Epaper_23-06-01 KHI

PAKISTAN HIGHLY VALUES BROAD

BASED TIES WITH BEL ARUS: PM

g S a y s g o v t t o e n h a n c e r u r a l e c o n o m y t h r o u g h v a l u e a d d i t i o n o f a g r i - p r o d

PR I M E Minister Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday said Pakistan greatly valued its cordial and broad-based relations with Belarus He also affirmed Pakistan s commitment towards building mutually beneficial cooperation with Belarus in all areas, including economic, agriculture, science and technology, information technology, education, and culture domains

The prime minister received Foreign Minister of Belarus Sergei Aleinik the PM Office Media Wing said in a press release Foreign Minister Aleinik conveyed the warm greetings of President Lukashenko to the prime minister, while highlighting that Belarus regarded Pakistan as an important country in the region and appreciated its efforts to promote regional peace and stability

The prime minister also briefed the foreign minister on the human rights violations by India in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK)

Noting that Pakistan and Belarus would be commemorating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 2024, the prime minister welcomed continued high-level exchanges and engagement

In this regard he also reiterated his invitation to the Belarusian president to undertake a visit to Pakistan at his earliest convenience Govt to enhance rural economy

g C l a i m s d u e t o g o v t ’ s K i s a n p a c k a g e , r e c o r d w h e a t y i e l d a c h i e v e d

e x c e e d i n g t h e p r e v i o u s p r o d u c t i o n i n the last ten years

Under the prime minister s directive the best-supporting prices over different crops led to the prosperity of farmers which would also boost the upcoming crops, it was added The prime minister also directed for direct provision of subsidy to farmers on fertilizers

He said that the provision of quality seeds latest machinery extension services and for agriculture research, resources would be allocated in the fiscal budget

The prime minister said that practical steps should be incorporated in the fiscal budget for complete conversion of agriculture tube wells on solar energy

‘Pre-budget relief’: Petrol prices slashed by Rs8 per litre

ISLAMABAD

S TA F

through value addition of agri-products

Prime Minister has stressed upon taking practical and permanent steps over the agriculture reforms and said that the government would improve the rural economy through the value addition of agri-products The prime minister chaired a high-level meeting on the fiscal budget 2023-24 proposals regarding the agriculture sector, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release

The prime minister observed that agriculture sector was the backbone of the national economy and the country s

progress was not possible without innovations in this sector He said that due to the incumbent government’s Kisan package a record wheat yield was achieved in the current season During the meeting the prime minister was apprised in details of the agriculture reforms during the previous one year D u e t o P M ’s s p e c i a l K i s a n P a c ka g e , t h e p r o v i s i o n o f l o a n s t o f a r m e r s o n a ff o r d a b l e t e r m s w a s n o t o n l y e nsured but due to supply of timely fert i l i z e r s a n d q u a l i t y s e e d s t h e c o u n t r y also achieved the bumper wheat crop

The prime minister was also informed about the international quality seeds, import of semen for animals breeding functioning of the agriculture institutions and implementation over Kisan package T h e m e e t i n g w a s b r i e f e d o v e r t h e National Oil Seed Policy whose objective was to reduce dependence over imp o r t o f e d i b l e o i l b y p r o v i s i o n o f quality seed Automatic Seed Certification and Track and Trace System were b e i n g i n t r o d

Could Custom Bonded Warehouses be the way to efficient petroleum impor ts?

g Pe t r o l e u m d i v i s i o n s u g g e s t s c u s t o m b o n d e d w a r e h o u s e s f o r f o r e i g n s u p p l i e r s a s a p o s s i b l e s t o p - g a p s o l u t i o n t o i m p o r t w o e s

it comes to its energy needs As an import-dependent country Pakistan currently imports around 9-10 million tons of crude oil and petroleum products each year, primarily from the Arab Gulf Market through long-term arrangements and spot purchases

time The facilities would be used by allowing foreign suppliers to import on their accounts

How does this work? Let’s look at it from the beginning Pakistan has a growing import dependence particularly when

However in recent times there has been an increase in spot purchases and smaller OMCs have been bringing in many smaller shipments which means there has been an increasing number of smaller import vessels, leading to congestion at ports and demurrage incidents Additionally difficulties in opening Letters of Credit (LCs) by international banks and foreign exchange liquidity issues have further impacted procurement planning

To alleviate these challenges, the proposed policy suggests that foreign

suppliers maintain inventories of crude oil and petroleum products in bulk form within their own Customs Public Bonded Warehouses near Pakistani ports These warehouses would operate without foreign exchange remittances until the products are sold to local purchasers or re-exported to other foreign countries The foreign suppliers would establish a subsidiary company registered in Pakistan, known as the Consignee, to undertake operational and business activities on behalf of the foreign suppliers and local purchasers The Consignee would be required to develop dedicated storage infrastructures around port premises licensed by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) under the Pakistan Oil (Refining, Blending, Transportation, Storage, and Marketing) Rules 2016 They would then sell

PIA’s plane seized once again in Kuala Lumpur

was AerCap the very same AerCap that was sold to the aforementioned Peregrine Aviation in 2017

This incident marks yet another contentious chapter in the tumultuous relationship between PIA and Peregrine Aviation In response to the detention of AP-BMH, PIA deployed another Boeing 777-200ER, registered as AP-BGK to repatriate the stranded passengers and crew APBGK landed in Islamabad at approximately 07:56 and was expeditiously assigned to operate the IslamabadKuala Lumpur route scheduled for June 1 P I A’S S TAT E M E N T O N T H E M AT T E R P I A h

the goods to Pakistan licensed purchasers, such as refineries or OMCs, against the opening of Letters of Credit (LC) through scheduled banks LC confirmation by international banks or advance payment would not be necessary, subject to mutual agreement on the currency (US Dollars or Pak Rupees) and in accordance with applicable foreign exchange regulations F o r t h e s a l e o f b o n d e d g o o d s t o local purchasers the Consignee would f i l e a n E l e c t r o n i c I m p o r t F o r m ( E I F ) along with a Goods Declaration (GD) f o r E x - b o n d i n g ( E B ) T h i s p r o c e s s would allow for the transfer of custody t o l o c a l p u r c h a s e r s f o r s u b s e q u e n t home consumption upon payment of all applicable duties and taxes by the Consignee on behalf of the purchasers Furthermore, the foreign suppliers would be permitted to re-export their goods, d e p o s i t e d i n b o n d e d w a r e h o u s e s , t o f o r e i g n b u y e r s o r c o u n t r i e s w i t h p e rmission from OGRA

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Wednesday that the price of petrol was being reduced by Rs8 while high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs5 per litre for the next fortnight The new prices of petrol and HSD are Rs262 and Rs253 per litre, respectively The price of light diesel oil (LDO) was also slashed by Rs5 per litre to Rs147 68 while the price for kerosene oil remained unchanged at Rs164 07 In a video address the minister said that there was no substantial change in the international prices of petroleum products in the last 15 days and neither had the rupee appreciated against the dollar “But we tried, considering all the factors, that whateverroom can be created [for relief] should be done and passed on to the people the finance minister said The cuts come on the heels of a previous round of price reductions in the prices of petrol HSD and LDO The government s announcement comes as it faces increased pressure due to rising petrol prices which had reached a record of Rs282 per litre earlier this year and inflation which is currently the highest in the region The recent decline in global oil prices has provided some relief but the government is still facing difficulty in keeping prices down as the rupee depreciates Oil marketing companies (OMCs) had estimated that the prices of diesel and petrol are likely to drop by Rs5 per litre Separately, sources also said that the government might keep the prices of petroleum products unchanged due to the rupee’s depreciation

Following Imran, PPP also ser ves showcause notice on Patel

In an interesting chain of events Minister for Health Abdul Qadir Patel has found himself sandwiched between his own party s ire and a rival party s legal firepower as the Pakistan People s Party (PPP) has served him a showcause notice, while PTI chairman Imran Khan fired back with a Rs10 billion defamation notice over a fiery press conference Surprisingly the PPP has issued a show-cause notice to its health minister for not taking the party into confidence before holding a news conference against the PTI chairman on May 26 During the conference Patel had claimed that traces of alcohol and cocaine were found in the former premier s urine analysis Patel had held the presser on Imran’s medical report, which was taken after he underwent an examination at PIMS hospital following his arrest on May 9 in the Al-Qadir Trust case Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the PPP chairman s office has issued the show-cause notice to the health minister and expressed extreme displeasure, as the minister held the press conference on his own without first bringing it to the party’s attention “The chairman’s office is not happy with Patel’s press conference and has not only expressed displeasure but also issued a show-cause notice to him a source in the PPP told The Express Tribune The PPP leader stated that the party was not consulted before the presser, and that he (Patel) did it on his own Through the show-cause notice, the sources said that Patel has been directed to explain his position within a week’s time A PPP lawmaker explained that taking the party leadership into confidence is crucial as the party has to move forward on different platforms and defend its position when necessary Just as the PPP issued a notice to Patel, Imran also sent him a hefty defamation notice regarding the dissemination and circulation of wrongful, baseless, false, misleading, erroneous, malicious, and defamatory information” against him during the press conference

reject ‘Minus-Imran

ISLAMABAD M I A N A B R A R

Amid reports of Minus-Imran formula presented by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) defectors Fawad Chaudhry and others sources in the former ruling party said that the party s senior leaders on Wednesday rejected the proposal saying that the MinusImran formula can t be accepted

An informed source told Pakistan Today that Fawad Chaudhry, Imran Ismail and Mahmood Moulvi had held talks with Vice Chairman PTI Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Adyala Jail and urged him to agree to Minus-Imran formula to help save democratic setup in the country

The source added that Fawad and his colleagues who left the PTI also contacted party leaders including Hammad Azhar, Asad Umar, Asad Qaisar and others and urged them to agree to their formula

However the sources said that none of the PTI leaders agreed to the formula and told the defectors that only Imran Khan would take any decision on the matter Asad Qaisar even said that Fawad Chaudhry didn t contact him

No politics without Imran Khan!, wrote former information minister Farrukh Habib on social media blogging site Twitter

PTI Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan distanced from Fawad Chaudhry and others saying that rumours of negotiations with PTI are being spread by some people who have already left the party

“It is clarified that a committee has already been constituted to negotiate which shall do so with the permission of chairman Imran Khan This was done to talk to those people in power who have pushed the country to the brink of collapse he added

Dr Babar Awan also took to Twitter to reject the proposal of Minus-Imran “Minus-Imran means Minus-People of Pakistan

Neither will people allow to minus Imran nor Imran will allow to minus people of Pakistan ‘Imran Factor is the name of the struggle of Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf Rest are the stories the people have heard time and again Neither there is a space for a King s Party nor it would have any future, concluded Babar Awan PTI leader Hammad Azhar said that only party chief Imran Khan will make the final decision regarding any solution or advice by a friend

owns one of the engines mounted on the plane

He further said that one fails to understand the need for negotiating with those who have already left and are no longer part of the PTI He concluded by saying that such rumours will not give any credibility to those people who displayed a humiliating paucity of character

I am a worker of Chairman Imran Khan and an office-bearer of the PTI If any friend wants to suggest any solution or give advice, only Imran Khan will make the final decision,” Hammad said in a tweet referring to a proposal shared by Fawad Chaudhry and others

PTI leaders

for mula’; say King’s Par ty has no future, no space

AUDIO LEAKS: IHC SUSPENDS NA BODY’S SUMMON AGAINST EX-CJP’S SON

ets while the second part comprises a call recording between Najam and Mian Uzair

TH E Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday suspended the summons issued to Najam Saqib, son of former Chief Justice of Pakistan justice (r) Saqib Nisar by the Parliamentary Committee set up to probe the purported audio leaks and sought a reply from the government in the case by June 19

A single member bench comprising Justice Babar Sattar heard the plea

The court issued the directives while hearing a petition filed by Najam Saqib the son of ex-CJP Saqib Nisar against a National Assembly committee constituted to investigate a purported audio leak, wherein a voice said to be his could be heard demanding a “reward” from a PTI leader for securing him the party ticket to contest Punjab elections

Who records the audios Justice Babar Sattar asked as the IHC took up the case The court sought a response from the government by June 19 and also barred the NA committee from taking any action against the ex-CJP’s son

In his petition Najam had requested the court to stop the proceedings of the parliamentary panel headed by Aslam Bhootani as the body was formed in violation of the National Assembly rules

He also claimed that the committee did not summon him but the secretary of the

29 out of 46 women arrested for May 9 violence released: Punjab gov t

committee still asked him to appear before the panel During the hearing, Justice Sattar inquired about the powers under which the committee had issued a notice “Is this a special committee? he asked Najam s lawyer Sardar Latif Khosa said that the special committee would follow the same rules as those for regular committees “You will have to make the relevant ministry a part of the case,” Justice Sattar said Khosa however responded by saying that there was no relevant ministry in this case but that they would do so

The lawyer argued that their petition had stated that the NA speaker and the assembly did not have the jurisdiction to

LAHORE: The Punjab government has said that 29 out of 46 women, arrested for violence on May 9, have been released on bail and 17 female prisoners are still behind bars for identity parades In a tweet it said: According to the law before the identity parade these women cannot be allowed to meet their families It asserted that the law was equal for all, promising that while no injustice will taken place, the perpetrators won’t get an concessions too “A so-called political party is exaggerating the number of women for point scoring it added S ta f f R e p o R t

Quashing 3-MPO directives by DCs, PHC sets all arrested persons free

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday annulled the 3-MPOs (Maintenance of Public Order) imposed by the deputy commissioners across the province and ordered release of all arrested persons The court had reserved its decision after the arguments were completed yesterday and announced the verdict on Wednesday The provincial apex court announced the verdict on the petitions of the accused arrested under 3-MPO A two-member bench consisting of Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Arshad Ali quashed the orders of deputy commissioners to impose 3-MPOs In a big relief to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers the PHC ordered the release of the arrested persons under 3-MPO Earlier Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General Hamid Sajjad told the PHC that around 2,000 persons were arrested under 3-MPO S ta f f R e p o Rt

To invite PTI: PML-Q decides on convening APC

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) on Wednesday decided to convene an All Parties Conference (APC) to develop a consensus for a comprehensive strategy for steering out the country of the prevailing political and economic turmoil According to a spokesman for the PML-Q, all political parties of the country including PTI would be invited to the proposed APC, date for which will be announced later The APC is aimed at bring together all major political parties of country on a platform to resolve the issues through dialogues the spokesman added He informed that date of the proposed APC would be announced after consultation with the political parties S ta f f R e p o Rt

LHC moved for Khadija Shah’s release

LAHORE: A plea has been moved in the Lahore High Court (LHC) for the release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporter and ‘prime suspect’ in the Jinnah House attack case It is pertinent to mention here that the Police arrested the daughter of former finance minister Salman Shah and fashion designer Khadija Shah in the Jinnah House attack case on May 09 The granddaughter of the former chief of army staff late Asif Nawaz Janjua is currently in Central Jail Lahore for the identification parade Punjab police and the interim government have been made respondents in the plea filed by Ms Shah s father, former finance minister, Salman Shah Khadija Shah has not been produced before the court after she was sent to jail for an identification parade ” the plea stated The former finance minister pleaded with the court to order immediate release of her daughter terming the detention illegal S ta f f R e p o R t

probe private matters We have not challenged the matter that is currently being heard by the Supreme Court ” he said referring to the pleas against the formation of a judicial commission formed to probe recent audio leaks He underlined that the audio in question was a private phone call between two private individuals and should not be subject to scrutiny by parliament

An alleged audio leak of the former CJP Saqib Nisar s son Najam Saqib with a PTI ticket holder emerged online

In the first part of the audio leak Najam Saqib and PTI ticket-holder Abuzar Chaddhar can be heard talking about tick-

In the leaked audio clip the person believed to be Saqib Nisar s son can purportedly be heard discussing the distribution of PTI tickets with the party s candidate from the PP-137 constituency

Najam had also challenged the “legality and validity” of the National Assembly speaker ’s decision to form the special committee to audit inquire and investigate his alleged audio clip

Under the garb of these audio leaks, a campaign has been launched against the petitioner and his father that some kind of gratification has been obtained by Abuzar Chaddhar for the said ticket ” he said

While he conceded that his father played a role in the award of a PTI ticket to Chaddhar, the petition, however, stated that Chaddhar explored other avenues as well to secure the party ticket

Najam said, “the petitioner is very clear in his mind that Abuzar Chaddhar was given the ticker on the basis of positive decision taken in the appeal on merit

According to the petition

The audio leak is a result of illegal surveillance of the petitioner s privacy which can neither be disseminated nor be used for incriminating the petitioner” Citing its evidential value the petition said “any document or audio leak cannot be used in any trial or inquiry unless it is clear that who recorded it or for what purpose

Abrar apologises for per forming in London af ter exit from PTI

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

Renowned singer and former PTI member Abrarul Haq has apologised for performing at a concert in London amid the political situation in Pakistan and shortly after his resignation from politics The Nach Punjaban singer landed in hot water online for performing at a concert soon after parting ways with the PTI on Friday

In an interview with Waseem Badami he acknowledged the criticism he received and apologised if his actions hurt anyone s sentiments Haq explained that the event was scheduled two months before his departure from the PTI and that he had addressed this during a recent press conference He clarified that the concert was organised as a charity event for a hospital under the Sahara Trust banner not for a housing society owned by former PTI leader Aleem Khan, as people had speculated online “It is not Aleem Khan’s housing

ISLAMABAD

scheme it is a property expo which includes several big names of real estate he said Much of the backlash he faced online was for performing so soon after his exit from the party and for performing for an event related to Khan

“If I have hurt people’s sentiments then I apologise for it said the singer

If I hadn t gone there our registration for Sahara would have been cancelled in London, we could have had a case against us, he said I should not have gone there If my people are unhappy with me then I should not have been there I didn’t realise that I could not convince them that the activity was for a hospital We have a registered charity there, it will close, said Haq Many people said that I should not have done so Some people also said that I should have followed through with my commitment Both sides are right because on one hand there is a big cause and on the other Denying media reports that he was mobbed by

Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) granted Operating License (OL) to Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-3 (K-3) on Wednesday upon completion of the licensing process under regulations PAK/909 and demonstration of safe operation of the plant

The licensing process for OL includes review of licensing submissions, inspections during initial fuel loading, initial criticality, low power and power ascension tests, and operation at full power K-3 is a Chinese designed (Hualong One) Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) of 1100MW and it is the second such unit deployed at the Karachi site adding 1100MW to the national grid Earlier in June 2022, PNRA

PTI workers Haq said that the miscreants who targeted him were planted people When I went to the concert I was told that they have increased the security because a journalist told them that the people who literally stand outside Nawaz Sharif ’s London house like beggars are planning to throw eggs at me though nothing like that happened After the concert there was no one from PTI there They were planted people and journalists who attacked me and said they wanted to question me I thought ‘why should I not answer?’ My team members were stopping me from doing so and that tussle was captured on camera Haq is one of several PTI leaders to announce his resignation from the party in the past couple of weeks He joins the ranks of Shireen Mazari, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, Maleeka Bokhari and several other party leaders In his announcement Haq said he is quitting politics because he doesn t see any purpose in staying with the party

also granted Operating License to Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 (K-2) with an installed capacity of 1100MW

The site for K-3 was registered in May 2014 and construction license was awarded in November 2015 PNRA issued Fuel Load Permit (FLP) to K-3 in December 2021 following the completion of review and assessment of Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) and other relevant documents After successful completion of criticality and pre-operational tests K-3 submitted the application for issuance of Operating License in October 2022 PNRA performs regulatory oversight during all the stages of licensing process and throughout the active lifecycle, which plays a pivotal role in safe operation of nuclear power plants in Pakistan It is important to highlight that all nuclear power plants in Pakistan are operating under continuous regulatory surveillance of PNRA

terrorists attempted to disrupt the ongoing polio campaign by firing on the members of Polio team, employed in general area Spinwam, North Waziristan District Security forces, deputed to provide protection to the Polio team effectively engaged terrorists’ location ensuring safety of all members of the team and extricated them unharmed However during ensuing fire exchange between security forces and the terrorists, Sepoy Saqib Ur Rehman (age 25 years, resident of District Mardan) sacrificed his life in the line of duty, embracing Shahadat Sanitization of the area is being carried out to

forces

eliminate the menace of terrorism and such

of our brave soldiers further

During conduct of the operation, intense fire exchange occurred between security forces and terrorists resulting in killing of 2 x terrorists Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists who remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces and killing of innocent citizens Sanitization of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area Locals of the area appreciated the operation and expressed their full support to eliminate the menace of terrorism S ta

Militar y trial of Imran admission that case against PTI chief is ‘weak’: ex-HRW head

ISLAMABAD: Former executive director of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth has said that the government s move to prosecute PTI Chairman Imran Khan in military courts is a “virtual admission that the case against him is weak” “Civilians should be prosecuted only in independent and impartial civilian courts he said Roth added that Pakistan s military courts which he said used secret procedures that deny due process rights, should not be used to prosecute civilians, even for alleged crimes against the military “For the Pakistani government to threaten to prosecute Imran Khan in compromised military courts is a virtual admission that the case against him is weak If he really did something wrong why not prosecute him in independent civilian courts?, tweeted Kenneth Roth In a subsequent tweet, Mr Roth said that civilians should be prosecuted only in independent and impartial civilian courts Pakistan s military courts which use secret procedures that deny due process rights should not be used to prosecute civilians, even for alleged crimes against the military, he asserted S ta f f R e p o R t

AEMEND expressed concerns over unofficial media in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AEMEND) on Wednesday expressed concern over unofficial censorship disappearance of journalists and unwarranted government interference in the Pakistani media operations

According to the details, AEMEND expressed deep concerns over unofficial censorship, the disappearance of journalists and unwarranted government interference in media operations in Pakistan and

demanded Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif as the Chief Executive to fulfill his responsibilities Yesterday AEMEND s executive committee held an emergency meeting to assess the challenges facing Pakistani media, particularly TV channels According to the committee’s statement EMND members stated that the government has imposed unofficial censorship depriving the public of their right to information and exerting undue pressure for onesided coverage The statement mentioned that independent and unbiased journalism and informing the public about the facts is

not became a difficult job Journalists should neither become political tools nor prove themselves to be a political worker The statements and work of some Journalists, anchors and media workers cannot be considered as journalism in any way, however, no citizen, whether a journalist or a political worker can support their forced disappearances nor can they remain silent on it The committee members urged that the current Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM s) government had expressed its commitment to ensure the freedom of press during the opposi-

tion era therefore the practical efforts should be establish as they promised AEMEND s executive committee has also approved the establishment of contacts and consultations for practical efforts

A joint committee will be formed after meetings with media stakeholders, which will inform the federal government and opposition leaders – including the PM –about the situation AEMEND s executive committee while demanding PM Shahbaz Sharif – as the Chief Executive, to fulfill his responsibilities by contacting media stakeholders to improve the situation

ECNEC ok ays long- delayed regional grid and power projec t in GB

CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE

However the Planning Ministry will reconsider the bidding construction and engineering estimates

In addition to the grid project, ECNEC has also approved the long-awaited Shagarthang Hydro Power project, which has been delayed for over 14 years The project now approved at a revised cost of Rs 18 3 billion aims to provide 26 MW of electricity to Skardu city and its adjoining areas Despite having significant hydroelectric potential, these areas currently experience over 22 hours of load shedding The Shagharthang Hydropower Project located in District Skardu will be executed by the W&P Department of Gilgit-Baltistan The revised cost of the project is Rs 18 374 billion, including a foreign exchange component of Rs 4461 03 million The project, initially esti-

mated at Rs 3 356 billion in 2009, has experienced a staggering 447 percent cost escalation, now amounting to Rs 18 616 billion

Initially the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had agreed to finance the Shagharthang Hydropower Project and the Thak Chilas Hydropower Project in GB under the Renewable Energy Development Sector Investment Programme However, due to bureaucratic hurdles and opposition from India the loan agreement for the projects could not be materialized

Despite the appointment of a project director and staff who were being paid without progress, the project faced continuous delays The project has been a consistent demand of the area in every election, as it aims to meet the electricity demand of Skardu and the surrounding areas

The Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan had previously informed

the Ministry of Planning that the required funding for the project could not be arranged by the Economic Affairs Division and Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Therefore the project needed to be funded through the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) to address the urgent need for additional power supply in Skardu The objective of the project is to construct a run-of-the-river hydropower project at Shagnarthang generating 26 MW of electricity for consumers in the Skardu valley from Basho to Sermik village on the banks of the Indus River During the meeting, ECNEC also approved the Establishment of the 48 MW Shounter Hydropower Project in the Neelam Valley District AJK at an updated cost of Rs 14 985 billion The project will be financed 85% by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and 15% through AJK

ADP Furthermore, the ECNEC considered and approved the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project (KP-RAP) in multiple districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province The project with a cost of Rs 69 400 billion aims to upgrade the rural road network of 768 4 km

PNRA grants OL to 1,100MW Karachi nuclear power plant unit-3

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

AN accountability court on Wednesday granted PTI Chairman Imran Khan bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case till June 19 against surety bonds worth Rs500 000 The PTI chief arrived at the Federal Judicial Complex shortly after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed him to approach a relevant accountability court within three working days

The Al-Qadir Trust case alleges that the PTI chief and his wife Bushra Bibi obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from a real estate firm for legalising Rs50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government Imran was whisked away from the IHC premises by paramilitary forces on May 9, leading to violent protests across the country The PTI chief had immediately approached the IHC for release but it had declared his arrest legal Imran had then approached the Supreme Court which on May 11 termed his arrest invalid and unlawful and directed him to appear before the IHC the next day

Subsequently, the IHC had granted Imran bail in the case for two weeks and stopped authorities from arrest-

ing the PTI chief till May 17 in any case registered in Islamabad after May 9 On May 17 the IHC had extended its order to prevent Imran s arrest in cases filed against him after May 9 until May 31

Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir presided over the hearing today It was attended by Imran his lawyer Khawaja Harris and NAB Prosecutor Sohail Arif

As the proceeding commenced the judge asked Harris about the IHC s order The lawyer replied that the high court had instructed Imran to appear before a relevant accountability court within three days So you filed a petition today?” Judge Bashir inquired “We had prepared a petition beforehand and decided to file it in case the need arises ” Harris responded and requested the court to grant Imran bail till June 17 as he had to appear before an anti-terrorism court in the capital on the same day

Here, NAB s Arif requested the court to fix another day as June 17 was falling on a Saturday Record rooms are closed on Saturday,” he said Subsequently, the judge extended the PTI chief ’s bail till June 19 against surety bonds worth Rs500 000 IHC directs Imran to approach accountability court within three days

Earlier today the IHC also extended Imran s in the Al-Qadir Trust case for three days and directed him to

e p u b l i c l y l i s t e d c o m p a n i e s i n c r e a s i n g s h a r e c a p i t a l t o avo i d n ew t a xe s i n u p c o m i n g b u d g e t

?

know yet as it s a developing situation Irrespective of that, what is the loophole?

Let s assume that Company Y has reserves or accumulated profits of Rs 1 bn which haven t been distributed as dividends amongst shareholders Now if you have a share of Rs 10, the company issues shares of Rs 100 million Multiplying Rs 10 with Rs 100 million means that reserves of Rs 1 billion that the company had have been distributed in kind rather than cash By issuing new shares the company has increased its authorised share capital These are bonus shares Presumably the loophole is that companies believe that they can circumvent the tax by issuing bonus shares Reserves will deplete as a result, and shareholders will acquire shares which they may sell to gain cash

approach the relevant accountability court within the same time The order was issued by a two-judge bench comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz Imran arrived at the court in a bullet-poof vehicle surrounded by a huge contingent of police A video shared on PTI’s official Twitter account showed the ex-premier entering the IHC as his security personnel held up bulletproof shields

During the hearing Harris decried that his client was appearing before multiple courts in Islamabad which was leading to a number of security issues Apparently, millions of rupees are spent in the name of security on the petitioner ’s arrival to court ” the lawyer said

At that Justice Aurangzeb asked if Imran had joined NAB s investigation into the case to which Harris replied in the affirmative Subsequently the court directed the PTI chief to approach a relevant accountability court within three working days It also extended Imran s protective bail in the case for three days

C A S E S: The IHC also heard two more petitions filed by the PTI chief pertaining to the violation of Section 144 and a bar on Islamabad police for arresting him in

any case registered after May 9

The pleas were heard by a bench comprising Justice Aurangzeb and Justice Aurangzeb Alamgir The hearing was attended by Imran, his counsel Ali Gohar and Additional Attorney General Munawwar Iqbal

“A number of cases have already been decided,” Justice Aurangzeb said at the outset of the hearing He also noted that every day a new case was brought to court

For his part Imran s lawyer said that over 150 cases were registered against his client which means that he has to appear for investigation in every case

Subsequently, the court extended Imran s protective bail on both petitions for 10 days and restrained the police from arresting him in any case lodged within the jurisdiction of Islamabad after May 9

At one point during the hearing PTI lawyer Sher Afzal requested the court to allow him present arguments on cases registered at the F-8 Katcheri in the IHC

The petitioner has security concerns, he can t appear in the F-8 Katcheri,” he argued “A majority of the cases have been registered there but appearing before that court is not possible ” Afzal further requested that the case fixed at F-8 Katcheri be moved to the Federal Judicial Complex The plea was accepted by the court

court declared the bail plea of Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi in the Al Qadir Trust case as “infructuous” after NAB Investigation Officer Mian Umer Nadeem said her arrest was not needed Judge Mohammad Bashir presided over the hearing Bushra Bibi her counsel Khawaja Harris and NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar

or simply be unwilling to do this Another option is a loophole presumably Dar may close the loophole we don’t

Hence the PSX was swamped with notices today regarding companies wanting to expand their share capital They are basically preparing to give bonus shares Once this happens their reserves will finish and issued share capital will increase, enabling them to save tax money

‘

SBP says banks showed

you explore the manual further or have industry experts comment on it they will tell you that Section 4(2) of the Act states that unless otherwise directed by the SBP authorised dealers authorised money changers and exchange companies are free to determine exchange rates for the conversion of Pakistani currency into any foreign currency or vice versa

’

ing budget may tax the profits of banks making extra profits on the dollar It was further informed that the SBP has conducted limited scope inspection of the matter and furnished its report to the Finance Division However it was observed that the overall increase in FX income of the banks was mainly driven by higher spreads due to heightened volatility In some cases, the banks charged higher spreads SBP was in the process of imposing monetary penalties on the banks It was intimated that the SBP has initiated enforcement action against the banks involved in accordance with its supervisory framework Moreover in order to ensure that the banks follow a reasonable and transparent approach in pricing their transactions and to improve the market conduct in future, SBP held meetings with the banks and warned them about their practices, advising them to rationalise the spreads being charged to the customers

The committee sought a report in black and white and decided to drop the agenda item

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

These committees would be tasked to give concrete shape to innovations in this sector mechanization provision of quality seeds direct provision of subsidy to farmers on fertilizers, solarization of tube wells and policy measures

The committees, for the purpose of export in agriculture sector would also ensure the linking of value addition and agriculture production with the global value chains so that the production of farmers could be timely supplied to the international markets

The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers

Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Rana Sanaullah, Tariq Bashir

Cheema, Ahsan Iqbal, Engineer Khurram Dastagir, Makhdoom Murtaza Mahmood, PM’s adviser Ahad

Khan Cheema Minister of State Dr Musadiq Malik

Ayesha Ghaus Pasha PM s Special Assistants Tariq

Bajwa Jehanzaib Khan Tariq Pasha governor State Bank of Pakistan, chairman FBR and other high offi-

cials Besides different prominent experts and farmers in modern agriculture also attended the meeting

The prime minister regretted that the previous government had intentionally destroyed the agriculture research institutions which were established by them and directed for the immediate functioning of the Agriculture Policy Institute He observed that during the current year they had ensured the prosperity of farmers by extending the best support price on wheat, cotton and sugarcane The prime minister also directed to the establishment of small fruit processing and pulping units in the villages

“The government will make the country self-sufficient in edible oil by increasing its production With autarky in edible oil and other food grains the dependence on import will decrease, besides it will result in saving of precious foreign reserves, a press release in Urdu language quoted the prime minister as saying

The government would ensure the provision of timely loans to farmers on easy terms he further added

leaders rejec t ‘Minus-Imran formula’; say King’s Par ty has no future, no space

PTI

01 PTI senior leader Asad Qaiser strongly rejected

Fawad

We stand with the ideology of Tehreek-e-Insaf and Imran Khan Zain also shared a short video on Twitter featuring his father s association with Imran Khan over the past few decades Zain added that his father has only done politics of principles and service not position and greed Zain Qureshi made it clear that Qureshi was with Imran Khan yesterday and today The statement comes after former PTI leaders Fawad Chaudhry Imran Ismail and Mahmood Baqi Moulvi said they had contacted and held talks with the former and present leadership of the party, including Hammad Azhar

irresponsibility

in exchange rate manipulation inquir y

Pakistan highly values broad based ties with Belarus: PM

The leaks need to be both probed and stopped

TH E I R lordships of the Supreme Court are not known for their sense of irony Therefore it is to be assumed that the current spate of audio leaks involving them the mother-in-law of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and a senior lawyer escaped the bench hearing the case of the enquiry commission appointed by the government The bench adjourned till any day next week when it will take up the plea by the Attorney General for the reconstitution of the bench excluding those members who were involved either like the CJP through a relative or personally having been mentioned in one of the leaked conversations

The Supreme Court has thus kept the enquiry commission from continuing with the enquiry into what is after all a very important subject

What is noticeable is that the whole question of leaks has been politicized and no one is inclined to pursue the question of who is either tapping phones or faking the voices of participants sufficiently well to make them seem credible The judicial community is presently being targeted but not so long ago it had become clear that the conversations in the Prime Minister ’s office itself were being recorded A culprit was discovered but the leaks have not stopped The presumption may be made that the judiciary was being tapped at that time too and that the PM and ministers are not immune presently The enquiry commission seems to have become another battleground for the struggle within the Supreme Court over the Chief Justice’s power of forming benches However the essential question is still being ducked: who is making the recordings or at least enough samples so that fakes may be concocted? And then releasing them in such a cloak-and-dagger fashion? The intelligence agencies are obvious suspects but so far not even a pro-forma denial has been obtained from them for the latest round of leaks

Any investigation should not be directed at partisan ends and finger pointing It should be directed at uncovering the truth behind a scandal that has one by one reduced the credibility of all institutions Institutions left alone should not be happy for two reasons: first their turn might come any time; second all institutions share in the discredit

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

L a h o r e n e e d s a M a y o r ?

T h e C i t y ’s c i t i z e n s d o n’t c o n t ro l t h e i r o w n c i t y

IDr Farid Ahmed Malik son of Nazir Ahmed Malik desire to revive and restore Lahore the city of my birth Once a child growing up around the historic building of the Lahore Municipal Corporation (LMC) now called Metropolitan Corporation of Lahore (MCL), I have painfully lived through the decline of the heart of Pakistan

Every morning when I walked to school located on the Mall the roads were wiped and cleaned at dawn Garbage was promptly removed Tongas were only allowed to cross the road to preserve its cleanliness An elected Mayor ran the city There was a complete chain of command

After school hours we played on the grounds surrounding the LMC building called Gol Bagh as it was round in shape Then a road was cut through to provide a straight link with Lower Mall where the PMG Building is located Zulfikar Ali Bhutto launched his PPP in November 1967 at the YMCA Hall not too far from there

During the historic Islamic Summit that the city hosted in 1974, ZAB named it Nasir Bagh while the National Stadium became Qaddafi Stadium and both names stand till today as a homage to the great leaders of the Arab world The Lahore Omnibus Service ( LOS ) was also launched from here which covered the entire length and breadth of the city

After the first Martial Law in October 1958, the place started to change Instead of focusing on the needs of the people it turned into a propaganda point where huge portraits of the dictator were displayed under the caption of The Saviour together with Allama Iqbal The Conceiver with no mention of the Quaid-e-Azam As a Muslim League child I asked my father about this lapse but he had no answer In the 1965 Presidential elections when Madare Millat Fatima Jinnah decided to challenge the dictator she was declared a traitor and Indian Agent by the stalwarts of the Sarkari League some of whom are now part of the two sub-strings called PML(N) and PML(Q) The Quaid s vision of a progressive democratic Pakistan did not suit them

Soon the control of the city was handed over to un-elected administrators who had no love for Lahore and its dwellers Several important functions were

also taken away The centralized command was bifurcated into several new departments that were headed by civil servants who relied on instructions from above Those at the bottom were rendered powerless the people lost control of their home Property tax collection was handed over to the newly created Excise and Taxation Department which was then part of the West Pakistan Government The Lahore Improvement Trust (LIT), later the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) was created for town planning and approval of building plans Transport House was built across the road from Faletti s Hotel which took control of the entire public transportation system It did not end here The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) was launched and then the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) came into being The Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary are now in total control of the province of which the city of Lahore is just a small entity in the larger context of the province The people of Lahore are at the mercy of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats who have no love for the city that has produced six Nobel Laureates Mian Badruddin a son of the cit y retired as Chief Engineer of LMC in the 1960s He kept working till the last day of his life Every morning he walked from his house in Delhi Darwaza to his office or the district court where he was called as an expert witness He knew every building of Lahore by heart, was replaced by an engineer of the Housing and Physical Planning Department who was an alien to the historic metropolis The corporation schools and dispensaries that served the residents of the city have also perished

erful directly elected Mayor Lahore can also brigten as it used to be, a functional city in control of its residents, not imported civil servants and administrators seeking instructions from CM/PM secretariats

A c o n t ro l ro o m h a s

t o b e e s t a b l i s h e d w i t h i n

t h e o f f i c e o f t h e M ayo r i n

t h e M C L bu i l d i n g t o

m o n i t o r t h e s e r v i c e s

p rov i d e d t o t h e p e o p l e .

T h e r e h a s t o b e a

f u n c t i o n a l c h a i n o f

c o m m a n d t o r u n t h e

c i t y i n t h e b e s t i n t e r e s t s

o f i t s r e s i d e n t s

During the last rainy season I was driving down Lawrence Road I saw huge piles of sewage sludge on the road It was a strange sightt so I stopped and inquired about its origin I was told that WASA had cleaned the gutters and left the dirt on the road for LWMC to lift On my way back after a few hours the rain came and washed the sludge back into the gutters It was an exercise in futility,a total waste of effort My city is an orphan and there is no one in control Even the devolution plan has not worked The government of PTI decided to hold direct elections for the Mayor of Lahore which is a good idea to put the city back on track In Delhi, the elected CM of the city has turned it around Under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology and a former civil servant, it is a model city in India that is run by its own son With a pow-

The Shangri-La dialogue and Sino-US relations

C h i n a i s t a ki n g t h e o p p o r t u n i t y o f s h owc a s i n g i t s G S I

guarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity

China has proactively released white papers on its defence policies and has actively participated in forums like the Shangri-La Dialogue

Dr IMrAN KHALID

TH E Shangri-La Dialogue, widely recognized as Asia’s foremost defence summit holds immense potential for fostering dialogue addressing regional security challenges and developing innovative approaches collectively However recent iterations of the Dialogue have witnessed certain countries in the Asia-Pacific region– as well as the USA– misuse the platform to levy criticism against China

Understandably such biased rhetoric has elicited a natural aggressive response from China But at the same time China perceives this forum as an opportunity to engage in public diplomacy, showcasing its commitment to transparency in defence policies, including operations in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits

By actively participating in the Shangri-La Dialogue China aims to dispel misconceptions foster understanding and highlight its willingness to contribute constructively to regional security cooperation China has a long-standing history of non-aggression, refraining from posing any military threat to other countries Its military development has consistently focused on safe-

C h i n a Ês p r e s e n c e a t t h e S h a n g r i - L a D i a l o g u e exe m p l i f i e s i t s d e d i c a t i o n t o c o n s t r u c t i v e e n g ag e m e n t , d e m o n s t r a t i n g i t s w i l l i n g n e s s t o e n g ag e i n o p e n d i s c u s s i o n s a n d c o n t r i bu t e t o t h e d ev e l o p m e n t o f a m o r e t r a n s p a r e n t a n d s t a bl e r e g i o n a l s e c u r i t y f r a m ewo r k

These initiatives are aimed at fostering dialogue and ensuring that high-level discussions take place in an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding It is crucial that no country undermines the spirit of the Shangri-La Dialogue, as it serves as a platform for meaningful engagement among the regional countries China’s commitment to transparency and its willingness to participate in multilateral discussions illustrates its dedication to peaceful cooperation and its desire to build trust with its neighbours It is essential that all parties involved recognize and appreciate these efforts in order to foster a climate of trust and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region Regrettably, the USA has deviated from the principles of open communication and cooperation

In 2018 when Li Shangfu was head of equipment development under the military commission in a concerning move the US government levied sanctions on him, citing allegations of weapons dealings with Russia The U S Department of Treasury placed Li Shangfu on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, a move that has only complicated the potential for productive engagement Beijing has been unequivocal in his stance expressing that any meeting between Li Shangfu with his US counterpart during the Shangri-La Dialogue can only occur if he is removed from the SDN list It is crucial for the USA to consider the potential ramifications of its actions and the message they convey By removing Li Shangfu from the SDN list the Biden Administration can demonstrate its commitment to meaningful dialogue and create an environment conducive to building trust and mutual understanding In doing so, both countries can work towards de-escalating tensions and fostering a more constructive and cooperative relationship

As regional tensions remain a pressing concern including the establishment of a NATO liaison office in Tokyo it becomes imperative to reassess the role of regional security organizations vis-à-vis the principles enshrined in the

UN Charter The SLD 2023 offers an opportune moment to engage in constructive discussions on this matter By revisiting the dynamics between regional security mechanisms, the Dialogue can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the evolving security landscape in the Asia-Pacific region It provides a unique opportunity for stakeholders to collectively explore fresh perspectives and forge a path toward enhanced regional cooperation, based on the principles of mutual respect and shared responsibility Amidst this pivotal juncture the ShangriLa Dialogue can serve as a catalyst for meaningful dialogue enabling participants to explore the complexities of regional security challenges and devise inclusive approaches that foster stability, understanding, and cooperation among nations China has demonstrated unwavering dedication through its groundbreaking Global Security Initiative (GSI) which is aligned with the principles enshrined in the UN Charter

At its core the GSI seeks to address the root causes of international conflicts and foster collaborative endeavours aimed at bringing greater stability to our volatile era During the forthcoming Shangri-La Dialogue, it is expected that China will actively engage in discussions centred around the GSI concept This innovative approach represents a new avenue for promoting collective security in Asia and beyond While it may require time for other participating nations to fully grasp the profound implications of the GSI, China remains eager to share its vision and engage in dialogue Through meaningful engagement and openmindedness the participating nations can explore the potential of the GSI and pave the way for a more stable and harmonious global security architecture

China’s presence at the Shangri-La Dialogue exemplifies its dedication to constructive engagement demonstrating its willingness to engage in open discussions and contribute to the development of a more transparent and stable regional security framework

The writer is a freelance columnist

The glory of Lahore has to be restored Starting with the revival of education; every five-year-old must have space in a neighbourhood school to ensure 100 percent primary coverage, it s a constitutional requirement (Article 25A) Then comes employability Youth have to be put to work and everyone between the ages of 5 to 35 has to be made productive with appropriate skill sets No one should sleep hungry at night unless advised by the doctor Food banks can be established for distribution of dry ration to the needy based on reliable NADRA data A control room has to be established within the office of the Mayor in the MCL building to monitor the services provided to the people There has to be a functional chain of command to run the city in the best interests of its residents The much publicized NFC Award has been devolved to the provinces but has failed to reach the cities and districts where it is most needed The city of Lahore must take control of its own revenue and then spend it on the people who toil to raise it Lahore is the heart of the republic which continues to bleed Once the leakages are plugged here the model can then be replicated all over the land Revival of the city of Iqbal will then lead to the resurrection of Jinnah’s Pakistan a progressive welfare state where people can live in peace and prosper In the words of the Poet of the East Har Fard Hai Millat Kay Muqadar Ka Sitara (Every individual is a shining star of the nation s destiny)

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

An inter-provincial link facing threat

F O L L O W I N G the heavy monsoon rains last year infrastructure in Balochistan among many other sectors like agriculture and livestock sustained serious damages, leaving many a dam breached that led to flooding in adjacent areas Apart from dams, flooding in the Hub River washed away one of the essential bridges connecting the province with Sindh

The bridge had already exhausted its scheduled life having been built in 1972 with a planned span of 20 years meaning 1992 Over the last 30 years it was functional with gradually increasing uncertainty About six months after its inevitable collapse last year the National Highway Authority (NHA) started the construction of a temporary muddy passage across the Hub river to facilitate the flow of traffic The first spell of rain this year in April exposed the fragility of the arrangement, with the mud-plastered route unable to sustain even a low-level flood following the rains in Hub and surrounding areas This was merely because of the poor design and the use of substandard material that was not sufficient to make it worthwhile

Moreover following the rains the local authorities rushed to close the route for the daily commute leaving the residents of the city in a quandary However, the risk involved in the matter was understandable, as can be seen in the accompanying photograph above The irony is that despite the risk, the route has been opened not only for the commuters, but also for both heavy and light traffic This has only increased the risk manifold as the path can cave in any time under the constant load of heavy traffic Furthermore the recent flooding in the river has hampered the construction work that is being carried out by the National Logistic Cell (NLC) which has been given the contract of building a new bridge By the looks of it, rains and floods caused by climate change will affect the pace of work repeatedly, and it may take several years for the project to get completed The NHA should ramp up the repair work of the mud-plastered route and the relevant authorities need to ban the movement of heavy traffic to give the route some realistic chance to survive till the construction work is completed

REHMAN MAGSI HUB

People and state

A L L three organs of the state legis-lature executive and judiciary are presently busy fighting a vicious web of infighting In this battle royale, the citizens are merely helpless bystanders They are not at all worried about who should be in power All they worry about is to find a way to feed their families, to somehow avoid getting mugged on the streets, and that they may finally get possession of that small plot of land for which they had made the payment decades ago The word constitution does not hold more logic than say hunger or does it?

People just want safety and security and if possible the liberty to live the life they want to live These and other equally innocent desires were the sole reason that the people had entered into a social contract that they would jointly put in place a mechanism called a state, and expected it to act as an honest mediator to help resolve their disagreements and disputes

Simply stated they bartered away a small portion of their rights for the protection of larger part of their rights defined in the Constitution as fundamental rights How the so-created state would perform was decided by marking out duties, subsequently called the separation of powers Mind you, at the centre of the social contract was the security and wellbeing of the individual and not the aggrandisement of the state This social contract did put an end to what we now call the state of nature, and what the people got in return was the present state which turned out to be a prison where the fundamental rights were forced to take the back seat This is what is happening in today s Pakistan While the interior of Sindh is still under water the people in queues are dying in stampedes in an attempt to get free flour, and the clients cases in courts are pending awaiting verdicts for years, the country s elite is fighting among themselves for the throne

S o c i a l M e d i a B l a c k o u t a n d

h e P o l i t i c a l L a n d s c a p e

SO C I A L Media’s influence has become increasingly prevalent in recent times and its power in facilitating freedom of speech is undeniable But when the authorities shut down all the sources of this power who should be held responsible? And how do we navigate this situation when these measures effectively curb the dissenting voices? These questions require a nexus approach when it comes to Pakistan’s political landscape where there is so much diversity of opinion that a layman gets tangled in the web of the country s politics The recent social media blackout amid former Prime Minister Imran Khan s arrest has made these questions resurface

This did not stagger the politically motivated youth of Pakistan as such blackouts find their roots in the 75y e a r s - l o n g h i s t o r y o f P a k i s t a n T h e c e n s o r s h i p o f media can be traced back to the genesis of the media industry starting from the rule of a military dictator who implemented the laws of pre-publication censorship in 1979 This censorship of print media was not even covert as the editors, on the orders of the authori t y, u s e d t o l e a v e t h e s p a c e s b l a n k i n n e w s p a p e r s i n case of censorship of articles

Although the electronic media has not been immune to these draconian laws in the past the martial law under Gen Pervez Musharraf in 1999 marks the turning point for free media with the establishment of independent news channels Benazir Bhutto s tenure also initiated a distinct phase of open-mindedness by giving consent to cover opposition voices but it was short-lived and even-

In recent times, social mediaÊs emerg ence proved to be a blessing in disguise for journalists and dissenting voices in Pakistan, providing a platform to raise concerns

tually reverted to one-sided coverage

In recent times, social media’s emergence proved to be a blessing in disguise for journalists and dissenting voices in Pakistan providing a platform to raise concerns The youth of Pakistan preferred to rely on this medium to play their role as the major stakeholders of the state This social media boom persisted briefly and soon faced the barricades in the form of censorships and blackouts One of the first cases of social media censorship occurred in Pakistan in 2012 when the government imposed a ban on YouTube as a result of a movie on Islamophobia that led to demonstrations in countries with an overwhelming Muslim majority After a four-year prohibition the government Google and the owner of YouTube came to a settlement enabling the site to be launched in the country with the capacity for the authorities to block any undesirable content Pakistan then passed the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) in 2017 which gave the government the authority to prohibit and ban any online information that posed a threat to public order morality or national security International human rights organizations criticized this law for being ambiguous and giving the government unrestrained power to control internet information, even though it was designed to stop cybercrime

The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) increased the government’s power over online information As a result of this law s provisions for data interception surveillance and online content restriction there are questions regarding the government s capacity to sway online opinion The government has been utilizing a variety of strategies to limit free speech on the In-

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ternet, which has resulted in an increase in social media restrictions over the past few years

Following violent protests by an Islamist group in May 2021 the government momentarily restricted access to several social media websites including Facebook Twitter and WhatsApp The platforms according to the authorities were being used to promote hate speech and foster aggression

The government justified these blackouts as crucial steps to tackle security concerns posed by politically and religiously motivated groups and people who use social media to promote their propaganda and instigate violence especially in the context of Pakistan s continuing war against terrorism and political unrest it experiences most of the time Whether or not these threats have been addressed by the government over the past half-century, the public is struggling to cope with the ever-increasing pace of the internet, online education, and e-commerce

The state of freedom of speech has never been laudable but these measures to meet the security goals are threatening the freedom of speech on a smaller scale and e-commerce on a larger scale Many business startups use social media to boost their small enterprises while fast internet connectivity is the bread and butter of freelancers For instance, in 2021, it was reported that an online clothing business suffered a significant loss of income due to the social media blackout caused by the threat of protests by Tehreek Labaik Pakistan in 2021 A case study about social media censorship in Pakistan reported 41 blackouts between 2012 and 2017, raising questions about the validity of cyber laws in Pakistan Internet and social media platforms had a significant

To m a i n t a i n i n d i v i d u a l s Ê f u n d a m e n t a l r i g h t s , s u ch a s t h e i r f r e e d o m o f s p e e ch a n d a c c e s s t o i n fo r m a t i o n , g ov e r n m e n t s mu s t b a l a n c e s e c u r i t y c o n c e r n s w i t h t h o s e r i g h t s a s t h e c o u n t r y p ro g r e s s e s . T h e h u g e p o t e n t i a l o f s o c i a l m e d i a a n d t h e i n t e r n e t t o a dva n c e i n n ova t i o n a n d g row t h i n t h e d i g i t a l e r a c a n o n ly b e c o m p l e t e ly r e a l i z e d by Pa k i s t a n a t t h a t p o i n t .

outage on May 9 in the aftermath of widespread protests in response to the arrest of former prime minister and PTI chairman Imran Khan Amid political instability, the reinstatement of mobile broadband connections on May 12 24 hours after Khan’s release led to a general public outcry concerning internet freedom

The tension between the government’s need for control and the people s right to information lies at the very heart of this problem It s not simply a question of turning off social media for several hours or days; it s about how these acts will affect the core principles of democracy Amy wellfunctioning democratic system depends on the freedom of speech and expression, thus any attempt to restrict these rights must be taken seriously Pakistan’s sudden social media shutdown is only one instance of the difficulties encountered by those who want to exercise their right to free speech in a quickly shifting political landscape

We must have an open and honest conversation about how social media affects our democracy and how we can defend our fundamental liberties in the face of expanding government regulation as its influence grows

To maintain individuals’ fundamental rights such as their freedom of speech and access to information governments must balance security concerns with those rights as the country progresses The huge potential of social media and the internet to advance innovation and growth in the digital era can only be completely realized by Pakistan at that point

T h e w r i t e r s c a n b e re a c h e d a t K u m u v e e r 1 2 0 0 @ g m a i l c o m a n d K h o s o k a l i m u l l a h 2 0 1 6 @ g m a i l c o m

Ar tificial intelligence, democracy and the global order

Th e a n a l y t i c a l p o we r o f a d va n c e d A I t o o l s c o u l d c re at e t e c h n o l o g i c a l l e v i at h a n s a n d a l l - k n o w i n g s t at e s

mains for collision contest and conflict including in cyberspace and outer space And they will determine what we consume, inevitably concentrating the returns from economic growth in some regions, industries and firms while depriving others of similar opportunities and capabilities

INVESTORPLACE L U K E L A

HAV E you experimented with ChatGPT yet?

If you have then you know that the conversational AI chatbot is absurdly impressive ChatGPT can answer any question about the history of the stock market or explain complex topics in simple terms It can help with algebra homework write advertisements draft resumes give relationship advice write music crack jokes – even pass the University of Minnesota Law School s final exams But believe it or not ChatGPT is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to AI s potential It s smart by today s standards But it ll be dumb compared to what comes next That is, thanks to two important factors, the AI programs we are playing with today – like ChatGPT – will become infinitely better and more abundant within just a few years Those two factors are data and cost

FUELING AI’S DEVELOPMENT: Let s talk about the data first When we talk about AI, we re using a catch-all term for machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) models that learn and improve over time And those models are informed entirely with data Basically the more data they have the more data they can learn from the better the models get, and the more capable the AI becomes In the AI world, data is everything Think of it this way If AI is a car, then data is the fuel The data powers the AI model, helping it get from point A (an instruction or a command) to point B (an action)

A N E X P L O S I O N O F D ATA : Indeed the global volume and granularity of data is exploding right now mostly because every object in the world is becoming a data-producing device Over the past 20 years, we have seen a significant shift toward the “Smart World ” Devices have all begun to generate large amounts of data – phone usage data in-car driving data consumer preference data fitness and activity data As we ve sprinted into this Smart World the amount and speed of data that AI algorithms have access to has exploded, making those AI algos more capable than ever For example, every minute, users send 575,000 tweets; share 240,000 photos on Facebook; stream 452 000 hours of Netflix (NFLX) Google conducts 5 7 million searches and consumers spend $283 000 on Amazon (AMZN) All of that data is gathered and analyzed by companies, who use it to train their AI algos and make t h e m i n f i n i t e l y s m a r t e r W h y e l s e d o y o u t h i n

recent years?

t h e v o l u m e o f d a t a w e ’ v e c r e a t e d a n d

HYPERSPEED: And guess what? The world isn’t going to take any steps back in terms of this smart pivot Instead this transition will accelerate According to Statista in 2020 the world produced about 47 zettabytes of data But that number is expected to grow by more than 45X to 2,142 zettabytes of data by 2035 More data Better ML and NLP models Smarter AI Thus as the volume of data produced soars more than 45X over the next few years ML and NLP models will get 45X better (more or less) and AI machines will get 45X smarter (more or less) Folks ChatGPT may be impressive but it will be regarded as child s play in the AI world within a few years

FOLLOWING THE COST-DECLINE CURVE:

But great AI is useless if it’s expensive AI AI will only profoundly change the world – and unlock $15 trillion of economic value over the next 10 years – if it is cheap enough to be deployed abundantly That brings us to a discussion of the second factor which will drive forward the AI Revolution of the 2020s: costs AI is built on top of computers, which benefit from both Moore’s Law – the number of transistors on a semiconductor chip will double every two years – and Wright s Law – the cost of production decreases at a constant percentage for every cumulative doubling of production volume Therefore, the computing costs for AI – which have been plunging for years – should continue to drop for the near future Not to mention, as data becomes more abundant in the coming years, the cost of data itself will drop too And so will the costs to gather analyze and store it

Put it all together and AI training costs should crash in the 2020s The cost to train a large language model to GPT-3 level performance was $4 6 million in 2020 Last year, it dropped to $450,000 – below even aggressive forecasts from ARK Invest for a drop to $740 000 If this cost-decline curve persists AI training costs could fall to $30 per model by 2030 – down 99 999% from 2020

THE FINAL WORD ON CHATGPT: Those dots are easy to connect If AI gets infinitely better and cheaper over the next decade, it will become an ubiquity just like the internet – changing the world unlocking a $15 trillion market and giving rise to some generational wealth-creating opportunities on Wall Street

witnessed

launch of GPT-4 Bard Claude Midjourney V5 Security Copilot and many other AI tools that have surpassed almost everyone s expectations These new AI models apparent sophistication has beaten most experts predictions by a decade For centuries, breakthrough innovations from the invention of the printing press and the steam engine to the rise of air travel and the internet have propelled economic development expanded access to information and vastly improved health care and other essential services But such transformative developments have also had negative implications, and the rapid deployment of AI tools will be no different AI can perform tasks that individuals are loathe to do It can also deliver education and health care to millions of people who are neglected under existing frameworks And it can greatly enhance research and d e v e l o p m e n t p o t e n t i a l l y u s h e r i n g i n a n e w g o l d e n age of innovation But it also can supercharge the prod u c t i o n a n d d i s s e m i n a t i o n o f f a k e n e w s ; d i s p l a c e human labor on a large scale; and create dangerous, d i s r u p t i v e t o o l s t h a t a r e p o t e n t i a l l y i n i m i c a l t o o u r very existence

Specifically many believe that the arrival of artificial general intelligence an AI that can teach itself to perform any cognitive task that humans can do will pose an existential threat to humanity A carelessly designed AGI (or one governed by unknown black box” processes) could carry out its tasks in ways that compromise fundamental elements of our humanity

After that what it means to be human could come to be mediated by AGI

Clearly AI and other emerging technologies call for better governance especially at the global level

But diplomats and international policymakers have historically treated technology as a “sectoral” matter best left to energy, finance or defense ministries a myopic perspective that is reminiscent of how until recently climate governance was viewed as the exclusive preserve of scientific and technical experts Now with climate debates commanding center stage climate governance is seen as a superordinate domain that comprises many others, including foreign policy Accordingly, today’s governance architecture aims to reflect the global nature of the issue with all its nuances and complexities

As discussions at the Group of Seven s recent summit in Hiroshima suggest technological governance will require a similar approach After all, AI and other emerging technologies will dramatically change the sources, distribution and projection of power around the world They will allow for novel offensive and defensive capabilities and create entirely new do-

Importantly technologies such as AI will have a substantial impact on fundamental rights and freedoms our relationships, the issues we care about and even our most dearly held beliefs With its feedback loops and reliance on our own data, AI models will exacerbate existing biases and strain many countries’ already tenuous social contracts That means our response must include numerous international accords For example ideally we would forge new agreements (at the level of the United Nations) to limit the use of certain technologies on the battlefield A treaty banning lethal autonomous weapons outright would be a good start; agreements to regulate cyberspace especially offensive actions conducted by autonomous bots will also be necessary New trade regulations are also imperative Unfettered exports of certain technologies can give governments powerful tools to suppress dissent and radically augment their military capabilities Moreover, we still need to do a much better job of ensuring a level playing field in the digital economy, including through appropriate taxation of such activities

As G7 leaders already seem to recognize with the stability of open societies possibly at stake it is in democratic countries interest to develop a common approach to AI regulation Governments are now acquiring unprecedented abilities to manufacture consent and manipulate opinion When combined with massive surveillance systems the analytical power of advanced AI tools can create technological leviathans: all-knowing states and corporations with the power to shape citizen behavior and repress it if necessary within and across borders It is important not only to support UNESCO s efforts to create a global framework for AI ethics, but also to push for a global Charter of Digital Rights

The thematic focus of tech diplomacy implies the need for new strategies of engagement with emerging powers For example how Western economies approach their partnerships with the world s largest democracy India could make or break the success of such diplomacy India s economy will probably be the world s third largest (after the United States and China) by 2028 Its growth has been extraordinary, much of it reflecting prowess in information technology and the digital economy More to the point India’s views on emerging technologies matter immensely How it regulates and supports advances in AI will determine how billions of people use it Engaging with India is a priority for both the U S and the European Union, as evidenced by the recent U S -India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology and the EU-India Trade and Technology Council which met in Brussels this month But ensuring that these efforts succeed will require a reasonable accommodation of cultural and economic contexts and interests Appreciating such nuances will help us achieve a prosperous and secure digital future The alternative is an AI-generated free for all

Manuel Muniz is provost of IE University and dean of the IE School of Politics Economics and Global Affairs Samir Saran is president of the Observer Research Foundation

There’s a $15 trillion market lurking within ChatGPT, etc

M E D I A F R E E D O M : C H I N A S L A M S I N D I A F O R

I L L T R E AT M E N T O F C H I N E S E J O U R N A L I S T S

SI N O - I N D I A relations further strained as media reports claimed India is deliberately creating a hostile environment to hinder the normalization of bilateral ties

Moreover an official rebuke by Chinese foreign ministry against Indian maltreatment of Chinese journalists further exposed the Indian harsh treatment of Chinese journalists working in India

It may be noted that Indian authorities have already been called out by international media human rights organisations and media organisations for curbing media freedom

India has been already blamed for crackdown against domestic and foreign media Journalists from BBC, Al-Jazeera and other media organisations have been targeted by Indian government authorities

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Wednesday slammed the Indian government for giving unfair and discriminatory treatment to Chinese media workers based in India, warning that the renewal of visas for Indian journalists in China will depend on whether India will work in the same direction with China

“Chinese journalists have suffered unfair and discriminatory treatment in India for a long time In 2017 the Indian side shortened the period of validity of visas held by Chinese journalists in India to three months or even one month without any valid reason Since 2020, the Indian side has refused to review and approve Chinese journalists applications for stationing in India

said Mao Ning the foreign ministry spokesperson of China

As a result the number of Chinese journalists stationed in India has plummeted from 14 at the normal time to just one As we speak, the Indian side still has not renewed the visa of the last Chinese journalist in the country The number of Chinese journalists

stationed in India is about to drop to zero

Considering this the Chinese side has no choice but to take appropriate counter-measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese media organizations, she added

“However, I would like to stress that China is still willing to maintain communication with India under the principles of mutual respect equality and mutual benefit We hope that India will work in the same direction with China, seriously respond to China s legitimate concerns, and take concrete steps as soon as possible to create favorable conditions for restoring normal exchange between the media organizations of the two countries she maintained

The comments came after a Wall Street Journal on Tuesday claimed that China and India have ejected each other s journalists and deepened the rift between the world s two most populous nations

The Wall Street Journal report said that China and India have virtually wiped out mutual media access because New Delhi has recently denied visa renewals to the last two remaining Chinese journalists in the country, from the Xinhua News Agency and the China Central Television

There were four Indian journalists based in China at the beginning of the year two of

whom have not been granted visas to return to China, the WSJ report said, citing a Chinese official A third was told this month that his accreditation had been revoked but he remains in the country

The ill treatment received by Chinese media reporters in India dates back to 2017 when the Indian side unreasonably shortened the validity period of visas for Chinese journalists stationed in India to three months or even one month

Since 2020 India has refused to approve long-term stay applications for Chinese journalists to its country In December 2021, Chinese journalists stationed there were forced to leave the country within 10 days, despite having two months left on their visas, for which the Indian side had failed to give an

Chinese tech entrepreneurs keen to ‘de-China’ as tensions with US soar

PR OFIT

R E U T E R S

explanation

Recently India refused to extend the visa of the only Chinese journalist in the country and forced him to leave India s policy toward China is becoming increasingly tough, deliberately creating a hostile atmosphere to hinder the recovery of China-India relations, experts warned, noting that the key to the issue is that India still holds a Cold War mentality and regards China as its biggest threat

This is evident in India s hosting of the G20 tourism ministerial meeting in the disputed area of Kashmir in an attempt to assert its sovereignty, which drew a fierce boycott from China India also holds the chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization this year and it intends to use these opportunities to achieve its goals such as increasing its influence and flexing its muscles to the world, Zhao Gancheng, a research fellow from the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday

“What’s more with the presidential election coming up Modi wants to show off his power to his people Zhao noted

The relationship between China and India has been deteriorating recently, despite China s efforts to improve it, the expert said, warning this is a dangerous trend, as India seems to be determined to confront China and align with the US

However it is still too early to draw conclusions as Modi is soon to visit the US and may be trying to use the strained relationship with China as leverage to reap benefits from the US And if India does not receive any concrete benefits it may change its stance again Zhao said

PR OFIT

R E U T E R S

China s factory activity shrank faster than expected in May on weakening demand, heaping pressure on policymakers to shore up a patchy economic recovery and knocking Asian financial markets lower

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to a five-month low of 48 8 the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Wednesday down from 49 2 in April and below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction The PMI also dashed forecasts for an increase to 49 4 Service sector activity expanded at the slowest pace in four months in May with the official non-manufacturing PMI falling to 54 5 from 56 4

The readings pushed markets in Asia into the red with the yuan and Australian and New Zealand dollars tumbling and regional stocks falling sharply

The PMI data reveal that China may heading to a K-shaped recovery,” said Bruce Pang, chief economist at Jones Lang LaSalle “The sluggish domestic demand could weigh on China’s sustainable growth if there are no efficient and effective policy moves to engineer a broad-based recovery said Pang

The PMIs also echoed weak factory data from other parts of Asia with Japan reporting a surprise decline in output and South Korean production weakening The world’s second-largest economy is emerging from three years of pandemic lockdowns but the recovery has been uneven with services spending outperforming activity in the factory property and export-oriented sectors The PMI subindexes for May showed factory output swung to contraction from an expansion while new orders, including new exports,

For the ambitious Chinese tech entrepreneur expanding into the U S just keeps getting harder Before 2019, there were few major impediments to having a Chinese company that did business in the U S from China But amid escalating U S -Sino trade tensions particularly after Washington slapped sanctions on telecom giant Huawei (HWT UL) some Chinese firms began setting up headquarters overseas – moves that could help them draw less U S government attention Now some mainland China tech business owners say they need to go further and gain permanent residency or citizenship abroad to avoid the curbs on and the biases against Chinese companies in the United States Shenzhen-based Ryan, who declined to give his family name due to fear of reprisals in China says his three-year-old software startup has reached the point where it would be natural to expand in the U S – the world s biggest economy His firm already has a million users in East Asia and a strong base in North America But he’s dismayed by the U S -China trade spats and the restrictions on a growing number of Chinese companies that have been imposed, or are being proposed, by U S lawmakers It s very unfair, he said, lamenting that competitors from other countries did not face similar issues when trying to expand into the United States We feel a lot like the filling sandwiched in the middle of a biscuit

fell for the second month

Chemical ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industries faced significant declines in production and demand said NBS

In the services sector, rail and air transport, accommodation and catering sectors remained in the expansion, on the back of strong May Labor Day travel, while real estate activity fell

L O S I N G M O M E N T U M

The PMIs and other economic indicators for April add to evidence that the rebound is losing steam

Last month imports contracted sharply factory gate prices fell, property investment slumped, industrial profits plunged and factory output and retail sales both missed forecasts Analysts are now downgrading their expectations for the economy with Nomura and Barclays both cutting China s 2023 GDP growth forecasts

Proactive fiscal policies rate cuts or RRR cuts and targeted monetary policy tools together with structural reform would be key, Jones Lang LaSalle s Pang added

To spur credit growth, the central bank in March cut banks’ reserve requirement ratios

Premier Li Qiang said this month more targeted measures were needed to boost demand while China’s central bank said on May 15 it would provide strong and stable support for the real economy

Amid the weakness China s post-pandemic stock rally is faltering as small-time investors turn bearish on equities to double down instead on safer assets

“The sentiment in the financial market is quite bearish It is not clear how the government interpret the current economic condition said Zhiwei Zhang chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management There is no sign of imminent policy response The government may continue to take a wait and see stance for now

Course of Korean C hildren’s Union and its role in shaping future of DPRK

AGENCIES

In late December last year amid the great interest of the whole Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK) the Ninth Congress of the Korean Children s Union was held in a grand style in Pyongyang, the capital of the DPRK When one studies the course of development of the KCU, one can get a glimpse into the future of KCU members and of their country KCU with 70-Year History

One June 6 1946 77 years ago a joint meeting of children s organizations in Pyongyang for founding the Korean Children s Union was held in the capital city of Pyongyang It was when nine months had passed since the Worker s Party of Korea was founded on October 10, 1945 and when less than one year had passed since the country was liberated from the Japanese military occupation (1905-1945) on August 15 1945

Kim II Sung (1912-1994) the eternal President of the country attended the joint meeting and said that success or failure of the country would be decided according to how much efforts the students and children put in, and earnestly asked them to become masters of the country who love their motherland and people only, run factories, manage schools and build culture

Then the history of the KCU began and a radical c h a n g e w a s b r o u g h t a b o u t i n t h e l i f e o f K C U m e mbers Regarding KCU work as an important undertaking that has a bearing on the future of the country and n a t i o n , K i m I I S u n g a l w a y s s h o w e d c l o s e c o n c e r n a b o u t i t O n i m p o r t a n t o c c a s i o n s o n t h e r o a d o f t h e R e p u b l i c ’s d e v e l o p m e n t h e h a d t h e K C U c o n g r e s s a r r a n g e d a n d l a v i s h e d a l l k i n d s o f a ff e c t i o n a n d b e n e v o l e n c e o n i t s m e m b e r s I n J u n e 1 9 9 4 t h e l a s t year of his life ha had the Fifth Congress of the KCU h e l d i n a g r a n d w a y, s e n t a l e t t e r o f c o n g r a t u l a t i o n t o t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e c o n g r e s s , a n d h a d a p h o t o s e ss i o n w i t h t h e m Chairman Kim Jong II (1942-2011), inheriting the ideas and cause of the President took every possible measure for bringing KCU members up into masters of the socialist Korea and has the Sixth Congress of the KCU held in Pyongyang on a grand scale in June 2006

dent of the State Affairs of the DPRK for the rising generations Slowing down one step in the education of younger generation means a ten-step nay one-hundredstep, delay in the advance of the country; we must not consider economic value of it were for the benefit of coming generations; only when all the KCU members grow up stoutly into excellent sons and daughters of their socialist motherland can the national power grow unquenchable and our future become brighter-this is a view on the rising generations cherished by Kim Jong Un President of the State Affairs of the DPRK and basis of his affection for the future

His view on the younger generation opened a new chapter of history of affection for them in the past decade

He made it a tradition to celebrate the founding anniversary of the KCU on a large scale every year and participated in the KCU congresses and its joint national meetings, where he delivered speeches of congratulation, enjoyed artistic performances with the delegates and posed for photos with them When the Ninth Congress of the KCU was held last year he sent a letter to the participants in the congress had a photo session with them on the New Year s Day and gave them gifts

One day he saw games of young football players at the Songdowon International Children s Camp; another day he called on a family that had moved into a new flat and gave his blessing to the young boys of the family; and still another day when he visited a children’s union camp he sent for the schoolchildren who had left for mountain hiking and waited long for them before posing for a photo with them

His love for the younger generation is reflected in the numerous architectural structures that have sprung up in the country

Under his meticulous guidance, the Mangyongdae School children’s Palace was renovated into a fantastic structure and the Songdown International Children’s Camp which is located on the picturesque eastern coast was rebuilt into a structure fully furnished with all necessary conditions In different parts of the country baby homes, orphanages, and primary and secondary schools for orphans were built and school children’s palace and camps were built or renovated Factories which specialize in producing student’s bags notebooks and other school supplies were built in different parts of the country

C hina’s fac tor y ac tivity falls faster than expec ted as recover y stumbles

CORPORATE CORNER

TIMELY DISPENSATION OF JUSTICE KEY TO PREVENT WORSENING OF DISPUTES: PRESIDENT

T Dr Arif Alvi has said that timely delivery of justice especially in minor cases holds key importance to prevent worsening of disputes and avoiding bloodshed

Pakistan Nav y war college holds 52nd convocation

The Convocation ceremony of 52nd Pakistan Navy Staff Course was held at Pakistan Navy War College (PNWC), Lahore Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi graced the graduation ceremony as Chief Guest During the Convocation Ceremony Degrees were conferred upon 95 graduates comprising 54 officers from Pakistan Navy Army & Pakistan Air Force and 41 officers from friendly countries including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Yemen

While addressing the ceremony Chief Guest highlighted the complexities and wide variety of threats and challenges confronting the world impacting almost all regions He underlined that the wide ranging challenges in 21st century coupled with advancements in disruptive technology, proliferation of weapons and artificial intelligence place a cumulative premium on minds of practitioners of war at sea The traditional manner or one- dimensional study of war is accordingly out-dated and it is no longer applicable

Addressing a seminary in the provincial capital Quetta on Wednesday he said the federal and provincial ombudsman had their key role in the promotion of public service and good governance

Dr Arif Alvi said that as a member of National Assembly (NA) in 2017, he proactively worked for passing a bill related to alternate dispute resolution to reduce the burden on the mainstream judiciary

He pointed out When physical interaction was not possible owing to security issues, the executives including himself must have arranged online setups such as “Zoom meetings” to ensure direct communication with the common people to guarantee timely justice delivery ”

Last night, he said, He disposed of 10 cases of the federal ombudsman and normally he disposes of the cases of appeals in just a few hours President Alvi also stressed the need to raise awareness about the role of the ombudsman as few people were currently aware of its role

He also directed for removal of obstacles in the way of interaction between government officials and the common people He said, “Islam teaches people to show patience and forgiveness to promote peace and harmony in society

No nation needs any foreign aid if they truly follow the values and teachings

SIEMENS in par tnership with German-funded Build4Skills unveils joint initiative ‘Shana Bashana’

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T

Supporting the cause of empowering young women by providing them with employment opportunities in technical trades, NAVTTC, the German-funded and GIZ-implemented Global Project Education (Build4Skills) in partnership with SIEMENS Pakistan presented their joint initiative Shana Bashana to the national and international TVET experts decisionmakers and private sector representatives in an event in Karachi

As many as 44 young women received Competency Based Training & Assessment (CBT&A) certificates of Logistics & Supply Chain and AutoCAD on successful completion of their 6 months of institute-based training at the Hunar Foundation, followed by 6 weeks of Work-place Based Training (WBT) at SIEMENS Pakistan in

Karachi

They also received experience certificates from Siemens at the event 150 people participated in the Shana Bashana certificate distribution ceremony for the 3rd batch of young women from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) The trainees were also given acknowledgement certificates from the National Vocational & Technical Training Commission

(NAVTTC) which will enhance their chances to enter the labour market with their newly gained skills

While giving the opening remarks, Mr Andreas Wegner, Consul / Deputy Head of Mission German Consulate General Karachi emphasized that “only by setting promising examples we deconstruct stereotypes or false assumptions about gender and someone s abilities

Convoc ation Ceremony 2023: Habib University celebrates 6th graduating cohor t

Habib University

Pakistan’s firstever Liberal Arts & Sciences institution joyfully hosted its 6th Convocation Ceremony a grand event that symbolized the extraordinary achievements of the exceptional Class of 2023 This momentous occasion not only marked the successful completion of their educational voyage but also represented their deep introspection, unbeatable perseverance, and steadfast dedication displayed

throughout their time at the University In total, 203 students graduated this year with degrees awarded from the University’s two schools namely the Dhanani School of Science and Engineering (DSSE) and the School of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS)

From the DSSE, 98 students were awarded Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering and Computer Science From AHSS 105 students were awarded degrees; Bachelor of Science degree with

honors in Social Development and Policy, and Bachelor of Arts degrees with honors in Communication and Design, and Comparative Humanities

Like every year the convocation ceremony was streamed online which allowed Habib University s global community, including Members of the Board of Governors of Habib University, Members of the Board of Directors of Habib University Foundation graduate students and others to join in on the celebrations from the comfort of their homes

Rethink for S ustainability and Progress 6th Edition of Leaders in Islamabad Business S ummit begins

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E R P O T

Nutshell Conferences Group and M a r t i n D o w G r o u p , i n s t r a t e g i c p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h O v e r s e a s I nv e s t o r s C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e a n d I n d u s t r y a n d U n i t y F o o d s

of Islam

Referring to the living standards of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the His companions, the president also asked the country’s executives to follow them and adopt the living standard of the common man

Speaking about the importance of woman’s rights and their participation in society the president said “Islam is the first religion that emphasized to provide an inheritance to women and in Quran it has been emphasized with clarity ”

Normally in our society he said women of a family withdrew their inheritance rights in favour of their brothers which happened often under pressure However he said it rarely happened that men of a family withdrew their inheritance right in favour of their sisters

Stressing the need to ensure the women s participation in every field of life President Alvi said the country could not afford the burden of 52% population, therefore they must be given freedom in public places so that they could freely work at any place

NEPRA conducts public hearing on petition for April’s FCA and GA for Januar y-March

KARACHI S TA F F R E P O R T

NEPRA conducted a public hearing on 31st May 2023 for the petition submitted by K-Electric on account of Fuel Charges Adjustments (FCA) for April 2023 and Quarterly Adjustments for January to March 2023 For the month of April, after hearing KE s presentation and analysis NEPRA has provisionally presented a reduction of PKR 0 05 per unit, however a final decision will be formally notified as per the regulator ’s procedures As per prevailing laws and regulations these are one-time charges which are expected to apply on only one monthly bill On the other hand, K-Electric had requested PKR 5 170 / kWh rupees on account of Quarterly Adjustments for January -March on which the Authority will decide after due verification and deliberation The impact of quarterly adjustments is usually not passed to consumers under the uniform tariff policy applicable across the country Fuel Charge Adjustments (FCA) are incurred by utilities due to global variation in fuel prices used to generate electricity and change in the generation mix Under the policies governing the power sector, these costs are passed through to the customers for one month only following NEPRA's scrutiny and approval Consumers also receive a benefit when the cost of fuel decreases

HBL , Akhuwat team up for interest-free

financing under PMYB&ALS

The agreement was signed by Khaqan Muhammad Khan Head Financial Institutions and Global Remittance Business - HBL (standing 2nd from right) and Dr Kamran Shams, CEO - Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance (standing 3rd from left) Senior members from both organizations were also present at the ceremony Pakistan, Karachi 31 May 2023: HBL and Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance have signed an agreement to provide interest-free financing to individuals and small businesses under the Prime Minister s Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme (PMYB&ALS) The partnership represents a significant milestone in HBL s mission to foster economic growth and social progress, with the potential to

Take precautionar y measures during rain, be safe from electrical accidents spokesperson

the occasion Governor Sindh said that PAF was the pride of entire nation as it has always delivered according to the aspirations of countrymen It has performed unprecedented services for the country in time of need, he said Governor Sindh said that whole world admires the professional capabilities of PAF

Take precautionar y measures during rain: IESCO spokesperson

ISLAMABAD

S TA F F R E P O R T

As the rainy season continues in the IESCO Region the risk of electrical accidents becomes more prominent The management of IESCO requests esteemed customers to take necessary precautions to ensure their safery

hosted

Naval Chief highlights complexities, threats and challenges confronting world

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

COAS, BRITISH CGS DISCUSS REGIONAL SECURIT Y, MATTERS OF MUTUAL INTEREST AT GHQ

RAWALPINDI S TA F F R E P O R T

TH E Chief of General Staff (CGS) of the UK Army General Sir Patrick Nicholas Yardley Monrad Sanders, called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS)

General Syed Asim Munir at Pakistan

Army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Wednesday the military said in a statement

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) the CGS UK Army laid a floral wreath at the Yadgar-eShuhada upon his arrival at the GHQ A smartly turned-out contingent of the Pakistan Army presented a guard of honour to the visiting dignitary it said

The ISPR stated that regional security issues and matters of mutual interest were discussed during the meeting

The visiting dignitary acknowledged the sacrifices and achievements of the Pakistan Army in the fight against terrorism and its efforts for bringing peace and stability in the region Earlier, the CGS UK also called on Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad

Mirza at the Joint Staff Headquarters General Sanders arrived in Pakistan on Monday for a five-day defence engagement visit as part of the long-standing defence cooperation agreement between the UK and Pakistan

According to the press release the depth and warmth of the UK-Pakistan

Isuzu, Gandhara T yres set to raise capital

military relationship and friendship, underpinned by a shared history and living bridge’ diaspora links, is highly valued by the UK

The existing defence relationship includes Pakistani officers undertaking training at the UK s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the Advance Command and Staff Course, and the Royal College of Defence Studies Gen Sanders’ visit comes almost a year after Pakistan’s devastating floods that left nearly one-third of the country submerged and affected an estimated 33 million people

The UK s Ministry of Defence was directly involved in providing assistance for flood relief operations, airlifting in eight boats and 10 portable generators at the request of the Pakistani army chief Discussing bilateral military cooperation in response to climate change-related crises will be a key focus of the visit

iMF programme completion in nation’s interest: MS pasha

On Wednesday Minister of State for Finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha stated that completing the IMF programme is in the nation s interest, in response to the questions of the media after the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance The Minister said that the Federal government is in total commitment to the IMF programme and that they are not thinking of anything without the Fund programme

The Prime Minister has assured the MD IMF that Pakistan would implement all the conditions of the programme adding that the MD was also conveyed that delay in the program is

neither in the interest of Pakistan nor in the IMF, so there is need to make a decision at the earliest

When her attention was drawn towards the recent statement she said that chief Nathan Porter s statement was an interference in the political affairs of Pakistan, alleging that, Porter should not have interfered in the political matter ” She carried on to say that, as far as she knows the IMF usually does not say such things The Minister added that nothing to this effect was officially communicated to Pakistan Pasha further stated that she was not aware as to what exactly was stated by Nathan Porter, however, if he has stated this it is something extraordinary She said that “We are moving ahead as per

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday categorically said he is not in favour of minus formula, stressing let the voters decide about the fate of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ”

During interaction with media in Karachi on Wednesday he while talking about the reports of trial of Chairman PTI Imran Khan in military courts in the backdrop of May 9 riots said that one should remember that the minus formula had never worked in Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, however, said that the PTI chairman considered himself above the law and did not even appear before any court “Law would take its course whether it was the attack on GHQ vandalism of Corps Commander s House in Lahore or any other incident he pointed out The PML-N leader recalled that he faced a trial for three years in a NAB case in Karachi, which was absurd in nature

The court sent back this case to NAB yesterday Imran now says that [former army chief retired Gen Qamar Javed] Bajwa was behind this [practice] ” He also said that those who committed injustice with Nawaz Sharif must apologise and called for learning from the mistakes made in the past Tell me which law and constitution provide for lifetime disqualification? The country s Supreme Court may explain I am ready to listen to their stance, he stated Shahid Khaqan Abbasi noted that there would always be complaints about the system “Complaints would be made if the system is used wrongly

rule of law and we want democracy to flourish and all the institutions to work as per Constitutional parameters ”

The Minister also claimed that budget preparation is going on and the government will present the budget in the National Assembly on 9th June, 2023 and the Prime Minister is also holding meetings in this regard Pasha disclosed that, “We are in the IMF programme and are constantly engaged with the Fund adding that The budget is being prepared in accordance with the IMF programme and numbers have also been shared with the Fund She continued to add, The government wants to bring economic stability, while being in the IMF programme and without putting more burden on the

common man Moreover, Pasha asserted that, “We are very hopeful that an understanding with the Fund on staff level agreement would be reached before the budget

When asked whether the government was considering to take another programme from the Fund after the expiry of the existing one by the end of next month of June, the minister said that there is need to first complete the ongoing EFF programme and after that it would be decided whether to take another IMF programme arguing that this is why we have to move Lastly, she said that the IMF does not discourage targeted subsidy and the government also wanted to provide targeted relief

SBp says banks showed ‘ irresponsibility ’ in exchange rate manipulation inquir y

g Inquir y launched in September 2022 to probe whether banks had illegally profiteering in exchange rate

More than nine months after the State Bank of Pakistan initiated an inquiry into the role of commercial banks in the depreciation of the rupee it has come out that the SBP has sent the banks away with a slap on the wrist and a clean chit During a meeting of the Senate s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, the Deputy Governor of the central bank said that the banks had been cleared in the inquiry because there was no illegal activity even though they had shown “irresponsibility” in their actions

The SBP had first launched the inquiry back in September 2022 when the finance ministry had decided to let the dollar rate float freely The SBP was looking to investigate banks that had opened letters of credit (LCs) at higher rates than the spot rate The banks have autonomy over how and when they issue their LCs but since the SBP regulates these banks they get to determine the rate of exchange at which these LCs work You see, when two trading partners engage in a deal and there is a lack of trust between the two parties, they ask banks to act as the middleman In short the bank issues a letter of credit to the person selling their goods saying that they will bear the risk if the person buying defaults on the payment This normally hap-

pens in particular on the trade of natural resources such as oil and LNG Banks make money off of these transactions, but they are also bound by what is known as a spot rate which is the price quoted for the immediate settlement of a commodity or for the rate of exchange

To put it even more simply banks rely on LCs to make money on the foreign exchange market However they are restricted by the spot market and exchange rates which are set by the SBP That is where they were allegedly trying to run circles around the central bank

During the Senate Committee’s hearing the SBP’s Deputy Governor presented a report on whether the banks actually charged extra US dollars from their customers to open LCs and kept the change The report found that no illegal activity was observed

The committee was apprised that the SBP has moved to market based foreign exchange (FX) regime, whereby the spread charge on FX sale/purchase transaction is generally determined by the banks on the basis of market conditions such as (FX) liquidity and short Net Open FX Positions of the banks These were the main reasons for charging higher spreads by the banks during May to August 2022

As per chapter 2 of the FE Manual issued by the SBP, banks are barred from charging more than a defined margin set by the SBP In point number 11 of chapter 2 the SBP states the Authorised Rates of Foreign Exchange

naB initiates probe into alleged corruption in free flour scheme

LAHORE

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore has launched an investigation into alleged corruption i n t h e F r e e F l o u r S c h e m e l a u n c h e d d u r i n g t h e h o l y month of Ramzan and NAB officials visited central o ff i c e o f t h e P a k i s t a n F l o u r M i l l s A s s o c i a t i o n (PFMA) as part of the inquiry According to sources, NAB has demanded records of 45 million bags of flour from the Flour Millers distributed during Ramzan NAB has also sought records of free flour distribution in Ramzan markets from 1 100 flour mills across Punjab

Moreover NAB has requested records including gate passes from 85 flour mills in Lahore

Sources further informed that NAB officials spent four hours investigating Flour Millers However, a three-member delegation from NAB was briefed by the Chairman Pakistan Flour Mills Association, Asim Raza, and the Chairman of Punjab Iftikhar Muttu

During the briefing NAB officials were informed that the Flour Mills provided wheat to the Food Department and the district administration at the gate and the Food Department supplied wheat while the mills performed the grinding process Similarly, the trucks carrying flour bags were handed over daily to the Food Department and district administration at the mill’s gate, and the Flour Mills had no role in the distribution of the free flour scheme Sources revealed that the Flour Mills have sought time from NAB to provide the requisite

record and NAB has given them until June 9th A thorough investigation will be conducted into the requisite records of the Flour Mills owners Pakistan Flour Mills Association Chairman Asim Raza stated that all records would be provided to NAB by June 9th “The process of collecting records from the Flour Mills would begin immediately and some records were already available with them [NAB] he said It is pertinent to mention here that during Ramzan, the Punjab government provided free flour to eligible individuals through a scheme Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had alleged corruption of around 2 billion PKR in this scheme Subsequently the Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab Mohsin Naqvi had requested NAB to audit the Free Flour Scheme and initiate an investigation

Isuzu Pakistan and Ghandhara Tyre and Rubber Company both subsidiaries of Ghandhara Automobile have announced their intentions to raise capital through the issuance of additional shares The companies have notified the Pakistan Stock Exchange that they plan to raise Rs 1 5 billion and Rs 1 billion, respectively These plans are subject to approval by their respective boards The board of directors at both companies have recommended increasing their authorised share capital to the aforementioned amounts This will be discussed at the Extraordinary General Meeting on June 22

What does an increase in authorised share capital mean? An increase in authorised share capital refers to an expansion in the maximum number of shares that a company is legally permitted to issue or offer based on its corporate charter This is often done to provide headroom for future issuance of additional stock in the event that the company needs to raise capital quickly A company s authorised share capital will not increase without obtaining shareholder approval In the cases of Isuzu and Ghandhara Tyre and Rubber Company Limited the proposed increases in authorised share capital from Rs 1 billion to Rs 2 5 billion and from Rs 1 25 billion to Rs 2 25 billion, respectively, are subject to the approval of shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting

What is Gandhara’s play?

Profit sought to elicit responses from the aforementioned companies however no comment could be obtained Subsequently we can only list generic reasons as to why companies would undertake this exercise Companies generally decide to increase their authorised share capital when there is either a need to raise capital to fund growth and/or obtain more credit from financial institutions Perhaps Gandhara foresees the current economic crisis coming to an end and has therefore then sought to double down on its subsidiaries?

After 20 long years, Dr Fouzia meets imprisoned Aafia Siddiqui in US

NEW YORK

S TA F F R E P O R T

Dr Aafia s elder sister met her after 20 years in Fort Worth town of United States where she is currently detained British attorney Clive Stafford Smith accompanied Dr Fauzia Siddiqui to meet her sister According to Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan Aafia Siddiqui is currently being detained at the infamous FMC Carswell prison He added that a long journey of 20 years have at last started bearing fruit as Dr Aafia Siddiqui has been granted the right to meet her family The senator said that Aafia’s elder sister Dr Fauzia has met Afia and he is next to meet the “Daughter of Nation” on Thursday Senator Mushtaq narrated that both sisters met each other after 20 years and the meeting spanned over two and a half hour While meeting her sister Dr Fauzia was neither allowed to touch her sister nor was she allowed to show her the pictures of Dr Aafia s children Both the sisters met in a room separated with a thick glass wall Dr Fauzia said that Aafia was wearing beige jail dress and a white scarf Dr Fauzia further added that Aafia is not in a good condition it took almost an hour for Aafia to state what she has been through every day

ECNEC okays long-delayed regional grid and power project in GB

ISLAMABAD

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has granted approval for an important project of a regional grid in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) at a revised cost of Rs 17 4 billion The project which has faced significant delays over the past several years, aims to connect the region to the national grid GB holds immense potential for generating over 50,000 MW of cheaper electricity and the regional grid will facilitate the transmission of surplus power to the rest of the country Without the regional grid foreign investors were reluctant to fund power projects in GB since they couldn t sell excess electricity to other parts of the country The approval of the regional grid project by ECNEC is expected to attract investment in the region’s power sector The project, proposed by the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and GB entails the establishment of regional grids in Phase-I in Astore Gilgit Hunza and Skardu Districts in GB The revised cost of the project is Rs 17 425 billion with a foreign exchange component of Rs 18 24 million

‘Let voters decide PTI’s fate’: Khaqan Abbasi says not in favour of ‘minus formula’