23-05-10 ISB

PTI’S RED LINE CROSSED AS RANGERS ARREST IMRAN FROM IHC PREMISES

IHC ter ms Imran’s ar rest legal; issues contempt notices to Interior Secretar y, IG Police

law allows the authorities to arrest someone from the high court s premises?

Stor y behind Al-Qadir Tr ust case that leads to Imran Khan’s ar rest?

It finally happened

In shocking turn of events on Tuesday, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan was arrested by Rangers officials from the Islamabad Judicial Complex on Tuesday, confirmed IG Islamabad

The former premier was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case, added the federal capital’s top cop “Situation is normal Section 144 is in place and violations will result in police action said IG Islamabad Islamabad High Court (IHC) CJ Aamer

Farooq has taken notice of the incident and has summoned IG Islamabad, the secretary interior and additional attorney general Justice Farooq directed to inform the court immediately about who was behind the arrest and in what case had the PTI chief been arrested in The judge maintained that action will be taken even if it has to be

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE

S TA F F R E P O R T

taken against ministers

According to the IG Islamabad, Imran has been taken to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) office in Rawalpindi

Imran was tortured, hit in head and injured

leg pepper sprayed before arrest Advocate

Gohar said

IHC CJ summons Islamabad police chief, the interior ministry secretary and the additional attorney general to explain

Imran’s arrest

The development comes on the heels

o f th e militar y ’s r ejectio n o f accu s atio n s

Imran made against DG-C Maj Gen Faisal

Naseer Imran had accused the officer of involvement in the assassination attempt against him in Wazirabad Imran doubled d o w n o n t h e a l l e g a t i o n s i n a v i d e o m e ssage today

The former premier ’s detention also follows several unsuccessful attempts including a police raid at his residence in Lahore s

At least one Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) worker was killed and dozen others injured in protests erupted across the country following arrest of former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan from Islamabad High Court premises by Rangers on Tuesday

The PTI worker was killed by police firing on a rally when highly charged supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan blocked main Quetta Airport Road to protest against his arrest

“There was a firing incident inside the PTI rally,” a senior police officer informed requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media

PTI Balochistan President Munir Baloch accused the police of firing on the protesters demanding an investigation into the incident

Enraged demonstrators burnt two police vehicles parked near the rally and pelted stones as police fired tear gas to disperse the highly charged supporters of the PTI chief Protesters also burnt tires on the main Airport Road Chowk suspending traffic between Quetta and other parts of Balochistan The protesters also blocked main national highways in Balochistan linking the country to neighbouring Iran and Afghanistan

A Balochistan police spokesperson said that three police officers were also injured when protesters fired on them The Balochistan government has imposed Section 144 to maintain order

PTI leader Qasim Suri confirmed that a PTI worker was martyred in Quetta during protests in support of party chairman Imran Khan following his arrest earlier on Tuesday

Zaman Park, to arrest him which he had managed to evade Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the deposed premier did not appear in court despite notices for the case hearing of the land transfer of Al-Qadir Trust – for which Imran and his wife were presumably trustees “[The] NAB has arrested him for damaging the national treasury No violence was done to them he added

The former premier was arrested from within the premises of the IHC where he had appeared for hearing of cases pertaining to inciting mutiny, and violence against

“The government banned all kinds of political rallies and display of weapons ” Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langove told The Express Tribune

He stressed that no one would be allowed to take the law into their hands and that the government s writ would be ensured at all costs PM

FEDERAL CABINET

SUMMONS

TODAY:

MEETING

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has summoned the federal cabinet meeting on May 10 at 6pm on Wednesday (today)

According to sources, the cabinet meeting was summoned amid the current economic and political unrest in the country After Imran Khan’s arrest sparked protests across the country Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah issued a warning on Tuesday and said that the state will show zero tolerance for lawbreakers who are damaging public and private properties

The interim provincial government enforced Section 144 across Punjab on Tuesday for two days following the rising unrest after the arrest of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case

The imposition of Section 144 is a response to escalating unrest and a measure to maintain law and order after reports of arson and violent protests from different parts of the province

A notification was also issued by the interim provincial government for the imposition of Section 144 across the province

Could bull-headed decision to ar rest Imran finally tip Pakistan towards default?

rested by a small battalion of rangers ratings agency Moody s had warned that Pakistan could default if an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was not inked by the end of June

Justice Farooq had directed the officials to inform the court immediately about who was behind the arrest and in what case the PTI chief had been arrested in The judge maintained that action would be taken “even if it has to be taken against ministers

PML-N leader Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha PTI lawyer Faisal Chaudhry had initially confirmed news of Imran s arrest which had prompted IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq to direct the Islamabad police chief, the interior ministry secretary and the additional attorney general to appear before the court within 15 minutes

The IHC CJ said that he was showing restraint and warned that he would summon the prime minister if the Islamabad police chief did not appear before the court

The almost yearlong efforts to arrest former prime minister Imran Khan came to an end in the hustle and bustle of a sweltering Tuesday afternoon outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Since being ousted from power, Khan has been hounded by law enforcement agencies over literally hundreds of different cases He has over time alleged that all of the cases have been cooked up in a deliberate exercise in political victimisation instigated by the incumbent federal government and the military establishment which wishes to see him behind bars But after multiple armed showdowns at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore and raids on his Bani Gala residence in Islamabad what has Khan finally been taken into custody for? Initial reports are emerging that it is over the Al-Qadir Trust Case currently being investigated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) But what exactly are the details of the Al-Qadir Trust Case? To put it mildly the case is perhaps one of the most clouded and murky webs from the Imran Khan administration and involves among other real estate tycoons, Malik Riaz The case due to which he has been summoned goes all the way back to 2019 and involves accusations of bribery corruption and kickbacks against the government of former prime minister Imran Khan

What is the case about?

In 2019, the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom agreed to a settlement worth £190 million with the family of property tycoon Malik Riaz The settlement was the largest ever in the history of the NCA, and since it was out of court, came with the stipulation that it did not “represent a finding of guilt”

As former prime minister Imran Khan was pushed manhandled and shoved into the back of a rangers vehicle and hurried away into the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), there was little doubt that all hell was about to break loose I n a s h o w o f i m p r e s s i v e s t r e e t - p o w e r K h a n ’s voter-base made their presence known all across the c o u n t r y t a rg e t i n g m i l i t a r y c a n t o n m e n t s a s t h e i r protest-location of choice This on its own is enough to tell us that the tussle in Pakistan is less between the PDM government and Imran Khan and more bet w e e n t h e c o u n t r y ’s m i l i t a r y e s t a b l i s h m e n t a n d i t s people While the validity of the case Khan has been taken into custody for is up for discussion the timing of the arrest reeks of political victimisation Only a few days ago he had once again named senior military officials as responsible for an assassination attempt against him But lost in the chaos of raging protests and internet outages was the very real threat of default that Pakistan faces Only a few hours before Khan was violently ar-

As things stand the hopes of an IMF deal are growing slimmer by the day Pakistan has barely enough foreign reserves to cover imports for a few weeks Already the tremors of Khan s arrest are making themselves known The rupee fell again compared to the dollar and gold prices shot up to another record high as the threat of default ballooned with the events of the day With delayed elections a controversial supreme court historic public unhappiness with Pakistan s military establishment and a toothless federal government there are far too many reasons for the IMF to let Pakistan drown and almost none for them to sign an agreement with Pakistan Already the fund in a recent statement has mentioned that Pakistan is not in their agenda Look at it this way The former prime minister who commands popular support has been arrested in a corruption case The incumbent prime minister is in London extending his stay on the instruction of his brother and f

PTI worker killed, dozen injured as protests against Imran’s ar rest rock countr y

SOCIAL MEDIA , MOBILE INTERNET SERVICES SUSPENDED ACROSS PAKISTAN

ISLAMABAD a h m a d a h m a da N

PA K I S TA N has witnessed a widespread suspension of mobile internet services in several major cities of the country while YouTube Facebook and Twitter have been blocked in many regions creating major difficulties for users

According to reports, the internet shutdown was initiated by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) following the Ministry of Interior ’s orders

The reason for the sudden shutdown has been attributed to the arrest of the Chairman of Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former Prime Minister Imran Khan by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)

SC rejects JIT repor t in Arshad Sharif murder case

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court (SC) declared that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) does not have the legal authority to suspend licence of any TV channel The Supreme Court issued the ruling while upholding a decision made by the Sindh High Court, stating that the Pemra chairman does not have the legal authority to suspend the licence of any channel The verdict was given by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court in Islamabad where Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik issued a nine-page ruling The ruling referred to Section 13 of the Pemra ordinance, which clearly states that neither the Chairman nor any individual has the authority to suspend a licence While the Supreme Court confirmed that conditions for suspending a broadcast media licence do exist but it is still unclear who has the power to suspend licences in PEMRA The court ruled that it is necessary for rules to be put in place to clarify the situation The court confirmed that the delegation of powers had taken place in the 156th meeting of PEMRA but the organization s lawyer was unable to provide any valid reason for the decision

I

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

PTI chief Imran Khan on Tuesday stood firm on his allegations against a senior military officer, who he has accused on several occasions of hatching a plot to kill him Khan, before leaving for Islamabad to attend the hearing at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a case related to mutiny and another case involving charges of attempted murder made the remarks

It is pertinent to note that his remarks come a day after the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that “irresponsible and baseless allegations” by Imran against the said military officer without evidence were extremely deplorable and unacceptable

The PTI chairman during a rally on Saturday again named a senior intelligence official for plotting to murder him I am on the roads despite verifiable threats to my life

I have already escaped an assassination attempt once On the second occasion I was able to sniff out murder planning he had said It is pertinent to note that the ex-premier has made these claims in the past as well After an assasination attempt last year, Imran had held Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and the senior intelligence official as being re-

Gold prices shatter record highs amid political turmoil

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Gold prices on Tuesday reached yet another all-time high as investors moved towards the precious metal due to the political uncertainty following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan

suffer significant losses

The move by the government appears to be an attempt to control the situation following the arrest of Imran Khan, but it has been met with criticism from civil society and human rights organizations

The future of mobile internet services a n d s o c i a l m e d i a p l a t f o r m s i n P a k i s t a n r e m a i n s u n c e r t a i n a n d i t r e m a i n s t o b e seen how the situation will develop in the coming days

t e r i o r M i n i s t r y a n d i t w i l l b e r e s t o r e d a f t e r f i n d i n g d i r e c t i o n s f r o m t h e M i ni s t r y o f I n t e r i o r The arrest of Imran Khan has sparked p r o t e s t s b y h i s s u p p o r t e r s i n v a r i o u s c i t i e s c a u s i n g c h a o s a n d d i s r u p t i o n s i n t h e c o u n t r y P T I w o r k e r s h a v e t a k e n t o the streets to protest against the arrest of th eir lead er, lead in g to clas h es w ith th e p o l i c e a n d l a w e n f o r c e m e n t a g e n c i e s The government’s decision to suspend int e r n e t s e r v i c e s a n d b l o c k s o c i a l m e d i a p l a t f o r m s a p p e a r s t o b e a n a t t e m p t t o quell the unrest and prevent the spread of dissenting voices T h e s u s p e n s i o n o f m o b i l e i n t e r n e t s e r v i c e s h a s l e f t m i l l i o n s o f p e o p l e u na b l e t o c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h t h e i r l o v e d o n e s a n d a c c e s s i m p o r t a n t i n f o r m a t i o n T h i s m o v e h a s a l s o s e v e r e l y i m p a c t e d b u s i n e s s e s a n d e - c o m m e r c e p l a t f o r m s t h a t r e l y o n m o b i l e i n t e r n e t s e r v i c e s t o o p e r a t e T h e l a c k o f a c c e s s t o s o c i a of expression and an attempt to suppress dissenting voices The suspension of internet services has also raised concerns about the impact on the economy with businesses and ecommerce platforms likely to

l

PM c alls out Imran for maligning institutions, using religion for politics

g Q U E S T I O N S ‘ D I D N ’ T YO U R E S O R T TO M U DS L I N G I N G O N A R M E D F O R C E S L E A D E R S H I P B E F O R E WA Z I R A B A D AT TAC K ? g P U T S CO U N T E R - Q U E S T I O N S I N A D E TA I L E D T W E E T TO P T I C H I E F ’S AG A I N S T H I S E A R L I E R T W E E T

Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan saying his blatant lies were all about maligning the army without proof running a media campaign against martyred troops and using religion for political gains

“I have no doubt that your [Imran Khan’s] politics is defined by blatant lies untruths U-turns and vicious attacks on institutions he said in a detailed tweet where he put counter-questions to Imran Khan against his earlier tweet

PM Sharif said Imran Khan while on a trial for corruption was claiming legitimacy to overturn the legal and political system Bending the judiciary to your whims and behaving as if rules don t apply to you, he said

He pointed out that maligning Pak-

istan Army as an institution was a recurring pattern in Khan s politics after his ouster from power Did you not resort to constant mud-slinging on the leadership of the army & intelligence agency much before the Wazirabad attack?” he questioned The prime minister said the PTI chief refused the offer of cooperation from the federal government and boycotted the legal proceedings

He said Imran Khan was never interested in finding the truth about the attack but used the condemnable incident for petty political objectives

What legal route did you adopt other than hurling threats & making baseless allegations almost on a daily basis? he said Sharif questioned at whose behest the savaging social media campaign against the martyrs of the armed forces launched after the helicopter crash

Which party did the troll brigade

belong to that mocked the martyrs which was a new low and unimaginable in our politics and culture? With these subversive and treacherous acts on your part, do we need an enemy?” he said

He said, “Who used religion for political purposes by describing the political agitation in religious terms a cunning and self-serving attempt at exposing political opponents to violence at the hands of your supporters

He recalled that Khan s party leaders condoned, justified, and even celebrated the incident of harassment and intimidation of an official delegation including a female minister in the courtyard of the Prophet s Mosque (Peace be upon Him) by disregarding all norms of reverence and devoutness

“As for your assertion of Pakistan becoming a ‘jungle’ I advise you not to go there for the facts are often bitter and disastrous Let us keep this for another day he said

Germany announces economic assistance worth €163m for Pakistan

PR OFIT I N p

The projects include the main sectors of the economy and socio-economic development, i e , climate, social protection health water and irrigation TVET as well as human development Government to Government (G2G) negotiations between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Federal Republic of Germany were held on May 8 and 9, 2023, in Berlin Federal Minster for Economic Affairs of Pakistan Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Parliamentary State Secretary for Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany, Niels Annen inaugurated the

sponsible for the attack

In a video message shared on Tuesday,

Imran replied to the ISPR and “attempts by PDM and their handlers” regarding his arrest He said that he was departing for the federal capital as he was scheduled to appear before two courts Before I leave I want to say two things Firstly, the ISPR has issued a statement that the institution has been disrespected the army has been disrespected [by] naming an intelligence officer that has tried to kill me twice “ISPR sahib listen to me carefully Respect is not [confined] to a single institution; respect should be for every single citizen, he said Imran highlighted that he was the chief of the country’s “largest” political party, adding that he did not need to lie “This man tried to kill me twice and whenever an investigation is carried out I will prove that it was this man and there is a whole gang with him Imran said adding that the nation was well aware of who was standing with the officer in question

My question is: [Despite being] a country s ex-prime minister because this man’s name has come forward [why was] I unable to register a first information report (FIR)?

If he was innocent it would have been revealed the PTI chief said terming the officer in question to be such a powerful personality that he was unable to get a case

negotiations

The negotiations were then cochaired by Dr Kazim Niaz, Secretary Economic Affairs of Pakistan and Mr Helmut Fischer Head of Pakistan and Afghanistan Division in BMZ During negotiations development projects worth Euros 163 million were agreed to be funded by the German government in Pakistan

s

a g a

registered despite being in power in Punjab

He alleged that when the JIT determined that three shooters were involved in the incident the team itself was “sabotaged” and that four Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials changed their statements He further said that two senior police officials had refused to become a part of the joint investigation team (JIT) formed by the Punjab government to investigate the attack on his life in Wazirabad “Who was behind it? Who was this powerful?”

The prosecutor general investigated He said action should be taken against the four because they tried to sabotage [the JIT] Who was behind them? Who was this powerful?

Khan further claimed that he would prove that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had taken over the Judicial Complex in Islamabad the night before he went to attend a hearing in the Toshakhana case in March I will prove that ISI [officials] were present in CTD uniforms and lawyers garb I will prove that a brigadier, who I will not name, was there to monitor everything What was the ISI doing there?”

Khan said that the mother of slain journalist Arshad Sharif had also taken the names of the intelligence officer and the gang that he was a part of yet no investigation was carried out as he was a holy cow

According to the All Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA) the rate of gold (24 carats) increased by Rs3 200 per tola and Rs2 744 per 10 grams bringing it to Rs230,100 and Rs197,274, respectively

Although the increase in gold prices has been persistent and hitting new highs almost every other day due to economic uncertainty, market experts attribute the latest rise to Khan s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case

During the seven-day period ending May 4 the weekly inflation rate reached an all-time high of 48 35% YoY, with chicken and wheat flour prices increasing On the other hand, Pakistan may not receive the crucial tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) anytime soon since the country s loan programme is not on the lender s Executive Board agenda until May 17

Meanwhile, the APSGJA also revealed that the price of silver had hit a record high, with an increase of Rs100 per tola and Rs85 72 per 10 grams settling at Rs3 000 and Rs2 572 respectively The rise in gold prices has occurred as the precious metal s value in the international market increased by $9 to settle at $2,031 per ounce

Dar underscores need for deepening Pak-China bilateral relations in economic, trade sectors

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

In their statements, Dr Niaz and Fischer reiterated their commitment to close cooperation and robust engagement between the Ministry of Economic Affairs Pakistan and BMZ Germany for efficient implementation of development projects to achieve the desired results It was agreed that the next round of G2G negations will be held in Pakistan in 2025

and, therefore, above the law ISPR sahib, when an institution takes action against black sheep, it improves its own credibility An institution which catches corrupt people strengthens itself

It is my army my Pakistan not just yours It is our army Imran asserted He also lamented the crackdown against those who were vocal about their criticism of the military establishment, stating that it was in fact harming the institution The PTI chief went on to say that there was also no need to call in a heavy contingent of police and other officials during his appearance before the courts in Islamabad today

If someone has a warrant, come to me directly [ ] I am prepared to go to jail [ ] spending so much money as if a major criminal is coming to Islamabad Do us a favour and don t stage such a drama and directly provide a warrant he said asserting that he was mentally prepared to go to jail He also said that the plan hatched by Dirty Harry involved a gang of people, adding that if God willed, he was ready to die at their hands He ended his video message by calling on the nation to get ready Hours after the PTI chief issued the video statement Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to Twitter to state that he had no doubt that Imran s politics were defined by blatant

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has underscored the need to deepen bilateral relations in the economic trade and financial sectors between Pakistan and China He expressed these views while talking to Charge d Affairs of Embassy of the People s Republic of China Ms Pang Chunxue, who called on him here in Islamabad on Tuesday During the meeting, Ms Pang Chunxue conveyed best wishes and greetings from the State Councilor and Foreign Minister of Chine Qin Gang to the Finance Minister The Finance Minister reciprocated greetings and also conveyed his best wishes for the Chinese Foreign Minister He highlighted the deep rooted historical bilateral relations between Pakistan and China, and commended the Chinese support to Pakistan on multiple fronts The Chinese envoy reciprocated the sentiments and admired the friendly relations between the two countries She guaranteed the continuous support of the Chinese Government to the people of Pakistan The two sides discussed various avenues, especially available for both countries in order to enhance the existing cooperation to unprecedented levels The meeting also talked about the progress on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and other programs in Pakistan The Chinese Charge d’ Affairs praised the huge potential of Pakistan in terms of agriculture, Industry IT and services sector as well She added that China wishes to work together with Pakistan to bring economic prosperity in the region The Finance Minister said the government with the support of China, is confident to make Pakistan a growing economy of the region as well as the world soon He appreciated the Chinese Charge d’ Affairs Ms Pang Chunxue for the support and cooperation Pakistan has been receiving from the leadership of China

lies, untruths, U-turns, and vicious attacks on institutions On Sunday, the premier had stated that Imran’s act of “routinely maligning and threatening the Pakistan Army and the intelligence agency for the sake of petty political gains is highly condemnable

In response to the premier s tweets Imran on Monday had asked if he did not have the right to nominate those he felt were responsible for the assassination attacks on him “Why was I denied my legal and constitutional right to register a FIR?”

Does SS [Shehbaz Sharif s] tweet mean military officers are above the law or that they cannot commit a crime? If we allege one of them has committed a crime, how is the institution being maligned?” he asked “Who was so powerful to sabotage the Wazirabad JIT while the PTI government was still in power in Punjab?

Imran further said: Can Shehbaz Sharif answer why the ISI took over ICT Judicial Complex evening before my appearance there on March 18? Why were ISI personnel in CTD and lawyers camouflaged? What was the motive and what business did ISI have in the complex?

A U D I O L E A K O F E X - C J P ’ S S O N : N A B O D Y R E F E R S M AT T E R T O F I A

Earlier, meeting of the special committee had been summoned by National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf

Could bull-headed decision to arrest Imran finally tip Pakistan towards default?

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

TH E special committee probing the alleged audio leak of Najam Saqib, son of former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, has decided to refer the matter to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after a meeting held on Tuesday

Earlier an audio recording purportedly of the former chief justice s son discussing distribution of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf s (PTI) election tickets for money had surfaced on social media

In the audio clip Najam Saqib can be allegedly heard discussing about his cut with a ticket-holder Abuzar Chadar

Subsequently, the National Assembly passed a motion, demanding the formation of a special parliamentary committee to investigate the alleged audio leak

Yo u n g e s t r e a d e r : A b r a i z H u s s a i n S h a h s e t s P B R N a t i o n a l

Record for the 2nd time

STAFF REPORT

Child prodigy Abraiz Hussain Shah has set the PBR National Record for being the youngest reader While most toddlers are busy learning to scribble on walls 2 years and 8 months old child prodigy Abraiz enjoys reading books

The toddler s parents say they realised their son was gifted and ahead of his age when he started reading complete sentences at first, and then started reading children’s story books all by himself It is pertinent to note that this is the second National Record that Abraiz has set Earlier in October 2022 the then two year old Pakistani toddler Abraiz Hussain Shah bagged a national record at Pakistan Book of Records in the field of intelligence At the age of 2 years Abraiz could read identify all alphabets numbers colors shapes name vehicles and animals and make their sounds He could also name and identify the names of major body parts and could sing rhymes while identifying and naming various other random objects for which he bagged his first National Record in the field of intelligence Child prodigies are gifted kids who demonstrate exceptional abilities in one or more areas beyond their age peers They are often characterized by their remarkable talent, intelligence, and creativity, and have the ability to perform at levels far beyond what is considered normal for their age group

ATC bars Imran’s arrest in seven cases

ISLAMABAD

Chairing the meeting Aslam Bhutani said that the committee will forward the record of the proceedings of the House to the Supreme Court and investigate the issue of the audio leak

The moot decided to write a letter to the Ministry of Interior Affairs to formally request the FIA to take over the investigation The committee is to issue instructions to the interior ministry regarding the FIA s investigation and will seek a report from the FIA in 10 days

Furthermore, Najam Saqib is also to be summoned by the committee In this regard, Chairman Aslam Bhutani said that Saqib and the PTI ticket holders can come to the committee and share their stance on the matter

However the committee members remained divided on whether the FIA investi-

gation should follow Saqib s summoning or vice versa Another meeting of the special committee is to decide this matter on Friday Meanwhile Bhutani said that a thorough investigation will fulfil the requirements of justice We are not against any organization or person, we are against buying and selling [of party tickets]

The committee chairman also revealed that “there is an opinion that this committee should also decide on whether or not the record of assembly proceedings be shared with the Supreme Court Committee member Sheikh Rohail Asghar questioned under which law the record of proceedings was being sought

Additional DG FIA said that the FIA conducts investigations on its own and on the instructions of the interior ministry Upon this Bhutani said that instructions should be issued to the FIA by the interior ministry to conduct the investigation

and the committee send the audio clip to the FIA for forensics Committee member Chaudhry Muhammad Barjees Tahir said to the chairman that the committee has given him the mandate and so he may summon the SC registrar However, Bhutani hesitated before issuing such orders and said that it is necessary to consult the Ministry of Law before summoning the SC registrar”

“If there was someone [in the committee] from the law ministry legal consultation would have been easier he said as the committee expressed its displeasure at the non-participation of the law ministry in today’s meeting

The special committee then deferred the issue of summoning the registrar to the committee subject to the opinion of the law ministry and decided to bring the issue of the ministry s non-cooperation to the notice of the prime minister and the speaker

PTI worker killed, dozen injured as protests against Imran’s arrest rock country

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

The notification cited the reason for imposing Section 144 as the ongoing protests and rallies following the arrest of a political leader which pose security threats can disrupt traffic and cause inconvenience to the public

There is also a history of terrorist activities in the rallies/protests, wherein, a number of police officials and civilians embraced shahadat Hence in the context of prevailing overall security situation in the wake of recent wave of terrorism & threat alerts, it has been necessary to impose Section 144 of Cr P C, 1898 on holding of aall kinds of assemblies, gatherings, sits-in, rallies, processions demonstrations jalsas dharnas protests and similar activities across the province of Punjab to overt any untoward incident the provincial home department stated in the notification

The order comes into effect immediately and will remain in force for two days it added Speaking to the media shortly afterwards Punjab interim Information Minister Amir Mir condemned what he termed PTI s open acts of terrorism , warning that extremist elements have crossed a red line Mir stated that attacks on national security institutions are acts of enmity and fascism He also highlighted the disturbing incidents in Lahore and Rawalpindi as synonymous with acts of hostility against the state

I S L A M A B A D A D M I N I M P O S E S

S E C T I O N 144: The Islamabad Capital Territory Administration imposed section 144 in the territory the police said on his official twitter handle

S ta f f R e p o R t Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan successfully secured relief from an antiterrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Tuesday as the court approved his request for interim bail and prevented the police from arresting him ATC Judge Raja Jawad Abbas heard Imran’s pleas seeking bail in multiple cases pertaining to the clashes outside the judicial complex in the federal capital ahead of his appearance before the district and sessions court in the Toshakhana case The court approved Imran s bail against bonds worth Rs50,000 in all seven cases A lower court’s decision to proceed with the former premier ’s indictment under criminal charges over the Toshakhana reference has been challenged at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) It may be noted that a local court in the federal capital is set to indict the former prime minister on May 10 in the Toshakhana case, filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)

Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar on Friday had dismissed two petitions filed by the PTI chief challenging criminal proceedings against him in the Toshakhana case, after hearing arguments from both sides

The reference was filed by the ECP in November last year, praying the court to proceed against the PTI chief under criminal law for allegedly misleading officials about the gifts he received from foreign dignitaries during his tenure as the prime minister The ECP had requested that the PTI chief be convicted for the offences mentioned under sections 167 (corrupt practice) and 173 (making or publishing a false statement or declaration) of the Elections Act 2017 It added that as per the record the state gifts were purchased from the Toshakhana for Rs21 5 million on the basis of their assessed value while they were valued at around Rs108 million

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

To understand this the NCA is a

nances

The Islamabad Police have warned of strict action against anti-social elements for violating Section 144 imposed in the federal capital The police also advised the people to use alternate routes to reach their destinations

It said that traffic congestion was observed between Koral and Khanna Bridge Stops at the Islamabad Expressway therefore Lehtrar Road and Peshawar Road can be used alternatively

Besides, traffic was also interrupted near Faizabad interchange and has been diverted towards Murree Road For traffic interruptions near Saien Mirchu Darbar stop of Srinagar Highway commuters can use Peshawar Road

S E C T I O N 144 I M P O S E D I N P E -

S H AWA R : Section 144 has been im-

posed in Peshawar for 30 days following the arrest of PTI Chairman Imran Khan Deputy Commissioner Shah Fahad said [Section 144][1] of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers the district administration to issue orders in the public interest that may place a ban on an activity for a specific period of time Police have warned of action in case of the violation of Section 144

R E’ P E R S O N S I N VO LV E D I N ‘ AT TA C K O N S TAT E ’ Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has vowed to not spare a single person who is involved in this attack on the state in the wake of protests and demonstrations by PTI supporters after former prime minister Imran Khan’s arrest “This is not politics, this is sheer terrorism ” he tweeted

I M R A N’S A R R E S T’ PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry has said the party will approach the Supreme Court in the morning to challenge the Islamabad High Court’s upholding of party chairman Imran Khan’s arrest earlier today He termed the high court s decision surprising In Lahore, a large number of PTI supporters gathered outside corps commander residence in Cantt where they clashed with police The police used tear gas to disperse the protesters who retaliated with stone pelting The situation remained tense in the Cantt area where charged PTI workers and supporters of arrested PTI chairman have setup a sit-in

In Peshawar, PTI supporters gathered outside headquarters of Frontier Corps and corps commander where they chanted slogans and clashed with police personnel

In Gujranwala Sialkot and Multan protesting PTI workers entered Cantt areas to record protest against the arrest of their leaders

In Rawalpindi a large number of PTI workers marched towards General Headquarters where they staged a sit-in and chanted slogans They also pelted stones on the gate of GHQ and some of the workers including women attempted to enter the building

Meanwile Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders booked over vandalism in protests after the arrest of PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan

According to sources the cases were registered in police station Ramna Tarnol and Aabpara against PTI chairman Imran Khan and other leaders including Asad Umar, Ali Nawaz Awan and Amir Mughal Sources added that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders were booked for violation of section 188

Earlier in the day the PTI chairman who was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case, has been referred to a seven-member medical board at the Poly Clinic in Islamabad for a medical

Islamabad police have said that five police officers were injured during demonstrations in the capital city today, while 43 protesters have been arrested for violating the law

The

PTI has claimed that president of the party s Sindh chapter Ali Haider Zaidi has been abducted in Karachi

Separately, South SSP Asad Raza told media that 23 PTI workers were arrested in Karachi, but he did not confirm whether Zaidi was among them

He said the party workers were trying to go towards the Red Zone to stage a protest outside sensitive installations near the FTC flyover when police stopped them on Tuesday evening

SSP Raza claimed that the workers attacked police with stones as a result of which three police officers were injured Police retaliated by tear gas shelling and arrested 23 workers while others were dispersed, he said In Karachi, both lanes of the Sharea Faisal were blocked after PTI MNAs and MPAs blocked the roads Demonstrations were also reported at main University Road near Old Sabzi Mandi Banaras Chowk and Al-Asif Square A video shared by a citizen shows thick black smoke billowing from what seems to be a barricade on Sharea Faisal

T: Meanwhile Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) leaders including former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry filed the petition in Islamabad High Court (IHC) to avoid arrest

According to the details, after the arrest of Imran Khan, the leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf including Fawad Chaudhry Ali Bukhari and Qayyum Niazi approached the Islamabad High Court to avoid arrest

The country is staring down the ravine of certain default inflation is soaring high unemployment is rampant, and the streets are full of rioters It is, to put it mildly, a trainwreck It is a dumpster fire It is a trainwreck swirling around inside a dumpster fire crushing everything in its path and burning the few vestiges of a state that we have left So what will become of Pakistan s long-delated IMF agreement? It is worth remembering that the first spanner was thrown into the works during Imran Khan’s own government when his administration’s finance team led by former finance minister Shaukat Tarin persisted with a foolish fuel subsidy and locked horns with the fund

There was a brief moment of respite under Miftah Ismail s brief tenure heading Q-block until the incumbent finance minister Ishaq Dar took over and apishly thumped his chest and said he had been dealing with the IMF for decades and knew how to handle them

After a few months of artificially keeping the dollar low things came crashing down when Pakistan came painfully close to default in January Since then, it has been a constant back and forth where the government has done everything to meet the IMF’s demands and has promised the SLA is only a few days away That has been going on for over four months now With the arrest of Khan the ultimate losers are the people of Pakistan for whom the cost of living is only going to go up and now basic amenities such as petrol and electricity may be on the chopping block The decision to arrest Khan will have far reaching implications For now it seems that the country is headed towards a meltdown The scenes of protestors gathering outside the houses of corp commanders are unprecedented, and it is anyone’s guess how the establishment will react What is becoming clear is that there is no benefit in the chaos and a lot to be lost

IHC terms Imran’s arrest legal; issues contempt notices to Interior Secy, IG Islamabad Police

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

Earlier the Islamabad High Court summoned the Director General and Prosecutor of the National Accountability Bureau after the former prime minister s arrest from the high court premises Justice Farooq directed the govt to inform the court immediately who was behind the arrest and in what case has Imran been arrested in It is to be noted that former prime minister and PTI chief Imran Khan was arrested by the Rangers paramilitary force at the Islamabad High Court earlier Tuesday in a dramatic turn of events that threatened fresh turmoil in the country Video broadcast on local TV channels showed Khan – who has a pronounced limp since being shot during an assassination attempt last year – being manhandled by dozens of paramilitary rangers into an armoured car inside the Islamabad High Court premises As we reached the court s biometric room to mark the attendance, dozens of rangers attacked us,” said Ali Bukhari, a lawyer with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party According to the NAB notice Khan s warrants were issued on May 1 by NAB chairman Lt-Gen (r) Nazir Ahmad Butt Taking to Twitter Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that Imran had failed to appear before the court despite being issued several notices to him in the inquiry “The arrest has been conducted by the National Accountability Bureau for causing losses to the national treasury he said According to initial reports the PTI chairman has been taken to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) office in Rawalpindi

PTI’s red line crossed as Rangers arrest Imran from IHC premises

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

Come to court and tell us why Imran has been arrested and in which case, Justice Farooq said However, no one arrived despite lapse of 45 minutes Barrister Gohar Khan who was present at the IHC during the PTI chief s arrest alleged Imran was tortured They hit Imran s head and leg, Gohar told media, claiming that Rangers had arrested the expremier Gohar further stated that the PTI chairman’s wheelchair was also tossed aside during the arrest In a video posted on the PTI s official Twitter account Gohar said that Rangers officials broke down the high court s main gate and win-

dows before “tearing apart” the area where biometric verification is carried out

He said Rangers officials used pepper spray and tear gas shells alleging that Imran was hit on the head and his injured leg with hard objects He further alleged that Imran s wheelchair, in which he had arrived to the court, was also tossed aside He said that all the officials at the scene belonged to the Rangers and that there was no police at the scene

A Reuters witness said shortly after Imran entered the gate of the IHC, contingents of paramilitary forces and armoured personnel carriers entered after him The gate was blocked by the armoured vehicles while the ex-PM was whisked away shortly

after under heavy security, the witness added PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry also said that the IHC was occupied by Rangers lawyers were being subjected to torture and Imran s car was surrounded On its official Twitter handle, the former ruling party claimed that the PTI chairman’s lawyer was “badly injured” inside the IHC premises during the arrest

PTI Secretary General Asad Umar tweeted that a six-member committee headed by PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, would determine the next course of action Pakistan s biggest political leader has been arrested,” Umar said “The whole world is being shown that there is no law in the country ”

Qureshi, meanwhile, vowed to fight a political and legal war for the “safe recovery” and “release” of the party chief In a statement he strongly condemned Imran s arrest saying that it was unjustified and unacceptable Qureshi said that before departing for the IHC, Imran had said that he was ready to be arrested “But storming the high court and disrespecting lawyers is fascist and condemnable ” he said He also called on the IHC CJ to immediately take notice of the arrest and requested him to issue Imran s release orders The entire nation is extremely concerned over Imran Khan’s well-being,” Qureshi said, adding that the PTI would hold peaceful protests against this move across the country today

allotted 458 Kanal land with an on-paper value of Rs 530 million to a trust owned by Imran and his wife He further said that a n o t h e r 2 4 0 K a n a l s w e r e t r a n s f e r r e d t o “

i a z H i s f a m i l y h a d b e e n u n d e r a ‘ d i r t y m o n e y ’ N C A i n v e s t i g a t i o n f o r a w h i l e w h i c h r e a c h e d i t s c o n c l u s i o n w i t h

t h e £ 1 9 0 m i l l i o n H o w e v e r t h e m a t t e r g e t s m u r k y w i t h t h e e n t r a n c e o f S p e c i a l A s s i s t a n t t o t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r o n A cc o u n t a b i l i t y S h a h z a d A k b a r, w h o a p p a re n t l y o n t h e b e h e s t o f M a l i k c o n v i n c e d t h e N C A t o s e t t l e t h e m a t t e r a n d r e t u r n t h e m o n e y t o P a k i s t a n On Dec 5 2019 Mr Akbar announced at a press conference in Islamabad that £140m had been repatriated to Pakistan, into the Supreme Court’s account When asked how the money could be transferred to the SC account he deflected the question saying that the government NCA and Mr Riaz had signed a deed of confidentiality which prevented him from elaborating on the matter

THE AL-QADIR EQUATION WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MONEY?

We don t quite know, and this is where the web gets really intricate Essentially, the accusation is that the £140m that was repatriated to Pakistan after Shahzad Akbar ’s intervention with the NCA on behalf of Malik Riaz went straight back into the bank account of the property tycoon After coming to power, the incumbent PDM government accused former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi of accepting billions in cash and hundreds of kanals of land from Bahria Town in return for the help that Khan s government gave to Riaz during his investigation by the NCA Interior minister Rana Sanaullah

claimed that Bahria Town entered an agreement and gave a 458-kanal land with an onpaper value of Rs 530 million to a trust owned by Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi The land was donated to Al-Qadir Trust and the agreement bore signatures of the real estate’s donors and Bushra Bibi S a n a u l l a h c l a i m e d t h a t I m r a n s a i d e S h e h z a d A k b a r h a d s e t t l e d t h e e n t i r e c a s e , w h i l e t h e R s 5 0 b i l l i o n - w h i c h b el o n g e d t o t h e n a t i o n a l t r e a s u r y - w a s a d -

justed against Bahria Town’s liability He said Imran had received a graft of Rs 5 bill i o n a s h i s s h a r e t h r o u g h A k b a r b e f o r e the case was wrapped He further said that B a h r i a To w n a f t e r i t s R s 5 0 b i l l i o n w a s protected by the then PTI government, had

The countr y heads into uncer tain territor y

TH E arrest of PTI chief Imran Khan was perhaps inevitable His latest outburst against the major general heading the ISI’s counter-terrorism department in which Mr Khan said that the officer had been responsible for two assassination attempts against him, had led to an Inter-Services Press Release statement in the officer s defence, in which it had said that Mr Khan should use legal avenues to deal with any grievances he had However, Mr Khan was not charged with that The arrest took place upon the charge of failing to appear before the National Accountability Bureau in the Al-Qadir trust case, where he and his wife are supposed to have received land from real estate tycoon Malik Riaz who is supposed to have been given relief amounting to billions of rupees which had been received by the government from the UK’s National Crime Agency allegedly because it was the proceeds of money laundering

While he appeared in court without being assassinated, as he had predicted, he was arrested It is perhaps ironical that he was arrested under a legal provision that his own government had used often to imprison political opponents, to the extent that the Supreme Court passed strictures against NAB NAB can get physical remand for upto 90 days

Mr Khan will probably use amendments to the NAB law to obtain bail, amendments which his party had fought tooth and nail to the extent of challenging them in the Supreme Court However it is to that Court that he will look to obtain relief Already there have been clashes reported between PTI supporters all over the country which have involved clashes between the law enforcing agencies and party supporters It is telling that military symbols such as GHQ and Lahore’s Corps Commander ’s residence, have been attacked

The extent of these protests will determine Mr Khan s political future Now that he is no longer around, one can expect there to be an unseemly scramble for the leadership of the party The main contenders are ViceChairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi and President Ch Parvez Elahi, but the race will probably not be limited to them Such party heavyweights as Secretary-General Asad Umar and former federal ministers Fawad Chaudhry and Pervez Khattak will also probably have their hats in the ring A sequence of events was lunched by the arrest whose end cannot be predicted

Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late)

Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Editor

M A Niazi Joint Editor Umar Aziz Executive Editor

DR IMRAN KHALID

TH E report by the Nikkei Asia on May 3 mentioning that NATO plans are underway to establish a liaison office in Japan next year, with an ostensible objective of fostering coordination with key regional partners across the Indo-Pacific theatre including close allies such as Australia South Korea and New Zealand is certainly a very disturbing news for regional peace and stability Such an incendiary step may prove to be extremely destabilizing in the region, leading to more tensions and strains For quite some time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had been propagating the case for the establishment of a liaison office in Tokyo as a part of NATO s outreach plan in the Indo-Pacific This move was first discussed between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Stoltenberg earlier this year as part of efforts to deepen connections between Tokyo and the Western security alliance Reportedly, negotiations are also currently underway to sign an Individually Tailored Partnership Programme (ITPP) between the two entities before the upcoming NATO Summit in Lithuania this July

Of course, this push to extend NATO s reach into the Asia-Pacific will create more worries While Stoltenberg has made a point of emphasizing the importance of strengthening ties with key players in the area China has already made it clear that it opposes any attempts

If Asia were to follow in the footsteps of the European security model, it would mean relying solely on the formation of alliances to maintain balance and security However, this would result in a lack of cohesive security measures, leaving the region vulnerable to discord and potential conflict.

FO

O D security refers to the state in which all people have physical social and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and preferences for an active and healthy life This means that people can acquire food through production, trade, or purchase, as well as the ability to utilize and consume it effectively Food security involves several dimensions including availability access utilization and stability

Availability refers to the quantity and quality of food that is produced and available for consumption while access refers to the ability of individuals to obtain and acquire food Utilization refers to how food is consumed and utilized by the body, while stability refers to the ability of individuals and communities to maintain food security over time

Achieving food security is essential for promoting health reducing poverty and ensuring sustainable development It requires a multi-faceted approach that involves improving agricultural productivity, increasing access to food, promoting equitable distribution, and enhancing nutrition education and awareness Food security is a significant concern for Pakistan as it faces several challenges that threaten its ability to provide sufficient and nutritious food for its population These challenges include a growing population, climate change, water scarcity, and a lack of infrastructure

One of the main factors affecting food security in Pakistan is its rapidly growing population With a current population of over 220 million people Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world This puts a strain on the country s resources including land water and food production As the population continues to grow, the demand for food will increase, making it more challenging for the country to meet the needs of its people Climate change is another major threat to food security in Pakistan The country is already experiencing the effects of climate change including rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns which affect crop yields In addition, extreme weather events such as floods and droughts can devastate crops, causing food shortages and price hikes

Water scarcity is also a significant issue for Pakistan with the country facing severe water shortages

due to a combination of factors, including population growth, climate change, and poor water management practices This has a direct impact on food production, as agriculture is the largest consumer of water in the country Without adequate water supplies farmers cannot produce sufficient crops to meet the demand for food Pakistan s lack of infrastructure including storage facilities, transportation networks, and cold chain systems, also poses a threat to food security Without proper infrastructure food is often wasted spoiled or damaged during transport making it more difficult to get food to the people who need it Food security is a significant challenge for Pakistan, and addressing these issues will require a concerted effort from the government farmers and other stakeholders to develop sustainable solutions that can ensure that all people have access to sufficient and nutritious food Modern agriculture technologies can play a crucial role in overcoming food security challenges in Pakistan Precision agriculture involves the use of technology to optimize crop production, including using sensors and drones to monitor soil conditions and crop health This can help farmers to make more informed decisions about when and how to plant, fertilize, and irrigate their crops, leading to higher yields and more efficient use of resources Biotechnology can be used to develop crops that are more resistant to pests diseases and climate change as well as crops that have higher yields and better nutritional value This can help to increase the

NATO comes to Asia?

Why come to the wrong side of the world

by NATO to expand its reach in the Asia-Pacific region Beijing has been condemning such efforts, warning against the establishment of an “Asia-Pacific version of NATO” and making clear its opposition to any foreign military involvement in the region With tensions simmering and power dynamics in flux the establishment of a NATO liaison office in Japan will prove to be a major flashpoint in the ongoing geopolitical struggle for influence in the Indo-Pacific China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang said in March during his maiden news conference that the US “Indo-Pacific Strategy” is in fact an attempt to gang up to form exclusive blocs to provoke a confrontation by plotting an Asia-Pacific version of NATO Of late, Japan has been quite aggressive in its efforts to expand its sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific region In particular, it is seeking to enhance its presence in areas such as Southeast Asia South Asia and the East and South China Seas To achieve this goal Japan is pursuing a multifaceted approach that includes enhancing its military capabilities, collaborating closely with the USA on its Indo-Pacific strategy, and seeking assistance from external partners These measures are indicative of Japan’s ambitious agenda which seeks to assert its position as a major player in the region and to shape the balance of power in ways that are favourable to its interests

However, Japan s efforts are likely to face stiff opposition from other regional powers in the region, who are quite wary of Tokyo’s true intentions The result is likely to be a period of intense competition and manoeuvring in the Indo-Pacific as various countries seek to find ways to counter Japan s ambitious thrust to advance its military agenda Japan s recent push to expand military cooperation beyond bilateral and multilateral exercises with select NATO member states to the entire 31-member alliance poses a potentially significant threat to regional peace and stability The risks of heightened con-

flict in the great power games and maritime rights disputes that characterize the geopolitical landscape cannot be discounted

As such, the establishment of a NATO liaison office in Japan is sure to be a contentious issue in the ongoing struggle for power in the Indo-Pacific There is apprehension that the reinforcement of NATO s power may draw the West deeper into Asia: exploiting the rift caused by the existing power struggle in the Asian continent and compelling Asian countries to make definitive choices It is essential to bear in mind that NATO is primarily a Western military alliance Despite its defensive guise NATO has harboured aspirations to broaden its influence globally from the outset

So, NATO is being focused by Washington to expand its tentacles in Asia in the coming days The new efforts for the integration of Japan South Korea and NATO have been gathering steam It appears that these countries are banding together to counter the challenges of China As the partnership between Japan South Korea, and NATO evolves, it is shifting from the intangible to the tangible This newfound alliance is using the “new excuse” of novel security domains such as cybersecurity supply chains and infrastructure So it seems Tokyo is indirectly supporting NATO s expansion towards Asia But this will be a very perilous step which is fraught with many pitfalls

If Asia were to follow in the footsteps of the European security model, it would mean relying solely on the formation of alliances to maintain balance and security However this would result in a lack of cohesive security measures leaving the region vulnerable to discord and potential conflict History has shown that the balance of power in Europe was eventually disrupted by contention, even leading to war Thus, adopting such an approach in Asia may prove to be a precarious endeavour

The writer is a freelance columnist

amount of food produced and improve its quality

Improved irrigation technologies such as drip irrigation and sprinkler systems, can help farmers to use water more efficiently and effectively, reducing water waste and increasing crop yields

N o d o u b t , m o d e r n

ag r i c u l t u r e t e ch n o l o g i e s

c a n p l ay a c r i t i c a l ro l e i n

ov e rc o m i n g fo o d s e c u r i t y

ch a l l e n g e s i n Pa k i s t a n . B y

a d o p t i n g t h e s e

t e ch n o l o g i e s , f a r m e rs c a n

i n c r e a s e fo o d p ro d u c t i o n ,

i m p rov e fo o d q u a l i t y, a n d

r e d u c e w a s t e , h e l p i n g t o

e n s u r e t h a t a l l p e o p l e

h av e a c c e s s t o s u f f i c i e n t

a n d nu t r i t i o u s fo o d

Climatesmart agriculture involves the use of farming practices that are adapted to climate change such as crop rotation intercropping and conservation agriculture These practices can help to improve soil health reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience to climate change Vertical farming involves growing crops in vertically stacked layers, using a r t i f i c i a l l i g h t i n g a n d c l im a t e c o n t r o l s y s t e m s T h i s c a n h e l p t o i n c r e a s e f o o d p r o d u c t i o n i n u r b a n a r e a s r e d u c e t h e n e e d f o r t r a n sp o r t a t i o n a n d s t o r a g e , a n d minimize the environmental i m p a c t o f a g r i c u l t u r e T h e use of modern technologies such as cold chain systems smart storage facilities and l o g i s t i c s s o f t w a r e c a n h e l p to reduce food waste and ensure that food is transported a n d s t o r e d m o s t e ff i c i e n t l y and effectively possible No doubt Modern agriculture technologies can play a critical role in overcoming food security challenges in Pakistan By adopting these technologies, farmers can increase food production, improve food quality and reduce waste helping to ensure that all people have access to sufficient and nutritious food Government must design and implement policies for the availability and use of modern agriculture technologies in the country

The writer is working at the Institute of Humanities and Arts Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology Rahim Yar Khan Pakistan

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

Music is in the air and how!

T H E popularity of music concerts of famous singers like say Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Atif Aslam may be judged by the fact that they are attended by thousands of people The fabulous amounts of several millions that they charge are conveniently recovered from the sale of tickets, and the organisers go back home with their own pockets overflowing with good money All this happens in the course of one evening

A connoisseur of music myself, it gives me pleasure to know about the popularity of these concerts and other entertainment programmes At the same time it reminds me of the painful conditions under which Pakistani film industry s renowned playback singers of yesteryear had spent the last years of their lives Today as we celebrate Eid let us pay a tribute to some of the legends who graced our world Pakistan s first feature film Teri Yaad was released in August 1948 and contained songs as per the prevailing tradition Songs by the first male playback singer Ali Buksh Zahoor who would later run a tailoring shop in Lahore and the already known Munawar Sultana are still listened to with interest by the music lovers

In the 1950s male playback singing was dominated by Inayat Hussain Bhatti, Saleem Raza and Munir Hussain There are many hit songs to their credit, such as Bhagan waleo, naam japo from the film Shehri Babu by Inayat Hussain, and innumerable songs by the other two

Saleem Raza’s popular songs include Yaro mujhe, muaaf rakho from the film Saat Lakh; Jaan-e-baharan rashke chaman from Azra and Kaheen do dil jo mil jatey from Saheli Munir Hussain s hits include Saifuddin Saif s famous poem from the film Saat Lakh Qarar lutne wale tu pyar ko tarse This unique song in which the lover consistently curses his beloved, had become superhit across the subcontinent and was played frequently by Radio Ceylon

Besides, he beautifully rendered Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poem Nisar mein tere galion pe aay watan ke jahan from the film Shaheed and Aye meri zindagi aye haseen nazneen from Tauba Both these singers belonged to Lahore and their careers in the film industry came to almost an abrupt end with the arrival of Mehdi Hasan on the scene

However, another singer from Karachi, Mujeeb Alam, possessing a mellifluous voice, emerged on the landscape of Lahore s film industry despite tough competition from Mehdi Hasan and the evergreen Ahmed Rushdi His songs Woh mere samne, tasveer banay baithay haen from Chakori and Mein tere ajnabi shehr mein from Shama Aur Parwana were picturised on the then top hero Nadeem Another song Mein khushi se kyon na gayoon from Lori was picturised on another great actor Muhammad Ali

During the 1970s, Saleem Raza would get some work from Lahore s radio and television stations, but his income was not enough for him to manage the household I had the privilege of learning from him a few ghazals and geets that he had composed for Pakistan Television Being disappointed with his fallen status in the industry Saleem migrated to Canada in the early 1980s and died there after a few years Munir Hussain faced utter poverty and once wept bitterly before me complaining that he did not have money even to pay the tonga fare During his glorious days in the industry, Mujeeb Alam had rented the motor garage of a house in Model Town’s Block B He would often walk down for around a kilometre to come to my residence in Block H for singing sessions Towards the end of his singing career in Lahore he returned to Karachi and died in relative distress It is amazing how times have changed and it is rather heartening to know that popular singers of the present era will not have to face such depressing circumstances They will always owe their status to the legends who kept the music scene alive with their heart and soul even in tough times

MuHAMMAD ANwAR FARooq

DU R I N G a 10-day stretch in April there were three visits to Israel by prominent US political leaders What made them noteworthy weren t the visits themselves, but what they revealed about the evolving US-Israel relationship

From April 22–25, House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries visited Israel with a delegation of 11 Democratic members of Congress From April 27–29 the Republican governor of Florida Ron DeSantis led a delegation to Israel as part of a four-nation tour to promote Florida business And then from April 30–May 2, Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy came calling

No one was fooled by the stated purpose of the DeSantis visit He is testing the waters to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 And despite coyly dodging questions about his potential candidacy everything DeSantis did during his time in Israel was seen through that lens

Shortly after his arrival in Jerusalem, DeSantis signed an anti-hate crime bill passed by the Florida legislature It was to say the least unusual for a governor to sign a piece of domestic legislation while overseas While the bill imposes penalties for a range of actions that harass individuals for their religion or ethnicity DeSantis focused his public comments on anti-Semitism making it clear that he accepts the expanded interpretation of that term to include criticism of Israel and support for BDS DeSantis also used the occasion of his visit to highlight another proclamation he signed affirming Florida s special relationship with Israel

In remarks he made during his short visit DeSantis was careful to endorse former President Trump s policies toward Israel: moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem (although he curiously suggested that he would have done it sooner); trashing of the Iran nuclear deal; and promoting the Abrahamic Accords DeSantis did find occasion to criticize President Biden for “butting into Israel’s internal affairs by cautioning the current Israeli government to rethink its radical judicial reform legislation I t i s w o r t h n o t i n g t h a t P r i m e M i n i s t e r B e n j a m i n Netanyahu did meet with DeSantis but kept the visit l o w - k e y a n d w i t h o u t o ff i c i a l c o m m e n t m o s t l i k e l y

because Netanyahu didn’t want to provoke a reaction from M Trump Speaker McCarthy s time in Israel had more of the formal trappings of an official visit He addressed the Knesset (making him the second Speaker to do so Newt Gingrich being the first in 1998) and had a very public sit-down with the Prime Minister Like DeSantis McCarthy endorsed the Trumpian agenda for the Middle East and followed the well-worn script of “unwavering support unbreakable ties pledging military aid attacks on Iran and support for expanding the Abrahamic Accords

Unlike the DeSantis visit, McCarthy s was largely ignored by the press He only succeeded in making news when, in an obvious criticism of President Biden’s failure to invite Netanyahu to Washington the Speaker offered his own invitation Should that occur it would represent the third time a Republican Speaker of the House invited Netanyahu to address Congress in order to attack a sitting US Democratic President (Gingrich invited Netanyahu in 1998, using the opportunity to rail against Clinton’s embrace of the Oslo peace process, and John Boehner invited Netanyahu in 2015 to attack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal)

The least publicized of the three visits was the Democratic delegation led by Minority Leader Jeffries He had the same meetings, used largely the same talking points, and differed only in raising concerns about the proposed judicial reforms that hundreds of thou-

W h a t c a n C h i n a

d o i n r e s p o n s e

t o N AT O ’ s f o r a y

i n t o A s i a ?

Th e We s te r n m i l i t a r y b l o c i s re p o r te d l y o p e n i n g i t s f i r s t o f f i ce i n J a p a n a s t h e U S p u s h e s ‘ b l o c co n f ro nt at i o n’ p o l i t i c s i nto t h e re g i o n

JA PA N is reportedly planning to open a NATO liaison office in Tokyo The office will be the first of its kind in Asia and is designated to coordinate with the alliance on security matters and on the issue of China

It is no secret that the US seeks to expand and institutionalize the military bloc into Asia and place its footprint on a global scale, a notion that has been encouraged by the conflict in Ukraine and called for by many senior Western figures This shows that the organization has long discarded its original purpose and has become a tool of hegemony and domination, far from the so-called defensive alliance that it once claimed to be, over one specific geographic area of the globe

The administration of US President Joe Biden is arguably the most militarily aggressive US presidency in decades even more so than the George W Bush presidency given the circumstances Biden has ramped up tensions with larger powers, as opposed to merely conducting smaller regime change operations after the horrors of 9/11 In doing so Biden has aggressively sought to expand alliances such as NATO creating new mechanisms such as AUKUS brought Europe to the brink of war with Russia and is going to place new nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula While the previous president, Donald Trump, sought to downsize NATO and make it more financially self-reliant, the Biden administration is unapologetically attempting to globalize it NATO the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was once designed as a mechanism for collective regional self-defence amongst a fragile post-World War II Western Europe, which was equal in power to the Warsaw Pact Following the end of the Cold War after the US became the undisputed hegemon NATO was transformed from a mere balance-of-power-focused military alliance into a tool for enforcing American interests and security objectives In doing so, the US sought to transition the bloc into a ‘permanent order of things’ and betrayed promises to post-Soviet Russia that it would not expand it eastwards

But now as the US increasingly sees China as its largest adversary it wants to globalize NATO into Asia and interlock it with existing US alliances in the region, including Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia Traditionally, the US has only ever pursued these alliances on a ‘bilateral scale’ this has typically

been more manageable to US interests as Asian nations do not operate on the same universality as Western European countries and are more fraught with nationalist conflict For example South Korea has little political space to cooperate with Japan Although President Yoon Sukyeol is attempting to do so, his ratings are sliding thanks to his perceived capitulation to Tokyo

Despite this the US wants to make these alliances multilateral Even if it cannot officially expand NATO it believes that its clout c a n s t i l l b e i n c r e a s e d i f i n t e l l i g e n c e a r m am e n t s , a n d o t h e r f o r m s o f c o o p e r a t i o n a r e strengthened Hence, while not all of NATO can come running to Taiwan’s help if a conflict with mainland China breaks out, the US likely aims to create a ‘coalition’ which will cooperate in the same way as the one supporti n g U k r a i n e i e p r o v i d i n g a n e v e r- e n d i n g supply of arms intelligence logistics operat i o n a l s u p p o r t , a n d s o o n I n o t h e r w o r d s , N ATO w o u l d w a g e w a r a g a i n s t C h i n a b y proxy in the same way it has against Russia in Ukraine whether the US is directly involved or not This of course severely raises the military stakes of the region

So what can China do to respond to this attempt at alliance encirclement against it? First, it can strengthen its ties with Russia and aim to create a deeper balance of power in the Asia-Pacific Secondly, it can revitalize old alliances and strengthen its ties with North Korea as a military partner After all the DPRK is still obligated by the 1961 treaty of mutual assistance to come to China s aid in a war and can be used to contain Japan and South Korea Thirdly, it can look to build new military partnerships with regional countries who feel similarly threatened by US expansionism; for example Laos Cambodia and Myanmar While the rest of ASEAN are likely to stay neutral including Malaysia Indonesia Singapore Thailand and Vietnam (excluding the US-aligned Philippines), China should work to improve its relationships with these countries in order to prevent the US from trying to ‘force’ them to choose The expansion of NATO influence into Asia ultimately poses a threat to the stability security and certainty of an entire region Driven by the US it strives to import bloc confrontation politics into the region and upend its integration so that it might be able to secure US hegemony over it China faces the challenge of balancing its security interests amidst this turmoil while also ensuring that a conflict does not break out Either way the entire region is locked in an increasingly tense arms race amidst the foreign policy of the Biden administration, which can only be described as hegemonic, expansionist, and aggressive

sands have protested in the streets” not exactly a headline maker What can be learned from the three visits is that while Israel remains a central issue in US politics there is a fundamental shift in the role it plays Polls show that Democrats now favor Palestinians over Israelis by a 49 percent-38 percent margin and American Jews, the vast majority of whom are Democrats are increasingly alienated from the policies of the Netanyahu government So the targets of the DeSantis and McCarthy visits were not Jewish voters They were playing instead to the very pro-Israel right-wing Christian evangelicals who make up 40 percent of the Republican vote

Recall that exactly two years ago outgoing Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer (who, while he was a U S citizen was a Republican operative) advised Israel not to rely on the support of American Jews They were he cautioned too small in number and too deeply divided on Israel Instead he said Israel s strongest supporters were the far more numerous right-wing Christians, whose ideology made them uncompromising devotees of Israel And as that rock-solid, religiously motivated base of the GOP are also Trump supporters it becomes clear why DeSantis and McCarthy would go to great lengths to endorse the former president s agenda

The purpose of Mr Jeffries visit was more difficult to discern He pledged his commitment to bipartisan support for Israel by which he means keeping in line most Democratic members of Congress At the same time,

with the party’s progressive base moving in a different direction there is an increasing restiveness in his caucus with many of his Democratic colleagues speaking out in ways that are critical of many Israeli policies

So if the overwhelming majority of American Jews will vote for Democrats and growing numbers aren t wedded to Israel, why is Jeffries’ singing off the same old page? A recent article in Jewish Currents quotes a New York Jewish Democratic operative providing the answer: You need a lot of money to stay in power and Jeffries is out reestablishing his credentials with Jews particularly donors Pro-Israel PACs and dark money groups spent tens of millions of dollars in recent election cycles and it appears that Jeffries doesn’t want to risk losing their support

The bottom line is that the three recent visits to Israel reflect the changing dynamic in US politics and the policy debate There s a deep partisan split on the issue of Israel

With Trump and his religiously conservative pro-Israel voters dominating the GOP side, Republicans are of one mind on the issue Democratic leaders, on the other hand, are stuck between courting their big donors who are very pro-Israel and appealing to their more progressive voters Despite Jeffries’ pledge of bipartisan support for Israel both the Democrat/Republican inter-party and the Democrats intra-party tension are real and growing

The writer is resident of the Arab American Institute

ThereÊs a deep par tisan split on the issue of Israel With Trump and his religiously conser vative pro-Israel voters dominating the GOP side , Republicans are of one mind on the issue Democratic leaders, on the other hand, are stuck between cour ting their big donors who are ver y pro-Israel and appealing to their more progressive voters

T o e d i t M u s l i m s o u t

o f I n d i a ’ s h i s t o r y i s t o

d e n y t h e m a f u t u r e

O t h e r co u nt r i e s h ave m a d e t h i s m i s t a ke. I n d i a s h o u l d avo i d g o i n g d ow n t h i s p at h

IN D I A N historians and students of the subject have long loved to mock the omissions and farcical narratives that mark history curricula in Pakistan The Persian Hindu and even Buddhist eras in what is present-day Pakistan are either absent or receive reluctant mentions as insignificant interruptions before the “genuine history that begins in the eighth century with the coming of Arabs It really is an affront to historiography For instance, the Indus Valley civilisation is discussed but not with the emphasis it deserves The Aryan civilisation, so crucial to understanding the subsequent phases is completely omitted Never mind that the country was once part of the Persian empire of Cyrus the Great or that during the third century BC it was part of the dominion of Asoka, who ruled from Pataliputra (modern Patna) in eastern India Well, the joke’s now on those Indians who jeered at Pakistan And it s not funny India s recent textbook purges show a similar disregard of history and facts with the government seeking to alter how it was traditionally taught and cherry-pick what it wants students to learn and what it wants to ignore Textbooks have been quietly edited to remove important chunks of history from India s Mughal era including the achievements of that Muslim dynasty, even though their legacy lives on in iconic architecture, cultural traditions and so much more References to independent India’s first education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad a senior figure in the country s struggle for freedom from British rule a close comrade of Mahatma

Gandhi and a beacon of Hindu-Muslim unity have been eliminated

The medieval historical period is such a crucial era of India s past one when the country s economic might reached its peak, among other achievements and excluding it from the curriculum would amount to gross intellectual dishonesty

Historical narratives are always open to alternate views revision debate and healthy discussion but omitting facts is an unacademic approach

The present government s interest in this historical course correction is not new There has always been a school of thought that is ideologically averse to the conventional understanding of how medieval kings ruled Followers of this school of thought question the sources that, for instance, suggest that medieval Muslim kings and royals often struck alliances with their Hindu counterparts But rather than call for objective debates and discussion whole chapters have been done away with History cannot be sacrificed at the altar of political convenience Students and scholars alike should take serious umbrage at the changes This is an infringement on the right to education and more importantly to knowing the truth But this isn’t just an academic exercise it has a more serious fallout

Perhaps more than the harm to historical academic scholarship, these deletions can be conceived as a message to Indian minorities By obliterating important parts of India’s Muslim past from textbooks the government seems to be giving in to those who believe that the country s history and future belong only to Hindus

Such steps can only polarise society; pose a challenge to the country s inclusive growth, peace and unity; and mark a new low for India As it is, not one of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) 301 directly elected members of

parliament is Muslim

It does not have a single Muslim among its more than 1 000 state legislators in the country

We read reports suggesting that the BJP-led government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen on reaching out to so-called pasmanda Muslims a giant chunk of the community that consists of socially and economically deprived classes

But if it is serious about those efforts, the government must discourage moves that further alienate Muslims It should, for instance, be revering freedom fighters such as Maulana Azad a vehement critic of Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s Two-Nation theory which was the basis of the creation of Pakistan rather than erasing their legacy

The BJP can t hope to realistically make inroads among any section of the community if its policies end up pushing patriotic Muslims who take deep pride in their Indian identity against the wall And the country s rulers must be prudent enough to realise that s India s much touted growth cannot be achieved if a huge section of its citizens feels unwelcome and targeted When a community is repeatedly told that the forerunners of its faith were plunderers and were detrimental to the country it is denied the deep historical ties of love and sacrifice that frame the identity of Muslim Indians and their place in the nation India is home to 200 million Muslims eager to be part of the growth and development of the country Instead of further segregation they must be assured of their place in India That is only possible when the government acknowledges Muslim history as India s own and embraces the country s multiethnic past Obaid Mir is a history student and independent commentator

NEWSLAUNDRY

MA N Y Delhi ‘news’ anchors would like us to believe that an 18th century Muslim ruler is the single most important issue for 21st century Indians

F O U R C H I L D R E N A M O N G 1 2 PA L E S T I N I A N S

K I L L E D I N I S R A E L I S T R I K E S

JERUSALEM ag e n C e S

Four children three senior Islamic Jihad commanders were among 12 people killed in Gaza airstrikes launched by the Israeli military on Tuesday in what it claimed was an attempt to target the Islamic Jihad group

The air strikes were the latest incident in more than a year of surging violence that has seen repeated Israeli military raids and escalating settler violence in the occupied West Bank, amid a spate of Palestinian street attacks on Israelis

Last week brought a bout of cross-border fire after the death in Israeli detention of a hunger striker from Islamic Jihad

Israel s military said it targeted three senior commanders of Islamic Jihad the second most powerful armed group in the blockaded coastal enclave, which is controlled by Hamas

“Any terrorist who harms Israeli citizens will be made to regret it ” said Defence Minister Yoav Gallant Israel s military working with the Shin Bet intelligence service targeted the leadership of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza in a precise operation, he added

The military said 40 jets took part in the strikes, which it said were timed to suit op-

erational conditions

“It was a convergence of intelligence, timing and weather,” a military spokesper-

son said

A Gaza health official said at least 12 people had been killed and 20 wounded in the strikes that hit residential areas in the densely populated strip in which 2 3 million Palestinians live on a patch of 365 square kilometres (140 square miles)

An Israeli military spokesman said the army was looking into reports of civilian deaths but had no immediate comment

We re aware of some collateral and we ll learn more as the day goes ahead, he told a briefing with reporters

Islamic Jihad’s armed wing confirmed the deaths of the three commanders, adding:

“We will not abandon our positions and the resistance will continue God willing

The group identified the commanders killed as Jihad Ghannam Khalil Al-Bahtini and Tareq Izzeldeen

The military said it targeted 10 weapon and infrastructure manufacturing sites, including rocket production workshops and a site for making concrete used for tunnels as well as military compounds belonging to the group ‘Crime will not pass unpunished’ As morning broke over Gaza, Israeli

World at ‘turning point’, ‘war’ unleashed on Russia: Putin

MOSCOW ag e n C i e S

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday at Moscow’s Red Square Victory Day parade that the world was at a turning point and claimed a war had been unleashed against Russia He vowed victory and said Russia s future rests on its soldiers fighting in Ukraine The traditional Soviet-style event celebrating Moscow’s victory over the Nazis took place amid security fears, 15 months into Russia’s Ukraine offensive “Today civilisation is again at a decisive turning point Putin said at the parade which included elderly veterans and soldiers from Russia s Ukraine campaign A war has been unleashed against our motherland, he claimed He called for Russia to be victorious: For Russia, for our armed forces, for victory! Hurrah!”

The Russian leader has increasingly portrayed the campaign in Ukraine as an existential conflict which he says the West has escalated by supporting the Ukrainian government Putin told soldiers taking part in Moscow s Ukraine campaign, several hundreds of whom were present at the Red Square parade, that “the whole country is with you ”

“There is nothing more important now than your combat effort ” he said “The security of the country rests on you today the future of our statehood and our people depend on you Putin also railed against Western globalist elites accusing them of sowing conflicts and coups around the world Their goal, and there is nothing new here, is to achieve the collapse and destruction of our country,” he said The longtime Russian leader vowed that Moscow would overcome this “But we have rebuffed international terrorism we will protect the people of (eastern Ukraine s) Donbas we will ensure our security, he said This appeared to be a reference to an unprecedented series of attacks on Russian soil in the run-up to the Victory Day parade, a central event under Putin’s rule

military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the military had achieved its objectives and army chiefs and Shin Bet officials were holding assessments

The military said Gallant had approved drafting reservists while Palestinian groups said they would respond to the strikes highlighting the potential for more prolonged hostilities

“The bombardment will be met by bombardment and the attack will be met by an attack ” said Tareq Selmi a spokesman of Islamic Jihad This crime will not pass unpunished Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, who has been splitting his time between Turkey and Qatar, said in a statement: “Assassination of leaders will not bring the occupation security but more resistance ” Videos showed billowing smoke and flames that lit up the night sky as trucks of firefighters sped to a building that had been hit, while a medic reassured a young girl who appeared confused “Your family is all safe, don’t worry,” he said During the bombardment Palestinians took to social media to mourn a well-known dentist who was killed at home with his wife in Tuesday s air strikes describing him as a loyal friend and humble man Last week, the death of Khader Adnan in

Israeli custody following an 87-day hunger strike triggered several hours of cross-border fighting between Israel and armed groups in Gaza in which one Palestinian man was killed More than 100 Palestinians and at least 19 Israelis and foreigners have been killed in the strife since January

The Palestinian foreign ministry strongly condemned Israel’s attack and said a negotiated political solution was the only way to

achieve security and stability

Israel captured Gaza and the West Bank areas where Palestinians aim to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in a 1967 war COGAT, a unit of the Israeli defence ministry that coordinates civilian affairs with Palestinians in occupied territories, said its two Gaza crossings were closed to people and goods until further notice

LinkedIn c uts over 700 jobs, phases out C hina app as demand wavers

PR OFIT

R e u t e R S LinkedIn, the social media network owned by Microsoft Corp (MSFT O) that focuses on business professionals said on Monday it would cut 716 jobs as demand wavers while also shutting down its China-focused job application LinkedIn, which has 20,000 employees, has grown revenue each quarter during the last year, but it joins other major technology companies including its parent in laying off workers amid a weakening global economic outlook

In the past six months more than 270 000 tech jobs globally have been cut according to Layoffs fyi, which has been tracking the fallout

inkedIn makes money through ad sales and also by charging for subscriptions to recruiting and sales professionals who use the network to find prospects

In a letter to employees, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky said the move to cut roles in its sales, operations and support teams was aimed at streamlining the company’s operations and would remove layers to help make quicker decisions

With the market and customer demand fluctuating more and to serve emerging and growth markets more effectively, we are expanding the use of vendors,” Roslansky wrote LinkedIn spokesperson said the vendors were “external partners” who would take on new and existing work

Roslansky also said in the letter that

the changes would result in creating 250 new jobs

The spokesperson said that employees affected by the cuts would be eligible to apply for those roles LinkedIn also said it was eliminating the slimmed down jobs app that it offers in China after it decided in 2021 to mostly withdraw from the country, citing a “challenging” environment The remaining China app called InCareers will be phased out by Aug 9 LinkedIn said Despite our initial progress InCareer faced fierce competition and a challenging macroeconomic climate, which ultimately led us to the decision of discontinuing the service ” the company told users of the website LinkedIn will retain a presence in China to help companies operating there

Restric tions fur ther toughened af ter top -level ‘sec urity ’ meeting in S rinagar

SRINAGAR S ta f f R e p o R t

In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Modi-led Indian regime has further intensified restrictions coupled with crackdown operations and raids in the name of security for the proposed G20 meeting in Srinagar

The decision to intensify restrictions and deploy more troops in the occupied territory was taken at a toplevel security meeting chaired by Indian Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla in Srinagar and attended by top officials from India and the occupied territory The meeting discussed in detail arrangements for the upcoming G-20 events and volatile situation in Poonch and Rajouri districts

A senior official from the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told the media over phone from New Delhi that top officials from police including Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh, ADGP s of Kashmir and Jammu, Vijay Kumar and Mukesh Singh, GoC’s of 15 and 16 Corps IGPs of CRPF and BSF besides officers from the various intelligence agencies

also participated in the meeting The official said the meeting discussed and gave final touches to the security arrangements for the G-20 events slated for May 22-24 in Srinagar

As per the so-called security plan, lakes and rivers have been handed over to the military unit Marine Commandos (MARCOS) while National Security Guard (NSG) along with the special operation group (SoG) have been deployed for fool-proof security cover for the G-20 events that are supposed to be held on the banks of famous Dal Lake, in Srinagar

SHANGHAI

ag e n C i e S

China and Canada are engaged in a rare high-profile diplomatic row as Beijing declared a consul of the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai as persona non grata” on Tuesday and asked the Canadian diplomat to leave China before May 13 a necessary and legitimate countermeasure in response to the unreasonable move by the Canadian side of hyping China s interference and expelling a Chinese diplomat Some Chinese observers point out that it’s a rare move for China to expel a foreign diplomat but Canada appears to have become a leading anti-China force in the US-led small clique Its China policy has become even more confrontational than that of Washington which has dragged Canada-China relations into the

deep freeze The current anti-China waves across Canadian politics and public opinion could be seen as a Canadian version of McCarthyism in the 21st century fully highlighting the lack of strategic vision and continuity of the Ottawa s China policy, some observers said In response to Canada s unreasonable expulsion of a Chinese diplomat, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that the consul of the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai has been designated persona non grata and been asked to leave China before May 13 On May 9, the Canadian government declared a diplomat of the Consulate-General of China in Toronto persona non grata China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this and has lodged serious démarches and a strong protest to Canada, a Chi-

to hire and train employees outside the country the company spokesperson said

In the tech sector large companies have accounted for the bulk of recent layoffs, including 27,000 at Amazon com Inc (AMZN O), the most in its history Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc (META O) shed 21,000, and Google parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL O) has laid off 12 000

Before LinkedIn s announcement 5 000 technology jobs had been in eliminated in May alone, according to Layoffs fyi Microsoft, which bought LinkedIn for around $26 billion in 2016 has announced some 10 000 job cuts in recent months and took a $1 2 billion charge related to the layoffs

EU envoy to China hails Xi’s call with Ukraine president

BEIJING

S ta f f C o R R e S p o n d e n t

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was a very positive step the European Union ambassador to China said on Tuesday, while urging greater efforts to achieve peace Xi s hour-long call with Zelenskiy for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fulfilled one of Kyiv’s long-standing goals, which it had publicly sought for months “We would like China to go further and help more to reach a just peace which involves withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine Jorge Toledo Albinana told a press conference in the Chinese capital State media had reported that during their call, Xi told Zelenskiy China would send special representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties seeking peace Albinana said expectations of further high-level dialogue this year included strategic talks between EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang as well as topics such as trade and economy digital affairs and climate Recent comments by Borrell on the disputed Taiwan Strait had been grossly exaggerated, Albinana added Borrell reportedly wrote in an opinion piece in the Journal du Dimanche that European navies should patrol the Strait “I think what he said has been grossly exaggerated Albinana said Taiwan concerns us economically commercially and technologically Borrell added in the piece

nese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday

As a reciprocal countermeasure in reaction to Canada’s move, China declared Jennifer Lynn Lalonde consul of the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai persona non grata who has been asked to leave China no later than May 13 And China reserves the right to take further measures, the spokesperson said The Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday the expulsion of Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei after days of pressure from opposition parties, who accused Zhao of targeting Conservative MP Michael Chong’s family who live in Hong Kong according to Canadian media reports

Commenting on the decision to declare the Canadian diplomat in Shanghai persona non grata, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a

press conference on Tuesday that in disregard to China s serious démarches, Canada openly declared the Chinese diplomat “persona non grata” on the grounds of so-called China’s interference in Canada’s internal affairs China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this China has never interfered in other countries internal affairs

The so-called Chinese interference in Canada’s internal affairs is complete nonsense a smear against China and a political manipulation based on ideology The latest move of the Canadian side violates the basic norms governing international relations and deliberately undermines China-Canada relations which is of a very bad nature Wang said This is necessary for China to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests It [the countermeasure] is completely legitimate and necessary,” he said

C hina takes counter-measure against C anada’s ‘unreasonable’ expulsion of diplomat

CORPORATE CORNER

Price of 20kg flour bag jumps to Rs7,000 in Timergarha/Lower Dir

WRITING for Dawn author Jawaid Bokhari discusses the current economic and political situation in Pakistan, highlighting the divergent views about the country s future outlook and possible solutions to the ongoing crises

The author notes that despite the imponderable uncertainties that continue to plague the nation the search for remedies has intensified generating a debate that is rooted in ground realities

in the country's mode of governance public service delivery and better utilization of natural and abundant human resources for socio-economic development

The author then takes an optimistic view that the situation may improve incrementally here and there with no fundamental or meaningful changes at least in the short to medium-term However the author points out that the next polls may not bring political stability due to persisting stagflation and the absence of national consensus on charters of economy and governance

based on the results of 89 of the top 100-listed companies representing 93 1% of the stock market s capitalization Furthermore direct tax collection shot up by 44% to Rs2 5 trillion during ten months of FY23, as compared to the same period of the last fiscal year

Bankers and currency dealers also expect remittances for April at $2 5bn to help post a current account surplus for the second month in a row

of the people otherwise masses and traders would be forced to take to streets

TDAP geared up to enter African market; Zubair Motiwala

KARACHI a p p

Trade Development Authority of Pakistan TDAP

Chief Executive Zubair Motiwala on Tuesday said

TDAP had geared up to enter the African market Addressing a meeting of Pakistan-Ethiopia Business Forum with TDAP Executive Team at a local hotel he said the authority had allocated funds to participate in single country exhibitions and conferences in Africa He announced that this year Pakistan would be holding more than 30 participations in exhibitions and conferences in Africa Zubair Motiwala said there was enough room for increasing bilateral trade between Pakistan and Ethiopia

The solutions offered, according to the author range from short- to medium- to long-term durations and are not always immune from conflicting interests However the debate is also generating some creative ideas that can bring about a culture change

The author cites some data to support this view noting that after-tax earnings of the corporate sector recorded at Rs 877 6 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, up 8 8% from a year ago The data is

However the author notes that there are still some challenges that the country must overcome, such as the high public debt risks, precarious foreign exchange reserves position and curbs on dollar movements which have led to a decline in foreign companies outflow of profits and dividends

I n a d d i t i o n , t h e a u t h o r d i s c u s s e s s o m e o f t h e p o l i t i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c

Siraj announces protest rallies against inflation demanding subsidy in budget

INP L a H o R e

A m e e r J a m a a t - e - I s l a m i ( J I ) S i r aj u l H a q h a s a n n o u n c e d t o h o l d protest rallies against inflation, dem a n d i n g s u b s i d y o n e s s e n t i a l i t e m s i n t h e b u d g e t

Addressing a press conference in Lahore on Tuesday he also expressed doubt about the continuation of dialogue among political parties on elections after the arrest of PTI chairman Imran Khan He said the JI has a clear stance that the political victimization in the name of accountability was unjustified and unfair

The JI he said demanded across the board accountability

Sirajul Haq said that the NAB had already lost credibility and there was dire need for not repeating the past mistakes of targeting people or

political leaders without any credible proof of corruption or malpractices

The anti-inflation movement would start from May 21 from Lahore he said adding the JI workers would hold protest demonstrations in Peshawar on May 24 The detailed schedule for the countrywide rallies would be issued in the next couple of days, he said The JI chief demanded the government announce Rs100 per liter cut in petrol price and 50 percent decrease in medicine prices The government was asked not to fill the top vacancies with the retired officers from military or civil bureaucracy rather the fresh blood should be inducted to serve the country He said the government should cut all the non-development expenditure discourage VIP protocol culture and bring back the money stashed in for-

eign accounts

He condemned the violence and torture on the JI workers during Karachi by-election for local bodies holding the PPP responsible for bringing hooligans from outside of Karachi at polling stations He said the Election Commission failed to ensure its responsibility to hold free and peaceful elections

Siraj also questioned the non-arrest of those elements who were involved in violence during the polling process vowing to defend the JI mandate He said the PPP proved that it was not ready to accept the people’s mandate Such tactics he said in the past caused the derailment of democracy creating irreparable loss to the country He thanked the people of Karachi for putting trust on the JI and congratulated the JI team on success

issues that are hindering the country's progress For instance bank credit to the private sector has dropped significantly while bank financing to stateo w n e d e n t e r p r i s e s h a s b a l l o o n e d m a k i n g p r i v a t i z a t i o n m o r e d i ff i c u l t T h e a u t h o r a l s o h i g h l i g h t s t h e f a c t t h a t P a k i s t a n ' s s t a t e - o w n e d e n t e rp r i s e s a r e t h e w o r s t i n S o u t h A s i a a n d t h e i r l o s s e s a r e g r o w i n g f a s t e r than their assets F i n a l l y t h e a u t h o r e m p h a s i z e s t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f c o m m o n v a l u e s a n d a s p i r a t i o n s i n b u i l d i n g t r u s t , c oo p e r a t i o n , a n d s o c i a l c o h e s i o n , w h i c h a r e c r i t i c a l f a c t o r s f o r t h e country's economic and social develo p m e n t H o w e v e r p o w e r p o l i t i c s r em a i n a m a j o r h u r d l e i n a c h i e v i n g t h e s e g o a l s a c c o r d i n g t o t h e a u t h o r O v e r a l l , t h e p a s s a g e p r e s e n t s a n ua n c e d a n d d e t a i l e d a n a l y s i s o f P a ki s t a n s c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n , h i g h l i g h t i n g t h e c h a l l e n g e s a n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s t h a t l i e a h e a d

PSO stands with its people by suppor ting those in need

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t L i v i n g u p t o i t s c o r e v a l u e s o f C a r i n g a n d G i v i n g P a k i s t a n S t a t e O i l ( P S O ) l a u n c h e d a n a t i o n w i d e r a t i o n d i s t r i b ut i o n d r i v e t o s u p p o r t t h e u n d e r s e r v e d c o m m u n i t i e s r e c e n t l y S t a y i n g t r u e t o i t s c o m m i t m e n t t o C o r p o r a t e S o c i a l R e s p o n s i b i l i t y P S O s t e p p e d u p a n d e x t e n d e d i t s s u p p o r t t o t h e m o s t r em o t e a n d i m p a c t e d c o m m u n i t i e s s p a nn i n g a c r o s s S h i k a r p u r, N a w a b s h a h , U m e r k o t D e r a M u r a d J a m a l i Q u e t t a P i s h i n J h a l M a g s i S h e i k h u p u r a F a i s a l a b a d R a j a n p u r B a h a w a l p u r C i t y, D I K h a n / Ta n k , S w a t a n d A b b o tt a b a d T h r o u g h t h i s d r i v e , r a t i o n w o r t h P K R 1 0 0 m i l l i o n c o m p r i s i n g o f e s s e nt i a l p r o v i s i o n s s u c h a s f o o d a n d g r oc e r i e s w e r e d i s t r i b u t e d t o 2 2 0 0 0 f a m i l i e s i n a n a t t e m p t t o e a s e t h e i r f in a n c i a l b u r d e n

h i l d L i f e F o u n d a t i o n h a v e s i g n e d a n M o U , t o e x t e n d C h i l d L i f e ’s t e l e m e d i c i n e n e t w o r k t o s e l e c t e d h o s p i t a l s u n d e r P P H I ’s c o n t r o l T h i s i s a no t h e r s t e p t o w a r d s t h e v i s i o n o f E v e r y c h i l d w i t h i n 3 0 m i n u t e s o f q u a l i t y 2 4 x 7 e m e rg e n c y s e r v i c e s a c r o s s S i n d h T h e M o U w a s s i g n e d b y M r J a v e d A l i J a g i r a n i , C E O P P H I S i n d h , a n d D r A h s o n R a bb a n i , C E O C h i l d L i f e F o u n d a t i o n , o n b e h a l f o f t h e i r o rg a n i z a t i o n s “ We a r e h o n o r e d t o p a r t n e r w i t h P P H I S i n d h t o i m p r o v e t h e c h i l d h e a l t h c a r e s e r v i c e s a c r o s s S i n d h C h i l d L i f e i n t r o d u c e d t h e t e l e m e d i c i n e m o d e l o f e m e rg e n c y c a r e t o r e a c h o u t t o t h e c h i ld r e n i n r e m o t e a r e a s o f S i n d h I t b r i d g e s t h e g a p s o f a c c e s s a n d i m p r o v e s q u a l i t y a s s e n i o r c h i l d s p e c i a li s t s p r o v i d e t e l e c o n s u l t a t i o n 2 4 x 7 Alhamdullilah, to-date ChildLife has implemented its telemedicine model across 87 district and tehsil hospitals of Sindh with the support of Sindh Government Our aim is to spread the model across all secondary care public hospitals of Pakistan said Dr Ahson Rabbani CEO ChildLife Foundation As per the MoU ChildLife will replicate its Telemedicine model at select public sector hospitals managed by PPHI Sindh, which includes installation of a high-resolution camera and an IP phone that will be connected to ChildLife’s Telemedicine Control Room Through this model ChildLife s expert pediatricians based at the TM Control Room will assist the on-ground medical staff regarding the treatment of children

C hina’s shrinking impor ts, slower expor ts growth darken economic outlook

PR OFIT

R e u t e R S

China’s imports contracted sharply in April while exports rose at a slower pace reinforcing signs of feeble domestic demand despite the lifting of COVID curbs and heaping pressure on an economy already struggling in the face of cooling global growth China’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter thanks to robust services consumption but factory output has lagged and the latest trade numbers point to a long road to regaining the pre-pandemic momentum at home

Inbound shipments to the world’s second-largest economy fell 7 9% year on year extending the 1 4% decline seen a month earlier while exports grew 8 5%, easing from the 14 8% surge in March, customs data showed on Tuesday Economists in a Reuters poll had predicted no growth in imports and an

8 0% increase in exports Government officials have repeatedly warned of a severe and complicated” external environment in the wake of mounting recession risks for many of China’s key trading partners However the sharp deterioration in last month s trade flows will only renew worries about the state of external demand and risks posed to the domestic economy, especially given the frail recovery from a year earlier when inbound and outbound shipments were severely disrupted by China s COVID19 restrictions

Given the gloomy outlook for external demand, we think exports will decline further before bottoming out later this year,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics in a note

We still think reopening rebound in domestic demand will drive a recovery in imports over the coming months, she added The downturn in imports suggests

Yellen is c alling CEOs personally to warn on US debt ceiling, sources say

PR OFIT R e u t e R S

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is reaching out to

to the head of the American people ” Yellen said in a pointed reference to Republican lawmakers’ insistence on tying a debt-ceiling increase to sweeping spending cuts that Democrats oppose Yellen is now slated to leave for Japan this week and will hold a news conference in Niigata, Japan, on Thursday before the G7 meeting P r e s i d e n t J o e B i d e n i n s i s t s t h a t C o n g r e s s h a s a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l d u t y t o r a i s e t h e d e b t c e i l i n g w h i c h r e f l e c t s p r e v i o u s l y s p e n t f e d e r a l m o n e y w i t h o u t c o n d i t i o n s

He will meet on Tuesday with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and top congressional Democrats at the White House to try to break the impasse Ye l l e n t o l d l a w m a k e r s l a s t w e e k t h a t Tr e a s u r y w i l l l i k e l y b e u n a b l e t o p a y a l l t h e g o v e r n m e n t ’s b i l l s a s e a r l y a s J u n e 1 w i t h o u t a n i n c r e a s e i n t h e f e d e r a l d e b t l i m i t Ye l l e n , o t h e r e c o n o m i s t s a n d a n a l y s t s h a v e r ep e a t e d l y w a r n e d t h a t a d e f a u l t o n U S d e b t w o u l d r e s u l t i n m i l l i o n s o f j o b l o s s e s , w h i l e d r i v i n g h o u s eh o l d p a y m e n t s o n m o r t g a g e s , a u t o l o a n s a n d c r e d i t c a r d s h i g h e r

the world economy won t be able to count much on China s domestic engine of growth, and as the nation re-exports some of its imports, it also reinforces the extent of weakness in some of its major trading partner economies Analysts say the sharp global monetary policy tightening campaign of the past 12-18 months and recent Western banking stress remain concerns for revival prospects of both China and worldwide Shipments growth to ASEAN – a block of Southeast Asian countries –slowed to 4 5% in April from 35 4% last month The region is China s largest export partner

Other recent data also showed South Korean exports to China, a leading indicator of China’s imports were down 26 5% in April continuing 10 consecutive months of decline

China s coal imports fell in April from a 15-month high in the prior month, snapping back as demand weakens in Asian giant Imports of

copper – a proxy for global growth –and natural gas were also down in the same period

“The contraction of imports may be partly driven by the slowdown of global demand which in turn affects China s imports of parts and components for the processing of exports said Zhiwei Zhang chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management

The recent official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for April showed new export orders contracting sharply underlining the challenge facing Chinese policymakers and businesses hoping for a robust post-COVID economic recovery

China s first quarter GDP data last month, while offering some relief, also raised doubts about the demand outlook due to property market weakness slowing prices and surging bank savings The government has set a modest GDP growth target of around 5% for this year, after badly missing the 2022 goal

Google offers 44,500 scholarships for women, young graduates

After launching Google Career Certificates (GCC) in October last year, Google today announced it will commit a total of 44 500 new GCC scholarships by the end of 2023 to more Pakistanis wanting to gain access to in-demand digital skills Building on its previous commitment to help create Future Forward Pakistan, Google adds 3 additional courses - Business Intelligence Advanced Data Analytics and Cybersecurity - to their Career Certificates program to help Pakistani women and young graduates earn employerrecognised certificates as a way to realise their career ambitions The effort is in partnership with IRM and TechValley A new study also launched today from the Economist supported by Google shows that more support is needed to get

The country needs in-demand digital skills to ensure Pakistan remains competitive in both the local and global markets Digital skills are becoming increasingly important: As digital skills become increasingly important, employers’ role will b e c r u c i a l i n p r o v i d i n g i n f o rmation about and access to ups k i l l i n g p r o g r a m s t o t h e i r existing workforce More than half of employees (57 3%) consider digital skills the most important to acquire, and 81% of e m p l o y e e s a g r e e t h a t d i g i t a l s k i l l s h a v e a l s o h e l p e d t h e m gain confidence and improve in o t h e r a r e a s l i k e c o m m u n i c at i o n a n a l y s i s a n d c r i t i c a l

thinking

Soft skills are pervasive across different sectors and roles: Skills such as communication and adaptability will be key differentiators for workers to learn due to their wide applicability across diverse job roles and industries 47% of employ-

ees consider soft skills as an important area for upskilling and 71 4% consider adaptability and flexibility a high priority and 81 5% report communication as a must-have skill Government could facilitate a conducive ecosystem: By collaborating closely with companies organisations and communities government can help provide more equal access to skilling for example through incentives and supportive policies

A c c o r d i n g t o P a k i s t a n I ns t i t u t e o f D e v e l o p m e n t E c on o m i c s u n e m p l o y m e n t r a t e s are higher than average among women and youth – 31% of the total unemployed are youth of w h i c h w o m e n m a k e u p 5 1 % T h r o u g h i n i t i a t i v e s s u c h a s Google Career Certificates and scholarships Google helps crea t e m o r e e q u a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r p e o p l e f r o m d i ff e r e n t g r o u p s a n d b a c k g r o u n d s t o

access to digital skills and

PAKISTAN COULD DEFAULT WITHOUT IMF BAILOUT, MOODY’S WARN

release of $1 2 billion is pending since October last year as the government has been unable to meet some of the prerequisites set by the lender

The IMF tranche is critical for Pakistan as it will also unlock financing from friendly countries, helping Pakistan avert default

The country has been witnessing economic turmoil since last year with its foreign exchange reserves down to critical levels while talks with

‘Pakistan to address, satisf y IMF over concerns regarding petrol subsidies’

the IMF for the release of the pending tranche have remained unsuccessful thus far

A delegation of IMF was in Pakistan in February this year for talks with the government to revive the programme

After the delegation left, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said negotiations with the lender had “nearly concluded” and a staff-level agreement would happen next week But more than two months since then, an agreement is

still not in sight

Meanwhile, reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan stood at $4 46 billion during the week ending on April 28 enough to cover just a month s imports I n f l a t i o n h a s a l s o s o a r e d t o u n p r e c e d e n t e d l e v e l s T h e c o n s u m e r p r i c e i n d e x r o s e t o a r e c o r d 3 6 4 p e r c e n t i n A p r i l f r o

PSX loses over 550 points during intraday crash as Khan arrested

KARACHI T LT P Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) turned bearish after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding 455 68 points (-1 09 percent) to close at 41,373 81 points

The market opened on a negative note and shed around 350 points during the first hour trading However the market recovered most of its intraday loss and touched the level of 41,800 points when the news of Imran Khan s arrest let bears rule the market amid excessive selling The selling spree continued for the next one hour; however the index managed to recoup some loss near the end of the session

Besides Khan s arrest, the market remained dull as Moody s Investor Service has warned that Pakistan could default without an International Monetary Fund bailout as its financing options beyond June are uncertain We

consider that Pakistan will meet its external payments for the remainder of this fiscal year ending in June ” according to Moody’s Moreover issues of rupee s depreciation against the US dollar high inflation depleting foreign exchange reserves, domestic political turbulence and economic uncertainty pushed the market lower The KSE-100 Index moved in a range of 552 62 points showing an intraday high of 41 830 35 and a low of 41 277 73 points Among other indices the KSE All Share Index shed 252 25 points (-0 92 percent) to close at 27,353 87 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index shed 189 80 points (-0 96 percent) to close at 19 736 46 points

A total of 350 companies traded shares in the stock exchange as compared to 365 a day earlier Out of traded companies, shares of 82 closed up, shares of 255 closed down while shares of 13 companies remained unchanged A total of 91 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index out of which 16 closed up 73 closed down and two re-

mained unchanged

The overall market volumes remained 203 05 million against 179 05 million shares a session earlier Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index remained 104 57 million as compared to 68 75 million shares a session earlier

The number of total trades increased by 603 to 96,219, while the value traded increased by Rs1 09 billion to Rs5 85 billion as compared to the previous session Overall market capitalisation decreased by Rs57 77 billion Among scrips, NBP topped the volumes with 10 61 million shares, followed by KEL (8 27 million) and FFBL (6 55 million) Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included NB P KEL FFBL SNGP and OGDC which formed around 19 percent of total volumes

of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik has stated that the government is aiming to address the concerns raised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before implementing its proposed fuel subsidy plan Speaking with Bloomberg, Malik confirmed that the IMF has reservations about the fuel subsidy plans after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar shared the plan with the Fund last month The government’s plan is to increase fuel prices for higherincome individuals in order to finance a subsidy for lower-income citizens However he added that the government s aim is to protect the poor and vulnerable and to ensure that the IMF completely comprehends their intentions before proceeding with the plan “The proposed plan is aimed at protecting the poor and vulnerable ” Malik said while confirming that the government intends to ensure the IMF completely understands what we are trying to do and why before moving forward The minister said that the fuel subsidy was put together by the government just the way the gas subsidy had, a plan which he said was approved by the IMF Regarding an update on plans to reduce debt in the energy sector as discussed during talks with the Funds Musadik said that the government is also working on a mechanism of equity swaps or issuing dividends and using them to pay off debts to clean the books a method he said was deployed to deal with circular debt

Rupee falls amid former premier’s arrest , Moody’s warning

KARACHI S

P

M S h e h b a z ex t e n d s s t ay i n L o n d o n fo r o

ISLAMABAD

S

T

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had extended his stay in London by a day on the instructions of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in order to hold consultations on important national and political issues

The premier had arrived in London last week to attend the coronation of King Charles III and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting a biennial summit of governmental leaders from all Commonwealth nations

He had also met with his older brother Nawaz and told the media that elections in the country would take place on the same day while asserting that Parliament’s constitutional rights would be protected

In a tweet on Tuesday the information minister said: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has extended his stay in London by one day for consultations on important political and national matters on the instructions of party leader Muhammad Nawaz Sharif The prime minister is scheduled to return to the country on Wednesday (today) ”

Since assuming office Shahbaz has visited London on three key occasions His last visit was in November 2022 ahead of the new army chief s appointment

With the ruling coalition and PTI having ex-

Imran Khan’s arrest: Medical board formed for check-up

changed proposals following talks on the timeframe of holding elections in the country PM Shehbaz s visit to London was being seen as a consultative visit where he might have apprised his elder brother of the political situation back home and seek counsel on a future course of action

Though the final date of elections will jointly be decided by the coalition partners in the PDM alliance it is Nawaz who may leverage his relationship with bigwigs such as Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Asif Ali Zardari to evolve some sort of consensus

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T F o r m e r P r i m e M i n i s t e r a n d P a k i s t a n Te h r e e k - eI n s a f ( P T I ) c h a i r m a n I m r a n K h a n w h o w a s a rr e s t e d i n t h e A l - Q a d i r Tr u s t c a s e , h a s b e e n r e f e r r e d t o a s e v e n - m e m b e r m e d i c a l b o a r d a t t h e P o l y C l i n i c i n I s l a m a b a d f o r a m e d i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n T h e s e v e n - m e m b e r m e d i c a l b o a r d w h i c h i n c l u d e s e xp e r t s i n m e d i c i n e o r t h o p e d i c s c a r d i o l o g y g e n e r a l s u r g e r y a n d p a t h o l o g y h a s b e e n f o r m e d u n d e r t h e l e a d e r s h i p o f D r F a r e e d A l l a h S h a h w h i l e D r I mt i a z A h m e d h a s a l s o b e e n i n c l u d e d f r o m t h e C M O P o l y C l i n i c I t s h o u l d b e n o t e d t h a t N A B R a w a l p i n d i h a d c o n t a c t e d t h e h o s p i t a l a d m i n i s t r at i o n o f P o l y C l i n i c t o r e q u e s t a m e d i c a l e x a m i n at i o n f o r P T I c h i e f I m r a n K h a n S o u r c e s s a i d t h a t t h e P o l y C l i n i c a d m i n i s t r a t i o n h a d d i r e c t e d N A B t o s u b m i t a w r i t t e n r e q u e s t a f t e r w h i c h N A B f o rm a l l y r e q u e s t e d a m e d i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n f o r I m r a n K h a n i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e p r o c e d u r e

Summit Bank requests PSX to adjust its capital

n a l n a i l t o t h e c o ff i n c a m e i n l a s t y e a r w h e n t h e g o v e r n m e n t d i s c l o s e d t h a t i t h a d c o m m i t t e d t o I n t e r n a t i o n a l M o n e t a r y F u n d ( I M F ) t h a t t w o b a n k s w o u l d b e s e n t i n t o “ r e s o l u t i o n ” b y M a y 2023 if they don t complete the first stage of their recapitalization plan by M arch of t h e s a m e y e a r I f t h i s h a p p e n s t h e s e b a n k s c o u l d b e t h e n e x t t o b e f o r c i b l y r estructured or even sold off altogether like K A S B B a n k w a s i n 2 0 1 5 W h i l e t h e b a n k s w e r e n o t n a m e d i t i s b e l i e v e d t h a t S u m m i t B a n k s w a s o n e o f t h e t w o b a n k s T h u s , t h e i n j e c t i o n o f c a p i t a l b e c a m e a c r u c i a l n e c e s s i t y f o r t h e b a n k t o a d d r e s s its