Epaper_23-06-05 LHR

Profit

PM Shehba z hoPeful of lifting Pak-turkiye bil ateral trade target to $5 billion

veyed his felicitation over success in the elections PM Office Media Wing said in a press release

On the occasion, he also met with Kosovo s President Vjosa Osmani- Sadriu

Both leaders reiterated their desire to promote bilateral relations and cooperation in different fields

The prime minister also interacted with Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber The prime minister referred to the establishment of market at the BalochistanSistan border and his recent meeting with the Iranian president Welcoming the commencement of barter trade between the two countries the prime minister expressed the confidence that it would mutually benefit the people of both brotherly countries

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif penned down his felicitation message along with his signatures on a special board set up on the inauguration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the third time in office He extended felicitation and good wishes to President Erdogan, PM Office

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T

PR I M E Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed the hope that the volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Turkiye can reach to $5 billion annually over the next 3 years

Talking to his Twitter handle the prime minister referred to his recent visit to Turkiye where he attended the swearing-in ceremony of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who had been re-elected for the third term in office

In his tweet Prime Minister Shehbaz wrote: “In my meetings with heads of leading Turkish business groups Saturday I highlighted the need for investment & trade in the fields of agriculture, energy, information technology and construction Exciting opportunities have emerged for collaboration especially after the historic Trade-in-Goods

Agreement between Pakistan & Turkiye became operational on May 31 this year The target of increasing bilateral trade volume to $5 billion annually over the next 3 years is very much achievable Was glad to find discernible interest of the Turkish business community in building on the existing partnerships & establishing new ventures ”

I O N : Earlier Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif during his recent visit to Turkiye also met with different world leaders and discussed the bilateral ties and cooperation between Pakistan and their respective countries The prime minister had travelled to Turkiye to join the world leaders in the inauguration ceremony of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan The prime minister met former deputy prime minister of Turkiye and Chairman MHP Devlet Bahceli and con-

In his meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev the two leaders discussed regional cooperation connectivity and further strengthening of bilateral cooperation in diverse fields

: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan exchanged pleasantries during their interaction marked by interesting remarks on the inauguration ceremony of the latter yesterday

The prime minister had traveled to Turkiye to join the world leaders in the inauguration ceremony of President Erdogan President Erdogan’s spouse also joined the interaction They appreciated Pakistani mangoes The prime minister conveyed felicitation to the president on his re-election and said that the Pakistani nation was overjoyed at his success

He also thanked him for extending an in-

F

In an informal conversation with the newly inaugurated Turkish president and his wife in a cordial atmosphere the PM told them he was now leaving for Pakistan

The people of Pakistan are very happy at your election Prime Minister Sharif told President Erdogan Thank you very

At the Ankara International Airport the prime minister was seen off by senior officials of Turkiye s Ministry of foreign affairs members of the Turkish parliament, Ambassador of Pakistan Dr Yousaf Junaid and other members of the embassy, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release

At the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the prime minister attended his inauguration ceremony in Ankara on June 3 During his stay, the prime minister also held interaction with world leaders and discussed bilateral ties and cooperation in diverse fields between Pakistan and their respective countries

He also held meetings with various delegations of business and trade companies and entities of Turkiye and discussed prospects of vast business and investment potential that existed between the two brotherly countries in various sectors

much for your invitation; you shared your moment of happiness with us

The premier told the Turkish president and his wife he had brought a gift of Pakistani mangoes “Half of them are for my brother and half for my sister the prime minister said President Erdogan and his wife smiled at the PM s remarks and thanked him for his gesture “I know Pakistan’s mangoes are very tasty and sweet ” President Erdogan replied He then thanked PM Sharif for coming to his inauguration

NAB seeks vehicles’ record in name of 22 members of ex-PM’s cabinet

Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar on Sunday declared the Punjab Police will challenge the Anti-Terrorism Court s order to discharge Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) leader Yasmin Rashid from Jinnah House attack case insisting Dr Yasmin Rashid was among the main characters of the attack

The police have solid evidence regarding Dr Yasmin s involvement in the attack and based on these evidence, the ATC verdict will be challenged in the high court ” Punjab IG Police Dr Usman Anwar said while addressing a press conference along with CCPO

Lahore Bilal Siddique Kamiyana and other senior police officers at Central Police Office here on Sunday

On this occasion, the IG Punjab also showed videos to the media based on the presence of Dr Yasmin Rashid and the statements of incitement on the occasion of the attack

on Jinnah House He claimed that at the time of the attack on Jinnah House, 41 calls of Dr Yasmin Rashid, 10 of Hammad Azhar, 75 of Mahmood-ul-Rashid, 50 of Ejaz Chaudhary, 16 of Aslam Iqbal and 23 of Murad Raas were recorded

The IGP said that the May-9 attacks were clearly instigated by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership while inciting the workers on social media The targets were preset and planned at a specific central point he asserted It was propagated that the police had killed his people even though they had weapons the policemen were not given weapons he informed They first alleged that the police had killed 40 people, then it was claimed that 25 people had been killed ” We said that if it is true then show us dead bodies but they had no answer he maintained Dr Usman Anwar said through a multimedia presentation that a total of 215 calls were made to instigate the attack on Jinnah House

on May-9 including the calls of Yasmin Rashid Aslam Iqbal Murad Raas and Mahmoodur Rashid

According to the records, 154 calls were made on 8 and 9 May while 88 calls were made in the vicinity of Rawalpindi GHQ to provoke the protestors Similarly 25 calls to political leadership from sensitive installations in Faisalabad were recorded, the IGP asserted

There were 50 calls on the Mianwali base that were inter-linked with the top five leaders he said and added that these calls were made from there to important people in the top leadership of PTI The police have a record of each call which would be presented in the courts along with other evidence, he added

He said that 708 people have been identified in the Jinnah House attack and 125 have been arrested Similarly 170 people who were present at Jinnah House have been identified from their WhatsApp groups, he added

With the aim to intensify investigation into Al Qadir Trust case also known as illegal transfer of NCA s £190m scandal, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has sought details from the Punjab Excise and Taxation Department regarding sale and purchase of vehicles in the name of 22 members of former prime minister Imran Khan s cabinet

The anti-corruption watchdog has written a letter to the provincial excise department stating that the bureau’s Rawalpindi office was “conducting an investigation against the subject of persons on the allegations of corruption and corrupt practices under the provisions of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999”

“In view thereof you are requested to provide the details/ copies of certified documents of any vehicles sales/purchase during the

period of Jan 2018 till date in the name of the following persons by June 20, 2023 before the NAB s combined investigation team in Islamabad, the letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn com, read

M u r a d S a e e d A l i A m i n K h a n G a n d a p u r S y e d A l i H a i d e r Z a i d i K h u s r o B a k h t i a r, K h a l i d M a qb o o l S i d d i q u i , G h u l a m S a r w a r K h a n , Z u b a i d a J a l a l , I j a z A h m a d S h a h , M u h a m m a d F a r o g h N a s e e m M u h a m m a d S o o m r o a n d S a h i b z a d a M u h a m m a d M e h b o o b S u l t a n According to Kashif Zaman, the spokesperson for the anti-corruption watchdog, the letter was issued a few days ago but did not specify the exact date P R

E V I

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 03 C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 03

Top cop says will challenge ATC ’s order on ‘Dr Yasmin’s discharge’ in LHC

FOREIGN EXPERTS DECL ARE PM’S SUCCESSFUL VISIT TO TURKIYE AS NEW HEIGHTS OF BIL ATERAL REL ATIONS

PESHAWAR S ta f f R e p o R t

IN T E R N AT I O N A L relations and political experts here on Sunday termed the visit of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to the brotherly country Turkiye was highly successful that would lead bilateral relations including trade between the two brotherly countries to a new height

They said the Prime Minister ’s visit to a t t e n d t h e o a t h - t a k i n g c e r e m o n y o f t h e Tu r k i s h P r e s i d e n t w a s t h e r i g h t d e c i s i o n that would further cement trade economic a n d b i l a t e r a l r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e t w o brotherly nations

Former Ambassador, Manzoorul Haq said that the presence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the oath-taking ceremony of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his historic welcome passed a strong message before the world that both countries have immense respect and warmth for each

other besides highly valued its deep-rooted relations He said there was an almost commonality of views between the two countries on regional and international issues, adding President Erdogan had visited Pakistan several times that showed his immense love for our people

Talking to APP Ambassador Manzoor said there was a great scope of increasing trade and economic ties in agriculture, Information technology, construction, communication and energy between both of the countries Ambassador Manzoor maintained that the target of increasing bilateral trade volume between Pakistan and Turkiye to $5 billion annually over the next three years was very much achievable through enhanced cooperation and incentives to investers

He said that exciting opportunities between the two brotherly countries were emerged for mutual collaboration especially after the historic Trade-in-Goods Agreement between Pakistan & Turkiye became operational on May 31 2023

Manzoor said that now it was upto companies of both the countries to take advantage of each others economic and trade potential in the wake of the said agreement Ikhtair Wali Khan PMN KP spokesman and former Member Provincial Assembly said that our Prime Minister s visit to Turkiya being highly successful was promi-

nently highlighted by the Turkish media

He said both the countries have helped each others in testing times including natural calamities, floods and earthquakes

He said that one side our premier was trying to bring foreign investment to Pakistan while on the other hands Imran Khan was trying to create hurdle in way of foreign investment by creating law and order situation in the country

Wali said May 9 vandalism had drawn a red line between political parties supporting democracy and elements wanted to achieve political objectives through roiting and ransacking of the government and private properties through rioters planners and abbetters

He said attacks on defense installations and statues of defenders of Pakistan has exposed the wicked faces of the attackers and negative designs of PTI

Wali said it was unprecedented that violent protests and attacks on defense installations were made by horde of a political party after arrest of Imran Khan

R o o s ve l t H o t e l l e a s e d t o N Y C g o v t f o r

3 ye a r s a g a i n s t $ 2 2 0 m : K h S a a d

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

Minister for Aviation and Railways

Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Sunday that a contract had been signed with the New York City (NYC) government to operate the renowned Roosevelt Hotel of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) situated in New York (USA) for three years

In a press conference held at Allama

Iqbal International Airport here, he said that a revenue of US$220 million would come to the country as a result of the agreement Giving details of the agreement he said that 1 025 rooms of the hotel would be handed over to the City government for three years and the initial earnings from the hotel had started pouring in He said that under the agreement, oneyear business was guaranteed; however he expressed his hope that the hotel business would continue for all three years He said that there were several issues involved in the Roosevelt case, like the hotel was at risk of being declared a landmark After which the building would be unable to be altered

However now the danger had subsided for at least three years he added The minister said that earlier the hotel had been closed since the COVID-19 period and an amount

Kite string kills motorcyclist; two minors found dead in flour storage box

of $25 million were being spent on the closed building and $20 million were pending as the liability He said that 479 employees were working in the hotel which was a big number and it was difficult for the hotel to terminate them from jobs due to the US labour laws However, now after the agreement, this number would be decreased to 77 at the end of the contract period he added He thanked the New York city government for its cooperation

Regarding the outsourcing of the airports, the minister said that three international airports including Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad were being outsourced and made it clear that outsourcing did not mean privatisation He said that only operation of the airports would be outsourced and not the land or property As a result of the arrangement new contractors would develop, improve and operate the airports, and after completion of the agreement period, the contractors would handed over it to the government again He said that the current administration had put it on the track and soon agreements would be signed with the best international airport operators A credible company, International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank, had been given the task of outsourcing the airports as no Pakistani company had the experience in this regard

He said that several airports including Madina Munawwarah Istanbul Dubai and others were being operated through the model being introduced in Pakistan now The minister said that the contracts would be given through open bidding and several international contractors showing their interest in this regard He cleared that no employee would be expelled from his service Khawaja Saad said that the Civil Aviation Authority was also launching high profile projects in which runways at Quetta Airport would be reconstructed and upgraded He said that Faisalabad runway was already under construction which would be operational soon and Lahore airport s runways would also be upgraded

He said that work of up-gradation at the Karachi Airport was already under construction while Gawadar International Airport was also under construction and soon would become operational He said that for first time Hajj operation from the Quetta Airport was successfully in process and the residents of Balochistan were going for the Hajj through this airport He said that two more airports including Sukkur and Dera Ismail Khan airports would be converted into international airports to facilitate the citizens of the area Discussing the issue of a flight 777 of the

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) stopped by the authorities at the Kuala Lumpur Malaysia the minister said that the issue was resolved by the legal team of the PIA in 72 hours and now the plane had reached Pakistan after carrying the passengers

Giving details, he said that the aeroplane was a leased plane and the owner company unethically went to the Malaysian court on which the court seized the flight in an ex-party decision and the PIA was not heard, adding that if the court would have heard the PIA, the incident would not have happened He thanked Malaysian ambassador in Pakistan for his cooperation He said that the PIA was a complicated case adding that several steps were needed to upgrade the department He said some improvements had been made in the flights like better food quality, seating and services, but yet it needed several other things He said that currently, the PIA was transporting 65 000 Hajj pilgrims in a big operation He said that outsourcing was a solution to several problems of the PIA adding that the PIA could be made two departments in which one PIA would bear the liabilities and the other would be operated according to the international standards and models However he said that no PIA employee would be sacked

C hildren continue to bear brunt of Indian brutalities in IIOJK

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir as the world is observing International Day of Innocent Children

Victims of Aggression, Kashmiri children continue to bear the brunt of Indian brutalities in IIOJK

A report released by the Research

face Indian barbarity It said Indian aggression against Kashmiri children has increased manifold, especially since 5 August 2019 when the Modi regime repealed the special status of the territory and imposed military siege It said the children in IIOJK are sexually abused jailed beaten and even killed by Indian troops, adding that hundreds of children have been killed by troops during the last 33 years in the occupied territory

He said that Imran Khan should seriously think about his ill politics that why founding leaders including former Governor Sindh Imran Ismail and Sindh PTI President Ali Zaidi, former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, former Chief Minister Pervez Khattak Shereen Mazair and many others stalwarts resigned from PTI Ikhtair Wali Khan said that horde of PTI workers even did not spare Radio Pakistan Peshawar building and burnt it to ashes on May 10, showing no regards for culture heritage and media

Senior economist Sumbal Riaz congratulated Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on his sucessful visit to Turkiya and termed it historic She said both the countries have tied in religous bonds and supported each others viewpoints on all regional and international forums

She underscored the need of exchange of visit between bankers SMEs and traders besides increasing investment in construction and infrastructure development

May 9 arson: ATC hands over 4 more suspects to militar y for trial under Army Act

FAISALABAD: The Faisalabad Anti-Terrorism Court has allowed four more suspects involved in the arson on May 9 to be prosecuted under the Army Act The suspects have been taken into custody by an army team from the central jail Four more suspects will be tried under the Army Act over their involvement in the vandalism and arson at the office of a sensitive installation on May 9 An army team took the four suspects into custody from the central jail The case filed against the suspects at the Civil Lines police station will be proceeded into under Army Act and Official Secrets Act The number of suspects taken into custody by the army has exceeded to eight Previously, nine suspects accused of attacking military and sensitive installations were handed over to the military for trial under the Army Act The Faisalabad AntiTerrorism Court allowed the trial under the Army Act against four suspects who attacked the office of a sensitive organization on May 9 The court handed over the four suspects to the military commanding officer The case against the suspects is registered in the Civil Lines police station Moreover five suspects accused of rioting in Multan Cantt on May 9 were handed over to the military commanding officer, according to the police Staff RepoRt

JI leader seeks democratic struggle for Balochistan’s people rights

QUETTA: Moulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman, General Secretary, Jamaat-e-Islami Balochistan and leader of Haq Du Tehreek

and chip brought by the youth for his young daughter were found dispersed around his dead body It should be mentioned here that the kite-flyers were betting on kites flying in Ferozewala area and a stray string deprived a family of their sole bread earner The body was shifted to hospital and later Meanwhile, the bodies of two minor children whose family reported their abduction were recovered from flour storage box of their home in Millat Park area of Lahore on Sunday

Police said that a day earlier an FIR was lodged with Millat Park police station about kidnapping of two minor children including five-year old Irtaza and three-year old Raheel A day later, bodies of both missing children were found from flour storage box of their house

The police was investigating into the incident from different angles Meanwhile Inspector

General Punjab (IGP) Punjab Dr Usman

Anwar visited the house of the two killed children, called on their parents, relatives and condoled them S ta f f R e p o R t

Section of Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, today, (June 04), said International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression’ has no meaning for Kashmiri children as they continue to

The report deplored that thousands of children had lost their parents since 1990 in IIOJK and hundreds of children had lost their eyesight due to firing of pellets by Indian troops It said women and children in the occupied territory

are the biggest victims of Modi regime s inhuman policies, adding 22,960 women widowed, 107,903 children orphaned from Jan 1989 to 31 May 2023

It said use of violence by Indian troops against children in IIOJK has lifelong impacts on their health and wellbeing as children in the territory are traumatized for life by watching their loved ones getting killed by Indian troops in front of their eyes The report urged the world not to forget the plight of the Kashmiri children on International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression saying the best way to mark the Day is to come to rescue Kashmiri children from Indian aggression

Gwadar said Sunday rather than waging armed struggle on mountains he preferred waging democratic struggle for the rights of the people of Balochistan, particularly of Gwadar Addressing a press conference at Quetta Press Club here on Sunday, he said those found involved in illegal hunting of fish in the maritime domain of Gwadar were also terrorists He said intoxicating drugs available in City Nala of Quetta city was being used in Chief Minister s House He remarked that he had been compelled to start political movement for the rights of fishermen of Gwadar afresh, adding after the government of Pakistan Democratic Movement assumed power activities of illegal trawling in the maritime domain of Gwadar had increased manifold S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan a priorit y market for business, Naveed Qamar tells British companies

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Federal Minister for Commerce Naveed Qamar has urged the UK business community in Manchester to prioritize Pakistan as a market for business expansion

He was addressing the Manchester based business community during his official visit to the UK to attend the Commonwealth Trade Ministers’ meeting, said a press release issued here by the Commerce Ministry on Sunday

The minister highlighted the favorable business environment and abundant opportunities available in Pakistan during his speech at the event which was attended by the business community UK Parliamentarians Mayors

The treason of twinkletoes

Ican t help sympathizing with the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr Justice Umar

Ata Bandial Of course a lowly journal-

ist like me has no business sympathizing with the Chief Justice of Pakistan but then the CJP is merely trying to protect his mother-in-law If he didn t do that, he would probably not live all that much longer Mr Justice Bandial heads a bench which has stayed proceedings of the enquiry commission headed by Mr Justice Qazi Faez Isa which was appointed to look into the leaked audio recordings bringing the judiciary into disrepute One of the recordings involved the CJP s

mother-in-law, in which she allegedly spoke to a friend the wife of one of Imran Khan’s lawyers She had been summoned by the commission presumably to confirm or deny the recording The stay meant that she was saved the trouble Chief Justice Bandial has been busy saving an in-law before His brother-in-law, formerly the head of Lahore’s Solid Waste Management Company was accused of having defrauded it of billions He got basil from the Lahore High Court The bail was appealed to the Supreme Court Chief Justice Bandial has marked the case to himself, and done nothing

Now try and imagine what would happen if the learned Chief Justice had allowed his brother-in-law to go into the slammer or leave his mother-in-law to have to answer that notice Well he would have found him-

Councillors and media representatives

The minister acknowledged the 1 6 million-strong Pakistani diaspora in the UK as the cornerstone of the strong UK-Pakistan relationship The UK has become Pakistan’s third-largest export partner, second-largest investment partner and third-largest source of remittances Naveed Qamar said He said despite pandemic restrictions Pakistan s exports to the UK grew by 33 percent surpassing the US$2 billion milestone Exports are expected to maintain momentum, with a 10 percent growth rate in the current financial year, said the Minister Minister Qamar thanked the UK Government for its development assistance to Pakistan Commending the UK government Qamar high-

self forced to sleep on a sofa in the drawingroom would have got nothing to eat and be forced to mooch sandwiches off his brother judges not to mention being forced to turn up in court with grimy shirt-collars and cuffs And that s a bare minimum I’m not sure Imran sympathizes, or is even aware of the CJP’s dilemma He’s probably more concerned about the treason committed by the PTI women in jail who have denied that they have been assaulted Imran has said that that is happening so it must be And by the way, I m not sure the real reason is known for the calling off of the staged attack on a PTI leader ’s house, and the staged rape of a PTI woman both to be filmed It’s not because of Rana Sanaullah s late-night press conference but because Imran couldn t settle who was to star as the aggressor He would have made this ultimate sacrifice himself, but was persuaded by the remaining members of his party not to risk arrest by going out in public The party seems particularly unlucky

lighted the announcement of a £1 5 billion facility to support bilateral investment and export He also appreciated the UK government s concessions to Pakistan on Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) facility, resulting in zero duty on over 92 percent of Pakistan’s exports to the UK

Qamar provided an overview of Pakistan s policy landscape and economic performance including increased revenue mobilization and investment promotion Concluding his speech, Naveed Qamar expressed the confidence in further enhancing trade and investment relations between Pakistan and the UK He encouraged businesses from both countries to capitalize on existing opportunities and collaborate on optimal utilization strategies

the country

Ch Pervaiz is wanted for billions in corruption I don’t think it would lower him in the esteem of the people in his village but I don t think it will enhance respect for him as much as buffalo theft would Ch Pervaiz is unfazed, and has said he won’t be holding any press conferences soon Instead, we had a press conference from of all people Usman Buzdar With only Mehmood Khan left as a PTI provincial chief executive who has not committed treason we re likely to see Imran revise his means of selecting CMs next time, if of course there is one

with people named Pervez Pervez Khattak has resigned as KP President prior to leaving the party entirely And though Ch Pervaiz Elahi hasn t resigned, he has not only been arrested, but then re-arrested after he got bail

Ch Pervaiz will remember how his uncle and father-in-law, the late Ch Zhoor Elahi, once had a buffalo-theft case registered against him It says something about the progress of

If Pervez Khattak leaves the party, it will be a serious blow I mean elections are upon us and with no Pervez Khattak to dance at PTI rallies in a reprise of his dharna performance in 2014 what will Imran do He s already lost the composer of a party anthem in Imran Ismail, and a potent singer in Ibrarul Haque The PTI has regressed to the musical level of the JUI All we need now is Imran to play bongo drums at a rally

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2023 BEING MARKED TO HIGHLIGHT PL ASTIC POLLUTION HA ZARDS

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

TH E nation on Monday will celebrate the World Environment Day 2023 in unison with the world to highlight hazards of the plastic pollution imposing grave impacts on mother nature and human health

The theme for this year s World Environment Day is “Solutions to Plastic Pollution” which is a reminder that people’s actions on plastic pollution matters The steps governments and businesses are taking to tackle plastic pollution are the consequence of this action The civil society, government departments including Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA), non-governmental organisations and others will hold awareness walks seminars and symposiums to sensitise masses on plastic pollution

The day demands the nations to speed

Balochistan CM blasts Centre over ‘stepmotherly teatment’

CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE

He further said that this attitude of the Centre would not be tolerated The provincial chief executive accused the Centre of halting the release of dues of the provinces under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award for a long time We are allies of the government in Centre but the promises made to us are not being fulfilled,” he complained

In this situation the Balochistan government was unable to present a “balanced budget” for the fiscal year 2023-24 he added Bizenjo also warned that Balochistan would boycott the upcoming meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) as the federal government was not sincere in fulfilling its promises

NTDC energizes 220 kV Guddu-Shikarpur transmission line

S ta f f R e p o R t

The National Transmission and Despatch Company Limited (NTDC) has achieved the successful replacement of a 108 km 220 KV transmission line in the south region and energized the newly constructed GudduShikarpur transmission line This significant milestone marks a major step towards improving the power supply system in the South areas of Pakistan specifically Balochistan and Sindh Provinces said a press release GudduShikarpur Transmission Line project has been completed with a total contract cost of USD 13,108,994 and PKR 1,630,460,035, this transformative project addresses operational problems and system bottlenecks that plagued the previous transmission line This vital project will strengthen the connection between Guddu and Shikarpur, resulting in improved stability and reliability of the power transmission network The existing 220kV Guddu-Sibbi single circuit transmission line constructed in 1977 suffered from aging and deterioration of the PCC Poles + Steel Towers Over the course of its more than 40 years of service the transmission line experienced a de-rated capacity, causing frequent operational challenges for power transmission from Uch Power Plants to respective load centres NTDC, the leading national power transmission company undertook this project as part of its commitment to enhance the country s power infrastructure By investing in critical upgrades NTDC aims to address the increasing demand for electricity and ensure a reliable supply to meet the needs of industries, businesses, and households across Pakistan The Asian Development Bank s financial support played a crucial role in the realization of this project The collaboration between NTDC and ADB exemplifies the commitment of both organizations to sustainable development and the improvement of Pakistan’s power infrastructure Managing Director NTDC Engr Dr Rana Abdul Jabbar Khan appreciated the Project Delivery South team for their efforts to complete this critical project

ISLAMABAD

a p p

Over 31,000 Sikhs voted for Khalistan Referendum in Sydney amid stiff resistance from the Indian government and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi s personal campaign to stop Sikhs from holding the third phase of the referendum in Australia

The Sydney phase of Khalistan Referendum was organised to mark the anniversary of the 1984 Operation Blue Star Amritsar Genocide when Indian authorities killed thousands of Sikhs during a bloodied attack on Sri Harmandir Sahib (popularly known as the Golden Temple)

Thousands of Sikh men and women

queued outside Shaheed General Shabeg Singh Khalistan Referendum Voting Centre on Sterling Road Michinbury from 9am and

up this action and transition to a circular economy to beat plastic pollution

According to the United Nations over 400 million tonnes of plastic was produced every year worldwide, half of which was designed to be used only once Out of which less than 10 per cent was recycled

“An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes rivers and seas annually

That is approximately the weight of 2 200 Eiffel Towers all together Microplastics –tiny plastic particles up to 5mm in diameter – find their way into food, water and air It is estimated that each person on the planet consumes more than 50 000 plastic particles per year –and many more if inhalation is considered Discarded or burnt singleuse plastic harms human health and biodiversity and pollutes every ecosystem from mountain tops to the ocean floor, the UN

Report said Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman has said that Pak-

istan produced plastic waste equal to the size of two K-2 mountains and polluting the rivers and ocean of the country She had claimed that plastic pollution was the biggest challenge of the future This underscores the importance of this World Environment Day in mobilizing transformative action from every corner of the world

Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and held annually on 5 June since 1973, World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world In 2023 it is hosted by Côte D Ivoire (Republic of Ivory Coast) In 2021 Pakistan hosted the World Environment Day under the theme ecosystem restoration and the worldwide decade of Ecosystem Restoration was launched Some 11 million tonnes of plastic

waste flow annually into oceans This may triple by 2040 More than 800 marine and coastal species are affected by this pollution through ingestion, entanglement, and other dangers

A shift to a circular economy can reduce the volume of plastics entering oceans by over 80 per cent by 2040; reduce virgin plastic production by 55 per cent; save governments US$70 billion by 2040; reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent; and create 700,000 additional jobs –mainly in the global south Last year, 175 UN Member States endorsed a historic resolution to end plastic p o l l u t i o n a n d f o rg e a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l l e g a l l y b i n d i n g a g r e e m e n t t h a t w i l l b e ready by the end of 2024 This is the most s i g n i f i c a n t e n v i r o n m e n t a l m u l t i l a t e r a l deal since the Paris accord It is an insurance policy for this generation and future o n e s s o t h e y m a y l i v e w i t h p l a s t i c a n d not be doomed by it

Punjab ombudsman provides over Rs17.2mn in relief to 60 plaintiffs

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

The Office of the Punjab Ombudsman has swiftly responded to public relief requests, effectively resolving the issues faced by 60 people across various districts These proactive efforts have resulted in a cumulative financial relief worth Rs17 million being extended to those in need

According to a statement by a spokesman on Sunday, the University of Mianwali, on the direction of the provincial ombudsman has disbursed Rs9 2 million to 52 students including plaintiff Muhammad Hanzala Zubair as outstanding amounts of their needbased scholarships

Additionally, the District Education Authority of Chakwal has granted Rs2 2 million as financial aid to complainant Haji Mehr Muhammad

In another case the district administration Lodhran has provided employment dues worth Rs1 9 million to Ayesha Mai, the widow of deceased Patwari Ghulam Murtaza, the spokesman added

In a separate instance the administration of Ghazi University in Dera

Ghazi Khan has refunded a security deposit amounting to Rs1 7 million to complainant Abdul Wahid

In a similar development, the agriculture department has distributed a total sum of Rs1 25 million to 21 farmers including plaintiff Muhammad Abubakr from Rajanpur as expenses for their demonstration plots

As a result of the involvement of the ombudsman office, a new tubewell has been installed in the Singhar Town area of Rawalpindi with a cost of Rs8 million ensuring access to clean drinking water for its residents the spokesman

Top cop says will challenge ATC’s order on ‘Dr Yasmin’s discharge’ in LHC

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

F O R E N S I C R E P O RT C O N F I R M S P R E S E N C E O F P T I L E A D E R O N M AY 9:

further said

Alongside this Farzana Kanwal from Multan has received a grant of Rs0 83 million by the Punjab Workers Welfare Board after the ombudsman office interceded to resolve her issue A work order worth Rs7 1 million has also been issued to repair and restore Fatomand Chowk in Gujranwala

In a commendable effort to enhance the living conditions of the residents, a street of Noori mohalla in Pakpattan has been rebuilt and paved with Rs0 5 million to ensure a cleaner environment for the residents said the spokesman

PPP wins 130 out of 179 reser ved seats in HMC

HYDERABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

The PPP is followed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with 48 seats and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) with only one The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) had boycotted the local government elections which were held on January 15

According to details the reserved seats include seats for women youth

labour/peasant non-Muslims persons with disabilities and transgender

The PPP s 130 include 75 reserved seats for women, 13 each for youth, non-Muslims and labour/peasants and 8 each for persons with disabilities and transgender

Similarly 30 seats for women 4 each for youth non-Muslims and labour/peasant and 3 each for persons with disabilities and transgender were secured by the PTI The TLP managed to get only a single reserved seat for a woman candidate These seats in question are further divided into the HMC and its 9 Town Municipal Corporations (TMCs) After the addition of the reserved seats the total number of elected and reserved seats in the HMC has increased from 160 to 241

Likewise the total number of seats in the TMCs Nerunkot Mian Sarfaraz Pareetabad Shah Latifabad Hussainabad and Qasimabad has been enhanced from 18 each to 29 each

In the same vein, the number of seats in the TMCs Sachal Sarmast Tando Fazal and Tandojam has increased from 19 17 and 16 elected to 30 28 and 26 respectively

However, a seat of transgender remained vacant in the HMC as well as in the TMCs Nerunkot, Paretabad, Tando Jam Sachal Sarmast Shah Latifabad Hussainabad and Qasimabad A reserved seat for women and a seat for transgender are also vacant in TMC Tando Fazal In the LG polls, the PPP had won a majority in 7 TMCs and the PTI in 2 TMCs

Pakistan to expor t more seafood, agro produc ts through land route to Chinese market: Ambassador Haque

BEIJING

S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan s Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque on Sunday said that the Pakistani and Chinese governments were making joint efforts to bring more Pakistani seafood and agro products through Karakoram Highway to the Chinese market “We are working together to bring more Pakistani seafood and agro products through this land route to the Chinese market ” he said while commenting on Pakistan s first-ever land containerized seafood cargo which successfully arrived in Xinjiang through Karakoram Highway

As the world s second-largest consumer market, China em-

cast their votes till 5pm under the supervision of independent Punjab Referendum Commission which is overseeing the worldwide referendum voting, commissioned by Pro-Khalistan separatist group, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ)

Two weeks before Khalistan Referendum voting in Sydney PM Modi was in Australia where he met the Australian govt authorities and urged them to stop Sikhs from going ahead with voting but the Australian govt told Modi that whole Canberra respected India s position it was no in position to stop its own citizens from expressing their legal and democratic right

braces more high-quality Pakistani products exported to it Ambassador Haque said that facilitating trade and exports of Pakistan’s high-quality products through the Khunjerab border was Pakistan and China’s shared objective Last week a truck loaded with cold chain containers from Pakistan arrived at Kashgar city in Northeast China s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region via a cross-border land route This is the first time that seafood containers from Pakistan have been transported by road from Karachi to Kashgar city along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) According to a representative from the Pakistani transport company it was the first attempt at a bilateral cross-border road transport business in partnership with a Chinese firm

backed by the Indian govt raised false alarms of potential violence between Sikh and Hindutva groups with the centres Large sized banners and posters hung outside the venue with the following slogans: “Khalistan Referendum Australia, Shimla Capital secession of Punjab from India”; “1984 Sikh Genocide 100+ Sikhs burnt alive in furnaces by India s Hindu mobs ; Khalistan Rerendum the last battle to liberate Punjab ; Khalistan Referendum – Punjab – Shimla Capital The Sikhs for Justice General Counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said: “Sydney Khalistan Referendum voting is a prodigious journey of Sikh Sovereigntists from June 1984 defending Sri Akal Takht Sahib With bombs-bullets to ballot-voting in 2023 to liberate Punjab from Indian occupation P a n n u s a i d t h e S y d n e y t u r n o u t w a s a

The forensic report confirmed the presence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Yasmin Rashid s during the Jinnah House attack on May 9 Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) issued the forensic report of PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid which confirmed that three audios and video at the time of attack on Jinnah House are of Yasmin Rashid The photogrammetric test showed the former health minister Yasmin Rashid presence in Jinnah House attack at the time of attack The videos and audio were send to Forensic Science Agency by the SP cantt investigation Earlier an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore discharged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Yasmin Rashid in a case linked to the vandalism of Corps Commander House in Lahore, also known as Jinnah House, on May 9 The ATC Lahore acquitted the former Punjab minister in the Jinnah House attack case and ordered the immediate release of the former Punjab health minister In the written order the court stated: perusal of record reveals that neither Dr Yasmin Rashid is nominated in the FIR nor involved through supplementary statement and she was summoned in the case on the disclosure of a co-accused which has no evidentiary value in the eye of the court and no incriminating material was found against Rashid PTI Central Punjab President Yasmin Rashid was taken into custody under section three of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO)

NAB seeks vehicles’ record in name of 22 members of ex-PM’s cabinet

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

The PTI chief had immediately approached the IHC for his release but the high court had declared his arrest legal He 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 him bail in the case for two weeks and later an Islamabad accountability court had granted the former premier bail till June 19 against surety bonds worth Rs500,000 NAB has also summoned Bushra Bibi for investigation in the Al Qadir Trust case on June 7 Meanwhile, Fawad who served as the information minister and science and technology minister during the previous PTI government and has recently left the party has claimed he did not have any knowledge of the matter When questioned by the NAB, he said he had not seen an “agreement” being presented before the cabinet in a sealed envelope Similarly, Rashid the Awami Muslim League chief who is also an ally of the PTI has said he had not attended that cabinet meeting where the Al-Qadir Trust case deal was approved Moreover, former federal minister Faisal Vawda has claimed that ex-InterServices Intelligence chief Faiz Hameed was the “architect” and the mastermind in the corruption case My compulsion today was to tell the nation that when you say the beneficiary is Imran [ ] the biggest is Faiz Hameed, he had said while speaking to the media last month

Indian occupation Dr Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, President Council of Khalistan said: Sikhs in their thousands in Sydney have sent a clear message that they want liberation of Punjab from the Indian occupation in the same way Hindus got freedom from the English Raaj We are under occupation of India and the only solution is liberation We will liberate Punjab to save Punjab from India, to preserve our values, religion and culture Tens of thousands of Sikhs have taken part in the Khalistan Referendum all over the world to express their democratic right in a peaceful manner Khalistan Referendum s voting in Sydney was the third phase of the Australian campaign The first phase was held in Melbourne

in January this year when over 50 000 Sikhs turned out to cast their votes The second phase was held in Brisbane in March this year where more than 11,000 Sikhs had voted Throughout the Indian govt has campaigned using diplomatic pressure to get the voting but failed

The voting in the referendum which started in October 2021 in the UK s seven cities has so far been held also in Switzerland Italy and two Canadian centres According to the 2021 census, around 230,000 Sikhs live in Australia but local Sikhs say the real number is close to 300,000

The number of Sikhs in Australia was 130000 in 2016

According to the census of 2021 the number of Hindus in Australia stood at around 700000 The highest number of Sikhs live in Melbourne, followed by Sydney and Brisbane

The wrath of the state

FO R M E R Punjab CM Ch Pervaiz Elahi seems to be living out a Kafka novel if one is to follow what is happening to him after his arrest His attest, release on bail, re-arrest, release on bail in that case, and then his third arrest, make it almost seem that the purpose of the whole exercise is not to punish him for any malfeasances or crimes he may committed as Chief Minister, as to keep him in jail, come what may Ch Pervaiz s extreme age, 78, and his having been twice Speaker, twice CM, do not count Indeed, those are the offices he held which enabled the corruption of which he is accused What should count is his being a citizen of Pakistan The sort of cat-and-mouse game being played with him does not indicate a desire to prosecute as much as persecute In a tired reiteration of a much-too-familiar script, the purpose is not so much to bring him to account for his offences as to make him abjure the Pakistan Tehrik Insaf which recently made him ts President in exchange for his joining it along with the 10 PML(Q) MPAs at the head of whom Ch Pervaiz became CM with PTI support (and an allPTI Cabinet)

Ch Pervaiz is living out a nightmare which is used as a threat that of being arrested in some other case as soon as he gets bail in one, as soon as he leaves that courtroom He has suffered that Kafka-esque fate often enough for him to feel quite the Sisyphean figure Camus had delineated the fate of Sisyphus, condemned by the gods to spend a whole day rolling an immense rock up a hill only for it to roll down at the end of the day, leaving him to perform the task yet again the next day

Ch Pervaiz has ruled out deserting the PTI, though there is much speculation that his politics has always depended on his being in good with the authorities which may make difficult for him to remain in a party with so close an association with the May 9 attacks on military installations While the magistrate s court may have overreached itself by acquitting him when he had only applied for bail it seems inefficient for him to have to obtain bail in various cases one by one rather than have all cases brought at once, and bail decided at the same time

G l o b a l S o u t h : D e b t d i s t r e s s a n d f o o d s h o r t a g e s

C l i m ate c h a n g e i s a d d i n g to t h e p ro b l e m s t h e G l o b a l S o u t h f a ce s

dented floods between June and October temporarily displaced over 8 million people Although most of the affected populations were able to return to their homes after the flooding receded, 89 000 were still displaced as of December 2022 ’

PA K I S TA N is among those many developing countries that have been under serious debt distress in the wake of the recessioncausing covid-19 pandemic In this regard, a May 30 Bloomberg-published article ‘IMF asks Pakistan to fix currency market before bailout resumes pointed out Pakistan is stepping up efforts to secure funding as it teeters on the edge of a sovereign default The South Asian nation faces about $22 billion of external debt service for fiscal year 2024, which begins in July, according to Columbia Threadneedle Investments, which is about five times its reserves ’ In addition years of lack of deep non-neoliberal economic reform along with practice of procyclical austerity policies overall for a number of years but acute application of monetary- and fiscal austerity policies under the current International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, especially during the last year or so, has resulted in weakening of further debt repayment capacity as foreign exchange reserves received a lot lesser than projected support from exports and deep dip in economic growth

Moreover lack of any meaningful debt relief effort, along with little effort to improve an otherwise lacklustre debt restructuring framework, under an overall weak spirit of multilateralism, which is indeed ironic given the fast-unfolding existential threat of climate change crisis and in the wake of the pandemic required a lot more unified effort globally to effectively fight these challenges

Moreover climate-related disasters are also adding to the already high debt burden For instance, in the case of Pakistan, last years catastrophic floods created immense loss to life and livelihood A recently released report ‘Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2023’ by ‘FSIN and Global Network Against Food Crises pointed out in this regard In Pakistan severe flooding in June and August 2022 affected the livelihoods of approximately 33 million people, especially in southern areas In Pakistan, unprece-

Ajudicial magistrate in Lahore ordered the release of former Punjab CM Pervaiz Elahi from a case involving misuse of authority and corruption of one billion rupees when he was presented before the court for seeking 14 days for investigation by the Anti-Corruption Department

In such cases the courts usually do one of the four things They accede to the request of remand as requested, reduce the number of days of remand, send the accused to jail on judicial remand for investigation or grant bail to him with the condition that he would cooperate with the concerned authority in the investigation process

But the judicial magistrate sprung a surprise when he acquitted the accused straight away from the corruption case Such decisions are delivered after proper investigation and arguments in the court by the lawyers of the accused and the prosecuting agency in case the court feels that the prosecution has failed to substantiate its allegations The judge has set a new precedent of pre-emptive justice which in other words is a travesty of justice

However Pervez Elahi was re-arrested in a n o t h e r c a s e s o o n a f t e r h i s r e l e a s e T h e D G A n t i - C o r r u p t i o n s a i d t h a t t h e d e p a r t m e n t w o u l d l o d g e a n a p p e a l a g a i n s t t h e d e c i s i o n M e a n w h i l e P u n j a b I n f o r m a t i o n a n d C u l t u r e Minister Amir Mir commenting on the decis i o n s a i d , I t i s a t e s t i m o n y t o t h e j u d i c i a l m a g i s t r a t e ’s p o l i t i c a l a ff i l i a t i o n T h e j u d g e with political affiliation is giving judgments in important cases The same judge had earlier given relief to Pervaiz Elahi and Muhammad Khan Bhatti in five cases and the judge s social media page is the most important proof of his political tilt The revelation is indeed very distressing Unfortunately such instances are not aplenty only in the lower courts Even the Supreme Court and High Courts have given verdicts that make a mockery of justice and have been instrumental in the country s drift to the edge of a precipice The doctrine of necessity, the verdict in the Bhutto case and the dismissal of Nawaz Sharif in the Panama case, which according to Gen Aslam Beg was a conspiracy are glaring examples of miscarriage of justice by the pliable judges which have had a profound debilitating impact on the political and economic landscape of the country Judicial activism since the restoration of judiciary headed by Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry after the movement by lawyers has further aggravated the situation

People’s trust in the cour ts has been shaken

The verdicts of the Supreme Court particu l a r l y t h e o p i n i o n r e n d e r e d b y i t o n A r t i c l e

63A, the restoration of the Pervaiz Elahi government in Punjab and election in the province a r e i n s t r u m e n t a l i n t h e b u rg e o n i n g p o l i t i c a l crisis the country is facing at the moment Not o n l y t h a t t h e j u d g e s o f t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t have also trespassed into the domain of Parliament by staying a law which was not even promulgated

The stay granted on the proceedings of the judicial commission probing the issue of audio leaks without hearing the stakeholders, including the commission is yet another example of the indiscretions of the judges flouting the relevant rules and practices as rightly pointed out b y t h e h e a d o f t h e c o m m i s s i o n M r J u s t i c e Qazi Faiz Isa When any future historian will d e l v e i n t o r e m o v i n g t h e h a z e o n t r a g e d i e s which Pakistan had to endure, it will be hard f o r h i m n o t t o m e n t i o n t h e p l i a b l e a n d u ns c r u p u l o u s j u d g e s a m o n g t h e t o r m e n t o r s o f this god-gifted state

All the aforementioned verdicts reflected the will of the judges rather than adherence to the constitution and law The judges acted more like kings In the medieval ages when the concepts of democracy, sovereignty of people and government of the people by the people for the people were alien to the world the kings who ruled the states were a law unto themselves There were no constitutions to regulate their powers Law was what the Kings would pronounce while adjudicating on issues before them and there was absolutely no check on their indiscretions

However with the advent of the modern era the emergence of nation states and the acceptance of the people s right to choose their own rulers the states started adopting constitutions that reflected the will of the people as sovereigns These constitutions invariably delineate an arrangement for distribution of powers between the pillars of the state known as trichotomy of powers

The judiciary and its members while playing their designated role are under obligation to give their verdicts in conformity with the constitution and law Regrettably that has not happened in the land of the pure The result is that the judiciary and arliament are at loggers

A recent Financial Times (FT)-published article Africa needs international help to avoid a lost decade indicated in this regard African countries are facing a cost of living crisis tightening global liquidity and worsening climate shocks All of this is intensified by unsustainable debt burdens, which have been deepened by the devaluation of local currencies against the dollar and the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes This is unfair African countries have been buffeted by shocks that they did not create yet they have limited involvement in the multilateral decisions that affect them A succession of international moments in the past two years – G20 and G7 Summits, IMF and World Bank meetings – could have provided opportunities to change this dynamic but largely failed to do so ’ Moreover the country has been suffering from food shortages since 2017 The same FSIN and Global Network Against Food Crises published report highlighted the serious food shortage in Pakistan made all the more acute in the wake of last years floods as The widespread loss of livelihoods compounded an already dire food security situation at the national level Pakistan has been defined as a ‘major ’ food crisis since 2017 when over 50 percent of its analysed population was in IPC [Integrated Food Security Phase Classification]

world leaders at the COP27 climate talks last November that developing nations risk falling into a financial debt trap” if they’re forced to turn to the markets to cover the mounting costs of climate change Six months on with rates and temperatures rising his prediction looks prescient

T h e r e i s a l s o a n e e d f o r m e a n i n g f u l d e b t r e l i e f , g r e a t e r a l l o c a t i o n o f I M F Ês s p e c i a l d r a w i n g r i g h t s

(

S D R s ) , a n d c l i m a t e f i n a n c e f o r d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s

Phase 3 or above Even before Pakistan was hit by the devastating monsoon floods in mid-June and the end of August heatwaves in March and April in conjunction with fertilizer shortages and lack of irrigation water had affected Rabi wheat crop yields and lowered livestock production in most of the analysed districts

In this regard, on the one hand, the upcoming Budget needs to give special expenditure focus in the areas of climate change crisis, public health sector (especially to be better prepared for a likely another pandemic) and flood related disaster from last year

A recent Bloomberg published article Debt crisis looms for poorer nations most vulnerable to climate change highlighted the need for much better multilateral spirit, in support of debt related challenges created by climate disasters The article pointed out ‘Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned

T r a v e s t y o f j u s t i c e

head The parliament rightly resented the conduct of the Supreme Court judges Parliament is the mother of all state institutions including the judiciary The judiciary cannot dictate to the Parliament B y c o m m i t t i n g t h e s e i n d i s c r e t i o n s t h e judges have nudged the country back to medieval ages They have also pitched the judiciary against the executive as well which can have disastrous consequences for the country They must remember that they derive their authority and powers from the constitution and cannot impose their own will in their verdicts like monarchs The outcome of the foregoing indiscretions committed by the judiciary which is the most sanctimonious institution of the state and deserves to be held in the highest esteem, is that it has lowered its own prestige in the eyes of the people whose faith and trust in it is also at the lowest ebb N o w o n d e r t h e n t h a t t h e R u l e o f L a w Index for 2022 issued by World Justice Project ranks Pakistan 129 th out of 140 countries w o r l d w i d e , r i s i n g t w o p o s i t i o n s s i n c e l a s t year According to the report Pakistan ranks 5th out of 6 countries in South Asia The top p e r f o r m e r i s N e p a l a t 6 9 h f o l l o w e d b y S r i Lanka and India The three countries with the l o w e s t s c o r e s i n t h e r e g i o n a r e B a n g l a d e s h P a k i s t a n a n d A f g h a n i s t a n T h e r u l e o f l a w

concerns the role of judges in providing justice The report of the World Justice Project i s a m o m e n t f o r t h e j u d g e s o f t h e l o w e r a s w e l l a s h i g h e r j u d i c i a r y t o r e f l e c t o n t h e i r conduct

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

The outcome of the indiscretions committed by the judiciary which is the most sanctimonious institution of the state and deserves to be held in the highest esteem, is that it has lowered its own prestige in the eyes of the people whose faith and trust in it is also at the lowest ebb

On the other hand there is also a need for meaningful debt relief, greater allocation of IMF s special drawing rights (SDRs), and climate finance for developing countries A recent Project Syndicate (PS) published article A world of debt pointed out in this regard Egypt Ghana, Pakistan, and many other countries are in grave financial difficulties The International Monetary Fund counts 41 countries as being heavily indebted and that does not include middle-income countries such as Argentina, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka the question for poorer countries is whether or how much they can repay Many heavily indebted low-income countries have debt levels that are already unsustainable or will be soon Some have missed payments or announced that they will have to suspend debt service Private lenders have responded by refusing to lend more

The writer holds PhD in Economics degree from the University of Barcelona and previously worked at International Monetary Fund Prior to this he did MSc in Economics from the University of York (United Kingdom) and worked at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Statistics (Pakistan) among other places He is author of Springer published book (2016) The economic impact of International Monetary Fund programmes: institutional quality macroeconomic stabilization and economic growth He tweets @omerjaved7

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

Pen in a losing war against microphone

T H E rivalry and altercation between social and conventional news media has gained momentum during the last decade A few years ago social media was not as much powerful, vocal and strong as it is today People would love to get information from mainstream newspapers early in the morning Reading English newspapers was a status symbol for the elite

Most of the people used to watch news bulletin on state television at 9pm while some others used to tune in to the British Broadcasting Service (BBC) and other foreign radio stations to get authentic news Presently, even though digital editions of almost all newspapers are available there are people who want to read the printed newspaper although its price is going higher by the day Newspapers are believed to provide reliable source of information as the editorial staff devoted journalists and monitoring agencies check every news before it is being published and circulated among the masses On the other hand social media provides all kinds of news without any authenticity or verification People can present their points of view and opinions without any social moral or professional obligations

It reminds me of a past incident About a decade ago, when the five-year tenure of the National Assembly was nearing its end parliamentarians passed a unanimous resolution jointly by treasury and opposition benches with thunderous desk thumping against a section of electronic media for airing a programme against parliament without research or due verification This happened about 10 days before the National Assembly was to complete its term It was a time for parliamentarians to get more coverage and interaction with news media ahead of elections rather than to start any conflict That they still chose to react so strongly indicated the seriousness of the situation

It is important to look back at the Pakistan Movement and afterwards to dig out the history of journalism While Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah founded Dawn Maulana Mohammed Ali Jauhar used his Comrade and Hamdard to serve their respective audiences with professional journalism There were several others who did the same The spirit continued till the late 1970s when a host of luminaries did their best to serve the cause of professional journalism even in the face of black laws and restrictions Pakistani society till that period was tolerant and inclusive, and people cared about social and moral values of even their opponents

The news media, which at the time consisted of one television channel and a few newspapers other than those of the National Press Trust (NPT) has now grown into a full-fledged industry Today media houses have generally relegated even senior journalists to a position of ignominy while social media platforms and fake websites have worsened the situation, making anyone a ournalist It is a collective platform for all activists to air ‘news’ without verification and with malicious intent just to promote their own agenda or to please their masters

Unfortunately, we, Pakistanis, have a very short memory and any latest news or story of corruption disappears from the screens and is forgotten by us very quickly Instead of getting punished the culprits resurface under some other banner to promote their master s agenda With technology available using old photos and videos to fabricate images to make them mean something entirely different is mere child s play The sanctity of the written word has been compromised In fact the pen has been replaced by a microphone or a mobile keypad The outcome has been rather negative in almost every sense of the word MASOOD

JU S T as a state necessitates a strong mighty powerful and comprehensive military, paramilitary and police force to safeguard it from its enemies and enable the smooth and seamless functioning of its various affairs the human mind requires a strong self-defence and self-security system which can secure and protect it from social negativity and external exploitative agencies or forces

With this self-defence system and auto check-up mechanism, an individual will no longer get affected by social negativity and it will no longer affect his constructive capabilities or traumatize his personality Furthermore with this self-defence system a utilitarian and a productive individual will never become an unproductive and useless or a frivolous entity in society Social negativity actually involves negative behaviours like bullying, jealousy, lying, dishonesty, hostility, rudeness and son, which are directed at the recipient and are perceived as aversive or unwanted, and does not simply refer to the presence of negative feelings about another person It is an act in an unpleasant or angry manner toward an individual; making his life arduous and difficult Social negativity is not harmful for an individual only rather it is destructive for the whole society, hampering its growth and development

Some of the unique characteristics of an ideal society are that every individual in it is supposed to get support from the other members and every member is encouraged to improve and prosper instead of being trolled and bullied Those who get lost are directed to get back on the right track instead of being laughed at Every individual of an ideal society is supposed to carry a good attitude and positive behaviour within himself As narrated by Jaabir (RA), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Among the dearest of you to me and those who will be seated closest to me on the Day of Resurrection are those of you who are best in attitude (Tirmidhi) Every member of an ideal society is supposed to be kind both in his words and his actions while dealing with others without causing harm to anybody in any form as Almighty says in His holy book that ‘do good to

D e a l i n g w i t h s o c i a l n e g a t i v i t y

How to navigate today ’s pressures

others surely Allah loves those who do good to others

(Qur an 2:195)

However, when we look around now, these attributes are seldom found anywhere and our societies are filled with the filth of jealousy, hatred, show-off, bullying, trolling, dishonesty lying and many more flaws than can be counted Good attributes like morality character and honesty are slowly fading away and becoming meaningless for most of the so-called enlightened modern human beings

Our societies lack positive thinking and there is a rise of negativity in our societies Negative behaviours are on the rise which have resulted in many psychological issues, anxiety and depression among the individuals in our societies Being part of these societies we need to develop the attributes of patience tolerance honesty and positivity among ourselves to protect ourselves from social negativity In order to develop these positive attrib-

with negative behaviours

and can eradicate the nuisance of social negativity in our societies which in turn paves the way for an ideal and prosperous society

Even a train tragedy in India is being blamed on Muslims online

SCR OLL STAFF

HO U R S after the deadly train crash in Odisha’s Balasore killed at least 288 people and wounded 1 000 others on Friday evening several social media accounts insinuated that Muslims were responsible for the accident

A preliminary inquiry by the Indian Railways says a signalling error was responsible for India’s deadliest train accident in two decades The Indian Express reported citing a multi-disciplinary jointinspection note by supervisors News reports have highlighted concerns over maintenance and declining funds, as well as flaws in the signalling system

However accounts known for spreading Hindutva and Bharatiya Janata Party propaganda swung into action to shield the government as well as Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw from criticism amidst the growing calls for the minister to resign

On Saturday afternoon, a Twitter account with the handle @randomsena posted an image of the crash site with an arrow pointing to a white structure with domes close to the tracks and captioned it just saying yesterday was Friday This seemed to suggest that the structure was a mosque and that Muslims were somehow responsible for the tragedy

Fact-checkers from Boom and AltNews pointed out that the shrine is in fact a temple run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness or Iskcon Boom said its team checked images as well as footage from news agencies that showed that the structure is a temple

The Twitter account named “The Random Indian” however doubled down on the claim Balasore is a hub of rohingya muslims it said defending itself by saying that there was no mention of Muslims in its post By Sunday afternoon, the tweet had garnered four million views and nearly 4,500 retweets The account also posted a series of old news reports involving Muslim suspects in cases of previous unrelated train incidents with comments such as something is fishy to claim a bigger conspiracy at work

The Twitter account of Prof N John Camm”, who claims to be a senior Germany-based cardiologist, tweeted “rail jihad” Several more right-wing Twitter accounts have joined the chorus alleging sabotage and a conspiracy

Another Twitter user going by the name BhikuMhatre with the handle @MumbaichaDon, posted images of what he claimed was the “primary investigation report” and alleged that the tragedy “looked like a case of sabotage” The Twitter user whose followers include BJP leaders and a Mumbai BJP legislator also demanded an investigation by the National Investigation Agency

This claim was retweeted by others, with one user alleging more “such incidents” ahead of the 2024 elections Another alleged the hand of American billionaire George Soros and the Congress to create publicity for Congress Rahul Gandhi who is currently visiting the United States

Hindu supremacist and journalist Suresh Chavhanke and his Sudarshan News known for incendiary television news programmes that target Muslims have amplified these claims of sabotage

including tweeting out the hashtag “train accident or attack in Hindi Twitter user PallaviCT the co-convener of the Mumbai BJP s social media cell, also drew links to unrelated previous incidents to claim there was sinister intent behind the Odisha train accident ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections The Twitter user ’s bio says “blessed to be followed” by the prime minister On Sunday the Odisha Police said that it was highly unfortunate that social media handles were mischievously communalising the train accident The police warned of legal action against those trying to “create communal disharmony by spreading rumours”

RESERVATIONS TO BLAME: Another section of Twitter users meanwhile has blamed the reservation policy in government jobs for Indians from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the train crash The Twitter account of Shubham Sharma who claims to be a journalist said that the Railways had a policy of recruiting staff with a best among failed reservation system Sharma s previous posts include claims of violence against Brahmins and “caste crimes against non-Dalits”

Fact-checker Mohammed Zubair posted screenshots of Twitter users faulting the reservation policy in recruitment that led to less skillful employees being hired and meritorious and intelligent people being sidelined Twitter user Anuradha Tiwari said only merit should be a criteria to hire railway employees Twitter user Dhiraj Kumar claimed “reservations” was a main reason why government employees were not able to match the experty (sic) required to handle particular technology , with the hashtag

Stop Reservation in Railway Another Twitter user “Squint Neon” said humans make mistakes and “when humans are less skillful they make more mistakes”

Economist Ashwini Deshpande co-author of a study Does Affirmative Action Reduce Productivity? A Case Study of the Indian Railways , weighed in on the matter Responding to claims as well as counterclaims, Deshpande wrote that reservations had no negative impact on the productivity or efficiency of the Railways and that in some cases there was evidence of improved efficiency in some A and B category jobs

DEFENDING THE RAILWAY MINIS-

TER: Evidence of a concerted effort to shield the railway minister and the Narendra Modi-led government from increasing criticism was clear with the hashtag StandwithAshwiniVaishnaw garnering more than 24 000 tweets by Sunday afternoon

Prominent Hindutva and pro-government accounts put up posts highlighting the past achievements of the Railways under Vaishnaw and praising him for being at the site of derailment Twitter user Suresh Kumar Kurapaty claimed that he was resigning was the old method of accepting failures and called for support for Vaishnaw instead when was doing his best Many posted photographs of Vaishnaw and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the accident site praising them

Some urged social media users not to politicise the accident while others criticised the opposition leaders with some calling them vultures Several took the opportunity to mock railway ministers under the previous Congress-led governments and defend Vaishnaw

utes in ourselves we first need to take a comprehensive cognizance of these negative attributes in our societies and then try to evolve and cultivate tactics and strategies to deal with negative behaviours in our daily routine life

Better apprehension of social negativity will lead us to generate the best approaches in ourselves to combat negative behaviours

Let’s try to find some practical ways which can be helpful in dealing with social negativity so that it may not dominate us and affect our personality by overpowering our positive energy and exercising control over our cognitive power as we often face negative propensities in our societies:

The first and foremost principle to deal with negative behaviours is to ignore them Brian Ortega, the American martial artist has said that sometimes the best response is no response A person should try his best to avoid unnecessary response to negative social behaviours He should always try to keep himself busy with his own activities and ignore social negativity by not giving space to frivolous and futile thoughts of his mise-en-scène

Human beings are social animals depending upon each other So limiting our social circle seems to be an unsocial and unethical principle and most people consider it negative for social stability But sometimes it is necessary for mental peace Being super selective about who you share your energy with is self-care Experts say that it is essential to keep distance from people who are the reason for your heartbreaks and mental disturbance As Edmond Mbaika has beautifully said, we should keep our circle small with positive minded individuals who only come to grow with us and not to take advantage of us

Celebrating our success or triumph is our right but unnecessary showing off always creates negative behaviour of people towards us Remember, everyone who is with us may not be our well wisher Unnecessary and superfluous blaring of our success attracts the attention of envious and beguiling people towards us, resulting in their negative behaviour towards us We should always try to abstain from rhapsodizing our achievements and accomplishments Showing off may bring glory to us but staying quiet brings peace of mind

Self-defence is one of the best ways to counter negative behaviours If a person encounters social negativity regularly, he needs to fight against it judiciously instead of keeping silent He must present his point in a civilised humble and courteous manner Silence seclusion fear and trepidation may not always be the solution to social negativity Sometimes mutual understanding and interaction is the best possible way to eradicate negative social behaviours But our response to such behaviours should never be harsh, bitter or unethical as Almighty

Allah has mentioned in the Quran that one of the best attributes of wise people is that when the foolish address them ‘improperly’ they only respond with peace (Al Furqan :23)

Some people carry cyclopean negativity with them They are always ready to have altercations and fight with others on nugatory issues Their inner selves remain filled with jealousy, hatred and other negative traits These people need our guidance and counselling so that they can make over their negativity into positive vibes by reconstructing reforming and modifying their negative behaviour Such people need our motivation encouragement and sympathetic impetus for the reformation of their negative behaviour towards others Our sympathetic and compassionate approach towards these people will persuade them to shun their negativity and nourish positive and friendly characteristics inside them As has been said by Kimberly Giles all bad behaviour is really a request for love attention or validation

The aforementioned ways can help us efficiently to tackle social negativity in order to save our existence from its detrimental effects It is pertinent to mention here that people with negative behaviours are not problematic only for others but they themselves also suffer from their negativity They lack solace, serenity and tranquillity in their lives So dealing with social negativity by adopting the aforesaid approaches can bring peace and prosperity in our societies These approaches have multidimensional benefits and can eradicate the nuisance of social negativity in our societies which in turn paves the way for an ideal and prosperous society

The author is a member of Kashmir Writers’ Association and can be reached at rather1294@gmail com

Canberra’s most-decorated living soldier loses the “defamation case of the centur y” over alleged murder of Afghan civilians

Smith as a war criminal and murderer makes it virtually impossible now to credibly maintain that Australian soldiers did not commit war crimes in Afghanistan

After all if Australia s most decorated war hero in Afghanistan was murdering innocent civilians with impunity, it seems certain that other SAS soldiers were engaging in similar conduct

The Roberts-Smith defamation case result can only exacerbate the severe damage done to the reputation of the ADF since allegations of Afghanistan war crimes first emerged publically almost five years ago

JU S T I C E Anthony Besanko handed down his ruling in Afghanistan war hero Ben Roberts-Smith s defamation case in the Federal Court in Sydney Justice Besanko released a summary of the judgment, agreeing to delay releasing his full reasons until next week, so that it could be vetted by the federal government to ensure that it did not contain any sensitive national security material

Justice Besanko dismissed RobertsSmith s case against Australian media – on the basis that the most serious defamatory allegations made by the press, namely that the soldier was a war criminal and murderer, were substantially true The trial – dubbed the defamation case of the century – ran for over 100 days and the legal costs are thought to exceed $15 million for each side Roberts-Smith will now have to pay the costs of both parties

This was an absolutely disastrous result for the war hero – or perhaps more accurately former war hero Roberts-Smith an SAS soldier who won a Victoria Cross fighting in Afghanistan sued The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times, and three journalists, over articles published in 2018 alleging that he was a war criminal and complicit in the murder of six innocent Afghan civilians

The newspapers and journalists raised a defense of truth and Roberts-Smith and witnesses called by the defendants including three Afghan villagers and some of Roberts-Smith s fellow soldiers, gave conflicting evidence about what happened on various combat missions involving RobertsSmith in Afghanistan The trial judge disbelieved Roberts-Smith and accepted the evidence of the witnesses called by the newspapers, which will make it very difficult for any appeal that may be brought by Roberts-Smith to succeed Roberts-Smith’s comprehensive loss in his defamation action will have dire consequences for him personally the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the military top brass

A judge albeit in civil proceedings has now effectively ruled that Roberts-Smith is a war criminal Civil cases require a lower standard of proof than criminal ones, but in the circumstances it appears inevitable that he will face criminal charges in respect to his conduct in Afghanistan and in accordance with the protracted inquiry process into Afghanistan war crimes established by the former Morrison government some years ago Roberts-Smith will no doubt be stripped of his Victoria Cross and other medals Besanko’s branding of Roberts-

As for the military top brass, the result of the Roberts-Smith defamation case conf i r m s t h a t e i t h e r t h e y k n e w w h a t w a s going on in Afghanistan and permitted it to happen in which case they were comp l i c i t i n w a r c r i m e s A l t e r n a t i v e l y t h e y had no idea what was happening, in which case their negligence facilitated such war crimes After all, those SAS soldiers who told the journalists who wrote the articles w h a t w a s a c t u a l l y o c c u r r i n g i n A f g h a n i s t a n o n l y d i d s o b e c a u s e t h e y knew that the military top brass would do nothing to rein in such conduct T h e t r i a l s r e s u l t a l s o c o n f i r m s t h a t ADF leadership has mishandled the entire A f g h a n i s t a n w a r c r i m e s i s s u e r i g h t f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g N o w o n d e r o r d i n a r y A u st r a l i a n s o l d i e r s h a v e l o s t a l l r e s p e c t f o r their leaders

Coincidentally this week the Chief of the ADF, General Angus Campbell – who was the commander of Australian forces in Afghanistan in 2011 – appeared before a Senate Estimates Committee in the federal parliament Campbell had a difficult time coping with being grilled by a few independent Senators Earlier this week Campbell admitted that in March 2021 the United States defense attaché in Canberra had written to him, advising that the allegations of war crimes outlined in the 2020 Brereton Report could prevent the US military from cooperating with Australian SAS forces in the future The seriousness of this situation seemed lost on Campbell and he just shrugged the letter and warning off – as was the irony of the perpetrators of the My Lai massacre and Abu Ghraib atrocities lecturing him on the ethics of modern warfare Campbell also testified that he now intends to strip a few Australian military commanders in Afghanistan of their war medals while keeping the medals that he was personally awarded for his own distinguished service during the Afghanistan war This did not impress independent Senator Jacqui Lambie who demanded that Campbell “lead by example and hand back his medals Campbell refused to do so

Earlier in the week, the ADF announced that alcohol consumption by Australian soldiers would be banned in “warlike operations ” The ban is to be enforced via random breath testing with soldiers who refuse to be tested being sent home This is a typically misguided Campbell policy initiative The war crimes committed in Afghanistan were not committed because Australian soldiers

had a few beers

The fact is that the Australian military is in a state of crisis as a result of the inept handling of the entire Afghanistan war crimes matter Once the allegations surfaced instead of dealing with them promptly, and court-martialling the offenders, the military top brass set up a protracted investigation, beginning with the Brereton Inquiry, that only focused on the alleged misconduct of ordinary soldiers

This fundamentally flawed process has continued for more than five years and now involves criminal charges being brought against alleged war criminals in the courts One SAS soldier, Oliver Schulz, has already been charged and others including Roberts-Smith no doubt will be These criminal cases which will attract ongoing adverse publicity will take years to conclude This endless demonstration of public self-flagellation, together with the random stripping of service medals from ordinary soldiers against whom no allegations of war crimes had been made and the egregious and ongoing failure to provide proper support services for soldiers who served in Afghanistan has reduced morale within the ADF to an all-time low The Roberts-Smith defamation case will result in it plummeting even further Campbell and his top-brass colleagues should be sacked for presiding over this appalling state of affairs and an inquiry should be established into what precisely the military top brass knew about war crimes committed in Afghanistan at the time Answers need to be provided for why they did nothing to put an end to such conduct, why the ADF were sent to fight in Afghanistan in the first place and what benefits generally accrue to the military from blindly following the US into utterly misguided wars of aggression that cannot be won

That will not happen, of course, because, as the recent AUKUS agreement has shown Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government has wholeheartedly adopted the same Cold War worldview fervently adhered to by the military top brass Albanese will most likely leave Campbell and his mates in their current comfortable sinecures – where they will further demoralize and weaken the ADF, while at the same time maintaining that Australia should be ready to go to war with China over Taiwan at the drop of Uncle Sam s top hat

Defamation actions are strange and unpredictable things, but they sometimes provide instructive insights into the dysfunctional operations of powerful organizations that are in need of root and branch reform Ben Roberts-Smith inadvertently did Australia a service by bringing defamation proceedings against those newspapers and journalists who dared to tell the truth about what was really happening in Afghanistan

Graham Hryce is an Australian journalist and former media lawyer whose work has been published in The Australian

People

are not problematic only for others but they themselves also suffer from their negativity They lack solace, serenity and tranquillity in their lives So, dealing with social negativity by adopting the aforesaid approaches can bring peace and prosperity in our societies These approaches have multidimensional benefits

J u d g e f i n d s A u s t r a l i a n w a r

h e r o t o b e a w a r c r i m i n a l

C H I N A S E E KS D I A LO G U E , S AY S C L A S H W I T H

U S W O U L D B E ‘ U N B E A R A B L E D I S A S T E R ’

CH I N E S E Defence Minister Li Shangfu told Asia’s top security summit on Sunday that conflict with the United States would be an unbearable disaster but that his country sought dialogue over confrontation

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Li said the world was big enough for China and the US to grow together remarks made days after he refused to meet his US counterpart for direct talks China and the US have different systems and are different in many other ways,” he said in a speech that marked his first significant international address since he was named China’s Minister of National Defence in March

However this should not keep the two sides from seeking common ground and common interests to grow bilateral ties and deepen cooperation, he said

“It is undeniable that a severe conflict or confrontation between China and the US will be an unbearable disaster for the world

Wearing the general s uniform of the People s Liberation Army, Li made his address on the 34th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown

Ties between Washington and Beijing are badly strained over a range of issues, including democratically governed Taiwan territorial disputes in the South China Sea and President Joe Biden’s restrictions on semiconductor chip exports

As delegates at the summit debated the risks of accidents and miscalculations amid those tensions, the US Navy said a Chinese destroyer made “unsafe” manoeuvres near a US warship in the Taiwan Straits on Saturday highlighting the dangers China s military criticised the United States and Canada for deliberately provoking risk after their warships staged a rare

Fighting escalates in Sudan’s Khar toum after ceasefire expires

KHARTOUM A G E N C I E S

Fighting intensified in several areas of Khartoum on Sunday, residents of Sudan’s capital reported, a day after the expiry of a ceasefire deal between rival military factions brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States

The ceasefire had started on May 22 and expired on Saturday evening It calmed the fighting slightly and allowed limited humanitarian access, but like previous truces was repeatedly violated Talks to extend the ceasefire broke down on Friday

The deadly power struggle which erupted in Sudan on April 15 has triggered a major humanitarian crisis in which more than 1 2 million people have been displaced within the country and caused another 400 000 to flee into neighbouring states

It also threatens to destabilise the region as a whole

Live footage on Sunday showed black smoke billowing above the capital “In southern Khartoum we are living in terror of violent bombardment the sound of antiaircraft guns and power cuts ” said 34-year-old resident Sara Hassan by phone We are in real hell

Among the other areas where fighting was reported were central and southern Khartoum, and Bahri, across the Blue Nile to the north

Beyond the capital, deadly fighting has also broken out in the remote western region of Darfur, already grappling with long-running unrest and huge humanitarian challenges

Witnesses reported that heavy fighting on Friday and Saturday had brought chaos to Kutum one of the main towns and a commercial hub in North Darfur

The army denied claims that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which developed out of Darfur militias and has its power base in the region had taken over the town Witnesses said a military plane had crashed in Omdurman one of three cities around the confluence of the Nile that make up the greater capital region There was no immediate comment from the army, which has been using warplanes to target the RSF spread out across the capital

joint sailing through the sensitive strait US Indo-Pacific Command said US and Canadian ships were operating routinely and under high-seas freedoms Canadian defence minister Anita Anand said that Canada would continue to sail where international law allows including the Strait and that actors in this region must engage responsibly In his speech, Li said China would not allow such freedom-of-navigation patrols by the United States and its allies to be “a pretext to exercise hegemony of navigation

After his remarks regional scholars asked Li repeatedly about the incident as

well as China s extensive maritime deployments in the disputed South China Sea He did not answer them directly, saying moves by countries outside the region were raising tensions

Richard Marles, Australian deputy prime minister and defence minister said his country s efforts to improve its military capabilities and presence in the region were aimed at playing our part in contributing to the collective security of the Pacific and the maintenance of the rules-based order”

“It is a point I made that we have repeatedly made to the region and to the world since we announced the optimal pathway to acquiring nuclear-powered submarine capability, he said on the sidelines of the security meeting, referring to the AUKUS pact with the United States and Britain US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin rebuked China in a speech at the summit on Saturday for refusing to hold military talks leaving the superpowers deadlocked over their differences Austin said dialogue is not a reward, but a necessity” Li was more restrained in his address although he took thinly veiled digs at the United States accusing some countries of intensifying an arms race and wilfully interfering in the internal affairs of others

Cause and ‘people responsible’ for India train crash identified: minister

BALASORE, INDIA

A G E N C I E S

India’s Railway Minister said on Sunday that the cause and people responsible for the country s worst train crash in decades had been identified, pointing to an electronic signal system without giving further details

“We have identified the cause of the accident and the people responsible for it India s Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told news agency ANI but said it was not appropriate to give details before a final investigation report

At least 288 people were killed on Friday when a passenger train went off the tracks and hit another one near the district of Balasore in the eastern state of Odisha

Ashwini said the change that occurred during electronic interlocking, the accident happened due to that” a technical term referring to a complex signal system designed to stop trains colliding by arranging their movement on the tracks

Whoever did it, and how it happened, will be found out after proper investigation,” he added

There was confusion about the exact sequence of events but reports cited railway officials as saying that a signaling error had sent the Coromandal Express running south from Kolkata to Chennai onto a side track

It slammed into a freight train

and the wreckage derailed an express running north from India’s tech hub Bengaluru to Kolkata that was also passing the site

Five more bodies were brought to a school being used as a mortuary near the scene of the accident early on Sunday

Meanwhile, Odisha state’s chief secretary Pradeep Jena confirmed that about 900 injured people had been hospitalised

We do not know how many more bodies will come a health worker said Indian Railways says it transports more than 13 million people every day But the state-run monopoly has had a patchy safety record because of aging infrastructure Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who faces an election due next year, visited the scene on Saturday to talk to rescue workers, inspect the wreckage and meet

Benzema agrees to leave Real Madrid, club confirms

Real Madrid on Sunday announced their star Karim Benzema will leave the club upon the expiry of his contract with the club

Real Madrid CF and our captain Karim Benzema have agreed to end his brilliant and unforgettable period as a player for our club ” Real Madrid said Benzema’s contract expires on July 1 2023 Karim Benzema s career at Real Madrid has been an example of behavior and professionalism and has represented the values ??of our club Karim Benzema has earned the right to decide his future, the club statement said “Madridistas and all the fans around the world have enjoyed his magical and unique football which has made him one of the great myths of our club and one of the great legends of world football Real Madrid is and will always be his home and he wishes him and all his family the best in this new phase of his life, it added During his 14-year tenure with Los Merengues, Benzema was an instrumental figure for the club’s success lifting a total of 25 cups the club says a record number for Real Madrid including 5 UEFA Champions League Cups 5 Club World Cups 4 European Super Cups 4 Leagues 3 Copas del Rey and 4 Spanish Super Cups Real Madrid wants to show its gratitude and all its affection for who is already one of our greatest legends,” the club said Karim Benzema is the current Ballon d’Or and UEFA Player of the Year as well as being included in the FIFA FIFPRO Eleven and winning the 2022 Pichichi Trophy Awards received after one of the most extraordinary seasons in our history, especially in the Champions League League, in which our captain starred in memorable matches that helped Real Madrid win the Fourteenth European Cup in Paris being the top scorer in this competition with 15 goals ” Real Madrid said Benzema donned Real Madrid jersey scored 353 goals He is Real Madrid s second all-time goalscorer in both the La Liga and the European Cup tournaments

A farewell ceremony for Benzema will be held on June 6, Thursday at 12:00 local time at Real Madrid City, with club chairman Florentino Perez participating

some of the nearly 1,200 injured Workers with heavy machinery were clearing the damaged track wrecked trains and electric cables as distraught relatives looked on We were called by the police and asked to come, said Baisakhi Dhar from West Bengal state, searching for her husband Nikhil Dhar She said her husband’s luggage and mobile had been found but had no information on his whereabouts

At a business centre where bodies are taken for identification, dozens of relatives waited, many weeping and clutching identification cards and pictures of missing loved ones

Families of the dead will get 1 million rupees ($12 000) in compensation, while the seriously injured will get 200,000 rupees, with 50,000 rupees for minor injuries Vaishnaw said on Saturday

China landslide death toll rises to 19

as rescue work ends

All 19 people caught in a landslide in southwestern China’s Sichuan province on Sunday have been confirmed dead state media reported announcing the end of rescue efforts

Part of a mountain collapsed at around 6 am

(2200 GMT Saturday) near a state-owned forestry station in Jinkouhe, near the city of Leshan, state broadcaster CCTV said The disaster sent mud and debris hurtling towards a construction site operated by a local mining company where it struck and buried parts of the production and living facilities at the mineshaft platform , CCTV reported

Nineteen people were confirmed dead as of 8 pm, the broadcaster said, adding that “search and rescue work has currently ended, and the cause of the collapse is under investigation”

Footage broadcast by CCTV showed rescuers

Messi’s final game for Paris Saint-Germain ends in defeat

PARIS AGENCIES

Lionel Messi was jeered by a section of Paris SaintGermain supporters as he played his final game for the club in the Ligue 1 champions’ 3-2 home defeat by Clermont on Saturday Messi’s expected departure from the French giants after two seasons was officially confirmed by PSG in a statement shortly before Saturday s game

His contribution to Paris Saint-Germain and Ligue 1 cannot be underestimated and we wish Leo and his family all the best for the future, said PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi

Yet Messi’s name was jeered by some fans as the teams were announced at the Parc des Princes and the Argentinian World Cup winner was again whistled sporadically during the match There was little riding on the game itself after PSG wrapped up a record 11th French title last weekend, and Christophe Galtier’s side contrived to throw away a two-goal lead Sergio Ramos, whose own departure from PSG was confirmed on Friday marked his final appearance by heading in a Vitinha cross for the opener in the 16th minute –

Tribute to injured Rico –

and excavators picking through a tract of mud that had flattened a wooded hillside and strewn it with twisted metal and smashed masonry The Jinkouhe government earlier said the landslide had killed 14 people and left five missing An unspecified number of other mine workers “have been evacuated to a safe location”, according to CCTV Authorities sent more than 180 people and over a dozen pieces of rescue and recovery equipment to the site the broadcaster added Contacted by AFP earlier Sunday an official in Jinkouhe s publicity department declined to give further details The settlement of around 40,000 people lies in a mountainous region about 240 kilometres (150 miles) south of the provincial capital Chengdu Pak envoy deeply saddened by tragic loss of lives in Sichuan province Pakistan Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque on Sunday extended his deep sorrow and heartfelt condolences on the loss of lives in a landslide in Sichuan province of China

Mbappe, looking to end a fifth consecutive season as Ligue 1 s top scorer, then scored a penalty to make it 20 with his 29th league goal this season, which he marked by holding up goalkeeper Sergio Rico’s number 16 jersey Spaniard Rico PSG s back-up goalkeeper is in a serious condition in hospital in Seville after being injured in a horse-riding accident last weekend

The most important thing was the tribute to Sergio, Mbappe told broadcaster Canal Plus

“There are more important things than football, and on the pitch we were already champions We could have lost 22-0 and that would not have changed anything for us

We had to pay tribute to Sergio I think we have all been affected by what is an extremely serious situation

We have been worried about that all week and so we tried to pay tribute in the best possible way Mbappe’s goals tally left him two ahead of Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette in the final standings

Johan Gastien pounced on a Marco Verratti mistake to pull a goal back for Clermont who then saw Grejohn Kyei miss a penalty

British Pakistani Enaam Ahmed finishes top 5 in Detroit Grand Prix

ISLAMABAD A

Enaam Ahmed a 23 years old talented British Pakistani sports racer achieved an impressive accomplishment by securing a top-five finish in the Detroit Grand Prix

The event was part of Round 4 of the 2023 IndyNXT by Firestone, which took place in Detroit, the renowned auto manufacturing capital of the United States (US)

A suspension part failure in qualifying forced him to start from outside the top 10 but Enaam Ahmed made up fast and finished in the top 5

On the opening lap, the car of Louis

The concrete canyon that is the Detroit Street circuit, I had to be careful as there was chaos all around at the start I still managed to pass seven cars ” an excited Enaam said after picking up several places and finishing fifth in the race

This is his second top-five finish after fourth-place finishes at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama Enaam has jumped to 8th in the championship standings

“Championship success is a long game Both my team and myself are rookies in the series and we are learning from each other My goal is to be in the top five this year and gain experience on American ovals and style of racing If the opportunity is there I want to fight for the title this year explains Ahmed Enaam s illustrious career flying under the Pakistani flag has seen him beat the records of Formula One driver s Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen Not only that, Enaam Ahmed is also the British Formula 3 Champion

CORPORATE CORNER

Pak Nav y celebrates WED to highlight significance of environment: Naval chief

SAUDI ARABIA IMPROVISES FACILITIES, SCIENTIFIC MASS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AHEAD OF HA JJ PILGRIMAGE

ISLAMABAD

A P P

AS the annual Hajj pilgrimage approaches, Saudi Arabia has unveiled its groundbreaking arrangements that aim to provide intending pilgrims from around the world with an exceptional and comfortable spiritual journey

With a focus on modern facilities and a scientific mass management system the KSA was determined to make this year s Hajj experience the best ever, said the Royal Embassy’s Press Attaché Dr Naif Al-Otaibi in an exclusive interview with APP on Sunday

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi has said Pakistan Navy celebrates World Environment Day (WED) 2023 to highlight the significance of environment and promote awareness amongst personnel for mobilizing actions to stem detrimental effects of environmental degradation

In his message on the occasion of World Environment Day (WED) 2023, Admiral Muhammad Amjad Niazi said the World Environment Day' (WED) is observed on June 5, each year to reiterate the calls for protecting natural surroundings "The day celebrated under the ambit of United Nations Environment Programme marks an occasion to raise awareness on the challenges facing our environment such as pollution, illegal wildlife trade, sustainable consumption, rising sea levels and food security P R

PIAF urges govt to take stakeholders on board prior to budget 2023-23

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has urged the government to take all the businessmen and stakeholders on board seeking their suggestions prior finalizing the upcoming federal budget for 2023-24

In a statement issued on Sunday, Chairman PIAF Faheemur Rehman Saigol said that the new budget for 2023-24 should be framed in a way that it might achieve targets and realistic objectives as well and thus give new life to the economy of the country

He said that the industrial production has remained sluggish and all the targets of trade and industry would remain unfulfilled if measures were not taken to expedite the industrial wheel by availability of cheaper electricity and gas to the industry

The PIAF chairman said that the FBR’s reforms initiatives are not bearing fruit as the revenue collecting agency could increase the number of sales tax return filers mainly due to rise in the type of those filers, who haven t paid any tax, implying that bad governance and weak tax management of the tax department still persist P R

Barter trade to help exploit untapped trade potential: BMP

ISLAMABAD: FPCCI’s Businessmen Panel (BMP) Chairman and the newly-elected vice president of SAARC CCI Mian Anjum Nisar has said that the barter trader with Russia Afghanistan and Iran will exploit the untapped trade potential with these countries as the government is desperately trying to manage a balance of payments crisis and bring inflation under control, with foreign exchange reserves of just one month’s imports’ cover

In a statement issued on Sunday, he stated that the barter opportunity is important considering the dollar shortages the country is facing face He pointed out that Pakistan could gain from the barter trade, particularly from oil and energy imports from Russia and Iran without adding to dollar demand P R

Inflation pushed millions below pover ty line: S hahid Rasheed

ISLAMABAD: Former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr Shahid Rasheed Butt said on Sunday that merciless inflation has broken the backs of the people and pushed millions of people below the poverty line

He said that people in rural areas are more affected by the inflation than people in urban areas, which is unfortunate In a statement issued here, Shahid Rasheed Butt said that now that inflation is fully embedded in the system, it will continue to damage the masses with full force in the next financial year to increase public anxiety

He said that according to the data released by the government, inflation has reached 38 percent in the month of May, which is the highest level in the history of the country and in South Asia

Inflation is increasing, but there has been no increase in the wages of the workers, nor has there been a significant increase in the salaries of public and private employees he added P R

ISLAMABAD

A P P

Vast opportunities await educated youth in Pakistan to earn income by publishing their books with varying levels of content, including low, medium and high, using Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing online

Talking to APP here on Sunday the Chief Executive Officer of Scale Up Direct Publishing Syed Muneeb Ali highlighted that Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is an online platform that eliminates the need for traditional publishers, allowing authors to publish their content without selling rights or relying on bulk publications He emphasized that content writers are freed from concerns about page quality ink cover design

He said Saudi Arabia known as the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques had invested substantial resources to ensure the comfort and well-being of pilgrims during their sacred journey

He said the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in collaboration with various

government entities and private sector partners had introduced a range of initiatives to enhance the Hajj experience

First and foremost the Saudi government had made significant advancements in the infrastructure surrounding the holy sites, ensuring that the needs of pilgrims were met with modern amenities, he added

Dr Naif said a comprehensive renovation and expansion programme had been undertaken encompassing accommodations transportation and health services besides the new infrastructure included spacious and comfortable air-conditioned tents in Mina, where pilgrims stay during the days of Hajj, as well as up-

Punjab to launch ‘Offender Management Information System’ for criminals’ monitoring

RAWALPINDI S TA F F R E P O R T

The Directorate General of Punjab Probation and Parole Service Department had decided to launch the Offender Management Information System (OMIS) to integrate the data of criminals placed on probation and parole across Punjab including Rawalpindi Lahore Multan and Faisalabad to make their monitoring process more effective District Officer of Probation and Parole Service Dr Hasan Raza revealed while addressing a twoday seminar held under the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan approved research project titled Revamping Probation Services; Assessment of Risks and Needs and Strengths of Offenders on Probation in Punjab,” a news release said Dr Hassan informed that work

on the OMIS was being carried out on war footing adding for the first time rehabilitation centres for offenders on probation/parole were being set up to bring them back in the national mainstream and purge the society of anti-social elements

“A comprehensive strategy is being made to ensure the attendance of the offenders released on probation at the tehsil level

The seminar was presided over by Prof Mazhar Hussain Bhutta, Principal Investigator of the project and Chairman of the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Pir Meher Ali Shah Arid Agricultural University while the persons released on probation and students of MPhil and PhD were also present In his opening remarks, Professor Bhutta highlighted the objectives of the seminar and the

project stressing the need for capacity building of the probation officers /employees of the Directorate General of Punjab Probation and Parole Service

Accordingly, he said, rehabilitation centres were being established in Lahore Multan and Rawalpindi while a suitable site was being identified for Rawalpindi Our institution has also started family counselling for the families of the probationers who are involved in various crimes for so that they could help the person released on probation to become a useful citizen of the society

Currently he said around 940 persons involved in various crimes were on probation at the Probation Office Rawalpindi who had confessed their crimes, adding the probation period varied from one year to three years

PMDC decides to hold MDC AT exam on Aug 27

Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has decided to hold the Medical Dental Admission Examination (MDCAT) on August 27 2023

The decision was made in the council meeting chaired by President PM&DC Dr Rizwan Taj

The council decided that the syllabus of the MDCAT will remain the same as last year ’s exam

The council directed all provincial secretaries to start preparing for the said exam The decision was made keeping in view the larger interest of students

Last year almost 204 259 students appeared in exams while this year 210,000 students are likely to appear in the exams

Medical universities from all four provinces and the federal capital will again conduct the exams as per the provincial curriculum

The council emphasized that prior to exams all stakeholders will be taken on board like public med-

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T

A team of eight Pakistani ophthalmologists returned to Pakistan on Saturday night after conducting 400 eye cataract surgeries successfully in Chad

The initiative, organized by COMSTECH in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and Layton Rehmatullah Benevolent Trust involved conducting 400 cataract surgeries in the Republic of Chad, a least developed country of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Africa

According to COMSTECH the primary objective of this initiative was to address the urgent eye care needs of the people of N Djamena, Chad Over a span of eight days, the dedicated team of Pak-

and binding According to Muneeb content writers can reach a wide and diverse audience through Amazon Kindle as the platform is available in over 16 countries and supports multiple languages, including English, Polish, French, and others However, he noted that the scope for the Urdu language in the international market is currently limited as Kindle was recently launched in India and has yet to establish a presence in Pakistan

Regarding content creation Muneeb advised creators to first explore market demand and identify gaps He mentioned that topics such as crypto currency, blockchain, and artificial intelligence have been highly sought after in recent times but there are many other interesting subjects to explore

ical universities examination departments to ensure the secrecy of exams

The MDCAT paper difficult index will also be taken into consideration for ease of students without compromising merit to ensure that all provinces conduct exams without any trouble to students

It was decided that the NUMS will be the admitting university responsible for admissions in all armed forcesadministered medical and dental colleges and institutes

The NUMS admission test will be considered at par with the national MDCAT to be applicable only for admission in all armed forces-administered medical and dental colleges The meeting was attended by the council members including Dr Amjad Siraj Memon Dr Muhammad Zubair Khan, Jawad Amin Khan, Barrister Ch Sultan Mansoor, Noor ul Haq, Dr Mahmud Aurangzeb, Dr Tahmina Asad, Lt Gen Mohsin Qureshi Surgeon General, Dr Muhammad Shoaib Shafi Secretary Health Ministry of National Health Services and all provincial secretaries and nominees

istani ophthalmologists conducted a free eye camp in challenging weather conditions, leaving a lasting impact on the lives of hundreds of individuals

Prof Dr M Iqbal Choudhary the Coordinator General of COMSTECH, congratulated the team on the successful mission and expressed his commitment to continuing such initiatives in the future Despite the hot weather and numerous challenges the team of doctors successfully completed their mission, earning praise for their unwavering dedication Dr Zakaria Ousman Ramadan, the Honorary Consul General of Pakistan in Chad appreciated the collaborative efforts that contributed to the resounding success of this initiative He highlighted the strong partnership between the local government, the Ministry of

Health of Chad, and COMSTECH, which made the mission possible

Dr Khalid Masood, the team leader of the medical mission and a senior ophthalmologist from LRBT emphasized the adverse conditions under which the team worked He commended the passion and commitment of the doctors and expressed their determination to continue such endeavors

Apart from providing muchneeded eye surgeries the camp aimed to enhance local capacity through training and awareness campaigns Pakistani ophthalmologists, known for their expertise in the field shared their knowledge and skills with local doctors training them in the latest cataract surgery techniques Post-operative examinations were also conducted to ensure optimal patient recovery

graded transportation systems for seamless movement between the holy sites

To facilitate easy navigation the Saudi press attaché said the Ministry had introduced an advanced mass management system based on scientific principles Utilizing cutting-edge technology, this system incorporated artificial intelligence data analytics and real-time monitoring to ensure the efficient flow of pilgrims he maintained He said by employing crowd management algorithms and state-of-the-art surveillance techniques, the Saudi authorities could identify potential bottlenecks and proactively manage large gatherings preventing any inconvenience or safety concerns

Moreover he said the introduction of electronic services and digital platforms had revolutionized the Hajj experience as pilgrims could now complete their registration, visa applications, and documentation procedures online streamlining the entire process and reducing waiting times

A I O U r a n ke d f i r s t i n T H E ’s R a n k i n g s

ISLAMABAD: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) ranked 1st among 66 Pakistani varsities in recent Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023 (THE s Rankings) in SGD-4 (quality education) According to details, SGD-4 measures universities contribution to early years and lifelong learning, their pedagogy research, and their commitment to inclusive education Globally, AIOU ranked 25th among 1304 international universities in this category being the only university from Pakistan to make it into the top 25 global universities Keeping in view last year s rankings, AIOU jumped to 1 from 20th in Pakistan and 25th from 400-600 in this year s rankings Moreover, AIOU is ranked 2nd among 39 Pakistani universities in SGD-8 (decent work and economic growth), 3rd among 49 Pakistani Universities in SGD-1 (No Poverty) while AIOU is ranked 5th among 72 universities in SDG-17 (partnerships for the goals) It is pertinent to mention here that AIOU bagged 10th position in the overall ranking among 72 Pakistani varsities Vice Chancellor (VC) of AIOU Prof Dr Nasir Mahmood congratulated the whole faculty and staff on this moment of pride PR

CPO S afe C ity visits Margalla Road construc tion point to ensure smooth traffic flow

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Police Officer (CPO) Safe City Islamabad accompanied by SP Traffic conducted a comprehensive review of traffic conditions amidst the ongoing construction on Margalla Road near E-11 chowk in Islamabad

The primary focus of the assessment was to ensure the efficient management of traffic and the safety of commuters during this period Emphasizing the importance of proper traffic management during construction projects, CPO Safe City urged all concerned officials to seek permission from the appropriate authorities before implementing any traffic diversions He further emphasized the necessity of deploying dedicated traffic personnel at diversion points to alleviate any inconvenience faced by citizens

It is our utmost priority to maintain the smooth flow of traffic and prevent any accidents that may result in loss of life or property," stated CPO Safe City "We are committed to providing the best possible travel facilities to the citizens of Islamabad" he added PR

Wall Street held a mega draw

KARACHI: A mega draw was organized by Wall Street in Karachi Head Office that started from the first Ramadan People from all over the country won cash prizes amounting to lakhs of rupees in the draws and Umair Haji Zafar was the lucky one who was declared the winner in Hajj balloting Chairman Wall Street Ramzan Ali said that we are working for the growth and development of the country and this is the time to strengthen the economy of Pakistan, and we are working in this direction CEO of Wall Street, Sarfraz Hussain Siddiqui said that Wall Street always cared for people and this campaign is aligned with that thinking The Wall Street Company has been serving the country since 2003 and we will continue to serve Pakistan In the draws, we gave cash prizes worth lakhs of rupees to the customers daily PR

phies, textbooks and novels

Muneeb further highlighted that Amazon Kindle operates on a print-on-demand model which means that books are printed and delivered to customers as soon as orders are received online This eliminates the need for bulk publication and streamlines the distribution process, he added He mentioned that low-content books, which often feature activities for users to participate in are particularly in demand on Amazon Kindle Examples of such activities include journaling sketching coloring painting and completing tasks beyond the pages, he said adding that medium-content books, on the other hand, offer unique content on each page, such as coloring books, activity books and puzzle books while high-content books were rich in information such as biogra-

Additionally

Muneeb highlighted that authors can also publish e-book versions of their books which can be read on Kindle tablets and applications He emphasized that publishing on international platforms like Amazon introduces writers to a global audience Muneeb advised aspiring writers to explore a niche identify their target audience and create relevant content that resonates with their readers He stressed that original and unique content holds great value as digital platforms are adept at recognizing and promoting such content To assist publishers, Amazon provides a self-help tool that guides them in identifying errors in their books, such as margin issues heading formatting cover design and interior layout he said adding

that publishers can promote their books through advertisements blogs affiliate marketing and indirect marketing methods Muneeb revealed that newcomers can learn the process of self-publishing within 30 to 90 days and creating an account on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is as simple as signing up for an email account He said that royalty models vary depending on the content and authors can easily receive their earnings through their bank accounts He said that the potential for educated youth in Pakistan to leverage online earning opportunities through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is significant He said that by tapping into this platform, young authors can showcase their talent reach a wider audience and generate income from their unique content

Z ARA AIRWAYS TO INTRODUCE DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM CANADA TO PAKISTAN

A S ADVISER

nessed positive developments

CA N A D I A N airline Zara Airways has unveiled plans to launch direct flights from Toronto to three major cities in Pakistan in August, marking a significant development in air travel between the two nations T h e a i r l i n e w i l l o p e r a t e t h r e e

w e e k l y f l i g h t s f r o m To r o n t o t o K a r a c h i , I s l a m a b a d , a n d L a h o r e I t plans to initiate operations in August, utilising two Boeing 777 aircraft initially with the potential to expand the f l e e t b a s e d o n d e m a n d T h e p a r t n e rship with Shaheen Airport for ground services cabin crew and other operational support will further strengthen Zara Airways capabilities

To ensure a smooth commencement

KP plans lif ting of ban on column of cultivation mutation

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided lift a two-year ban on the mutation of the Column of Cultivation (CoC), also known as Khana Kasht, across the province

The ban, which was imposed by the previous government in 2021 has faced criticism for its adverse impact on the economy causing hardships and job losses

The caretaker government contends that lifting the ban will provide a significant boost to revenue generation and stimulate economic activ-

ity Additionally, it is anticipated to create employment opportunities within the construction industry The ban will be lifted in phases

The approval for the ban lifting will be made in the forthcoming provincial cabinet meeting However, the final authorisation for its removal will be granted by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly

The decision to lift the ban has drawn appreciations of the construction industry and property dealers They assert that the ban has had devastating consequences for their businesses and its removal will enable them to flourish the construction sector again

Balochistan CM blasts Centre over ‘stepmotherly teatment’

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister (CM) Abdul Quddus Bizenjo on Sunday criticized the federal government “for what he called” ‘ignoring the province and not providing funds’ saying this attitude of the Centre would not be tolerated at all In a policy statement the chief minister claimed that not a single penny out of the Rs10 billion grant announced by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif for the rehabilitation of flood affectees could be provided to the province so far CM Bizenjo expressed concerns over the non-fulfilment of promises and the cold-shoulder attitude of the federal government towards the problems of the province where a sense of deprivation already prevails “Despite several requests, the prime minister is not giving time for a meeting,” he added

of operations, Zara Airways is currently in the process of securing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Canadian government

Zara Airways has appointed Ejaz Haroon former managing director of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as an adviser

The establishment of Zara Airways is poised to invigorate Pakistan s aviation industry, which has recently wit-

The approval of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and SunExpress by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will introduce increased competition ultimately leading to lower fares and improved services for passengers Additionally Ethiopian Airlines has announced the resumption of direct flights between Karachi and Addis Ababa, a route that had been suspended since 2004

Hor tic ulture expor ters seek extension of repatriation time for realization of expor ts proceeds

ISLAMABAD

G H U L A M A B B A S

Horticulture exporters have approached the Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce highlighting the challenges they encounter in realizing their export proceeds They have appealed for an extension of the repatriation time limit to address the unique difficulties faced in their industry

In a recent letter addressed to the Secretary of Commerce, the Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers, and Merchant Association shed light on the obstacles they confront when attempting to meet the stipulated time frames for export proceeds

The exporters have requested an extension of the repatriation time to 120 days taking into account the distinct characteristics of the fruit and vegetable sector

The letter highlighted the application of lien percentages mentioned in FE Circu-

T wo soldiers mar t yred in gunfight with terrorists in Nor th Waziristan

RAWALPINDI

S TA F F R E P O R T

Two soldiers of Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom during an exchange of fire with terrorists in North Waziristan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the military said on Sunday

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani troops engaged the terrorists’ location killing two while injuring another two It stated that weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists

lar No 02 of 2023, dated March 31, 2023, and SBP Circular No EPD/ITD/Exports/302304/2023 dated April 30 2023 The exporters expressed concern over being compelled to pay penalties ranging from 3% to 9% for delayed payments

Due to the perishable nature of horticulture products, shipments of fruits and vegetables are often conducted on a Documents against Payment (DP) basis This is primarily because banks do not offer long tenures, especially to low-volume exporters in the horticulture sector Consequently exporters face challenges in meeting the mandated 45day repatriation period considering the long transit time of shipments and the time required to sell the produce

The association emphasized the need for specific provisions in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) manual to facilitate the export of fresh produce in the fruit and vegetable

sector They further mentioned that exporters often ship their consignments based on open prices, making it difficult to obtain the full value of the consignment Additionally factors such as decay diseases container malfunctions loss of debt, and other issues may lead to losses that cannot be repatriated

In light of these challenges the horticulture exporters have urged the authorities to extend the time limit for repatriation to 120 days for fruits and vegetables They believe that such an extension would enable them to navigate the unique circumstances of their business and contribute to the growth and development of the export sector

The exporters expressed hope that the Ministry of Commerce acknowledging the distinctive nature of the horticulture sector would consider their request and create a more favorable environment for exporters

However, the statement added, during intense exchange of fire, 38-year-old Naik Zaheer Abbas from Khushab district and 23-year-old Lance Naik

Mairaj Ud Din from Dera Ismail Khan district embraced martyrdom ISPR said that sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area Armed forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve, it further said

A day earlier, two soldiers of the army embraced martyrdom during an exchange of fire with terrorists in Jani Khel area of the province’s Bannu district

According to ISPR two terrorists were also killed during the exchange of fire

In recent years the army has launched several successful operations against terrorist groups operating in different parts of the country

These operations have been crucial in dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and eliminating the threat posed by these groups to the civilian population and security forces alike

During his maiden press conference on April 25 as director general of the ISPR Maj-Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry had revealed that a total of 8,269 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) had been conducted since January as a result of which 1,535 terrorists had been killed or apprehended

Of these 4 040 IBOs were conducted in Balochistan another 3 591 in K-P 119 in Punjab and 519 operations were conducted in Sindh On average over 70 IBOs were being conducted daily by the army police and LEAs since January, he continued