Epaper_23-05-4 ISB

ECP CHALLENGES SUPREME COURT VERDICT ON PUNJAB ELECTION DATE

ISLAMABAD

S TA F F R E P O R T

TH E Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has requested the Supreme Court to review its order to hold the general election in Punjab on May 14, claiming the verdict was not in accordance with the Constitution and previous judgments and lacked regard for the law or the facts

On April 4, a three-judge bench of the court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial had directed the government to release Rs21 billion for the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and had fixed May 14 as the new date for elections to the Punjab Assembly after quashing the electoral body s decision to extend the polls date from April 10 to October 8

The court had also instructed the government to provide a security plan to the tribunal regarding the polls and keep the court informed of its measures

In response the ECP had submitted reports to the court blaming the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition for delaying the release of funds The commission had argued that holding staggered polls in Punjab and KP would be more expensive than holding the exercise on a single day

Additionally, the ECP had said the security apparatus required advance preparation and was already depleted With less than two weeks to go before the May 14 election date set by the

court the ECP has filed a review petition through Sajeel Swati The petition seeks a review of the court’s April 4 verdict on multiple grounds This comes after the government and PTI developed a consensus on holding elections across the country on the same day but have yet to decide on a date The hearing for the petition is yet to be fixed

The application said that “the framers of the Constitution have given the judicial institution a pivotal role in safeguarding and preserving the Constitution but have at the same defined the ambit and scope of judicial intervention under sub-article 2 of the Article 175 of the Constitution

The law mentioned above reads: “No court shall have any jurisdiction save as is or may be conferred on it by the Con-

stitution or by or under any law

The electoral body said the superior courts in Pakistan had been granted a special power by the Constitution to judicially review actions and decisions taken by public bodies but never substitute their own decision in lieu of the public bodies

The superior courts can define the contours within which the power (which vests in the public bodies) is or is to be exercised At no instance can the superior courts take upon themselves the role of the public body With utmost deference the appointing of the date for the election is not the mandate of superior courts under the Constitution

“Such power exists elsewhere under the Constitution but certainly does not lie in a Court of law the plea pointed out

Therefore, it highlighted, while passing the order on April 4 the court “disregarded its constitutional jurisdiction and assumed upon itself the role of a public body in giving a date [for elections]; thus intervention by the Court is necessitated to correct an error which has effectively changed the settled constitutional jurisprudence of the country ”

The petition also highlighted the trichotomy of power saying that the division of power between different organs of the state was the hallmark of the Constitution” and “essential sine qua non” for the smooth and efficient functioning of the country

This well-embedded constitutional concept isolates the three organs from interfering and treading into the domain of the other The judicial institution has been conferred the power to judicially review the actions and decisions of the executive while at the same time being restrained from exercising the executive authority itself

The commission highlighted that the announcement of the date of general elections was vested in the bodies and not the judicial institution as per the Constitution

“Therefore the impugned order under review humbly submitted has breached the salient principle of the trichotomy of powers and thus is not sustainable, it stated

The ECP explained that the conduct of free, just, and fair elections in accordance with the law was the “sole responsibility of the commission

D a r rea s s u res IM F of com m it m en t t o p rog ra m m e

PR OFIT

S TA F F R E P O R T

Pakistan’s Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar has reiterated the federal government s commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme during a meeting with US Embassy Charge d Affaires Andrew Schofer The meeting comes amid reports of blame being shifted between Pakistani authorities and the IMF for the delay in reviving the bailout programme The existing IMF programme expires on June 30, 2023

The finance minister informed Schofer about the ongoing IMF programme and assured him of the coalition government s commitment to completing the programme Schofer expressed his

confidence in Pakistan s policies and programmes for economic stability and extended his support to advance economic and trade relations between the two states The finance minister also discussed the economic situation and the difficult policy decisions

recently taken by the government to stabilise and boost the economy, ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth Dar thanked the US charge’d affaires and reiterated the government’s desire to expand bilateral trade and investment ties with the US

Cement despatches declined by 16.55pc during April 2023

As the economic turmoil continues to grip the country, the cement industry in Pakistan is facing trouble with declining despatches during the month of April 2023 According to the data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) cement despatches declined by 16 55% during April 2023 as compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year

The local cement despatches by the industry in Pakistan during April 2023 were 2 531 million tons which is a 25 13% decline from 3 380m tons in April 2022 However export despatches increased by 168 61% with the volumes increasing from 156 613 tons in April 2022 to 420,677 tons in April 2023

The North-based cement mills despatched 2 193m tons of cement in April 2023, showing a decline of 23 54% as compared to 2 868 million tons despatched in April 2022 Meanwhile the Southbased mills despatched 0 758m tons of cement during April 2023 which was 13 44% more compared to the despatches of 0 669m tons in April 2022

During the first ten months of the current fiscal year, the total cement despatches (domestic and exports) were 36 55m tons which is 17 50% lower than 44 306m tons despatched during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year The domestic despatches during this period were 33 095m tons against 39 506m tons during the same period last year, showing a reduction of 16 23% The export despatches were also 27 99% less as the volumes reduced to 3 456m tons during the first ten months of the current fiscal year compared to 4 800m tons exports done during the same period last fiscal year The current economic situation has badly impacted the cement consumption in the country, as stated by the spokesperson of APCMA The decline in cement despatches is a reflection of the broader economic downturn in Pakistan With the ongoing uncertainty and economic instability it remains to be seen how the cement industry in Pakistan will perform in the coming months

P T I s e e k s i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f S C o r d e r o n

P u n j a b p o l l s ‘ i n l e t t e r, s p i r i t ’

A day after the government and the opposition reached some semblance of consensus on country-wide polls, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday submitted a letter to the Supreme Court seeking the implementation of the court’s order on holding elections in Punjab on May 14 in letter and spirit stating that in spite of the best efforts of parties no solution within the Constitution was found

A day earlier, the PTI and federal coalition concluded the make-or-break round of the much-awaited negotiations on polls

The talks began on the top court’s advice last week

on “practicable proposals” put forward by his party

Subsequently PTI lawyers Faisal Chaudhry and Ali Bukhari submitted a report on the government-PTI negotiations in the apex court today

The report, a copy of which is available with this scribe, stated that after the Supreme Court s order, talks between the government and the PTI were held “with full sincerity” on April 27 April 28 and May 2

The PTI recalled in the report that its initial stance was that elections to the assemblies needed to be held within 90 days as already determined by the SC

This being the constitutional mandate there is no scope for changing this date by ordinary consent of the parties The request was accordingly made to the PDM/alliance to abide by the Constitutional provisions and the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and hold the elections to the Punjab Assembly on 14 05 2023 It was also stressed that elections to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly be held forthwith as well the petition added

taxes worth Rs 680 billion The tax relief for the protected class is also considered to be tighter Tax income will be increased in the FY2023-24 budget with regard to the inflation the sources said PR OFIT T LT P Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) managed to break the psychological barrier of 42 000 points on Wednesday amid AKFED s intention to purchase HBL shares and LUCK s buyback, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 160 29 points (+0 38 percent) to close at 42 087 93 points

Speaking to reporters after the sitting last night Finance Minister Ishaq Dar who was leading the government side had told reporters that both sides had agreed to hold elections to the national and provincial assemblies on a single date under the watch of caretaker setups but it had yet to be decided what that date would be

On the other hand PTI leader Shah Mehmood

Qureshi had regretted that no decision could be taken

It outlined that the parties arrived at the consensus that a dialogue between political parties was important and the solution to all political questions ultimately lay with the political parties Both teams shall endeavor to hold this dialogue with full sincerity and try to arrive at a solution that is (a) in the best interest of the people and Pakistan and (b) in accordance with law and the Constitution ” the report highlighted

It said that the parties also agreed not to use the dialogue as a delaying tactic and the talks have no bearing on the Supreme Court s April 4 judgment “until and unless an agreement within the confines of the Constitution is arrived at between the parties and such agreement is implemented”

P S X b re a c h e s 4 2 , 0 0 0 l e ve l d e s p i t e p o l it i c a l

However, the PTI contended that the government s stance was that elections to the national and provincial assemblies should be held on the same day in October 2023 after the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA) and the legislatures of Sindh and Balochistan

After deliberations the report continued the PTI extended a proposal to the ruling alliance that it was willing to hold the elections across the country on the same date subject to the following conditions:

If the NA and other remaining provincial assemblies were dissolved by or before May 14

and witnessed an increase of Rs1,537 5 (+7 46 percent) per share, closing at Rs22,137 5 The runner-up remained

n o r t h w e r e c e m e n t ( 1 3 9 p o i n t s ) , p a p e r & b o a r d ( 2 2 p o i n t s ) , o i l & g a s e x p l o r a t i o n c o m p a n i e s ( 1 7 p o i n t s ) , f o o d & p e r s o n a l c a r e p r o d u c t s ( 11 p o i n t s ) a n d o i l & g a s m a r k e t i n g c o m p a n i e s ( 1 0 p o i n t s ) T h e m o s t p o i n t s a d d e d t o t h e i n d e x w e r e b y LUCK (82 points) PKGS and CHCC (22 p o i n t s e a c h ) , a n d O G D C a n d P

THE prime minister on Wednesday departed for London to attend the coronation ceremony of Britain s new monarch, King Charles, on Saturday, his office said In a brief statement Shehbaz Sharif ’s office expressed the strong bond between the two nations as great friends and said the prime minister would also meet other world leaders

[I m] leaving for the UK today to represent Pakistan at the coronation ceremony of His Majesty King Charles III,” he tweeted

“The UK-Pakistan relations are rooted in shared history and multifaceted bonds that have grown stronger over the decades The British monarch and the royal family have

BAT TLE LINES DRAWN

been great friends of Pakistan, said the prime minister Charles 74 along with his wife Camilla 75 will be crowned at Westminster Abbey a royal church in the British capital in a historic event whose origins date back some

1,000 years, and involving thousands of military personnel in a mile-long procession through central London

The ceremony will be the most glorious display of pageantry seen in the United Kingdom for a generation and will provide an economic boost to the nation its organiser and Buckingham Palace said

Some 7,000 armed forces personnel will be involved in ceremonial duties, with more than 4,000, including military bands, taking part in a procession from the Abbey back to Buckingham Palace where the newlycrowned king and queen will be given a

royal salute in the gardens

M e a n w h i l e , i n L o n d o n , S h a r i f i s a l s o e x p e c t e

PAC summons SC registrar, warns of issuing warrants

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f r e P o r t

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament has once again summoned Supreme Court s (SC) registrar on May 16 as it decided to conduct an audit of the apex court from 2010-2021

In the meeting on Wednesday PAC

Chairman Noor Alam Khan stated that the committee had decided to conduct an audit of the Supreme Court (SC) from 2010-11 to 2020-21

During the meeting, Noor Alam Khan also warned of issuing arrest warrants if the registrar failed to appear before the committee In response to a question Khan assured that he will summon the registrar again if the court orders a stay on the warrants

The PAC chairman asked the auditor general to present a comparative observation report on the salaries and privileges received by the president

prime minister, federal ministers, members of parliament and chief justice of Pakistan

CJP should be summoned for seeking parliament’s record: Khaqan

Abbasi

Former premier and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has

Suspect in corruption case against Elahi ‘escapes’ police custody

In a dramatic incident Sohail Asghar a suspect in the corruption investigation against former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi escaped from the custody of anti-corruption police on Wednesday in Gujranwala Asghar was reportedly being transported from the police station to the hospital after he complained of feeling ill when unknown individuals intercepted the police van near General Bus Stand snatched the accused and fled away Asghar is accused of awarding development project contracts to his preferred contractors after offering a cut to Elahi, then chief minister It is worth noting that a second corruption case was filed against Elahi in Gujranwala on Sunday, where he allegedly made an advance payment of Rs20 billion for a contract after accepting an Rs2 billion bribe Nine accused including Asghar and contractor Tariq were nominated in the case Elahi had allegedly received a bribe while awarding the contract for the construction of a 29-kilometre patch of road, with the deal apparently brokered by Asghar Earlier, anti-corruption and police officials had raided Elahi’s residence in Lahore to arrest him but they were unable to apprehend him as he was not at home at the time

Railway employees’ pension stopped by banks

ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t B a n k s h a v e s t o p p e d t h e p e n s i o n s o f m o r e t h a n 1 7 0 0 0 r e t i r e d r a i l w a y e m p l o y e e s A s p e r d e t a i l s t h e p e n s i o n o f t h e r e t i r e d r a i l w a y e m p l o y e e s w a s s t o p p e d a s t h e y d i d n o t s u b m i t t h e r e q u i r e d d o c u m e n t s P a k i s t a n R a i l w a y s s p o k e s p e r s o n s a i d t h a t t h e e m p l o y e e s h a v e n o t s u b m i t t e d t h e n om a r r i a g e a n d l i f e c e r t i f i c a t e a n d d i d n o t v e r i f y t h e i r b i o m e t r i c s H e u rg e d t h e e m p l o y e e s t o s u b m i t t h e i r d o c u m e n t s t o r e s t o r e t h e i r p e n s i o n s A c c o r d i n g t o t h e S t a t e B a n k o f P a k i s t a n , t h e d o c u m e n t s m u s t b e s u b m i t t e d t w i c e a y e a r i n M a r c h a n d S e p t e m b e r E a r l i e r t h e r a i l w a y e m p l o y e e s s t a g e d a p r o t e s t d u e t o n o n - p a y m e n t o f s a l a r i e s i n t h e m o n t h o f R a m a d a n

Over 100 FBR officers apply for leave for not raising salar y, allowances

ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t

demanded to summon the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) for seeking the parliament’s record Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, while speaking on the floor of the National Assembly (NA) said that the Supreme Court (SC) had earlier sought records of the parliament in 1997

The then NA speaker Elahi Bux

Soomro had handed over the parliament’s record to the SC without asking anyone ” The former premier asked the NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to seek the opinion of the House over the matter of SC s request for the parliament s records SC s request for the parliament s record is a serious issue and this House must decide on whether to hand over the records to the top court or not ” He further demanded the NA speaker constitute a special committee over the top court s request and SC judges should be summoned to ascertain the reasons “The SC’s request should be taken seriously It is a serious matter if these records are sought in the PAC [Public Accounts Committee]

Abbasi reiterated that it is a sensitive matter for the survival of the House which should be overlooked carefully CJP should be summoned to know the reasons for summoning the records ”

Imran granted one - day exemption from appearance in foreign gifts c ase

A district and sessions court in Islamabad has granted a one-day exemption from appearance to Imran Khan the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the Toshakhana case

The case was filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the former prime minister, accusing him of concealing gifts he received from the Toshakhana

During the hearing Khan’s lead counsel Khawaja Haris Ahmed was unavailable and his representative requested an adjournment until May 5 without any proceedings Additionally they filed a plea for exemption, citing security threats to Khan s life

The judge suggested that Khan could attend the hearing through a video link if he was unable to come to Islamabad The lawyer of the ECP said there had been no development in the case since the electoral body announced its verdict in October last year

After hearing arguments the judge approved the exemption plea and summoned arguments on the admissibility of the ECP case on May 5

The case centres on a government department known as Toshakhana which during the Mughal era referred to the treasure houses kept by the

subcontinent s princely rulers to store and display gifts lavished on them Government officials must declare all gifts to the Cabinet Division, but are allowed to keep those below a certain value

More expensive items must go to Toshakhana under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division but in some cases the recipient can buy them back at around 50 percent of their value a discount Khan raised from 20 percent while in office

The ruling coalition of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) parties has for months alleged Imran Khan, former prime minister, and his wife, Bushra Maneka received lavish gifts worth millions during trips abroad They included luxury watches jewellery designer handbags and perfumes

Last year lawmakers from the ruling coalition filed a reference against Khan, accusing him of not sharing the details of gifts he retained from Toshakhana in his assets declarations In October, the election commission concluded that Khan filed false statements regarding the gifts

The electoral watchdog subsequently disqualified him for being dishonest and corrupt and approached the district and sessions court seeking criminal proceedings against him for allegedly misleading officials about the gifts

Govt appoints Imdadullah Bosal as S pecial S ecretar y Finance

Over 100 officers of Inland Revenue Service (IRS) Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) working in different field formations have applied for almost 52 days leave together for not raising salary as well as other allowances Leave applications written by Assistant Commissioners, Deputy Commissioner or additional DC ranks officers asked their high ups to approve leave from May 8 2023 to June 30 2023 citing the reason for the extremely low salary According to one IRS officer I am writing this application to highlight a pressing matter that has prompted me to apply for leave of absence from work from 08 05 2023 to 30 06 2023

Over the past few months, with the sky-rocketing inflation I have been unable to make ends meet with the amount of salary that I earn, he further mentioned that I have been living hand to mouth and the amount of low salary barely fulfills the basic needs of my family which is a cause of continuous financial stress and mental health issues for me I have highlighted this issue to my worthy seniors many times but to no avail, Adding insult to injury I have not been provided any other perquisite like fuel accommodation, transportation which is being provided to my fellow batchmates from other services” Moreover recently executive allowance @I50% of the basic salary was granted to the employees of other cadres while the employees of IRS were deprived once again Nevertheless, I still remained committed to my duties and fulfilled my responsibilities sincerely to the best of my abilities as the top leadership had promised the implementation of Common pool Fund (CPF) from 1″ March 2023 but that promise too has not been fulfilled to date The low salary lack of basic perquisites denial of Executive allowance 150% of the basic salary and / or de-freezing of UP the unfulfilled promise of the implementation of CPI Delay in rewards and promotions has resulted in significant financial issues for me, which has affected my overall well-being as well as motivation in the workplace It is essential for me to take some time off to address this matter and explore potential solutions that would ensure a fair and reasonable compensation for my contributions In the light of aforementioned issues, I won t be able to attend the office from 08 05 2023 to 30 06 2023, he informed his Commissioner

Over 100 Chinese enterprises, companies to par ticipate in Karachi TEXPO

ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t

Over 100 Chinese enterprises and companies are expected to participate in the 4th International Textile Exhibition, also known as TEXPO 2023, scheduled to be held in Karachi next month Commercial Counselor, Pakistan Embassy Beijing, Ghulam Qadir said on Wednesday, “Around 70 Chinese enterprises have already consented to attend the TEXPO while over 30 others have shown interest to participate He said that the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing and Pakistan s Consulates in Shanghai Guangzhou Chengdu and Hong Kong would facilitate the participation and visit of Chinese enterprises and companies Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) is organizing TEXPO 2023 from May 26 to 28 at Karachi Expo Center ” he added Ghulam Qadir said that TEXPO was Pakistan s largest textile and leather exhibition providing a platform for local and international companies dealing in raw materials to finished products with globally competitive prices and premium quality The theme of this year ’s TEXPO is leading the way to sustainability and this theme is a tribute to the efforts of the local and global textile industry that continues to strive towards ensuring compliance with local and international environmental laws ensuring consumer protection and eco-friendly practices He said that TEXPO offers three days exhibition, business-to-business opportunities, fashion shows, a design studio, product display, press and media events industry visits and business opportunities seminars The products in focus would be apparel art and silk synthetic textile carpets denim fabric yarn finished leather products footwear home textiles, personal protective equipment, sportswear, tents and canvas, textile machinery, towels and many more, he added

I H C S E E KS P O L I C E R E C O R D I N

M U R D E R C A S E O F U K - R ET U R N E D M A N

AFTER a profound hearing of a matter relating to alleged murder of UK national of AJK origin, Farooq Ali, in one of the world’s luxury hotel brands in Islamabad the Islamabad High Court has directed local police to submit a complete police record in the case

A single-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir heard the case Over alleged assassination of Farooq Ali, 44, who was found dead in his room at Ramada, Wyndham Islamabad Hotel, on March 16, Islamabad the deceased’s sister Dr Rehiana B Ali has invoked jurisdiction of the Sessions Court Islamabad for registration of first information report (FIR) but all in vain as concerned police officials failed to take measures in the matter

Her counsel Advocate Sharafat Ali Chaudhry told the session court that Station House Officer (SHO) of

Secretariat police station Qurban Ali Anwar failed to register FIR of this cognizable offence to which Dr Rehiana invoked the jurisdiction of trial court under Section 22-A of the Criminal Procedure Code and sought direction for registration of FIR

Despite registration of the FIR No 204 in April 11 this year under Sections 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code in response to the trial court directions, the police failed to conduct the investigation properly as cops failed to collect evidence properly without apprehending and investigating the nominated accused persons so far Upon failure of the police in the matter again the petitioner filed a complaint under Section 200 of the Criminal Procedure Code before trial court to adjudicate the case but the additional district & sessions judge dismissed the complaint on October 22

Filing a criminal revision petition before the IHC against impugned order of the additional district & sessions judge Advocate Sharafat A Chaudhry urged the high court to set aside the sessions judge s dismissal and issue directives to adjudicate the case on merit in

Attacks on journalists, disinformation threaten press freedom, warns UN boss

the large interest of justice

Challenging the additional district & sessions judge’s decision before the IHC in the matter the petitioner s counsel Advocate Sharafat Ali Chaudhry filed a criminal revision and urged the single-member bench comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir to pass an order for resumption of the complaint against preparators while turning down the decision of the session judge Among others the petitioner made three police officials as accused persons in the complaint namely Tariq Mehmood Sub-Inspector/I O P S Secretariat Islamabad Police Qurban Ali Anwar S H O Secretariat Police Station, Islamabad Police and Akram Nagra, Inspector, Islamabad Police in the matter On Wednesday, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir issued the directives to police in the matter after hearing arguments of counsel of the petitioner Advocate Sharafat A Chaudhry at length whereas the bench also provided ample opportunity to hear the petitioner Dr Rehiana B Ali in person

Imran ordered to attend cour t to ex tend bail

ISLAMABAD

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered former prime minister Imran Khan to appear in court on Thursday in connection with various complaints registered against him across the country, extending the deadline by a day after originally demanding his appearance on Wednesday

This decision came after Aamer

Farooq chief justice of the high court expressed his dissatisfaction with Khan s persistent absence while hearing his request for interim bail for a case involving murder attempt charges filed against him by Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) MP Mohsin

Shahnawaz Ranjha last year

A criminal complaint was lodged on October 23 by Ranjha alleging that a shot fired by a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police officer outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on October 21 was an attempt on his life

allegedly at the behest of Khan

Khan’s disqualification in the foreign gifts case had sparked protests in Islamabad and Rawalpindi resulting in the arrest of a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker and his two police guards after a clash between protesters and police outside the ECP The shot was fired by the KP police guard of MNA

Saleh Mohammad

Previously on April 18 the court

Par vez Elahi granted interim bail till May 23 in corruption cases

GUJRANWALA

S ta f f r e P o r t

An anti-corruption court on Wednesday approved interim bail till May 23 in two cases of former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Two cases have been registered in Gujranwala Circle against the president of Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former chief minister on the complaint of anticorruption officials of Gujarat Elahi appeared before Special Judge Rana Muhammad Saleem who approved his bail It may be recalled that Elahi had obtained protective bail from the Lahore High Court in two cases ó one filed by the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) and the other linked to terrorism Elahi was granted bail in the corruption case until May 15 and in the terrorism case until May 4 He had moved the LHC after the anti-corruption and police carried out a raid late on Friday night at his Lahore residence to arrest him A separate raid was carried out early Tuesday morning at Elahiís residence in Gujrat, his son Moonis said on Twitter

Pakistan gears up for 10-Year CPEC celebration

ISLAMABAD G h u l a M a b b a S

The Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives, Prof Ahsan Iqal, has directed all ministries and divisions to finalize proposals of development projects for an upcoming Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting to be held in July 2023 The meeting is expected to celebrate the completion of ten years of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative According to officials, during a meeting to review progress over CPEC projects held here on Wednesday, the Minister highlighted the importance of completing the ongoing projects in a timely manner The meeting was attended by senior officials from various ministries divisions and stakeholders

The CPEC agreement was signed between Pakistan and China on July 5, 2013, during the tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government As the ten-year mark approaches the Minister directed all concerned parties to hold meetings of Joint Working Groups (JWGs) regularly to ensure that the projects are completed on time In addition the Minister urged each ministry to prepare a detailed report on its project, highlighting the economic and social benefits it would bring to Pakistan He emphasized that the decade of CPEC should be celebrated while rejecting negative propaganda against the initiative The minister claims since coming into power in April last year the present government has expedited the CPEC projects and the Minister s visit to China in April 2023 further strengthened ties between the two countries The Minister also directed the relevant ministry to expedite work on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to attract Chinese industry’s relocation to Pakistan with low-cost production As per details over the past ten years CPEC has contributed

had granted him an extension of bail in eight cases, including those regarding violence outside the Federal Judicial Complex until May 3

After Khan requested an extension of bail and exemption from court appearance on May 3 Justice Farooq made it clear that his bail in all the cases would be revoked if he failed to appear in court on that day

Later on Wednesday a two-member

division bench consisting of Justice Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard Imran s bail plea in seven cases Khan was represented by Naeem Haider Panjhuta, Salman Safdar and Faisal Chaudhry, while Islamabad Advocate General Jahangir Jadoon was also present in the court O n e o f t h e c a s e s c o n c e r n s m a k i n g a l l e g a t i o n s a g a i n s t t o p

During the hearing Justice Farooq reminded Imran s lawyers of his previous warning to cancel bail if Imran did not appear in court The court granted Khan until Thursday to appear, with the warning that his interim bail would be revoked otherwise Safdar asked the court for a three- to four-day extension for the former prime minister but the IHC rejected the plea and adjourned the hearing until the following day

Bilawal Bhutto to leave for India today to attend SCO moot

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f r e P o r t

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will leave for India Thursday to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Goa sources said Wednesday FM Bhutto will be the first Pakistani foreign minister to visit India in nearly 12 years

According to MOFA spokesperson Mumtaz Zahrah Baloch, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will be leading the Pakistan delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) which will take place in the Indian city of Goa on May 4 and 5 Pakistan s foreign minister will also hold meetings on the sidelines of the SCO moot during his visit of

India

Our participation in the meeting reflects Pakistan s commitment to the SCO charter and processes and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities, Baloch said in a weekly press briefing

She recalled that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had last year in July also attended the session of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Tashkent ?

The foreign minister attending the moot on the invitation of current chairman of SCO CFM Dr S Jaishankar India s Minister for External Affairs

Separately, Foreign Minister Bhutto also confirmed that he would be attending the upcoming SCO moot in India “It will be a gathering of foreign ministers and I will go there as a representative of Pakistan ” he told reporters at a press conference in Islamabad

Medic al board ad vises Imran K han to take complete rest

LAHORE S ta f f r e P o r t

The former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has been advised on Wednesday to take complete rest in order to avoid further complications with his affected leg T h e m e d i c a l b o a r d a t S h a u k a t K h a n u m H o s p i t a l a d v i s e d P T I c h i e f I m r a n K h a n t o t a k e c o m p l e t e r e s t o t h e r w i s e t h e i n c r e a s e d s w e l l i n g c o u l d p o s e a r i s k o f i n f e c t i o n w h i c h c a n l e a d t o a s u rg e r y a g a i n

The medical board has also directed Imran Khan to use a wheelchair for any non-routine movement to avoid any extra movement in this condition I t i s p e r t i n e n t t o m e n t i o n h e r e t h a t 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 s h o t d u r i n g l o n g m a r c h i n N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 2 i n Wa z i r a b a d h a s b e e n s h i f t e d t o h o s p i t a l a f t e r h e e x p e r i e n c e d i n f l a m m a t i o n i n h i s f e e t

Sources said that the PTI chief experienced inflammation in feet due to pressure, after which he was shifted to hospital for medical examination S o u r c e s c l a i m e d t h a t I m r a n K h a n ’s f e e t e x p e r i e n c e d p r e s s u r e d u r i n g h i s a p p e a r a n c e i n t h e

L a h o r e H i g h C o u r t ( L H C ) t o d a y, w h i c h c a u s e d s w e l l i n g It is worth mentioning here that the former premier and several other PTI leaders were injured after a man opened fire near the PTI reception camp at Allahwala Chowk during party s long march

According to details unidentified assailants opened fire on PTI Chairman Imran Khan s container near the Allahwala Chowk in Wazirabad, injuring six people and killing one Earlier in the day, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) expressed annoyance over the non-appearance of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in inciting mutiny case H e a r i n g t h e c a s e I H C C h i e f J u s t i c e A a m i r F a r o o q w a r n e d t h a t i f I m r a n K h a n d i d n o t a p p e a r b e f o r e t h e I H C i n i n c i t i n g m u t i n y c a s e d u r i n g w o r k i n g h o u r s , t h e i n t e r i m b a i l g r a n t e d t o h i m w i l l b e d i s m i s s e d

As the hearing began IHC Chief Justice Amir Farooq inquired where was the petitioner At this Lawyer Naeem Haider Panjotha said that he could not appear before so he had filed an exemption plea

The IHC chief justice then asked about the exemption request To this, the lawyer replied that the application had been filed

Under-treatment female Congo virus patient dies at govt hospital Q uetta

In a speech ahead of World Press Freedom Day, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized the importance of press freedom as the “foundation of democracy and justice” and the “lifeblood of human rights He also highlighted the alarming trend of the targeting of journalists and the spread of disinformation worldwide calling it a threat to truth and democracy Guterres did not name any specific countries or individuals, but other speakers at the event highlighted individual cases, such as that of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich who is detained in Russia on espionage charges Other journalists spoke about the dangers of their profession with one Iranian-American journalist noting that being a journalist is a crime in Iran and can result in imprisonment, torture, or death According to Reporters Without Borders, 55 journalists and four media workers were killed in the line of duty in 2022 The head of UNESCO also spoke out against harassment and intimidation of journalists stating that the digital age is making professional free and independent journalism more necessary than ever Meanwhile New York Times publisher A G Sulzberger warned the internet has unleashed an avalanche of misinformation, propaganda, and clickbait that is overwhelming the information ecosystem and accelerating the decline in societal trust Finally the secretary-general of Amnesty International Agnes Callamard noted that censorship has become the default position of many governments in controlling the knowledge of their societies

U.S. expresses confidence in Pakistan’s economic policies

ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t

US Embassy Chargé d’affaires Andrew Schofer called on Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday and discussed overall economic situation Both sides discussed bilateral relations between Pakistan and USA in economic and trade fields US Embassy Chargé d affaires Andrew Schofer expressed confidence in Pakistan s policies and programs and assured his support to advance economic and trade relations Finance minister informed about the country’s economy and the challenges faced and also informed the Mr Andrew about ongoing program of the International Monitory Fund IMF It is pertinent to note that IMF and Pakistan are holding negotiations for the ninth review of the IMF for release of $1 1 billion as part to revive loan programme Ishaq Dar said government is committed to complete IMF programme The finance minister reiterated to further expand bilateral trade and investment relations with the United States

Ear thquake of magnitude

5.7 jolts par ts of Capital, KP

ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t

Earthquake of magnitude 5 7 on Richter scale jolted the federal capital Islamabad and various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Wednesday but no causalities or property damages were reported from anywhere According to Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) tremours measuring 5 7 on Richter scale were felt in Islamabad Peshawar Hangu Kohat Swat Lower Dir Kurram Swabi and surroundings People of the area where quake was felt rushed out of their homes and buildings in panic reciting verses from Holy Quran However, no loss of life, injuries and property damages were reported from any of the areas where quake was felt The epi-centre of the quake was stated to in Koh Hindu Kush in Afghanistan at the depth of 187 kilometer inside earth crust

IT seems that even the last hope held out for a break in th deadlock over the election date is now ended with the Election Commission of Pakistan having told the Supreme Court that the Rs 21 billion it had demanded had not been transferred to it by the federal government, and the armed forces not having moved from ts previous position that th security situation did not allow it to comply with the ECP s demand for security personnel to provide it enough security to conduct tthe election The ECP s expression of inability to meet the May 14 deadline was accompanied by the National Assembly’s refusal to provide the Supreme Court the record it had asked for related to the passage of the Supreme Court (Custom and Practices) Bill Unless there is an unconditional surrender by one side it seems that the country is in for more harrowed nerves and court battles

The establishment has not been able to avoid the effects of what started with the PTI being brought to power in 2018, the runaround the economy got, and then the toppling of that government There are still doubts over the neutrality of one section, but the judiciary has taken a series of actions which has left it liable to accusations of favouring the PTI T^rue, the most common accusation against a court when its decision goes against one is that the judges are prejudiced but if the decisions by the Supreme Court have created the impression that that prejudice exists It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court has allowed that impression to be created that it is not interpreting the law and the Constitution but is finding ways to help the PTI Perhaps the most unfortunate fall-out of the present case is the impression that the Supreme Court wants elections on May 14, not because of the constitutional mandate of 90 days, but because early elections suit the PTI

One result is that the Supreme Court will not have its orders obeyed That should be unthinkable, and forces all citizens to consider whether they are any more living in a law-abiding society any more, where Court warrants are defied (as the recent Zaman Park drama showed) where the Supreme Court is set at naught There may be legal grounds for doing so but what sort of comment is it on the polity we are developing?

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

WE L C O M E to Purana Pakistan These were the words of Bilawal Zardari after the vote of no-confidence succeeded against Imran Khan While both Nawaz Sharif and IK seek change in their own ways the Zardaris are comfortable with the status quo as it suits them After several blood sacrifices by the Bhuttos (Zulfiqar Shahnawaz Murtaza Benazir)

Asif Zardari continues to encash their legacy based on the principle of Live and let live Nawaz Sharif desires total control to establish the ‘Sharif Dynasty’ but the Chief of Army Staff comes in the way He has tried unsuccessfully three times now he is ready for the fourth under the London Plan It n5s his life s mission to bring the standing of the COAS to that of the Inspector General of Punjab Police who can be sent home at will While the IGPs quietly surrendered the COAS’s hit back with full force as the institutional chain of command remained intact

The Prime Minister cannot directly intervene in the affairs of the Armed Forces as they possess the weapons to guard their autonomy Since coming into power with the support of the establishment he has clashed with every COAS (Asif Nawaz, Waheed Kakar, Jehangir Karamat, Pervez Musharraf, Raheel Sharif, Qamar Bajwa) His mentor President Ishaq Khan even blamed NS for the sudden death of Gen Asif Nawaz

IK seeks a more rational change He desires for the Khakis to return to the barracks where they belong with due respect and strength Degrading them to the level of Punjab Police is not his agenda Considering the long term good of the nation and the institution, it is the best available option as the other two are no longer workable Performance of Punjab Police is deplorable IGs change on a quarterly basis despite a tenure assignment of three years There is no chain of command Law enforcers break the law with impunity, they don t even follow the traffic signals

Major restructuring is required for them to perform Police Stations are auctioned The SHOs operate on their own whims with short-term appointments

From the IGP down to the SHOs Musical Chairs are the order of the day with lack of accountability and cover-up In KP under IG Nasir Durrani reforms were introduced He not only completed his term but was then sent to Punjab to carry on the reforms where his tenure was short lived After a brief stint he went home, falling victim to the Corona Pandemic- finally the innings of an honest able and upright police officer came to an end Till the fateful partyless elections of 1985 the Punjab Police indulged in corruption but with the induction of ruffians it has turned into an anti-people coercive force

ready to strike never missing an opportunity to seek gratification both from the accuser and the accused

The Khakis crossed the line with the appointment against merit of the first Desi Commander-in-Chief Gen Ayub Khan (PA 10) There were nine senior officers who were considered but General Ayub despite a very poor service record was promoted by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan First it was the assassination of the PM followed by blatant interference in civilian matters by Iskander Mirza and General Ayub, both graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst With the fall of Dacca in 1971, the establishment had to bite the dust Bangladesh emerged on the world map while Bhutto took control of what was left of the Quaid s Pakistan Under the 1973 constitution the command structure was changed For better co-ordination a new position of Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCS) was created The post of C-in-C was replaced with COAS With inclusion of Article 6 in the Constitution Bhutto was sure that no General would ever dare to cross the line again as its violation carried the death penalty

Pakistan is at the crossroads again The establishment is comfor table with Zardari as he ensures continuity of the old ways The Nawaz option can be deadly for the future of the republic

As head of a progressive party of change Bhutto succeeded in exercising control over both the Armed Forces and Police The COAS and IGP had to behave and serve not rule and manipulate as was the case before

The old colonial ways were unacceptable to the People s Government Unfortunately the Quaid-eAwam with the passage of time started to rely on the establishment instead of his popular support After the term of first COAS Gen Tikka Khan ended, Bhutto fell into the same trap, and appointment against merit of Gen Zia-ul-Haq proved to be his undoing On 5 July

1977 Zia crossed the line In the words of Comrade Hanif Ramay Bhutto left us from where his struggle had started back in the lap of the establishment and

How long will the audio leaks last?

Why are they still happening?

AttiyA MunAwer

TH E country is going through a very critical period but the rulers are starting a new game day by day without getting the country out of the dire situation The game of not having elections in Pakistani politics was still going on when the game of audio leaks was started once again and this time instead of a political figure the audio of a conversation between the mother-in-law of the Chief Justice and the wife of a lawyer Tariq Rahim was leaked in which the mother-in-law of the Chief Justice is talking about her son-in-law As soon as this audio was leaked, the PML(N) people have made a noise that the Chief Justice will have to resign but no one is talking about the moral status of this audio leak How long will this hideous game continue like this and the dominant sections of the country will have to raise their voice against this hideous game?

It is with great sadness that the safe and normal telephone conversations of key government officials politicians judges and their families have been exposed over the past year

But this recording is not being considered as a crime nor is it being considered as a cause of shame, on the contrary, for those whose private lives are being unconstitutionally, illegally and morally intruded upon are being blamed As soon as there are audio leaks, there is an uproar but in this country there is no one asking about

the audio or video leaks and no one investigating who made the recording? Under what law and justification and who is the leaker? These questions are very important, but there is no seriousness in the search for their answers

The filthy game of audio and video leak has been played in this country for a long time but everyone is watching as silent spectators enjoying humiliating each other without taking any effective measures to prevent it On the one hand there is a repetition of real or imitation and on the other hand there is a clamour of demands I f w e a s s u m e f o r a m o m e n t t h a t t h e l a t e s t audio is genuine, it also proves that Begum Mah J a b e e n N o o n i s c o ncerned about her son-inlaw Chief Justice Umar

A t t a B a n d i a l a n d l i k e m i l l i o n s o f p e o p l e w h o are praying for the Chief J u s t i c e t o t a k e t h e r i g h t d e c i s i o n a n d r e m a i n f i r m i n t h e f a c e o f a l l p r e s s u r e s s h e i s a l s o

praying The discussion she has given on the current political situation is s u c h a c o n v e r s a t i o n a s e d u c a t e d m e n a n d women continue to have every day in their home Nothing is heard in this a u d i o w h i c h t h e r u l i n g c o a l i t i o n i s m a k i n g s o much noise about, but is silent against those who recorded and leaked the audio The appeal of the ruling coalition is not in v a i n t h e y w a n t j u d g e s o f t h e i r c h o i c e w h o mak e d ecis io n s in th eir f av o u r an d cu ltiv ate their interests These people who are amusing

today were angry about the audio recording of Rana Sanaullah and Maryam Nawaz Now, the PTI people are shining light on the audio leak and the Muslim League is playing the trumpets This is a revolting act, the less it can be condemned but there seems to be a common a t t i t u d e f r o m t h e m o s t s e r i

To stop this series of audio leaks, everyone has to adopt an agreed plan of action but this plan of action will be decided only by sitting together, which is not seen to be settled for a long time In this situation, it is to be seen how long the game of audio and video leaks in Pakistan will continue like this and everyone will continue to play madly at each otherÊs turn

hands and tongue are burning when it is mentioned So knowingly no one points it out neither raises a voice nor tells who is a participant; but by adopting a flattering attitude, all try to ensure their defense that they are out of politics and political games Declaring no relationship is a very silly joke but it has become a compulsion for everyone to endure this joke even if they don’t want to To stop this series of audio leaks everyone has to adopt an agreed plan of action but this plan of action will be decided only by sitting together, which is not seen to be settled for a long time In this situation it is to be seen how long the game of audio and video leaks in Pakistan will continue like this and everyone will continue to play madly at each other s turn

The writer tweets @AttiyaMunawer

the rule of the COAS and IGP was back with full vengeance Civilian institutions came under attack Since 1985 the slide down has continued unabated mainly because of the influence/interference of the COAS and complete subservience together with foul play by the IGP Recently out of turn loyalty based promotions case of Police Officers was heard by the Supreme Court and some orders were declared null and void In case of the appointment of COAS, Nawaz as PM has tried his best to win loyalty to expand his influence/interference in running of the force but has repeatedly failed as the successive COASs have not fully followed his directives unlike the IGPs who have lost control of their force turning it into a private militia Even the change of uniform in Punjab had made any difference Pakistan is at the crossroads again The establishment is comfortable with Zardari as he ensures continuity of the old ways The Nwaz option can be deadly for the future of the republic The fate of ther Punjab Police should be an eyeopener Rule of law and constitution followed by return to the barracks is the most viable way forward Nawaz s anger against the armed forces or Zardari s appeasement will not deliver Naya Pakistan is now unstoppable Bilawal Zardari will return to Nawabshah the land of the Zardaris where he belongs not Larkhana the land of the Martyrs of Democracy who launched the first real political party of the country which succeeded in turning the land of the pure into a constitutional democracy to be ruled by elected representatives of the people, not by the COASs and IGP’s

The writer is ex-Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation He can be contacted at: fmaliks@hotmail com

E d i t o r ’ s m a i l

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

Electric vehicles

W I T H everything that is going on in the country’s economy, the government should actively encourage people to convert their vehicles such as motorcycles rickshaws and smaller cars from petrol to electric In our region such a conversion costs anywhere from the equivalent of Rs50 000 to Rs250 000 Kits may be available from companies from Vietnam or China

The cost of operating these converted e-vehicles would be about onefifth of what it would be if they were running on petrol The kits may be subsidised by the government and commercial banks may also be encouraged to issue loans for the purpose

Some local auto manufacturers have been raising the prices of their brands and even then they are shutting down plants because there are no buyers If this continues many workers would become unemployed adding to the overall economic burden

Some of these companies should be encouraged to produce electric versions of their vehicles and to start converting the existing vehicles to set the ball in motion and then to keep it rolling DR SYED ARIF KAZMI KARACHI

Liaquat , the leader

Q U I T E a few letters have appeared in these columns in recent times lamenting the absence of Liaquat Ali Khan from the portraits of the founding fathers that adorned the celebratory currency note issued by the State Bank of Pakistan to mark the 75th anniversary of the country s Independence Day

As a biographer of Pakistan s first prime minister (Liaquat Ali Khan: His Life and Work, Oxford, 2003 with many reprints), I want to add that the character assassination of Liaquat was the precursor of attacks on Mohammad Ali Jinnah at the Karachi Adab Festival in 2020 Seasoned writer Javed Jabbar had responded to that propaganda by quoting excerpts from Ishtiaq Ahmed s book stressing that the assassination of Liaquat was a deep-rooted conspiracy

The late Dr Safdar Mahmood, while he was education secretary, had straightaway named Ghulam Muhammad and Mushtaq Gurmani as the abettors (Barg-i-Gul, Karachi, Federal Urdu College Magazine, 1999, Pp4144), while Syed Muhammad Zul- qarnain Zaidi established that Liaquat was shot in the back and that Said Akbar was not the murderer (Pakistan Perspectives University of Karachi Vol XIII: January-June 2008)

The story of the Quaid-i-Azam s broken ambulance is widely cited as a condemnation of Liaquat while Brig Noor A Husain the ADC of the governor-general on duty, wrote that the first ambulance had been chosen by the governor-general s military secretary and Liaquat was following the second ambulance in his car (The News, March 23, 1995)

On the pages of Dawn itself (March 13 2019) Liaquat was accused of having turned Pakistan into a theocracy through the Objectives Resolution

This is despite the fact that the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Debates (Vol V p5) carries these words from Liaquat: Sir I just said that the people are the real recipients of power This naturally eliminates any danger of the establishment of a theocracy

As for the prime minister ’s Russian invitation, Liaquat said before embarking on his trip to the United States that the erstwhile Soviet Union’s invitation was outstanding and he was waiting for a date as the host country had advanced the date (Karachi Press Conference Aug 23 1950)

Lastly people would do well to read John Connell (Auchinleck London Cassell 1959 Pp 872-873) If they do they will find that it was Liaquat who was named as the leading personality in having Indian armed forces divided DR MUHAMMAD REZA KAZIMI KARACHI

Russia Ukraine Crisis: Implications for Pakistan

U k r a i n e e x p o r t s w h e a t s u n f l o w e r o i l a n d o t h e r a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t s T h e c o n f l i c t c o u l d d i s r u p t t h e s u p p l y o f t h e s e g o o d s w h i c h c o u l d l e a d t o h i g h e r prices and food shortages in Pakistan Additionally the crisis could lead to a decrease in foreign investment in P a k i s t a n , a s i n v e s t o r s b e c o m e w a r y o f i n v e s t i n g i n countries that are politically unstable The ongoing crisis could also have significant political implications for Pakistan For example the crisis has already led to increased tensions between Russia and NATO Moreover Pakistan has recently become more friendly towards Russia, and the current crisis could strain their relationship The conflict could lead to increased tens i o n s b e t w e e n P a k i s t a n a n d I n d i a , a s b o t h c o u n t r i e s c o m p e t e f o r R u s s i a ’s s u p p o r t I n a d d i t i o n , P a k i s t a n could face pressure from the USA and its allies to take a stance against Russia which could further complicate the country s foreign policy

TH E war between Ukraine and Russia started in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine The conflict escalated into a full-scale war between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk

Then Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022 under the pretence of national security This war has given birth to severe issues like economic implications for parties involved and exclusively for the atomic states, and one of them are global oil prices The economic sanctions imposed by Western states on Russia will further determine disruption in the supply of Brent crude oil and other exports by Russia While Ukraine which is the largest producers of wheat and sunflower among other things, will bring enormous challenges to the world economy, including Pakistan T h i s c r i s i s h a s f a r- r e a c h i n g i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h e world including Pakistan The conflict has already res u l t e d i n i n c r e a s e d t e n s i o n s b e t w e e n R u s s i a a n d NATO and has the potential to destabilize the entire region This crisis has significant economic and political implications for the entire world including Pakistan The surge in global oil prices, disruptions in the supply of agricultural products, and decrease in foreign investment could lead to serious economic problems for these countries Additionally the crisis could lead t o i n c r e a s e d a r m s s a l e s s t r a i n e d r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h Russia and heightened tensions with India One of the m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t e c o n o m i c i m p a c t s o f t h i s c r i s i s i s global oil prices As a result of the sanctions imposed on Russia, there will be a disruption in the supply of Brent crude oil, which could lead to a global shortage of oil This shortage could result in higher prices for oil and gas which would increase the cost of living for people in Pakistan

Both Russia and Ukraine are important agricultural suppliers in the global food chain, and the disruption of their exports due to the ongoing conflict has led to food shortages in several countries, including Pakistan

The blockade of Ukrainian ports by Russia has further exacerbated the situation as it has prevented Ukrainian exports from reaching several countries This has put pressure on countries like Pakistan to find alternative suppliers for essential commodities such as wheat As a result, the government may need to cover any shortages with expensive wheat imports, which could have significant economic implications for the country If the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues and s p i l l s o v e r i n t o o t h e r r e g i o n s i t c o u l d h a v e a n e v e n more severe impact on the global economy and international relations It is important for policymakers to monitor the situation closely and take measures to mitigate the potential impacts of the conflict R u s s i a a n d U k r a i n e h a v e h a d s i g n i f i c a n t i m p a c t o n t h e P a k i s t a n i e c o n o m y a n d t h e r e h a s b e e n a d i fference in the supply and demand of other commodit i e s w h i c h h a s l e d t o c o n c e r n s a m o n g P a k i s t a n i industrialists The increase in prices of raw materials such as oil, wheat, and steel, will not only affect the industrial sector but also have a cascading effect on other sectors of the economy, including the construct i o n i n d u s t r y T h e s h o r t a g e o f e x p o r t e d g o o d s f r o m Ukraine could also lead to price increases and shorta g e s o f e s s e n t i a l c o m m o d i t i e s w h i c h c o u l d d i r e c t l y affect the common man I t i s i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e P a k i s t a n i g o v e r n m e n t t o take measures to mitigate the potential impacts of the conflict, such as diversifying trade relationships with other countries and finding alternative sources for ess e n t i a l c o m m o d i t i e s T h e g o v e r n m e n t c a n a l s o t a k e s t e p s t o s u p p o r t i n d u s t r i e s t h a t m a y b e d i r e c t l y a f-

?

n d e r N a re n d ra M o d i , e co n o m i c g row t h a n d p o l i t i c a l i l l i b e ra l i s m h ave a d va n ce d to g e t h e r

TH E world underwent a seismic shift last month: India now has more inhabitants than China The country that for centuries boasted the largest population on Earth has been overtaken Indians have no reason to celebrate this new demographic status however In 1960 both nations had similar economies and comparable poverty rates Today, the per capita annual income in China around $12,000 is five times that in India Of course, these figures fail to consider the often-spectacular regional disparities China’s maritime eastern coast is twice as prosperous as its inland provinces whereas the Indian South is twice as rich as the North This simple equation also overlooks inequalities China is the most unequal country in the world, followed closely by India Nevertheless, China s relative economic success has deeply shaken India’s elites

Buoyed by this success China’s leaders have declared that its achievements are the result of an allp o w e r f u l c e n t r a l g o v e r n m e n t t h e u n c h a l l e n g a b l e ideology of the Communist Party and the embracing of globalization from the 1970s onward Meantime, India was insular and hostile to foreign investment u n t i l t h e 1 9 9 0 s , f o c u s i n g o n t r a d i t i o n a l a g r i c u l t u r e and crafts, in line with the moral teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and his idealization of frugality

Against the backdrop of this Gandhian heritage

Jawaharlal Nehru the first prime minister following India s independence in 1947 and his daughter Indira Gandhi (no family connection with the Mahatma) shared an admiration for Soviet-style socialism This half-Gandhian, half-Soviet regime lasted for nearly 50 years; capitalism was frowned upon and it was almost impossible to create even the smallest business without countless bureaucratic authorizations This inspired the nickname The License Raj (a play on the defunct British Raj), referring to the system of multiple rubber stamps that fostered a notorious culture of corruption among even the lowest-ranking civil servants Around the same time, the Indian state or rather the Indian states as the country remains a confederation for all intents and purposes failed to fulfill basic tasks leading to deplorable public schools disgraceful sanitation and a lack of road maritime and railroad infrastructure

It took the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 for India to change its model However, China got there first, flooding the global market with cheap manufactured goods India arrived on the scene late behind China and Vietnam with less experience and a less-educated workforce

After turning its back on socialism the Indian government under the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party, or Indian People s Party ), in power since 2014 and led by Narendra Modi, has taken a page out of China’s book At great expense, it has built ports, highways, and airports to unite the Indian market It is also

staunchly capitalist and open to both domestic and international investment ill-gotten or otherwise Corruption has declined slightly, while education and public health have seen improvements Modi has inaugurated several thousand public restrooms across India which has put a dent in epidemics and particularly benefited women who had long been ignored by Indian democracy India s pro-capitalist Chinese-inspired U-turn is also profitable The economy is now growing at an annual rate of between 3 percent and 4 percent These are meager gains, given the growing population, but they represent a vast improvement on the zero percent growth during the Nehru–Gandhi era during which economists joked that zero was the natural rate of Indian growth

Unfortunately Modi also seems drawn to the worst aspects of the Chinese model, including the one-party system, a state that operates above the law, and the cult of personality India is the world’s largest democracy, but having previously enjoyed unprecedented press freedom and judicial independence the country now finds itself at the mercy of the BJP s despotic whims

The party is seeking to impose a nationalist ideology based on a cheap form of Hinduism and traditions completely divorced from the linguistic, religious, and cultural diversity of eternal India I have attended street demonstrations in Mumbai in which fanatic BJP supporters shout that Ram one among many Hindu gods was more powerful than Jesus and Allah The victims of this neo-religious nationalism are the country s 175 million Muslims along with Christians and freethinkers The movement has gained so much ground that the more the economy grows, the more freedoms are stripped away India’s economic and political evolution raises the question: What is progress?

Renowned Indian economist and Nobel Prize laureate Amartya Sen suggested replacing the strictly quantitative concept of GDP with one based on well-being an idea that the UN has since adopted According to Sen, material production is only one part of prosperity; one should also consider the degree of freedom, the level of education, quality of life and equality of the sexes Sen calls this capability Of course we can see that the wealthiest countries are also the most equal and the best educated Yet what a loss it would be for Indians to be slightly less poor at the cost of their human rights

My knowledge of India leads me to believe that Modi will never be enshrined as a Hindu god India already has about 10 000 lesser and greater gods Modi may have put up portraits and statues in his honor across the country but the public is not so easily fooled Muzzling the people as the Chinese Communist Party does, might be achievable due to centuries of subjugation But silencing Indians? No one has ever succeeded in doing that not even the British India will certainly become an economic and military power, finally taking its place on the world stage Modi and his radical Hinduism will have contributed to this evolution but only Mahatma Gandhi and Amartya Sen will remain the saints of India

fected by the conflict such as t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n i n d u s t r y t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e e c o n o m i c i mpacts of the conflict are minimized Pakistan heavily relies on steel imports from Ukraine, and any disruption to the supp l y c h a i n d u e t o t h e c o n f l i c t c o u l d i n c r e a s e t h e b u r d e n o n the industry Furthermore Pakistan also imports defence equipment from Ukraine, and the ongoing conflict could lead to disruptions in this supply chain, which would be detrimental to Pakistan’s security The situation of Pakistani students and citizens in the conflict-affected region is also a cause of concern The evacuation process is underway, but the disruption to education and employment opportunities could have a longlasting impact on the affected individuals and the Pakistani economy as a whole

Pa k i s t a n i s c a u g h t i n a

c o m p l ex s i t u a t i o n

d i p l o m a t i c a l ly a s i t w i s h e s t o k e e p t h e r e l a t i o n s w i t h b o t h R u s s i a a n d t h e We s t a n d E u ro p e a n c o u n t r i e s i n cl u d i n g t h e U S A D u e t o p o o r ex p e r i e n c e i n c a m p p o l i t i c s Pa k i s t a n c a n n o t g o ag a i n s t R u s s i a a t U N G A t o s t ay n e u t r a l a n d t h e We s t m ay c o m p e l l Pa k i s t a n t o r ev i ew i t s s t a n c e ag a i n s t R u s s i a .

P a k i s t a n h a s m a i n t a i n e d trade relations with both Russia and Ukraine, and these rel a t i o n s h i p s h a v e b e e n particularly important for imports of wheat In 2020 Pakistan faced acute wheat shortages due to mismanagement and failed crops To stabilise prices and acc u m u l a t e s t o c k s , t h e g o v e r n m e n t a l l o w e d p r i v a t e companies to import wheat, and Ukraine emerged as the main supplier, exporting 1 2 MT of wheat to Pakistan between July and November 2020 Russia also s u p p l i e d 0 9 2 M T o f w h e a t t o P a k i s t a n d u r i n g t h e

s a m e p e r i o d I n t o t a l w h e a t i m p o r t s f r o m R u s s i a a n d U k r a i n e e x c e e d e d 2 1 M T o v e r t h e c o u r s e o f t h e 2 0 2 02021 period Both Russia and Ukraine exports LNG to Paki s t a n ; s i n c e t h i s c r i s i s , t h i s country faces severe shortage a s m a n y c o m p a n i e s h a v e b a c k e d o u t o f t h e i r c o n t r a c t s w i t h P a k i s t a n a n d t h i s h a s h a r m e d l o c a l i n d u s t r i e s a n d h a s s l o w e d d o w n t h e i m p o r t of fossil fuel, LNG and coal P a k i s t a n i s c a u g h t i n a c o m p l e x s i t u a t i o n d i p l o m a t ic a l l y a s i t w i s h e s t o k e e p t h e relations with both Russia and the West and European count r i e s i n c l u d i n g t h e U S A D u e t o p o o r e x p e r i e n c e i n c a m p p o l i t i c s P a k i s t a n c a n n o t g o a g a i n s t R u s s i a a t U N G A t o stay neutral and he West may compell Pakistan to review its stance against Russia In such a situation the government and s t a k e h o l d e r s s h o u l d m a i n t a i n d i p l o m a t i c t i e s w i t h R u s s i a and China for geopolitical reasons as this crisis would not be resolved so quickly It is important for policymakers and the government of Pakistan to monitor the situation closely and take measures to mitigate the potential impacts of the crisis

The writer is freelance columnist based in Islamabad He can be reached at rashidmehmoodkayani@gmail com

When the machines tell you where to invest

value We aren t seeing a substitution If you take the bureaucratic work away from an advisor, and instead of having to read 55 newspapers you have it all summarized, you can be much closer to the client,” he said

The Arcano investment bank does not share that vision “Artificial intelligence won’t affect whoever cuts your meat at the butcher s or brings your Amazon package but in asset management it will have a significant impact Part of our job is to filter information to make investment decisions, and if a system does that it doesn t need so many people, said Francisco Navas, Investment Director of Venture Capital at Arcano Partners To make his point land he offered up a bitter reminder to journalists: ChatGPT can write news stories

EL PAIS

Á lvA r o S Á n c h e z

IT is eleven o’clock in the morning at the Madrid headquarters of the Renta 4 bank and a group of eight young people from various countries are typing away concentrated in front of their screens Some are industrial or aeronautical engineers, others mathematicians or have a master s degree in artificial intelligence They are the team chosen by the bank to create new AI (artificial intelligence) tools, the technology that seems set to revolutionize everything Investment too “With four clicks clients have access to a series of analyses with millions of calculations behind them and it gives them the best fund options explained Celso Otero who leads the team

A test on their website allows you to check how these intelligent digital advisors work: you choose a sector among finance, technology, energy or water; you enter the amount to invest with a minimum of 5 000 euros; and the most recommended funds appear in order according to profitability risk or a mixture of both You can accept the suggestion or not but the artificial intelligence, without the need for human intervention, has already done its job: to show the options with the highest probability of success

The tool is just one of the many available You can also have a mixture of artificial intelligence and bank advisors build your portfolio after responding to a series of questions so that it is as individualized as possible Otero says that it is a matter of statistics: the more information, the better Is that a guarantee that you re going to have a positive profit or better results than everyone else? It’s not It’s like when you take a test If you study everything you have more possibilities of getting a good grade Does that guarantee that you’ll have a 10? No AI is one more tool You won t always win he explained Technology tends to jump rapidly into the world of finances, because it can make all the difference in a sector that moves staggering quantities of money at high speeds The financial news outlet Bloomberg, whose terminal has 325 000 subscribers who pay $25 000 a year has announced the development of BloombergGPT The enormous quantity of data involved has encouraged the American company to make the leap to generative artificial intelligence The new model includes sentiment analysis, news classification and question-answering functions It will be able to comb thousands of news items about companies and evaluate whether they are pessimistic or optimistic for investors and even write headlines based on brief articles If it s possible to create applications that tell you where to invest your money, are financial advisors jobs at risk? Otero isn t sure Think about the Industrial Revolution or when tractors reached the countryside There have never been so many people living in the world and there have never been so many people working as today and we re in the most evolved world in history The advisor can do other things that add more

The professional trader Francisca Serrano pointed out some advantages of machines investing on our behalf: Human beings, by nature, are subject to cognitive and emotional biases that can affect their capacity to make rational and objective decisions Automatic algorithms, however, are designed to operate objectively, based on data which eliminates emotional interference ” But unexpected events as Otero from Renta 4 explained can work against the machines: There are market movements that don t depend on concrete patterns but have a randomness that can t be predicted Anyone who says they can predict the short term, in my opinion, is lying ” No model can anticipate a sudden declaration of war or the beginning of a pandemic but it can identify trends comparing millions of data points at a velocity impossible for human beings That can open up a divide between those who have access to such applications and those who don t, as trader Jordi Martí explained AI will give professionals more powerful and efficient tools to trick and manipulate, and we will have to keep copying their movements

Nothing will change The market is still ruled by emotions: euphoria panic and fear They will make money the great majority of small-scale traders will lose it and a small number of people will keep copying the professionals, he predicts

All things indicate that there will be more sophistication, but algorithms have played a role in the financial industry for decades Early experiments included some notable disasters such as the high-risk fund Long-Term Capital whose board included two Nobel Prize winners It ended up being bailed out in 1998

Markets also move without human participation in so-called high-frequency trading Algorithms create thousands of buying and selling orders in fractions of a second, in order to take advantage of small price changes and glean higher profits These transactions tend to take place from powerful computers situated close to business centers Being a few kilometers away could mean being later and therefore earning less or losing

The risks are there One of Wall Street s worst memories was caused by automated systems: on May 6, 2010, Navinder Singh Sarao provoked the so-called Flash Crash an accelerated plunge in stock markets using his knowledge about the reactions of high-frequency machines He used his home PC to trick them with an algorithm that simulated creating sale orders which pushed the rest to sell en masse He was detained in 2015 and sentenced to a year of house arrest in January 2020 AI’s irruption into the investment world has provoked plenty of questions “Who is responsible if an automatic algorithm does something that results in significant losses the developers of the algorithm the operators of it or the financial institutions that use it? Francisca Serrano asks Martí does not believe that the overarching dynamics will change If professional money wants to buy cheap, it will generate or take advantage of panic situations just like 100 years ago And if they want to sell high they will generate or take advantage of situations of euphoria just like 100 years ago

W i l l I n d i a f o l l o w i n

C h i n a ’ s f o o t s t e p s

rAShiD MehMooD

R U S S I A S AY S U K R A I N E T R I E D T O K I L L P U T I N W I T H D R O N E AT TA C K O N K R E M L I N

UKRAINE ag e n c i e s

Raccused Ukraine on Wednesday of attacking the Kremlin with drones overnight in a failed attempt to kill President Vladimir Putin

A senior Ukrainian presidential official said Kyiv had nothing to do with the purported incident the most dramatic accusation Russia has levelled against Ukraine since invading its neighbour more than 14 months ago

The Kremlin said two drones had been used in the alleged attack on Putin s residence in the walled Kremlin citadel, but had been disabled by electronic defences

It said Russia reserved the right to retaliate a comment that suggested that Moscow might use the alleged incident to justify a further escalation in its war with Ukraine

“Two unmanned aerial vehicles were aimed at the Kremlin As a result of timely actions taken by the military and special services with the use of radar warfare systems the devices were put out of action, the Kremlin said in a statement

We regard these actions as a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the president’s life carried out on the eve of Victory Day the May 9 parade at which the presence of foreign guests is also planned

The Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it sees fit

Baza, a Telegram channel with links to Russia’s law enforcement agencies, posted a video showing a flying object approaching the dome of the Kremlin

Senate building overlooking Red Square site of the Victory Day parade and exploding in an intense burst of light just before reaching it Reuters could not immediately verify the video’s authenticity

The statement from the presidential administration said fragments of the drones had been scattered on the territory of the Kremlin complex but there were no casualties or material damage

RIA news agency said Putin had not been in the Kremlin at the time and was working on Wednesday at his Novo Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow Another video circulating on Russian social media showed a plume of smoke over the Kremlin after the purported attack

The video was posted in the early hours of Wednesday on a group for residents of a neighbourhood that faces the Kremlin across the Moskva River It was picked up by Russian media including the Telegram channel of the military news outlet Zvezda Victory Day is a major public holiday commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War Two, and a chance for Putin to rally Russians behind what he calls his “special military operation”

i n Ukraine Russia marks the occasion with a huge military parade on Red Square, for which seating has already been erected The state news agency TASS said the parade for which the Kremlin last week announced tighter security would still go ahead Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said earlier today that the city had introduced an immediate ban on unauthorised drone flights Russia has accused Ukraine of numerous cross-border attacks since the

start of the war, including strikes in December on an air base deep inside Russian territory that houses strategic bomber planes equipped to carry nuclear weapons In February a drone crashed in Kolomna about 110 kilometres from the centre of Moscow Ukraine typically declines to claim responsibility for attacks on Russia or Russian-annexed Crimea, though Kyiv officials have frequently celebrated such attacks with cryptic or mocking remarks

16th International Conference on Managing Pakistan’s Economy concludes at LSE

a n u m M e m o r i a l Tr u s t h a s o p e n e d a n e w Wa l k - i n C l i n i c i n K a r a c h i w h i c h i s i t s s e co n d c a n c e r s c r e e n i n g c e n t r e i n t h e c i t y T h i s Wa l k - i n C l i n i c i s l o c a t e d i n D H A C i t y a t P a ki s t a n ’s t h i r d a n d l a rg e s t s p e c i a l i s t c a n c e r h o s p it a l t h e S h a u k a t K h a n u m M e m o r i a l C a n c e r H o s p i t a l a n d R e s e a r c h C e n t r e a n d s e r v e s a s t h e f i r s t p o i n t o f c o n t a c t f o r p a t i e n t s w i t h s u s p e c t e d o r c o n f i r m e d c a n c e r d i a g n o s i s f o r f u r t h e r e v a l u at i o n a n d t r e a t m e n t T h e h o s p i t a l e x p e c t e d t o o p e n i n D e c e m b e r t h i s y e a r w i l l m a r k a n e w a g e i n c a n c e r d i a g n o s i s a n d t r e a t m e n t , n o t o n l y f o r t h e p e o p l e o f P a k i s t a n ’s l a rg e s t c i t y a n d e c on o m i c p o w e r h o u s e K a r a c h i b u t a l s o f o r p e o p l e f r o m a l l o v e r S i n d h a n d f r o m S o u t h e r n B a l u c h i st a n T h e n e w l y f u n c t i o n a l Wa l k - i n C l i n i c w i l l e sp e c i a l l y b e n e f i t c a n c e r p a t i e n t s f r o m i n t e r i o r S i n d h p r o v i d i n g a c c e s s t o c a n c e r s c r e e n i n g f a c i li t i e s c l o s e r t o t h e i r h o m e s S i m i l a r t o t h e o t h e r Wa l k - i n C l i n i c s i n L a h o r e , P e s h a w a r, a n d K a r a c h i p a t i e n t s w i l l b e s e e n o n f i r s t c o m e f i r s t s e r v e d b a s i s a n d e v a l u a t e d a c c o r d i n g t o m e d i c a l g u i d e l i n e s P a t i e n t s a c c e p t e d f o r t r e a t m e n t w i l l u n d e rg o w o r l d - c l a s s t r e a t m e n t , i r r e s p e c t i v e o f t h e i r a b i l i t y t o p a y a t S h a u k a t K h a n u m f a c i l i t i e s i n K a r a c h i a n d e l s e w h e r e i n t h e c o u n t r y I t i s e st i m a t e d t h a t t h e r e a r e n e a r l y 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 n e w c a n c e r c a s e s i n P a k i s t a n e a c h y e a r a n d m o r e d e d i c a t e d c a n c e r f a c i l i t i e s a r e n e e d e d t o c a t e r t o t h e d i s e a s e b u r d e n i n t h e r e g i o n T h e t r e a t m e n t o f c a n c e r c a n b e p r o l o n g e d a n d i t i s e x t r e m e l y d i ff i c u l t f o r t h e m a j o r i t y o f o u r p o p u l a t i o n t o u n d e r t a k e l o n g a n d c o s t l y t r i p s t o a c c e s s l i f e - s a v i n g t r e a t m e n t T h e b u r d e n o f c a n c e r i s m u l t i - f a c e t e d a n d i n c l u d e s f in a n c i a l , p h y s i c a l , a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l a s p e c t s S h a u k a t K h a n u m H o s p i t a l i n K a r a c h i w i l l h e l p u s e a s e t h e b u r d e n o f c a n c e r f o r t h e p e o p l e o f S o u t h e r n P a k i s t a n b y p r o v i d i n g a c c e s s t o c o mp r e h e n s i v e c a n c e r c a r e , a l l u n d e r o n e r o o f T h e r e i s a l o n g t r a d i t i o n o f p i l a n t h r o p y i n K a r a c h i , w h i c h m e a n s t h a t K a r a c h i c a n b u i l d a d e d i c a t e d c a n c e r h o s p i t a l a n d c a n r u n i t t o o A s t h e p r o j e c t n e a r s c o m p l e t i o n , p e o p l e c a n d o n a t e g e n e r o u s l y a n d p l a y t h e i r r o l e i n g i v i n g a g i f t o f h o p e f o r t h e c a n c e r p a t i e n t s o f S o u t h e r n P a k i s t a n b e c a u s e w h e r e y o u l i v e s h o u l d n o t d e t e r m i n e i f y o u l i v e

Dead rivers, flaming lakes: India’s sewage failure

NEW DELHI

a f p

Mohammed Azhar holds his baby niece next to a storm drain full of plastic and stinking black sludge a testament to India s failure to treat nearly two-thirds of its urban sewage We stay inside our homes We fall sick if we go out,” the 21-year-old told AFP in the Delhi neighbourhood of Seelampur where open gutters packed with plastic and sickly greyish water flow alongside the narrow lanes It stinks It attracts mosquitoes We catch diseases and the kids keep falling sick, he added There is no one to clean the filth India at the end of April was projected to have overtaken China as the world’s most populous country, according to the United Nations, with almost 1 43 billion people Its urban population is predicted to explode in the coming decades with over 270 million more people forecast to live in its cities by 2040 But of the 72 billion litres of sewage currently generated in urban centres every day, 45 billion litres enough to fill 18,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools aren t treated, according to government figures for 2020-21 India’s sewerage system does not connect to about two-thirds of its urban homes according to the National Faecal Sludge and Septage Management Alliance (NFSSM) Many of the sewage treatment plants in operation don t comply with standards including 26 out of Delhi s 35 facilities, according to media reports Coupled with huge volumes of industrial effluent, the sewage is causing disease, polluting India’s waterways, killing wildlife and seeping into groundwater ECOLOGICALLY DEAD:

Although India has made major progress in reducing child mortality diarrhoea caused mostly by contaminated water and food remains a leading killer More than 55,000 children under five died of diarrhoea across India in 2019, according to a study published last year in the scientific journal BMC Public Health

Health, safet y & transpor t facilities are basic rights of employees

The Lahore School of Economics held the second and final day of its Sixteenth International Conference on “Managing Pakistan’s Economy Building upon the informative and enlightening sessions of the conference s first day, researchers and economists discussed their findings and offered sober insights in regards to (i) Pakistan’s banking sector the state of its capital markets and export-led growth and (ii) the country s long-running issues concerning fundamental economic rights With regards to the Banking Sector and Capital Markets, Dr Inayat Hussain Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan recommended a comprehensive reform program to address vulnerabilities and bottlenecks across all sectors of the Pakistan economy, as the financial sector and capital markets in Pakistan remain suboptimal, and stressed the importance of documentation of the economy Digitalisation of the conventional banking system and a steady maintenance of fiscal deficits at a manageable level were also recommended

Dr Jamshed Uppal, Associate

Professor of Finance at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and member of the Lahore Journal of Economic s editorial board, proposed an integrated and long-term strategy that would incorporate measures to strengthen financial institutions and markets via public-private dialogue Dr Uppal suggested policies to create a supporting and complementary environment for export growth that includes dual exchange rate policy, long term trade financing to promote exports and FDI based on increasing exports He stressed the importance of restoring fiscal balance through financial discipline to

implement the required strategies for export-led growth

Mr Khalid Mirza, Senior Fellow at the Lahore School of Economics, discussed the development and regulation of capital markets

Mr Mirza formerly Chairman and Chief Executive of the Competition Commission of Pakistan and Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission, stressed the importance of four key elements, macroeconomic stability, efficacious financial institutions recognised government norms and capable empowered and independent regulators to robust economy and financial stability

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

Chairman Board of Directors IESCO Engineer Qamarul-Islam Raja has said that the officers and staff of IESCO are ensuring the best services to the electricity consumers thanks with their tireless efforts The Provision of best health safety and transport facilities to these hardworking employees is the top priority on the part of IESCO Board of Directors and Management, he expressed these views during the ceremony of newly purchased 2 coasters for employees at IESCO Regional Store Islamabad He further said that due to the old vehicles not only the employees were facing travel difficulties but also the maintenance and fuel costs of these vehicles were high Now the employees will not only have better travel facilities but also the unnecessary expenses will be significantly reduced On this occasion, Chief Executive IESCO Dr Muhammad Amjad Khan thanked Chairman Board of Directors IESCO Engineer Qamar-ul-Islam Raja and other members of the board whose positive decisions have not only eliminated the shortage of materials required in the field but also implementation of welfare projects for IESCO employees are also going on rapidly He also praised the personal efforts of Deputy Director MM Mubeen Sikander General Manager Technical Imtiaz-ur-Rahman, Director General (Admin) Muhammad Abid Director Public Relations Asim Nazir Raja also participated in the event

development partner VX Studio as the lead design consultant and Opaal as the interior designers

The project is located on the main Serene Avenue in DHA Phase III and will feature amenities never offered before in Pakistan, including a residents lobby, resort-themed swimming pool, kids swimming pool, state-of-the-art fitness centre, spa, steam, sauna, and treatment rooms residents’ private theatre cafe shop and restaurant kids’ club and convenience store These world-class facilities are designed to provide residents with an unparalleled living experience that is both comfortable and convenient

FBR Signs Data Sharing Agreements with Sindh and Balochistan Boards of Revenue

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

The much-awaited luxury resort-themed residential development One Serene Residences was officially launched here marking a historic milestone as the firstever project in Pakistan with international standards of luxury living and a resort lifestyle Meanwhile, the grand unveiling press conference took place at the prestigious Sheraton Grand London Park Lane One Serene Residences is a $40 Million project tailor-made for the overseas Pakistani diaspora being developed by One Homes a British investment group with a proven track record of delivering exceptional properties in the real estate industry

This luxury project is in collaboration with a range of world-leading partners, including Italian design house Versace Ceramics for the floor and wall finishings, UAE’s leading group Ayana Holding as a strategic

Present at the event were Hamid Kerayechian –CEO & Founding Partner of Ayana Holding, Ghada

Ya i c h e – D e s i g n D i r e c t o r a t V X S t u d i o , a n d R a n a Hammoura – Senior Interior Designer at Opaal Interiors The event was also attended by Chief Commercial Officer One Homes at One Group Aqib Hassan C o m m e r c i a l D i r e c t o r O n e H o m e s a t O n e G r o u p

Shaan Abbas, as well as other dignitaries and media

personalities

Speaking at the event, the Chief Commercial

S udan warring generals agree ‘ in principle’ to seven- day truce

KHARTOUM ag e n c i e s

Warring generals in Sudan have agreed “in principle” to a seven-day ceasefire, the government of neighbouring South Sudan said Tuesday after regional envoys denounced repeated violations of previous truces Diplomatic efforts have intensified to end more than two weeks of war in Africa s third-largest country as warnings multiply about a “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis More than 430 000 people have already been forced to flee their homes the United Nations said Hundreds of others have been killed

and thousands wounded Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed in principle for a seven-day truce from May 4th to 11th, the South Sudanese foreign ministry in Juba said in a statement Multiple truces agreed since fighting began on April 15 ave been repeatedly violated including one by South Sudan early in the w ar Witnesses reported renewed air strikes and anti-aircraft fire in Khartoum on Tuesday The repeated violations sparked criticism earlier Tuesday at a meeting in Addis Ababa Ethiopia of the Extended Mecha-

nism on the Sudan Crisis which brought together African Arab UN and other representatives The two generals have agreed to truces the latest one on Sunday yet continue fighting and shelling the city , said Ismail Wais, of the northeast African bloc IGAD which includes Sudan and South Sudan Our priority today is to have the ceasefire prolonged and respected then to ensure humanitarian assistance African Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat said opening the meeting The later agreement of the week-long truce came in a phone conversation South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir had with the warring parties as part of IGAD’s initiative for a pause in

fighting, Juba’s foreign ministry said “We’ll have to see whether this is accepted by all the parties and whether it s implemented by the forces on the ground said Farhan Haq the UN chief s deputy spokesman Kenyan President William Ruto said earlier that the conflict had reached “catastrophic levels” and finding ways to provide humanitarian relief with or without a ceasefire was imperative The UN refugee agency said more than 100,000 people were estimated to have fled to Sudan s neighbours Despite the dire humanitarian needs, on Tuesday the UN said its 2023 aid appeal for Sudan was $1 5 billion short

SINDH

In line with the vision of the Prime Minister to enhance efficiency and transparency in the tax collection system and to promote digital integration, Federal Board of Revenue has entered into data sharing agreements with Board of Revenue Sindh and Board of Revenue Balochistan The agreements were signed on April 19, 2023 and April 28, 2023 respectively Under these Agreements the two organizations will share specified digital data including data about land/property ownership and agricultural income This will help improve their tax collection activities in their respective domains On behalf of the Sindh government agreement was signed in Karachi by Member (R&S) Board of Revenue, Government of Sindh, Mr Syed Ahmed Ali Shah The other agreement was signed in Quetta by Senior Member Board of Revenue Balochistan Mr Roshan Ali Shaikh FBR was represented by Member (IT), Mr Abdul Majid Yousfani in both the agreements The Agreements envisage to further develop integrated IT based platforms through which automated exchange of data will be possible in future FBR has been making consistent efforts to acquire third party data by linking its IT systems with different provincial departments and other organizations in order to broaden the tax base and improve transparency in tax collection system For this purpose, Agreements have already been signed with provincial excise and taxation departments and development authorities from where valuable data is being acquired

CORPORATE CORNER

Pay

THE STATE LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION IN PAKISTAN PUSHES FOR SMALL TICKET INSURANCE POLICIES AND ONLINE CHANNELS

ISLAMABAD N E W S D E S K

A

5 million people likely to face star vation amid recent FED hike

l

A protest was held outside

Lahore

where a large number of pan-cigarette vendors participated The protesters carried placards and raised slogans demanding that the government revise the tax rate on legal cigarettes which has led to increased demand for illegal cigarettes

The protest was led by Haji Muhammad Mubeen Yusuf Butt, President of the All-Pakistan Union of Pan Cigarette Beverage Retailers P R

s s t

r

o n g f

k a r a c h i: Sanofi is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of the Share Purchase

Agreement initiated in late 2021 with an investor consortium led by Packages Limited

Following completion of all legal and regulatory formalities and requirements, all 52 87% shares held by Sanofi Foreign Participations B V in Sanofiaventis Pakistan Limited have been transferred to the consortium led by Packages Limited and including IGI Investments, and affiliates of Arshad Ali Gohar Group, effectively acquiring ownership of Sanofi-aventis Pakistan Limited The company will be initiating the process for a name change in due course P R

D r i v i n g l i c e n s e s u s p e n s i o n n o t i c e s o f 3 4 e - c h a l l a n d e f a u l te r s i s s u e d i s l a m a b a d: Islamabad Capital Police has issued notices to suspend the driving licenses of 34 echallan defaulters An additional 84 lawbreakers who had violated traffic rules have submitted their 1,390 e-challans and paid a fine of Rs 2 78 lakh, a police public relations officer He said that the echallan defaulter vehicles are being traced and impounded in different police stations with the help of the brief cam software and Safe City cameras Meanwhile the remaining defaulters are being informed through messages, phone calls and on the official website of the Islamabad capital police, www islamabadpolice gov pk While Citizens can also check their e-challan status by entering their vehicle registration number on the following link: https://ict islamabadpolice gov pk:8081/veri/verify e challan php P R

sdespite the

insurance due to various uncertainties Pakistan has a very low insurance penetration rate of just 0 91% which is one of the lowest among regional or economic peers The reasons for the low uptake of insurance in Pakistan are varied One of the main reasons is religious perceptions Many people in Pakistan believe that insurance is a form of gambling and therefore against Islamic principles Additionally distribution channels for insurance products are not efficient, which makes it difficult for insurers to reach po-

for the company is the golden endowment, which has been technically revised in terms of the premium and payout timelines Additionally State Life is now focusing on small ticket insurance policies that can be sold conveniently through online channels State Life has also launched a digital portal for policy purchases, which is available to anyone and can be paid for via card

Although the uptake is still low the company sees potential in using digital technology to improve its internal systems such as the claims process which is yet another reason why people run away from insurance State Life is now pushing towards making insurance products more accessible to customers in Pakistan For example the company won the Sehat Card tender for Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which provides access to

D ubai welcomes 4.67m overnight visitors in first quar ter of 2023

DUBAI

A G E N C I E S

Dubai welcomed 4 67 million international overnight visitors in the first quarter of 2023 compared to 3 97 million tourists during the same period in 2022 This marks a 17 % YoY growth and the city’s best Q1 performance since the pandemic placing it firmly on track to becoming the most visited international destination according to the latest data published by Dubai s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET)

The growth, which sets the city on course to full tourism recovery contributes to the goal of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai this January to consolidate Dubai’s status as one of the world s top three cities

ISLAMABAD

The opening ceremony of Anatolian Eagle 2023 International Flight Tactical Exercise was held in Konya Turkiye Pakistan Air Force contingent consisting of F16 fighter jets along with the air and ground crew is also amongst the exercise participants Anatolian Eagle is an annual exercise which is being hosted by the Turkish Air Force The exercise is one of the largest and most complex joint air force exercises in the world which aims at promoting interoperability between

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai said: The remarkable growth in international visitation achieved by Dubai in the first quarter of 2023 demonstrates the city’s emergence as one of the key destinations leading the way in the rebound of the global tourism sector This achievement has been made possible by the far-reaching vision of the leadership to transform Dubai into one of the world’s fastest-growing metropolises and the globe’s preeminent hub for travel talent entrepreneurship and investment

The Dubai Economic Agenda recently launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai charts an ambitious new path for Dubai to enhance its contributions to shaping

the future of the global economy

The tourism sector is not only the strongest pillars of our economy but also a key enabler of Dubai s distinctive role in the world as a bridge between markets, cultures and regions In the years ahead, Dubai will continue to introduce new pathbreaking initiatives to offer a distinctive proposition for travellers and achieve its goal of becoming the world s best place to live visit work and invest in

The latest industry results - announced at the ongoing 30th edition of Arabian Travel Market in Dubai World Trade Centre positions Dubai as the fastest recovering destination globally achieving 98 % of pre-pandemic levels in Q1 2023, and exceeding the projection made by the United Nations World Trade Organisation that international tourist arrivals could reach between 80-95 % of pre-pandemic levels this year especially in Europe and the Middle East

around 175 million Pakistanis, or twothirds of the country's total population However, managing the execution of the program was a herculean task as it required hiring and training staff and setting up service desks at every hospital

In conclusion the insurance industry in Pakistan faces many challenges, but State Life Insurance Corporation has been successful in overcoming some of these challenges The company's focus on innovation and accessibility has allowed it to grow and maintain a dominant position in the market As the insurance industry in Pakistan continues to develop, it is essential that insurers focus on making their products more accessible to customers and improving their internal systems to increase customer trust and confidence

HBL launches Digital Invoicing to support entrepreneurs and freelancers

k a r a c h i: HBL launches Digital Invoicing an innovative payment solution designed for social media sellers small businesses and freelancers

The service enables them to offer their customers a convenient, secure, and cost-effective alternative to traditional payment methods, i e Cash-on-Delivery and account transfers Merchants can create einvoices for each order and send them to their customers as a shareable link over SMS WhatsApp email or any communication channel for instant digital payment; the customer clicks on it to make a payment using their MasterCard or Visa credit/debit card HBL Digital invoicing has been developed to enable digital payments for sellers that conduct business over Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other platforms in the social commerce domain It s a low-investment solution that is specially designed to empower budding entrepreneurs with improved record-keeping and regular reporting P R

A New World D isorder: Navigating a Polycrisis–Ipsos Global Trends 2023 launched in Pakistan

participating nations while providing an opportunity for shared learning The exercise mimics a

realistic aerial war and provides a real-time opportunity for the participating Air Forces to test their operational readiness Other than Pakistan and Turkiye, Air Forces of five other countries including Azerbaijan Qatar Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom are participating in the seventh consecutive edition of the exercise In the face of challenging contemporary strategic situation and growing complexity in the security environment such exercises will leverage PAF an opportunity to enhance its interoperability with friendly nations

S ilkbank attrac ts merger interest from UBL

ISLAMABAD P R

Silkbank Limited, a key player in Pakistan s Consumer Banking market has attracted merger interest from UBL one of the leading financial institutions in the country This potential merger signifies the importance of Silkbank s strong business portfolio and impressive growth prospects S i l k b a n k h a s c o n s i s t e n t l y demonstrated a robust perform-

O fficials meet to ensure completion of verific ation process for 7th Population, Housing Census-2023

customers that fosters long-term relationships Silkbank has also recently formed a REIT with M/s Arif Habib Dolmen REIT Company on Bank owned real estate which is expected to generate substantial profits analysis and ground As Provincial Government is fully responsible for completion of Census Field Work in KP The reasons of negative growth rate as identified by PBS are Non response non-coverage of collective residences like hostels madrassas etc low coverage in high rise buildings high percentage of one person and two persons households, over reporting of non-living households

k a r a c h i: As 2023 continues to unfold we re entering a New World Disorder filled with crises on multiple fronts Yet the largest trends survey ever from leading insights firm Ipsos, shows that 74% worry that their government and public services will do too little to help people in the years ahead More troubling is their lack of faith that in the institutions with the scale to help” remarked by Ipsos Global CEO Mr Ben Page while addressing top notch corporate leaders at a special seminar organised by Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industries (OICCI) in Karachi earlier this afternoon

Mr Aamir Ibrahim, CEO Jazz Pakistan, Mr M Abdul Aleem, CEO & General Secretary OICCI and Mr Abdul Sattar Babar Managing Director Ipsos in Pakistan also expressed their views on the occasion The presentation by Ben was followed by an insightful Q&A session Ben is also a visiting Professor at Kings College, London Mr Babar apprised the audience that complex times call for bold research, so Ipsos has invested in its most ambitious trends survey ever, fielded among more than 48 000 interviews with people in 50 markets covering 70% of the world s population and nearly 90% of its GDP P R

S hareholders rejoice as Lucky continues to break profit ability records

k a r a c h i: Continuing its remarkable legacy of surpassing one milestone after another on a consolidated basis Lucky Cement Limited achieved its highest ever profit after tax of PKR 48 5 billion for the nine months period ended March 31, 2023 of which PKR 11 6 billion is attributable to noncontrolling interests This represents an impressive 82 9% increase compared to the same period last year The resultant earnings per share (EPS) for the period comes out to PKR 115 24 The remarkable increase in profit includes gain on disposal made by Lucky Core Industries a subsidiary company, of approximately 26 5% of the issued and paid-up share capital of NutriCo Morinaga (Private) Limited resulting in a gain of PKR 17 2 billion Moreover following the successful completion of the Company s first buy-back of 10 0 million shares the Company announced yet another buy-back of 23 8 million of its own shares This buy-back plan is subject to obtaining the necessary approval from the members of the Company The primary objective behind this strategic move is to bolster the Company's valuations By repurchasing its own shares the Company aims to optimize its capital structure and unlock additional value for its stakeholders This buy-back initiative showcases the Company s proactive approach in managing its financial resources, fostering investor confidence and reinforcing its commitment to maximizing longterm shareholder value The Company has announced to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting of its members on May 24

ADB PRESIDENT REAFFIRMS BANK’S CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR PAKISTAN

Appreciating the ADB s long-standing and generous support to Pakistan the Secretary EAD briefed the president on a series of reforms introduced by the government

“The key reforms include containing spending reduction in untargeted subsidies scaling up social protection enhancing tax revenues adherence to market-determined exchange rate and improving the financial sustainability of energy sector, he said

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 56th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Bank Masatsugu Asakawa reposed his trust in Pakistan s reform agenda and appreciated the required tough stabilization measures taken by the government to bring about macroeconomic stability in the country

He assured that the Bank would continue support to Pakistan in the areas of domestic resource mobilization enhancing public-private partnership, promot-

ing women-inclusive finance and transitioning to renewable energy

It is pertinent to mention that the ADB Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors brings together senior leadership from the member countries to dis-

Economic woes drive gold prices to new high yet again

Gold

CA A to install bird repellent system at all airpor ts of countr y

cuss the emerging issues of global concern including food security climate change and dealing with external shocks

The central theme of the 56th meeting is Rebounding Asia: Recover, Reconnect, and Reform

The Secretary EAD also welcomed the ADB President’s announcement of the landmark Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia & the Pacific (IF-CAP)

Being one of the top ten most affected countries by the adverse impacts of climate change, he said Pakistan was interested in leveraging the new facility for its mitigation and adaptation efforts

The Secretary EAD on behalf of Prime Minster Shehbaz Sharif extended an invitation to the ADB President to visit Pakistan which he accepted

Google, Microsof t CEOs c alled to AI meeting at White House

The chief executives of Alphabet Inc s Google (GOOGL O), Microsoft (MSFT O), OpenAI and Anthropic will meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and top administration officials to discuss key artificial intelligence (AI) issues on Thursday said a White House official

The invitation seen by Reuters to the CEOs noted President Joe Biden s expectation that companies like yours must make sure their products are safe before making them available to the public ” Concerns about fast-growing AI technology include privacy violations bias and worries it could proliferate scams and misinformation

In April Biden said it remains to be seen whether AI is dangerous but underscored that technology companies had a responsibility to ensure their products were safe Social media had already illustrated the harm that powerful technologies can do without the right safeguards he said The administration has also been seeking public comments on proposed accountability measures for AI systems as concerns grow about its impact on national security and education

On Monday, deputies from the White House Domestic Policy Council and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy wrote in a blog post about how the technology can pose a serious risk to workers

The Thursday meeting will be attended by Biden s Chief of Staff Jeff Zients Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, National Security Adviser Jake

Parliament opens probe into ‘leaked’ call involving son of ex-chief justice

ISLAMABAD

S TA F F R E P O R T

A 10-member committee has been set up by Raja Pervaiz Ashraf speaker of the National Assembly to ascertain the authenticity of an audio conversation that allegedly features a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) ticket hopeful and the son of former chief justice Saqib Nisar

The audio clip shared on Twitter by a progovernment commentator appears to suggest that Najam Saqib demanded a reward for ensuring Abuzar Chadhar was granted a PTI ticket for the election to the parliament of Punjab

The development came a day after Maryam Nawaz, senior vice president of Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N), accused Nisar of orchestrating the ouster of her father Nawaz Sharif

She had also said the contents of recently leaked calls that had featured the former chief justice were important because they discussed actions that could decide the nation s fate

The motion on Wednesday to authorise the speaker to constitute the committee was approved by the lower house of parliament after a number of lawmakers called for action against those who facilitated Imran Khan

Sullivan, Director of the National Economic Council

Lael Brainard and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo among others, said the White House official who did not wish to be named

The companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment

ChatGPT an AI program that recently grabbed the public s attention for its ability to write answers quickly to a wide range of queries, in particular has attracted U S lawmakers’ attention as it has grown to be the fastest-growing consumer application in history with more than 100 million monthly active users I think we should be cautious with AI and I think there should be some government oversight because it is a danger to the public Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said last month in a television interview

Mar yam Nawaz hires young professionals to counter ‘PTI’s hegemony ’ on social media

“The PML-N is focusing a lot more on the content development to expose its political arch riyals adding that officials said that the social media team is sharing a large variety of content to party leaders, official handles, social media activists and even volunteers,” the sources said

The National Assembly Secretariat issued a circular announcing the committee headed by Aslam Bhootani, a Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) lawmaker will conduct a thorough investigation and inquiry of the said audio leaks and present a comprehensive report to the National Assembly

The committee will be assisted by “any investigative agency as deemed necessary

IIOJK among the most dangerous places for journalists in world: Repor t

Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir is one of the most dangerous places of the world where people associated with the press and media are performing their professional duties in the most difficult circumstances

According to a report compiled by Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day observed on Wednesday 20 journalists have been confirmed killed while performing their duties during the Kashmiris ongoing liberation struggle since 1989

A C H A T h e r u l i n g p a r t y P a k i s t a n M u sl i m L e a g u e N a w a z h a s h i r e d y o u n g p r o f e s s i o n a l s t o c o u n t e r P T I s h e g e m o n y o n s o c i a l m e d i a p l a t f o r m s

Highly placed sources told this scribe that the social media platforms have emerged as the new battleground as mainstream political parties of Pakistan are now at sea as to how to combat PTI s dominance in the digital space

“The PML-N has so far hired 20 young professionals having vast

moment ’: Imran

As we are standing at its turning point Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Thursday appealed the people to come out of their homes in their cities and villages on Saturday evening to express solidarity with Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and Supreme Court

In a video massage PTI Chairman said:

We are at decisive moment of the history and a mafia is making the decisions of the country Imran Khan said that they were afraid of losing elections because of historical inflation and worst unemployment PTI Chairman vowed that the mafias

experience of digital and communication transformation in the corporate sector in the last three to four months on the instructions of the party Chief Organizer Maryam Nawaz to rattle the absolute hegemony of PTI in the digital space, the sources said

“Maryam Nawaz wanted to reenergize the party’s social media to counter PTI and one official on the condition of anonymity told that MN s decision to re-energize the party s social media is yielding unbelievable results for the party in a very short period of time,” the sources added

nation

were doomed to defeat in the elections that was the reason they were hell-bent on destroying the Constitution of Pakistan and the Supreme Court

He further said that they were propagating against the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the apex court Imran Khan urged the people to come out of their homes, streets and neighborhoods to save the future of their children and the country and support the CJP and SC on Saturday as it was

decisive moment

I Meanwhile Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-

i-Insaf (PTI) Chief of Staff Shibli Faraz said that PTI Chairman Imran Khan would ap-

Officials claim that the content development strategy is immensely helping the PML-N win the narrative war on social media The strategy for the coming months is to keep developing a diverse and targeted set of digital communications to target different voter segments at the same time besides improving and increasing the number of social media activists and volunteers, officials added

The political opponents of PTI claim that Imran Khan’ party has invested heavily into creating ‘troll armies’ for pushing their narrative whereas the party on its website mentioned that the PTI Social Media Team strives to propagate PTI s Manifesto and values on Social Media

A team of 150 plus volunteers from all over the World update the party’s official social media accounts (Facebook Twitter Instagram etc ) 24 hours a day they added

pear before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) today (Thursday) even though doctors advised him 10 days rest after getting his leg injured again

In a video message on Wednesday Shibli Faraz said that Imran Khan s leg got injured again on Tuesday-last at the Lahore High Court due to the jostling brought about because of the lack of security provided by the government

He said that due to which Imran Khan could not appear in IHC on Wednesday as doctors advised him to rest for 10 days

However Shibli Faraz said that PTI Chairman would appear before the IHC because he respected the courts and always spoke supremacy of the Constitution

They include Shabbir Ahmed Dar, Mushtaq Ali, Muhammad Shabaan Wakeel, a woman scribe Aasiya Jeelani, Ghulam Muhammad Lone, Ghulam Rasool Azad, Pervez Muhammad Sultan, Shujaat Bukhari, Ali Muhammad Mahajan Syed Ghulam Nabi Altaf Ahmed Fakhtoo Saidan Shafi Tariq Ahmed Abdul Majid Butt Javed Ahmed Mir PN Handoo Muhammad Shafi Pradeeep Bhatia Ashok Sodhi and Rayees Ahmad Butt

The report pointed out that the journalists face manhandling, abductions, murder attempts, harassment, detentions, summoning to police station and death threats by Indian Army police and other agencies almost routinely in the territory It said that in the occupied territory almost routinely the journalists face manhandling abductions murder attempts and death threats by the Indian troops and all this has made their everyday work extremely difficult It revealed that the Kashmiri journalists and many other scribes while performing their professional duties are roughed up injured and detained by the troops on fake charges in the territory Indian police and sleuths of National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested photojournalists, Kamran Yousuf, on 04 March 2017, Aqib Javeed on 02 July 2019, Khalid Gul on 06 December, 2022, and Manan Gulzar Dar on 10 October, 2021, for highlighting the brutalities of the Indian troops during the pro-freedom demonstrations in the territory They were later released after long detentions Another journalist Qazi Shibli was booked under black law Public Safety Act (PSA) on 08 August 2019 and was released on 23 April 2020

solidarity with C JP, SC on S aturday

‘Decisive

urges

to express