which he did ” the CM quoting late Mr Bhutto said and added on the other hand the leader of a fascist party [Imran Khan] was making his innocent workers as a human shield to protect himself

Mr Bhutto bravely accepted the gallows while he [Imran Khan] was hiding under his bed and wearing industrial masks Murad Shah quoting Shaheed Bhutto s speech at the UN in 1971 said he [SZB] had refused to address India foreign minister Swaran Singh as distinguished’ because his hands were tinted with the blood of people of Pakistan ” He added that on the other hand, the fascist leader [Imran Khan] was openly tinting his hands with the blood of his innocent workers Mr Shah said that Shaheed Mohterma Benazir Bhutto knew that she would be killed upon her return but she returned to Pakistan Contrary to her he [Imran Khan] has kept a member of a banned outfit of terrorists for his protection

This is the difference between true democratic l e a d e r s a n d a f a s c i s t p a r t y t h a t b e l i e v e d i n bloodshed and defying the law of the land, and the court orders and they do not respect the institutions of this country

‘Nawaz S harif running c ampaign against Imran, judiciar y ’: Per vaiz Elahi

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Former Punjab chief minister (CM) and Pakistan

Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Pervaiz Elahi Friday said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N)

Quaid Nawaz Sharif is running a smear campaign against Imran Khan and the judiciary while sitting abroad Former National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser and Senator Zeeshan Khanzada held a meeting with Pervaiz Elahi during which they discussed the political situation, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) elections

Pervaiz Elahi said that Imran Khan has always respected law and the judiciary, whereas, the ineligible rulers are now staining the democracy by committing constitutional violations

He said that the cases against Imran Khan were filed at the behest of the ruling PML-N for political victimisation

The former Punjab CM said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also showed a lack of confidence in the ineligible rulers who are now trying to appease the Fund by dropping the inflation bomb on the nation He asked the current rulers to hold elections following the directives of the Supreme Court (SC)

Law Minister urges politic al leaders to sit together for improving economy

The economy of Pakistan is facing serious challenges and it is high time that the leaders of all political parties should sit together and discuss ways and means to steer the economy out of crisis situations

This was stated by Azam Nazeer Tarar, Minister for Law and Justice while addressing a dinner reception hosted by Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) in honor of Office Bearers of Pakistan Bar Council Islamabad Bar Council Islamabad High Court Bar Association and Islamabad District Bar Association Azam Nazeer Tarar said that the political polarization is not good for the country and stressed that all concerned

should reconsider their approach to give a better economic future to the posterity

He said that for how long we will run our economy on foreign loans and urged that we should work hard to make Pakistan a self-reliant country

He said that the legal community in cooperation with the media and the business community have always played a positive role in difficult times and hoped that they would again join hands to put Pakistan on the path of better growth Speaking at the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the burden of cases on courts was increasing and stressed that a mechanism of mediation councils should be promoted to settle out of court trade disputes

them from the open market being very poor labourer He said that CD-4 and Viral Load Test facilities are also not being done which determine the treatment effects He said commitments were made by the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari that parents of affected children will be provided jobs free transport services and endowment funds etc which are still awaited despite passage of four long years D r H o l a R a m w h o h a s r e t i r e d a f t e r heading the HIV/AIDS Treatment Center o f C h a n d k a H o s p i t a l s a i d t h a t s c r e e n i n g m u s t b e m a n d a t o r y b e f o r e m a r r i a g e , q u a c k s s h o u l d b e b r o u g h t t o j u s t i c e , h a i r d r e s s e r s s h o u l d s t r i c t l y f o l l o w t h e SOPs blood transfusion should be strict i l l e g a l b l o o d b a n k s s h o u l d b e s e a l e d forthwith and mass awareness must also be made among villagers because prevention is better than management

the poliovirus Support from donors to close the gap on funding so we can successfully conduct immunization campaigns the impetus needed to make it to the end of this journey

We are actively working to eliminate the virus in the last remaining geographical area and in pockets of under-immunized populations, the minister added On this occasion, Special Secretary, Ministry for National Health Services said, an investment in polio is an investment in health systems The polio programme has proven how it can offer the most reliable support for the most challenging of health emergencies he added

“When the pandemic hit Pakistan within days AFP surveillance teams became COVID surveillance teams

After the COVID vaccine arrived polio workers were on the forefront of tackling vaccine hesitancy and making citizens aware of COVID-19 vaccination sites during door-to-door campaigns said Dr Shahzad Baig the Coordinator for the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication Remarkable support was seen during the floods too, he said and added, thousands of polio workers were affected by the floods But even at a time when they lost so much themselves, they were on the ground helping at health camps organized by the Polio Eradication Initiative

‘Jatha politics’ a dangerous trend, says khawaja saad

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique has said Jatha politics is a dangerous trend, and it should not be allowed in the country at all Addressing a press conference here on Friday, he said political leaders never use jathas [groups] to resist a court order and they surrender to the law gracefully Criticising the Imran Khan government s alleged excesses against his political opponents he said: All certified political leadership of the country was imprisoned and defamed by levelling fake allegations against them ” He questioned that why an agreement was not being finalised with the IMF, asserting that the IMF knew that Pakistan was financially a weak country and it was demanding implementation of new conditions every other day for signing the agreement Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has shared one of the conditions with the media a day earlier, he added He said that this was the game being played with the solidarity of the country “He (Imran) is not a politician but a threat to the country ” he alleged The minister said there were two separate laws for the common man and for Imran Khan and no such concessions were ever given to other parties leaderships We are still appearing before courts and never avoided the proceedings, he added The PMLN senior leader said that everybody knew that Mian Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz used to appear before courts regularly He said Imran Khan would have to appear before courts even if it was acceptable to him or not Kh Saad alleged that Imran had never struggled for the rule of law never faced any dictatorship and never raised voice for the rule of Constitution, adding that he just played cricket in his life, told lies and used abusive language against his opponents He said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was established with the help of facilitators and foreign funding and now the state was facing its consequences

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clIMate fInance systeM reset requIred to tackle

21st century clIMate cHange crIsIs: sHerry

fE D E R A L Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman on Friday said that climate change was rapidly changing it’s scale and impact with every passing year that demanded a serious reset in the climate finance system to tackle the 21st century crisis of environmental degradation

In her keynote opening remarks at the launch of the World Bank Pakistan Country Climate and Development Report highlighting the country s vulnerabilities due to climate change and opportunities in shifting it’s development and policy paradigm to address climate mitigation and

adaptation for achieving sustainable development the minister said the effects of climate change have had a severe impact on Pakistan

Senator Rehman said climate change and development were common problem of the world, whereas the environment was changing faster than planned

She said that global emissions continued to rise at a massive rate today adding “We need collective action as climate change cannot be tackled alone by one country or region The minister said Pakistan was at the forefront of the most impacted countries due to climate change She also added that international organisations and all countries had to find solutions together to combat climate change

fawad urges gov t to walk the talk on ‘talk mantra’

CONtINuED fROM pAgE 01

Separately the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Friday said it was ready to convene an All-Parties Conference for defusing the current political turmoil in the country In a press release issued on Friday it said the PBC was ready to convene All Parties Conference and to invite all the central leadership of parliamentary parties to reconcile their disputes through dialogue and to hold free, fair and transparent elections to all Assemblies on a mutually agreed timeframe It quoted PBC Vice-Chairman Haroonur Rashid and Chairman Executive Committee Hassan Raza Pasha as saying that “all parliamentary should resolve their disputes through dialogue and pay attention to other major public issues like inflation devaluation of currency and unemployment etc” The PBC asserted it and the legal fraternity have “offered services for mediation among parliamentary parties in past through All Parties Conference (APC) and will continue to do so Saying the country cannot afford to further linger on prevailing tensions the statement quoted Rashid and Pasha endorsing the message of civil society and their invitation to form an informal Group of Mediators to engage with all parliamentary parties to start a reconciliation process to forge a national consensus on holding elections

People in Punjab, kP to be given free flour in ramazan, says PM

CONtINuED fROM pAgE 01

Advisor to Prime Minister Ahad Cheema Caretaker

Chief Minister Punjab Syed Mohsin Naqvi chief secretaries of Punjab Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and Managing Director of Utility Stores Corporation attended the meeting 185 000 i S l a m a b a d fa m i l i e S to g e t f r e e w h e at f l o u r: Meanwhile, the federal government on Friday decided to start the distribution of free wheat flour among 185,000 families of the federal capital by March 18, as part of an initiative to provide relief to inflation-hit poor people during holy Ramzan The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here who said the government was striving to provide maximum possible relief to the people amid inflation As per the decision the eligible people would be able to get flour from 40 outlets of the Utility Stores In order to avoid any inconvenience the people have been asked to check their eligibility for the free flour by sending an SMS containing their CNIC number to 8717 helpline of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) as the data has been linked with the BISP

Punjab gov t , PtI reach deal to scale down tension

CONtINuED fROM pAgE 01 M e a n w h i l e P a k i s t a n Te h r e e k - e - I n s a f ( P T I ) l e a d e r a n d f o r m e r m i n i s t e r F a w a d C h a u d h a r y s a i d t h a t t h e P u n j a b p o l i c e h a v e a g r e e d t o g i v e s e c u r i t y t o I m r a n K h a n Ta l k i n g t o m e d i a a t t h e L a h o r e H i g h C o u r t o n F r i d a y h e s a i d t h e p a r t y l e a d e r s h i p m e t w i t h P u n j a b I G P o l i c e a n d c h i e f s e c r e t a r y a n d w e h a v e s e t t l e d o u r d i ff e r e n c e s a n d p r e s e n t t h e m b e f o r e c o u r t t o d a y F a w a d c r i t i c i s e d P r i m e M i n i s t e r S h e h b a z S h a r i f f o r t h e e c o n o m i c t u r m o i l o f t h e c o u n t r y “ N o d e a l w i t h t h e I M F h a s s o f a r b e e n f i n a l i z e d a n d S h e h b a z S h a r i f i s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h i s c o u n t r y h e s a i d E v e r y c o m m o d i t y i n c l u d i n g p e t r o l , h a s b e c o m e e x p e n s i v e P e o p l e h a v e s t o p p e d u s i n g v e h i c l e s a s t h e y h a v e n o m o n e y t o b u y p e t r o l T h e y a r e d r o p p i n g t h e i r c h i l d r e n t o s c h o o l o n f o o t B u t t h e g o v e r n m e n t i s p u r s u i n g I m r a n K h a n d a y a n d n i g h t h e c o n t i n u

Climate change is happening faster than we think Pakistan accounts for less than one per cent of carbon emissions, the minister said

The federal ministry was making climate change policy and giving it to the provinces whereas the provinces should make their own laws in this regard in view of their needs The government had also launched the National Clean Air Policy she added

The floods of 2022 created a great human tragedy The government of Pakistan distributed an amount of Rs70 billion to the flood victims as Rs25 000 per family was given through Benazir Income Support Program the Minister said We saw humanitarian crises during floods and other climate change events in

2022 We have many lessons to learn from last year s environmental disasters Sherry Rehman said The role of the Federal Ministry of Climate Change was to deliver national policies, and legislation should not be confused with policies as the provinces had to make their own laws as per their needs

“Pakistan is facing a financial crisis, the World Bank has an important role to play in dealing with climate change finance

Pakistan needs $348 billion for climate adaptation and mitigation by 2030 Even if Pakistan goes completely green our emissions will not affect the global climate Sherry Rehman said The minister added that the country was not among the big carbon emissions

PM acknowledges services of school teacher who coined name of Islamabad

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday acknowledged the services on national level of Qazi Abdur Rehman Amritsari who had proposed the name of the Federal Capital as Islamabad

In recognition of his services and on recommendations of Capital Development Authority (CDA), he awarded the allotment letter of a residential plot in Park Enclave to the heirs of late Abdur Rehman The prime minister has fulfilled the Government of

Pakistan s promise of acknowledging the services of late Qazi Abdur Rehman Amritsari, said a press release He said the services of Qazi Abdul Rehman Amritsari for Pakistan could not be ignored He said the nation paid tribute to the school teacher Qazi Abdul Rehman who gave an identity to Islamabad PM Shehbaz Sharif also directed the CDA authorities to complete all the formalities and provide possession of the plot to the heirs of Qazi Abdur Rehman He eulogized media specially anchor person Hamid Mir for highlighting the issue The prime minister also lauded the efforts of CDA chairman Noor ul Amin in this regard

Hina Khar for new fiscal model for sustainable development

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani

Khar has called on the Commonwealth to take the lead in developing a new fiscally responsible model for sustainable development that addressed the issues of existing debt burden

She made the remarks at the 22nd Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM) held in London on Wednesday The minister led the Pakistani delegation at the meeting and represented Pakistan at the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey and the reception hosted by Secretary General Commonwealth at Buckingham Palace

At the CFAMM, the minister of state presented Pakistan’s perspective on global and regional developments and their implications for developing countries, including Pakistan She outlined the importance of international collaboration on climate

change and the availability of significant additional and predictable financial resources for climate adaptation and mitigation She also called for early operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund and associated arrangements The CFAMM endorsed, inter alia, the initiative by the Board of Governors to modernize the Commonwealth, with the establishment of three working groups on reforms, administration and programme, and finance Pakistan in its capacity as Vice Chair of the Board of Governors would be leading the Working Group on Administration and Programme

On the sidelines of Commonwealth events the minister of state met British Minister of State for Development Andrew Mitchell Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka M U M Ali Sabry Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs of Kenya Dr Alfred Mutua, Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Minister MP Robert Oliphant, and Secretary General Commonwealth Patricia Scotland

IHC bars c apital police from arresting Imran in Toshakhana c ase

CONtINuED fROM pAgE 01

The chief justice observed that Imran Khan’s undertaking regarding his appearance before the trial court was as worthy as his statement and that contempt of court proceedings could be initiated against him if it were violated He said the IHC did not decide on the matter previously and sent it to the trial court with the directive to take a decision after going through the undertaking He asked on which grounds the trial court had rejected the undertaking

Khwaja Haris replied that the trial court in its order, had stated that the non-bailable warrants could not be cancelled due to the situation in Lahore He said the incident that happened in Lahore was unfortunate and a case in that regard had already been registered “We had requested the trial court to cancel or suspend the arrest warrants against Imran Khan ”

The court asked whether the undertaking still existed Khwaja Haris said Imran Khan wanted to appear in the trial court on Saturday (today) adding that his client had been appearing in the courts before He said that another application had also been filed for Imran Khan s security

The chief justice remarked that all were equal before the law adding that he was told on the administrative side that security arrangements were being made and the trial court judge had also given an order in this regard Imran Khan s Lawyer said that the petitioner was injured and there was a threat to his life during his appearance The court observed that it was expected that the sessions court would properly observe the security matter as well

Khwaja Haris Advocate said that Imran Khan had also sought protective bail in other cases registered against him He assured that his client would appear before the court tomorrow and requested that the arrest warrant may be suspended

He said that they had submitted the original affidavit to the trial court and filing its copy with the IHC After hearing the arguments the court stopped the police from arresting Imran and also directed the PTI chairman to appear before the court during court hours The court served notices to the respondent and adjourned the case till March 21

An application was also filed to get the details of the cases registered against the prime minister, which would be heard by the IHC on Monday

attacked his Zaman Park residence in Lahore

"There has been an assassination attempt on me therefore my only request to the court is to transfer the Islamabad court case to some other court he said

emitters yet it did not have the world s attention

The World Bank was created to eradicate poverty and ensure sustainable prosperity, she said, adding, Today both the goals are challenged by climate change

She added that everyone in the world was scared by the speed of changing climate change “Geneva conference was a great success but when funding comes another disaster on the ground could hit I urge the World Bank and other financial institutions to reconsider the eco-finance system Sherry Rehman ended Country Director for Pakistan World Bank Najy Benhassine SAPM Muhammad Jehanzaib Khan and others also addressed the Report launching ceremony

Punjab ctd nicks 11 suspected terrorists of banned outfits

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Friday arrested 11 alleged terrorists of banned outfits during operations across Punjab CTD spokesman said 55 intelligence-based-operations (IBOs) were conducted in different districts of the province to effectively deal with any untoward incident of terrorism, in which 56 suspected persons were interrogated and 11 alleged terrorists were arrested with weapons explosives and other prohibited materials He said among the arrested terrorists were three members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi namely Najibullah Muhammad Tahir and Abdul Sami one member of Tehreek Jafaria Muhammad Aftab four members of Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan namely Kaleemullah Manzoor Khan Niaz Muhammad and Muhammad Zubair two members of Sepah Sahaba Pakistan identified as Muhammad Hussain Muawiya and Muhammad Daniyal and a proclaimed offender Muhammad Zubair The spokesman added that 883 grams of explosives, seven detonators, one hand grenade, 14 feet of safety fuse wire, two feet of prima cord, two leaflets of banned organizations, two receipt boxes, 122 stickers, 92 pamphlets, two flags of banned organization and 35290 rupees in cash have been recovered from the terrorists He said the terrorists wanted to target important installations and other religious places

Posters with Pakistan flag again appear in IIoJk

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Posters have again appeared in various towns of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) with Pakistani flags praising Pakistan for showing solidarity with the Kashmiri people The posters have been installed at many places in Srinagar and other areas of the occupied territory carrying the Pakistani flag and pictures of Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir Kashmir Media Service reported on Friday The posters read the text of the Army Chief s statement The world must ensure justice and deliver what is promised to the Kashmiri people as per UN resolution One poster reads, People of Jammu and Kashmir demand an end to Indian illegal occupation and want freedom” and “Go India Go Back”

any coercive measure against his client till the provision of details of cases registered against him A provincial law officer sought time for provision of details of cases during the proceedings They want to treat me like Gill and Swati: Imran Meanwhile PTI Chairman Imran Khan claimed that the government wants to take him to Balochistan so that they can treat him in a similar way they

treated PTI leaders Shahbaz Gill and Azam Swati Imran in the past has several times accused the incumbent government of resorting to extreme violence against the two party leaders in custody Both were arrested on sedition charges in different cases "They wanted to pick me up and take me straight to Balochistan they want to treat me like Shahbaz Gil and Azam Swati which is transparent to everyone he said during his hearing today in Lahore High Court (LHC) according to Express News Imran said that he was ready to appear in court on Saturday but the government resorted to violence and

He assured the court that he believed in the rule of law and has never broken any law in his life "Even the interior minister has expressed concerns over threats to my life " "The place where the [Islamabad] court is located is not secured it is located in a narrow street where judges too have been attacked in the past," he maintained He lashed out at the government for resorting to force at his residence "What happened at my house has never happened before and I cannot even describe it in words Things were out of my hands They came with an entire army as if they wanted to conquer Kashmir

LHC grants protec tive bail to Imran in nine c ases, allows police to probe

FI N A N C e Minister Ishaq Dar told the Senate on Wednesday that the government would sacrifice either the missile programme or the nuclear weapons programme to get the IMF programme restored This defiance may have been reassuring in one respect, but it was also making it clear that the IMF, after having forced the government to take all sorts of inflationary steps which also cost it great political capital in an election year is backing off on the package because Pakistan is not willing to compromise on its national security It should not be forgotten that hardly had the dust settled from the 19978 Pokhran tests, that India started to throw its weight around It was only after Pakistan engaged in its own nuclear tests that the Indian bullying was dialed down Senator Dar also said that the IMF wanted bilateral donors to confirm their commitments $6 billion are supposed to come from UAe Saudi Arabia and Qatar

These countries have tied aid to the IMF signing off If the missile and nuclear programmes are sacrificed at this point, the next step would be to attack Pakistan’s conventional capability, with the IMF already looking to cuts in the defence budget This should serve as a reminder that national security can only be provided by a strong economy, indeed that without national security, no economy can be strong The debate is in a way useless If Pakistan was indeed denuded of its defences it would not achieve economic prosperity It cannot escape notice that the IMF’s Deputy Managing Director formerly its Chief economist is an Indian Considering how much India pressed that Pakistan be blacklisted by FATF, and in view of how much India dislikes Pakistan s nuclear and missile programmes, not because of any threat, but because it restrains it from throwing its weight around in the region, it is not hard to guess that the IMF is getting input from India Instead of helping Pakistan out the USA being more concerned with Pakistan’s friend Chins is also renewing its interest in seeing Pakistan disarmed The question before the nation is what many suspected it would become: whether Pakistan was to be allowed to exist or not It should not be forgotten that giving up anything now will not gain Pakistan more than a limited breathing space economically too, Pakistan will end up losing our, because India will make even more exploitative terms that it has so far

Dedicated

ZA M A N P a r k L a h o r e w a s n o t k n o w n f o r p e t r o l b o m b s ( M o l o t o v c o c k t a i l s w h i c h a r e b o t t l e s f i l l e d w i t h p e t r o l b u t h a v i n g a protruding wick to be ignited before throwi n g ) u n t i l n o w A l a v i s h r e s i d e n t i a l a r e a o t h e r w i s e t h e p a r k w i t n e s s e d s e v e r a l r o u n d s o f pitched battle between the workers of the Pakistan Te h r e e k I n s a f ( P T I ) a n d t h e p o l i c e o n M a r c h 1 4 , day and night

From the PTI quarters although through audio leaks the only voice of reason emerged was that of former Punjab health Minister Dr Yasmin rashid, who was speaking on telephone to Dr Arif Alvi Pakistan s President In the taped telephonic conversation, Dr Yasmin rashid was found expressing her concern over the petrol bombs being hurled by PTI workers on the police She wanted Dr Alvi to intervene before the situation slipped out of hands The petrol bombs put on fire several police vehicles, giving a tinge of the wrath of the PTI workers, who wanted to replicate Turkey in Pakistan

A leading gynecologist Dr Yasmin rashid is a sane voice She led the doctor community (Pakistan Medical Association) for a couple of terms at the provincial level During the detention period of the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, she not only validated the blood test showing a low platelet count but she also advised the PTI government to release him from prison She remained instrumental in Sharif s departure to some foreign land for better treatment as well Certainly, Sharif ’s was not the case of poisoning in detention The cause must be either a drug s quality and dose or a drug-induced autoimmune (anti-platelet) reaction It was left to foreign doctors to find out the reason for the depletion of platelets Nevertheless her pertinent intervention and dispassionate opinion not only saved the life of Sharif but it also saved Pakistan from a political upheaval in case Sharif were harmed

The PTI is lucky to have Dr Yasmin rashid on its side her fretfulness about anticipated deteriorating law and order situation might have annoyed the PTI stalwarts who could not comprehend that she was right She understands politics and consequences of any miscalculated action Under the spell of enthusiasm PTI workers could set ablaze police vehicles but the act could not be barren of serious legal consequences The police represent the State

s m i n R a s h i d

of Pakistan

The state cannot be denied access The police were there to serve the notice of arrest on the

PTI Chairman Imran Khan, who was required in person by a court in Islamabad The PTI Chairman had to submit before the law without offering resistance To the disappointment of many PTI workers and leaders, Dr Yasmin rashid gave the right kind of advice: Khan had to give in The PTI was fortunate that the police were una r m e d I n F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 2 , M o h s i n B a i g , a s e n i o r journalist and analyst, resisted the Islamabad police and was manhandled The Lahore police made the r i g h t d e c i s i o n t o r e l e n t a n d w i t h d r a w i n s t e a d o f pushing ahead and getting into confrontation with the Gilgit-Baltistan police which were armed and which were affording a protective inner layer to the P T I C h a i r m a n r e p o r t e d l y, t h e C h i e f M i n i s t e r o f Gilgit-Baltistan had brought along a police contingent to Zaman Park to express his loyalty to the PTI C h a i r m a n T h e C M G i l g i t - B a l t i s t a n m a d e a n u nwise move he put the formula of federation at risk This is how, instead of serving the cause, petty politics mars prospects for an even tenor of life

T h e p u s h a h e a d w o u l d h a v e b e e n t u r n e d i n t o a b l o o d b a t h T h e G i l g i t p o l i c e n e e d e d t o b e n e ut r a l i z e d b e f o r e t h e L a h o r e p o l i c e c o u l d r e a c h i t s t a rg e t T h e c o o l h e a d o f t h e P u n j a b s I G P D r U s m a n A n w a r m u s t h a v e p r e v a i l e d o v e r h i s o w n e m o t i o n s , a n d e v e r y o n e e l s e , w h o w a n t e d a s w i f t c a p t u r e T h e w i t h d r a w a l w a s a n e v i l l e s s e r t h a n c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h t h e G i l g i t p o l i c e t h e I G P o f w h i c h h a s b e e n r e m o v e d f r o m h i s p o s t T h e I G P G i l g i t u n n e c e s s a r i l y e n g a g e d h i s m e n i n P u n j a b T h e c l a s h c o u l d h a v e i n t r o d u c e d d i s h a r m o n y i n t o t h e f e d e r a t i n g u n i t s

The Punjab police are otherwise known for their ruthlessness (and brutality as well) They spare none They have witnessed the rise and fall of many politicians This time, they fell soft on the PTI workers, many of whom were assembled from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa They were stationed in either Zaman Park or other Pashtun localities in Lahore They were there for offering intense resistance Perhaps, Dr Yasmin rashid was unaware of this fact Together including PTI workers from Lahore they were ared with clubs and slings to harm the invading anti-riot police, which used tear gas to subdue resistance Stones were pelted on them The police did not lose their calm despite sustaining injuries though they kept on crafting their way by batoncharging the PTI workers In totality, the IGP Punjab must be appreciated for not making the police withdrawal or capitulation an issue of ego By not submitting to the police and thus to the court, the PTI Chairman set a wrong precedent he must be haunted by the fear of humiliation while he is under arrest expectedly he may not be fearful of the police; he may be terrified of men in other uniforms who could interrogate or humiliate him in the dead of night

Compared to this kind of dread, Nawaz Sharif stands taller by not acquiescing to any such fright At that time the whole state machinery had turned a g a i n s t h i m A m u s i n g l y P a k i s t a n s p r i m e i n t e l l igence agency, the know-all, remained busy in col-

Indian strategic decoupling from Russia

I n d i a a n d t h e U S A b o t h h ave r i va l r i e s w i t h C h i n a

President Zelensky to deliver a speech at the Security Council via video Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed his concerns at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand in September last year, and told President Putin that this era is not one of war Modi s remarks seem to have admonished President Putin, and these were described as significant by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken Political Analyst happymon Jacob explains that Delhi is shifting its strategy from russia to the USA

It is understandable that the concern and advice of Dr Yasmin Rashid are construed as a sign of timidity, which would invite the ire of many enthusiasts filling the ranks of the PTI Obviously, contrar y to the flaunted devotees, she seems to be cautious about the par ty’s repute and future

l e c t i n g p h o t o c o p i e d d o c u m e n t s t e r m e d a s e v idence to fill in boxes reportedly, certain wooden boxes were arranged, to fill which was touted as a g r e a t j o b T h e m a j o r “ e v i d e n c e ” t h e s l e u t h s g o t their hands on was Iqama (an employment visa) on the basis of which the decision is still a matter of shame for the Supreme Court (SC) The boxes must be rotting in the store room of the SC for their ultimate disposal Iqama remained the nadir of both the SC and the know-all

In short it is understandable that the concern and advice of Dr Yasmin rashid are construed as a sign of timidity, which would invite the ire of many enthusiasts filling the ranks of the PTI Obviously, contrary to the flaunted devotees she seems to be cautious about the party s repute and future

The writer can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo com

E d i t o r ’ s m a i l

Th e r e is no permanent friend or enemy in international politics or domestic politics Interest prevails over everything every state protects its national interest Many changes have occurred in Indo-russian relations in the last two decades russia has been a strategic ally of India during the Cold War Indo-russian relations existed on three pillars during the Cold War (1) Soviet arms exports to India 2 Shared public-sector-heavy economic philosophy 3 US-Pakistan-China vs Indo-Soviet geopolitical alignment

The disintegration of the USSr the emergence of China as a superpower the US-China rivalry, the russian-China strategic partnership, and the Indo-US strategic partnership have affected Indo-russian relations Now only one pillar exists, that is russian arms exports to India India has to rely on russia to get the spare parts of the equipment and for the upgradation of its equipment however russia competes in the Indian arms market

According to Stockholm International Peace research Institute (SIPrI) russian equipment was the largest import by the Indian Military in the last decade Now this import of arms has shrunk by nearly half from 2012 to 2021 In recent years India has changed its policy Now India is more focused on developing its defense industry, and getting equipment and the latest technology from the West

After the russian invasion on Ukraine last year in February, major powers condemned russian aggression India was initially reluctant to condemn russian aggression towards Ukraine and faced Western criticism The Indian stance was very balanced India restrained itself from voting against russian aggression in the United Nations and the Western governments were frustrated by the Indian behaviour however, India ramped up its purchasing of russian oil since the Ukraine war began which was very concerning for the West In mid of March 2022, the spokesperson of the White house, Jen Psaki, questioned India on its russian stance asking where it would be when history is being written

In September last year, India for the first time changed its policy towards russia It voted against it backing Inviting Ukrainian

Both (the USA and India) are coming close strategically, which is a major shift in Indian policy russia has veto power in the Security Council of the United Nations; it has played a key role for India in the past It assisted India at every forum of the United Nations and opposed the adoption of resolutions or sanctions against India Indian policymakers today think that France and the USA would play the same role as russia has been playing for India and would protect its interests at the Security Council India and the USA are strategic partners

T h e s h a p e o f t h e f u t u r e g e o p o l i t i c a l f r a m ewo r k i s v e r y cl e a r. I n d i a i s m ov i n g t ow a rd s t h e U S A t o d e t e r C h i n a , a n d I n d i a i s u n d e r w ay t o w i t h d r aw f ro m i t s s t r a t e g i c p a r t n e rs h i p w i t h R u s s i a .

tential threat to its national security China and russia are coming close strategically to countering US hegemony in this region which concerns India Indian concerns are growing that China may influence russia on the Security Council in China’s favour Indian policymakers think that if skirmishes between Chinese forces and Indian troops occur again in the himalayan region China will pressure russia to stop providing arms and ammunition to India and diplomatic backing India is going into the Western camp, and decoupling itself slowly from russia but steadily which is not surprising for the strategic community Both countries have a long history of strategic partnership, and a great deal of cooperation during the Cold War Now both counties seem like they need more natural strategic partners

S e n d y o u r l e t t e r s t o : L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r Pakistan Today, 4 - S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h L a h o re P a k i s t a n E - m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d t o Pakistan Today e x c l u s i v e l y

A par t y at the zoo was a lame idea

This partnership is deepening with time India is protecting the USA s interest in this region against China, which is the rival of both (the USA and India) The relationship between China and India is getting worse with the passing of every day India considers China a po-

The shape of the future geopolitical framework is very clear India is moving towards the USA to deter China and India is underway to withdraw from its strategic partnership with russia This decoupling will take place slowly however, India will depend on russia until it does not find an alternate military supplier such as the USA France and Israel The USA provides arms and ammunition to India with some conditions (unlike France or russia) Growing diplomatic trust between The USA and India will enhance the defence ties

The writer is associated with the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) He can be reached at mohammadadannisar@gmail com

T h I S is with reference to the report CS takes notice of zoo s closure for private event (Feb 5) according to which a lavish birthday party was organised at the Zoological Gardens in Karachi by a senior official of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) for his daughter Due to the event the Imli Street of Mughal Garden was cordoned off by security personnel and it remained closed to the general public Zoo is a public place meant to provide entertainment to city dwellers Amenities streets waterfronts public parks etc are not allowed to be used for private affairs as they are critical to the infrastructure usage and recreational purposes for the public, including the poor, who do not have spacious homes and gardens to retreat to Public domains such as a zoo are therefore considered basic public service with the same priority as transport, water and sanitation which the state primarily focusses its resources on The birthday party as such was clearly and blatantly against the relevant rules and regulations however upon the uproar and furore caused by disgruntled and inconvenienced masses, the incident was reported by the media, and it was through the media that the authorities concerned got to know of the event which was then wrapped up quickly

The citizens rightly termed the incident an abuse of power and misuse of authority by the official concerned

The state at all levels needs compassionate disciplined and accountable officials to run the business of the government

Being the ultimate executive authority mandated with implementing all pieces of legislations, the bureaucracy holds a central position in establishing a truely functional state in the hope that it will one day actually become a welfare state

Since the bureaucrats are the ones meant to ensure service delivery to the masses at the grassroots level, a compassionate, pragmatic, unfettered and humane public service system is essential for the state to function effectively regrettably, our officials are every- thing they should not be; ineffective and un-empathetic recruitment lacunas superiority complex political appointments lack of training and influenced postings and transfers are some of the reasons behind the dwarfed performance of the state machinery

Being in the good books of the rich and the powerful is the elementary and sole approach of most if not all of the officials hunger for power and their self-perceived social status reigns supreme in their hearts and minds In short, for any government official, there are two objectives in mind; to hold as much power and to amass as much riches as they possibly can

Against this backdrop, it is not too hard to contextualise the reprehensible action of the public officer to hold a lavish family event on public property and banning movement of the public The mindset is reflective of arrogance and, indeed, elitism, which is actually a term they love to be identified with

This superiority complex is manifested in the fact that a large number of such officials behave no differently than autocrats in their respective realms The term public servant appears to be a misnomer as such officials barely behave like one Serving the masses, particularly the underprivileged exists nowhere on their agenda

The provincial chief minister should take notice of this blatant misuse of authority Such instances of power abuse, indifference and apathy by public- service officials must be investigated and subsequent exemplary punishments be meted out

The country needs a compassionate and accountable machinery comprising officials from the very top to the very bottom who sincerely believe that public good is above everything else

MuhaMMad adan nisar

Women’s Rights: Suffering under Men’s abuse

working girls They just want to steal whatever the other girl is having due to her hard work They try to create every sort of hurdle in the way of such girls as this family has created They are termed psychopaths by experts as their desire for wealth was not being fulfilled and they started to torture and abuse the girl The whole plan was being heard by the girl as she was there all the time The family used to make video conference calls with the daughter and brother-in-law on a daily basis behind closed doors to malign the girl and grab all sorts of her valuables and money The wicked plan was being made against her

As soon as their meeting ended, the husband and his family started to implement as the family decided

The family had the plan to start a fight immediately

their food, even her husband used to snatch the plate from her hands while eating his food Such shameful and lowest values are shown The highlights are lessons for those parents, who are seeing such people involved in these sorts of behaviour should be brought to the court regarding this family the court has come up with the decision of fard-e-jurm Such wild wolves should be taken head-on, who are too weak to take the pressures and responsibilities of one’s wife and children It is shameful to be associated with such a family as life is precious and these sorts of men and families don t deserve such a hardworking, solid character and nice girl

Th e gender-based violence against women has become an important debate nowadays In Pakistan, generally, it is observed to show violent behaviour towards women to fulfil one s will

It is a sign of the weak male gender who opts for this sort of attitude and tries to malign women to show his domination Usually, the Islamic role has been interpreted by this group of people as letting them do whatever they want They just need their desires to be met at once by showing violent behaviour

In this regard, the case is highlighted of a well-educated man from rawalpindi, who wanted to fulfil his desire of getting rich by showing violent behaviour towards his then-wife he wanted his wife s property share immediately he was continuously under the pressure of his family to abuse his wife and according to their thinking by keeping a woman under constant pressure, she would surely, bring all her property share from her living parents his mother who was a widow as well showed the most wicked plan along with her daughter son-in-law younger son, and his wife Such widows still play a wicked role in the lives of their children These wicked women and men are still living in our surroundings who just want their desires to be filled their way, showing shocking and amazing social, and family values Throughout 17 years of marriage the woman was being played as a victim in every sense She was criticized and abused by her family, relatives, based on her education, bringing up, etiquette, and well-being of her children

The jealousy and greed were obvious Those with this sort of mentality don t digest good character and hard-

The victim was dragged by the hair, pulled, punched on her whole body and kicked along with the abuses of the whole family As they all were on the point as heard by a girl, this is the right way to grab someone s property

This particular family is accustomed to doing the same as they have done the same within their family and after getting the property they divorced the girl who was their close relative as well Their younger brother did the same with his ex-wife They grab property, jewellery, car, ande s on of girls and immediately run door to door to get hold of another girl to marry their sons

They are habitual of doing this for years as they did this with their uncle’s wife from the father’s side as well as from their mother s side Just to see the real face of such people, the mother, dragged her unmarried sister and mother from their house and forced them to sign papers of the house in her name horrifying and shameful characters are still present in our surroundings They take the help of Islam and show they are doing all on the Islamic values

The plan was to first grab property and push two grown-up kids onto the expense of the bgirl’s parents The whole family was witnessing everything and encouraged the man to beat her up Such a plan to shun the responsibilities of being a father is shameful One can not think of such a person and a family who planned in such a way

They are not even honest with their children They are black stains in our society On the other hand, the family was observed as isolated and lacking social moral Islamic and ethical values Not even a single person from their family was observed in the life of 17 years visiting their houses All the time, they were fighting with everyone and never allowed anyone to enter their house

Whenever the girl s family tried to visit their daughter, they started to abuse her and, used to say, people came to their house to eat The girl was blamed for eating

pick for World Bank president can’t fix its crisis

deed, his corporate background reflects the kind of inequality-driving climate-destroying hyper-capitalism that is everything the World Bank should be standing against if it wants to genuinely aim for ending global poverty

The World Bank urgently needs new thinking if it is to get on track with its supposed mission To start, we need a World Bank president who will definitively move away from the climate denialism of the present president David Malpass But at a time when we need the World Bank to stand up to the fossil fuel industry, the institution is still busy funding fossil fuels

On the other hand the honorable Supreme Court also wrote in their judgement in this case that the man has been found weak, selfish, greedy, and violent to take himself out from the responsibility of his children and wife The court has labelled such a family a criminal

Such families have exposed themselves as greedy, and jealous, who can do anything for the sake of money They have destroyed the security and confidence of young children and snatched their happiness by snatching the shadow of their mother. This family should be taken behind the bars as their fate, otherwise, without punishment, these criminals will be moving freely and will keep doing the same as the whole family has been doing for the past many years

which should be exposed and get their punishment regarding violence against women Amnesty International raised a voice and termed it a human right which is not negotiable They are of the view that women have equal rights to live free of violence or from any threat without mental and physical abuse The platform focuses on respecting women s rights Women s suffrage goes back to the 19th and 20th centuries when they were barred from voting In this regard in 1893 New Zealand became the first country to recognize the presence of women in political affairs This movement then became widespread, and today woman’s suffrage is a right under the Convention on the elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) Still, there are many countries, where women are barred from many platforms such as Syria where women are cut off from political grounds In many tribal areas of Pakistan, many women are barred from voting or exposing their faces, and the same goes for Afghanistan due to conservative values

According to World report 2023 Pakistani authorities are observed failing in providing adequate protection or bringing perpetrators to account A development is observed by the appointment of the first female Supreme Court Judge Justice Ayesha Malik which shows equality on the professional ground Pakistan’s Parliament also passed a bill to strengthen protections for women against violence and harassment in January 2023 All eyes are on the justice system even on fard-e-jurm, how the mentioned abusers will be dragged into punishment behind bars These sorts of criminals are destroying the lives of daughters and sisters and are not stoppable It s a loud shout-out to judges to take strict action against these criminals who are habitual shameless and insensitive

Such families have exposed themselves as greedy and jealous, who can do anything for the sake of money They have destroyed the security and confidence of young children and snatched their happiness by snatching the shadow of their mother This family should be taken behind the bars as their fate, otherwise, without punishment these criminals will be moving freely and will keep doing the same as the whole family has been doing for the past many years

The writer is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Riphah International University and Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad Pakistan She can be reached at saira asad2011@gmail com

Al JAzeerA a r t h u r L a r o k

Th e mission of the World Bank is supposed to be to eradicate extreme poverty and promote shared sustainable prosperity Yet to many of us the bank has actually done more to entrench poverty and injustice than any other global institution, including through the conditionalities it imposes on poor nations that need its loans

One of the reasons for the World Bank s failure is its archaic governance structure, set up after World War II at a time when most African and Asian nations had not achieved independence and so had no sovereign voice Another reason is that its leadership is not recruited through an open global process but rather by a patriarchal “gentleman’s agreement” that allows the president of the United States to unilaterally appoint the bank s president every one of the 12 fulltime presidents of the World Bank to date has been a male US citizen

This illegitimate arrangement is something ActionAid, a global federation supporting more than 15 million people in nearly 40 countries to live a dignified life free from poverty and oppression has been challenging, together with others, over the past decade

This week I have started my new role as secretarygeneral with ActionAid Applying for this job involved an intense process which lasted several months but it was what it needed to be transparent and rigorous It is an honour, as well as an important responsibility to be the first Ugandan the to serve as ActionAid s perma tary-general In comparison, th ment of a new president for the Bank is opaque and effective stricted to American citizens

That pattern appears set continue with US Presiden Joe Biden unilaterally nomi nating former Mastercard CeO Ajay Banga for the post of the bank’s next president I call on Biden to get with the 21st century and ensure the next World Bank leader is tru the best person for the job nomination, sadly, is deeply propriate given the huge s cance of this role in the worl

The credibility of Banga the changes that are needed a Bank is fatally compromised b legitimacy in his appointment he set out a bold new vision to lenge and transform power his own power as president c from a distorted process? Ban a private equity executive with experience in public service

We also need someone who will recognise that the climate debt of the Global North cannot be paid to countries profoundly affected by the climate crisis in the form of loans that will lead to further indebtedness

Yet the climate finance proposals expected to be discussed at the World Bank meetings in April focus precisely on a massive expansion of loans, not grants

It is time for the World Bank to recognise the scale of the global debt crisis – and to acknowledge that debt is an accelerator of the climate crisis Indebted countries have to raise dollars – and the easiest way to do that is through extracting fossil fuels and national resources and through export-oriented industrial farming serving the global supply chain If debt exacerbates the climate crisis how can more debt be the answer?

We need a president who will chart a new path away from 40 years of structural adjustment and austerity Together with the International Monetary Fund, the Word Bank continues to champion cuts and freezes to public sector wage bills It fails to support the obvious alternative of helping countries to expand their tax revenues in progressive ways in order to sustainably finance front-line public sector workers who are key for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

The new president will need to lead the development of a new gender strategy for the World Bank one that confronts the contradictions between the narrowly targeted work of its gender team and the wider gendered impact of its work enforcing austerity When public spending is cut women are triply disadvantaged: the first to lose access to public services frontline jobs and the first to assume unpaid care work

The present gender strategy, which runs out this year is instrumentalist narrow and largely ineffecmust be transformative e as secretary-general of Acwill be using a feminist lens to r system change The World needs to make a definitive ve away from its support for ivatisation and public-private artnerships learning from the mounting evidence of their harm, particularly the exclusion of women and girls that comes from charging fees

But the bank remains aught up in an ideology that es public services as the probnot the solution If there is lite for system change from the ank and reform is not possible is the only alternative

Larok is the incoming Secretary of ActionAid International A ical sociologist with 20 years of perience in the development nd social change sector he grew up in Northern Uganda and joined ActionAid in 2012 as he Country Director in Uganda

Ev e N though 5G telecommunications hasn t yet reached the whole world, more and more businesses are already discussing and preparing for 6G the sixth-generation mobile system standard Although 6G availability is not expected until 2030, the telecommunications industry is working on shortterm improvements that will lead to 5G-Advanced the next evolutionary step before 6G Major players in the industry are choosing diverse paths toward 6G huawei, for example, prefers to talk about 5 5G “This cannot be skipped – it’s a prerequisite for 6G said Miguel Barroso a 5G solution architect at huawei With 5 5G, we are trying to multiply by a factor of 10 the 5G bandwidth target and attain 10 gigabytes That will enable transmission of other types of content and much more powerful solutions Another goal is to reduce network energy consumption by a factor of 10

At the Mobile World Congress (MWC2023) in late February huawei gave a sneak peek of some of its imminent technological developments The Chinese company demonstrated how a logistics center can automate product inventory control using a chip similar to the alarm tags on today s product boxes The chips are connected to a 5G network and automatically update inventories – no scanning is needed We can even enable automatic payment through these passive network-connected devices ” said Barroso

The next step is implementing sensor detection technology, which most companies plan to integrate into 6G Sensors in the network will detect any movement in the environment without needing people animals or objects to carry a device, unlike the Global Positioning System (GPS) For example, huawei is considering using network sensors to enhance safety in automobile traffic

The network can detect accidents and warn drivers without using GPS It could also detect intruders, such as an animal sneaking into an enclosure,” said Barroso huawei’s 5 5G technology will also enable 3D displays without using special glasses and video calls with simultaneous language translation

The United States ban last year on the sale and import of new communications equipment from huawei and other Chinese companies, citing security risks, may disrupt huawei’s plans But Barroso said the ban will have little impact on the company’s 5 5G development “5 5G is still in the specification standardization process and there is no product yet Work is still underway to define the standards and demonstrate the technology’s viability ”

To exploit the trepidation about Chinese technology companies Samsung is deploying its networks in europe as it did in Japan, the United States and South Korea, where its headquarters are located The company has already started these deployments in the United Kingdom and launched pilot programs in Germany and Spain to test network operations and ensure standard conditions for all operators Samsung will focus on network virtualization and Open rAN (open radio access network) which enables service providers to use non-proprietary

an in-house chip production capability

Other vendors don’t have that ” The Korean company is working on shrinking chip size, lowering power consumption and designing 5G network radios to suit different customers regions and frequencies In the meantime it s also adapting existing infrastructure to 5G and 5GAdvanced You can t just throw away all the existing devices – you have to develop a smooth transition that can be rolled out gradually ” said López

Taiwanese companies can also exploit spaces where huawei has difficulty playing Taiwan s robust technology and telecommunications sector isn’t hampered by the Chinese political interference that worries the United States The American presence at MWC2023 included Pegatron, a company ASUS spun off years ago Pegatron displayed a portable 5G network solution designed for easy mobilization to the scene of a natural disaster or other crisis First responders at earthquakes and floods could transport the network box in a vehicle and quickly establish critical communications During the Trump administration Taiwanese companies began displacing Chinese companies (especially huawei) as technology suppliers for Western countries

In the race for 5G leadership telecom companies are deploying networks as fast as possible Once known for its mobile phones, Nokia has abandoned that line of business and now focuses only on network implementation and operation Nokia s main message at the Mobile World Congress was, We re a telecommunications company now

Like huawei, Nokia is working on solutions for the industrial sector Instead of automated inventory sensors Nokia is developing a drone that can scan an entire warehouse row of merchandise in one sweep, significantly reducing inventory time and eliminating manual intervention Nokia’s Customer CTO Gloria Touchard said:

We re not going to see 6G until 2030, but we re developing specifications and defining use cases right now We’re going to move from a communications network to a sensory network These 6G networks will have permanently active sensors, enabling a corresponding reaction for any movement detected ” Touchard said this is a giant leap and there is still a long way to go even so Nokia demonstrated the potential of 6G by having a pedestrian walk around at the Mobile World Congress without a cell phone or any other device Antennas detected and reported the pedestrian’s every movement

Like its competitors, Nokia is also working in parallel on 5G-Advanced Touchard said these networks will provide “functionality to manage Internet of Things (IoT) devices which don t consume much bandwidth but need high-speed network access They also have improved capabilities for supporting IoT devices and augmented reality applications that need to download and upload huge volumes of data

Despite all the progress on 5G, Touchard cautions that the pace of adoption is set by people’s devices “You can deploy all the infrastructure but it might not be used In places like South Korea, the percentage of devices that support 5G is very high, so adoption has been very high Americans also replace their mobile devices frequently and adopt new technology quickly It s a little slower in europe Another time-consuming process is licensing and obtaining the bandwidth spectrum concessions granted by national regulators These regulatory procedures explain why some countries are taking longer to deploy 5G networks and others haven t even started, even though 6G is already on the horizon

Biden’s

6 G t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s : H o w b u s i n e s s e s a r e p r e p a r i n g f o r

t h e n e w g e n e r a

R u s s i A s Ay s h A s ‘ n O m e A n i n G ’ , K y i v h A i l s A s ‘ h i s t O R i c ’ i c c w A R R A n t f O R P u t i n

KYIV UKRAINE ag e n c i e s

ukRAiniAn officials on Friday hailed a decision by the international Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children

The Hague-based iCC said it had also issued a warrant for Maria LvovaBelova Russia s presidential commissioner for children s rights Russia is not a member of the iCC it was unclear how the iCC planned to

enforce the warrant The world received a signal that the Russian regime is criminal and its leadership and henchmen will be held accountable Ukraine s Prosecutor General Andriy kostin said on social media This is a historic decision for Ukraine and the entire system of international law, kostin added World leaders will think three times before shaking his hand or sitting down at the negotiating table with him ” U k r a i n e ’s p r e s i d e n t i a l c h i e f o f s t a ff , A n d r i y Ye r m a k , s a i d t h e m o v e w a s “ j u s t t h e b e g i n n i n g ” U k r a i n i a n Foreign Minister Dmytro kuleba also welcomed the news (The) wheels of

justice are turning i applaud the iCC decision kuleba said international criminals will be held accountable for stealing children and other international crimes Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak said the decision was a clear signal to (Russian) elites of what will happen to them and why it won t be as before' Russia says ICC warrant for Putin has ‘no meaning’ M o s c o w d i s m i s s e d d e c i s i o n s b y t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l C r i m i n a l C o u r t o n F r i d a y a s h a v i n g “ n o m e a n i n g ” f o r R u s s i a a f t e r T h e H a g u e - b a s e d c o u r t i s s u e d a n a r r e s t w a r r a n t f o r P r e s i d e n t

Agri sector can help salvage economy by wiping out trade deficit: PAc

KARACHI s ta f f r e p o r t

Vladimir Putin

The decisions of the international Criminal Court have no meaning for our country including from a legal point of view Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on social media Russia is not a party of the Rome Statute of the international Criminal Court and bears no obligations under it, she added “Russia does not cooperate with this body and possible ‘recipes’ for arrest coming from the international court will be legally void as far as we are concerned ” she said without referring to Putin by name

OGRA calls stakeholders meeting to discuss mechanism for exchange rate adjustment

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has convened a meeting to brief and align all the stakeholders with the prescribed format of “Exchange Rate Mechanism” as devised and approved by the Federal Government Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division), Directorate General (Oil), CEOs and CFOs of Oil Marketing Companies including OCAC and OMAP are invited to attend the scheduled meeting s ta f f r e p o r t

Agriculture is now center stage as the sector that can help salvage the economy by wiping out Pakistan s trade deficit said former Governor State Bank Syed Salim Raza Leading corporates, business houses, and financial institutions congregated at Pakistan Agricultural Coalition s inaugural Agri-Connections 2023 conference and exhibition which was attended by over 275 leaders of industry, finance, government, donors, academia/international experts, global investors and the farming community Seed emerged as a key theme raised by many speakers The legal and regulatory framework for seed must be improved said national Foods CEO Abrar Hasan Meskay & Femtee CEO Shahid Tawawalla spoke against relying on subsidies as a policy instrument since they can only bring temporary relief Subsidies are important but must be focused on improving productivity of farmers rather than just for inputs Speakers were of the view that important needs such as crop insurance and technology upgrades should be supported by government Pakistan Agricultural Coalition CEO Arif nadeem said that while finance is about taking risk and managing risk, in Pakistan’s agriculture sector, the farmer is the only one who is shouldering most of the risk Bank of Punjab President Mr Zafar Masud said that the absence of development finance institutions is a critical problem that requires resolution at the systemic level Water reliability is the highest priority of the farmer Water should be metered and priced to at least recover the operational expenditures of the irrigation system The panel on maize was in consensus that GMO technology must be introduced to rapidly increase yields Mr khalil Sattar stated that many food products in the USA and Europe are based on GMO crops and there are no problems with their consumption

corporate corner

KaracHi: Honorable President IOI/Ombudsman Western Australia Mr Chris Field, and Principal Assistant to President IOI Ms Rebecca Poole left Pakistan after completion of their successful visit During first-ever visit of IOI President, they attended the launching ceremony of Research Study on Assessment of Malnutrition (Stunting) in District Tharparkar at Chief Minister s House where Chief Minister Sindh Sayed Murad Ali Shah welcomed them They also called on the Governor Sindh Mr Kamran Khan Tessori accompanied by the

NOT-BY- PROFIT

Pa k i s ta n ’ s a g r i s e c t o r c a n

ISLAMABAD N E W S D E S K

ac c o r d i n g to a news report by Express Tribune Former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Salim raza has stated that Pakistan s agriculture sector has the potential to overcome the country s current account deficit and balanceof-payment crisis within six years

According to raza, the agriculture sector's sustainable growth rate directly impacts the gdP's growth rate, stressing

Ufone 4G, ConnectHear join hands to enable easy access for deaf community

iSLaMaBaD: Pakistani cellular company Ufone 4G and ConnectHear, a social enterprise aiming to enable and empower persons with disabilities have collaborated to improve accessibility for the deaf community to enhance their socioeconomic integration Ufone 4G, being a responsible corporate citizen, has been leveraging its technological expertise to promote equal access to social and economic opportunities while ConnectHear established in 2017 provides means of independent communication and information in sign language said a news release Through its partnership with ConnectHear Ufone 4G will provide free data access to ConnectHear s digital app that provides instant and remote access to sign language interpreters to help the deaf community communicate Equipped with Ufone 4G s reliable and speedy data connection, people with hearing impairment will be able to communicate with ease and access no matter wherever they are in the country pr

IRP c arnival brings joys to hundreds of disadvantaged children

iSLaMaBaD: A children’s festival was held in Islamabad on Friday by Islamic Relief Pakistan (IRP) bringing together hundreds of kids especially girls who are out of schools due to poverty and giving them a day full of fun and recreation The festival was aimed to celebrate the talents and creativity, featured a wide range of activities and entertainment for different age groups Children from different parts of the twin cities participated in the festival and showcased their talents through various competitions and games The festival also included music and dance performances, art and craft workshops, games, and more They were able to explore their creativity and learn from each other in a supportive and inclusive environment pr

Advisor to PM for par tnerships among SCO member states to promote tourism

iSLaMaBaD: Awn

Chaudhry, Advisor to Prime Minister on Tourism and Sports/Chairman of PTDC along with Aftab ur Rehman

Rana, Managing Director PTDC virtually participated in the meeting of Heads of Tourist Administrations of the Member States of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) hosted by India on Friday in hybrid mode APM in his opening comments highlighted Pakistan s tourism potential and expressed desire for promote proactive partnerships among SCO member states to promote tourism among the member states While giving his remarks in SCO meeting, he stated that Pakistan attaches great importance to its membership of this esteemed organization and as part of the greater SCO mosaic, Pakistan too is very proud of its rich cultural heritage and tourism potential pr

FCCU hosts int ’l conference on S oil ‘Pollution and Remediation’

LaHOrE: An International Conference on Soil Pollution and Remediation held in

Forman Christian College Lahore on Wednesday organized by Department of Environmental Sciences Forman Christian College (A Chartered University) Lahore

Soil resources in Pakistan are at the risk because of the pressures of unprecedented rise in population, intensive agriculture, industrial expansions, unplanned urban sprawls, and mismanagement of solid and hazardous wastes

The conference was organized to understand biogenic and anthropogenic causes and sources of soil pollution and possible strategies for adaptation and mitigation pr

that without 6% growth in agriculture, there is no way Pakistan s gdP can sustain a 6% per annum growth rate The agriculture sector's current performance has contributed to a trade deficit of $5 5 billion in food and cotton imports in FY22 further widening the current account deficit to $17 4 billion in the same year

To address this issue the Pakistan Agricultural coalition (PAc) launched a study report that highlights practical so-

O tsuk a Pakistan opens Nutraceutic al plant at Hub

H U B : O t s u k a Pa k i s t a n L i m i t e d , a l e a d i n g J a p a n -based multinational pharmaceutical company arranged the inauguration ceremony of its Nutraceutical plant on Wednesday Otsuka Pakistan s Nutraceutical plant is a state-of-the-art facility that will manufacture high-quality dietary supplements for local and international markets The plant is equipped with the latest technologies and international quality standards p r

lutions to boost the sector s crop yields, producing surplus crops for export The PAc is made up of agriculture stakeholders and businesses, including banks, fertilizer manufacturers and insurance companies raza suggested that public banks in Pakistan including the national Bank of Pakistan Bank of Punjab Sindh Bank and Khyber Bank could devote 50% of their lending to agriculture financing This would give farmers ac-

cess to financing for agricultural inputs, including seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, storage and warehouses, machinery, and extension services raza pointed out that china india and Brazil have public banks dedicated to agriculture financing giving them an advantage over Pakistan s predominantly privately owned system

To read the full article visit www tribune com pk

e n d c a d i n 6 y e a r s

IATA wArns of reduced, ceAsed operATIons

pAkIsTAn If repATrIATIon Issues persIsT

LAHORE Da n i ya l a h m a D

HILIP

pthe Asia-Pacific Head

the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has told the Financial Times in an interview on March 17 that international airlines are struggling to repatriate their funds from Pakistan Goh highlights that some airlines have revenue from sales in 2022 still stuck in Pakistan

The Financial Times report suggests how a persistent and sustained blockage of repatriable funds by the Government of Pakistan might lead to airlines either scaling back their operations, or exiting the Pakistani market altogether

The issue is twofold a senior source at IATA told Profit The first issue is the issue of repatriating earnings itself whilst the second issue is that the application process has been made more cumbersome The process is now more time consuming and costly for airlines, the source continued

“Which business is going to operate in a market where they’re making money, but they cannot repatriate money to their headoffice to pay for the expenses of their operations? ” warned our source “Pakistan’s aviation industry has been neglected by the government for decades hindering its contribution to the GDP In contrast despite Sri Lanka s default last year their government prioritised the aviation industry and avoided issues with airline operations and payment delays , they continued

What does repatriating funds mean?

When airlines sell tickets they typically price them in the local currency of the country where they are being sold Then the airlines convert the local currencies into their main operating currencies before repatriating the funds

However, in certain markets, airlines may face challenges in accessing the foreign exchange needed to convert their local currency revenues This can cause the funds to become ‘blocked’ overseas which can create financial difficulties for the airline

What is IATA s allegation?

According to IATA as of January airlines had $290 million of funds stuck in Pakistan This is an increase of nearly one-third in terms of blocked funds from the $225 million in December This makes Pakistan

the second-largest holder of foreign currency from airlines globally after Nigeria

A timeline of the issue

The issue goes back to October 2021 our source stated IATA took the matter to the Government of Pakistan in March 2022, last year It is now March 2023, and the issue has only gotten worse,” they continued Ramifications of the matter

“The Government of Pakistan has not provided any assistance or opportunities to airlines to offset these losses either If you cannot release foreign currency reserves because the country is in a financial crisis then at least let the airlines

is a Pakistani chemic al dyeing company acquiring subsidiar y of a US -based textile house?

Following footsteps

has

Karachi

Jamshoro and Landhi

company

colour dyes paper coatings adhesives and sealants and has been the market leader in Pakistan for many years As a chemical company, APRL has a wide range of interests Its adhesive and solvents make it a player in the construction industry while its specialised dyes mean that they are sought out by textile manufacturers This is where Huntsman comes in Huntsman Textile Effects Pakistan is the textile subsidiary of US-based multinational Huntsman Corporation which manufactures and markets chemicals to industries and consumers Huntsman Textile Effects is headquartered in Singapore and stepped into Pakistan in 2011

g t h e n p a k i s t a n ’ s a g r i s e c t o r

m o n to R n g D e S k T h e U S h a s u n v e i l e d a p r o g r a m w o r t h $ 4 5 m i l l i o n a i m e d a t e n h a n c i n g t h e e ff ic a c y a n d p o t e n c y o f f e r t i l i s e r s u s e d b y P a k i s t a n i f a r m e r s T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t w a s m a d e d u r i n g t h e s e c o n d m e e t i n g o f t h e P a k i s t a n - U S C l i m a t e a n d E n v i r o nm e n t Wo r k i n g G r o u p i n I s l a m a b a d T h e m e e t i n g w a s l e d b y S h e r r y R e h m a n M i n i s t e r f o r C l i m a t e C h a n g e a n d M o ni c a M e d i n a , A s s i s t a n t S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r t h e B u r e a u o f O c e a n s a n d I n t e r n at i o n a l E n v i r o n m e n t a l a n d S c i e n t i f i c A ff a i r s F o l l o w i n g d i s c u s s i o n s o n e n v i r o n m e n t a l i s s u e s o ff i c i a l s r e l e a s e d a j o i n t s t a t e m e n t u n d e r l i n i n g t h e i m p o rt a n c e o f c l i m a t e c h a n g e r e s i l i e n c e a f t e r t h e c a t a s t r o p h i c f l o o d s o f 2 0 2 2 T h e U S p l e d g e d i t s s u p p o r t f o r P a k i s t a n s L i vi n g I n d u s i n i t i a t i v e , a i m e d a t r e s t o r i n g t h e e c o l o g i c a l h e a l t h o f t h e I n d u s R i v e r B a s i n T h e s t a t e m e n t a l s o c o m m i t t e d t h e U S a n d P a k i s t a n t o f u r t h e r c o o p e r a t i o n t h r o u g h t h e G r e e n A l l i a n c e f r a m e w o r k t o a d d r e s s c l i m a t e e n v i r o n m e n t a l a n d e c o n o m i c n e e d s n o t a b l y i n a g r i c u l t u r e w a t e r, a n d c l e a n e n e rg y T h e C l i m a t e a n d E n v i r o n m e n t Wo r k i n g G r o u p w i l l c o n t i n u e t o w o r k o n n e w p r o j e c t s , w i t h t h e U S a n n o u n c i n g a r a n g e o f c l i m a t es m a r t a g r i c u l t u r e a n d c l i m a t e f i n a n c e p r o g r a m m e s i n P a k i s t a n t h r o u g h U S A I D A d d i t i o n a l l y P a k i s t a n i n f o r m e d t h e U S o f i t s r e c e n t l y a p p r o v e d N a t i o n a l C l e a n A i r P o l i c y a n d i t s w a s t e m a n a g em e n t i n i t i a t i v e s , i n c l u d i n g t h o s e a dd r e s s i n g p l a s t i c s A s c o - c h a i r s o f t h e G r e e n C l i m a t e F u n d B o a r d b o t h c o u nt r i e s h a v e v o w e d t o c o l l a b o r a t e i n 2 0 2 3 t o e n s u r e a f r u i t f u l y e a r

Both APRL and and Huntsman Pakistan are internationally based Archroma in Switzerland and Huntsman in the US Formed in 1970 Huntsman is essentially a chemical company with a product and a textile division as well Archroma, on the other hand, is a colour dye company with a rich lineage of 130 years, operating under different brand names, such as Kern and Sandoz in 1870, Clariant in 1997 and Archroma in 2013

The decision of merger between the Swiss and US companies was first announced in August 2022 Archroma

Group s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Heike van de Kerkhof called the transaction a merger of equals At that point the total enterprise value of the transaction was approximately $718 million, which includes the assumption of approximately $125 million in net underfunded pension liabilities as of December 31, 2021

“Over the past seven months, we have conducted a comprehensive strategic review of our Textile Effects division including detailed discussions with a wide range of relevant parties After evaluating several different op-

tions and thoroughly reviewing prospective offers for the business our Board of Directors decided that SK Capital would be a better owner of the business over the long-term than Huntsman and that the value they offered was in the best interests of our shareholders, said Huntsman CEO Peter Huntsman at the time

A year and a half later, the merger has trickled down to its Pakistani chapters as well Synergies between textile and chemicals

The textile and dye business has historically worked together in Pakistan Textile processing is one of the most value-added and export-oriented sectors in Pakistan Pakistan textiles and apparel worth $ 12 5 billion were exported from Pakistan in 2019-20 in which apparel contributed 20% and textiles 80% The dyeing, printing and finishing sectors have seen remarkable improvements in textile technology over the years, to meet increasingly stringent requirements of lower usage of chemicals, water and energy The textile industry has 650 independent processing units in and around Faisalabad Gujranwala and Karachi in which about 50 integrated units have

complete finishing facilities i e bleaching mercerizing dyeing calendaring and printing

However the textile industry all over the world has faced criticism for being among the largest users of chemicals and being highly water intensive Over 2000 different chemicals are used in the industry, which account for almost 25% of the chemicals produced globally Of this figure, the dyeing and finishing processes account for 90% of the total textile wastewater T h e r e f o r e e v e n i n P a k i s t a n t h i s has raised concerns and subsequently led to the adherence of strict rules and standards to protect the environment O n e m e a s u r e t o w a r d s s u s t a i n a b i l i t y was a limitation in imports of dye and pigments The import in Pakistan dec r e a s e d f r o m R s 2 5 8 6 b i l l i o n i n 2018-19 to Rs 31 08 billion in 201920 Instead there has been a focus on the import of organic chemicals With t h e p r o b l e m i n t h e b a c k g r o u n d , Archroma will be tested to carry out operations sustainably Archroma has a l r e a d y b e e n a s t e p a h e a d w i t h i t s product EartColor which focuses on w a r m c o l o u r d y e s p r o d u c e d o rg a n ically and sustainably

to buy more expensive tickets This is problematic as ticket prices are increasing due to the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar our source concluded

IN A FIRST, MOTORC YCLE PLANT WILL CEASE OPERATIONS FOR REST OF MARCH

LAHORE

Da n i ya l a h m a D

Suzuki has notified the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that its motorcycle plant will observe nonproduction days (NDP) from March 21 to March 31 The company’s automotive plant will however remain operational It company has attributed the decision to the restrictions placed by the Government of Pakistan in accessing letters of credit to import raw materials and authorising foreign payments The interesting part of the notification is that the motorcycle has not previously observed NPDs in isolation of the automotive plant since the beginning of Pakistan s current financial crisis from last year No more full speed ahead?

Suzuki’s decision to cease motorcycle manufacturing for the remainder of March is interesting because the company has actually managed to outperform its year-on-year (YoY) sales till now The company’s 8MFY23 sales clocked in at 24 981 units sold compared to the 24 515 units it sold in the same period last year

This marks the second motorcycle plant shutdown that Suzuki has observed in 2023 with the previous shutdown lasting from January 2 to January 6 All of Suzuki s other plant shutdowns have been primarily concerned with their automobile division One after the other Suzuki s latest decision comes a week after Honda’s decision to shut its operations for the entirety of March from March 9 to March 31 Previously Ghandhara Nissan announced NPDs from March 6 to March 10, with the decision to shift to a bi-weekly production schedule for the remainder of March Agriauto Industries also announced a partial shutdown for the entirety of March last week whilst Sazgar announced its first ever plant closure for its four wheel division from February 27 to March 4 Suzuki itself had announced plant closures previously from January 2 to January 6 from January 9 to January 13, from January 16 toJanuary 20, and from February 13 to February 21 Toyota too observed plant closures from February 1 to February 14 with the decision to shift to a single shift upon the resumption of regular production from February 15 Finally, Millat Tractors also observed a plant closure from January 6 January 15

il rebounds 1% as investors take stock of banking crisis

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a further rout could trigger a global recession and cut oil demand The recent banking turmoil may continue to weigh on the demand outlook These issues regarding inflation, the central bank’s rate