Epaper_23-03-20 ISB

Imran, aides charged with terrorism for ‘inciting chaos’ outside Islamabad court

AheAd of PdM MeeTing, PML-n Trio ‘brAinsTorMs’ PArT y’s sTrATegy

court whenever summoned the PML-N supremo sa d

Meanwhile, sources claimed that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif took Nawaz and Mar yam nto confidence over the meetng of allied part es – summoned on Monday (today) at 02:00pm

LAHORE s ta f f r e p o r t

ToP brass of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and Mar yam Nawaz joined by its supremo Nawaz Sharif through v deo link from London – held a two-hour-long meeting to discuss the Punjab elections and overall po itical situation of the countr y on Sunday

According to ARY News Mar yam Nawaz arrived at PMLN president Shehbaz Sharif s residence at Jati Umarh to where they rev ewed the party s strat-

egy under the prevailing s tuat on Party supremo Nawaz Sharif part cipated in the meet ng via v deo link

Quoting sources it claimed that matters related to countr y s political and economic s tuation were d scussed dur ng the meeting The PML-N leadership also expressed ‘ ser ous concern over assault on aw enforcement agencies (LEAs) by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

During the meeting Nawaz Sharif directed PM Shehbaz to ensure enforcement of law at any cost We have a ways respected inst tutions and the judiciar y We had always appeared before

Sources further said that Nawaz Sharif directed the prime min ster to make decis ons in consu tation w th the all ed parties He also issued directives to give preference to party workers who made sacrifices n Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) e ections

Earlier last week the Pakistan Mus im League-Nawaz (PML-N) constituted a parliamentar y board for provinc al assembly elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)

PML-N supremo wil head the parliamentar y board while party ’s president Shehbaz Shar f w ll be part of the board

A 32-member par iamentar y board was const tuted for Punab while 30-member board for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)

Imran announces rally at Minar-i-Pakistan on Wednesday

LAHORE s ta f f r e p o r t

Former prime minister and Pak stan Tehreek-e-Insaf

(PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday announced that his party would stage a power show at M nari-Pakistan on Wednesday (March 22) ca ling it a referendum on where the nation stood

The former premier made these remarks while address ng the party workers and supporters a day after c ashes erupted at his Zaman Park residence and at Islamabad judicial complex where he appeared before a tr a court in Toshakhana case

We will stage a power show at Minar-i-Pak stan on Wednesday and it w l be a referendum on where the nation stands and where the gang of thieves and their handlers stand Imran Khan said

The PTI Cha rman strong y criticised the police operat on at his residence in Lahore s Zaman Park, vowing to take lega action against law enforcers who barged into house

Imran Khan further said that the entire nation knew that he always respected the law, claiming that 96 cases had been registered against him

Whenever I leave the house, more cases are registered against me ” he added

He also accused the coal tion government of planning the assass nation attempt aga nst him in Wazirabad Recalling the incidents of the past coup e of weeks Imran Khan noted that h s party decided to init ate ts election campaign by holding a rally n Lahore on March 8 after elect ons in Pun ab were announced for April 30

A T T E N T I O N

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M a r ya M N awa z c l a i M s ‘ t r a i N e d t e r r o r i s t s ’ , N o t p o l i t i c a l w o r k e r s s tay i N g i N z a M a N pa r k

LAHORE

S

cHIeF Organizer of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Maryam Nawaz on Sunday claimed that a group of trained terrorists and miscreants from proscribed organizations” were residing in Zaman Park Lahore, instead of political workers

In her tweet on Sunday, she expressed her concerns over the recent violent

karachiites forced to buy most expensive flour

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

incidents in Zaman Park and stressed the importance of not ignoring them

According to her the perpetrators of these violent acts were highly trained terrorists and miscreants

Furthermore she accused Imran Khan the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of supporting banned organizations Maryam alleged that Imran Khan has a history of supporting such outfits and that some of the people involved in the recent violent incidents in Zaman Park were

All records of flour prices in Karachi and other parts of the country have been broken as a 20 kg bag of wheat flour has reached Rs3 100 for the first time in the history of Pakistan according to a report on Sunday According to the report the citizens of Karachi are forced to buy the most expensive flour in the country Atta is being sold for up to Rs155 per kilogram in Karachi as a 20 kg bag of flour has become more expensive by Rs 200 in a recent week in Karachi and it is available at Rs 3100 It seems that there is no check and balance system in the country, where people are already reeling from worst economic crisis As per the report of the Bureau of Statistics, a bag of flour has become expensive up to Rs 200 in Multan, Rs 100 in Peshawar, Rs 80 in Hyderabad and Rs 30 in Quetta in a week The statistics of the government showed that a 20 kg bag of flour in Khuzdar reached Rs2 850 Hyderabad Rs2 800 Quetta Rs2 780 Peshawar Rs 2750 Larkana Rs 2640 Sukkar and Multan reached Rs 2600 The price of a bag of flour in Bannu reached Rs 2550 Gujranwala Rs 2533 Islamabad Rawalpindi Lahore and Sialkot reached Rs 2250 A bag of flour is also available for Rs1 295 in all major cities of Punjab including Lahore and Islamabad due to the subsidy of the government

gandhara ar t exhibition to promote pak-china shared heritage: Fareena Mazhar

BEIJING S

The Pakistan-China joint exhibition on Gandhara art and culture being held here in Palace Museum will help promote the shared heritage and enhance people-topeople contact between the two countries Federal Secretary National Heritage and Culture Division Ms Fareen Mazhar said More than 173 Gandhara artefacts collected from different museums of Pakistan were showcased at the three-month-long exhibition jointly organized by the Palace Museum and Department of Archaeology and Museums of Pakistan and supported by Pakistan embassy Beijing, she told APP Underlining the centrality of this exhibition as a landmark event in the cultural cooperation between the two countries, she expressed the hope that the event would be beneficial not only to the general public but also to Chinese scholars and professionals to understand the cultural heritage of Pakistan This is the first exhibition in China that we have done, so we re very proud of that and we hope to do more in the future Fareena Mazhar said and adding that on the basis of this exhibition extensive cooperation in cultural relic protection and personnel exchanges between China and Pakistan will be carried out which will contribute more to the friendship between the two countries To a question about the exchange of scholars from both countries she informed that Chinese scholars can visit sites in Pakistan and scholars from Pakistan can come and visit China “The Chinese side has also offered us to train our experts and they want us to send our boys and girls for getting this expertise,” she added Fareena Mazhar noted that maybe they can have some time in the Palace Museum to see all the beautiful things that they have heard and learn more advanced techniques to preserve relics The exhibition displays 203 artifacts, of which 173 come from seven museums in Pakistan and 30 from the Palace Museum The exhibits fully demonstrate the artistic charm of Gandhara culture and its far-reaching influence in China and east Asia

As early as 100 BC China opened up the Silk Road which promoted the prosperity of Chinese culture and also built a bridge of friendship between the two ancient civilizations of China and Pakistan Wang Xudong director of the Palace Museum said at the opening ceremony of the exhibition Gandhara is the ancient name of a region in northwest Pakistan Archaeological sites for this culture mainly dot across the southern end of Hindu Kush and Karakorum According to historical records between 400 and 630 AD ancient Chinese monks and pilgrims such as Faxian, Song Yun and Xuanzang visited the area, leaving records of Gandhara’s material culture that later became crucial historical sources for the study of the early history of Pakistan

recruited from these banned groups emphasizing the crucial role of the state essential to play in ensuring the safety and security of its citizens Maryam stressed that it was essential for the government to take prompt and effective action before it is too late She called for a proactive approach by the state in addressing these issues rather than waiting for them to escalate further

Meanwhile, Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday said that PTI is a terrorist organization, so

the Supreme Court should take take suo motu notice against this “terrorist party” She said while addressing a presser in Lahore She said that Imran had gone mad with the hunger of power She wondered at the logic of Imran as he was claiming that he would be got killed if he went to court Marriyam said that the Ladla (blue eyed) had been provided protection and facilitated lashed out at PTI Chairman Imran Khan for intimidating judiciary by his terrorism , making fun of the judicial system

PTI vows legal ac tion against police officers who stormed Imran’s residence

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) announced the opposition party intends to register complaints against members of the police who conducted an illegal operation and resorted to violence while raiding the home of chairman Imran Khan in Lahore

L a h o r e p o l i c e s t o r m e d t h e f o r m e r p r i m e minister s residence early on Saturday and arrested

61 people amid tear gas and clashes between Khan s supporters and police

Sohail Sukhera, deputy investigation chief who led the operation in the upscale Zaman Park neighbourhood, claimed police acted to remove a barricade erected by members of Khan’s party and his defiant supporters He said they blocked the lanes around Khan’s residence with concrete blocks felled trees tents and a parked truck apparently to prevent

police from arresting Khan Khan was not in the home, having travelled to Islamabad to appear before a judge to face charges he sold state gifts while in office and hid his assets The judge postponed that hearing until March 30

Sukhera further claimed baton-wielding supporters of the former prime minister attempted to resist police by throwing stones and Molotov cocktails and a man on the roof of Khan’s residence opened fire but offered no evidence At least three police officers were injured

In a series of tweets Fawad Chaudhry senior vice president of the opposition party expressed his disapproval of the raid and called for a meeting with the party s legal team He also said the police had violated the sanctity of Khan s home and had even stolen items, including juice boxes He added the incident, along with other recent events, was contributing to the ongoing constitutional crisis in the country

Dar should clarify if IMF asked Pakistan to give up nuclear arsenal: Q ureshi

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah

Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday questioned Finance Minister Ishaq Dar s statement on nuclear weapons in the Senate demanding that the senator clarifies whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) asked for Pakistan to give up its missile system

Addressing a press c o n f e r e n c e , Q u r e s h i s a i d t h a t t h e f i n a n c e m i n i s t e r w a s t h e i n - l a w o f t h e ruling party and his statement on the Senate floor was important “This statement has created a new crisis in the country,” the former foreign minister said, adding that the Foreign Office spokesperson had to clarify during her weekly press briefing

“ T h e s p o k e s w o m a n s a y s t h a t t a l k s a b o u t

PESHAWAR S ta f f R e p o R t

The World Bank would provide about $ 90 million to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government for control and prevention of non-communicable diseases in the province Dr Javed Sattar, Coordinator Health Sector Reforms KP told APP that the provincial government was working on a mega project for the control and prevention of non-communicable diseases, and preparation of its PC-I was in the final stage

He said World Bank has pledged to provide about USD 90 million for the project which would be completed in five years in the province DHQs and THQs hospitals were being strengthened in terms of equipment infrastructure labs and staff in 32 districts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa with financial assistance of Asian Development Bank (ADB), he said He added that out of USD 100 million committed amount by ADB, USD 25 million has been so far received for the project that would be completed by 2026

Dr Sattar said five members’ primary healthcare management committees for THQs and hospitals management committees at DHQs with representatives of doctors LG representatives civil society member and technicians were formed for speedy and transparent utilization of funds and financially supporting poor patients suffering from chronic diseases

The KP government would spend Rs2 billion on strengthening and running of BHUs and primary healthcare centres through private sector in 15

at S idney S treet

At last, it seemed, after 112 years, Lahore got its equivalent of the Sidney Street siege in London If the London police had raided the house in Sidney Street in the hope of arresting the perpetrators of the earlier Hounds ditch jewel robbery, who had killed three cops the Lahore police was assisting an Islamabad police team execute a warrant by arresting PTI chief Imran Khan and hauling him off to Islamabad (interestingly the charge against him involved a jeweled watch) If the London police coming under fire called in the Army the Lahore police took along Rangers (and water cannon) The London police couldn t use teargas, which

had not yet been invented; the Lahore police did, in amazing quantities However, what was missing in Lahore was the presence of the federal Interior Minister or even the IGP Back in 1911 the Home Secretary was there in person none other than Winston Churchill himself still a young man just routinely ugly and not the grumpy baby he grew to resemble when he finally became PM Hmm An ex-PM against the Lahore police a future PM with the London Police The siege was remarkable for being the first time the Army was called in to aid the police in the UK And because the Home Secretary was there Churchill was bound to have interfered, and probably for the worse There’s a big difference in the targets, which might tell us much about the two countries and thus the particular problems

nuclear power are not on the agenda of talks with any country or financial institution [then] why did Ishaq Dar give this statement on the Senate floor,” Qureshi questioned “Tell us if IMF asked you for a missile system Ishaq Dar Why did you make such a big statement on the floor of the house?” asked Qureshi No one h a s t h e r i g h t t o a s k u s a b o u t o u r n u c l e a r programme said Qureshi Our nuclear [weapons] are for our defence t h e P T I l e a d e r s a i d h i g h l i g h t i n g t h a t P a k i s t a n P e o p l e s P a r t y ( P P P ) S e n a t o r R a z a R a b b a n i h a s a l s o a s k e d t h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r t o g i v e a p o l i c y statement on nuclear weapons Qureshi said that his successor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, should have issued a clarification

Marriyum said that the former premier had ruined the economy She called her ‘lying political terrorist and a foreign agent who has launched an attack on the state S h e s a i d t h a t P a k i s t a n Te h r e e k - i - I n s a f i s n o t a p o l i t i c a l p a r t y r a t e r a t e r r o r i s t has been imposed on our society She said t h e c o u r t i s s u m m o n i n g h i m a n d h e i s r e f u s i n g t o a p p e a r b e f o r e i t T h e m i n i s t e r s t a t e d t h a t w e a p o n s a n d p e t r o l b o m b s were found from Imran s residence during p o l i c e s e a r c h o p e r a t i o n

districts and Rs1 5 billion on maternal and newborn s health and allied services

Besides Insulin for Life and Cancer Protection Programs , the KP government has identified 56 sites in merged tribal districts for establishment of new hospitals, basic health units and rural health centres

A feasibility study of the project costing Rs12 440 million was completed besides the allocation of Rs3 900 million for it under Accelerated Implementation Program (AIP) 202223 and practical work on it would soon start Hepatitis HIVs and AIDs control programs were made regular part of the budget while paraplegic centre at Bakakhel Bannu was being constructed with an estimated cost of Rs900 million for facilitation of spinal cord and orthopedics patients of merged areas Rs1 1 billion would be spent on purchase of medicines for provision of free treatment to chronic diseases patients including cancers, adding the KP Government has already approved Rs3 1 billion for three years for anti cancer program

that their police forces face In both cases the forces faced unprecedented challenges In Sidney Street the London flatties did not have to deal merely with jewel robbers, rare enough as that was, but Latvian anarchists, who financed their movement by robbery The Lahori t-hulas and Islamabad supatas had to deal with a party leader

The casualties were also different The London police besieged Sidney Street because they had already lost three dead in the original robbery On the other hand whatever went on at the Toshakhana might have been barefaced and blatant but was bloodless

Of course the whole episode had Imran once again exercising his creativity doing the unthinkable of the same order of genius as he showed when he put Germany and Japan next to each other Summoned by a court, he refused to go I don t think anyone ever thought such a thing was possible He has shown that it is I know the police are corrupt (And might one add, inefficient?) I know the cases

Chaudhry went on to emphasise that defying orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC) is unacceptable, and all police officers involved in the illegal operation and violence would face legal consequences

Khan, during his road trip to Islamabad, Saturday said in a video message that police had broken into his residence in Lahore while his wife, Bushra Maneka, was alone at the home He condemned the action and demanded that those responsible be punished

Asad Umar secretary-general of the party in a letter to the chief justice noted that police waited until Khan was en route to Islamabad to storm his Lahore residence He said the doors and walls have been razed to the ground and more than 40 people at the home were arrested

ppp to contest elections on own electoral symbol: Bukhari

PESHAWAR S ta f f R e p o R t

Secretary General PPP Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari on Sunday said the party would contest the forthcoming general elections on its electoral symbol and field its own candidates in all constituencies Addressing a public meeting held in connection with the joining of a potential electable candidate Mian Rashid Ali Shah his family and associates in PPP at district Nowshera on Sunday he said that no doubt they were part of the present coalition government but not part of any political alliance Others who addressed on the occasion included acting provincial president PPP KP Minister of State, Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha, president PPP Peshawar Division, Liaquat Shabab, Gohar Inqilabi, Shah Zulqarnain and Mian Rashid Ali Shah Kakakhel

The PPP secretary general said that the party had its own manifesto, which was given by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the general elections of 1970 standing on three slogans of Roti Kapra aur Makan that were representing the feelings of workers and deprived classes of the society Nayyar Hussain Bukhari accused the PTI chief of exploiting Pakhtuns and neither fulfilled the promise of the provision of 10 million employment nor the construction of 5 million houses He held the previous government of Imran Khan responsible for the prevailing price hike in the country Mr Bukhari who is also former Chairman Senate recalled the performance of the PPP government during the period of 2008-2013 when the country was self-sufficient in wheat production He said that by passing the 18th constitutional amendment, the PPP government not only increased the resources of the small provinces in the federal divisible pool rather also gave the identity to the province by renaming it as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Furthermore he said that the then Asif Ali Zardari led PPP government had given the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award after a long time and changed the criteria for distribution of the federal divisible pool of the national resources to increase the shares of the small provinces He said that before the NFC Award the criteria of the distribution of national resources was only on the basis of population, but the PPP government distributed the national resources on the basis of population, poverty and area, which increased the share of the provinces, which benefited small provinces to a larger extent He said that PPP as the representative of the working and middle class had increased the salaries of government employees by 150% and the pension of the retired employees by 100%

Therefore he urged government employees and representatives of the government to vote and expressed trust in PPP to give them an opportunity to serve the nation Meanwhile potential electable candidate and active politician of district Nowshera Mian Rashid Ali Shah Kakakhel formally joined PPP On this occasion a large number of people and senior PPP leaders were also present on the occasion with Secretary General of PPP Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari as chief guest

against him are political victimization But when a court issues a warrant one goes

However I don t Imran compromised on the sacred principle of the rule of law I mean, he could have taken the easy way out, and spoken to the Islamabad police, who would have gone back to Islamabad without taking him, and telling the court they couldn’t find him, if he had paid an appropriate amount But then Imran is said to be very stingy and hates parting with cash

No wonder they raided his house on Saturday while he was in Islamabad Talk abouT bolting the stable-door after the horse has bolted Saturday was a bad day Apart from the raid Shaheen Shah led the Lahore Qalandhars to a back-to-back PSL win Does that count as the same as a World Cup win by those who want him on the same page?

Another reason that strikes one for his not going is that he hasn’t had the proper clothes delivered from his tailor, which consists of a qameez almost touching his

ankles yellow with large blue polka dots and a black dhoti With a taweez sown into a leather pouch hanging from his neck he would be ready for any criminal court Oh yes, not forgetting the surma he has to apply to his eyes

But why is Imran afraid where other politicians have not been? It’s not as if you can’t get prohibited substances in jail, if that’s a problem I’m sure organic food can be arranged Is it the fear of the shadowy agencies which never arrest or take custody on paper but with whom the Islamabad police is inured to cooperate?

The same people who turned up for Shehbaz Gill and then Azam Swati?

I wouldn t be surprised if Riad Salameh is in Lebanon taking notes He s Lebanon s sitting central bank governor (since 1994), and he and his brother are going to be charged with money laundering No worries, we can look Lebanon in the eye I mean, have they got a PM who stole watches?

WB to provide $90m to KP for prevention of non- communic able diseases

U s , pa k i s ta N N e e d t o F o c U s j o i N t w o r k i N g

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

US Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International environmental and Scientific Affairs, Monica P Medina has said that the governments of the United States (U S ) and Pakistan have great room for working together on the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to solve climate challenges due to worst impacts of global warming and environmental degradation

The U S Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International environmental and Scientific Affairs in a discussion after the bilateral working group on climate and environment informed media men on the outcomes of the ministerial dialogue on important issues faced by Pakistan due to

climate change

Ms Medina said One thing that we really need to work on together is with respect to the Green Climate Fund which is one of the largest fund donors of the projects to deal with climate change in the world, and that both Pakistan and US governments are going to co-chair the board of directors at the key moment when the countries are looking to get more funding from the Fund into the communities that are being hit hardest by climate change ” She underlined that it was a tremendous opportunity for the US and Pakistan in particular to work together to help solve climate challenges now even as the entire conference of the parties (COP) process continued to deal with the loss and damage fund

The U S Assistant Secretary said Pakistan is a very important partner and

Naqvi visits children’s home, reviews facilities for destitute residents

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited the Anjuman-i-Sulaimania Children’s Home on Sunday to review the facilities provided to destitute children He also spoke with the children to inquire about their education and extracurricular activities and visited their rooms to get a firsthand view of their living conditions During his visit Naqvi directed the doctors of the Children s Hospital to conduct a medical examination of all the children He expressed his heartbreak at the state of affairs at the Children s Home during his previous visit but was pleased to see that the facilities for the children had improved The chief minister stressed the importance of caring for children and following the Sunnah of the Prophet He emphasized that it is the government’s responsibility to take care of these children in every possible manner

‘V i s i t to f r e e f l o u r d i s t r i b u t i o n p o i n t s’: Meanwhile Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday visited a centre set up at a Model Town area school for distribution of free flour under the Special Ramazan relief package He reviewed verification process of people coming there to get free flour He inquired from people at the centre about problems being faced by them in getting free flour

Fia thwar ts attempted travel on fake documents by two passengers

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

The immigration wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) offloaded two passengers who were traveling to Saudi Arabia on fake documents

According to the FIA, the immigration wing checked the travel documents of the two passengers and found no record in the system The passports of the passengers were stamped with fake Italy permits As a result the passengers were handed over to the agency s Human Trafficking Wing for further investigation In another incident on March 3 the FIA offloaded a passenger at Lahore airport who was carrying a fake passport The passenger Atif Irshad was bound for Abu Dhabi on flight eY 242 The agency conducted a raid at Lahore airport and confiscated fake Pakistani passports which had Netherlands and Sweden visas The passenger had obtained the passport and visa from an agent against Rs3 million The fake passports were registered in the name of Ashir Azeem and Ali Raza The passenger had planned to go to Italy after landing in Abu Dhabi

friend of the U S adding We have a very meaningful and a deep relationships with lots of people to people ties strong bilateral exchanges and were working together on a huge range of global climate and environmental topics and challenges as these challenges we know hit close to home

The U S official said the world countries had faced horrible climate impacts but the devastating floods in Pakistan last year caught everyone’s attention

“We worked closely with the Pakistani government in the wake of the floodings Since these terrible events the U S have announced more than $200 million in flood relief food security disaster preparedness and other recovery efforts We are very pleased to be able to do that as well as lending a lot of expertise too in trying to figure out ways to prevent and adapt to these

sorts of climate stressors She added that the U S administration had realised that both the countries would have to move forward to mitigate climate crisis by working together The U S Special Presidential envoy for Climate, John Kerry would have been here but his busy schedule did not permit him, she added

Commenting on the Working Group proceedings, Ms Medina said, “We not only had a climate dialogue but an environmental dialogue which allowed us covering a full range of topics including water resources agriculture nature and biodiversity ocean conservation and several others It was very pleased to leave this working group together with the Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman here in Pakistan and our two governments had a long discussion about how we are going to

strengthen our cooperation on climate and environmental issues

The U S Assistant Secretary said climate issues were interlinked and fundamentally related to one another, adding, we can t address climate crisis without talking about biodiversity and vice versa ”

She commended the efforts of U S Ambassador Donald Blome for devising a robust process for engagement of the Working Group We had a very wonderful mechanism for working on these issues helped by Ambassador Blome putting in place called Green Alliance Framework for work on climate, agriculture, water management and clean energy The U S Assistant Secretary had met with the Minister for Water Resources She had also visited the biodiversity rich Margalla Hills National Park and saw the work of Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB)

She termed the IWMB as a model for other wildlife services She appreciated the bear rehabilitation center and the Leopard Preserve Zone managed well by the IWMB

She also appreciated the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) young scientists and commended the students for asking good questions

AFD pledges $55m to suppor t Pakistan’s Polio Program

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

French Development Agency (AFD) has pledged $55 million to help support Pakistan’s Polio Programme operations, in efforts to interrupt poliovirus transmission With this the French Development Agency (AFD) has become part of global polio eradication partners with its commitment to filling the funding gap of the Government of Pakistan in its efforts to end polio

A delegation of the AFD and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation met the Special Health Secretary and visited the National emergency Operations Centre (NeOC) for Polio eradication

The meetings were part of the delegation s week-long visit to Pakistan to help support the country in the areas of health and social protection

During a briefing at the NeOC the AFD committed to supporting the Pakistan Polio eradication Initiative (PeI) in immunization activities, disease surveillance, polio campaign monitoring and other technical areas, and filling the funding gap of $55 million (under the PC-1 for polio eradication, 2022-2026) that the programme needed NeOC Coordinator Dr Shahzad Baig emphasized the significance of the polio infrastructure to Pakistan s healthcare We are very grateful to the French Government for this support

The Pakistan Polio eradication Programme is a vital part of our healthcare system and investing in polio is an investment in the country s overall health system he said He added The polio infrastructure has proven how it can offer the most reliable support for the most challenging of health emergencies, like we saw with the COVID-19 response, which capitalized on the experiences of polio surveillance teams ”

The French Development Agency delegation was headed by Agnès Soucat Director of Health and Social Protection while the Gates Foundation delegation was led by Jay Wegner Global Head for Polio eradication The delegation held a meeting with the Country Representatives

Imran announces rally at M inar-i-Pak istan on Wednesday

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CONtINuED

However he said on the day of the gathering they started installing containers and imposed Section 1 4 4 H o w c a n a u t h o r i t i e s i m p o s e d S e c t i o n 1 4 4 after the announcement of the elections date, he questioned

The PTI chief said that when the rally started moving towards Zaman Park, police used water cannons and tear gas against PTI workers Subsequently he said he decided to call off his rally because he was afraid of chaos ‘ p d M wa n t s to a r r e s t, s h i f t M e to b a l o c h i s ta n : The PTI chairman said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government wanted to arrest him and shift him to Balochistan

He said the coalition government wanted to keep him arrested in dozens of cases already lodged against him He said Zaman Park was besieged by law enforcers as if it was a castle

Referring to his travel to Islamabad for court appearance, the former prime minister said when he reached the motorway to appear before the court at the Judicial Complex he realized that the government s intention was mala fide as no other vehicle was allowed on the artery H e s a i d o n l y o n e l a n e w a s a l l o w e d o n t h e m o t o r w a y a n d a s s o o n a s h i s v e h i c l e m o v e d forward at one point rest of the convoy was cut and he was left alone His appearance before the court was deliberately delayed, he added When he reached the court, police were already there, either to kill him or arrest and shift him Balochistan Imran Khan said cases of treason, blasphemy and murder were lodged against him to remove him from the path

He said Punjab caretaker chief minister Mohsin Naqvi considered former president Asif Zardari his father “What will be character of such a person who considers Zardari his father he asked

Official highlights potential for Pakistan-Kyrgyzstan economic integration, trade

ISLAMABAD a p p

In a meeting with a delegation of industrialists and traders led by Faran Shahid Arain at Kyrgyzstan Trade House (KTH), Meher Kashif Younis, chairman of KTH and Coordinator to Federal Tax Ombudsman emphasized the potential for economic integration between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan He highlighted the longstanding and fraternal relations between the two countries and expressed Kyrgyzstan s interest in enhancing bilateral trade and investment Younis noted that Pakistan s strategic location provides landlocked countries such as Kyrgyzstan access to global markets through its ports, making it an attractive partner for trade and investment He emphasized the need for closer interaction between traders and people-to-people contact to strengthen ties and increase economic cooperation

Younis further stated that Central Asian Republics (CARs) and Kyrgyzstan have an estimated

market size of over $90 billion with potential for business and investment However Pakistan s trade with these countries has not been up to the mark

He encouraged Pakistani exporters to consider exporting products such as textiles, leather, pharmaceuticals, agriculture products, electrical appliances, communication equipment, machinery, and building materials to Kyrgyzstan and other CARs

Younis also highlighted that Kyrgyzstan imports a large variety of machinery and equipment from other sources and Pakistan has the potential to become a major exporter of high-value products He further added that Pakistan can import energy and other products from Kyrgyzstan and other countries

Younis mentioned that the Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan Ulanbek Totuiaev is making efforts to promote bilateral trade between the two countries and facilitating importers and exporters to explore investment avenues and joint ventures He further stated that KTH symbolises the trade cooperation between the private sectors of both countries

Narrative Building on Twitter: The Power and Pitfalls

One of the most widely used social media tools for creating and disseminating narratives is Twitter People and organizations use Twitter to persuade minds share their stories sway public opinion and impact the conversation on a variety of subjects from politicians and activists to businesses and celebrities

On Twitter narrative building involves creating content or a message that connects with the audience and utilizing a variety of strategies to spread that message to a wider audience Here are a few examples of managing perception by using different techniques on Twitter: h a s h ta g s : Hashtag is a powerful tool for narrative building on Twitter Individuals and organizations can gather supporters for a particular cause or problem by developing a distinctive and catchy hashtag As an illustration the #MeToo campaign employed this strategy to raise awareness of sexual harassment and assault V i s u a l s: Additionally effective tools for developing narratives on Twitter are images and videos They can draw focus and aid in the communication of difficult concepts or

feelings On Twitter, some of the most common visual forms for narrative development include memes infographics and quick videos i n f l u e n c e r s: On Twitter influencers are users or profiles who have a sizable following and the power to sway public opinion To spread their stories to a broader audience organizations frequently work with influencers e M o t i o n : On Twitter, emotion is a potent narrative-building instrument Individuals and organizations can generate a sense of urgency and motivate action by appealing to people s emotions As an illustration, emotional language and imagery are frequently used in tweets about the Syrian refugee crisis to create awareness and support There are many possibilities for narrative building on Twitter but there are also hazards to watch out for The following are some limitations that can raise difficulty in building a narrative on this microblogging platform: M i s i n f o r M at i o n : Fake news is the biggest issue of contemporary times On

Twitter, false information can circulate rapidly False ideologies can spread quickly; once they gain traction it gets very challenging to change them p o l a r i z at i o n : Twitter has the potential to exacerbate public opinion division It can be challenging for alternative narratives to gain momentum because echo chambers and filter bubbles tend to reinforce preexisting beliefs and values l i M i t e d c o n t e x t: Twitter s character restriction can make it challenging to explain complicated concepts or give enough context Oversimplification and incorrect message perception may result from this t r o l l i n g a n d h a r a s s M e n t: Twitter is infamous for its atmosphere of harassment and trolling Promoting certain narratives can result in criticism and even threats particularly if they are divisive or pose a threat to the status quo With an estimated 3 5 million daily users Twitter is one of the most widely used social media sites in Pakistan The platform has developed into a crucial instrument for political discourse, information sharing, and

of WHO and UNICeF and discussed how the polio infrastructure was on the forefront in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent flood response

After the NeOC meeting Special Health Secretary Mirza Nasir ud Din Mashhood Ahmad held a debrief at the Ministry of Health and spoke about the impact on Pakistan’s health infrastructure after the 2022 floods, which left 2,000 health facilities damaged “Despite the challenges of last year, the Government of Pakistan did not waver in its resolve to eradicate polio

We remain committed to the cause and the multiple vaccination campaigns we have held since the floods are a testament to that commitment the Health Secretary said

ahead of pdM meeting, pMl-N trio ‘brainstorms’ par t y’s strategy

CONtINuED fROM PAGE 01

PML-N Senior Vice president Maryam Nawaz Ahsan

Iqbal Khawaja Asif Rana Sanaullah Main Javaid Latif Khawaja Saad Rafique and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq will be part of the parliamentary board The PML-N parliamentary board will award party tickets to candidates contesting elections in Punjab and KP earlier in the day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif summoned the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) meeting on Monday to discuss current political situation of the country In the meeting, the current situation will be discussed and the allied parties will be consulted on the future plan of action Prime Minister House has started contacting with heads of coalition parties Meanwhile

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif compared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to the extremist Indian organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as police clashed with party workers On his Twitter handle the prime minister said If anyone had any doubt Imran Niazi s antics of the last few days have laid bare his fascist & militant tendencies the prime minister said in a tweet

pakistan repor ts 103 new covid-19 cases with positivit y ratio above 2pc

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

An official from the National Institute of Health (NIH) reported 103 new Covid-19 cases in Pakistan within the past 24 hours while the nation’s positivity ratio remained above two percent The new infections were detected from 4 685 coronavirus diagnostic tests conducted nationwide bringing the positivity ratio to 2 20 percent During the same period 16 patients with Covid-19 were admitted to critical care units and no deaths were reported The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has recommended wearing masks in crowded and enclosed spaces, as well as in healthcare facilities, and has issued guidelines for the period up to April 30 taking into account the current trend of Covid-19 cases in the country

communication in Pakistan The following are some significant features of Pakistan's Twitter environment: p o l i t i c a l d i s c o u r s e: Politicians, journalists and common people all use Twitter as a significant forum for political discourse in Pakistan They use it to express their opinions and participate in discussions in public Political parties and candidates now use Twitter as a crucial instrument to engage with voters and influence public opinion

M e d i a : F o r P a k i s t a n i m e d i a g r o u p s

Tw itter is a crucial platform M any new s o rg a n i z a t i o n s u s e Tw i t t e r t o s p r e a d b r e a k i n g n e w s , v i e w p o i n t s , a n d a n a l y s i s G i v e n P a k i s t a n ' s l a c k o f a f r e e a n d autonomous press, Twitter has grown to be a c r u c i a l i n f o r m a t i o n s o u r c e f o r b o t h journalists and citizens c e n s o r s h i p : In Pakistan Twitter has come under fire for filtering and content moderation The Pakistani government has recently asked for the deletion of material that it deems insulting or blasphemous Some of these requests have been fulfilled by Twitter which has prompted criticism from groups that support free expression and civil society fa k e n e w s : Like other social media sites, Twitter has come under fire for contributing to the dissemination of false

information in Pakistan Conspiracy theories, the dissemination of fake news, and the swaying of public opinion have all been used to aggravate racial and religious tensions s o c i a l i s s u e s : Talking about social problems in Pakistan such as women s rights minority rights and human rights on Twitter is also very important Twitter is a tool used by social activists and civil society groups to spread awarenessand hold the powerful accountable

Generally speaking, Pakistan has come to rely heavily on Twitter as a communication and information-sharing tool, especially given the lack of a free and independent press The platform has, however, also come under fire for censorship, content moderation and its part in disinformation and fake news dissemination

On Twitter the narrative building can be a potent instrument for influencing public opinion and enacting change But it also carries a lot of dangers and difficulties Twitter should be used responsibly by people and groups to spread narratives that are grounded in reality empathy and a commitment to social justice

MahwishInam

Mahwishinam08@gmail com

o N g c F t o s o lv e c l i M at e c h a l l e N g e s

l a m i n g I M F i s w r o n g

Ra M a z a n is coming as it does every year

However, this year it arrives at a time when postflood difficulties are worsened by the inflationary spiral though the government has taken a number of tough decisions which have had the effect of increasing prices even more the country is still in the throes of trying for a revival of its iMF programme One of the difficulties of Ramazan is that the sacred month seems to fill wholesalers and retailers with the most blatant pricegouging instincts keeping a check on items of daily use is the job of the provincial governments and it is perhaps unfortunate for the consumer that two of the provinces are under caretaker governments whose primary task is to hold provincial elections Considering their lack of enthusiasm about performing this primary duty it might be asking too much to expect them to show much more vigour in performing this task

the federal government faces elections, and a poor showing after Ramazan therefore it well have to ginger up the caretaker governments in kP and Punjab and the PPP and BaP governments in sindh and Balochistan the economic crisis is likely to put a damper on the little luxuries at sehr and iftar, as housewives try to square the equation of shrinking incomes (or no incomes as layoffs keep on happening and factories keep on closing) Retailers also look to Ramazan and Eid shopping as the big event of the year, but again, the lack of purchasing power might place a damper on this that will also place a deeper drag on manufacturers orders as retailers try to sell off their inventory the only positive for retailers is that the Eid shopping will coincide with the transition to summer with new weather-appropriate clothing having to be bought

However, Eid shopping is not really an area where governments can go its negotiations with the iMF must also include making its interlocutors aware that imposing further hardship at this time let alone providing appropriate subsidies, will not just have political consequences, but may be unpredictable after all, people take religious matters very seriously this is another reason why the government should take the matter seriously there have been at least two meetings chaired by the PM about the Ramazan package, but only one was the national (the other was limited to islamabad), and produced only pious wishes, but nothing concrete Firm decisions are needed and soon with Ramazan only days away

ashraf

TH E iMF was established to ensure stability of the international monetary system– the system of exchange rates and international payments– enabling member countries and their citizens to carry out transactions with each other besides promoting employment triggering sustainable growth and reducing poverty to achieve these objectives the iMF grants loans to low-income countries or those facing balance of payment crises at lower rates through different mechanisms including the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) While extending these loans the iMF does not ask for any collateral like commercial banks but insists on the fulfillment of certain conditions in the form of structural reforms of the economy, curtailment of expenditure, reduction in the subsidies and broadening the tax base with a view to enabling the recipient countries to rely more and more on their internally generated resources and be in a position to amicably pay off their loans in the process Looking at these terms from an economic point of view they seem a perfect recipe for any developing country aspiring to achieve self-sustained growth no economic growth model can succeed without these measures now the question arises: if the iMF loans are meant to help the ailing economies of the developing countries why is it that Pakistan has not been able to achieve sustainable growth in spite of the fact that beginning from 1958, to 2018 it has availed 23 loans from iMF? the answer is quite simple no government ever showed the political will to take tough decisions and initiate the desired reforms programme a culture of tax exemptions, irresistible penchant for prestige projects that have no connection with the country’s economic realities and the strategy of planning the projects first and then looking for resources to defray them have all led the country to a situation where the economy is almost on the verge of collapse it is indeed ironic that each government has been taking a dig at its predecessor for accepting harsh conditions of the iMF while itself following the same path the fact that almost all governments availed iMF loan facilities testifies to the reality that their claims for economic development were absolutely false and they had been befooling the people by concealing the reality However iMF has been used as a

fall guy responsible for all our economic woes and for point scoring against political opponents Even some economists have been involved in misleading the public about the rationale for seeking iMF assistance and the perceived role of the entity in warding off the financial crisis faced by the loan-seeking countries they have been sparing the governments for their inability to utilize those loans productively the point is that the iMF does not grant fund facilities without a formal request by the country concerned the extended fund facility or other loans are granted on the terms determined by the iMF so it is a take- it-or-leave-it proposition for a country seeking the facility as is evident the fault does not lie with the iMF conditions but with the failure of the successive governments to implement them faithfully as per the agreed programme as it is not possible to narrate the story of failures of all the governments which have availed EFF facility therefore for the sake of brevity and convenience i am starting from 2008 when representative rule was restored after the end of the Musharraf regime the PPP signed a standby arrangement funding facility of $7 235 billion contending that it was imperative to arrest a nosedive in the economy and put the country on the path of sustainable development However it could not complete the programme Consequently when its rule ended GDP growth stood at the lowestever rate of 3% the PML(n) government which succeeded the PPP obtained an Extended Fund Facility amounting to $4 393 billion which was fully utilized However when the Pti came to power it also told the people that the economy was in the doldrums and it had no choice but to knock at the door of the iMF for a bail-out package the iMF agreed to provide a loan facility amounting to $6 6 billion which is still running and recently the agency undertook the ninth review However the staff level agreement for the release of funds is still awaited in this regard it is worth mentioning that the Pti government at its fag end reneged on its commitments with the iMF in regards to removing subsidies and hiking prices of oil and electricity it was a populist decision to keep a cap on the prices of electricity, gas and utilities but it had its own repercussions it was not an honourable strategy on the part of the government which not only annoyed the iMF but also created difficulties for the country

The IMF conditions may be tough but if implemented faithfully can prove beneficial in the long run by putting the economy on the path of sustained economic development. It however needs strong political will to implement them setting aside political expediencies

the brunt of that bad decision the economy was in such a bad shape that there was no choice for the government other than re-entering the iMF programme to stem the rot the negotiations with the iMF have been very tough because of the mistrust that the Pti government had created there is no doubt that accepting the iMF conditions and implementing them has made the life of the masses very difficult But there was no other choice available with the government the reality is that even during the Pti rule inflation remained on the upward curve and people were heard praying for the fall of the government it continues to rise unchecked and is likely to remain so for some time But the fact remains that it cannot be arrested without joining the iMF programme which will also open the doors for friendly countries international lenders and donors to help Pakistan in arresting the nose-dive in the economy

However, even if the iMF programme is revived it will require a long time to overcome the economic challenges if any party claims that it can mitigate the suffering of the people and revive the economy immediately after coming into power it is trying to hoodwink the people

Regrettably the party which signed the agreement with the iMF during its rule and was responsible for the economic meltdown is now using it against the PDM government to advance its political agenda there is no quick-fix solution available to tide over the situation the iMF conditions may be tough but if implemented faithfully can prove beneficial in the long run by putting the economy on the path of sustained economic development it however needs strong political will to implement them setting aside political expediencies

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

Consequently the PDM government had to face

The long road to a stable political system

but mindful of its institutional interests arbitrates the bitter rivalry

Pakistan s internal security is threatened by terrorism extremism and separatist movements the security situation in khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the former tribal areas and in the Province of Balochistan is constantly tense Even though the security situation in significant parts of the country has improved, the government has so far not been able to enforce its monopoly on force throughout the country since the taliban took power in afghanistan terrorism has begun to increase again especially in Balochistan and khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Many international actors are also closely following the political developments in Pakistan

Pa k i s ta n is facing many problems of rising inflation, food shortages, the threat of sovereign debt, and escalating violence its political system entered 2023 with high stakes among the political elite, causing government paralysis and confidence the democratic institutions are drastically going to decline Harsh politics are not new in a polarized Pakistan but their combination with economic humanitarian and security crises have made the country s current problems all the more pressing the challenges facing this populous strategically located and nuclear-armed islamic nation are also spilling over into Pakistan s relations with countries and neighbours in the region

On 25 July 2018, parliamentary elections took place, which were won by imran khan and his Pti Even though significant restrictions were imposed during the election campaigning, the elections can be described as democratic leading to the third peaceful change of government in succession the new government had promised a number of socio-economic reforms and efforts against corruption therefore its record has been mixed and its fiscal space is limited the socioeconomic situation remains difficult the latest round of political turmoil began in april 2022 with the overthrow of imran khan s government in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence that exposed the collapse of the ruling military-civilian condominium and the clever dealings of the various 12 political parties But rather than leave things alone, khan launched a spirited populist campaign that now looks likely to see him returned to office in the next national election the current political deadlock is particularly over setting the date for those elections constitutionally mandated for October 12

Building on the momentum of his move imran khan and his supporters are trying to have early elections held while a coalition led by the PML(n) wants them as late as possible to stay in power the government relied on its patronage networks and resorted to politicizing key state institutions such as the judiciary, the accountability office, and the country s electoral commission in mobilizing his supporters, khan used inflammatory rhetoric and manoeuvred politically in ways that many believe exceeded the limits of democratic competition Pakistan’s powerful military temporarily on the sidelines

The political par ties must also agree that in future the opposition par ties will fulfil their duties but will not attempt to over throw any existing government before the end of its term All political par ties must also express their commitment to maintain continuity in the economic policies of each government

Many countries are concerned about the ability of a troubled and politically paralyzed Pakistan to deal with the growing challenge of militant extremism although khan has toned down some of his anti-american rhetoric he continues to refer to the current government as imported and his often sympathetic views of the Pakistani and afghan taliban have worried the Usa and European powers Many Gulf states, which for years have relied on Pakistan s military to provide security for the government and value islamabad’s regional diplomatic role need the security of a politically predictable and stable Pakistan that is also true of the international financial community which along with the saudis Chinese and others has invested heavily in Pakistan the year 2023 probably has many open questions among them, can Pakistan s warm political system succeed in curbing election violence? Will the army keep its promise not to in-

terfere in the electoral process? Could the resounding triumph of khan s conspiratorial populism reshape politics in a way that sets Pakistan on a more authoritarian path? How could a collapsing economy affect the political process, possibly postponing elections? the minor question is that Pakistan has a long way to go to establish a stable and functional political system, let alone build a democratic political culture now all eyes are on how military-civilian relations are beginning to shape up under COas Gen asim Munir Under Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa the military consolidated its control over all sorts of behind-thescenes politics General Bajwa presided over a close same-page relationship with khan When their conflict occurred the PML(n) was eager to replace khan as an ally of the military and head of the civilian government General Bajwa retired, saying that the army would no longer be involved in political affairs Very few people in Pakistan believe him With politics dominating the agenda this year and elections approaching General asim Munir has a chance to show the country whether he will follow in his predecessor s footsteps or chart a new course for Pakistan’s civil-military relations the political parties must also agree that in future the opposition parties will fulfil their duties but will not attempt to overthrow any existing government before the end of its term all political parties must also express their commitment to maintain continuity in the economic policies of each government

The writer has a PhD in Political Science and can be reached at akramzaheer86@yahoo com

E d i t o r ’ s m a i l

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

Let us thank IMF for sane advice

t H i s is with reference to the report tax the rich subsidise the poor iMF asks Pakistan (Feb 20) We often denounce the international Monetary Fund (iMF) for exploiting developing countries but this time i would like to thank the lending agency for the recent statement by its managing director i thank kristalina Georgieva for raising her voice in support of the poor and downtrodden people of this country, further burdened by the rulers with indirect taxes and hit hard by the galloping inflation and a high interest rate On the other hand, the government is not ready to pass on the burden to the rich class, and is protecting them by not taxing them in relation to their income the hapless citizens have no voice in parliament and in the corridors of power while there is no forum where they can air their plight to the insensitive rulers the ruling elite have always tended to rely on anti-poor and pro-rich policies to maintain their stranglehold on the nation s resources it is bent upon sucking the last drop of blood from the unprivileged masses the ever widening gulf between the haves and the have-nots bears undeniable testimony to it inequality and unjust distribution of resources is scaling new peaks with even more peaks in sight One would urge the iMF to intervene and review its financial support to the country by linking it to the government s decision to tax the rich and the influential groups while lessening the burden on the poor i urge the iMF to ensure that the forthcoming budget should be pro-poor in its spirit while imposing taxes heavily on the rich and the privileged ironic thought it may sound, the iMF is the only hope for the poor in Pakistan today because it is the only entity that can force the government to correct its policies the opulent lifestyle of the elite and the state functionaries legislators, bureaucrats, generals, judges, etc must cease if the poor cannot have two square meals a day the affluent cannot and should not be allowed to have luxury cars latest mobile phones other imported gadgets sumptuous meals in branded restaurants etc ARIF MAJEED KARACHI

Putting the house in order for stability

B L a M i n G others for all the ills is nothing more than excusing yourself that is what ruling elites do in Pakistan blame the international Monetary Fund (iMF) for the economic instability Undoubtedly the iMF s agenda-driven conditionalities put the economy of a country in tight spot but government failure to deliver can never be ignored and excused Pakistan has been seeking financial help from the iMF since 1958 Excluding the recent paused iMF programme for whose resumption talks are underway, Pakistan has availed the iMF loan facility 22 times in every government, ruling elites given their incompetence and inefficiency, which result in financial apocalypse, repeat the same mantra; ‘we are on the brink of economic meltdown and only the iMF can save us now’ and they agree to swallow the bitter iMF pill the iMF was formed in Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 the Fund was to perform the role of monetary cooperation stability of currency exchange rates and lending upon the balance of payment crisis But it has switched its role and started influencing the countries it lends money Has the loan granted by the iMF delivered on its mandate of financial stability? Certainly not Consider argentina which in 2018 took the largest ever loan of the iMF s history; around $57 1 billion but what happened afterwards is not surprising; inflation rose employment fell and capital fled the country at record rates Pakistan s situation is also not different than this in addition, calling the iMF conditionalities agenda-driven is not wrong as the United states holds the lion s share in the iMF (16 7 per cent), it uses the lending agency for its own vested interests and benefits in this regard, a report to the senate Foreign Relations Committee 111th Congress, March 10, 2010, states that the international financial institutions (that includes iMF) have traditionally been an important element of the Us foreign policy which provides it with an oppor- tunity to maintain its influence over other countries ALI MUHAMMAD KHAN SUKKUR

Malik MuhaMMaD

The Zaman Park battle COMMENT 05

T h e s t a t e s u c c u m b e d t o m o b p o w e r

a letter from Prometheus agha iqrar

LO s i n G a battle that lasted for 30 hours in downtown Lahore the state power surrendered and retreated from the scene without fulfilling its legal duty f arresting former prime minister imran khan Followers of imran khan protected him with full force and did not allow the police to enter his residence at zaman Park although police and rangers were trying to arrest him under court orders the police entered n saturday, but by then it was too late this was an excellent example of how a weak state surrenders in front of unruly and charged groups of people a Lahore High Court judge directed the police to withdraw from zaman Park because he did not want a grave law and order situation in Lahore the DiG Police of islamabad fainted due to the heavy presence of tear gas in the environment and he was shifted to the hospital

Over 59 policemen were injured by Pti workers and the scene amicably ended the former prime minister has over 70 cases registered against him and he had never been arrested in any of the cases because he is protected by his strong followers in fact the former prime minister testified that he is beyond any law and rule and he is larger than the state itself He was crafted like this by the designers of Project imran khan

Robert irwin Rotberg is a professor in governance and foreign affairs and he was director of the Program on intrastate Conflict Conflict Prevention and Conflict Resolution at Harvard University s John F kennedy school of Government for decades One of his books

Failed States Collapsed States Weak States: Causes and Indicators is very famous among students of civil administration all over the world in this book he says that states fail because of many reasons including losing their legitimacy as an umbrella for protecting the population from social, economic, legal, and physical exploitation of powerful individuals or groups

He believes that weak states fail to control the formation of armed groups and their armament and then mobilization of groups easily defeats law enforcement agencies and that is what we saw in the Lahore fiasco

Police failed to disarm and demobilize khan’s followers who had been attacking law enforcement agencies for over 30 hours resulting in the disgraceful withdrawal of forces from the scene

For a long we are not investing in training and capacity building of our institutions and we allow privatized security management now this country has only 397,364 policemen while the unofficial/unconfirmed strength of private security guards provided by registered security agencies is over 3 2 million and if we add the strength of unregistered and personal security guards then the figure can jump to 4 million

Figures indicate that individuals and groups are stronger than the state if we talk about security issues the judicial system has an extremely low strength as the supreme Court of Pakistan has 17 judges thye Lahore High Court has 50 sindh High Court has 25 Peshawar High Court has 15 and Balochistan High Court has 6 Districts & sessions Judges/senior Civil Judges & Civil Judges are 649 in Punjab 390 in sindh 177 in kPk and 125 in Balochistan When the state power starts squeezing then it becomes easier than before for armed groups to subjugate the state Pakistan has a long history of closing its eyes when a n y a r m e d g r o u p f l o u r i s h e s d r a t h e r t h a n t h e s t a t e , w h i c h h a s b e e n h a n d i n g l o v e w i t h t h o s e g r o u p s i n m a n y c a s e s R e l i g i o u s , e t h n i c , a n d p o l i t i c a l g r o u p s ruled their respective areas of operation for decades and the best example of this was MQM altaf Hussain

He was needed in the early 1980s by Gen ziaul Haq to control the Pakistan People’s Party and the Jamaati-islami in karachi so he got state sponsorship several Las hkars (religious armed groups ) w ere needed for the afghan Jihad and to snub a particular sectarian group and many of them thereafter targeted the Pakistan army including the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi that was b e h i n d a t t a c k i n g G H Q i n R a w a l p i n d i t h e i r r e g u l a r

The global banking crisis and world

armies and state-sponsored extremists sooner or later stand against the regular state and this is what we have seen in human history particularly in the Middle East and in Pakistan instead of wasting time in detailing w h a t w e h a d s e e n i n t h e p a s t w e s h o u l d r e v i e w t h e mechanism of how and why the formation or acceptance of armed groups makes the state weaker Professor anna Leander is a sociologist and political scientist currently teaching at the Graduate institute of international and Development studies in Geneva in her famous book, Globalisation and the Eroding State Monopoly of Legitimate Violence, writes that bloc interest in politics can cause a kind of warfare nd sometimes includes vertical, hierarchical command; the importance of the battle, and extremist tendencies the point of “the importance of battle” was strongly propagated during the Lahore fiasco and it worked well as mentioned by Prof Leander the message was sent by vertical (imran khan himself) was amplified by the hierarchical command and extremist tendencies were converted into a power show and attacks on law enforcement agencies the inspector General of Punjab Police (iGP) in his press conference claimed that militants were residing inside the residence of a former prime minister who is (was) wanted by law enforcement agencies Photos of one iqbal khan appeared on social media followed by his statement iqbal khan had been fighting against the Pakistan army in swat Valley and he was arrested and jailed for over six years He had been living in afghanistan and came back to Pakistan when the Pti allowed ttP militants to resettle in Pakistan after a deal with militants arranged by the former leader of the Pakistan army iqbal khan according to journalists is a leading figure in protecting the former prime minister against law enforcement agencies Journalists who covered the pitched fight between khan s followers and police claimed that hardly 20 to 30 percent of followers who

Such minute incidents slowly but surely develop a situation where the State slowly but surely allows extremist groups to take over the situation and encroach the writ of the State If the State continues to allow ethnic, social, political, and religious groups to use the monopoly of the use of violence that is the only prerogative of the State , then the state later or sooner star ts crumbling

were there could belong to Lahore because their outfits and language indicated they were not from Punjab either if we consider the statement of the iGP valid that militants were or are living inside the residence of the former prime minister, it is the sheer incompetence of the state institution to let them live in the heart of the provincial metropolis such minute incidents slowly but surely develop a situation where the state slowly but surely allows extremist groups to take over the situation and encroach the writ of the state if the state continues to allow ethnic social political and religious groups to use the monopoly of the use of violence that is the only prerogative of the state then the state later or sooner starts crumbling Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him : Dwight D Eisenhower

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

A witt y and hear tfelt memoir

www jeffSachS or g J e f f r e y D s ac h s

TH E b a n k i n g c r i s i s t h a t h i t s i l i c o n Va l l e y B a n k ( s V B ) l a s t w e e k h a s s p r e a d We r e c a l l w i t h a s h u d d e r two recent financial contagions: the 1997 asian Financial Crisis which led to a deep asian recession and the 2008 Great Recession which led to a global downt u r n t h e n e w b a n k i n g c r i s i s h i t s a w o r l d e c o n o m y a l r e a d y d i s r u p t e d b y p a n d e m i c , war, sanctions, geopolitical tensions, and climate shocks at the root of the current banking crisis is the tightening of monetary conditions by the Fed and the European Central Bank (ECB) after years of expansionary monetary policy in recent years both the Fed and ECB held interest rates near zero and flooded the economy with liquidity especially in response to the pandemic Easy money resulted in inflation in 2022 and both central banks are now tightening monetary policy and raising interest rates to staunch inflation Banks like sVB take in short-term deposits and use the deposits to make long-term investments

the banks pay interest on the deposits and aim for higher returns on the long-term investments When the central banks raise short-term interest rates, rates paid on deposits may exceed the earnings on long-term investments in that case the banks’ earnings and capital fall

Banks may need to raise more capital to stay safe and in operation in extreme cases some banks may fail Even a solvent bank may fail if depositors panic and suddenly try to withdraw their deposits an event known as a bank run Each depositor dashes to withdraw deposits ahead of the other depositors since the bank s assets are tied up in long-term investments, the bank lacks the liquidity to provide ready cash to the panicked depositors sVP succumbed to such a bank run and was quickly taken over by the Us government Bank runs are a standard risk but can be avoided in three ways First banks should keep enough capital to absorb losses second in the event of a bank run central banks should provide banks with emergency liquidity thereby ending the panic third government deposit insurance should calm depositors all three mechanisms may have failed in

the case of sVB First sVB apparently allowed its balance sheet to become seriously impaired and regulators did not react in time second for unclear reasons Us regulators closed sVB rather than provide emergency central bank liquidity third, Us deposit insurance guaranteed deposits only up to $Us 250,000, and so did not stop a run by large depositors after the run, Us regulators announced they would guarantee all deposits the immediate question is whether sVB’s failure is the start of a more general bank crisis the rise of market interest rates caused by Fed and ECB tightening has impaired other banks as well now that a banking crisis has occurred panics by depositors are more likely Future bank runs can be avoided if the world s central banks provide ample liquidity to banks facing runs the swiss central bank provided a loan to Credit suisse for exactly this reason the Federal Reserve has provided $152 billion in new lending to Us banks in recent days Emergency lending, however, partly offsets the central banks’ efforts to control inflation Central banks are in a quandary By pushing up interest rates, they make bank runs more likely if they keep interest rates too low however inflationary pressures are likely to persist the central banks will try to have it both w a y s : h i g h e r i n t e r e s t r a t e s p l u s e m e rg e n c y l i q u i d i t y i f n e e d e d t h i s i s t h e r i g h t a pp r o a c h b u t c o m e s w i t h c o s t s t h e U s a n d E u r o p e a n e c o n o m i e s w e r e a l r e a d y e x p e r ie n c i n g s t a g f l a t i o n : h i g h i n f l a t i o n a n d s l o wi n g g r o w t h t h e b a n k i n g c r i s i s w i l l w o r s e n t h e s t a g f l a t i o n a n d p o s s i b l y t i p t h e U s a n d

E u r o p e i n t o r e c e s s i o n some of the stagflation was the consequence of COViD-19, which induced the central banks to pump in massive liquidity in 2020 causing inflation in 2022 some of the stagflation is the result of shocks caused by long-term climate change Climate shocks could become worse this year if a new El niño develops in the Pacific as scientists say is increasingly likely Yet stagflation has also been intensified by economic disruptions caused by the Ukraine War, Us and EU sanctions against Russia, and rising tensions between the Us and China these geopolitical factors have disrupted the world economy by hitting supply chains, pushing up costs and prices while hindering output We should regard diplomacy as a key macroeconomic tool if diplomacy is used to end the Ukraine War phase out the costly sanctions on Russia and reduce tensions between the Us and China not only will the world be much safer but stagflation will also be eased Peace and cooperation are the best remedies to rising economic risks

Sachs is professor and director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network

Wa s i M a k R a M, the ace left-arm pacer wrote his memoir sultan with the famous cricket journalist Gideon Haigh, and every chapter of the book is prefaced by a comment from a famous cricketer from around the world australian cricketer Justin Langer confesses that “Facing Wasim was like batting in a fishing net You couldn t go anywhere You couldn t score Basically it was a nightmare a memoir written with a degree of honesty and courage this book comes across as an account that tries more to delineate the flaws of its protagonist than to portray him as a larger than life figure the lucid prose and a coherent narrative makes the memoir an interesting read for both casual and traditional cricket lovers

A HUMBLE START: an 18-year-old young man from Mozang, a suburban locality of Lahore, was sleeping on a wooden charpoy with his grandmother when he was selected to represent his country With no link to the top and with no cricket in his blood he made his way from the streets of his village to the test team in a couple of years “Patronage” says akram has always mattered in Pakistani cricket but here was a teenager who had inherited nothing but the dreams of playing for his country of one day akram humanises the account by detailing the vicissitudes in his life as he continued with his cricket despite the marriage of his parents falling apart Living with his mother in Mozang he recalls an incident when he was playing in a street and a local cricketer spotted him and took him to play at a cricket club i would bowl, and bowl, and bowl – basically until there was nobody left to bowl to, which might be four hours, recalls akram in his book after being chosen for his first tour to new zealand, he had no idea whether he would have to pay for the tour, or get paid for it senior cricketer Javed Miandad came to his rescue and told him that life had changed for him – he was a professional cricketer now Little did akram know then that his journey in international cricket would be littered by controversies both with his own teammates and others akram does not shy away from recording the hardships inflicted on him by his fellow teammates On his first tour he recalls saleem Malik then an established player and his roommate being negative selfish and treating him like a menial the anxieties of a vulnerable and talented cricketer in the early years of his career are starkly visible throughout the book Wasim akram was a novice then in search of a guide, a mentor, and a confidant imran khan, who had just made a comeback after regaining his fitness, recalled meeting him for the first time at the lounge of the sydney airport “i don’t remember anyone, but with imran you do always, so overwhelming is his presence, his beauty in 1985 he looked like a god: the face the hair the physique i simply could not take my eyes off him and for a young fast bowler this was a very good thing ”

CONTROVERSIES GALORE: that was the start of a lifelong camaraderie during which khan taught akram the greatest lessons of his cricketing career the art of reverse swing – the swing an old ball develops towards the shiny side rather than away from it – would end up becoming akram s deadly weapon

on the pitch akram was quite smitten by khan and in the 1992 World Cup when they lifted the trophy, he supported his captain’s controversial winning speech, in which, other players alleged imran khan attributed the win entirely to himself Beneath the veneer of a successful cricketer there are glimpses of the utterly broken person that Wasim akram became His addiction to cocaine during the later part of his career got the better of him His wife Huma who later died of a cardiac arrest was the anchor that kept akram grounded and stable during the tumultuous years in which he was accused of match fixing and drug abuse

During his time as the captain of the Pakistan team, akram made quite a few allegations against teammates Waqar Younis and Javed Miandad – of boycotting him and not abiding by his instructions He had to fine them repeatedly for turning up late for the bus that ferried the team to the stadium from the hotel akram comes across as defiant and reticent in the face of the controversy that arose in England when Pakistan’s fast bowlers were accused of tampering with the ball to generate their magical reverse swing Had the swing been the innovation of English players akram argues it would have been hailed as a remarkable feature the general English Paranoia about reverse swing was such that they showed no curiosity about the skill involved they didn t observe for instance how we only ever held the ball in our fingers but never in the palm they did not grasp how quickly the side of a ball could deteriorate if you neglected it they simply derided us as cheating Pakis sultan tells the story of one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers cricket has had From the streets of Lahore, the saga of Wasim akram’s meteoric rise in international cricket and subsequent fall when he was embroiled in controversies of match-fixing and ball-tampering is told with striking honesty and wit akram does not mince his words and answers all the questions that have been asked of him He writes evocatively of life before and after the death of his first wife Huma while narrating the tale of his romance with shaneira who later became his second wife with great emotion and humour

Reading sultan is like witnessing the highlights of world cricket through Wasim akram s eyes from the 1990s till the end of his career this makes this memoir a trip down memory lane for all cricket enthusiasts of the subcontinent and the world

Sultan: A Memoirby Wasim Akram with Gideon Haigh HarperCollins

MOBIlE aNd INtERNEt susPENdEd IN INdIaN PuNjaB as POlICE HuNt KHalIstaN lEadER

NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH s ta f f r e p o r t

sE V E R A L areas of Punjab witnessed the suspension of mobile and internet services over the weekend as the police in the northern Indian state conducted a manhunt for Amritpal Singh, a prominent self-styled Sikh preacher who says he supports the Khalistan movement for a separate Sikh homeland

According to Scroll in, “cordonand-search operations” were conducted statewide against Singh s organisation, Waris Punjab De, resulting in the arrest of 78 people, with “several more being detained ”

As the search for Singh 30 continued into its second day, India Today reported on Sunday that security has been heightened across Indian Punjab

[The] father of Amritpal Singh, who was declared a fugitive by the Ja-

landhar Commissioner on Saturday [March 18] said the Punjab police conducted searches at his residence in Amritsar but did not find anything illegal,” it said We don t have any information about his whereabouts They carried

out a search at our residence for 3-4 hours but did not find anything illegal Police should have arrested him before he left home,” the report quoted Singh’s father as saying Singh gained national attention in India after hundreds of his supporters

stormed a police station in Punjab in February The mob many carrying guns and swords, demanded the release of an arrested aide and were reportedly carrying a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib holy religious scripture of Sikhism, making it difficult for police to intervene T h e i n c i d e n t b r o u g h t S i n g h i n t o t h e s p o t l i g h t w i t h c o n c e r n s r a i s e d over the rising support for the Khalistan movement Meanwhile according to The Wire Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which prohibits the assembly of five or more persons has been imposed in various districts of the state, including two of the six border districts The police have increased deployment in all district headquarters and paramilitary forces have sealed off Jallupur Khera, Singh s hometown Mobile internet and SMS services have also been suspended in several districts until the afternoon

Po s te r s w i t h g re e t i n g m e s s a g e s o n Pa ki s t a n D ay a p p e a r i n I I OJ K

SRINAGAR ag e n c i e s

In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir posters have appeared in Srinagar and other areas of the valley with greeting messages ahead of the Pakistan Day to be celebrated on March 23

According to Kashmir Media Service, the posters, displayed by Kashmiri youth Soldiers of Islam also carrying the famous slogan coined by martyred veteran Hurriyat leader

Hamza Mawaz powers BN Polo to clinch Centur y Ventures National Open Polo trophy

LAHORE s ta f f r e p o r t

BN Polo defeated Master Paints/Newage Cables by 12-6 in the Century Ventures National Open Polo

Championship for Quaid-e-Azam Gold Cup 2023 main final played here at crowded Lahore Polo Club on Sunday Hamza Mawaz Khan emerged as hero of the main final as he fired in five fabulous goals while he was ably supported by foreign players Tito Ruiz Guinazu and Elena Venot who cotributed with two and three goals respectively while Babar Naseem converted one goal For Master Paints/Newage Cables, Simon Prado hammered a hat-trick while Juan Cruz Greguol banged in a brace and Raja Temur Nadeem scored one goal BN Polo were off to flying start in the grand finale as they thrashed in three goals – two by Hamza and one by Tito Ruiz – to take a 3-0 lead while Master Paints/Newage’s Simon Prado converted one before the end of the first chukker to make it 1-3 Prado added one more in his team s tally in the beginning of the second chukker to further reduce the margin to 2-3 But BN bounced back well by banging in a brace – one each by Hamza and Tito Ruiz – to stretch their lead to 5-2

The third chukker began with a field goal by Raja Temur that helped MP/Newage make it 3-5 but BN Polo converted two back-to-back goals through Hamza and Babar to enhance their lead to 7-3 The highly-charged fourth chukker saw BN Polo cracked a quartet – two by Elena and one each by Tito and Hamza – to gain a healthy 11-3 lead while MP/Newage scored three goals – two by Greguol and one by Prado – to reduce the deficit to 6-11 In the fifth and decisive chukker BN Polo struck the only goal through Elena Venot to win the historic event by 12-6

ISLAMABAD a p p

Wasim Akram, former Pakistan captain and a legendary pacer has said that Saudi Arabia could form its proper cricket team as the Kingdom regularly hosted tournaments, adding he wishes to see the game evolve in the Gulf nation

Akram made his first-ever trip to the Saudi capital of Riyadh in February this year where he held a meeting with the chairman of the Saudi Arabia Cricket Federation (SACF), Prince Saud bin Mishal, to discuss the future of the sport in the Kingdom

In an interview with Arab News, Akram spoke about the emerging cricket talent in Saudi Arabia, saying though he did not get a chance to witness Saudi cricketers he would like to visit the Kingdom again

I would love to go and see the talent, and I am sure, they can form a proper cricket team, where they can actually beat the associate countries ” the former pacer said

But for that, they have got to have domestic regular leagues, and that too, like I said earlier, on turf pitches

That’s very important for Saudi cricket to evolve ” Akram s visit followed the recent strengthening of cricket ties between the two countries In January, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi said his country was prepared to share its expertise in the sport with Saudi Arabia where cricket is increasingly growing in popularity

The same month Javed Afridi who owns the Pakistan Super League franchise Peshawar Zalmi announced that his team was going to play exhibition matches in the Kingdom, Arab News reported

“I met with the chairman of the Saudi Arabia Cricket Federation, who is a very keen and avid fan of cricket, Akram said “And of course there are a lot of expats: Pakistanis Australians Indians Bangladeshis Sri Lankans They all are there, and they love one sport, that s cricket The [Kingdom] has about 16 districts, and they do put up regular tournaments [but] I think what they need is a proper cricket ground and turfs that s where Saudi cricket will evolve Akram added he went to Riyadh for the first time and was amazed to see the city

The weather was unbelievable, he said It was cold actually It was about 11 to 12 degrees And in general, the traffic was all over the place But apart from that the country is evolving It has evolved so much Since its establishment in 2020, the SACF has launched a series of major initiatives, including a national cricket championship a corporate cricket tournament a league for expatriate workers and social programs in several cities

It oversees 15 official associations representing the sport in nine regions and has announced plans to set up additional associations in the remaining regions to ensure that cricket activities are held across the Kingdom

Syed Ali Gilani Hum Pakistani Hain, Pakistan Hamara Hai , and Jammu and Kashmir Wariseen Shuhada were pasted on walls pillars and poles in Srinagar and several other areas of the Kashmir valley

The posters with Pakistan flag and picture of Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir greeted the Pakistanis on their national day

The posters said: People of Jammu and Kashmir demand an end to Indian illegal occupation and want freedom Go India Go Back , Jammu and Kashmir is part of Pakistan ”

The posters read India has turned Kashmir into a military garrison It read, Kashmiris

want freedom from Indian illegal occupation and will never compromise on their just cause of right to self-determination They also read it is the time to get united and raise voice against the Indian occupation ’

The hope was expressed that the people of the country would continue to work for a strong and stable Pakistan as stable Pakistan is the guarantee to peace in the region

The posters were also shared on social media platforms including Facebook and twitter S e v e r a l S t u d e n t S i nj u r e d a S v e h i c l e fa l l S i n to g o r g e i n P o o n c h : Meanwhile 14 people, including six girl and

seven male students were injured when an overloaded eco-vehicle skidded off the road and rolled down into a gorge in the Poonch district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday

According to Kashmir Media Service officials said the accident took place near Keri Kangra in Mendhar, Poonch when the driver of the Eco Van lost control over it and the vehicle rolled down many feet into a gorge leading to the injuries to 14 people

The injured, 13 of them being minors and one major, were immediately rushed to the local hospital by the rescuers including local volunteers

PM praises stakeholders for successful HBL PSL edition

Earlier in the Subsidiary Final, Team FG Polo outpaced DS Polo by 10-6 For FG Polo, Juan Ambroggio emerged as top scorer with a contribution of five goals while Abbas Mukhtar struck a hat-trick and Ramiro Zavaleta banged in a brace For DS Polo, Javier Gurrero thrashed in three goals while Hissam Ali Hyder scored two and Bilal Haye hit one goal

The chief guest of the final was Chairman Pakistan Polo Association Lt Gen Khalid Zia while Club President Umar Sadiq Directors of Century Ventures Pvt Ltd Ayaz Lakhani Kamran Afzal Wasim Mazhar Nazia Wasim Secretary of PPA Lt Col Ayaz Mahmood, LPC executive committee members, players, their families and a large number of spectators were also present on the occasion

In the end the chief guest distributed prizes among the winners, runners-up and top performers and also honoured the organizers and club staff (Faisal Mahmood, Muhammad Imran Muhammad Irfan Munawar Iqbal Ali Ahmed and Muhammad Khalid) Ibrahim Sultan was awarded in -2 to 0 category, Basel Faisal Khokhar in 0 to 2 category and Agha Musa Ali Khan in 2 to 4 category

The most valuable pakistani player of the season award was handed over to Hamza Mawaz Khan and the best foreign player of the tournament to Tito Ruiz Guinazu Simon Prado of Master Paints scored the most goals in the tournament The best Pakistani mare of the tournament was awarded to Raja Temur Nadeem s mare 11-481 The Syed Wajid Ali Shah trophy was awarded to Kamila, a foreign mare owned by Babar Naseem

Egypt hosts Israeli Palestinian talks in push for pre-Ramazan calm

CAIR O s ta f f r e p o r t

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

Shehbaz Sharif commended the efforts of the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) the chief ministers of Sindh and Punjab and their administrations, and all the teams for their contribution to the successful conclusion of the 8th edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL)

Taking to Twitter, the prime minister acknowledged the thrilling final of the event, describing it as a nail-biting finish to the highly anticipated tournament

He also recognised the enthusiasm and energy of the spectators who kept the atmosphere lively throughout the tournament Lahore Qalandars became the first team to win back-to-back PSL titles on Saturday, beating Multan Sultans by one run in a thrilling final

Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi took 4-51 after smashing a rapid 44 not out but had to effect a run out at the bowler s end as Multan s Khushdil Shah tried to make a third run to force a super over

Qalandars had scored 200-6 in their 20 overs before a packed 25 000 Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and Sultans finished on 199-8

Qalandars had also defeated Sultans in last year ’s final Meanwhile former captain Shahid Afridi also congratulated Lahore Qalandars on the nail-biting victory

“Congratulations to Lahore Qalandars on becoming PSL champions and the way they played throughout the tournament wrote Afridi

Praising the management, the former interim chief selector of the cricket board said: “[Congratulation] to @thePSLt20 management on putting [on] an amazing tournament and where the matches were nail bitting till the end on [the] most part

Shaheen Afridi named PSL 2023 team captain

LAHORE s ta f f r e p o r t

Lahore Qalandars’ skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi was appointed as captain of the Team of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023 by an independent panel headed by technical committee chairman Haroon Rashid The panel also included commentators Bazid Khan, Daren Ganga Nick Knight and Sana Mir as members

While selecting the side the independent panel considered a number of T20 cricket aspects, including consistency impact on the side and overall game and best possible team combination so that this team can take on any T20 side on any given day at any venue in any conditions

Afridi inspired Qalandars to finish on top of the points table with seven wins, then helped his side to bounce back from a Multan Sultans drubbing in the qualifier by overcoming Peshawar Zalmi in Eliminator 2 and finally slapped a 15-ball 44 not-out and took four for 51 to not only walk away with the player of the final award but also guided his side to their second successive PSL title This is the fourth successive year Afridi has made it to the exclusive side since the PSL teams concept which was introduced in 2019

The side also includes Sultans’ players Abbas Afridi and Ihsanullah who won the Emerging and Player of PSL 8 awards, respectively Like the Multan duo, it is also the first time for Mohammad Haris and Azam Khan to be selected for the team of the tournament

Overall the side includes five players from losing finalists Sultans, two players each from Qalandars and Zalmi, and one player each from Islamabad United and Karachi Kings Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam have been selected as openers, with Haris, Rilee Rossouw, Azam and Kieron Pollard forming a formidable middle order Imad Wasim who has been picked in the Team of PSL for the first time, comes in as an all-rounder, followed by wrist spinner Rashid Khan and three fast bowlers in Afridi Ihsanullah and Abbas This is the fourth time in five years Babar has been selected as an opener though the first time was with his partner Rizwan, who himself has been chosen in the team of the tournament for the third successive time

Egypt hosted Israeli and Palestinian officials on Sunday in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh in a US and Jordanianbacked effort to calm a surge of violence in the West Bank ahead of the holy month of Ramazan The five-way meeting follows a Feb 26 US-brokered summit in Jordan the first of its kind in years that secured Israeli and Palestinian pledges to de-escalate but was challenged by factions on both sides and failed to halt violence on the ground

The meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh “aims to support dialogue between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to work to stop unilateral actions and escalation, and break the existing cycle of violence and achieve calm” a statement from Egypt s foreign ministry said This could facilitate the creation of a climate suitable for the resumption of the peace process , it added

The Palestinians aim to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital territories Israel captured in a 1967 war But peace talks have been stalled since 2014 and Palestinians say Jewish settlement expansion has undermined the chances of a viable state being established

In previous years, clashes have erupted between Israeli police and Palestinians around Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque at the height of Ramazan which coincides this year with Judaism s Passover and Christian Easter

Wasim akram hopes to see cricket ‘evolve’ in saudi arabia

corporate corner

Kashif Naqvi,

CDA chief inaugurates Rotar y Club -sponsored plantation drive

ISLAMABAD: The Rotary Club Islamabad Metropolitan which is an international network of 1 4 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers, launched a plantation drive in Islamabad yesterday to ensure a clean environment and to combat environmental pollution and its hazards This plantation campaign was inaugurated by Chairman CDA Capt Noorul Amin Mengal Rotary Club Islamabad Metropolitan initially planted more than 1000 trees during this national campaign These planted saplings by Rotary Club Islamabad include more than 1000 of Sukh Chain and Silver Oaks A grand ceremony was also organized on the occasion of inauguration of this national campaign On this occasion the chairman CDA appreciating the people-friendly project and campaign of Rotary Club Islamabad Metropolitan said that it is very gratifying that organizations like Rotary Club Islamabad Metropolitan are coming forward and serving the society by their self-contribution On this occasion, President Rotary Club Islamabad Metropolitan Mr Imran Ghaznavi welcomed Chairman, CDA and thanked him for taking time to inaugurate this campaign P R

IIUI president holds meeting with differently-abled students

ISLAMABAD: President International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) H E Dr Hathal Homoud Alotaibi, held an interactive meeting with the differently abled male and female students studying in various departments of the university Worthy President said that if any of these students face an issue he/ she must directly approach his office where they will be heard completely He assured that all the differently abled students shall have full support and cooperation during their studies and their issues shall be solved on priority basis IIUI President paid tribute to their parents for encouraging and making arrangements for the studies On the occasion, students thanked IIUI President for continuous support and conveyed regards and wishes from their parents P R

ISLAMABAD

The 5th Vice-Chancellors’ Forum of Universities in Islamic World on the theme: “Towards Disruptive Technology in a Globalised World” commenced here on Sunday

Over 250 Vice Chancellors including 40 from 20 OIC countries are participating in the Forum which is aimed at sharing experiences pooling resources fostering collaborations strengthening networks between universities and promoting dialogue on the future of higher education in the Islamic World

The VC Forum 2023 is being jointly organized by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Islamabad, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Islamic World Educational, and Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and British Council Pakistan

While speaking during the opening cere-

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v E d K a r a C h I ’ S r a n K I n g f r O m d a n g E r O u S t O P E a C E f u l C I t y : Wa h a b

KARACHI S ta f f R e P o R t

aP E A C E conference was organized by AdPulse in a private hotel in Karachi to support the endless sacrifices and services of the Sindh Police Advisor to Sindh CM on Law and Spokesperson to the Sindh Government Barrister Murtaza Wahab was the chief guest while Sindh IG Police Ghulam Nabi Memon was guest of honor on the occasion Barrister Murtaza Wahab while addressing the audience said that Karachi was number one on the list of dangerous cities seven years ago The Sindh Government conducted an operation and from 6th position we came to 128th 10,000 people come to this city every day, this city provides employment, education and health to all and will continue to provide them Karachi is not abandoned we need to tell people that good things happen here If we want to move forward, we have to reach out to each other and move forward The coming time will be good for our province and for our people

While IG Sindh Ghulam Nabi Memon said that the police is a part of

this society, there is no peace in Karachi, it is not like that We have asked the people of Karachi to install CCTV cameras as it will reduce the crime rate and the ratio has decreased The Sindh Government has given funds to the police and it is in front of everyone

The suggestion I sent to the Sindh government in 9 months was approved by the Chief Minister of Sindh Karachi is at 128 on the list of peace, crime is

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e P o R t

President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi said Sunday that businessmen are backbone of the economy and leading contributor to the economic progress and prosperity of Pakistan

The President made these remarks while addressing a ceremony of Memon Community organized by the All Pakistan Memon Federation at Karachi today ‘The Memon community has contributed tremendously to the economy of Pakistan Hundreds of educational institutes and hospitals are being run by the community” President Dr Arif Alvi said in his address

The President further said business social work and charity are the identification of the Memon community

ISLAMABAD

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PTDC and WBG jointly organized a consultation workshop on Pakistan s NTCI in Islamabad The workshop was attended by the relevant federal and provincial stakeholders, private sector, industry experts and academia

The NTCI is inspired by the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) ‘Travel and Tourism Development

Index’ (TTDI) It proposes a customized framework and a toolkit for Pakistan to measure its tourism economy and benchmark the industry against the regional and international economies Pakistan currently ranks 83rd out of 117 countries after jumping 6 places in the 2021 TTDI report The operationalization of the NTCI could contribute towards Pakistan s sustained improvement on the TTDI ranking in coming years

In his opening remarks, Mr Gailius Draugelis, Operations Manager, WBG said, "We are aware of the untapped potential of country’s travel and tourism industry and remain committed to working with the federal and provincial governments for tourism sector ’s resilience and competitiveness ”

During the event NTCI’s framework and the

higher in Chicago and Paris, peace is being disturbed under a conspiracy Everywhere you go in the world the crime rate is high You can go to eat at night go to the market there is liveliness and it means that there is peace in Karachi doesn t target the police like this Sindh Government and Police are facing four problems we have to end terrorism The government provided us outof-budget aid, and the Sindh Government

but more efforts are required to strengthen the poor people of the country “Neighboring countries are making progress very fast due to diligent policies and good governance but unfortunately Pakistan is lagging behind in this regard

He lamented that 2 2 million children were out of school in Pakistan despite the fact the provinces were spending almost 25 per cent of their budget for education We need to bring these out of school children into education system, he added

Earlier, Dr Arif Alvi distributed the mementos among the Heroes of the Memon Community and urged more contributions to resolving the problems in Pakistan The president of the APMF Mr Shabir Haroon, Former President APMF Mr Hanif Motlani and others also addressed at the ceremony

associated dashboards were presented to the participants which will help pave way for a nationwide depository of tourism statistics enabling the authorities to collect and disseminate the industry trends

The event also included a panel discussion on Resilient and Responsible Tourism for Pakistan moderated by Ms Kiran Afzal, Senior Private Sector Specialist, WBG The panelists underlined the need for responsible tourism, minimizing sector s footprint on the ecosystem, safeguarding heritage and sharing economic gains with the local communities Mr Gabi Afram, Practice Manager for Finance Competitiveness and Innovation team of WBG affirmed institution’s continued support for the government of Pakistan to realize its vision for destination planning and tourism sector development in the country He said World Bank Group is pleased to support PTDC in the efforts to promote a resilient and inclusive tourism sector The development of NTCI will undoubtedly enhance sector s capacity to collect reliable data track industry trends and make informed policy decisions

Mr Aftabur Rehman Rana, Managing Director of PTDC, while appreciating the WBG s support, highlighted

gave us rupees One Million budget

We are recruiting police on a merit basis We have 10 to 12 trainees and we pay for their food from our own pocket Brigadier (R) Haris Nawaz said that only if there is peace in Karachi, success will come in Karachi, the economy will improve and the entire society will have to help the police Karachi needs to be made a smart city cameras are much needed to catch terrorists and criminals Haji Mohammad Rafiq Pardesi said that Karachi is a city of peace and our police is doing a very good job PSL happens because of Sindh Police This nation is ready to die in the name of Pakistan Unity Foods CEO Farrukh Amin said that Karachi is a peaceloving city but there are shortcomings and they are being removed Thanks to the Sindh Police, they have maintained peace in Karachi Compared to the last ten years, there is peace in Karachi today On this occasion Unity Foods CEO Farrukh Amin Zee Group President Zeeshan Altaf Lohya Chairman HMR Haji Rafiq Pardesi, Mirza Ikhitar Baig, and media representatives participated

On this occasion a specially prepared documentary for Sindh Police was also screened

will hold Open Kachary on March 20 2023 (Monday) From 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon and will issue necessary instructions to resolve the issues of consumers on the spot IESCO Chief Executive Officer Dr Muhammad Amjad Khan will monitor the open Kachery Consumers of IESCO Region should participate in these open Kachery for registering complaints / suggestion to power related issues For more information call Islamabad Circle on 0519260194 Rawalpindi City Circle on 051-9292675 Rawalpindi Cantt Circle on 051-9293048, Attock Circle on 051-4950343, Jhelum Circle on 0544-920276 and Chakwal Circle on 0543-668500

mony Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain as chief guest emphasised the need for skill development of youth and that the universities needed to respond more effectively to the rapidly developing realities The Minister called upon all Islamic countries to pool resources and expertise to benefit the entire Muslim Ummah He said the most important outcome of education is the development of a good moral character He highlighted the need to develop a framework for mutual recognition of degrees among OIC member states which can potentially facilitate greater movement of skilled manpower and increase collaborative research between Islamic countries

In his video message President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi highlighted the huge potential of youth bulge of the country and called for setting vision for higher education He said the Muslims could not keep pace with adoption of technology, which needs to change on war-footing He added that in the

last 10 years, sectors focusing on natural resources were overtaken by large technological conglomerates like Amazon and Google These companies have attracted intellectual capital from the world and raised the need for greater access to quality online education particularly in developing countries Dr Salim M AlMalik Director General ICESCO while referring to the Holy Quran

said that Mankind has been given limited knowledge, yet this little knowledge has caused great disruption such that what is taught in universities is almost redundant by the time students graduate He informed the audience that the development of robotics would make 97 million jobs obsolete in the next 10 years 375 million people would have to switch their jobs causing immense disrup-

tion and increasing the digital divide Dr AlMalik also emphasised the need to reconstruct the glorious Islamic heritage in science

Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC urged the participants to contemplate how the Muslim Ummah can be steered into the right direction He reminisced the immense contributions of early Muslims, that were fundamental to advances in science and technology being at the root of global development today

He gave an overview for establishing the platform of VC Forum and how it will help higher education institutions in the Islamic world to collaborate and contribute to socio-economic development Dr Ahmed called for devising tangible initiatives and support of the Governments for reshaping the higher education landscape in the Islamic world

In his welcome note, Rector Comsats University Islamabad, Prof Dr Muhammad T Afzal emphasised the importance of curriculum development and providing equal opportunities to students

Alvi says Memon communit y contributed tremendously to economy

PM ConSTITuTeS CoMMITTee for TranSferrIng DISCoS To ProvInCeS

ISLAMABAD a h m a d a h m a da n i

TH E government is mulling over the transfer of power distribution companies (DISCOs) to provincial governments for which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted an 11-member committee According to sources, the committee which will present its recommendations within 10 days T h e c o m m i t t e e c o m p r i s e s K h a w a j a M u h a m m a d A s i f , M i n i s t e r for Defence (Chair) Khurram Dastgir K h a n M i n i s t e r f o r P o w e r S y e d N a v e e d Q a m a r, M i n i s t e r f o r C o mmerce, Musadik Masood Malik, Minister of State for Petroleum provincial c h i e f m i n i s t e r s a n d m i n i s t e r s n o m in a t e d b y C M s , D r M u h a m m a d J ehanzeb Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Government Effectiveness Finance Secretary Secretary P o w e r ( S e c r e t a r y o f t h e C o m m i t t e e ) , S e c r e t a r y P r i v a t i z a t i o n C o m m i s s i o n

S e c r e t a r y L a w & J u s t i c e , P r o v i n c i a l Chief Secretaries

The committee may co-opt member(s) from regulatory bodies such as the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) etc for input on any regulatory aspect if required ” sources said

Sharing details of the Terms of Reference (ToRs) of the committee, sources said that it shall examine the current constitutional framework for the transfer from federal government to respective provincial governments It shall also chalk-out the list of legal requirements that have to be complied and if needed suggest a legal framework specific for the purpose

Likewise the committee shall examine requirements of NEPRA with regard to the change of ownership of its licensees and the steps involved therein as also examine regulatory requirements of other regulators including the SECP SBP, and CCP and outline the compli-

Imran’s conspiracy against countr y to be foiled: Sanaullah

FAISALABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Federal Interior Minister Rana Sana Ullah Khan said on Sunday that signing of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement by Imran Khan, and then its violation by his government was a deep-rooted conspiracy to destabilise Pakistan which would be foiled with people s support

Talking to the media at his residence here on Sunday he said Imran Khan was an ill-mannered person and there were no expectation from him to respect even women

The minister regretted that Imran Khan gave foul remarks about PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz who was boldly exposing his [Imran s] agenda and his false allegations to mislead the masses He was also cheating the state institutions and when he failed, he tried to intimidate them by organising public rallies Rana Sana refuted Imran s claim that a conspiracy was hatched to eliminate him He rejected the PTI chief s claim that he wanted to go to Judicial Complex but the government stopped his supporters to create chaos and kill him The minister said that about two weeks ago, he (Imran) had attacked the Judicial Complex with his supporters and once again he tried to repeat that episode just to avoid judicial proceedings against him

He said that there was no justification to take 300-400 workers with him, out of which many were armed

He said as per decided list the selected persons were already inside the Judicial Complex but he wanted to create unrest to skip the process of indictment against him He said that if the practice started then nobody would bow before the law and try to avoid the judicial process by intimidating courts

The minister alleged that Farah Gogi had looted billions of rupees but she was still not arrested He said that Imran Kham himself was involved in a scam of Rs 50 billion and a property of Rs 7 billion was registered in the name of al-Qadir Trust, owned by him and her wife

He said that no case was instituted against Farah Gogi who plundered and shifted wealth outside the country

He said that allegation of Toshakhana had been established but Imran Khan was not allowing the court process and his attendance was marked on the road He actually crippled the judicial system and was not ready to accept the supremacy of law He is in habit of intimidating officers Rana Sanaullah added

The minister alleged that during his around four years tenure, Imran Khan instituted narcotics case against him and forced Director General (DG) Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) and Sheharyar Afridi to publicly swear that he was involved in it He clarified despite valid having search warrants, the police did not enter the family area, but Imran Khan would have to answer why he had kept 100 armed terrorists in his residence

He said that DIG Shehzad Bukhari was also manhandled as he was on official duty to comply with the court orders

He said that illegal weapons petrol bombs and miscreants had been nabbed from his residence He is actually criticising Maryam Nawaz, as she was exposing his misdeeds The minister said Imran Khan had dissolved the assemblies to create chaos and anarchy in the country

Comparing Imran s tenure with Nawaz Sharif s era

Rana Sana said the PML-N government had flushed out terrorism in addition to eliminating menace of loadshedding At that time the growth rate was more than 6 per cent

He said the government had accepted the court decision to conduct elections in two provinces

ances required for the transfer of ownership of equity

It shall draft intent principles and the scope of the framework agreement to be signed between the federal and provincial governments regarding the mechanism for the transfer

Similarly, it shall recommend the principles and parameters of transfer through an agreed transitional plan eventually leading to full provincial responsibility for the sustainable financial functioning of the DISCOs

Sources also revealed that Dr Syed Tauqir Shah Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister has informed the secretary power and all concerned about the development in a letter dated 17th March 2023

Earlier, NEPRA, in its performance evaluation report of the DISCOs and Thermal Power Plants for FY 2021-22 had declared that existing DISCOs set up would not be able to deliver under the given circumstances The authority had recommended structural changes such as the closure of PPMC, provin-

cialisation, privatisation, bifurcation of large DISCOs, and a reduction of the union’s influence

According to NEPRA s performance evaluation report of DISCOs and Thermal Power Plants for FY22, a loss of Rs 292 billion during was caused to the national exchequer on account of T&D losses and less recoveries

The authority said that the number of fatalities both for employees and public occurred in all distribution companies were 196 which is around 11 percent more than the previous year

The highest number of deaths occurred in PESCO (39) followed by HESCO (35), IESCO (27) and K-Electric (27) during FY 2021-22 Further it is observed that most of the fatalities of these distribution companies pertain to the general public Similarly the lowest number of deaths occurred in FESCO followed by MEPCO and QESCO NEPRA has concluded that the performance of DISCOs throughout this period remained below par and power sector reforms could not be achieved

thousands of professors postpone protest call after heC clarifies funding polic y

As over 5000 teachers including Assistant Professors Associate Professors and Professors who were scheduled to protest against revision of fund policy by Higher Education Commission (HEC) have postponed their scheduled plan after the commission, through a notice has tried to clarify the policy

The professors under the umbrella of All Pakistan Tenure Track Faculty Association (APTTA) a representative body of Tenure Track System (TTS) faculty across Pakistan, had earlier announced to gather outside HEC office on March 15 2023 to protest against the HEC s new policy which according to them was to ultimately ruin their future

Through the new funding policy, HEC had informed all universities it would not be able to fund any new TTS program while capping the funding for existing TTS faculty which too merged with the recurrent budget of universities

The HEC has cited financial /grants constraints as the reason behind damaging its own indigenous program of TTS started in 2003, under which the highly qualified PhD teachers were given attractive packages in public universities while shouldering a considerable portion of salary and perks of these teachers

However through the notice a copy of which is available with this scribe, the HEC has clarified that payment of salary contribution and career progression of the existing faculty hired under TTS is protected as per revised TTS funding policy-2022-23 However new appointments and timebarred cases shall not be funded

Moreover, as per the HEC, the commission’s contribution shall be standardized for differential payment over and above BPS salary prescribed by the respective government

According to HEC in a letter to all the public sector universities and higher education institutions, HEC has clarified that for existing TTS faculty members whose cases are not time-barred and already funded by HEC it is assured that HEC will continue paying its contribution including differential amount over and above BPS prescribed by the Government (Federal/Provincial) gratuity/13th TTS salary, TTS annual increment and impact of promotions

To this effect HEC Finance Division has already communicated revised TTS allocation2022-23 for endorsement by the institutions Additional or overpaid adjustment shall be made in the 4th quarter of the current financial year

The universities have been advised to continue releasing admissible salary benefits to exist-

Ijazul Haq joins PTI

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Muslim League Zia (PML-Z) chief Ijazul Haq

formally joined Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) on Sunday The son of former military dictator Ziaul Haq and PML-Z chief Ijazul Haq met Imran Khan on Sunday After the meeting, Haq announced to formally join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

Earlier in February former Punjab chief minister (CM) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and ten other ex-Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) MPAs had joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

The development was announced by Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) vice president Fawad Chaudhry while addressing a press conference in Lahore along with Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi

Former Punjab CM and his associates have joined PTI , Fawad Chaudhry said, adding that Elahi and his associates made sacrifices to stand with Tehreek-e-Insaf

He announced that Pervaiz Elahi will be the President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

Elahi vowed to stand firmly with Imran Khan, saying that they will continue to work for the betterment of the country The development came after Imran Khan had offered Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) to merge with PTI

ing TTS faculty members already funded by HEC

Further, it has been emphasized that HEC shall make every effort to fund new/fresh TTS cases appointed before circulation of HEC funding policy-2022-23 dated July 29, 2022

In this regard universities have been asked to share appointment details/documents of fresh TTS cases at the earliest for further decision in this regard the notice said

When contacted Dr Noman Khan, Information secretary of APTTA informed that the protest call has been postponed after the HEC s clarification and a subsequent meeting with Executive Director of HEC Shahista Suhail by a delegation of APTTA

During the meeting, while discussing the time barred cases it has been clarified that if the delay is due to administrative issues then relief should be given to the faculty member whereas if the performance is not completed then these cases should be considered as time barred The delegation professors emphasized that there are many problems of TTS faculty which need immediate solution The Executive Director issued directives to Research Innovation and Development, Quality Assurance Division and Finance Division to speed up the progress on TTS Model Statutes Version III and bring the recommendations to the Commission within a month

Pakistan, China agree to expand political, securit y, economic cooperation

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan and China have reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and agreed to expand and reinforce political and security cooperation bilateral trade economic and financial cooperation cultural exchanges tourism, and people-to-people ties

The all-weather friends also agreed to remain engaged in the expansion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the participation of third parties to enhance regional connectivity and cooperation According to Foreign Office spokesperson’s statement the third round of PakistanChina bilateral political consultations (BPC) was held in Beijing Foreign Secretary Dr Asad Majeed Khan led the Pakistan delegation while the Chinese side was led by Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong

BPC is a regular institutional mechanism between Pakistan and China Both sides reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and agreed to expand and reinforce political and security cooperation bilateral trade, economic and financial cooperation, cultural exchanges, tourism, and people-to-people ties Noting the completion of a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to CPEC that remained a major pillar of bilateral cooperation and a symbol of ever-deepening friendship between Pakistan and China

They also agreed to remain engaged in the expansion of CPEC including on participation of third parties to enhance regional connectivity and cooperation Pakistan and China will also enhance high-level engagements and dialogue mechanisms and make the channels of communication even more robust,” the two sides agreed

PM unveils petroleum relief pack age for low-income people

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said the low-income poor people will be given a subsidy of Rs50 per liter under the petroleum relief package

While chairing a review meeting on the relief package here, PM Shehbaz said the petroleum relief will be given to low-income consumers who have motorcycles, rickshaws, 800 cc cars and other small cars

He said the programme of petroleum subsidy would be started soon and a comprehensive strategy would be formed with the cooperation of relevant departments for effective implementation of the subsidy programme He said motorcycles, rickshaws and small cars were used by low-income people and the petroleum subsidy would give relief to the poor The government was making effort

for all possible help to the poor people despite its economic difficulties, he added Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik briefed about the strategy for providing petroleum subsidy to the low-income segment of society Minister for Finance Muhammad Ishaq Dar Advisor to PM Ahad

Cheema, Special Assistant to PM Tariq Bajwa, Secretary Finance, Secretary Petroleum and high-ranking officials attended the meeting

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday appreciated chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief ministers of Sindh and Punjab, provincial administrations, police and the contesting teams for making the 8th edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL-8) a huge success

Imran, aides charged with terrorism for ‘ inciting chaos ’ outside Islamabad cour t

The Islamabad police have lodged a First Information Report (FIR), including charges of terrorism, against Imran Khan and more than a dozen leaders of his Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI) party for allegedly attacking police officers and causing chaos outside the judicial complex in the capital on Sunday

As the motorcade of Khan who arrived in Islamabad to appear before a judge to face charges he sold state gifts while in office and hid his assets arrived near the complex Saturday afternoon his supporters clashed with police and overzealous paramilitary units who prevented them from entering the building

The enraged protestors threw rocks at police who responded by lobbing tear gas canisters to disperse them Rana Sanaullah Khan the interior minister claimed many of

Khan’s supporters were armed, but offered no evidence According to Station House Officer (SHO) Malik Rashid Ahmed at Ramna, a complaint was registered at the Islamabad Counter-Terrorism Department against Khan and at least 17 party leaders The FIR invokes several sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) including rioting obstruction of a public servant in the discharge of public functions, and theft, among others It also includes Section 7 of the AntiTerrorism Act (ATA) 1997 which outlines the punishment for acts of terrorism The SHO Ahmed said the suspects violated Section 144 which was imposed in Islamabad on the day of the incident and blocked the road for traffic The FIR names PTI secretary general Asad Umar former deputy speaker Asad Qaiser and leaders Hammad Azhar Ali

Amin Gandapur, Ali Nawaz Awan, Murad

Saeed Shibli Faraz Hassaan Khan Niazi

Omer Ayub Khan Amjad Khan Niazi Khurram Nawaz, Jamshed Mughal, Aamir

Kiyani