Epaper_23-06-12 ISB

FULFILLED ANOTHER PROMISE AS DISCOUNTED RUSSIAN CRUDE ARRIVES IN COUNTRY: PM

neighbouring India, which historically is closer to Moscow, analysts said the crude deal would have been difficult for Pakistan to accept but its financing needs are great

Discounted crude offers respite as Pakistan faces an acute balance-of-payments crisis risking a default on its debt obligations Energy imports make up most of the country’s external payments

Currently, 80 per cent of Pakistan’s oil requirements of roughly 154 000 barrels per day are being met by traditional Gulf and Arab suppliers mainly Saudi Arabia and the UAE The 100 000 bpd from Russia in theory would greatly reduce Pakistan s need for Middle Eastern fuel

On the other hand, Pakistan s purchase gives Russia a new outlet, adding to Moscow s growing sales to India and China, as it redirects oil from Western markets because of the Ukraine conflict

J A B K P R A I N S : Meanwhile Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Sunday expressed grief and sorrow over the recent loss of precious human lives in rainstorms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab In a statement issued on Twitter, he said rescue departments and relief teams were working to help the affected people

LAHORE

S TA F F R E P O R T

PR I M E M i n i s t e r S h e h b a z S h a r i f o n S u n d a y s a i d t h a t t h e f i r s t c a r g o o f d i s c o u n t e d c r u d e f r o m R u s s i a h a s a r r i v e d i n t h e c o u n t r y a n d d i s c h a r g e o f o i l w i l l c o mm e n c e o n M o n d a y ( t o d a y ) I have fulfilled another of my promises to the nation Glad to announce that the first Russian discounted crude oil cargo has arrived in Karachi and will begin oil discharge tomorrow,” the premier tweeted

“Today is a transformative day We are moving one step at a time toward prosperity economic growth energy security and affordability PM Shehbaz said

He stated that the arrival of the first-ever Russian oil cargo in Pakistan was the beginning of a new relationship between Pakistan and the Russian Federation

“I commend all those who remained part of this national endeavor and contributed to translating the promise of Russian oil import into reality ” the prime minister added

Last year Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had announced that the country was considering buying discounted Russian oil pointing out that neighbour India had been purchasing oil from Moscow and Islamabad also had a right to explore the possibility

Subsequently, State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik had flown to Moscow for talks on issues including oil and gas supplies after which the government announced that it would purchase discounted crude oil petrol and diesel from Russia

In January 2023, a Russian delegation arrived in Islamabad for talks to finalise the deal During the three-day meeting, the countries decided to address all technical issues insurance transportation and payment mechanism to sign an agreement by late March this year

After consensus on the technical specifications achieved the oil and gas trade transaction will be structured in a way it has a mutual economic benefit for both

Making efforts to re-negotiate with IMF on more favorable terms: Dar

countries ” a joint statement issued by the two sides had then stated In April Malik had said Pakistan had placed its first order for discounted Russian crude oil under a deal struck between Islamabad and Moscow

He had also said that imports were expected to reach 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) if the first transaction went through smoothly Pakistan’s Refinery Limited (PRL) will initially refine the Russian crude in a trial run followed by Pak-Arab Refinery Limited (Parco) and other refineries Malik added

As a long-standing Western ally and the arch-rival of

Without any doubt these were effects of climate change resulting in damage caused by unusual hailstorms untimely rains and melting of glaciers he added

These weather events were not only causing loss of lives and property but were also badly affecting agriculture and economy, he said adding Pakistan was one of the countries which were worst affected by climate change

The PM said at present the whole world was facing the negative effects of climate change

We need to collectively take solid steps for the safe future of

PM Shehbaz hopeful about securing deal with IMF this month

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Sunday expressed hope that Pakistan will reach agreement with International Monetary Fund (IMF) in June to get the remaining loan as his government had met all the conditions with sincerity

Speaking at a ceremony at Sabzazar Sports Complex here, he said he had a long conversation with chief of IMF recently and he assured that the government would meet conditions for the loan and provide the required information about budget He said Pakistani nation was vibrant and was capable of meeting all the coming economic challenges in case of any further

delay in the IMF programme

He said despite all the economic difficulties the federal government raised the salaries of employees by 30 to 35 percent increased pension by 17 percent and increased minimum wage from Rs 25000 to Rs 32000 The government was aware of the economic difficulties of the poor people he added He said major funds were allocated for the sectors of agriculture and information technology in the federal budget presented by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, adding the budget would provide relief to the common man and create jobs

The prime minister said he assumed government in April 2022 amid very tough economic conditions Last year, the government of Imran Niazi broke the agreement

with International Monetary Fund and the coalition government had to face the challenge of rising commodity and oil prices in the international market and then it spent huge funds for the relief and rehabilitation of people affected by the devastating funds, he mentioned

The government had to seek help from friendly countries to overcome economic challenges he continued

He said the government of Imran Niazi showed negligence and did not buy gas when its prices were very low in the international market during the COVID pandemic Imran Niazi did nothing for the people but wasted all his time in waging vendetta against opposition leaders, he added

UNSC repor t underscores

TTP ’s persistent threat to Pakistan’s security

UNITED NATIONS S TA F F R E P O R T

A United Nations Security Council report has come as a reminder a b o u t t h e p e r s i s t e n t t h r e a t P a ki s t a n s s e c u r i t y f a c e s f r o m t h e A f g h a n i s t a n - b a s e d Te h r e e k - eTa l i b a n P a k i s t a n ( T T P ) , s a y i n g t h e m i l i t a n t g r o u p a l s o p o s e s a threat to the region “ T h e l i n k b e t w e e n t h e Ta li b a n a n d b o t h A l - Q a e d a a n d Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) r e m a i n s s t r o n g a n d s y m b i o t i c , the annual report of the 1988 Tali b a n s a n c t i o n s c o m m i t t e e m o n i -

toring team noted

The report comes amid escalating TTP attacks inside Pakistani territory to which Pakistan has repeatedly drawn the attention of the international community

A r a n g e o f t e r r o r i s t g r o u p s have greater freedom of manoeuvre under the Taliban de facto authorities ” the report said adding T h e y a r e m a k i n g g o o d u s e o f this and the threat of terrorism is rising in both Afghanistan and the region

“ W h i l e t h e y h a v e s o u g h t t o reduce the profile of these groups a n d h a v e c o n d u c t e d o p e r a t i o n s against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIL-K) in general the Taliban h a v e n o t d e l i v e r e d o n t h e c o u n t e r- t e r r o r i s m p r o v i s i o n s u n d e r t h e A g r e e m e n t f o r B r i n ging Peace to Afghanistan between the United States of America and the Taliban The report said there were indications that al-Qaeda is rebuildi n g o p e r a t i o n a l c a p a b i l i t y, t h a t

T T P i s l a u n c h i n g a t t a c k s i n t o P a k i s t a n w i t h s u p p o r t f r o m t h e Ta l i b a n , t h a t g r o u p s o f f o r e i g n t e r r o r i s t f i g h t e r s a r e p r o j e c t i n g t h r e a t a c r o s s A f g h a n i s t a n s b o rd e r s a n d t h a t t h e o p e r a t i o n s o f I S I L - K a r e b e c o m i n g m o r e s op h i s t i c a t e d a n d l e t h a l i f n o t more numerous” “ I t i s t o o e a r l y t o j u d g e t h e impact of the decree by the Taliban in April 2022 banning poppy cultivation the report added

At this point it said prices have increased, as has production of the more profitable methamphetamine Key Taliban individuals remain closely involved in production and trafficking

However the Afghan Taliban dismissed the report and called it full of prejudice , according to media reports

TODAY S ISSUE

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Public urged to stay away from coastline as Cyclone Biparjoy intensifies

The powerful cyclone Biparjoy is heading to the coastline of Pakistan with more intensity on Sunday and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has urged the public to stay informed and follow the official updates and warnings issued by relevant authorities to protect themselves and their properties from the possible impacts of Tropical Cycling Biparjoy

On the other hand, the administration in both the Sindh and Balochistan have issued red alert and banned fishing and swimming along the coastal areas after the Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) Biparjoy over east-central Arabian Sea is maintaining its intensity and is hardly 760 kilometers away from Karchi and 750km from Thatta

The Karachi City Administration imposed a complete ban on going into open sea for sailing, fishing, swimming or bathing under Section 144

The ban was imposed after the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) issued an alert advising fishermen not to venture in open sea from Monday, 12 June 2023 onwards till the system is over as the Arabian Sea conditions may get very rough/high accompanied with high tides along coast” NDMA ADVISORY: In an advisory issued by the spokesperson for NDMA said according to the latest information gathered through monitoring of International forecasting models Tropical Cyclone Biparjoy, which was currently a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) would likely to intensify into an Extreme Severe Cyclonic Storm (ESCS) in next 24 hours

“It is located at 840 km south of Karachi and moving north-northeastward with winds of 130-140 km/h and gusts of 150 km/h PMD reported that it is likely to follow one of three tracks and impact coastal areas of Pakistan, it said The potential impacts included heavy rains, thunderstorms and winds in south and southeast Sindh (Karachi, Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Tharparkar & Mirpurkhas) from evening of 13 June onwards; damage to weak structures due to winds; storm surge and urban flooding along the coast and rough to very rough sea conditions with high-intensity squalls that will prevent fishermen from venturing out into the open sea NDMA, in close coordination with PMD, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Sindh & Balochistan, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Maritime Security Authority (PMSA) Pakistan Coast Guards (PCG) issuing advisories and guidelines to all concerned stakeholders at national and provincial levels to undertake proactive preparedness and mitigation measures NDMA s NEOC is continuously monitoring and sharing information with all stakeholders and the public through webpage-based projections of BIPARJOY’s tracks and impacts on coastal areas According to PDMA officials the tides could rise up to 10 feet as soon as the cyclone that has gained strike the coastal belt Fishermen are reportedly ignoring the warnings while some families have also been spotted at beaches

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) alert issued around 9 45pm on Saturday, the system was located 840km south of Karachi 830km south of Thatta and 930km southeast of Ormara

The Met department stated that the very severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy over east-central Arabian Sea was maintaining its intensity and had further tracked northnortheastward during the past 12 hours

“It now lies near Latitude 17 3°N & Longitude 67 4°E at a distance of about 840km south of Karachi 830km south of Thatta and 930km southeast of Ormara

PMD alerts authorities to remain vigilant

The Extremely Severe Cyclone Storm (ESCS) BIPARJOY may probably approach the southeast Sindh coast and cause widespread winddust/thunderstorm rain with some very heavy/extremely heavy falls at few districts of Sindh between June 13-17 About the possible impacts of the cyclone the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has revealed on Sunday that With its probable approach to the southeast Sindh coast, widespread wind-dust/thunderstorm rain with some very heavy/extremely heavy falls accompanied with squally winds of 80-100Km/hour likely in Thatta Sujawal Badin Tharparker and Umerkot districts during June 13-17

G o l d p r i c e s e a s e b y R s 4 , 1 5 0 p e r t o l a f o r s e c o n d w e e k

tola a week ag0 Likewise the gold rate for 10 grams of 22-karat fell to Rs178 600 from Rs181 600 As far as Pakistan rupee-US dollar parity is concerned, as gold is valued in USD, the local unit depreciated 0 44 percent against the greenback in the interbank market on a week-on-week basis According to the figures shared by the central bank the rupee fell from 285 68 to 286 93 against the greenback Similarly the rupee fell one percent against the US dollar in the open market, from the range of Rs299-302 to Rs302-305 The domestic gold market has remained volatile for the last one year due to economic

and political turmoil, high inflation, and currency depreciation People prefer to buy the yellow metal in such times as a safe investment and a hedge to protect themselves against inflation and currency depreciation bal markets, the gold price surged for the second straight week from $1,947 50 to $1,960 70 per ounce, showing an uptick of 0 67 percent Gold prices fell below $1 950 at the beginning of the week as an impressive May jobs report from the US weighed on the gold prices However the US dollar came under selling pressure after a survey revealed a loss of momentum in service sector activity The downbeat data prompted gold prices to regain traction on Monday and gold closed the day in positive territory

T H E R E W I L L B E O U R LG I N S I N D H

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

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

WH I L E alluding to JI Karachi Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman Sindh

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday said: a man shall be crying alone at home after June 15, the day when the elections to Mayor of Karachi will take place

“It will be our local government in Sindh for the first time” declared Sindh

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah while addressing a post-budget press conference at Sindh Assembly auditorium here on Sunday CM Shah said the man (the JI Sindh chief) claimed that they had mandate but on the other hand he denied the holding of the elections

He said that it was the responsibility of the Sindh government to present the

KP IGP inaugurates modern CTD Regional HQ Dera

PESHAWAR S ta f f R e p o R t

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa, Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur

Sunday inaugurated the newly constructed modern Regional Headquarters CTD Dera

Ismail Khan building

During the inauguration ceremony

Additional IGC TD Shaukat Abbas Regional

Police Officer Dera Abdul Ghafoor Afridi

District Police Officer Dera Abdul Rauf

Babar Qaisrani, SPCTD Region-I Fazal

Wahid, SPCTD-II Izhar Shah and CTD

officers and district police officials were also present Regional Police Officer Dera Abdul Ghafoor Afridi gave a detailed briefing to Inspector General of Police KP Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur about the CTD building

During this, IGP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

elected local bodies representatives, who were under arrest and facing criminal charges on the day of the election to Mayor of Karachi Syed Murad Ali Shah said this would be the first time in the history that their

elected local bodies representatives would be serving the people across the province While speaking on the budget, he said that budgets were being presented since 1937 and this was the 59th budget He said that the cause of the development in Sindh

was only due to the stability in the province He said that the Pakistan People s Party would bring stability in the country He said that the total outlay of the budget estimated for the next financial year

2023-24 was Rs2 25 trillion

The Chief Minister said that the estimated development budget was over Rs700 billion He said that there were four major components of the budget which included education health law and order and local bodies He also enumerated a number of schemes and projects for Karachi including K-IV and other projects Syed Murad Ali Shah said that they had worked more and more over development side in the ongoing year compared to the previous years and hoped that the next financial year would be much better He said that budget for transport & mass transit system and local bodies could be increased as per the requirement

ACE books Imran’s sister, brother-in-law over ‘fraudulent purchase’ of land

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has registered a case against Dr Uzma Khan the sister of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

(PTI) chief Imran Khan and her husband on charges of fraudulent purchasing land worth billions of rupees

According to the ACE spokespers o n D r U z m a K h a n a l l e g e d l y p u rc h a s e d l a n d w o r t h b i l l i o n s o f rupees through deceitful means purc h a s i n g i t f o r a m e r e R s 1 3 0 m i l l i o n while the land s actual price was Rs6 b i l l i o n S h e i s a c c u s e d o f i l l e g a l l y p u r c h a s i n g 5 2 6 1 k a n a l s o f l a n d i n

District Layyah

As per the spokesperson the land was purchased via illegal mean in 2021

Dr Uzma colluded with her husband, Ahad Majid, to carry out the fraudulent transfer of the land in their names

He revealed that the purchase was made when the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced the Greater Thal

Canal project which aimed to irrigate barren lands through the Thal Canal

The spokesperson disclosed that Dr Uzma was aware of the Thal Canal project beforehand She and her husband forcefully bought the land from the owners and transferred it to their names Subsequently the landowners filed complaints against Dr Uzma and others at the local police station

The spokesperson of the Anti-Cor-

Electricit y restored in most rain-storm hit areas: Muqam

PESHAWAR S ta f f R e p o R t

Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur reviewed the internal and external security of the police station CTD and while visiting different parts of the Police Station building the CCTV cameras there IGP KP also inspected the electronic monitoring system The IGP visited the Regional Headquarters CTD offices, Hawalat, Investigation Cell and various counters and reviewed the performance of each department in detail On this occasion he said that modern equipment weapons ammunition and vehicles have been provided to the CTD police, the purpose of establishing the CTD is to completely eradicate terrorism from this province He said that the close and friendly relationship between the police and the public can eliminate crime so there is a need to increase bilateral cooperation in the current situation IGP Akhtar Hayat Khan also presided over a high-level meeting with police officials at Police Club Dera in which

Additional IGC TD Shaukat Abbas, Regional

Police Officer Dera Abdul Ghafoor Afridi, District Police Chief Dera Abdul Rauf Babar Qisrani DPO Tank Waqar Ahmed DPO South Waziristan Upper Niaz Mohammad

DPO Lower Shabir Hussain Additional SP

Dera Iftikhar Ali Shah, SP Investigation Dera

Iftikhar Khan, SP Investigation Tank Nasir Ali, SP Special Branch Tohid Khan, SP TD Region-I Fazal Wahid SP Region-II Izhar Shah SPFRP Iqbal Khan participated in the meeting In the meeting IG Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa RPO asked about law and order, crime rate and police efficiency in Dera region and a detailed briefing was given on anti-crime operations In the meeting, IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was also briefed on the steps taken professional performance and important actions taken by the police in various districts of Dera region including tribal districts on which IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa expressed satisfaction

ruption Establishment stated that some local individuals also submitted applications to the Justice of Peace alleging that the fraudulently acquired land was illegally seized

The spokesperson further stated that during the investigation, the roles of government officials would be determined The zero tolerance policy against corruption will continue to be enforced against corrupt elements he added

Govt will not waste resources on opening ceremonies: CM

QUETTA S ta f f R e p o R t

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo on Sunday, in a tweet, said that now people would inaugurate all public projects

Be it school or college hospital or playground health card or green bus project, all these are people s own money, he said He said that he would not waste resources on the opening ceremonies to take or give credit to these projects saying children studying in the government institutions would inaugurate new educational institutions, Hospitals will be opened for poor

patients during treatment Green bus service will be inaugurated by sisters and daughters who are travelling in public transport he said He said that the project s cost due to people s wealth and that the people should be credited by inaugurating public projects “Our job was to use their money properly ” he said Issue all appointment orders within week Meanwhile Balochistan CM Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo has given instructions to the ministers and secretaries of all departments to issue all appointment orders within a week to fulfill his promise of providing employment to the youth whose test interviews were completed till April

The CM also issued instructions to the ministers and secretaries to strictly monitor the recruitment process and ensure that the recruitments were based on merit in a clear and transparent manner and that the right holders get their right

H e s a i d t h a t i f t h e r e w a s a n y i nformation about the sale of jobs strict action would be taken against the secr e t a r y o f t h e c o n c e r n e d d e p a r t m e n t a n d t h e m e m b e r s o f t h e s e l e c t i o n c o m m i t t e e

It should be remembered that many thousands of jobs have been pending in various departments for years including education public health agriculture levies health department finance colleges etc

Adviser to the Prime Minister for Political and Public Affairs and National Heritage, Engr Amir Muqam here Sunday said that electricity system in most of the rains-storms affected areas in Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Karak and adjoining districts were restored in the province Addressing a press conference here after presiding over of a high level meeting about electricity losses and rehabilitation work on non-workable feeders at the affected areas, the Adviser said a total of 300 feeders were found non workable out of which 236 were so far restored and work on remaining 64 feeders was underway saying electricity of all hospitals in the affected areas were stand restored by the PESCO staff He said that work on Miranshah and Razmak grid stations were in progress and would be restored within few days Engr Amir Muqam said that over 500 million electricity related losses occured due to yesterday’s hailstorms rains and storms The Adviser said the Prime Minister was closely mointoring restoration of electricity and rehabilitation works in the affected areas and directed all the concerned departments to work swiftly by providing relief to the affected people Engr Amir Muqam said that 3 000 metric tons flour per day was being provided to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Punjab adding free of cost flour worth Rs19 billion were provided to people during Ramazan He announced Rs one million compensation for heirs of each dead, Rs three lakh for each injured and Rs50,000 for minor wounded victims of the rains and storms Amir Muqam said that compensation for destroyed and damaged houses would be given after completion of the demages survey to be conducted by the Revenue Department He said the erstwhile Fata and Pata were exempted from taxes for which the government deserved appreciation Earlier, the adviser was given extensive briefing about electricity related losses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa especially in Bannu Lakki Marwat Karak and erstwhileFata by the PESCO and TESCO authorities He directed both the authorities to speed up work and complete the rehabilitation process at earliest to facilitate consumers

Italian CG, Ombudsman call on Sindh CM

KARACHI

S ta f f R e p o R t

Italian Consul General Danilo Giurdanella and Ombudsman of Lazio Italy Marino Fardelli called on Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah at the CM House here on Sunday Marino Fardelli, who is also President of the National Coordination of Italian Civic Ombudsmen is visiting Karachi on the special invitation of the Provincial Ombudsman Sindh Ajaz Ali Khan The chief minister welcomed the distinguished guests and appreciated the role of the Office of Ombudsman in grievance redressal for the public The Italian Ombudsman suggested signing MoU with the Sindh Ombudsman for cooperation between the two Ombudsmen offices which the chief minister approved The CM directed the provincial ombudsman to complete the required formalities for signing the MOU Provincial Ombudsman Ajaz Ali Khan presented Annual Report 2022 to the chief minister

Pakistani students of dual diploma program take online exams from Chinese colleges

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The groundbreaking Sino-Pak joint diploma programmes a new milestone in China-Pakistan education sector collaboration saw its students taking their first online exams from affiliated Chinese colleges on June 10

Twenty-three students from the Govt College of Technology, Printing and Graphic Arts, Lahore are pursuing a 3year Sino-Pak dual diploma in Software Technology They took their first-year annual exams from the Shenzhen Institute of IT According to

A new par ty, but is it politic al?

TH E Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party is probably the only party to have Pakistan somewhere in the middle Parties usually have Pakistan in the beginning

The Pakistan Awami Tehrik, the Pakistan Muslim League, the Pakistan Peoples’ Party are all examples which put Pakistan first The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam doesn’t have it in its name perhaps because the Jamiat Ulema-ePakistan won the race It was a Barelvi party but it does see, Bareelvis are not doctrinaire about names The Pakistan Awami Tehrik went with prefixing, but the Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) went with the suffix

Does anyone remember the Tehrik Takmil Pakistan which had been founded by Mehmud Ali who was one of those East Pakistanis who came over to the West after Bangladesh was created in 1971? It had the

same initials as the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan though of course he could claim that the TTP stole from him He was a mild-mannered gentleman of the old school, and certainly did not believe in violence When virtually all West Pakistanis had accepted the reality of the creation of Bangladesh he was one East Pakistani who refused to accept it But he never advocated violence and his TTP was meant to convince public opinion by rational argument, not force I m sure he wouldn’t have approved of the TTP, because of the damage it was causing to what was left of the country he remained loyal to The Istehkam Pakistan Party has not just found a unique solution to the prefixing and suffixing dilemma by putting Pakistan into the middle, but it has the same initials as the Independent Power Producers, the IPPs It’s unfortunate, for it links the party to loadshedding which is a place it doesn’t really want to go It s as unfortunate as the nickname Raja Pervez Ashraf gained as Minister for Water and Power Raja Rental after the

Rental Power Plants because of the kickbacks he is alleged to have got Now the new party had better be very careful about any donation it gets, because if it gets anything from an IPP, it will have a lot of explaining to do

On the other hand maybe that is the path of getting party funds Maybe the IPPs would be attracted by a party with the same initials

I know there s a ban on companies donating to parties, but if the company pays an individual a lot of money for PR or some purpose as would be accepted by an auditor, and then person then makes a donation to the target party who can object?

One of the interesting things about the IPP is the presence of Fawad Chaudhry Well actually the whole of the PTI government s information apparatus, because Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan was there, as was Fayyazul Hassan Chauhan I’m surprised that Lt Gen (retd)

Asim Saleem Bajwa was missing Actually the reason why Fawad Chaudhry was a bit of a surprise was because when he condemned the May 9 attacks he also announced that he

was taking a break from politics Well, it was a pretty short break, it seems

On the other hand, maybe Fawad

Chaudhry is making a profound statement about the IPP that it isn’t really a political party That means his joining it would not constitute political activity Is it media activity then? Or legal activity? Ch Fawad has dabbled in the media, and is also a lawyer by profession During his break from politics, I would expect him to concentrate on either of these pursuits As he was not covering the IPP s formation for a news organization I

can only assume he was being held in reserve for tendering legal advice

Better legal advice than economic advice That is something the government badly needed as it presented a budget that attempted to square the circle by preparing for election later this year while keeping on the right side of the IMF Well, the budget proved that it can t be done, and all the government has achieved is that it has upset the IMF even further, while failing to do anything enough to avoid a thorough rebuff at the hustings

M AY - 9 P E R P ET R AT O R S S H O U L D B E B R O U G H T T O B O O K : J AV E D L AT I F

under a planning he added

China builds largest quake early warning system

ISLAMABAD

S tA f f R e P o R t

FE D E R A L Minister Mian Javed Latif stressed on Sunday that perpetrators of the May-9 sorrowful incidents should be brought to book so that people could differentiate between a political party and a terrorist group

Addressing a press conference at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secretariat at Model Town he said the unfortunate incidents taking place in the guise of protests on May 9 by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf were an attempt to weaken the state He said there was ample evidence of foreign conspiracy behind the attacks on that fateful day

He demanded that perpetrators of the May-9 incident should be exposed before the nation to avoid such an incident in future State properties including military installations were damaged by the protestors

A JK PM says his gov t endeavors to promote tourism

MIRPUR (AJK)

S tA f f R e P o R t

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq has said that his government was keen to promote tourism in Azad Kashmir He said that necessary steps were being taken on a priority basis for the promotion of domestic and national-level tourism in Azad Jammu Kashmir Millions of tourists visit the beautiful region annually he said, adding that details of routes leading to the tourist destinations of Azad Kashmir would be put on Google so that tourists coming from outside could be able to find locations easily and get accurate information about the routes In an interview in the federal metropolis on Sunday

Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar Haq said that the government provided full support for holding Tourism Festival in Haveli He said that Government Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore has been active in this regard He said that tourism festivals should be organized all across Azad Kashmir so that people can get access and see the beauty of Kashmir He said that the ongoing tourism related projects initiated in different areas of Azad Kashmir would be accomplished on a priority basis

The federal minister said that facts about the conspiracy under which elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted in 2017 should also be made public so that people could be made aware of facts The fact had already been related by many retired people of state institutions he said and demanded that people of the country should also be told the facts about the conspiracy, which resulted in halting process of speedy development in the country under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif

He said that various development projects were launched by the then PML-N government whereas huge foreign investment under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was pouring in constantly to change the fate of the people; however, ousting of the prime minister under a conspiracy stopped the process of development and prosperity of the country Javed Latif said the PML-N wanted general election should be held on time; how-

ever, level playing field should be ensured to everyone He said the PML-N being a strong believer of democracy did not ever support banning of any political party or a political leader; however there was a need to ascertain if any party was ever involved in terrorism acts like May-9 incidents

He said the perpetrators of May 9 inci-

dents deserved no leniency and should never be spared as it was a matter of sanctity of the state and anyone who had violated the law and the Constitution should be dealt with as per law of the land to maintain the writ of the state

To a question he said the PML-N strongly believed in power of masses and the party would accept their verdict that who should rule the country He made it clear that the PML-N would contest general election under its electoral symbol and from the party platform

To another query the federal minister said that the Punjab province was a stronghold of the PML-N as its people were well aware of the services rendered by the party for their welfare and they would again vote for the PML-N Javed Latif said the PML-N had been strongly advocating the stance about rule of law and Constitution in the country and it was still standing with it and would continue to do so in future as well

Delay in appointment of FPSC Chairman hinders promotions of BPS-19 Officers

TH E BPS-19 Officers have appealed to the relevant authorities to urgently appoint Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) chairman which is crucial to secure long-awaited promotions to BPS-20

In a significant setback for federal government servants, the meeting of the Central Selection Board (CSB) is delayed due to the non-appointment of Chairman Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) This unfortunate situation has left numerous BPS-19 officers unable to secure long-awaited promotions to BPS-20

The issue dates back to January

2023, when the Establishment Division issued a letter to all ministries divisions and attached departments to submit promotion cases of their officers

The objective was to facilitate the

timely convening of the CSB meeting

However the absence of a chairman has prevented the meeting from taking place effectively halting any promotion proceedings until this key appointment is made

One of the officers of a ministry while expressing his disappointment and frustration at the financial losses he is experiencing and the uncertainty surrounding his professional advancement told APP Promotions of the officers of BPS-19 require the CSB meeting to convene and deliberate on the eligible candidates

Unfortunately, the absence of the FPSC chairman has brought the selection process to a standstill The affected officers some of whom have dedicated approximately 30 years of their lives to government service, find themselves in a state of helplessness These officers have tirelessly devoted their youth, energy and expertise to serving the nation

Many officers who were expecting

promotions before their retirement now face the prospect of leaving the government service without achieving the recognition they have long worked for

Another officer on the condition of anonymity said, Without the appointment of FPSC chairman, the CSB is unable to convene The delay in this appointment not only hampers the career progression of deserving officers but also poses a threat to their morale and motivation

It is imperative that the government addresses this matter with utmost urgency to rectify the situation and ensure that justice is served to the dedicated officers who have tirelessly served the nation ”

Drawing attention to this critical issue Dr Rahima Rehman president of the Federal Government College Teachers Association, has appealed to the Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to urgently appoint FPSC chairman which is crucial to enable the convening of the CSB meeting

PM Shehbaz hopeful about securing deal with IMF this month

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

About the beautification of tourist places, the PM said “Lights will be installed at various tourism spots of Azad Kashmir and essential facilities will be provided to increase the interest of tourists Referring to Azad Kashmir s unique beauty, the PM said, The way of life, customs and culture of this place has a unique recognition in the whole world” He said that promotion of regional culture would also help to attract foreign tourists “Despite the financial crisis the government will take all possible measures to promote tourism in the region the PM said, adding that promotion of tourism would be instrumental in providing employment besides generating economic activities in the region To generate revenue on a bigger scale the PM said that there was a need to adopt western tourism concepts and models to boost the tourism sector

He said Nawaz Sharif Maryam Nawaz Hamza Shehbaz and other leaders of Pakistan Muslim League(N) were put in the jails and opposition was pushed against the wall S h e h b a z s a i d e c o n o m i c s t a b i l i t y was not possible without political stability and vowed to put Pakistan on the path of greater progress and prosperity u n d e r t h e d y n a m i c l e a d e r s h i p o f Nawaz Sharif He said the incidents of M a y 9 w e r e a c t s o f h o s t i l i t y a g a i n s t the nation, adding the military install a t i o n s w e r e a t t a c k e d a n d J i n n a h House was burned down on the instigation of Imran Niazi H e a s s e r t e d t h a t l a w w i l l t a k e i t s course and all those responsible for the incident of May 9 would be punished s o t h a t t h e s e c r i m e s c o u l d n o t b e r epeated again However, he assured that i n n o c e n t w o u l d b e t r e a t e d f a i r l y a n d with justice The PM said in 2017 as

servant of Punjab province he started w o r k o n a p l a n f o r e s t a b l i s h i n g 1 4 s t a t e o f t h e a r t s p o r t s c o m p l e x e s b u t the fascist government of Imran Niazi s t o p p e d t h e p r o j e c t a f t e r t h e s t o l e n elections of 2018

The proposed sports complexes included facilities of swimming pools gymnasiums badminton and squash courts He recalled that the leadership of Pakistan Muslim League (N) was put in jail for initiating huge public welfare projects including projects of clean drinking water and solid waste management in cities In the four years of the previous government, work on the development projects including projects worth billions of rupees of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) were stopped, he said adding the government led by Nawaz Sharif in its tenure eliminated power outages constructed a network of roads across Pakistan and carried out monumental development projects

He said today he was inaugurating the first of the 14 sports complexes from which talented youth will benefit free of charge The sports complex would have separate facilities for boys and girls and 50 percent of the membership would be free while the other half of members would be charged to meet the operational costs of the complex

E S T F I R E : Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed deep grief over the death of 14 people in a forest fire in Kazakhstan In a tweet on social m e d i a p l a t f o r m Tw i t t e r h e s a i d Deeply grieved to learn of the death of 14 people in a forest fire in Kazakhstan On behalf of the government a n d p e o p l e o f P a k i s t a n , I e x t e n d m y h e a r t f e l t c o n d o l e n c e s t o H E P r e s ident Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the b e r e a v e d f a m i l i e s o n t h e l o s s o f p r e -

Ahsan Iqbal says Pakistan’s debt exceeds it ’s earning

NAR OWAL

A P P

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan

Iqbal on Sunday said that Pakistan’s debt has exceeded its earning Addressing a public gathering in Ahmed Nagar Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that the PML-N government was dismissed through rigging and an inexpert was brought into power to who landed Pakistan in an economic

crisis He said that the Jinnah house attack was an organized attempt to insult the martyr s memorials and that the suspect do not deserve any relief

Ahsan Iqbal lambasted the PTI saying that the party was dismantled as a result of just one day in jail He said that he got shot and jailed but he did not quit party or politics Earlier, the State Bank of Pakistan stated that the country’s overall debt rose sharply by 38 1% to Rs54 94 trillion by the end of January 2023 as compared to the year-ago period

According to the report released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Islamabad s total debt has swelled to Rs54 94 trillion

The report further mentioned that the overall debt increased by Rs3 94 trillion in December 2022 Pakistan s foreign debt was Rs20 68 trillion in January 2022, the SBP report said The report said the rise in debt could be attributed to massive devaluation in the local currency against the United States dollar (US Dollar)

China has finished building the world’s largest earthquake early warning system shortening the delivery of earthquake information from a minute to a few seconds after an earthquake starts, said Min Yiren, head of the China Earthquake Administration (CEA) China has vigorously promoted the construction of an earthquake early warning network in recent years aiming to inform the public of upcoming earthquakes with a countdown in seconds and report the seismic intensity of an earthquake within a minute of its occurrence, said Min The earthquake early warning network now covers over 15,000 monitoring stations three national centers 31 provincial centers and 173 prefectural and municipal information release centers China news service reported The main construction task has been completed and put into trial operation in southwest China s Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, north China’s Beijing and Tianjin municipalities and Hebei Province and east China’s Fujian Province according to Min

After a devastating earthquake took place the early warning network will release information through various channels such as emergency broadcasts, mobile phones, TV and special terminals, so as to provide the public in the target area with up to tens of seconds to escape from the disaster

S h a n d u r P o l o

F e s t i v a l t o b e

h e l d f r o m J u l y 7 t o

9 : D G K P C TA

PESHAWAR

S tA f f R e P o R t

Director General of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA)

Bakhtiar Khan on Sunday said that a large number of domestic and foreign tourists are expected to attend the Shandur Polo Festival, which will be held in Shandur Valley from July 7 to 9 2023 During a meeting held to discuss arrangements for the festival DG KPCTA expressed his excitement in welcoming foreign tourists to witness the event, where teams from lower and upper Chitral will participate He further said that the concluding ceremony of the three-day festival will take place on July 9 Various events including a traditional show of Gilgit-Baltistan music will be organized for the tourists attending the festival The DG said that preparations for the event have already begun, with the KPCTA, district administration, and Chitral Scouts actively involved Additionally, he mentioned that camping pods have been installed in Upper Chitral to accommodate tourists and they will be open before the start of the event He told that the festival would be held on its planned dates and last year s final was won by the team of Chitral

Mir waiz again barred from offering Friday prayer in IIOJK

-

MIRPUR

S tA f f R e P o R t

The Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid Srinagar on Sunday said that Mirwaiz of Kashmir Dr Moulvi Muhammad Umar Farooq who was being kept under house arrest since 5 August 2019, has not been able to perform the important religious duty of Friday prayers for the 198th consecutive week following strict restrictions by the Indian occupational forces in the IIOJK According to a statement the Anjuman Auqaf protested against his detention and barring him from preaching from the pulpit of the historic Jama Masjid for 198 consecutive Friday prayers Even today, a large number of people who had come from the city, villages and towns to offer Friday prayer at the Jama Masjid had to return deeply disappointed because of the absence of Mirwaiz it said The report further revealed quoting the statement that the masses including leaders of religious, social and political organizations are unable to understand why despite continuous appeals Mirwaiz continues to be under house arrest The Anjuman hoped that he would be released before the holy days of Hajj and the festive occasion of Eid-ul-Azha so that he would be able to resume his duties, the report added

A ssemblies to complete constitutional tenure: Interior Minister

Federal Interior Minister Rana Sana Ullah

Khan said on Sunday general elections would not be delayed and assemblies would complete their constitutional tenure

He was addressing a public gathering during foundation stone laying ceremony for Railway Phattak on Risala Road near Jay

Pur Chak No 79-JB here on Sunday night

He said that Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) was ready to contest the coming general elections and it would emerge as victorious with thumping majority He said that PML-N was a true patriotic party as its leadership always preferred to public welfare projects against their personal interests When India made five atomic explosions the entire Pakistan nation was under severe stress and the then Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif despite heavy foreign pressure made six atomic explosions

At that time, Mian Nawaz Sharif rejected all

pressure and made six atomic explosions in response of five Indian explosions to equalize power balance in the region

The minister said that Pakistan was making progress in 1999 when Nawaz Sharif government was ceased through a calculated foreign move after which the country witnessed rampant incidents of terrorism and load shedding However when the nation reposed its confidence in PML-N in 2013 elections, its leadership not only eliminated the menace of load shedding and terrorism but also put the country again on road to progress and prosperity, he added

He said that the national economy was improving rapidly in 2018 when once again a deep-rooted conspiracy was hatched and Imran Khan was clamped on the nation by disqualifying Nawaz Sharif over a flimsy allegation of not receiving salary from his own son

He said that Imran Khan was an incompetent person due to which he failed to deliver to the nation during his 3 5 year tenure Imran Khan did nothing for the nation but

injected hate in the mind of young generation Imran termed his political opponents as thieves, looters and plunderers , but in fact he (Imran Khan) himself looted huge national wealth through his crony Farah Gogi and Pinki Peerni He said that Imran Khan failed to launch any worth-mentioning development project during his whole tenure rather he promoted

the culture of hate and hatred which resulted out attack on sensitive military installations and vandalizing monuments of army martyrs on 9th May

He said that during its previous tenure, the PML-N launched a number of development projects like motorways express

velopment if it was voted and supported to power in upcoming general elections He said that the assemblies would complete their constitutional tenures and elections were expected to be held in October and November The minister said that foundation stone was laid for the construction of Railway Phattak near Chak No 79-JB to redress long lasting demand of area people This project would be completed with an estimated cost of Rs 35 million

The Xen of Pakistan Railways told me that this project would be completed within 3 months, but I directed him to complete it within one month so that the people could be provided relief as early as possible he added He also assured the area people to resolve their other genuine issues on top priority basis

Former MPA Mian Ajmal Asif and a large of area notables were also present during stone breaking ceremony and appreciated the efforts of Federal Interior Minister for development of his constituency

And now for the provinces…

AF T E R the Federal Budget 2023-2024’s being presented on Friday, the provinces have started presenting theirs The Sindh Budget was presented on Saturday while the Balochistan CM has announced that the Budget will be presented on June 16 No more than ever before has it become clear that the constitutional arrangements were made to ensure that there was no deviation from the constitutional scheme Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab can only present budgets for four months, that is up to October 31 That means that elections to those assemblies not only have to take place but the Assemblies will have to pass budgets for the rest of the year before that date After that there will no longer be any payments made, whether to contractors or to employees Those who draw pensions from those two provincial governments should not celebrate the increase of 17 percent given by the federal government, because if there is no assembly in place by then, the enhanced pension will not be payable

However the provinces whether like Balochistan and Sindh, pass budgets for the whole year, or whether, like Punjab and KP, pass a budget for four months only, will be focused on the coming elections This is because the provincial governments deal with the nitty-gritty of development, and have the most contact with the citizenry They are exclusively responsible for policing, health and education This means that they must shoulder the burden of development spending on such vote-getting projects as hospitals, dispensaries and schools or colleges

The Balochistan and Sindh governments are in a better position as they will be trying to rectify the neglect or mistakes of the last five years with this budget It is a safe guess that the funds released in the pre-election period will occur much more easily than in the past, when funds are only released by the provincial government towards the end of the financial year

One of the under-emphasized aspects of the provincial budgets is how they will bear the brunt of replacing infrastructure which has been destroyed by the floods this year All provinces were badly affected by the floods with roads, bridges and buildings washed away and needing replacement This need was specifically mentioned by Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah in his budget speech The unfortunate part is that so far none of the provinces or the federal government, has taken any measure in its budget directed to the climate change that is creating these requirements

AS the general elections are around the corner if they take place the electables have found a way or they have been given a way to change their loyalties Every political party benefited from the electables when it was in need And electables kept on switching parties time and again for their benefit

Electables are a bunch of opportunists who take steps for their interests to strengthen their political position in the country and earn a place in the ass e m b l y T h e y h a v e t h e s u p p o r t o f a c o n s i d e r a b l e number of voters

They enjoy the backing of a large number of people primarily because of two reasons A) The status and position they enjoy in society based on their economic superiority and control of power and B) The support of different biradaris (groups tribes families castes) due to the existence of the biradari system in the country, mainly in rural areas

The social injustice and power dynamics in society make people stand behind an electable due to their powerful status In a country like Pakistan parliamentary democracy also encourages biradaris groups and tribes to play a key role in politics Their representatives enjoy decent support behind them

The role of electables has always remained relevant in the country The political history of Pakistan is filled with electables changing parties for their benefit

Primarily electables join or are made to join parties that are supposed to win the upcoming elections

The political parties welcome them to further increase their vote bank These electables are welcomed wholeheartedly because they are expected to play a key role in making the party position strong and weakening the rival parties which they left

We all have grown up seeing political opportunists changing their loyalties again and again in the name of the betterment of the country But their actions always benefit them and they take decisions even without considering the sentiments of the people they represent They win because they have the backing of the supporting biradaris, groups, and tribes and because of the politically, powerfully, and economically conquered people

The role of political opportunists is one reason among various others that Pakistan lacks a viable po-

C h i n a - U S N e w T r a d e W a r : C h a l

l e n g e s a n d O p p o r t u n i t i e s

China has rejec ted the USA’s de -risking polic y

China is worried about Taiwan while the USA is trying to restrict China on access to technology and Xi s backing of Vladimir Putin s invasion of Ukraine

Since the weather-balloon incident, the USA’s worry about China rose while Chinese officials grumbled that the USA had a hostile attitude toward China to suppress them in a trade war The Biden Administration is trying to bring a breakthrough in US-China trade relations, and the USA is in a complex situation whether to keep tariff charges on Chinese goods or not But still, they endeavour to continue dialogue on various levels

litical and democratic culture They, in collaboration with power-driven political parties, do not allow voters to develop political wisdom The voters vote for the electables because they are bound to do so because of the above-mentioned reasons They are trained to follow the electables wherever they go

In supporting the electables the voters do not take into account their ideological linkages with their favorite party They vote for the electables they are backing no matter which party they join They may be with one party ideologically but they will vote for another party because of their preferred electable

Similarly an electable may win an election independently and join any party on his terms How often do we see voters recounting the virtues of one political party on one occasion and another on one occasion? The reason for the change of mind is not logical but obligatory, shaped by their preferred candidates who keep on changing their loyalties This is how the political culture is compromised by a bunch of opportunists and power-driven political parties

The electables culture further strengthens the position of powerful and economically strong politicians in the country It has weakened the role of ideologydriven political parties and ideological voters It further endorses the concept that politics is not for the ordinary, educated, and poor but it is for the rich, powerful, and the ones with strong backgrounds As a result politics remains the luxury of those who can afford it

The political parties mostly don t have a strong ideology to motivate people

uation is that this time it looks like the electables are going against their will to leave the PTI

The PTI was the favorite to sweep the polls a month ago There were several contenders for one ticket The PTI might still end up winning, given the mass support it has if PTI is not banned The electables who are leaving the party are aware of it

T h e p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s b y a n d l a r g e s h o u l d n e g a t e t h e c u l t u r e o f e l e c t a b l e s . T h e y s h o u l d g i v e t i c k e t s t o t h e

o n e s w h o d e s e r v e i t B u t , i t

The electables join or leave a party depending on the political future of that party Mainly they take decisions to make sure they win but sometimes they take decisions for other reasons as well when the opportunity arrives There may be many justifications given by the electables including the distancing from the party after the painful incidents on May 9 However, an ideological leader should be responsible for the right and wrong actions of the party How the burden of responsibility can shift by the change of loyalty or distancing of a leader from a party? All the electables who are leaving now supported the PTI’s narrative

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

Their only concern is to win elections These parties cash in on the charisma of their party heads and rely on the grinding of the rival leaders to attract voters The electables further strengthen this process The political parties need these electables to assist them and the electables need these political parties to consolidate their position Hence in a win-win situation for both, the right candidates are left behind Ideally, people should vote for a party not electables for ideology not mere promises for a great cause not on mere liking disliking social superiority and biradari lines This creates political wisdom in people People know why they are voting and for whom they are voting It gives rise to a healthy democratic culture in a society Coming back to the current scenario, more than a hundred PTI prominent leaders have left the party or politics The majority among them are electables The difference between the previous and current sit-

rejected this concept and informed the USA that such policy would hamper the Chinese economy and further has explained that such a decoupling policy will slow the opportunities, stability, cooperation and development on a larger scale Washington trying to deprive China of cuttingedge chips over national security concerns is just a new technology cold war with China

But they distanced themselves from PTI as the opportunity arrived Other than a few PTI hard-core leaders, the maximum will join other political parties in the coming months and the cycle will continue

Many electables have started to join different parties The majority of the electables who are leaving PTI are the ones who joined it before the 2018 elections and before that The political parties by and large should negate the culture of electables They should give tickets to the ones who deserve it But it can only happen once political parties will start sticking with their ideologies no matter when they get success instead of compromising on their ideology and merit for short-term success If the electables are eliminated from politics we may see a huge change in the working of democracy in Pakistan and politics will be operated by professionals rather than opportunists

The writer is freelance columnist

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

Encouraging GPs

T H E R E can be no doubt that qualified GPs are the backbone of family medicine They are the first contact for healthcare treatment in the community GPs nowadays are not considered part of the larger healthcare system and are never involved in family and public health affairs

Like GPs medical officers for general duty have also become a rare commodity The reason is that every fresh medical graduate aspires to become a specialist after getting post-graduation at public expense

TH E China-US trade is at painful risk as per the 2023 survey of Western business firms; it has been reaffirmed that both countries are severely decoupling in anticipation of economic war

The US National Security Adviser has clearly stated that the USA is for de-risking not for decoupling The European Commission president, in a statement, said that US export controls would remain narrowly focused on technology that could tilt the military balance

Still, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen argued that the USA wanted to avoid complete decoupling from China The leader of G-7 has expressed that now China is based on de-risking not decoupling

The USA is now decreasing economic relations with China, though the trade in goods between the two countries increased to $690 billion last year The Biden Administration wants to insulate the global economy and is attempting to shift more production of chips back home

Though Donald Trump started the de-risking policy to reduce the trade deficit between the USA and China, Beijing rejected that policy on the free flow of US capital and trade Even with covid-19, China has always believed in opening businesses of just-in-time manufacturing goods The Biden Administration tried to thwart China s investment in strategic sectors tied to national security China remains the third largest business partner of the USA after Canada and Mexico, in 2022 It has also been indicated that the EU imports from China have gone up by 50 percent since 2016

The USA is worried about Chinese trade in EU and other Western countries US exports to China were 23 percent lower than their projected level in 2022 The USA exports more agricultural products to China and less manufactured goods like semiconductors and advanced electronic equipment When Trump’s tariffs went into effect the USA imported 38 percent of goods from the rest of the world instead of China

Experts of international relations say that the relationship between China and the USA is at its lowest point in decades; both countries a r e t r y i n g t o r e d u c e t h e d i p l o m a t i c t e n s i o n

Former US President Trump imposed tariff charges on China in 2018-19 under section 301

It was assumed that China was misappropriating US intellectual property and coercing US companies to transfer sensitive technology to do business of $370 billion Wang Wentao, a Chinese commerce minister rejected the 301 tariffs as an issue and declared that it had affected the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation trade severely

The Biden administration and European allies have desired to de-risk, not decouple, the Chinese economy with not only a slew of new restrictions on trade with Beijing, but Beijing has

The U S wants to achieve concrete progress on US interests and insists China pressurize North Korea to end its nuclear programme, it will pave the way for trade between the two countries On the other side, the Chinese want a peaceful relationship with the USA to restore people-to-people ties and pursue its goals for trade and commerce I n t h e l a s t A P E C m e e t i n g b o t h o ff i c i a l s d i s c u s s e d b i l a t e r a l e c o n o m i c a n d t r a d e t i e s a n d r e l a t e d i s s u e s o f c o n c e r n X i , i n h i s speech, expressed that there are “profound differences between the two countries” We still h o p e t h a t t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e t w o countries may advance

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

The U.S. wants to achieve concrete progress on US interests and insists China pressurize Nor th Korea to end its nuclear programme, it will pave the way for trade between the two countries. On the other side, the Chinese want a peaceful relationship with the USA to restore people-to-people ties and pursue its goals for trade and commerce

Likewise, medical graduates are not interested in private practice as they have not been educated about family medicine during their academic and professional training Health departments in Pakistan are also facing an acute shortage of medical officers at basic health units (BHUs) and rural health centres (RHCs) like GPs to serve the community

As a matter of fact being a GP is a challenging assignment due to lack of proper training poor compensation heavy workload with no respite and no social security at all The GPs have no linkage with public healthcare and usually do not enjoy due respect from government departments Therefore, the role and activities of GPs need to be revisited and streamlined to integrate them into the national healthcare system Due to financial constraints GPs avoid qualified paramedics and try to provide all curative diagnostic and therapeutic services on their own The Punjab Health Foundation is a useful institution and its resources can be properly utilised for promoting and encouraging the GPs The previous government had introduced health insurance which covers only indoor facilities up to Rs1 million annually It is a useful scheme and a large number of patients are benefitting from the programme It can be utilised for providing coverage on an outpatient department (OPD) basis by incorporating the services of GPs and modifying the list of diseases currently covered by the mechanism DR S ANWAAR AHMAD BUGVI LAHORE

AI versus EI

CONTRARY to the general perception, nobody s job is at risk owing to artificial intelligence (AI) because emotional intelligence (EI) is a critical skill that humans possess, and that supersedes AI Machines excel at performing tasks efficiently but they lack the ability to understand and respond to human emotions This makes EI increasingly important in industries that rely on human interaction creativity and adaptability First EI enhances human interactions which is vital in industries like healthcare education and customer services Effective communication, building relationships, and understanding others perspectives are crucial for success in these fields Additionally, EI fosters creativity and innovation, which are essential in industries that depend on human ingenuity While machines can analyse data and follow predefined algorithms they lack the ability to think creatively and generate new ideas EI enables humans to think out of the box take risks and devise innovative solutions to complex problems Moreover EI promotes resilience and adaptability that are crucial in an era where the job market is rapidly changing due to AI Workers need to be able to adapt to new technologies and roles Individuals with high EI can cope with change, bounce back from setbacks, and embrace new challenges with a positive attitude Furthermore EI plays a role in preventing biases in AI whose algorithms are only as unbiased as the data they are trained on If the data contains biases the AI system will replicate and reinforce them EI helps humans identify and address biases in data ensuring that AI systems are fair and equitable As machines become more intelligent and automated, human skills like EI become increasingly valuable By developing EI, one can enhance human interactions, foster creativity, promote resilience and adaptability and contribute to unbiased AI With AI integration continuing it is important to remember that EI is a unique quality that sets us apart as humans safeguarding our jobs from the feared encroachment of automation processes

Rashid MehMood

TH E violent protests which erupted on May 9, after the arrest of the former Prime MinisterChairman of the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were condemable as in various cities and towns protesters damaged the civil and military installations

Once, Henry Kissinger said: legitimacy is not automatic, it is acquired ”

In his various public rallies and addresses the ex-Premier showed his contradictory statements Sometimes he appreciated the Pakistan Army and sometimes censured it while targeting former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, stating: A major international conspiracy was carried out against his regime s removal through America’s threatening diplomatic cypher ”Afterwards, he said that no conspiracy was hatched by the USA, while Gen Bajwa was responsible for his regime’s removal Khan also held General Bajwa responsible for present political instability and severe economic crisis and accused the PDM-ruling coalition of pitting him against the Army Imran Khan s public rallies in various cities, Haqeeqi Azadi March (Real Freedom March) on May 25, last year at Islamabad and Rawalpindi on November 26, for early elections show how peaceful his approach was

Under Khan’s directions resignations of the PTI MNAs and decision to rejoin the National Assembly dissolution of the Punjab and KP provincial assemblies show that he lacks political farsightedness

While the coalition government s several undemocratic moves such as a brutal crackdown against the PTI protesters arrests, registration of almost 150 cases/FIRs against Khan and other PTI leaders raids in their houses without warrants clearly proved that General Bajwa was fully supporting the PDM s puppet regime which remained firm that elections would be held in October So General Bajwa is also accountable for economic murder of the poor people

Besides, PDM leaders are also pursuing contradictory and conflicting statements

In the background of the May 9 incidents recently Khawaja Asif remarked that the government is considering disqualifying Imran Khan or to ban the PTI Former PML(N) Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi categorically said he is not in favour of the minus formula , and does not want ban-

W h i l e r e d e f i n i n g d e m o c r a c y, d o n ’ t m a k e a n o t h e r B a n g l a d e s h

The COAS must play a role

ning of the PTI stressing let the voters decide about the fate of the PTI Foreign Minister also expressed similar thoughts

Criticising Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar s contradictory statements about IMF, former Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail pointed out: “Pakistan is on the verge of default” Dar said that the budget will be presented to the IMF for approval But PM Shehbaz Sharif clarified on June 5 that an IMF bailout remained elusive

Under General Bajwa persecution of PTI workers and leaders like Azam Swati and Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, and pro-Imran journalists continued Khan challenged the coalition government’s amendments to the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance in the Supreme Court contending that PML-N and PPP leaders had legitimised corruption as their many cases of mega corruption had been closed

In November 2020 when the PDM had launched a movement to topple the PTI, addressing a PDM rally in Gujranwala via a video link from London, ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accused Army Chief Gen Bajwa and head of Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Faiz Hameed of toppling his government to install Imran Khan in his place General Bajwa used PPP Co-chairman Zardari who signed an agreement with the MQM(P) to support the then opposition s no-trust motion against PM Khan Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan were also used in this regard

In fact, fearing the public’s massive support to the PTI Chairman the PDM regime and the establishment who were already using delaying tactics and pretensions to prolong the elections by neglecting the Supreme Court s verdict the May 9 tragic events provided them with a golden opportunity in this respect

In the recent past, Khan said that what the Indian Premier Modi is doing against the Muslims in the Indian occupied Kashmir through military lockdown the establishment is doing the same against the PTI Khan hit out at the Army saying: It should be ashamed of jumping into politics and could form its own political party Notably, members of Hitler s Nazi Party were well-penetrated in the German Army with the party’s monogram to control the people

As regards the May 9 tragedy, analysts remark as to how protesters reached the gate of army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi while after a deadly terrorist attack on army s GHQ on October 11 2009 there could be tight security

About assault at Corps Commander s residence in

The US is dealing with a new Saudi Arabia

Even MBS’ critics have to hand it to him: He has played his cards well. The prince has accomplished this magic act in par t by learning from his mistakes (albeit late), diversifying Saudi Arabia’s foreign relationships, and gradually defrosting regional rivalries that were getting out of hand

macy Last May, the Saudis invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to speak at the Arab League summit to provide his perspective on the state of the war Three days later, the Saudis extended an invitation to Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev who is sanctioned by the U S U K and the European Union Last September the Saudis helped facilitate a prisoner swap between Kyiv and Moscow and apparently had a hand in getting WNBA star Brittney Griner out of a Russian prison cell in December While prisoner swaps can’t be equated to peace negotiations the Saudis are doing what they can to stay in the conversation maintain productive relations with all sides and demonstrate to the U S that it can still be a valuable player

Lahore, analysts opine that there is also tight security as to how protesters entered the house

Renowned lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan remarked that the Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah was behind the attack at Corps Commander s residence while PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid was asking the protesters not to target his residence Recently, a court in Lahore discharged Dr Yasmin Rashid in a case pertaining to the Lahore Corps Commander ’s Residence

PTI Chairman Imran Khan demanded the Supreme Court-led an independent investigation about the May 9 events But without any investigation PDM leaders especially PM Shehbaz have started the propaganda against the PTI and to misguide the establishment, accusing that these assaults were preplanned Now, they do not want to restart dialogue with the PTI about the date of elections

More than 10 000 workers and suspects as well as key PTI leaders have been arrested countrywide During raids at their houses without warrants the law enforcing agencies employed torture even on ladies In Adiala Jail and cells in other jails, besides men, brutal tactics were employed to torture the women

PTI Chairman Khan revealed that rapes with the PTI lady workers were committed in jail, and business of the PTI workers and leaders have been destroyed

Rana Sanaullah said that pro-Khan protesters and suspects arrested for attacks on Army installations have been handed to military authorities who would face trial under the Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act, while those who targeted public installations, their cases will be conducted in civil courts

Meanwhile PTI President-the former Chief Minister of Punjab Pervaiz Elahi has been arrested by the anticorruption and police in various self-created cases

Unlike the PML(N) s leaders strict restrictions have been imposed on TV channels to stop displaying Imran Khan s statements even through video links But, social media is releasing Khan’s video messages, while the PDM has started the propaganda against the PTI workers and Khan in wake of the projected rallies in support of the establishment Several PTI leaders including members of the parliament who were released on bail particularly by the Islamabad High Court were arrested again

But, who announced to quit politics or PTI, while condemning May 9 attacks, were not arrested In this context, Khan stated: “People are not quitting; they are being forced to leave the party at gunpoint”

Besides the tussle between the Supreme Court and the Parliament has further accelerated the crisis among the key institutions Hence Khan remarked that judicial bodies were under pressure from the powerful Now, political activities are in full swing in Lahore

where various parties’ leaders and Jahangir Tareen are busy in political bargaining Notably PPP leader Asif Zardari confidently stated on May 6: “They cannot conduct the elections within two months; they will only take place when I decide It created controversy about the elections

However, as an anti-establishment PTI would not be in a position to participate in the elections or could be weakened in case it takes part If Khan is disqualified or isolated, political instability and economic crisis will intensify

Comparing his struggle with Bangladesh Imran Khan reminded on 2 December 2022 that Pakistan had split into two after Awami League with a legitimate political mandate was denied its right to rule

In fact, since the era of Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan to that of General Bajwa, the Army has ruled over the country directly or indirectly (excluding the period of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto) Some generals established a puppet regime showing democratic regime in the country Imran Khan and some analysts opine that Pakistan will become Sri Lanka

In the case of Pakistan, some hostile foreign elements can further widen the gulf between the Army and the PDM on one side and the PTI supporters on the other These elements also want to create a drastic situation so that martial law may be imposed and civil war may start in many cities particularly in the KP where in former tribal areas people possess heavy weapons and arms Army cannot control KP where people could target the armed forces and their families

Myanmar, where Gen Min Aung Hlaing seized power on 1 February 2021 after the military toppled the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi Myanmar ’s military junta is now facing fierce resistance from various joint ethnic groups gives an example Similarly Sudan offers another instance

So, the COAS Gen Asim Munir must play a positive role impartially in defusing the present situation, and to avoid making KP another Bangladesh

US President Abraham Lincoln said: “Democracy is a government of the people by the people and for the people But in the case of Pakistan democracy is a government of the establishment by the establishment and for the establishment

Nonetheless, no political party must distort the Army s image in such a way that the general masses should forget the sacrifices and services of the armed forces

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations and can be reached at: sajjad logic@yahoo com

people who perished in the recent earthquake

We know how to test the safety of medicines, but bribes are paid and the testing set aside When ministers of health and their cronies in Africa and Asia buy out-of-date pharmaceuticals, or Chinese-made counterfeits, then those officials profit and many people die For example a report by the United Nations in January 2023 highlighted some estimates for sub-Saharan Africa by the World Health Organization that and noted that: Between 72 000 and 267 000 deaths per year are linked to falsified and substandard anti-malarial medicines In addition, up to 169,271 are linked to falsified and substandard antibiotics used to treat severe pneumonia in children ”

NE A R LY five years ago, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) was in a world of hurt The killing of a Saudi journalist in October 2018 as deceptive as it was brutal turned the oil-rich kingdom into an outcast in much of the West While nothing was worse than the crime, Riyadh’s reassurance to the world that nothing malicious happened in its Istanbul consulate quickly unraveled after the Turkish police leaked audio snippets of the killing

Fast-forward to today and MBS has emerged from the biggest crisis of his career relatively intact minus a few bruises to his prestige He has done this by making his country indispensable to some and useful to others President Joe Biden, who not long ago vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state for its despicable human rights record has essentially forgotten he even uttered those words The U S -Saudi relationship is back to business as usual and has been for quite some time just this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the kingdom for a meeting with MBS

Even MBS’ critics have to hand it to him: He has played his cards well The prince has accomplished this magic act in part by learning from his mistakes (albeit late) diversifying Saudi Arabia s foreign relationships and gradually defrosting regional rivalries that were getting out of hand Riyadh s reconciliation campaign with Iran, which culminated in the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers agreeing to re-establish normal diplomatic relations after a seven-year freeze (Tehran announced the re-opening of its embassy in Riyadh this week) is by far the most newsworthy of Saudi Arabia s diplomatic initiatives But Riyadh s effective normalization with Syria s Bashar al-Assad was perhaps even more significant it directly challenged Washington’s long-established policy of isolating Damascus politically and economically until the Syrian government agreed to a political transition On Syria the Saudis have called Washington s bluff and gone their own way despite whatever concerns the Biden administration and members of Congress have Icing Assad out, the Saudis argue, has only deepened Iranian entrenchment in the country and sped up the flow of illegal narcotics (like captagon) into the Saudi market The U S doesn t buy the argument but the Saudis don t appear to care MBS is also turning the kingdom into a diplomatic heavyweight (or more accurately, trying to) This includes dabbling in extra-regional diplo-

The days when the U S can count on Saudi Arabia to be its eyes and ears in the region are over While there have always been difficulties in the U S -Saudi relationship there has also been an understanding in the minds of Saudi officials that Washington is an irreplaceable partner Abdullah bin Abdulaziz the immediate predecessor (and halfbrother) of the current king, Salman bin Abdulaziz, certainly had his problems with the U S on issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran (leaked U S diplomatic cables even reported that King Abdullah urged the U S to strike Iran s nuclear program in 2008) there was also a mutual respect that tended to override the issues that existed

One can t say the same thing about the present Saudi leadership, which prizes its independence, isn’t afraid to throw its weight around, and doesn’t believe it owes the U S anything Whereas previous Saudi royals may have leaned toward deference MBS views deference as a sign of weakness There are no favors anymore; if Washington wants assistance from Saudi Arabia then the Saudis are going to use it as a leverage point to extract U S concessions in return

The Biden administration’s push for a SaudiIsrael normalization agreement is a case in point Senior U S national security officials not only view such an accord as a major diplomatic accomplishment but a major foreign policy victory Biden could use as he gears up for a brutal 2024 re-election campaign In the words of National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, “Ultimately getting to full normalization is a declared national security interest of the United States we have been clear about that The White House is aiming to achieve an accord between the Israelis and Saudis over the next six to seven months

MBS has expressed an interest in the move as well The Saudis have made preliminary moves toward eventual normalization; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have had a secret meeting with MBS in November 2020 (the Saudis denied a meeting took place) and in July 2022 the kingdom allowed Israeli civilian aircraft to fly through Saudi airspace en route to their destinations The Saudis, however, also know that the Americans want a normalization accord more than they do so Riyadh is conditioning its cooperation on U S concessions such as security assurances and support for an indigenous Saudi uranium enrichment

The death toll mounts by the day in Ukraine as the kleptocratic regime run by President Vladimir Putin clamps-down ever more viciously on domestic opposition to his war, while his most influential supporters – in public service, notably in the military intelligence and the judiciary as well as in business – voice their strong support Why?

BUYING LOYALTY: The reason is that all of these ardent supporters have benefited from the massive thefts of national tax and other revenues in return for their loyalty While Western sanctions have been imposed on the most prominent of these supporters, now embracing more than 500 individuals the foreign assets of these Russian crooks running into hundreds of billions of dollars remain largely untouched The loyalists have no reason to turn on Putin and so the killing continues Corruption – the abuse of public office for personal gain – so often sees extraordinary greed, an unquenchable lust for power and exceedingly dangerous paranoia If unchecked, then it produces death on a vast scale People are dying in many countries because of corruption as I write these words

JUST PAYING LIP-SERVICE: Western governments however have largely failed to focus sharply enough on the deadly hand of corruption

There was a brief routine mention of corruption buried in paragraph 49 of the communique that followed the recent Group of 7 meeting of leaders of the leading industrial countries in Hiroshima Japan Yet the violence done to the victims of corruption was barely mentioned at the prestigious gathering of government officials and academics in late May in Paris France at the annual OECD anti-corruption conference

International cooperation to curb corruption is, at best, inching forwards For example, with an inspirational new declaration by the EU Commission, or the modest anti-money laundering progress as the U S Treasury slowly formulates regulations to unmask the true owners of trusts and holding companies These are registered from Delaware and South Dakota to the Cayman Islands and Liechtenstein The rhetoric is impressive but the actions that follow are frustratingly slow

THE KILLING TAKES MANY FORMS: We have long known how to build buildings that can withstand earthquakes

When tens of thousands of people were killed and millions made homeless in earthquakes for example in Turkey Mexico Haiti and China in recent times then corruption was the cause Builders bribed official inspectors so that they could proceed with unsafe construction Turkey s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan just won another election, despite his long-term support of the construction industry the easing of restrictions on property developers and the failure to enforce basic building-code standards This contributed directly to the deaths of many of those 50 000

DEEPENING POVERTY: When top government officials divert huge sums from the national budget to enrich themselves and their associates then there are not enough public funds available to support the very poorest citizens to adequately finance sanitation and health services – and so millions of people die

The situation has become still more acute in recent times when the combined impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, a surge in global inflation and rising international interest rates have sharply increased economic difficulties in many developing countries In these situations in particular every dollar stolen by the corrupt adds gravely to the public hardship

The World Bank asserted in a 2022 report that: The recent crises have pushed the world further off track from the global goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 Given current trends, 574 million people – nearly 7% of the world’s population – will still be living on less than $2 15 a day in 2030 And the challenge is made harder by the fact that extreme poverty is concentrated in parts of the world where it will be hardest to eradicate: in SubSaharan Africa, in conflict-affected areas and in rural areas

REFUGEE VICTIMS:

In many of the poorest countries, many of which are seen to have highly corrupt governments according to the 2022 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index the combination of high levels of violence (including war in some situations) and extortion of the poor by public officials and gangs that thrive in basically lawless conditions are now forcing more people than before from their homes UNHCR estimated last year that the number of people forcibly displaced is now 103 million, and over 32 5 million are refugees ” Too many of these refugees die in the deserts and jungles that they must cross or in the Mediterranean or at the hands of thugs that seek to exploit them To fail to see connections between this humanitarian disaster and corruption is to ignore reality When warlords feud over the control of national assets and unleash civil wars, then death abounds as is so evident, for example, in Sudan today These civil wars are all about political power and access to national assets Corruption is a critical issue as military leaders be it in Egypt or Myanmar today brutally quash hopes for democracy in their countries and plunder their nation s economic assets And then the illicit trade in arms so vital to supporting rival factions in many conflicts, so often involves opaque sales agreements and suspicions of corruption, as illustrated by a recent investigation by the OCCRP group of journalists into West African arms deals As the United Nations the OECD the G7 and other global institutions that strive to secure peace and multilateral cooperation declare their good intentions they pay mere lip service to anti-corruption and do so at the peril of so many who daily are the victims of corruption across our planet The leaders of these institutions inspire with their soaring anti-graft rhetoric, but their multiple failures to follow through with decisive actions means that graft is killing people each and every day

Frank Vogl is co-founder of Transparency International and author of The Enablers – How the West Supports Kleptocrats and Corruption-Endangering Our Democracy

sajjad shaUkaT

C o r r u p t i o n : T h e g l o b a l

k i l l i n g m a c h i n e

SAUDI ARABIA SEEKS COOPERATION WITH CHINA , ‘IGNORES’ WESTERN WORRIES

SA U D I Arabia wants to collaborate not compete with China the kingdom s energy minister declared on Sunday saying he ignored Western suspicions over their growing ties

As the world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia’s bilateral relationship with the world’s biggest energy consumer is anchored by hydrocarbon ties But cooperation between Riyadh and Beijing has also deepened in security and sensitive tech amid a warming of political ties to the concern of the US

Asked about criticism of the bilateral relationship during an Arab-China business conference Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said: I actually ignore it because as a business person now you will go where opportunity comes your way

We don t have to be facing any choice which has to do with (saying) ei-

ther with us or with the others

Chinese entrepreneurs and investors have flocked to Riyadh for the conference which came days after a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Oil deals: In March state oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222 SE) announced two

Khamenei says ‘nothing wrong’ with a nuclear deal with West

DUBAI

A G E N C I E S

Iran’s supreme leader said on Sunday that a deal with the West over Tehran’s nuclear work was possible if the country’s nuclear infrastructure remained intact amid a stalemate between Tehran and Washington to revive a 2015 nuclear pact

Months of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to salvage the nuclear accord with six major powers have stalled since September, with both sides accusing each other of making unreasonable demands Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s guarded approval comes days after both Tehran and Washington denied a report that they were nearing an interim deal under which Tehran would curb its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief There is nothing wrong with the agreement (with the West), but the infrastructure of our nuclear industry should not be touched,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said according to state media

In 2019 Iran began breaching the deal’s terms in response to a U S withdrawal in 2018 under thenPresident Donald Trump

The 2015 agreement limited Iran s uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms, in return for lifting international sanctions

In 2018, then-U S President Donald Trump exited the pact and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy leading Tehran to gradually move well beyond the deal s nuclear restrictions and reviving U S European and Israeli fears that Iran may seek an atomic bomb Echoing Iran s official stance for years, Khamenei said the Islamic Republic has never sought to build a nuclear bomb “Accusations about Tehran seeking nuclear weapons is a lie and they know it We do not want nuclear arms because of our religious beliefs Otherwise they (the West) would not have been able to stop it said Khamenei

Clashes resume in Sudan as 24-hour ceasefire ends

KHARTOUM A G E N C I E S

Shelling and gunfire resumed Sunday in the Sudanese capital, witnesses said, after the end of a 24-hour ceasefire that had given civilians rare respite from nearly two months of war Deadly fighting has raged in the northeast African country since mid-April when army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) turned on each other The latest in a series of ceasefire agreements enabled civilians trapped in the capital Khartoum to venture outside and stock up on food and other essential supplies But only 10 minutes after it ended at 6:00 am (0400 GMT) on Sunday the capital was rocked again by shelling and clashes witnesses told AFP Heavy artillery fire was heard in Khartoum and its twin city Omdurman to the north and fighting also erupted on Al-Hawa Street, a major artery in the south of the capital, they said The one-day lull was like a dream that evaporated, said Nasreddin Ahmed, a resident of south Khartoum who was awoken by the fighting Asmaa al-Rih who lives in the capital’s northern suburbs lamented the return of terror with rockets and shells shaking the walls of houses once again

Clouds of smoke were also seen billowing for a fifth successive day from the Al-Shajara oil and gas facility near the Yarmouk military plant in Khartoum

Messi’s future club Inter Miami falls to sixth straight loss

MIAMI

A G E N C I E S

a move that would weaken the dollar s d o m i n a n c e Oil demand in China is still growing so of course we have to capture some of that demand ” Prince Abdulaziz said

Instead of competing with China collaborate with China

major deals to raise its multi-billion dollar investment in China and bolster its rank as China’s top provider of crude T h e y w e r e t h e b i g g e s t a n n o u n c e d s i n c e C h i n e s e P r e s i d e n t X i J i n p i n g s v i s i t t o S a u d i A r a b i a i n D e c e m b e r w h e r e h e c a l l e d f o r o i l t r a d e i n y u a n

The two nations momentum has also raised prospects for a successful conclusion to negotiations for a free trade deal between China and the Saudi Arabia-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ongoing since 2004 Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih said any agreement would have to protect emerging Gulf industries as the region starts to diversify towards non-oil economic sectors “ We n e e d t o e n a b l e a n d e m p o w e r our industries to export so we hope all countries that negotiate with us for free t r a d e d e a l s k n o w w e n e e d t o p r o t e c t o u r n e w e m e rg i n g i n d u s t r i e s F a l i h s a i d , a d d i n g h e h o p e d a d e a l w o u l d soon be struck

B oland sparks India collapse as Australia win W TC final

LONDON

A G E N C I E S

Scott Boland sparked a dramatic collapse as Australia hammered India by 209 runs to win the World Test Championship final at The Oval on Sunday India, set a record 444 to win and resumed on 164-3 But they collapsed to 234 all out losing seven wickets for 70 runs inside 24 overs before lunch on the fifth day Boland did the initial damage with two wickets in an over, including the prize scalp of Virat Kohli on his way to figures of 3-46 in 16 overs

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon (441) then polished off the tail Australia captured the one major men s cricket title that had previously eluded them, with Pat Cummins’s side now heading into next week’s first Ashes Test against

England in a buoyant mood

But this result left India defeated by New Zealand in the inaugural 2021 WTC final in Southampton still searching for the first piece of global silverware in a decade

All cricket logic was against India with a target of 444 way in excess of the highest score made by any side to win in the fourth innings in 146 years of Test history the West Indies 418-7 against Australia at St John s in 2003

Lionel Messi’s future club Inter Miami suffered a sixth straight defeat and remained rooted to the bottom of Major League Soccer ’s Eastern Conference after a 3-1 defeat at the New England Revolution on Saturday If Messi who announced this week he intended to join Miami was tuning in to watch what awaits him in MLS, his disappointment at his new club s dismal form would have been tempered by a wonder goal from his compatriot, Lucas Zelarayan of Columbus Three minutes into stoppage time with the game at 1-1 the Crew’s Zelarayan won the game at Chicago with an audacious shot from inside his own half that became an instant goal-of-the-season contender That level of technical brilliance was in stark contrast to the performance of the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner ’s future teammates as they continued their miserable run of form

New England took a 27th-minute lead with a Carles Gil penalty after former Newcastle United fullback De Andre Yedlin gave away a penalty with a clumsy foul on Matt Polster Miami s troubles were compounded when French midfielder Corentin Jean was stretchered off with what appeared to be a serious injury

Minutes later New England doubled the lead with an angled Polster header from a Gil corner

The Revolution made sure of the win in the 51st minute with some dreadful defending allowing Bobby Wood to fire in the third

Although Josef Martinez provided some minor consolation for Miami with an 84th minute penalty, Inter suffered a second straight loss under interim coach Javier Morales

The Crew took the lead at Chicago through a deflected strike from Cucho Hernandez in the 58th minute but the Fire looked to have earned a point when Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri levelled in the 88th minute

But with seconds remaining, Zelarayan spotted Chicago goalkeeper Spencer Richey off his line and beat him with a perfectly executed effort from five yards behind the half-way line

Champions Los Angeles FC have had a bad week –after losing the CONCACAF Champions League final to Mexico s Leon on Sunday and being held to a goal-less draw at home to Atlanta on Wednesday, Steve Cherundolo’s side fell to a 4-0 defeat at Houston Nelson Quinones cut in from the left and fired a rightfoot shot into the far corner in the 11th minute and then French-born Morocco international Amine Bassi made it 2-0 from the spot

Corey Bair took full advantage of some sloppy defending to add the third and then Franco Escobar completed the rout with a long-range strike in the final minute Eastern Conference leaders Cincinnati had to settle for a 1-1 draw at the Vancouver Whitecaps after taking the lead through another inspired Argentine finish by substitute Luciano Acosta Acosta looked to have won the game for Cincy with a delightful chip over Whitecaps Japanese ‘keeper Yohei Takaoka in the 83rd minute

NEW YORK

A G E N C I E S

The link between the Afghan Taliban and proscribed militant outfits Al-Qaeda and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remains strong and symbiotic a report published by the United Nations (UN) said

The fourteenth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the UN Security Council’s 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee released on Friday noted that a “range of terrorist groups has greater freedom of manoeuvre under the Taliban de facto authorities

They are making good use of this and the threat of terrorism is rising in both Afghanistan and the region, the report read, a copy of which is available with Dawn com

“While they have sought to reduce the profile of these groups and conducted maintaining links to numerous terrorist entities the Taliban have lobbied member states for counter-terrorism assistance in its fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Khorasan Province (ISIL-K), which it perceives as its principal rival

The report said that the Taliban forces have conducted operations against ISIL-K, in general, but they have not delivered on the counter-terrorism provisions under the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan between the United States of America and the Taliban

There are indications that Al-Qaeda is rebuilding operational capability, that TTP is launching attacks into Pakistan with support from the Taliban, that groups of foreign terrorist fighters are projecting threat across Afghanistan s borders and that the op-

erations of ISIL-K are becoming more sophisticated and lethal (if not more numerous), it added

However, the Afghan Taliban dismissed the report and called it “full of prejudice”

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers the continuation of UN Security Council sanctions and such reports as full of prejudice and in conflict with the principles of independence and non-interference, and calls for an end to it, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement today

Mujahid called the accusations “baseless” and a result of “obvious hostility” with the people of Afghanistan as well as repetition of the baseless propaganda of the past 20 years

We strongly reject the assessment of this report that the Islamic Emirate is helping the opponents of neighbouring and regional countries or using the territory of Afghanistan against other countries from the content of this report”

The Taliban spokesman said it seemed that either the UNSC s authors did not have access to the information or they deliberately distorted the facts or the source of their information was the Islamic Emirate s fugitive opponents

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan insists on its commitments and assures that there is no threat from the territory of Afghanistan to the region neighbours and countries of the world and it does not allow anyone to use its territory against others Mujahid added PA K I S TA N’S S TA N C E

Pakistani security officials have long been saying that the TTP and other anti-Pakistan armed groups operate from Afghan soil

The Taliban government hosted peace talks between the TTP and Pakistani security officials to put an end to the violence in Pakistan However the talks collapsed last year over tough conditions from both sides

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif led a high-powered delegation in talks with senior Taliban leaders in Kabul in February with a single-point agenda to take action against the TTP

Sri Lanka likely Asia Cup venue after India Pakistan row: official

DUBAI

S TA F F R E P O R T

Asia Cup matches involving India could be played in Sri Lanka after the country refused to visit arch-rival and official host Pakistan, a board official said on Sunday The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is due to make a formal announcement in the coming week after calls for a different venue for India s games in the 50-over tournament in September a Sri Lankan official said India and Pakistan have not met on either side s soil in any version of the game since 2012, and only play each other in international tournaments on neutral grounds “It is very likely that some of the matches will be in Sri Lanka the board official said asking not to be named But we have still not officially received confirmation

Sri Lanka s board had expressed willingness to host some Asia Cup matches, despite an economic crisis that forced it to default on its $46 billion foreign debt in April last year and seeks a bailout from the International Monetary Fund

The official said it had the capacity to conduct an international tournament even though the island was still emerging from the economic downturn

The unprecedented economic crisis led to months of protests and the ouster of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was accused of corruption and mismanagement

He fled the country and resigned in July 2022

Even at the height of the crisis when we didn t have fuel and electricity, we hosted the Australian team, the official said, referring to Australia s tour taking in three T20 matches, five ODIs, and three Tests

Multiple truces have been agreed and broken, including even after the United States had slapped sanctions on both rival generals after the previous attempt collapsed at the end of May TAIPEI

There have been no cross-border attacks from the Afghan side for months however there has been a spike in the TTP attacks since the group ended a ceasefire in November

The Pakistan Cricket Board had threatened to boycott the World Cup in India which is due to start in October if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to play the Asia Cup in Pakistan a month earlier The BCCI has since been looking to work out a plan to play the six-nation tournament at a neutral venue in September The other nations in the Asia Cup are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal

Taiwan sends up fighters as C hinese warplanes cross strait ’s median line

A G E N C I E S

Taiwan s air force scrambled into action on Sunday after spotting 10 Chinese warplanes crossing the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, as the island’s defence ministry said four Chinese warships also carried out combat patrols

This is the second time in less than a week that Taiwan has reported renewed Chinese military activity, after 37 Chinese military aircraft on Thursday flew into the island’s air defence zone, some of which then flew into the western Pacific

China which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory has over the past three years regularly flown its air force into the skies near the island though not into Taiwan s territorial air space

In a short statement, Taiwan s defence ministry said that as of 0600 GMT on Sunday it had detected 24 Chinese air force planes including J-10 J-11 J-16 and Su-30 fighters as well as H-6 bombers

It did not specify where the aircraft flew but said 10 had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which separates the two sides and had previously served as an unofficial barrier

China says it does not recognise that and has been routinely crossing it since last year

Four Chinese naval ships were also engaged in joint combat readiness patrols the ministry added, without giving details Taiwan sent up its own fighters and deployed ships and land-based missile systems to keep watch, it said, using typical wording for how it responds to such Chinese activities China s defence ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment It has not commented on Thursday s flights China has previously said such missions are to protect the country’s sovereignty and aimed at “collusion” between Taiwan and

the United States the island’s most important international backer and arms seller

In April China held war games around Taiwan following a trip to the United States by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen Taiwan s government rejects China s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan which is gearing up for presidential and parliamentary elections in January under its control

In a Sunday video address to supporters on the Taiwan-controlled Matsu islands close to the Chinese coast, Taiwan’s Vice

President William Lai said he would do his best to stabilise the peaceful status quo in the Taiwan Strait if he wins the presidency his campaign office said

Lai is running as the ruling Democratic Progressive Party s candidate Tsai cannot run again due to term limits

Tsai has repeatedly offered talks with China but been rebuffed as Beijing views her and her party as separatists Laura Rosenberger chair of the American Institute in Taiwan which manages the unofficial relationship between Washington and Taipei, visited Taiwan last week and meet all three presidential candidates

UN repor t finds ‘strong and symbiotic ’ links bet ween Afghan Taliban, T TP

PTI chief provided proofs of Buzdar, Gogi’s corruption: Raja Riaz

Raja Riaz further stated that due to differences with Chairman PTI he supported Jehangir Tareen some three years back

He said that proofs of corruption of ex Punjab chief minister Usman Usman Buzdar and Farah Gogi have been provided to Imran Khan What told to PTI chief regarding the two was proving to be true he added

PIPS recognized as Global Centre of Excellence in Parliamentary Research

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T

The Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) has been recognized as a center of excellence in Parliamentary Research amongst global mapping of research services around the world by the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament

According to the latest issue of the Parliamentarian the journal of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association the UK Parliamentary Office of Science of Technology undertook a year analysis to identify 181 potential parliamentary research mechanisms and compare them for the last five years’ standards, services and performance of these institutes across 125 countries The Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) has been recognized as the Top Tier of this global mapping of reputed worldwide institutions providing evidence-based policy synthesis, analysis and scrutiny as per the international standards to the parliamentarians

Dr Vicky Wardat from the University of St Andrews in Scotland and Dr Mark Monaghan from the University of Loughborough University in England undertook a detailed comparative analysis of purpose structure and performance in the last five years (20182023) for 181 institutes to shortlist top 41 parliamentary institutes worldwide placed in three tiers “The Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS), alongside network-oriented models such as the Commonwealth Parliamentary Research Services (CPRS) and UK-POST are placed among well-known models for linking individual Parliaments with academic research

The UK POST professors recognized that PIPS has provided over 1,500 research-based articles and technical assistance to the individual Members of Parliament committees and cross-party caucuses” within a short span of time with a smart team of only six in-house research experts whereas similar mechanisms in US India South Africa and Ghana have respectively 700, 450, 66 and 27 researchers and attorneys It is a proud moment for the National Parliament of Pakistan that PIPS has been rated in the Top Tier of global mapping of parliamentary mechanisms for accessing academic research in this worldwide rating

Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan Raja

Pervaiz Ashraf is presently the President of the Board of Governors of PIPS The Institute has contributed 67 books covering all aspects of the Parliamentary working and it publishes a monthly research digest that is the most read Pakistani parliamentary publication worldwide PIPS have also furnished 363 researches for the MPs in this fiscal year till June 2023

CDA takes steps for fulfilling religious needs of minorities

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has taken significant steps in fulfilling the religious needs of minority communities here

The CDA has allocated two cremation grounds measuring 0 49 acres and 0 50 acres for the Hindu and Buddhist communities respectively in Sector H-9

Moreover, graveyards have been provided for Christians (9 01 acres), Bhais (1 70 acres), and Qadianis (3 424 acres) in Sector H-9 and Sector H-8

This move aims to ensure that all communities have access to appropriate facilities for their burial rites CDA has also addressed the issue of sewage treatment and water recycling highlighting its commitment to environmental sustainability

PAKISTANI STUDENTS FIND CHINA’S DEVELOPMENT MODEL INSPIRATIONAL

AA M I R Bizenjo, a 22-year-old student of Gwadar University in Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province found China’s development quite interesting and inspirational Xinhua reported on Sunday

He has been witnessing the development in the port city of Gwadar under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and has now got a vision for the development of his province during his trip to Pakistan s capital Islamabad in which he met Chinese officials and visited different platforms and consortiums under the collaboration of the two countries

He was part of a delegation comprising several Gwadar University students and faculty members that visited Islamabad from Thursday to Saturday which was jointly organized by the Chinese embassy in Pakistan and the Islamabadbased think-tank Pakistan-China Institute

I am thankful to the Chinese for arranging this visit to give us exposure We exchanged ideas with each other about economic growth and how the two countries can develop together and seeing

how China achieved prosperity gave me a new sense to work for the development of my province Bizenjo said in an interview with Xinhua According to Bizenjo, the delegation visited the Chinese embassy where they saw presentations on China’s path to modernization the Global Development Initiative the Global Security Initiative the Global Civilization Initiative and Chinese projects in Pakistan especially the CPEC After knowing about these initiatives and projects, I got a better understanding of China and the Chinese people,” Bizenjo said, who had earlier got a China-funded scholarship at the university “They are not just looking for the future of China but are emphasizing that no one should be left behind and to uplift everybody he added The delegates enjoyed the interaction, and exchanged ideas with the Chinese diplomats and explained to them the situation of CPEC projects in Balochistan particularly in Gwadar Chinese are very nice people We have seen that they always have smiles on their faces and their hospitality is very good, Rizwan Asgher, a student of the Information Technology Department of Gwadar University, said in a conversation with Xinhua

The Pakistani delegates appreciated China s investment especially their efforts under corporate social responsibility like the distribution of solar panels laptops health facilities, vocational institutes, etc

They specifically thanked the Chinese for the educational scholarships, which they believed were very helpful to the youth of Balochistan and they hoped that the scope of such programs would be further expanded in the future

Now I want an opportunity to visit China for my capacity building and professional growth in order to learn from the Chinese universities so that I can become a good teacher ” Sadia Naseer Director of Student Affairs at Gwadar University told the Chinese diplomats

On the other hand highlighting the economy of Pakistan, the Chinese friends told us that youth has the most important role in the economic growth of a country ” Bizenjo said A country achieves economic growth when its youth becomes energetic and skillful he quoted the Chinese diplomats as saying

The delegates also had engagements, and interactions with the members of the All-Pakistan Chinese Enterprises’ Association (APCEA), officials of the Chinese desk at Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry and took a

Pakistan not responsible for climate change still becomes ‘ground zero’: Sherr y

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T

Federal Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rehman has said that Pakistan is not responsible for the climate change but it has still become the ‘Ground Zero’ of the climate change

Taking to her twitter handle on Sunday she tweeted: Deeply grieved over the loss of 29 precious lives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab rain related incidents Equally shares the

grief of the victim family Pray for earlier recovery of the injured ” Sherry Rehman lauded the Pakistan Army PDMA and other related local organizations for their instant action launched rescue and relief activities after the disaster After Sindh, pre-monsoon showers, gusts and disaster caused by them in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was matter of grave concern she added

The minister climate change said that windstorm heavy rain

and hailstorm adversely affected human being, cattle, standing crops, dilapidated buildings and wood-stone made houses

The PPP leader said that all provincial government and concerned organizations have been directed to remain vigilant for tackling the climate change related incidents Sherry Rehman said Sindh and Balochistan governments has also been directed for advance emergency measures regarding Cyclone Hyper Biparjoy

NEPRA holds meeting to disc uss, advance power development initiative in A JK

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) convened a meeting to discuss and advance the power development initiatives in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) The meeting which chaired by Mathar Niaz Rana (nsc), Member (Tariff & Finance) NEPRA, was attended by Secretary Power AJK and CEO of K-Electric and his team said a press release issued

The primary focus of the meeting was to address key challenges and explore opportunities for facilitating power development initiatives in AJK

In his opening remarks, Mathar Niaz Rana shed light on the crucial aspects of the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) and its implications for the power sector

A comprehensive discussion ensued during the meeting highlighting the immense hydro power poten-

tial in AJK estimated at a known potential of staggering 23 000 MW and an estimation of about 46 000 MW

The participants examined strategies to streamline the ongoing and upcoming projects that face obstacles from power purchasers, ensuring their smooth resolution

K-Electric expressed gratitude to Mr Mathar Niaz Rana for his support in this matter, affirming KE’s commitment to procure cheap hydro power from AJK to bring down the tariff of K-Electric for its consumers this will also reduce the subsidies being provided by the Government of Pakistan to K-Electric Mathar Niaz Rana pledged wholehearted support and assistance to the AJK Government to actively resolve any hurdle hindering power development in the region

The outcome of the meeting reflects NEPRA’s dedication to promoting power development and its commitment to fostering collaboration between stakeholders NEPRA remains steadfast in its mission to create an enabling environment for sustainable, reliable and affordable power generation

Not economy, politic al gains, fame foc us of budget: S hahid Rasheed

ISLAMABAD

Former President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr Shahid Rasheed Butt said on Sunday that instead of focusing on ailing economy political gains and fame remained the key focus of the government in the federal budget

In a statement issued here, he stated that the populist budget will worsen the economy instead of improving it and the masses will pay the price for it

Shahid Rasheed Butt said that not taxing landlords and shopkeepers is unfortunate and speaks about the priorities of the rulers

Out of 2 2 million shopkeepers, only thirty thousand pay taxes, but they are not included in the tax net to get votes in the upcoming elections he added The business leader further stated that the budget will hit production, exports, and the government s revenue while leading to further degradation of the shattered economy

The government is trying to treat cancer with sweet pills in-

Biofloc fish farming – a boon or bane

MULTAN A P P

With some farmers opting for latest techniques Biofloc fish farming is yet to click as experts desire more focus and patronage by the authorities to promote this practice on mass scale The farmers in South Punjab who practiced this new technique came across hiccups and challenges like provision of uninterrupted power supply, provision of chemicals on affordable prices and overall atmosphere to promote this culture

But it is fact that Biofloc fish farming attracted farmers and many among them immediately opted for this new technique that recycles waste nutrients as fish feed wherein specifically cultured micro organisms, are mixed with water to form microbial protein from fish waste and other organic matter in the water Biofloc is a modern concept of high den-

sity fish rearing wherein fish are nurtured in a water tank, made of turbulane sheet Fish seeds are put into water tank also mixing probiotics (a kind of bacteria) into it to convert materials like Ammonia Nitrate and Nitrite into feed The probiotic in tank consumes ammonia and converts it into protein to be used by fish inside the tank as feed

Biofloc helps in cleaning the culture water of the fish while giving an additional source of feed It is a sustainable and ecofriendly process For Biofloc farming the species must be resistant to environmental changes tolerant to high stocking density adapt to changes in dissolved oxygen and be able to take microbial protein as food

Despite that Biofloc farming can help address the food security issues, some experts are skeptical about its success in our peculiar atmosphere

“It needs round the clock power supply and oxygen besides chemical(s) to keep the

stead of surgery which will not save the economy he maintained

He informed that it is impossible to collect a tax of 9200 billion rupees in the current financial year, and even if it happens, the interest of 7303 billion rupees will be paid which means that the government will have only 1897 billion rupees left from the tax revenue

Shahid Rashid Butt said that the budget for fiscal year 2024 lacks important details like the source of borrowings, while the government is increasing expenditures despite not having the resources

of total fish farming

trip to the Confucius Institute at Islamabadbased National University of Modern Languages where they also had a dialogue with its faculty and administration

Bizenjo said the engagement at APCEA had been very productive as he got a lot of business ideas from it and is now interested in exploring them in Balochistan in the future

The group also took a tour of a China-funded compassionate home Islamabad China-Pakistan Youth One Heart Step and Cure Home, where underprivileged children, including orphans, suffering from long-term diseases, and attendants of patients who had been admitted to hospitals for long-term treatment got free of cost accommodation food and education

The most inspirational moment for me was to visit this place where the Chinese are taking care of orphans and other kids I gave them my contact number and said that I want to open its branch in my hometown as well said Bizenjo Wang Shengjie at the Chinese embassy said this year marks the harvest year for the Gwadar port as the new international airport will be established this year, and the desalination water plant will also be built

Dastgir lays foundation stone of new 132-KV grid station

GUJRANWALA

S TA F F R E P O R T

Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division) Engineer

Khurram Dastgir Khan laid a foundation stone of the new 132-KV Grid Station namely Ghulam Dastgir Khan Grid Station here on Sunday The grid station costing Rs 1 06 billion would be completed in a record period of three and a half months

Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) Board of Directors Chairman Muhammad Shuaib Butt Chief Executive Officer Engineer Muhammad Ayub, Project Director Faisal Nafees Yusuf were also present

General Managers Mazhar Naveed, Rana Ishtiaq Ahmed Chief Engineers Naveed Anjum Cheema

Muhammad Ashiq Jatt Imtiaz Ahmed Cheema

Managers Sheikh Amanullah Muhammad Buta Gurayah Shahbaz Ahmed Sekhu Ghulam Ghos and Regional Chairman Wapda Hydro Union Waliur Rehman Khan, and others were present on the occasion Addressing the ceremony, the energy minister said that the construction work of 132-KV Ghulam Dastgir Khan grid station had been started and the project would be completed in the shortest possible time Elaborating Khurram Dastgir said the construction of grid station would cost a total of Rs 1 06 billion out of which around Rs 880 million would be spent on the construction of grid station and Rs 180 million would be spent on the construction of transmission lines This significant investment would help save GEPCO’s millions of units annually due to reduction in line losses and would continue to lead to huge technical and financial savings for the GEPCO in the future he added On the occasion, the GEPCO Chairman Muhammad Shoaib Butt said that a series of development works had been started for the up-gradation and improvement of the system throughout the GEPCO region and the work was going on at brisk pace The up-gradation of the system would not only provide substantial relief to consumers but also stabilize GEPCO s distribution system he added

Gov t not successful to present growth-oriented budget due to IMF curbs

LAHORE S TA F F R E P O R T

The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) while commenting on the federal budget 202324 has said that it is apparently a mixed budget as the finance minister has not been fully successful to present a business-friendly budget due to IMF conditions, as the government is caught between a painful fiscal adjustment reforms agenda set by the IMF, and to make room for any relief to the people ahead of the elections

PIAF Chairman Faheemur Rehman Saigol said that the government has imposed new taxes of almost Rs200 billion without bringing more sectors into tax net implying burdening those who are already paying taxes He noted that there was no mention of reduction in energy tariff, adding that the federal government would fail to reach the targets set in the budget

mation from books and websites

water clean says DG Fisheries South Punjab Dr Anser Mahmood Chattha Given high power tariff and routine power outages no one can say for sure if the technology was actually viable for doing profitable business ”

Chatha said biofloc fish farming was a special method to produce fish originally introduced for shrimps in Indonesia and South East Asia and declared it costly as it needed 24 hours supply of energy and oxygen

He said the fisheries department was further researching on this technology and it would be to clearly say something about the technology s applicability in south Punjab with business point of view after few years

We are also working on other options and start shrimp farming would in next one or two years under public-private partnership as shrimps attract premium price from lucrative markets and investment on biofloc ” he said “By the time Biofloc fish farming is South Punjab is approximately one per cent

There are 20 fish hatcheries operational in the region with seven being run by fisheries department and 13 by private sector

DG Fisheries was confident that fish farming could become more profitable through value addition and efforts are already on in this direction “Our department provides farmers 80% subsidy to fish farmers for installation of cage clusters in different rivers

Meanwhile a progressive fish farmer Muhammad Naveed Gul who owns fish farms at Head Muhammad Wala complains of power outage and costly inputs “I had invested around Rs 1 5 million to develop four 10-marla biofloc water tanks but had to suffer losses due to high cost of inputs lack of 100 per cent monitoring and inconsistent power supply

For instance, he said, in recent days power supply remained suspended for some time and half of the fish seed died “So I immediately dismantled the system shifted remaining fish seed into traditional fish ponds from tanks after suffering a loss of hundreds of thousands rupees I invested in Biofloc after getting infor-

But now I believe it was very difficult to run this business without government support proper education and provision of resources

He urged the government to come up with plans for solar systems to ensure uninterrupted power supply for biofloc units and reduce cost of inputs including chemicals Muhammad Saleem another fish farmer in Multan also pleaded to lower input prices and proper marketing of fish produced from Biofloc to make this business viable The government should come up with a comprehensive strategy to promote this business ”

Among these farmers some were very confident about success of Biofloc system This technology is profit generating and involves lesser cost as failures are mostly result of mistakes and lack of determination, said Nauman Bodla, a young farmer from Shujabad

He informed that initially he had set up a couple of tanks in his village but now he has 16 tanks all operational “My first year in this business ended with break-even only recovering the cost Second year was in loss due my own mistakes

FEDERAL CABINET APPROVES NEW APPOINTMENTS FOR IGNITE COMPANY’S BOARD

porate Management Executives for a three-year term

24, 2023, and recommended a panel of nominees for appointment as Board Members, Independent Directors Non-Executive Directors and Cor-

Three terrorists killed, 3 soldiers mar t yred in Miranshah operation

RAWALPINDI

S TA F F R E P O R T

Three soldiers embraced martyrdom and three terrorists were killed during an operation targeting a terrorist location in the general area of Miranshah North Waziristan district the military s media wing reported on Sunday

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that on the night of June 9/10, an exchange of fire took place between the [Pakistani] troops and terrorists” as a result of which three terrorists were killed while four others were injured

Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists the statement added

However during the intense exchange of fire

Subedar Asghar Ali (age 40 years, resident of Lakki Marwat District), Sepoy Naseem Khan (age 26 years, resident of Lakki Marwat District) and Sepoy Muhammad Zaman (age 22 years resident of Abbottabad) having fought gallantly embraced shahadat [martyrdom] the ISPR said

The military s media wing also said that sanitisation of the area was underway 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 ” the statement stressed

Earlier this month Security forces killed two terrorists during an exchange of fire in general area Dossali, North Waziristan district

Furthermore, On May 31, at least two terrorists were killed in an Intelligence-Based Operation (IBO) launched by security forces in the same area on the reported presence of militants

Siraj

says Zardari

should accept PPP's defeat as people stand with JI

KARACHI

S TA F F R E P O R T

Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq said on Sunday that Pakistan People s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari should accept the defeat of his party as the people supported the Jamaat-e-Islam Hafiz Naeemur Rehman would become the mayor of Karachi as he is the right choice for this post” JI Emir Sirajul Haq declared while addressing the party workers here in Karachi on Sunday The JI Emir said the Jamaat wanted an Islamic system in the country adding that the JI wanted to implement rule of law in the country

Mr Haq said the progress of Pakistan was linked with the safety of Karachi He said the JI had votes of 0 9 million while the PPP only possessed 0 3 million votes while claiming they still wanted the PPP to win

The JI chief said Karachi would be established on the lines of Istanbul as a developed city mentioning the resources would be spent in the city while adding there was lack of leadership that resulted in such sad state of affairs

The JI chief said Karachi would be established on the lines of Istanbul as a developed city mentioning the resources would be spent in the city while adding there was lack of leadership that resulted in such sad state of affairs

PPP accused of stealing Karachi s mandate ahead of mayor s contest

Meanwhile, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) launched a broadside at the PPP on Sunday ahead of the upcoming Karachi mayor elections accusing it of attempting to steal the city s mandate

The recommended nominees include prominent individuals from both the public and private sectors Notable appointments are Irfan Wahab Khan CEO of Telenor Pakistan representing Cellular Mobile Operators; Dr Shahid Farooq Alvi, CEO of Brain Telecom, representing Data Service Providers; Adnan Asdar Ali CEO of Multinet representing Fixed Line Operators; Rabia Noor Enam Director (ORIC) Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology, and Professor Dr Bilal Ahmed Alvi, University of Salford, Salford, UK, and Nazeer Hussain University, representing the Scientific and Academic Community

Furthermore, the Board Nominations Committee also reviewed and found the nominations in consonance with the State-Owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) Act 2023 Additionally the committee recommended a panel of candidates for the selection of one Independent Director by the federal government The placement of the summary before the Cabinet was authorized by the Prime Minister and received approval from the Federal Minister for IT & Telecommunication The appointments on Ignite Company s board are expected to contribute to its research and development initiatives in the field of information and communication technology, fostering innovation and growth in Pakistan’s tech sector

Maryam Nawaz says era of temptation, mischief now over

MULTAN

S TA F F R E P O R T

Senior Vice President and Chief Organizer Pakistan Muslim League (N) Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Sunday said that the era of temptation and mischief was over with burial and now a new era of development and prosperity kick-started

Addressing the youth Convention of PML (N) in Tehsil Shujaabad here she said that her heart was broken with great shock on the desecration of martyrs

She said that the nation would follow the elements involved in the desecration of martyrs and burning of army installations till the end

She said that the mastermind of May 9 tragedy was hiding in Zaman Park and whenever the mastermind was questioned, he put the responsibility on the workers She said that the leaders never let their workers down adding that the leader is the one who holds his daughter ’s hand and goes to jail as Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif did

Mastermind of May 9 claimed that this country was unsafe for his children, she said Imran made the country unsafe by setting it on fire ” she said

“Do the people who desecrate martyrs deserve mercy or forgiveness she questioned? She said that the country s safeguards will break the hands of the people who are involved in

country’s burners The one who created drama to make people s children arrested for nefarious political interest has his own children safe in London, she added Maryam recalled a group that claims to make PML (N) cry with arrogance was now crying

“Who was afraid of prison? the same man has issued order for the burning of military installations His May 9 trick backfired as an armed rebellion against the army is now begging for talks,” she informed

The PML (N) leader said that he (Imran) used to say that he will break Muslim League-N but his own party has been broken and the whole party could easily be covered in a mini vehicle She said that Imran used to say that he formed his party in 26 years was now fallen apart in 26 seconds She said that the party was formed in a plane and also

PTI chief neither a politician, nor he has recognition of law, Constitution: Marriyum

ISLAMABAD

S TA F F R E P O R T

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting

Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday said that Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan doesn t seem to be a politician nor he has recognition of law and Constitution than how could dialogues be held with him regarding the prevailing situation Talking to twitter handle, the information minister said that attacks on military installations and martyrs’ memorials on May 9 were carried out because they did not agree [to oblige him] She likened the PTI chief to Hitler Marriyum said that the PTI chief has no regard for the Constitution law humanity and ethics and called him an arrogant, egoist, obstinate and cunning person He [the PTI chief] blamed America in the rally, and then apologized and hired lobbyists [to build his image], she added She said a politician and a democratic person talks to politicians He [PTI chief] is looking for a shoulder and crutches [for support] which is no longer available

The minister claimed that he [PTI chief] needed an NRO to avoid foreign funding, 190 million pounds, Al Qadir Trust and Tyrian White scandals

broke up in the same plane

Maryam Nawaz said that PM (N) could not be broken because

Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was the son of this soil and the servant of the nation as well

She said that Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif came to Shujaabad seven times even he was in Shujabad at the time of Pervez Musharraf s illegal takeover

The government was taken away from Nawaz Sharif time and again but he never pushed the people to set the country on fire

She said that Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif faced oppression many times but never instigated chaos and always talked about the development of the country

She said that the one who built the metro with his own hands can burn the metro? She questioned and added that the hands that build a country cannot destroy it

Fe d e r a l b u d g e t m ay h i t P S X h a r d

KARACHI

S TA F F R E P O R T

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is likely to pare gains made during previous two weeks in the coming sessions as the federal budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 has failed to meet investors expectations

PSX remained bullish in previous weeks amid hopes for the revival of the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme The IMF mission chief for Pakistan said recently that the Fund remains in touch with Pakistan s authorities in order to pave the way for a board meeting before the financing programme expires at the end of June This engagement will focus on the restoration of foreign exchange proper market functioning, the passage of a FY24 budget consistent with programme goals, and adequate financing ” Nathan Porter added

However the market experts believe that the budget deviates from the context of the IMF loan programme They fear it could result in increased selling pressure on the PSX if the government and IMF part ways, although the likelihood of such an outcome remains low

The government in the new budget has proposed several tax measures that are perceived as negative for the market These measures include re-imposition of a 10 percent final withholding tax on the issuance of bonus shares by companies (20 percent for non-ATL) the reintroduction of a 0 6 percent tax on cash withdrawals for non-filers, and an increase in the super tax rate by six percentage points to 10 percent with retrospective impact

The proposed measure of a 10 percent tax on bonus shares is likely to hit the market hard as the market remained bullish in recent weeks due to announcement about issuance of bonus shares by major companies

The move is expected to discourage companies from announcing bonus shares which could negatively affect market trade volume However, on a positive note, the minimum turnover tax liability on turnover has been reduced from 1 25 percent to 1 percent for listed companies This reduction will benefit loss-making and low-margin companies Similarly the inclusion of one more active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and three drugs in the existing duty-free regime is seen as an incentive for the pharmaceutical sector Regarding the super tax, it has been rationalised to apply to all individuals earning above Rs150 million Furthermore, the continuation of the concessionary fixed tax rate of 0 25% for IT and IT-enabled services exports for the tax years 2024 2025 and 2026 is regarded as a positive move Additionally the extension of the exemption for one year on profits and gains from the sale of immovable property or shares of special purpose vehicles to any type of Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) scheme until June 30, 2024, is considered a positive development The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged 1 33 percent (551 22 points) last week and gained 0 95 percent (388 44 points) in the preceding week as investors sentiment remained high due to positive statements from government functionaries about the upcoming budget 2023-24

Overall, the KSE-100 Index rose by 551 22 points to 41,904 2 points from 41,352 98 points last week, while it jumped 388 44 points in the preceding week to reach 41 352 98 points from 40 964 54 points Among other indices the KSE All Share Index surged by 2 percent last week to 28 253 7 points from 27 699 53 points while KMI All Share Islamic Index surged 3 2 percent to 20,688 96 points from 20,046 65 points on a week-on-week basis

In another tweet Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said that two billion rupees have been allocated for the Film Finance Fund and one billion rupees for the Artists Health Insurance in this budget

She said that these measures will play a major role in the growth of our film industry and improvement in the welfare of our nation’s artists

The Minister further said that this will play a key role in the promotion of Pakistan s narrative heritage and culture through films as well as the growth of screen tourism in Pakistan

Per vaiz Elahi undergoes checkup at PIC after health deteriorated in prison

LAHORE

The health of former Punjab chief minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi deteriorated in prison and he was taken to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) for medical tests and doctors’ examination after complaining of chest pains

However the PTI president was shifted back to Camp Jail after undergoing necessary tests and examination at the PIC According to prison officials the reports of Pervaiz Elahi s electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiogram are awaited

According to reports, the former CM was having some cardiac issues and his condition was getting unstable under the custody He was brought under strict security arrangements and heavy contingent of police remained stationed outside Punjab Institute of Cardiology Pervaiz Elahi underwent several tests to determine the factor causing inconvenience After the examination spanning over hours, the authorities observed some sort of stability in his medical condition and decided to shift him to camp jail

It would be worth-while to mention that Pervaiz Elahi is currently under detention at camp jail due to his judicial remand in a case regarding fraudulent inductions in Punjab Assembly s staff

The former chief minister was sent to prison on June 4 for 14-day judicial remand by a judicial magistrate in Lahore after his arrest by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) in a case pertaining to bribery and illegal recruitments The court had denied ACE s request for physical remand

This was his third arrest in two days on Saturday after two separate courts dismissed charges against him Pervaiz Elahi is among the remaining members of the PTI leadership yet standing with the party Most senior party leaders including Fawad Chaudhry Shireen Rehman Usman Buzdar Maleeka Bokhari have called it quits with some announcing a break from politics altogether

Pak-Turkiye bilateral cooperation in diverse fields to open vistas of economic prosperity: PM

ISLAMABAD

S

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said that the enhanced bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Turkiye through joint investment and ventures would prove ‘a win win’ situation for the both countries

In an interview with Haber Global a Turkish Tv channel the prime minister highlighted that a target of bilateral trade to the tune of $5 billion, in the next three years, between the two countries was very much achievable

The prime minister said that the areas of solar and hydro power energy in Pakistan possessed huge potential and the Turkish investors could avail of this opportunity

I want to assure as Prime Minister of Pakistan to do everything to facilitate Turkish investors There is great scope between the two countries to make this wonderful journey more successful,” he added

The prime minister opined that respective sectors of Turkiye had potential in these areas of Pakistan and it could play its role

Our labour was more skilled and if they have Turkish investment, it would be a well combination, thus opening vistas of opportunities for joint ventures, he added

The prime minister to another query replied that the railroad network between Pakistan Iran and Turkiye could play a very important role which required improvisation

It would definitely result in reduction of the cost of transportation and making their production of goods very compatible in the global markets, he said, adding that his aim was make this network more efficient

Felicitating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his reelection the prime minister said that the president had proved himself as an established statesman and politician

The prime minister said that he was looking forward to working closely with president

Erdogan to further cement their bilateral relations and trade and investment ties

Comparing Pakistan and Turkiye as one soul two hearts he said the relations between the two countries dated back to centuries Turkiye had always supported Pakistan in difficult times, ie; during floods and quakes it had gone an extra mile to support them he added

Similarly different governments of Pakistan irrespective of the political party in power they always supported their Turkish brothers and sisters When it came to Turkiye, all the political parties were one

“This is the journey we have adopted and hope to achieve our mission through hard work and sincerity of purpose ” he stressed

The prime minister said that these personal bonds of brothers and friends always helped them to come through every thick and thin

The prime minister said that Pakistan and Turkiye enjoyed strong strategic partner-

ship as they had also entered into joint ventures over ship making industry adding while there were other areas in which both brotherly countries had shared interests

He reaffirmed support to Turkiye s territorial solidarity and integrity and said that Turkiye had always supported Pakistan on the issue of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir

The prime minister responding to a question said that they had been passing though difficult challenges prices were sky rocketed due to imported inflation, the floods had displaced 33 million people while crops were completely washed away and infrastructure stood damaged which had cost them around $30 billion losses

Still he reiterated that the people of Pakistan were strong and facing these challenges, and expressed his optimism that they would negotiate through these challenges with joint efforts

The prime minister to another question maintained that the coalition government had successfully galvanized the international community after floods last year and arranged a Geneva donors conference where the intentional community made pledges, thus it saved the country from serious dangers of default

The previous government reneged its agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that led to very serious economic situation They coalition government was able to negotiate with the Financial Action Task Force (FATAF) and Pakistan was out of the grey area

“The credit goes to the coalition government which was a big achievement ” he added

The prime minister said that despite these challenges they were focused on improving the economy and cited recent wheat and cotton crop yields, saying that they economy of Pakistan was improving