Epaper_23-06-28 KHI

PAKISTAN’S ECONOMIC FUTURE HANGS IN THE BAL ANCE AS IMF DECISION LOOMS

IN a crucial development on Tuesday Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently engaged with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva via phone call, expressing hope for an imminent decision on the release of bailout funds

As the country’s economy faces severe challenges this awaited decision carries significant implications for the nation s financial stability

The PM s Office released a statement that the IMF chief and the prime minister discussed matters related to the stalled bailout programme According to the statement the premier has expressed hope that coordination on the points of the bailout programme would lead to a decision from the Washingtonbased lender in a day or two “ T h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r a l s o r e i t e rated his determination to achieve the goals of improving the economic situation through joint efforts the statement added

With the ninth review under the 2019 Extended Fund Facility (EFF) still pending and the program set to expire on June 30 time is running out to secure the much-needed $1 2 billion tranche from the IMF The prime minister s back-to-back meetings with Georgieva in Paris last week reflect the urgency of the situation

The IMF had raised concerns about Pakistan’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year stating that certain proposed measures contradicted the conditional-

ity of the EFF program In response, the government took proactive steps to address these concerns and ensure align-

ment with the IMF s requirements Changes to the budget were implemented, including additional tax

ECNEC approves key flood protection projects wor th billions of rupees

inflation and interest rates Securing the IMF loan is paramount to avoid defaulting on foreign debt obligations and to stabilise the financial landscape

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) met under the leadership of Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, to approve several crucial flood protection projects These initiatives aimed at bolstering flood management and safeguarding infrastructure received substantial allocations from the national budget

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) continues discussions with Pakistani authorities with the aim of quickly reaching an agreement on financial support from the Fund

The IMF Mission Chief to Pakistan Nathan Porter in a statement said that over the past few days, the Pakistani authorities have taken decisive measures to bring policies more in line with the economic reform program

PML-N, PPP fail to resolve differences in Dubai meeting

The People’s Party and the PML-N in their Dubai meeting failed to resolve most of the issues

The leaders of the two parties are likely to sit again today to resolve differences

PML-N and the PPP have agreed to resolve

issues between them with dialogue PML-N top leader Nawaz Sharif and PPP leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto have been in Dubai for talks over the election and other political issues

People’s Party sources have said that the issue of seat adjustment was not discussed with the PML-N leadership Former president Asif Ali Zardari discussed the charter of economy with PML-N leaders, sources said

The two sides also discussed the caretaker setup and future line of action in the meeting yesterday

The PPP leaders also clarified the party’s stance over general election adding that they want election in October or November according to sources

The coalition partners in the PDM government also discussed on pre-date dissolution of the assemblies

The two sides have been at odds with regard to the timetable of the next general election after dissolution of assemblies in August

Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari have been staying in Dubai for further talks with Nawaz Sharif and other PML-N leaders

supported by the IMF The measures included the passage of a budget by the parliament that broadens the tax base while opening up space for higher social and development spending as well as steps towards improving the functioning of the foreign exchange market and tightening monetary policy to reduce inflationary and balance of payment pressures that affect the more vulnerable “The IMF team continues discussions with Pakistani authorities with the aim of quickly reaching an agreement on financial sup-

port from the IMF, read the statement made by the IMF Mission Chief Meanwhile Finance Minister Ishaq Dar Tuesday said that the government is trying to find a mechanism to get the full pending finances of $2 6 billion under the loan programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The finance minister in a private tv show expressed hope that an agreement would be reached with the global lender for the release of the muchneeded $1 1 billion tranche

US recognises Pakistan’s effor ts in fighting ter ror following critical statement

I n r e s p o n s e t o a o n e - s i d e d j o i n t s t a t e m e n t c r i t i c a l o f P a ki s t a n i s s u e d b y t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d I n d i a a f t e r P r e s i d e n t J o e B i d e n ’s m e e t i n g w i t h P r i m e M i n i s t e r N a r e n d r a M o d i t h e S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t o n M o n d a y r e c o g n i s e d I s l a m a b a d s m e a su r e s t o c o m b a t t e r r o r i s m

The Foreign Office summoned the US embassy’s deputy chief of mission to express concern over the statement last week that called on Pakistan to ensure its territory was not used as a base for attacks

The statement was released after a meeting between the two leaders on Friday and had received criticism from Pakistan which called it contrary to diplomatic norms

During a press conference on Monday a State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, emphasized that the United States acknowledges Pakistan’s significant steps in countering terrorist groups in alignment with the completion of its Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plans Miller said: we remain committed to working with Pakistan to address the shared threat posed by terrorist groups throughout the region

Highlighting the suffering endured by the nation of Pakistan due to attacks over the years Miller underscored the importance of Pakistan s continuous efforts to permanently dismantle all terrorist organisations “At the same time, however, we have also been consistent on the importance of Pakistan continuing to take steps to permanently dismantle all terrorist groups including Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad, and their various front organizations and we will raise the issue regularly with Pakistani officials he said

larly raise this issue with Pakistan and maintain collaboration in countering mutual terrorist threats

Relations between Pakistan and India have been fraught for years Since independence from Britain in 1947, they have fought three wars, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir which they both claim in full but rule in part

As per details shared by Ministry of Finance, one of the significant projects approved by the ECNEC is the “Umbrella PC-I of the Flood Protection Sector Project-III (FPSP-II) ” presented by the Ministry of Water Resources This comprehensive project allocated a whopping Rs 19 462 5 crores is set to be implemented across all provinces including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir The project aims to revolutionize flood management strategies through innovative structural and nonstructural interventions With a foreign exchange component of Rs1 086 crore the government’s commitment to safeguarding vulnerable areas from the devastating impact of floods is evident In response to the water supply needs of the Thar Coal region, the ECNEC also approved the Makhi Farash Link Canal Project (Chotiari Phase-II)” presented by the Irrigation Department of the Sindh government With an increased budget of Rs1 208 crore the project aims to facilitate the transportation of 200 cusecs of canal water supporting electricity generation and promoting agro-industrial growth

The initiative is expected to expedite socio-economic development in the Sanghar and Umerkot districts

Recognizing the urgency of restoring flood-damaged infrastructure the committee approved the “Kachhi Canal Project Restoration of Flood Damages 2022 proposed by the Ministry of Water Resources The allocated budget of Rs828 crore will be utilised by the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) to execute the project in the Punjab districts of Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, and Rajanpur The project aims to address water scarcity issues and protect critical infrastructure from future flood damage

The approval of these flood protection projects underscores the government s commitment to enhancing the nation’s disaster resilience and ensuring the safety of its citizens The allocated funds will play a pivotal role in implementing comprehensive flood management strategies constructing protective infrastructure and fostering sustainable development in flood-prone areas

Apart from these crucial decisions, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) met concurrently and made several noteworthy approvals Notably, a technical supplementary grant of Rs 20 crore was approved for the Department of the Auditor General of Pakistan (DAGP) This grant will support employee-related expenses ensuring the smooth functioning of the department

Additionally, the ECC reviewed and approved a summary presented by the Ministry of Interior, granting a technical supplementary grant of Rs 381 3 crore Out of this amount Rs 298 937 crore will be allocated to the Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North) and Rs 82 458 crore will be allocated to the Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (South) These funds will cover ration bills for the security forces stationed in the region, strengthening their operational capabilities

He further expressed the US government s intention to regu-

Furthermore the ECC discussed and approved a summary presented by the Petroleum Division focusing on policy guidelines for import on foreign supplier s accounts through customs bonded storage facilities These guidelines are expected to streamline the import process and improve the management of petroleum imports ensuring stability in the energy sector

No civilian trials in militar y cour ts as of now, gover nment tells Supreme Cour t

tice Mazahir Ali Naqvi, is hearing the peti-

The army claimed on Saturday that two civilians were killed by Indian forces in firing across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in Kashmir the first such conflict since a ceasefire in 2021 between the two nucleararmed neighbours ISLAMABAD S

The government during the fourth hearing of a set of petitions challenging the trial of civilian protestors in military courts, said on Tuesday that army tribunals were not conducting trials at the present moment

During the previous day’s hearing, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial had requested reassurance from Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan that no such trials would take place while the case was being heard in court

The AGP affirmed that there were no ongoing trials of civilians However later in the evening the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that proceedings against the 102 civilians handed over for trial were already underway

A six-member larger bench, led by Justice Bandial and composed of Justice Ijaz ulAhsan Justice Muneeb Akhtar Justice Yahya Afridi Justice Ayesha Malik and Jus-

tions challenging the government’s decision to try civilians in military courts

The government had announced that individuals involved in the violence that erupted on May 9 resulting in the vandalism of various government buildings and army installations, would face trials under army laws

The petitions, filed separately by former prime minister Imran Khan, former chief justice Jawwad S Khawaja legal expert

Aitzaz Ahsan and five civil society members including Piler Executive Director Karamat Ali, urged the apex court to declare military trials unconstitutional

During the previous hearings, Khawaja Ahmed Hussain, the lawyer representing Khawaja Latif Khosa counsel for petitioner

Aitzaz Ahsan and civil society lawyers

Faisal Siddiqui and Salman Akram Raja presented their arguments

Subsequently, the counsel for Khan took the podium and highlighted conflicting statements from the AGP and Chaudhry

Referring to Monday’s press conference by Chaudhry the counsel pointed out that

the trial of 102 individuals had been mentioned He emphasized the conflicting statements between the AGP and the ISPR head

In response the AGP reaffirmed his earlier statement asserting: I stand by my statement even today He further suggested that the representatives from the Ministry of Defence, present in the court, could provide a better explanation of the situation

Justice Ayesha remarked: “We are currently examining existing judicial precedents indicating that the court was actively considering relevant legal precedents Additionally, Justice Bandial expressed confidence in the AGP s statement, redirecting the court’s focus to the ongoing proceedings

During the hearing, Uzair Bhandari, the lawyer representing Khan argued that the approval of civilian trials in military courts by Parliament required a constitutional amendment He cited the 21st Amendment, which established that the trial of civilians necessitated a constitutional amendment Justice Ayesha questioned whether a civilian trial in military courts could be held for internal matters to which Justice Afridi

said that such matters related to the country s defense had been addressed in the 21st Amendment Justice Afridi observed that the ISPR press conference held the day before had provided clarity on the situation Justice Ahsan mentioned that the court

could not ignore previous examples of civilians being tried in military courts, acknowledging that each case had unique circumstances and reasons

Bhandari argued that any military trial of a civilian should only occur through a constitutional amendment

IMF continues discussions with Pakistani authorities for quickly reaching an agreement

G O V T C O M M I T T E D T O I M P R O V E E C O N O M I C C O N D I T I O N O F C O U N T R Y : P M

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

PRIME Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has expressed the confidence that understanding on International Monetary Fund programme will shape into a final decision by the Bank within couple of days

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

M a n a g i n g D i r e c t o r I M F, K r i s t a l i n a

G e o r g i e v a o n T u e s d a y

The Prime Minister also expressed the

resolve to achieve the goals for improving economic condition of the country in collaboration with the Bank

Speaking on this occasion, the Managing Director IMF acknowledged efforts of the Finance Minister and his team for completing the IMF programme in the wake of her recent meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Paris She said we want positive improvement in the economic situation of Pakistan The MD IMF lauded the leadership qualities of the Prime Minister as well PM greets countrymen Muslim world

on Hajj; prays for peace prosperity

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday felicitated millions of pilgrims as well as countrymen and Muslims from across the Muslim world on the occasion of Hajj 1444 Hijri

On the occasion of Hajj I pray to Allah

Almighty to resolve all of the economic difficulties of Pakistan and make it a cradle of peace, progress and prosperity, he wrote on Twitter The prime minister also prayed to Allah to remove all the problems of the Muslim world particularly those of Kashmiri and Palestinian brethren

Pakistan issues demarche to US over US-India joint statement

before Our engagement is critical to our ultimate goal which is a stable secure and prosperous Pakistan said Patel when asked about a meeting between the Pakistani finance minister and the US ambassador in Islamabad

PM greets countr ymen, Muslim world on Hajj; prays for peace, prosperit y

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday felicitated millions of pilgrims as well as countrymen and Muslims from across the Muslim world on the occasion of Hajj 1444

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan on Monday summoned the US Deputy Chief of Mission to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and made a demarche to him to convey concerns and disappointment regarding the US-India Joint Statement issued after a meeting between President Joe Biden and visiting Indian Prime Minister Modi on June 22 2023

According to a Foreign Office statement Pakistan in the demarche raised objections to what it described as unwarranted, one-sided, and misleading references made in the joint statement The Pakistani officials emphasised that the United States should refrain from issuing statements that could be interpreted as endorsing India s baseless and politically motivated narrative against Pakistan

Furthermore, the Pakistani authorities stressed the importance of maintaining an enabling environment based on trust and

understanding in order to solidify the counter-terrorism cooperation between Pakistan and the United States

It was also emphasized that counterterrorism cooperation between Pakistan and the US had been progressing well and that an enabling environment centered around trust and understanding was imperative to further solidify Pakistan-US

ties

The US-India statement issued after President Joe Biden laid out a red carpet for Modi, who was on a trip to the US, at the White House where the two countries sealed major defence and technology deals as Washington bets big on India as a counterweight to China

In an apparent bid to use the visit to further India s agenda against Islamabad, a joint statement issued by the two heads of state late on Thursday called on Pakistan to crack down on extremists that target New Delhi

The statement called for action against extremist groups based in Pakistan such as

Conference on tourism promotion to showcase cultural heritage, scenic beaut y

the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-eMohammad

The joint statement said: [The two leaders] strongly condemned cross-border terrorism the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks It also called on Pakistan to punish perpetrators of attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks

A day earlier, the Biden administration hadassured Islamabad that Washington still wanted a stable and prosperous Pakistan

A stable secure and prosperous Pakistan is not just in the interests of the region but it s in the interests of the United States as well, said State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel when asked about possible US support for Pakistan’s efforts to revive an International Monetary Fund aid package

We engage regularly with Pakistani officials, and you ve heard me say this

Reacting to the statement, the Foreign Office (FO) had termed the joint US-India statement “misleading and unwarranted” saying that the “reference is contrary to diplomatic norms and has political overtones

The joint US-India statement was issued against Pakistan after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Joe Biden a day earlier

Responding to media queries regarding the statement on Friday FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said:

We consider the Pakistan-specific reference in the Joint Statement from the United States and India , issued on 22 June 2023, as unwarranted, one-sided, and misleading

The reference is contrary to diplomatic norms and has political overtones We are surprised that it has been added despite Pakistan s close counterterrorism cooperation with the US

Shah Mehmood Qureshi ’s interim bail ex tended till July

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore extended former federal minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi s interim bail till July 7 in three cases pertaining to May 9 on Tuesday

The ATC was hearing Qureshi’s bail plea related to cases registered against him at Sarwar Road Gulberg and Race Course police stations He is accused of involvement in vandalism at Jinnah House and Gulberg Plaza

The ATC had earlier granted Qureshi interim bail on June 10 and restricted the police from arresting him

The court had also directed him to submit surety bonds worth Rs100 000 for bail in each of the three cases

7

tenure in government, regretted that no one from the incumbent government has responded to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent statement The Indian prime minister says Pakistan is dying its own death But the Pakistani prime minister is silent, regretted Qureshi Modi, who was on a state visit to the US last week, received a warm reception from the White House During his visit the two countries sealed major defence and technology deals reflecting Washington s strategic reliance on India as a balancing force against China

it hurt him to see the joint communique issued after Biden and Modi’s meeting in Washington

According to Qureshi there is a race between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for the next prime minister Both Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Maryam Nawaz are candidates for the position, said the beleaguered former minister

There is a lot of talk about their meeting in Dubai these days

Hijri On the occasion of Hajj I pray to Allah Almighty to resolve all of the economic difficulties of Pakistan and make it a cradle of peace, progress and prosperity, he wrote on Twitter The prime minister also prayed to Allah to remove all the problems of the Muslim world particularly those of Kashmiri and Palestinian brethren

Ali Mohammad Khan re-arrested for record 6th time

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Mohammad Khan has been re-arrested for record sixth time after being released from jail

The judge of an anti-corruption court approved the bail of PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan today

The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) arrested Khan again in another case Khan was immediately arrested by the ACE officials at the jail gate A new corruption case was lodged against the PTI leader yesterday for alleged financial irregularities in development projects Former minister Muhammad Atif, Tufial Anjum and others were also nominated

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t A t h r e e - d a y i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e a i m e d a t p r o m o t i n g t o u r i s m i n P a k i s t a n i s s c h e d u l e d t o t a k e p l a c e f r o m t h e 11 t h o f t h e u p c o m i n g m o n t h C h a i r m a n o f t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r s Ta s k F o r c e o n G a n d h a r a To u r i s m , D r R a m e s h K u m a r, m a d e t h i s a n n o u n c e m e n t d u r i n g a p r e s s c o n f e r e n c e h e l d i n I s l a m a b a d t o d a y D r K u m a r s a i d t h a t a n a t i o n a l t o u r i s m p o l i c y h a s b e e n f i n a l i s e d u n d e r G a n d h a r a d i p l o m a c y a n d a d r a f t o f p o t e n t i a l m e m o r a n d u m s o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g ( M o U s ) h a s b e e n s h a r e d w i t h t h e d i p l o m a t i c c o r p s i n I s l a m a b a d I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e , a r o u n d t a b l e m e e t i n g i s a l s o s c h e d u l e d f o r t h e 5 t h o f t h e n e x t m o n t h A m b a s s a d o r s f r o m J a p a n Vi e t n a m S u d a n S w i t z e r l a n d N e p a l P a l e s t i n e a n d M a l a y s i a h a v e c o n f i r m e d t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h i s e v e n t H i g h l i g h t i n g t h e c u l t u r a l h e r i t a g e a n d s c e n i c b e a u t y o f P a k i s t a n , D r K u m a r e m p h a s i z e d t h e g o v e r n m e n t s c o m m i t m e n t t o p r o m o t i n g t o u r i s m , p a r t i c u l a r l y h i s t o r i c a l s i t e s a n d r e l i g i o u s t o u r i s m H e f u r t h e r m e n t i o n e d t h a t t o u r i s t s c a n o b t a i n a t e n - d a y e - v i s a t h r o u g h t h e G a n d h a r a P o r t a l w i t h i n s e v e n d a y s

Speaking to the media after the hearing today, Qureshi, who had served as the foreign minister under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ’s (PTI)

In an effort to advance India s objectives against Pakistan, a joint statement was issued by Modi and US President Joe Biden urging Pakistan to launch a crackdown on extremist groups operating from its territory including proscribed organisations –Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-eMohammad Qureshi had earlier said

What s happening with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will become apparent in a day or two, said Qureshi “Finance Minister Ishaq Dar sahib had to kneel Everyone has seen the budget that was passed ” The citizens of Pakistan want to know whether anyone is concerned with the economic situation improving, he said, adding that the PTI is trying to talk about the future

K hadija moves LHC for bail

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

Khadija Shah, a prominent fashion designer and a supporter of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), has filed a post-arrest bail application with the Lahore High Court (LHC) Represented by her lawyer Sumaira Khosa Shah seeks bail in relation to the vandalism case

In the petition Shah highlights that her bail plea was rejected by the anti-terrorism court in Lahore despite the presence of evidence Consequently, she appeals to the court to grant her post-arrest bail Notably, Shah, who is also a US citizen, was arrested for her alleged involvement in the arson of the Lahore Corp Commander House during the violent protests on May 9 Following a request from US officials she was provided consular access and subsequently remanded to judicial custody for 14 days along with other incarcerated female activists and leaders

Ex-federal minister Gondal quits PTI over May 9 riots

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

Former federal minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal from Mandi Bahauddin on Tuesday announced to quit Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) over May 9 riots In a statement, Nazar Muhammad Gondal strongly condemned the May 9 violent protests that were triggered after the PTI chairman s arrest I do not believe in the politics of clashes with the state institutions he added Gondal said that May 9 violent protests have shaken the nation , and hoped that the public would soon emerge stronger from this crisis It is worth mentioned here that Gondal joined PTI on June 6 2017 Several PTI leaders ticketholders former lawmakers have quit the party after the May 9 violence Recently former Punjab home minister Col (retired) Hashim Dogar and other former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers announced leaving the party over May 9 violence, wherein military installations including Corps Commander House came under attack While talking with media persons the former Punjab minister had said that it was difficult for him and his friends to go along with PTI s narrative as we have decided to party our ways with the party

BRI’s greener prac tices: New Gwadar International Airpor t set to go green

P R O M O T I O N O F B L U E E C O N O M Y PA R T O F G O V T ’ S

G R O W T H A G E N D A : A H S A N I Q B A L

KARACHI S

FEDERAL Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, on Monday said that the blue economy possesses enormous potential for sustainable financial stability and development of Pakistan and the incumbent government has placed it in its futuristic agenda of national growth

The minister talking to media persons during the visit of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) here said that more than one thousand kilometres long coastal line and over 2 million kilometres of vast exclusive economic zone offer unfathomable opportunities to the country Pakistan being an agricultural country had relied on the green economy at the time

while the volume of its blue economy was greater than the green one, he observed and noted that integration of both economies could boost the pace of the journey of development to a greater extent

The federal minister said that PML-N led government has expedited important projects under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that were integrated with the global Belt and Road initiative and open new vistas of growth and prosperity of the country

He said that under the sustainable development approach it was our responsibility to secure and efficiently monitor the country s coastal line and maritime frontiers

The minister while lauding the services of PMSA for the protection of the borders of Pakistan said that the agency was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and fleet and

was vigilantly securing the maritime frontiers of Pakistan

Additionally, PMSA has also earned a good name for the country across the globe due to its rescue and relief operations in the deep sea he added A h s a n I q b a l r e c a l l e d t h a t i n 2 0 1 4 operational capacity of PMSA was limited to a few old boats and it lacked an effective m o n i t o r i n g s y s t e m T h e n P M L - N g o v e r n m e n t v o w e d t o m o d e r n i s e t h e a g e n c y a n d a p p r o v e d p r o j e c t s f o r t h e induction of 6 modern ships and boats in P M S A w h i c h h a d s i g n i f i c a n t l y i m p r o v e d the operational capacities of the agency the minister said H e h o p e d t h a t P M S A w i t h i t s enhanced capacities would keep securing the maritime frontiers of the country and p r e v e n t

I n d i a ’s s y s t e m at i c t o r t u r e i n I I O J & K b i g g e s t c h a l l e n g e t o wo r l d ’s c o n s c i e n c e : A J K P M

MIRPUR (AJK) S ta f f R e p o R t

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq has said that India s systematic torture against Kashmiris was the biggest challenge to the world’s conscience

In a statement issued on the occasion of International Day of Support for Victims of Violence observed on Monday, the AJK prime minister, while referring to the use and abuse of power by the Indian occupation forces in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) said that human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir ranging

from mass killings, enforced disappearances, torture pose a serious threat to the people of Kashmir who have been reeling under relentless oppression and barbarism over the past several decades

He said that sexual violence was being used by the Indian forces as a means to punish and humiliate Kashmiris

He said that Kashmiris were subjected to the worst mental and physical violence in torture cells and interrogation centers set up in the length and breadth of the valley India has been using these colonialera tactics to strengthen and solidify its

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t P r o v i n c i a l D i s a s t e r M a n a g e m e n t A u t h o r i t y ( P D M A ) D i r e c t o r G e n e r a l I m r a n Q u r e s h i h a s s a i d t h a t a t l e a s t 1 3 p e o p l e d i e d w i t h 1 7 s e v e r e l y a n d 6 m i n o r i n j u r i e s i n 1 5 l i g h t n i n g s t r i k e s a n d r o o f c o l l a p s e i n c i d e n t s d u e t o h e a v y r a i n s a c r o s s t h e p r o v i n c e d u r i n g t h e l a s t 2 4 h o u r s H e s a i d t h e P D M A h a s r e c e i v e d r e p o r t s o f d a m a g e s a n d c a s u a l t i e s f r o m a l l d i s t r i c t s o f t h e p r o v i n c e s a i d a h a n d o u t i s s u e d h e r e T h e i n j u r e d h a v e b e e n p r o v i d e d w i t h t h e b e s t m e d i c a l t r e a t m e n t w h i l e m o n i t o r i n g o f t h e s i t u a t i o n i s c o n t i n u i n g f r o m t h e p r o v i n c i a l c o n t r o l r o o m , h e s a i d a n d a d d e d t h a t m a c h i n e r y a n d s t a ff h a v e b e e n p u t o n h i g h a l e r t f o r h a n d l i n g e m e rg e n c i e s a s t h e P D M A i s i n c o n s t a n t c o n t a c t w i t h t h e p r o v i n c e - w i d e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n T h e D G P D M A s a i d t h e a l e r t i s s u e d r e g a r d i n g u p c o m i n g r a i n s t h u n d e r s t o r m s a n d r a i n f a l l w i t h l i g h t n i n g i n L a h o r e , R a w a l p i n d i , G u j r a n w a l a , S a rg o d h a , A t t o c k , C h a k w a l , J h e l u m , M i a n w a l i , H a f i z a b a d M a n d i B a h a u d d i n S i a l k o t N a r o w a l B h a k k a r L a y y a h G u j r a t S h e i k h u p u r a M u r r e e G a l y a t a n d a d j o i n i n g a r e a s w a s e x p e c t e d u n t i l J u n e 2 7 w h e r e a s s o m e a r e a s m a y r e c e i v e h e a v y r a i n f a l l w i t h g u s t y w i n d s H e d i r e c t e d t h e l i n e d e p a r t m e n t s a n d d i s t r i c t a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s t o r e m a i n a l e r t i n d e a l i n g w i t h e m e rg e n c i e s a n d e n s u r e t h e d e p l o y m e n t o f s t a ff a n d m a c h i n e r y t o e n s u r e d r a i n a g e i n l o w - l y i n g a r e a s I m r a n Q u r e s h i a p p e a l e d t o t h e c i t i z e n s t o s t a y i n f o r m e d a b o u t t h e w e a t h e r c o n d i t i o n s b e f o r e t r a v e l i n g e n s u r e t h e c l e a n l i n e s s , r e p a i r, a n d c l e a r a n c e o f r o o f t o p s , a n d a v o i d t o u c h i n g e l e c t r i c a l w i r e s a n d e q u i p m e n t d u r i n g r a i n f a l l H e e m p h a s i z e d n o t b a t h i n g i n r i v e r s a n d a v o i d t h r o w i n g g a r b a g e i n t o d r a i n s H e u rg e d t h e p e o p l e t o f o l l o w t h e p r e c a u t i o n a r y m e a s u r e s i s s u e d b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t t o m i n i m i z e p o t e n t i a l d a m a g e s H e s a i d t h e c i t i z e n s c a n g e t a s s i s t a n c e b y c o n t a c t i n g t h e P D M A h e l p l i n e 11 2 9 d u r i n g e m e rg e n c i e s

JI, PTI chairmen attend Karachi Mayor-led session for Eid arrangements

KARACHI

S ta f f R e p o R t

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab has chaired a session to review arrangements for Eidul Azha which was also attended by the town chairmen of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Mayor Murtaza Wahab said that they want to work with all stakeholders to provide relief to the Karachi people He vowed that public issues in all towns will be addressed on a priority basis after consultations “We assure our maximum cooperation with the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) The digging work has been completed at the landfill site and 18 trenches are finalised for burying the offal He added, 93 collection points will be established for collecting the waste of the sacrificial animals during Eidul Azha Additionally, complaint centres will be made functional in each district of the metropolis Murtaza Wahab said that complaints can be registered at SSWMB helpline 1128

Pakistan’s economic future hangs in the balance as IMF decision looms

CONTINUED FORM PAGE 01

illegal control over the territory of Jammu and Kashmir”, he said He however maintained that despite facing India’s worst violence and nefarious tactics Kashmiris are determined to see their freedom movement to its logical conclusion

The prime minister while condemning the brutal repression of Kashmiris at the hands of the Indian occupation forces said that IIOJK had been turned into an open-air prison where Kashmiris were forced to live under the shadows of guns

The Kashmiri leadership, he said, has bee booked under Draconian laws and thrown behind bars

K a s h m i r i y o u t h s a r e b e i n g p i c k e d u p f r o m t h e i r h o m e s a n d m a r t y r e d i n f a k e e n c o u n t e r s ” h e s a i d a d d i n g t h a t s e c r e t b u r i a l s o f m a r t y r e d y o u t h s i n f a r a w a y p l a c e s h a v e b e c o m e a n e w n o r m a l i n K a s h m i r T h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r s a i d t h a t t h e r e w e r e t h o u s a n d s o f u n k n o w n g r a v e s i n I I O J K H e s a i d t h a t t h o u s a n d s o f w o m e n whose husbands have been subjected to enforced disappearances were living a m i s e r a b l e l i f e T h e y d o n t k n o w w h e t h e r t h e i r s p o u s e s a r e d e a d o r a l i v e , h e s a i d , a d d i n g t h a t m o r e t h a n e l e v e n t h o u s a n d w o m e n h a v e b e e n raped in IIOJK

PML-N to come up to people’s expec tations: Ahmed Hassan

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t P r i m e M i n i s t e r s C o o r d i n a t o r K h a w a j a A h m e d H a s s a n s a i d o n M o n d a y t h e P a k i s t a n M u s l i m L e a g u e - N a w a z ( P M L - N ) g o v e r n m e n t w a s d e t e r m i n e d t o s t e e r i n g t h e c o u n t r y o u t o f prevailing crises and it would come up to people s expectations H e w a s a d d r e s s i n g a m e e t i n g , c a l l e d t o r e v i e w t h e o n g o i n g development work in the city and a r r a n g e m e n t s i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the Eidul Azha at the Aiwan Iqbal C o m p l e x Wi t h s i n c e r e e ff o r t s o f the government the country would g e t o u t o f t h e p r e v a i l i n g c r i s e s s o o n , h e s a i d a d d i n g t h a t t h e l e a d e r s h i p w o u l d m i t i g a t e t h e effects of the damage caused to the economy by politics of vandalism a n d i t w o u l d b e c o m p e n s a t e d b y working hard F o r m e r M N A M e h a r I s h t i a q , M PA C h S h e h b a z , R a b i a F a r o o q i , R a m z a n S i d d i q u e B h a t t i , S y e d Ta u s e e f S h a h , M D

LW M C B a b a r S a h i b u d d i n , D G P H A N a e e m Wa t t o D M D WA S A A b d u l K a r i m r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f Wa l l e d C i t y o f L a h o r e A u t h o r i t y P u n j a b P o l i c e a n d o t h e r s w e r e p r e s e n t K h a w a j a A h m e d H a s s a n s a i d t h a t d e s p i t e d i ff i c u l t c i r c u m s t a n c e s t h e g o v e r n m e n t w a s p r o v i d i n g r e s o u r c e s w o r t h b i l l i o n s o f r u p e e s t o i m p r o v e t h e q u a l i t y o f l i f e t o p e o p l e w h e r e a s c o m p r e h e n s i v e r e f o r m s w e r e b e i n g i n t r o d u c e d f o r r a p i d d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e p r o v i n c e a n d t h e i m p r o v e m e n t o f s o c i a l s e c t o r s Working on energy acquisition p r o j e c t s t h e g o v e r n m e n t h a s p r o v i d e d a f a v o r a b l e e n v i r o n m e n t f o r f o r e i g n i n v e s t o r s i n t h e c o u n t r y, h e s a i d a d d i n g t h a t u n d e r t h e a n n u a l d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m , t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e p r o v i n c e a n d v a r i o u s p r o g r a m s f o r p r o v i d i n g b a s i c f a c i l i t i e s t o t h e p e o p l e w e r e b e i n g w o r k e d o n a t f a s t p a c e b y s e t t i n g r e a l i s t i c p r i o r i t i e s

About Eidul Azha, rains and

ongoing development projects in the city Khawaja Hassan said that in view of the recent rains the relevant departments should complete their preparations He said all steps should be taken to immediately move the animal waste on the Eid days H e a s k e d t h e o ff i c e r s t o v i s i t relevant areas and submit reports to improve the sanitation situation in the cities MD LWMC Babar Sahibuddin DG PHA Naeem Watto, DMD WASA Abdul Karim, CO MCL Mian Saqib briefed the meeting on the progress of drainage development projects and measures taken to ensure sanitation arrangements and moving animal waste to a safe place outside the cities K h a w a j a A h m e d H a s s a n expressed his satisfaction over the p r e p a r a t i o n s o f v a r i o u s departments and said that this time on the occasion of Eidul-Azha all departments should work together to keep the city clean

1282 constables, SPU jawans pass out from S ihala Training College

RAWALPINDI S ta f f R e p o R t

A passing out ceremony of 809 recruit constables and 473 Special Protection Unit (SPU) Jawans was held here on Tuesday at Police College Sihala

Additional Inspector General of Police (IGP) Training Punjab

Mohammad Tariq Chohan was the chief guest at the passing out parade DIG Commandant Police College Sihala Rawalpindi Ashfaq Ahmed Khan also attended the ceremony

Some 809 recruit constables and 473 PU jawans received their basic training in the course

Additional IGP Training Punjab

Muhammad Tariq Chohan inspected the parade

Addressing the participants the IGP Training said It is an honor for me to be the chief guest in the passing out parade of recruit constables ” He also congratulated all the trainee officials their parents and relatives

The management of Police College Sihala deserves congratulations for playing a practical role in the completion of this course, he added He asked the constables and jawans to perform professional work with the same spirit exhibited during the training he police department plays an important role in maintaining law

and order and controlling crime in the country the Additional IGP said adding recruit constables are the hallmark of the institution The role of constables is key in improving ’thana’ culture, he said adding they should make all-out efforts to provide relief to the citizens

The IGP said that the prevention of crime and the protection of the lives and properties of the citizens is the responsibility of the police

On the occasion DIG Commandant Police College Sihala Rawalpindi Ashfaq Ahmed Khan said Police College Sihala is the largest training institution of Pakistan which was established in 1959 and so far more than 100,000 officials and officers of law enforcement agencies have received training Police College Sihala has the distinction of training the senior ranks as well as the basic rank of police recruit constables who are the face of the department he added

As the clock ticks down to the program’s expiry the Prime Minister remains determined to achieve the pre-determined targets and goals for economic improvement through joint efforts The government s flexibility in addressing the IMF s concerns demonstrates its willingness to work towards a mutually beneficial resolution All eyes are now on the upcoming IMF decision The fate of Pakistan’s economy hangs in the balance and the nation eagerly awaits the outcome that will shape its financial trajectory in the months to come

IMF continues discussions with Pakistani authorities for quickly reaching an agreement

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

The minister pointed out that under the loan programme total outstanding funds are around $2 6 billion He highlighted that the government is trying to find a way out for the release of the entire pending amount of around $2 6 billion It is pertinent to note that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday morning also held a telephonic conversation with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva where he expressed hope that the lender will announce its decision on the current loan program in the next couple of days a

Mayor Karachi asks JI’s Hafiz Naeem to sit together for development of Karachi

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

While designing the training, special importance was given to the basic needs of the officers All the modules had been developed with the guidance and support of the Directorate of Training keeping in view the fieldwork of the constables which includes character building, legal studies, policing and physical training, he informed

According to the basic skills of these officers and the vision of the Inspector General of Police Punjab they were given practical training in field craft, VVIP protection, antiriot training, rescue operation course with the support of Rescue 1122, basic computer techniques, Punjab Police (POLCOM) system and special training of mobile forensic he said

Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Monday asked Jamaat-e-Islami s (JI) Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman to sit together for the development of Karachi so that the problems of the people could be resolved He said this while addressing the ceremony organized on the occasion of laying the foundation stone of Allama Iqbal Park in Federal B Area Block 14 on Monday Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that like Jahangir Park in Saddar-Karachi, Allama Iqbal Park is being constructed in District Central at a cost of Rs 250 million, it is a beautiful gift from Pakistan Peoples Party to the people of District Central Allama Iqbal Park will be completed in a period of three months and the project has three components the park will be built on two acres and a football and a cricket ground will be built on three acres under Karachi Mega Projects, he said Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab has said that the People’s Party believes only in public service instead of power they want to share love and connect hearts among people Pakistan People s Party will continue its journey of development in every street of Karachi Deputy Mayor Karachi Salman Abdullah Murad, PPP Central District President Masroor Ahsan, General Secretary Dil Muhammad Deputy Commissioner Central Taha Saleem and other officers and elected representatives were also present He said realizing the hardships of the people our promises will not be the same as others The promise of the People s Party is that each one of our workers will be seen serving the city including council and town members He said that in addition to the hundred park project in District Central, they are also working on roads and drains

Citizens are requested to avoid throwing garbage and waste in the drains

At this time work on 40 to 42 drains is in progress in Karachi He said that the drains are being cleaned but everyone has to make a policy to remove the shops and other constructions above the drains

A detailed program has been made for immediate removal of offals on Eid-ul-Azha

Citizens should register their complaints on 1128, the work of lifting the offal and waste will continue for five days on Eid-ul-Azha he said

13 killed in rain related incidents, Says PDMA

Enough should be enough

experiments

Th e visit of PML(n) supremo Mian nawaz Sharif to Dubai did not just coincide with the arrival of his daughter Maryam on Saturday or Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his father exPresident Asif Zardari but also with the national Assembly’s passing of a law restricting the effect of Article 62(f) of the Constitution, the sadiq-o-amin clause, from life to five years The persons most affected are Mr Sharif himself and Istehkam Pakistan Party founder Jehangir Tareen While technically both are banned from politics, both are participating fully, and are over five years from having been ousted from the national Assembly Mr Sharif may no longer sit in Parliament or formally head his party but he still exerts control though his younger brother, who is both PML(n) President and PM That Mr Zardari and his son met to see him shows that the other members of the coalition government know he is the final authority for them to deal with The meeting is supposed to consider the situation arising out of the end of the national Assembly s, and the government’s tenure in August with particular emphasis on two aspects: the caretaker set-up to come and the return of Mr Sharif to Pakistan, with the end of any remaining restrictions on his political activity

The question does arise about the purpose of the efforts made to secure his expulsion from politics if the only result was to be his return after a five-year exile Ironically, during his ouster, he continued to play a political role just as did Mr Tareen It almost seems that Mr Imran Khan is heading towards disqualification and thus a level playing field is being established, where the circumstances of 2018 are being replicated, only this time with Mr Khan being ousted The game of picking enemies and choosing friends goes back at least to the eBDO exercise of 1958 The last such exercise, where the PML(n) was ousted and the PTI favoured, ended not just in the gross mismanagement of the economy by the PTI government, but also in the events of May 9

That last should teach the establishment that trying to build up its party always backfires, and badly It is best to leave the political forces severely alone to take the country wherever they see fit At the moment, the establishment dictates the details of defence and foreign policy, even though it should leave this to a freely elected government Until that happens the country cannot be called a democracy

Th AT some Biden administration officials appear to be in a rush to admit Israel into the U S Visa Waiver Program (VWP) which allows for mutual short-term entry between participating countries and the USA is both baffling and insulting

It s baffling because both the Departments of State (DOS) and homeland Security (DhS) know that Israel doesn’t meet one of the essential conditions for entry into the program Any country seeking admission into the VWP must guarantee full reciprocity that is equal treatment and freedom of travel for all US citizens regardless of national origin religion or ethnicity Israel has continually failed to meet that standard by blatantly discriminating against Arab Americans at its border Civil rights groups have collected hundreds of stories from Arab Americans especially Palestinian Americans who have been harassed for hours by Israeli border control or outright denied entry and forced to return home to the USA The DOS has even issued a travel advisory noting that US citizens of Arab or Muslim heritage (including Palestinian Americans) have experienced significant difficulties and unequal and occasionally hostile treatment at Israel’s borders and checkpoints ” In 2014 the last time that there was a push to admit Israel into the VWP DOS rejected their application precisely because of their discriminatory treatment of Arab Americans not only has the situation remained unchanged, but with Israel s issuance of new rules specifically targeting Palestinian Americans, entry has become even more restrictive So why is the Biden administration now attempting to rush through Israel’s admission into the VWP?

An Israeli newspaper recently described the steps some U S officials are taking to help Israel overcome the reciprocity issue They will begin most likely in July a 30-day trial period in which Israel will implement a new process for entry screening As described in the article during this month “Palestinian Americans will be able to apply for a 90-day travel authorization [during which] the U S wants Israel to demonstrate that a critical mass of Palestinian Americans are able to apply online [receive a visa] and successfully use it to enter Ben Gurion Airport While the ability to apply online and enter through the Tel Aviv airport (instead of being forced to use the Allenby Bridge from Jordan) is an improvement for some Palestinians the design of the trial is at best inadequate At its worst it s deeply insulting

In the first place, as described by some U S and Israeli officials, the trial only applies to the roughly

70 000 Palestinian Americans who currently possess Palestinian IDs This excludes the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Americans who either do not have Palestinian documents or do not want them, only wishing to travel on their US passport And of those with Palestinian IDs, the trial only appears to require Israel to admit an undefined “critical mass” of those who apply

Additionally the trial excludes other large groups who have reported serious discrimination at entry or exit This includes other Arab Americans or American Muslims especially those who have traveled to Arab or Muslim countries The trial also says or does nothing to address the problem of harassment experienced at checkpoints or on departure And finally the design of the trial doesn’t speak to the actual operation of the VWP which is supposed to allow entry without application or pre-authorization For example, Israelis have been told that if their country is admitted into the programme, they will be able to enter the USA without a visa Reciprocity is supposed to mean that all Americans including Arab Americans should be able to enter Israel in the same way without a visa

Instead of demonstrating Israel s ability to meet the terms of the VWP, this trial, as designed, simply provides Israel with a “work-around” to allow access to a limited number of Palestinians This is not the meaning of reciprocity “Dumbing down” the terms with which Israel must comply to gain entry into the VWP because they cannot otherwise meet them both violates the statutory requirement of full reciprocity and is an insult to the citizenship rights of those Arab Americans who may still be subjected to discriminatory treatment at entry and exit

While Israel argues that its border policies are dictated by security concerns there are too many

P e r i s h i n g d r e a m s

Lessons of the Mediterranean B oat Tragedy

them belong to the poor or lower-middle class

They don t have the education skills and resources to travel through official channels

They take the short route that involves a lesser amount and greater risk

Th e horrible news of the drowning of a b o a t o n 1 4 J u n e , c a r r y i n g a r o u n d 7 0 0 p e o p l e f r o m d i ff e r e n t c o u n t r i e s i n c l u d i n g P a k i s t a n , s e n t t h e w h o l e n a t i o n i n g r i e f I t i s e s t i m a t e d t h a t 3 5 0 P a k i s t a n i s w e r e o n t h e b o a t t r a v e l i n g t o e u r o p e f o r a b r i g h t f u t u r e w h e n t h e i n c i d e n t t o o k p l a c e B u t a s t h e b o a t s a n k t h e i r d r e a m s w e r e b r o k e n a n d t h e h o p e s o f t h e i r l o v e d o n e s p e r i s h e d U n f o r t u n a t e l y, m o s t o f t h e m h a v e d i e d w h i l e m a n y a r e s t i l l s a i d t o b e m i s s i n g A s p e r t h e r e p o r t s a r o u n d 1 0 0 p e o p l e h a v e b e e n s a v e d i n c l u d i n g a f e w f r o m P a k i s t a n a s w e l l T h e f a m i l i e s o f t h e v i c t i m s o f t h e i l lf a t e d b o a t a r e g o i n g t h r o u g h i m m e n s e p a i n as most of them are still unaware of the status o f t h e i r l o v e d o n e s T h e y c o n t i n u e t o w a i t w i t h t e a r f u l e y e s f o r t h e i r l o v e d o n e s a n d h o p e f o r t h e i r r e t u r n T h e f a m i l i e s w h o h a v e h a d t h e i r l o s s c o n f i r m e d a r e g o i n g t h r o u g h u n i m a g i n a b l e p a i n

This is not the first incident earlier this February, 60 people died trying to reach Italy that included 28 from Pakistan as well however, the Greece boat tragedy is one of the worst migrant boat disasters in recent times D e s p i t e a l l t h e h u r d l e s l i f e t h r e a t s a n d i n c i d e n t s o f t h e p a s t p e o p l e s t i l l r i s k t h e i r l i v e s a n d t r y t o t r a v e l i l l e g a l l y t o e u r o p e

They will continue to take risks unless there is a massive crackdown on human traffickers and comprehensive steps taken to resolve the issues that force them to take such life-threatening steps

Why do people still put their lives at risk despite knowing the hardships of the journey?

What motivates them to put their lives at risk at the expense of large amounts of money?

Who is responsible?

By initiating a crackdown against human traffickers alone will people stop taking risks?

People will ultimately find another way The situation will persist until the root cause of the problem is identified and fixed

Unless the factors that make people vulnerable enough to fall prey to lucrative offers from human traffickers are identified and dealt with carefully one can not expect betterment in the situation

The question of why people risk their lives to travel illegally to european countries can be looked at on three fronts, those of the state, the society, and the individual

The commonality among people traveling through illegal means is that a maximum of

It is the responsibility of the state to create employment opportunities for its people I t s h o u l d m a k e e ff o r t s t o p r o v i d e e d u c a t i o n and skills to its people so that they can earn enough to live a decent life There should be a c o m p r e h e n s i v e a r r a n g e m e n t f o r i m p a r t i n g e d u c a t i o n t o a l l B o t h f o r m a l a n d t e c h n i c a l education should be available easily to all It w i l l h e l p t h e m e x p o r t t h e i r e x p e r t i s e t o t h e world through proper channels But there are m a n y h u r d l e s i n t h e p r o c e s s S i m i l a r l y t h e q u a l i t y o f l i f e i s d e c r e a s i n g a n d t h e c o s t o f

l i v i n g i s i n c r e a s i n g This makes people vuln e r a b l e a n d t h e y f a l l p r e y t o h u m a n t r a ff i c ke r s w h e n t h e y o ff e r t o t a k e t h e m t o e u r o p e a t m i n i m u m e x p e n s e a n d w i t h o u t p r o p e r d o c umentation T h e r i s i n g i n f l a t i o n has made life so miserable for people that they d o n ’t e v e n s h y a w a y from risking their lives T h e c u r r e n t e c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l t u r m o i l i n the country over the last y e a r h a s a l s o p r o m p t e d people to take these decisions B e i t S h a h i d a R a z a a n a t i o n a l h o c k e y p l a y e r w h o l o s t h e r l i f e i n F e b r u a r y w h i l e t r yi n g t o r e a c h e u r o p e t o g i v e a b e t t e r l i f e t o h e r family, or the individual f r o m a v i l l a g e i n P u n j a b w h o l o s t h i s l i f e r ec e n t l y t h e i s s u e r e m a i n s t h e s a m e L i f e w a s difficult here and they wanted to secure a bett e r f u t u r e P e o p l e a r e k e e n o n t r a v e l i n g t o o t h e r c o u n t r i e s , g i v e n t h e p o l i t i c a l a n d e c o n o m i c upheaval in the country Those who could afford or have the required education or skills are taking the official route The ones deprived of these are putting their lives at risk through illegal ways Somewhere the state is lacking behind in fulfilling its duty S i m i l a r l y, t h e i n d i v i d u a l a n d s o c i e t y a r e also equally responsible The race of accumul a t i n g m o r e a n d m o r e h a s l e f t M a n r e s t l e s s he is never satisfied with whatever he has he is always in a race to acquire more he is not i n a s t a t e o f c o n t e n t m e n t w i t h w h a t h e h a s

A state can only create a favorable environment for its people if it has a stable government and expanding economy. A conducive environment is directly linked with economic and political stability in the country. And to achieve that there is a long way to go

or below average life see their friends or relatives living abroad and earning in dollars and their family members enjoying their earned money, they fantasize about going abroad and replicating them This fantasy often makes them take decisions that put their lives in danger This does not let them settle for less here Their imagination of earning heavily abroad forces them to take steps that would take them to europe no matter in what way Similarly, society doesn t let anyone stay satisfied Societal expectations and pressures also force them to make these decisions A f t e r t h e i n c i d e n t , t h e l a w - e n f o r c i n g agemcies started taking action against human traffickers A day of mourning was observed for the Pakistanis who lost their lives There i s n o d o u b t t h a t t h e s e c u l p r i t s n e e d t o b e p u nished and made an examp l e o f , b u t w i l l i t y i e l d r e s u l t s ? I t w i l l o n l y b e successful when the gove r n m e n t f o c u s e s o n t h e r e a l i s s u e a s w e l l o n these efforts At the state level, the g o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d d ivert its attention toward solving the root cause of t h e p r o b l e m I t s h o u l d f o c u s o n u p l i f t i n g t h e s t a t u s o f t h e p e o p l e a l o n g w i t h t h e a c t i o n s a g a i n s t h u m a n t r a ff i c kers Otherwise, all efforts w i l l b e s h o r t - l i v e d a n d the problem will persist T h e g o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d provide a decent earning opportunity to its people I t s h o u l d p r o v i d e e mp l o y m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s to its people

A t t h e i n d i v i d u a l l e v e l t h e u rg e t o g o a b r o a d a n d e a r n d o l l a r s n e e d s t o b e c o nt r o l l e d I n d i v i d u a l s s h o u l d b e t a u g h t t o d o w i t h d e v o t i o n w h a t e v e r t h e y a r e d o i n g a n d r e m a i n c o n t e n t w i t h w h a t t h e y h a v e T h e u nn e c e s s a r y p r e s s u r e s f r o m s o c i e t y n e e d t o b e l i m i t e d I t s h o u l d n o t c o m p e l p e o p l e t o m a k e d i ff i c u l t c h o i c e s

recorded instances of discriminatory treatment or denial of entry that put lie to this claim

The refusal to accept the US passports of Palestinian Americans (even those born in the USA) and their treatment of Arab Americans who have traveled to Lebanon or egypt speak more to harassment than security In any case, if Israel insists on continuing its behavior, the U S simply should not and cannot honor Israel with the privilege of the VWP

Because this issue has been so deeply troubling to so many Arab Americans, I have been collecting affidavits from those who have encountered harassment or denial of entry at Ben Gurion Airport I have been able to share their experiences with the Secretaries of State with whom I dealt over the past 30 years all of whom made it clear that Israel s conduct was unacceptable On hearing some of these stories Secretary Condoleezza Rice expressed her outrage and issued a statement noting that An American is an American” and there should be no discrimination based on ethnicity or national origin

This affirmation of our citizenship rights is what we should expect from our government Allowing Israel to designate certain Americans as second-class citizens is insupportable We cannot allow Arab Americans to be thrown under the bus so that the administration can do an election-year favour for Israel Arab Americans aren’t alone in our insistence that our rights be protected Letters by a number of US Senators and members of Congress and six prominent liberal American Jewish organizations have supported us by calling on the Biden administration to put the brakes on Israel s admission into the VWP until Israel can demonstrate the capacity and willingness to honour the reciprocity requirement

The writer is President of the Arab American Institute

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

Police accountabilit y

I n the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police personnel of lower ranks have been martyred by terrorists in the last few days While chivalry displayed by the policemen is praiseworthy, some of their actions show there is a general lack of supervision by the seniors in the deployment of the force The unfortunate incident that took place on June 9 can be taken as a case in point Police in Shabaz Khel in Lukki Marwat district received information about six terrorists wearing face masks who were riding three motorcycles apparently looking for targets to attack

A police party took immediate action by establishing a checkpost on the Bannu-Dera Ismail Khan portion road to intercept the suspects While the suspects moving on motorcycles were an easy target on the road, the result of the encounter was shockingly disappointing One constable lost his life, while all the six suspects escaped the scene

The terrorists were fully conspicuous by their appearance and physically exposed as they were on motorcycles on a busy highway The police party on the other hand was in a relatively safer position And yet the outcome was way less than satisfactory Was this not an instance of lack of guidance and supervision by the police bosses?

As a matter of fact, posting in tribal areas is considered a punishment by police officers Officers coming through the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) are hardly ever posted in such areas as they prefer to work in the peaceful ambience of settled districts

Officers of Pakistan Army who get posted to troubled areas earn a better service profile The same criterion should be applied to PSP officers in order to improve police deployment with better planning

SAYED G B SHAH BOKHARI PESHAWAR

Reviving football

T h e state of football in Pakistan is a tale of huge untapped potential and opportunities Despite being a nation with a deep love for the sport the development and progress of football have faced numerous challenges

Most of us have grown up playing football but limited infrastructure lack of resources and insufficient investment have hindered the growth of the game at both grassroots and professional levels

There are not even enough playgrounds in our local areas to promote the sport Football can be revolutionary for a country, and the World Cup 2022 in Qatar is a prime example of it however there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon Recently FIFA the global governing body lifted the ban on Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) This has given us an opportunity to turn things around and as such efforts should be made accordingly

The success of our national football team in recent international tournaments has also ignited a renewed sense of enthusiasm and optimism With the right support and dedication from relevant stakeholders, Pakistan has the potential to fare much better in football which may pave the way for a brighter future for the sport in the country

For this on our part we should start by supporting our football team in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship opening match against India on June 21 in the Indian city of Bengaluru

It is disheartening that unlike a Pakistan-India cricket match which would have been under the spotlight by national media, there is hardly any hype about the upcoming football clash between the two countries

It is rather strange that we display ‘patriotism’ only when there is a Pakistan-India cricket clash while an encounter in football tournament or in any sporting discipline gets completely ignored

This is the right time to promote and revive football which has produced several stars in the past who would create fear among their rivals in the field, and were respected at least regionally

SHARIQ KHAN LAHORE

Wrapping up the PTI experiment should not result in new

This affirmation of our citizenship rights is what we should expect from our government. Allowing Israel to designate certain Americans as second-class citizens is insupportable.

Th e conflicts around the world and non-resolution of the Palestinian and Kashmir issues are a sequel to inhuman and discriminatory policies of the countries claiming to spearhead the socalled civilized world Blatant trampling of human rights and continued killing sprees in both these lands at the hands of occupying forces do not matter to them because everything is subservient to their geo-political and geo-economic interests The principles enshrined in the Un Charter, or international laws and conventions have no value for them and they trample them with impunity Yet they still have the audacity to pronounce their humanitarian credentials from every convenient roof-top # n my considered view the USA which leads that group is to a great extent responsible or linked to the conflicts all over the globe The non-resolution of the Palestinian conundrum and the denial of the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir in spite of Un resolutions providing the road map to resolve these issues is a ranting proof of the cruelty of the civilized world

The voices emanating from the Un for an end to the atrocities being perpetrated on the hapless Palestinians and continued annexation of their land have proven only a cry in the wilderness hardly a day goes by when the Palestinian are not murdered in cold blood by the occupying Israeli force

In the latest flare-up the Israeli forces killed six Palestinians including children during a raid on a refugee camp in Jenin using a combat helicopter The incident marks the first time in years that a combat helicopter has been used in the occupied West Bank Israel has persisted with its crimes against humanity in the occupied Palestinian land because it enjoys unqualified support of the USA and its western allies hundreds of Palestinians have died over the past five years And yet the world waits and watches without any solution in sight

The same is the situation in regards to the blatant human rights violations in IIOJ&K where since 1989 when the Palestinians launched an armed struggle to win their freedom, the Indian security forces have killed more than 100,000 Kashmiris, dismantled thousands of structures and raped thousands of women notwithstanding the fact that international human rights organizations like Amnesty International have documented these killings and human rights violations and they have also been cor-

Cruelt y of the civilized world

roborated by the Un human rights commission the big powers like the USA continue to look the other way

It was in the backdrop of this support and backing by the USA and its allies that the Modi government dared to change the special status of Indian-held Kashmir on 5 August 2019 by repealing Article 370 of the Indian constitution bifurcating the state into two territories and their amalgamation in the Indian Union followed by promulgation of a new domicile law to change the demographic features of the state in brazen violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention This was done in spite of the verdict of the Indian Supreme Court which held that Article 370 of the Indian Constitution could not be revoked as it had become permanent The high Court of Indian-held Kashmir in its decision also ruled out any such possibility

The resistance by the people of the Indian-held Kashmir against these draconian actions has been dealt with with a heavy hand The entire state was converted into an open prison and it remained cut-off from the outside world for months Since 5 August 2019 the Indian security forces have killed Kashmiris in their search and cordon operations It continues as a daily ritual without the world taking notice of it It is pertinent to mention here that in the backdrop of the unilateral action of 5 August 2019 the Un Security Council in its three informal huddles reiterated the fact that the resolution of the Kashmir issue needs to be carried out in conformity with the principles of the Un charter and the relevant Un resolutions But no headway has been made in this regard because the Un cannot proceed in the matter without the consent and support of the USA and its allies Kashmir is a disputed territory as recognized by the Un resolutions These resolutions urge settling the question of accession of state through a plebiscite under the auspices of the World Body The Indian claim of Indian-

The world powers are giving preference to their strategic and geopolitical interests over humanitarian issues and the UN Char ter. Spilling of human blood and oppression does not stir their conscience so far as their strategic and commercial interests are served as they perceive them

M e l o n i ’ s I s l a m o p h o b i c

p o l i c i e s a r e p u s h i n g

M u s l i m s t o t h e m a r g i n s

I t a l y n e i t h e r s u p p o r t s t h e co n s t r u c t i o n o f M u s l i m s’ re l i g i o u s b u i l d i n g s n o r d o e s i t e ve n re co g n i s e I s l a m l e g a l l y

Italy proposed a bill aimed at prohibiting the use of garages and industrial warehouses as mosques FdI s leader in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Tommaso Foti, who spearheaded this bill, claimed that it would stop the Islamisation of Italy

MIDDLE EAST EYE

SI n C e taking office in October

following the general elections, Italian Prime Minister and leading co-founder of the neo-fascist Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) Giorgia Meloni has made more than a few bad headlines She had worried many political elites in europe with her far-right coalition partner the League But contrary to the fears, she did not stand against the european Union or break with nato unity against the Russian invasion of Ukraine two areas that had made her european counterparts especially anxious French far-right leader Marine Le Pen even slammed Meloni for making migration concessions to the eU Apart from pushing anti-LGBTQI policies, Meloni has supported the conspiracy theory about an alleged Islamisation of europe

In September 2019 Meloni wrote a foreword to the First Report on europe s Islamisation which was presented by the right-wing think tank Farefuturo Foundation, where she wrote: Because we fear the prophecy of [Michel] houellebecq, if europe, and Italy which concerns us closely do not decide to have policies and tools to preserve itself may inevitably turn into reality

LEGISLATING BIGOTRY: now the first steps have been taken to fight this alleged Islamisation As researcher Ada Mullol Marin mentioned in her report on Islamophobia in Italy in 2022: “Members of the [Brothers of Italy] FdI and Lega made declarations against the existence and construction of new mosques in the country arguing that they trigger social conflicts Simultaneous media coverage warning of the construction of new mosques as signs of the creation of an “Islamic Ghetto” - headlined in the Berlusconi familyowned newspaper Il Giornale - did the rest of the job of fearmongering to legitimise discriminatory policies And this discourse, ahead of the national elections, seems to finally be bearing some fruit As local media reported, Meloni’s FdI party, which is leading the current coalition government in

The bill is currently being debated in the parliament s environmental committee And similar to other states like Carinthia and Vorarlberg in Austria, the law aims to make amendments to urban planning regulation This way, unlike in Switzerland where an explicit minaret ban in the constitution clearly violates human rights the Italian government wants to circumvent potential critique regarding the violation of religious freedom

Still, several similar attempts have failed on a regional level because the regulation was deemed unconstitutional But this time the governing far-right under the leadership of the Brothers of Italy want to make use of their dominance on a national level

UNFAIR TREATMENT: On the other side, the government faces opposition from various parties including the Greens, the Liberals (Action) and a party representing linguistic minorities They claim that the new bill will curb Muslims religious freedom

Currently Muslims who make up around 4 9 percent of the total population (2 7 million people), primarily represent the working poor and descendants of immigrants Their material wealth is restricted hence many of the prayer spaces are in fact not beautiful glittery and shining mosques but located in garages and industrial environments Italy neither supports the construction of Muslim religious buildings nor does it even recognise Islam legally

While today’s Italy recognises the Catholic Church as an independent and sovereign authority and has signed contracts with a total of 13 - much smaller - religious communities, including hindus and Jews, Muslims are lacking similar legal recognition that would allow them to institutionalise their religious infrastructure But such a contract also bears risks as it might put Muslims under more pressure surveillance and regulation by the Italian state similar to what can be observed in Austria

The policies of Meloni s party are pushing Muslims further to the margin, threatening collective worship, one of the most fundamental pillars of Islam With a neo-fascist party in power another step is being taken to dismantle religious freedom and make Italy a country that discriminates against Muslims

Farid Hafez is a Distinguished Visiting Professor of International

held Kashmir being its integral part therefore has no moral or legal basis and is nothing but a travesty of the ground realities

In the wake of Un Resolutions, then Indian PM Jawaharlal nehru is on record as having assured his Pakistani counterpart repeatedly of resolving the dispute through a plebiscite and also having unequivocally made statements to this effect in the Indian Parliament however India reneged on its commitment and tried to have the question of accession resolved through the constituent assembly of the occupied Kashmir in 1957 That move was repudiated by the Un through its resolutions 91 and 122, maintaining that the issue could not be settled through any arrangement other than a Un sponsored plebiscite

It is also significant to note that India in spite of declaring Indian-held Kashmir as its integral part granted special status to the state with its own assembly and constitution through Article 370 and 35 of the Indian constitution, which also prohibited the purchase of property in the state by outsiders (those who were not domiciled there) That itself negated the Indian claim of the state being an integral part of India

India ostensibly is being rewarded for its partnership with USA and its allies in the stop China policy The US in connivance with India is also trying to sabotage the China Pakistan economic Corridor a project that promises shared economic prosperity in the region and to turn Pakistan into a hub of regional economic activity

The USA, the UK and France have signed agreements with India for transfer of civilian nuclear technology in violation of the nPT They have also won a waiver for India from the nSG They are also trying to prop up India as a regional superpower and winning her

GLOBAL TIMES

H U X J I n

AF T e R the Wagner incident was quickly quelled subsequent media attention remained very high Russian Prosecutor General s Office reportedly said on Monday that Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin remains under investigation which seems to contradict the previous statement by the Russian president s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov Peskov said on Saturday that the criminal case against Prigozhin had been dropped

After Prigozhin left Rostov on Saturday, there has been speculation as to whether he had actually gone to Belarus and whether he was still with the Wagner Group Prigozhin reportedly released an audio recording stating that the Wagner Group will end its existence on July 1 because no one agreed to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry From the latest news it is imperative for the Russian Defense Ministry to strengthen its management of private armies

After the incident was quelled some US and Western officials spoke out, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken s statement being the most typical Blinken touted the event as a “real crack” in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority that “raised profound questions he also claimed that this crisis is an unfolding story and said

a permanent place in the Un Security Council So they are giving preference to their strategic and geopolitical interests over humanitarian issues and the Un Charter Spilling of human blood and oppression does not stir their conscience so far as their strategic and commercial interests are served as they perceive them Malik Muhammad Ashraf is an academic He can be contacted at: ashpak10@gmail com

The resistance by the people of the Indian-Held Kashmir against these draconian actions has been dealt with with a heavy hand. The entire state was conver ted into an open prison and it remained cut-off from the outside world for months. Since 5 August 2019 the Indian security forces have killed Kashmiris.

I think we are in the midst of a moving picture, and we haven t seen the last act We re watching it very closely ”

The eU’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said that “What has happened this weekend showed that the war against Ukraine is cracking Russian power and affecting its political system, going so far as to claim that the incident proves that Russia’s “military power is collapsing ” Western media has since collected various materials showing support and sympathy from the Russian people for the Wagner military group including quotes from ordinary people and scholars But there are videos online of some citizens protesting the Wagner military group s incident, including individuals who block military trucks and others who engage in conversation with the mercenaries and level complaints Overall it seems that the Wagner incident has ended and the situation is rapidly consolidating Currently, people s various speculations revolve mainly around its aftermath In addition to the “settled scores at an opportune moment” theory, there is also non-mainstream speculation that Prigozhin’s true purpose in going to Belarus may be to launch an attack on the flank of Ukraine This warning came from General Richard Dannatt, former head of the British Army Many Chinese netizens also speculate that the Wagner incident may be a part of “Putin’s next big move ”

An economic model for the AI age

PR OJECT SYNDICATE

DA M b I s A M oyo

In April, Alphabet CeO Sundar Pichai predicted that artificial intelligence would have an impact “more profound” than any other human innovation from fire to electricity While it is impossible to know precisely what that impact will be two changes appear particularly likely: Demand for labour will fall, and productivity will rise In other words, we appear to be moving toward a labour-less economic model, in which fewer human workers are needed to sustain growth

Jobs in back-office support legal services and accountancy seem to face the most immediate risk from new generative AI technologies, including large language models like ChatGPT-4 But every sector of the economy is likely to be affected Because language tasks account for 62 per cent of employees’ time a recent report by Accenture notes large language models could affect 40 per cent of all working hours Accenture estimates that 65 per cent of the time spent on these language tasks can be transformed into more productive activity through augmentation and automation” And a new McKinsey report predicts that the AI-driven productivity boost could add the equivalent of $2 6-4 4 trillion in value to the global economy annually

But even as higher productivity boosts economic growth, the diminution of labour would undermine it, meaning that, ultimately, growth could well stagnate Reduced

demand for human workers implies a steep rise in unemployment especially since the world population is set to continue growing

Unemployment is already a persistent problem According to the International Labor Organisation, the total number of unemployed young people (15-24 years old) has remained around 70 million for more than two decades And the global youth unemployment rate has been trending up from 12 2 per cent in 1995 to just under 13 per cent after the 2008 global financial crisis to 15 6 per cent percent in 2021

AI will exacerbate these trends And because AI’s impact on labour markets is likely to be structural, the rise in unemployment would amount to a permanent dislocation

Structural unemployment could return to levels last seen in the de-industrialisation of the 1980s when joblessness in the United Kingdom, for example, remained above 10 per cent for the better part of the 1980s how can governments support GDP growth in a new era of persistent structural unemployment? The most obvious likely response is a shift to greater redistribution with governments raising taxes on the proceeds from AI-driven productivity gains and using those revenues to support the wider population, including by implementing some version of a universal basic income To ensure adequate revenue to support expanded social safety nets governments might move beyond taxing excess profits generated by AI-driven productivity gains to taxing the revenues of the firms reaping the

The situation in Ukraine is another point of emphasis Although the Ukrainian side pledges to intensify their counterattack using this military coup there has been no news of Ukrainian forces breaching front lines in the past two days Blinken on Sunday t gave the Ukrainian army encouragement, stating that although the counterattack would endure weeks, maybe even over months,” “the Ukrainians have in hand what they need to be successful ” Stabilizing the situation mitigating the impact of the Wagner incident and reconsolidating the confidence of Russian society seem to be Moscow s most urgent tasks at present It s not easy to cope with the trauma this incident has created But Putin s capacity to handle it so quickly and seemingly without difficulty shows that he still has a wealth of political options available to him The West has deliberately underestimated the Kremlin s capacity to handle complicated circumstances People will continue to monitor the development of Russia s return to normalcy in the days to come, particularly focusing on the whereabouts and situation of Prigozhin: Will he be “settled scores at an opportune moment or will he reappear and play a significant role in the war in Ukraine from Belarus and make amends for his mistakes ? Only time will tell

The author is a commentator of the Global Times

biggest rewards

That way, the state, and, in turn the general population would claim a greater share of the AI windfall

Of course the AI revolution also has profound implications for businesses For starters companies will have to adjust their strategies and operations to account for the combination of higher productivity and a smaller labour force which will enable them to generate more output with less capital Companies that adjust as needed and deliver low cost-to-income ratios will attract investors; those that are slow to change their operating models will lose competitiveness and could fail The effects of such corporate adjustments will reverberate throughout the economy Reduced demand for capital by firms will put downward pressure on the cost of capital and companies will have less need to borrow from banks causing overall activity in capital markets also to decline higher taxes on corporate profits (or revenues) would create additional challenges While the state will need to increase revenues to support the growing number of unemployed this could leave corporations with lower retained earnings to reinvest despite the additional profits generated by AI-driven productivity gains This is bad not only for the companies themselves Lower investment in the economy would undermine growth, shrink the economic pie and lower living standards It would also narrow the tax base erode the middle class and widen inequality between the owners of capital and the traditional labour force

P u t i n ’ s r e s p o n s e t o W a g n e r i n c i d e n t s h o w s h e h a s m a n y o p t i o n s l e f t

C H I N A ’ S D I P LO M A C Y T O F U R T H E R C O N S O L I D AT E , E X PA N D ‘ C I R C L E O F F R I E N D S ’ T H I S S U

M M E R

BEIJING s ta F F c o r r e s P o n d e n t

AFTER realizing significant diplomatic goals like helping the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March Chinese diplomacy is continually pushing for more achievements in summer with Chinese President Xi Jinping busily meeting with visiting Prime Minister of New Zealand Chris Hipkins, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh as well as Prime Minister of Mongolia Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene in Beijing on Tuesday China and New Zealand agreed to keep expanding cooperation in economy and trade, education, technology, tourism as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges, according to a release of the meeting between Xi and Hipkins Xi said he has always attached great importance to the relationship between China and New Zealand The relationship between China and New Zealand has always led China’s relationship with developed countries The two sides should continue to carry forward the spirit of striving to be the best and constantly consolidate and deepen the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership Xi noted Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand

During the meeting with Mottley Xi noted that Barbados is the first country in the Eastern Caribbean to establish diplomatic relations with China and is also a good friend and partner of China in this region He called on the two countries to deepen political mutual trust and continue to understand and support each other on issues concerning each other ’s core interests and major concerns China as always supports Barbados in safeguarding national sovereignty and independence and independently choosing a development path, Xi noted China and Mongolia vowed to enhance c o o p e r a t i o n i n v a r i o u s f i e l d s , i n c l u d i n g c o m b a t i n g d e s e r t i f i c a t i o n b u i l d i n g t h e C h i n a - M o n g o l i a - R u s s i a E c o n o m i c C o r r id o r a n d t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e B e l t a n d R o a d I n i t i a t i v e C h i n a a n d M o n g o l i a a r e both developing countries and share extens i v e c o m m o n i n t e r e s t s a n d s i m i l a r p o s itions in international and regional affairs China supports Mongolia in playing an act i v e r o l e i n r e g i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l a f -

fairs Xi noted

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership Xi said that, facing the increasingly severe and complex international situation, China and Vietnam should uphold the spirit of equality mutual benefit solidarity and mutual trust win-win cooperation and should work together to seek common development, better benefit the two countries, and

Mother of jailed Hurriyat leader passes away in IIOJK

SRINAGAR ag e n c i e s

Mother of illegally detained Jammu and Kashmir

Muslim League leader Merajuddin Nanda passed away in Srinagar, occupied Jammu and Kashmir, last night She was suffering from depression and mental health issues due to continued illegal detention of her loved son She died last night at Soura

Institute of Medical Science in Srinagar Merajuddin Nanda, a resident of Hajin area of Bandipora, is currently facing illegal detention in Indian Central Jail Agra, Utter Pardesh He is one among jailed Hurriyat members, who has a strong commitment to the Kashmiris’ right to self determination The jailed leader s mother tried several times to meet her son in jail but was not allowed by the authorities Meanwhile APHC leaders including Ghulam

Ahmed Gulzar, Abdul Ahad Parra, Hakeem Abdul

Rasheed, APHC-AJK chapter Convener Mahmood

Ahmad Saghar, Bar Association member Advocate GN Shaheen and others in their statements expressed their condolences with Merajuddin Nanda on the death of his mother

INDIAN TROOPS MARTYR A

YOUTH IN IIOJK

Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred a Kashmiri youth in Kulgam district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir

The youth was martyred by the troops during a cordon and search operation in Hoowra area of the district Earlier one Indian policeman was injured in an attack in the same area The operation was going on till last reports came in

China’s state banks seen selling dollars offshore to slow yuan drop – sources

PR OFIT r e u t e r s

China’s major state-owned banks were seen selling dollars in the offshore spot foreign exchange market on Tuesday four sources with knowledge of the matter said suggesting authorities wanted to slow the pace of the yuan s recent slide Such state bank dollar selling appeared as the offshore yuan weakened towards the psychologically important 7 25 per dollar level, two of the sources said “The 7 25 (yuan per dollar) level remains a key threshold ” said one of them adding a breach of the level could quickly send the yuan to lows last seen in 2022 The yuan s value onshore hit a trough of 7 3280 per dollar in November levels last seen during the 2008 global financial crisis, while the offshore yuan dropped to a record low of 7 3746 State banks usually act on behalf of the country’s central bank in the foreign exchange market but they could also be trading on their own behalf or their clients To double down on its defence the People s Bank of China (PBOC) set the daily yuan fixing rate stronger than market expectations for the second day in a row earlier on Tuesday, spurring speculation authorities are becoming less tolerant of the currency’s weakness [CNY/] Several currency traders also said they saw state banks selling dollars on Monday just ahead of the onshore domestic close (0830 GMT) to shore up the yuan s closing price, as the rate could determine the next day s official guidance rate The (trading) desk saw strong selling in swaps across tenors in pre-market trade, likely sterilising spot intervention in the past few sessions ” UBS said in a note referring to buy/sell trades in the forwards market to acquire the U S dollars the big banks need to procure for sales in spot transactions to defend the yuan The broad yuan weakness has been driven by China s faltering post-pandemic economic recovery and widening yield differentials with the United States as the Federal Reserve continues to hike interest rates The yuan has slid more than 4% against the dollar so far this year With most non-dollar currencies weakening to reflect the greenback s strength in global markets, the yuan s value against its major trading partners dipped to a week’s low of 96 54 on Tuesday taking its year-to-date loss against that basket to 2 16% according to Reuters calculation based on official data

inject more stability into the turbulent world Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam opposes the politicization of economic issues, and is willing to work closely with China to prevent and deal with risks and challenges prevent any force from alienating VietnamChina relations and build a Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with a shared destiny Barbados, Mongolia, New Zealand and Vietnam are located on different continents, and have different political systems histories cultures stages of development and economic sizes China s efforts to improve ties with these countries show that the world will be further connected with each other Members of the international com-

munity want to seek certainties and possibilities from China, and they will not follow moves to “decouple” or provoke “confrontation” launched by the US against China experts noted New Zealand – a member of the US-led Five Eyes Alliance and an Anglo-Saxon nation – attaches great importance to developing relations with China This time, as Hipkins is accompanied by a large economic and trade delegation, the trip aims to explore more cooperation opportunities and promote New Zealand-China relations to a new level

the New Zealand Prime Minister said during the meeting with Xi Chinese experts praised the independent policymaking of New Zealand which shows

the consensus shared by different political parties within the country on how to get along with China

It presents an example of how Western countries can withstand the pressures of unilateralism, Cold War mentality and hegemony, as well as preserve their strategic autonomy to develop ties with China and benefit their people

Compared with other members of the Five Eyes Alliance – the US the UK Australia and Canada New Zealand is a country that is able to maintain equal and pragmatic relations and mutual respect with China, and bilateral ties have not been impacted by the China-US tension for a very long time

In April 2022 during the term of Hipkins’ predecessor Jacinda Ardern and a difficult for the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic the two countries upgraded the protocol of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement

After Ardern resigned in January, Hipkins, also from the Labor Party of New Zealand assumed office and Ardern’s strategic autonomy and pragmatic policy on China have been maintained and further developed

According to Reuters, Hipkins, ahead of his trip to China, said on Thursday that he did not agree with US President Joe Biden’s absurd and provocative remarks on the Chinese national leader and political system

The form of government that China has is a matter for the Chinese people Hipkins told reporters

Cash-strapped Sri L ank a to restruc ture domestic debt

COLOMBO a F P

Sri Lankan authorities have declared a f i v e - d a y c l o s u r e o f f i n a n c i a l m a r k e t s from Thursday ahead of a controversial m o v e t o r e s t r u c t u r e t h e g o v e r n m e n t s domestic debt amounting to more than $51 billion

The restructuring affects government bonds in line with an IMF bailout agreed in March after Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt in April last year and declared bankruptcy

A parliamentary official said lawmakers were expected to meet on Tuesday to discuss holding a special session of the legislature later this week to approve debt restructure plans

Central bank governor Nandalal

Weerasinghe said authorities had ordered that Friday will be a holiday, on top of existing religious holidays on Thursday and Monday and the weekend

He told local television networks that it would be unhealthy for markets to remain open while the debt restructuring was being discussed in parliament Markets should not function when sensitive debt restructuring is discussed,”

Weerasinghe told the Hiru TV network

“We hope to complete the restructuring process within these five days

Weerasinghe said deposits of individuals would not be affected, but the government plan is to restructure treasury bills and bonds held by commercial banks and pension funds

The government is still in talks with its foreign creditors to restructure external debt, a key condition to continue with the four-year $2 9 billion IMF rescue package

The government had expected foreign debt restructuring by last August but it was held up as the country s main bilateral creditor China was initially reluctant to take a haircut and instead offered more loans to pay off old debts

More than $14 billion of the total foreign credit is bilateral debt to foreign governments 52 percent of which is owed to China Under IMF conditions the government must reduce its domestic and foreign debt servicing by more than half to balance its books and emerge from the island s worst economic crisis

UN exper ts decr y treatment of Guantanamo detainees

UN ag e n c i e s

With nearly constant surveillance gruelling isolation and limited family access, the treatment of the last 30 Guantanamo detainees is cruel, inhuman and degrading,” UN rights experts said Monday as they reported on their first visit to the US military prison UN Special Rapporteur Fionnuala Ni Aolain said mistreatment at the prison on an American naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, amounted to violations of detainees’ fundamental rights and freedoms

The detainees held close to two decades after being seized as suspects following the 2001 Al-Qaeda attack on the United States have endured a litany of abuse, including forced cell extractions, poor medical and mental health care, said Ni Aolain

The detainees also have had inadequate access to family either by inperson visits or calls she said in a press briefing The totality of all of

these practices and omissions amounts in my assessment to ongoing cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under international law ” she said Ni Aolain the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism, travelled to Guantanamo with a team in February after UN rights experts had sought to visit the prison for two decades

Introducing the team s report she said Washington had yet to address the most glaring rights violation related to the detainees: their secret seizure and transfer – or rendition –to Guantanamo in the early 2000s, and for many enduring extensive torture by US operatives in the first years after the September 11 attacks Their planned military trials have been stalled for years over the question of whether they can receive fair justice if they have been tortured That is unfair to the victims of the September 11 attack as well said Ni

Aolain The systematic rendition and torture at multiple (including black) sites and thereafter at Guantanamo Bay Cuba comprise the single most significant barrier to fulfilling victims rights to justice and accountability the UN Special Rapporteur said Nevertheless, she welcomed the administration of President Joe Biden’s openness for allowing her team to visit Guantanamo and examine the treatment of the detainees who once numbered nearly 800 Few states exhibit that kind of courage she said

Nevertheless, she said, closure of the prison, which remains outside the US justice system, “remains a priority ” In addition “the US government must ensure accountability for all violations of international law both for victims of its counterterrorism practices, present and former detainees, and victims of terrorism, she said

Accountability, she said, includes apologies, full remedy and reparations for “all victims ” she said

UN

UNITED NATIONS M a n a b r a r

A report released by the United Nations in May raised this year s economic growth projections for China to 5 3 percent from 4 8 percent predicted at the beginning of the year

According to the World Bank

China s economy is expected to grow by 5 6 percent in 2023 an increase of 1 3 percent from the January projection

China’s economy has continued to rebound and improve since the beginning of this year “China has been the power source of the steady growth of the world economy in the past decade Chinese Premier Li

Qiang said at the opening ceremony of the Summer Davos Forum in north China s Tianjin Municipality on Tuesday Highlighting that China’s economy is deeply integrated with the world economy Li said China develops itself in globalization and becomes the firmest force of maintaining globalization Chinese Premier Li Qiang addresses the

opening of the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions or the Summer Davos in north China’s Tianjin Municipality June 27 2023 /Xinhua CHINA’S ECONOMIC VITALITY

The better-than-expected performance of China s economic data has strongly boosted the confidence of the international market

In the first five months of this year

China s total import and export value was 16 77 trillion yuan (around $2 32 trillion) a year-on-year increase of 4 7 percent

Among them, exports were 9 62 trillion yuan, an increase of 8 1 percent and imports were 7 15 trillion yuan, an increase of 0 5 percent according to the General Administration of Customs

With the connectivity of regional economic exchanges China s imports and exports to other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement grew steadily in the first five months of 2023, reaching 5 11 trillion yuan a year-on-year increase of 4 5 percent

The country ran out of foreign exchange to pay even for the most essential imports earlier last year sparking unprecedented shortages of food, fuel and medicines

Months of protest over mismanagement of the economy led to the toppling of then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July Rajapaksa s successor, six-times prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has cracked down on protests raised prices scrapped subsidies and doubled taxes to stabilise the economy

Earlier this month the IMF said Sri Lanka s economy showed tentative signs of improvement but recovery remains challenging and Colombo must pursue painful reforms

KPMG to cut 5% of US jobs in fresh round of layoffs

PR OFIT r e u t e r s

KPMG is laying off 5% of its U S employees after feeling the pinch of economic headwinds, coupled with historically low attrition,” a spokesperson for the Big Four accounting giant said on Monday The firm had over 39 000 employees in the U S at the end of its last fiscal year on Sept 30 KPMG which cut about 2% of its U S workforce in February as per a Financial Times report, was the first of the world s four biggest accountancy firms to slash jobs in the country The latest round of job cuts would take place through the rest of its 2023 financial year the firm said “We do not take this decision lightly However we believe it is in the best long-term interest of our firm and will position us for continued success into the future, KPMG said in an emailed statement Several companies have trimmed their headcount to batten down the hatches in anticipation of a potential economic downturn later in the year In April Ernst & Young s U S division shed 5% of its workforce Deloitte had also reported to have slashed jobs KPMG s fresh round of layoffs were first reported by the Financial Times Besides KPMG, EY, Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) make up the Big Four of accounting firms

“The Chinese economy still has huge potential ” World Economic Forum President Borge Brende told CGTN China is expected to achieve this year s economic growth target of around 5 percent, with the growth in the second quarter to surpass that in the first quarter, Li said at the forum He highlighted that China will continue to provide strong dynamism to the world’s economic recovery and growth and provide opportunities for mutual benefit and win-win results for world investors Recently, executives from many multinational corporations such as Apple, Tesla and BMW visited China to negotiate cooperation and look for business opportunities showing confidence in China As Allianz Group s Chairman and CEO Oliver Bate said when attending China Development Forum in March, the international community needs China more than ever China is acting on the new development philosophy, fostering a new development paradigm at a faster pace and working hard to achieve high-quality de-

velopment the premier said Driving world economic growth The continuously optimized business environment is a key factor for China to continue to become a hot spot for foreign investment According to a report released by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade 97 percent of the interviewed foreign companies rated the foreign investment policies issued by the Chinese government since the fourth quarter of last year as satisfactory” or above

China confident on 5 percent growth target, continues to drive global economy:

All loc al bodies to ensure provision of all facilities to public on Eid-ul-A

H E Sindh government plans to allocate Rs6 9 billion from its estimated Rs 700 billion development expenditure budget for FY24 to the agriculture sector This allocation is part of the overall development budget of Rs 11 9 billion which includes foreign project assistance The funds will be used for various new and ongoing schemes aimed at improving the agriculture sector

PROFIT

One of the key focuses of the budget is to address the drainage issue in Sindh's farmlands, which was highlighted during the province-wide flooding in 2022 While major drain networks exist in certain regions small and medium-sized farmers suffer from inadequate drainage leading to decreased soil fertility salinity and water-logging The government plans to execute a pilot project for on-farm water management with an estimated cost of Rs 330 million to address this issue

The budget also includes allocations

Hyderabad C hamber of Commerce and Industr y of S indh Province interac ts with Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner

for other aspects of agricultural development, such as research, extension services, marketing, seed production, training, agricultural mechanization, and water management The agriculture department aims to implement projects like vertical farming to enhance productivity particularly in Karachi which heavily relies on supplies from other areas of Sindh The budget includes foreign assistance of Rs4 9 billion from the Sindh Water and Agricultural Transformation (SWAT) project funded by the World Bank Additionally ongoing projects

Post Enumeration Sur vey to star t on 8 July

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T Pakistan Bureau of Statistics Islamabad, 27th June, 2023: Census Monitoring Committee (CMC) decided to start Post Enumeration Survey from 8th July 2023 It is also decided to conduct enumeration in three (3) districts of Kohistan that are remaining and snow bound areas of KP, AJ&K and GB from 8th July, 2023 The decisions were taken in 16th Meeting of Census Monitoring Committee (CMC) that was held under the chair of Minister of Planning Development and Special Initiatives Prof Ahsan Iqbal on 27th June 2023 in Ministry of PD&SI The meeting was attended by all members of Census Monitoring Committee including Federal Minister for IT&T Syed Amin ul Haque Prof Ahsan Iqbal directed that the Post Enumeration Survey has to be completed within 15 days with due diligence for increasing credibility of the exercise

Further, he requested all Chief Sec-

retaries to direct CDOs / DCs / ACs to provide completion certificates of Field Enumeration of 7th Population and Housing Census 2023 by 15th July, 2023 The Work plan, Methodology and Sample Design for conducting Post Enumeration Survey by using the Stratified Sampling Technique was also approved by Census Monitoring Committee It was further decided in meeting that for Post Enumeration Survey NADRA will ensure provision of software by today for testing purpose Chief Census Commissioner

Dr Naeem uz Zafar presented strategy and mechanism of Post Enumeration Survey devised according to guidelines of Council of Common Interest (CCI), as decided in previous meeting of CMC Post Enumeration Survey is another step to gain the confidence and acceptability of stakeholders on the process of Digital Census and is part of the plan approved by CCI for the first ever digital Census Minister PD&SI also directed to provide the allocated budget to all stakeholders proportionally to avoid

BISP to introduce New S ocial Protec tion Accounts for B eneficiaries from July 2023

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T

As of 2 PM today that is 27-62023 BISP has distributed Rs 37 173 billion amongst 4 13 million beneficiaries in the exercise that began from 19th July 2023

Nearly 50% of beneficiaries have been served (46 23% to be exact till noon today) In just 3 hours of distribution 408 972 beneficiaries were served The disbursement shall continue till 6 PM today, explained the Director General Cash Transfer Payments will also be made through retail network tomorrow and then resume from 4th of July after eid and Bank holiday

There have been challenges including shifts in weather; from extreme heat to heavy rains in some areas However, the biggest challenge for local administrations and BISP has been the payment system which is thru one bank and its nominated agents in designated

provinces he added These agreements which gave exclusivity to banks were executed in October 2019 with HBL in Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and Bank Alfalah for KP, AJK and GB

In the meanwhile 37 FIRs have been registered while 160 POS agents have been blocked Actions against BISP employees and Police officials has been taken whereas contractual notices to banks have also been served

There are a lot of complaints of deductions by Agents at retail site Challenge is to minimize potential for cheating beneficiaries versus beneficiary convenience Most methods that allow closer monitoring by program also require travel by beneficiaries and possibility of crowding Therefore this decades old system and the POS agent centric contracts are in process of being replaced with Social Protection Accounts for the beneficiaries

The new pilot will make the service more dignified for clients as well as less open to pilferage of beneficiary payments by unscrupulous agents, Explained the Secretary BISP The Minister/ Chairperson is pursuing a payment model that is beneficiary centric and not dependent on POS agents Now we are at a stage that the pilot will be finally launched in first week of July 2023”, said the Secretary Trials had begun a few weeks earlier and now pilot will be formally launched shortly The system will provide independence to the beneficiaries so that they are treated as regular bank clients rather than being constrained to go to retail agents or Camp sites There will also be freedom of choice for beneficiaries to choose banks of their choice initially from 5 participating banks and then by October/ November when the contracts expires, the list will expand

FBR collec ts record Rs 7,000b tax by June 26: Dar

ISLAMABAD

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said for the first time in the country’s history, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had collected Rs 7,000 billion annual tax by June 26 2023

This Fiscal Year 2022-23 will end on June 30 and it is hoped that more revenue will be collected which will be the first time in the history of the country the minister wrote on Twitter

to ensure best facilities

like the Sindh Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Enhancement Project (SIAPEP) and new schemes like the installation of pulp processing units for fruits and vegetables have been mentioned in the budget Some stakeholders have expressed concerns about the lack of consultation during the budgetary process and emphasized the need to focus on current agricultural practices, especially in rural areas, before implementing concepts like vertical farming

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PM&DC Executive Committee takes action against Embez zlements of Erstwhile PMC

The Executive Committee of Pakistan Medical & Dental Council has investigated /exposed major embezzlements of the erstwhile (PMC) They gathered the evidence, proof, and all other necessary documents after scrutinizing the Committee has decided to hold the responsible parties accountable and implement measures to prevent future incidents The Executive committee has decided to refer the matter to the third party for audit and investigation They decided to bring all the Culprits to face consequences

The PMDC Committee has investigated many irregularities in payments made in the previous tenure by the erstwhile (PMC) amounting Crores of Rupees which includes payments made to a Private Consortium before the signing of the agreements nebulous payments for IT equipment software etc

The Committee recently investigated anomalies in payments made in the previous tenure (PMC) in conducting MDCAT-22 amounting Rs 409 32 million of Rupees which includes payments made to a Private Consortium of around 122 million a day before the signing of the agreements The erstwhile PMC made an agreement of Rs: 409 32 million on 17th of August 2022 out of which an advance payment of Rs: 122 78 million i e 30% was paid on 6th of August-2022 before execution of agreement a Consortium for conduction of MDCAT Examination-22 Astonishingly the payment was made to the Private consortium and the taxes were paid through another company The company to whom this big amount was paid was not even registered with FBR nor with SECP as a consortium It did not fall under the definition of Government Entity and the agreement made was in clear violation of PPRA Rules After detailed scrutiny the Committee found another scam of erstwhile (PMC) by violating in the procurement of Network IT Equipment’s i e Servers Switches Controllers Access Points and Firewall etc and has severely violated the PPRA Rules The installed Software License in Servers and the tender documents were completely different Moreover, items delivered in erstwhile PMC were mismatched with Bill of Quantities (BOQ’s) published in Tender document for the captioned procurement Shockingly anomalies were also found in the procurement of Miscellaneous Equipment s i e Cameras NVR UPS and Cables etc By violating PPRA rules and all the procurements were done to give financial favors to their blue-eyed company While talking to the Council Executive Committee,(responsible body for financial and administrative affairs of PM&DC) while highlighting the scams previous Council ensured to bring the culprits to face consequences

They emphasized that the PM&DC Council is combination of best eminent members from all over the country with highest reputations as doctors, professors, Surgeon general, legal experts, auditor, health Secretaries of all provinces After assuming the charge the Council has started working devotedly for betterment medical and dental profession and working tirelessly to make PM&DC more efficient as a regulator as well as a facilitator The Council has taken up all the matters and affairs of PMDC on priority as per rules and law

They added after making all necessary arrangements of transition from PMC to PMDC the first priority of the Council is to achieve the Accreditation of WFME so that our doctor and students may not face any problem internationally They showed concerned that as PM&DC has highlighted the scams previous regime a group of vested interest has started a media campaign merely to undermine and malign PM&DC whose preamble are not even correct neither near to truth PM&DC refutes all such information shared and published The culprit vested group is trying to delay in achieving the PM&DC objectives and just to malign the working of the current Council These malafide intentions of this vested group may create hurdles in creating liaison between the international medical communities and relations with WFME

S U P E R TA X D E C L A R E D L E G A L B Y L H C ,

R E D U C E D T O 4 % O N C E R TA I N S E C T O R S

sion provides clarity on the legal status of the super tax, offering relief to affected businesses Over 350 petitione r s c h a l l e n g e d t h e s u p e r t a x ’s implementation in 2022

The petitioners argued that the super tax enforced under section 4C of the Income Tax Ordinance in the Finance Act 2022, should not be applied retrospectively to the year 2022 They requested the court to declare the imposition of the super tax null and void

Representatives from the federal government and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) opposed the petitions

u d i n g b a n k i n g T h e c o u r t ’s d e c i -

C J P o r d e r s r e c o v e r y o f j o u r n a l i s t I m r a n R

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial ordered the AGP to recover senior journalist Imran Riaz Khan and produce him in the court without any delay As per details, while hearing the proceeding on civilian trials in military courts the CJP to the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) to search and then recover him

He made these remarks as the six-member bench of the Supreme Court Tuesday resumed hearing pleas against trials of civilians in the military courts

The bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial comprises of Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar Justice Yahya Afridi Justice Mazahir Ali

Akbar Naqvi and Justice Ayisha Malik During the hearing the CJP asked the AGP Imran Riaz Khan is missing and is in your custody

In his response, he told the CJP that he is not in custody but the federal government is fully cooperating in this matter

The CJP said that he received a letter that he is not doing anything regarding the Imran Riaz Khan case but such a measure spread fear among the public

Nation to celebrate Eidul-A zha on Thursday

ISLAMABAD

S TA F F R E P O R T

The nation will celebrate Eid-ul-Azha on Thursday with religious fervor to commemorate the great sacrifice of Hazrat Ibrahim and Hazrat Ismael (AS)

The day will dawn with special prayers in mosques for well-being of Ummah and progress prosperity and security of the country Eid prayers congregations will be held at mosques, Eidgahs and open places in all cities, towns and villages

Ulema in their Eid sermons will highlight the significance of the philosophy of great sacrifice rendered by Hazrat Ibrahim and Hazrat Ismail (AS)

People will offer sacrifice of animals to follow the Sunnah of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS)

Federal and Provincial governments have chalked out an elaborate security arrangement across the country to ward off untoward incidents Civic authorities of different cities and towns have also made special arrangements for disposal of offal and other solid wastes during the Eid days

Radio Pakistan Pakistan Television and private media will air special programs in connection with Eid-ulAzha while newspapers will publish special supplements highlighting the importance of Eid-ulAzha and sacrifice of the animals

g TAX COLLECTION MAINTAINS A GROWTH OF OVER 30%

However, Justice Jawad Hassan upheld the legality of the super tax while acknowledging the reduction in the tax rate for specific sectors

It is worth noting that the government recently announced the imposition of the super tax for the year 2023 similar to the previous year The implications of this decision on businesses and individuals will become clearer as the implementation progresses

The Lahore High Court’s ruling provides a legal framework for the super tax s implementation and offers respite to affected sectors with the re-

duced rate This decision holds significant implications for taxpayers and the overall economic landscape, requiring further analysis to assess its impact on affected entities

T h e L H C s d e c i s i o n b r i n g s c l a ri t y t o t h e o n g o i n g d e b a t e s u r r o u n di n g t h e s u p e r t a x , c o n f i r m i n g i t s l e g a l i t y a n d a d d r e s s i n g c o n c e r n s r eg a r d i n g i t s r e t r o s p e c t i v e a p p l i c a t i o n A s b u s i n e s s e s a d j u s t t o t h e r e v i s e d s u p e r t a x r a t e i t s e c o n o m i c i m p a c t a n d i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h e f i n a n c i a l w e l l - b e i n g o f a f f e c t e d e n t i t i e s w i l l b e c l o s e l y m o n i t o r e d

Minister indic ates possible social media suspension in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD M O N I T O R I N G R E P O R T

In response to the incidents of violent protests on May 9 Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Tuesday that the government retains the option to block social media platforms, which could be implemented at any time

The protesters caused damage to both private and public property including military installations following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan

In the aftermath, the government decided to block not only social media platforms but also internet services nationwide for nearly four days citing social media as a significant source of incitement This move affected millions of people across the country

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan had justified the suspension by claiming the party’s activities including planning and abusive behaviour primarily occurred on social media

During an interview on Geo News Tuesday, Asif said: The option to block social media is always available If need be, it can come into force at any time ”

The defence minister defended this stance by highlighting that social media platforms are regulated in various countries, including China and parts of Europe

“Social media is regulated everywhere ” he emphasized adding that these platforms have been exploited to incite violence as witnessed during the May 9 incidents

Minister Asif also commended the accountability measures taken against those responsible for the attacks on military installations and

martyrs memorials

As part of this accountability the army has dismissed three officers, including a lieutenant general, for their failure to protect the military installations on May 9 R e g a r d i n g t h e t r i a l s o f c i v i li a n s i n m i l i t a r y c o u r t s A s i f m e n t i o n e d t h a t d i s c u s s i o n s a r e u n d e r w a y a c k n o w l e d g i n g t h e e x i s t e n c e o f l e g a l h u r d l e s b u t e x p r e s s i n g c o n f i d e n c e i n t h e g o v e r n m e n t ’s a b i l i t y t o o v e rc o m e t h e m

2023-24

The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has exceeded its revenue collection target for the financial year 2022-23, generating over Rs 197 billion four days prior to the closure of the financial year

The official spokesperson of PRA informed that the achievement was huge if compared to the economic situation of the country where the overall growth of services remained at 0 86%

The PRA relied on taxpayer facilitation as well as effective enforcement to regular non-compliant taxpayers in the last quarter, resulting in generating a higher amount of tax collection This is the fourth successive year in which PRA surpassed its revenue collection target and hopefully shall become the first provincial revenue collecting agency to cross the psychological barrier of Rs 200 billion further establishing itself as the leading Provincial revenue collecting agency in the country, she said She added that the PRA has been performing exceptionally well in terms of revenue collection During the first five months of the financial year 2022-23 the PRA collected a record Rs 73 billion which is 30% higher than the Rs 56 1 billion collected during the same period of financial year 2021-22

The above collection figures reflect that the PRA has been able to achieve over 38% of its assigned target of Rs 190 billion for 2022-23 while maintaining growth of above 30% which translates into a remarkable contribution towards Punjab’s own source tax revenue she said It is pertinent to mention here that the PRA accounted for over 60% of Punjab s own source tax revenue during the last financial year, collecting over In November 2022, the PRA collected Rs15 6 billion against the target of Rs 14 9 billion, continuing its tradition of exceptional growth During the same period last year the PRA had collected Rs12 4 billion The PRA collected Rs13 45 billion on account of sales tax on services during August 2022 as compared to the collection of Rs10 11 billion during the corresponding period of last year, showing an increase of 33% The overall revenue collection during the current fiscal year till August stood at Rs 27 8 billion which was 35% higher than Rs 20 59 billion in the same period of last year

According to the spokesperson the PRA has been focusing on taxpayer education and facilitation through training workshops and PRA s online complaint/facilitation portal The authority is also focusing on broadening the tax base through the registration of new taxpayers

GDA governing body approves projects for Gwadar

ISLAMABAD

S TA F F R E P O R T

The Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) approved a budget of Rs 33 8 million for the feasibility study of a residential colony for fishermen in Gwadar

Last year during his visit to Gwadar Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif approved the allocation of 200 acres of land for the construction of the residential colony for local fishermen

The feasibility fund for the colony was approved at the 26th GDA Governing Body meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo Several other projects on the meeting agenda were also approved according to Gwadar Pro on Tuesday Gwadar is our primary coastal city and the provincial government has provided substantial funds for its development, Chief Minister Balochistan told the meeting, adding, “The provincial government is improving the quality of life for the people of Gwadar through various development projects ”

According to an official statement the meeting approved the revised GDA budget for the financial year 2022-23 and the proposed budget for the financial year 2023-24

The body also approved a proposed GDA housing scheme of 100 acres with additional land, as well as beachfront development for the construction of recreational spots and a seafood street on Gwadar Marine Drive

The

SC in a bind af ter DG ISPR presser

Matters have complicated for an apex court bench hearing a slew of petitions filed against court martial of May 9 rioters after a news conference held by the military s spokesperson and the decision of one of the bench members –- Justice Mansoor Ali Shah to recuse himself from the case

The petitioners who mostly belong to Lahore are hoping that the bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial will give relief to the suspects, mostly PTI workers and supporters, who allegedly vandalised army installation after the arrest of the PTI chief on May 9

However the military establishment has expressed the resolve to take stern action not only against the culprits but also their aiders and abettors The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general conveyed a message that stern actions would be taken if the trials are halted

Some experts believe it will be interesting to see who in the bench responds to the news conference It is to be seen whether the bench suspends the trial of suspects until its

final decision, if it does not conclude its proceeding today [Tuesday]

The petitioners’ attorneys may urge the Supreme Court to take notice of the ISPR news conference on a sub judice matter

However the present bench may not take coercive steps as the judges on the bench are focusing on giving guidelines to ensure that the civilians involved in attacking military installations get a fair trial

The judges’ remarks show that they are not satisfied with the process of handing over suspects to the military authorities without passing speaking orders by anti-terrorism court (ATC) judges

The counsel for one of the petitioners believes that without examining vires of relevant provisions guidelines will be dangerous as these will make the decisions of the military courts respectable

The statement of Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan with regard to steps taken by the civilian government to ensure fair trial and due process in the military courts will be crucial Both things are essential for the validity of the military courts decisions at local as well as international forums

A senior government official, however, believes that the apex court may expand the scope of the superior courts’ review on military courts decisions

It is an open secret that there has been mistrust between powerful circles and one section of the apex court since the latter invoked its suo motu jurisdiction to hold the general elections in two provinces

Only a united Supreme Court can deal with the prevailing situation but disputes among senior judges is a hurdle to such unity

CJP Bandial on Monday made it clear that the court has so far shown restraint despite failure of the government to implement its order but now it is time to take a step backwards This observation shows that the CJP may issue coercive orders against the government functionaries But such an order cannot be implemented if there is severe division with the institution

A lawyer who is a well-wisher of the CJP said the court should declare these petitions non-maintainable and ask the petitioners to approach the high courts “When issue will land in the SC again he [Justice Bandial] will no longer be the chief justice I think the CJP should not con-

The meeting further approved changing the status of 500 acres of land allocated for Gwadar University in Mouza Shabi, in the master plan, to an Education City It was also agreed to hand over GDA’s 23 km sewerage line to Gwadar Municipality

clude these proceedings expeditiously he added However, another lawyer said if such an order is passed then the chief justice will lose support from pro PTI lawyers

For the first time the CJP on Monday questioned the moral authority of the people with sticks However it is a fact that the SC s moral authority has also been undermined on account of judicial politics since the Panama Papers case Another challenge for the SC is that Jus-

tice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has recused himself from the bench on account of his relationship with one of the petitioners, former CJP Jawad S Khawaja Now a debate has started as to what decision will be taken by the CJP in a case related to formation of an inquiry commission to probe some audio leaks The SC has reserved its decision on a government s plea seeking recusal of the CJP from the bench on similar basis