Epaper_23-07-08 ISB

Civil-military leadership up to taCkle food inseCurit y, soaring agri import

PM SHEHBAZ, COA S INAUGURATE LAND INFORMATION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO OPTIMISE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

tH e country s civil and military leaders on Friday inaugurated the Land Information and Management System – Centre of excellence (LIMS-COe) to addressing the pressing issues of food insecurity malnutrition and soaring import costs in the agriculture sector

The inauguration of groundbreaking solution of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, aims to transform unproductive acres, ensure food security, boost agricultural exports and lighten the load on the national economy

Besides the Prime Minister the COAS ministers of finance defence planning and information chief secretaries of the provincial governments, agricultural experts, senior army officials and several other key officials of the other countries were also present on the occasion establishment of LIMS is the first exceptional initiative aimed at enhancing food security and improving agri exports thus reducing import burden on the national exchequer,” read the official statement issued by the PM Office adding that the initiative would help transform millions of acres of uncultivated or low yield land within the country

This state-of-the-art system will help optimise the agricultural production through innovative technologies and sus-

STATE-OF-ART SYSTEM TO ENHANCE FOOD SECURITY, IMPROVE AGRI EXPORTS TO REDUCE BURDEN ON EXCHEQUER

nomic Corridor (CPeC), to address the nation’s continued struggles with growth

The government had established a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) under the economic recovery plan which would serve as a streamlined interface for investors and remove all the bottlenecks in investments with the help of the army

The army-backed plan was focused on harnessing the country’s untapped potential in key sectors through local development and foreign investments mainly from Gulf countries and expediting project implementation

Currency dealers hold back on dollar sales

g DEALERS BUYING DOLLARS IN RANGE OF RS 275-280 BUT NOT WILLING TO SELL

tainable precision agricultural practices based on the agroecological potential of land, the statement added, saying the system would ensure the well-being of rural communities and the preservation of the environment

According to the World Food Programme 36 9 per cent of Pakistanis are food insecure and 18 3 per cent of these are facing severe food crisis

Cognisant of the prevailing food insecurity the statement continued mass malnutrition and widening import bill of agri-related products vis-à-vis projected population growth and future domestic food needs, the national political, economic and military leadership has decided

up 0.70pc to reach 28.5pc

to undertake the decisive and meaningful steps to address this critical issue

The GIS-based LIMS will greatly improve the national agri yield by systemising digitisation of agriculture it said providing real-time information to local farmers about soil crops weather water resource and pest monitoring through remote sensing and geospatial technologies as well as minimising the role of middlemen through efficient marketing system

The LIMS-COe initiative has come on the heels of the civil-military leadership presenting an economic Revival Plan on June 20, which was stated to be bigger than the China-Pakistan eco-

Just before the government is about to complete its five-year constitutional term and the country is about to go for general elections this is the second initiative where the civil-military leadership has come united to move ahead earlier the plan was unveiled during an event, which was chaired by PM Shehbaz and attended by the COAS at the Prime Minister ’s House

The prime minister had stressed the need for export-oriented foreign direct investments (FDIs) while the army chief pledged the full support of the military recognising the plan s importance for national prosperity

The plan envisages capitalising Pakistan’s untapped potential in key sectors of defence production agriculture livestock minerals and mining information technology and energy through indigenous development as well as investments from friendly countries

Pakistan obser ves ‘Quran Sanctity Day ’ to denounce desecration in Sweden

Pakistani nation on Friday observed “Youm-i-Taqaddus-iQuran” (Quran Sanctity Day) with fervour and organized rallies and protests to give vent to their anger against the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden

The nation also reiterated the pledge to never hesitate from rendering any sacrifice for upholding sanctity of the Holy Quran and urged the world leaders to act fast against rising trend of islamopobia to ensure peace and tranquillity in the world

(1 43 percent), pulse mash (1 29 percent) milk fresh (1 20 percent) rice irri-6/9 (0 74 percent) rice basmati broken (0 67 percent) mustard oil (0 59 percent) tea prepared (0 56 percent) long cloth 57 Gul ahmed/Al Karam (0 51 percent), mutton (0 40 percent), beef with bone (0 39 percent), toilet soap (0 24 percent), powdered milk Nido 390 gm polybag each (0 13 percent), georgette (0 08 percent) and cooked daal (0 04 percent)

The items which recorded a decrease in their average prices during the week over the previous include bananas (7 51 percent), chicken (2 80 percent), eggs (1 17 percent), LPG (0 96 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2 5 kg tin each (0 74 percent)

Last week a man had desecrated the Holy Quran in Sweden’s capital Stockholm resulting in strong condemnation from several Muslim states, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the european Union, Pope Francis and the Swedish government among others earlier this week a joint session of Parliament had passed a resolution urging Sweden to take appropriate steps against the perpetrators involved while the government had designated today as Yaum-i-Taqaddus-i-Quran to express outrage over the incident earlier in the day Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the whole nation will hold a peaceful protest against the Sweden incident across Pakistan under the title of ‘Holy Quran Day’ today

“After Friday prayers all Pakistani Muslims will record their peaceful protest Quran is in our hearts, PM Shehbaz said adding that the entire Muslim Ummah was worried over the Holy Quran’s des-

ecration incident in Sweden Protests and rallies took place across the country including by political parties lawyers the Christian community and other segments of the society

Rallies were held in major cities after Friday prayers with citizens expressing their anger at the incident in Sweden

The PML-N organized various rallies across the country to condemn the discretion of Quran and renew the pledge to ensure sanctity of the Holy Quran at all costs

Similarly, the PTI organised rallies in all the four provinces, Gilgit Baltistan and AJK to observe Youm-i-Taqaddus-i-Quran” (Quran Sanctity Day) The PPP JUI-F and other parties also held rallies to vent off their anger against the discretion of Holy Quran in Sweden

Religious organisations and members of civil society staged a demonstration outside the Quetta Press Club On the occasion protesters said that the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden had

hurt the sentiments of Muslims across the world They also called on the government to summon the Swedish envoy to record Pakistan’s strong protest Another rally was also organised in Chagai and Dera Bugti where protesters carried placards and chanted slogans Muslim Ummah has strong resentment over desecration of Holy Quran: PM: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said there is a strong resentment in the Muslim Ummah over the desecration of holy Quran in Sweden

In a tweet Friday on the occasion of Yaum-e-Taqaddus-e-Quran, he said the nation is united for the sanctity of holy Quran He said all segments of the society will stage peaceful demonstrations after Friday prayers today to express their sentiments over the despicable incident of desecration of holy Quran

The Prime Minister said holy Quran is in our hearts He said Quran is not only recitation for us but a guideline for living

On Thursday, the availability of greenbacks in the open market seems to be scarce In an effort to gain insights Profit engaged with several foreign exchange dealers to assess the situation While the supply of dollars is not necessarily limited the currency dealers appear to be refraining from selling to anyone Despite their willingness to purchase the dollars at a rate ranging between Rs 275-280, none of the foreign exchange dealers are currently willing to part with their stock

This is not the first time that such a situation has occurred where the Pakistani Rupee had appreciated against the greenback but exchange dealers were not willing to sell greenbacks In fact, a similar situation occurred a month ago when the State Bank of Pakistan granted banks the authority to purchase US dollars from the interbank market for settling cardbased cross-border transactions with International Payment Schemes (IPSs)

Rupee appreciation against greenbacks in June

The central bank implemented this measure with the objective of narrowing the disparity between exchange rates observed in the interbank and open markets Prior to this change, banks had been purchasing dollars from exchange companies for the past 17 years

The open market rate for US dollars had surged due to high demand from travellers, students, pilgrims, and banks Banks were buying dollars for settling card-based cross-border transactions with IPSs Besides, supply had decreased significantly because of the devaluation of the Pakistani currency and better rates of the dollar in the unofficial market

As banks were granted the option to purchase and settle payments through the interbank system the demand for trading in the open market further dwindled This placed pressure on exchange companies and contributed to the appreciation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar within the open currency market However even back then Profit reached out to different foreign exchange dealers and sources who contended that the rupee s appreciation was artificial These sources revealed that currency dealers were solely interested in purchasing dollars at the prevailing rate but were not engaging in any selling transactions Consequently the displayed rate in the open market was deemed incongruous with the actual prevailing rate

A similar situation persists today, where despite the availability of dollars, currency dealers are focused on buying rather than selling Currency dealers are presently awaiting a resurgence in the dollar rates before opting to sell at more favourable rates Rupee appreciation following the agreement with IMF In the wake of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Pakistani rupee orchestrated an unexpected resurgence against the US dollar, surging by more than Rs 11 on Tuesday

The first day of trading in the open market following Pakistan s Standby Agreement (SBA) with the IMF which secured a $3 billion funding package instilled a sense of economic stability which was reflected in the improved value of the rupee

Consequently, dollar hoarders flocked to the exchange companies to sell their holdings However, owing to ongoing bank holidays only a handful of exchange companies possessed physical cash in Pakistani rupees and even their reserves were limited Thus most exchange companies faced constraints in their ability to purchase dollars due to a shortage of Pakistani rupees The scarcity of cash rupees stemming from the bank holidays created an opportunity for several money changers to independently set their own rates for purchasing dollars which ranged from Rs 275 to Rs 285

According to exchange companies there was a surplus of sellers but a notable absence of buyers for dollars

IMF delegation calls on Imran Khan, PPP leaders ahead of board meeting

all objectives and key policies

The PTI leader also said that they wish to stress the importance of programmes to protect the lower-income segments of the population from high inflation

Days before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board meeting to review and possibly endorse a $3 billion

Standby Arrangement (SBA) for Pakistan a delegation of the global lender on Friday called on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

Chairman Imran Khan in Lahore and leaders of Pakistan People Party in Islamabad

The Washington-based lender is seeking the support of major political parties including the PTI ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for the recently announced

$3 billion bailout programme

Unlike previous programmes, the fund is proactively seeking assurance from all Pakistan’s political players to stand by the

prior conditions set by the fund and not sabotage the deal for political gains earlier today the IMF s resident representative esther Perez Ruiz said in a statement that the meetings with political parties were to “seek assurances of their support for the key objectives and policies under a new IMF-supported programme ahead of the approaching national elections

It is pertinent to mention here that the IMF executive board will meet on July 12 to review the SBA for Pakistan

The cash-strapped country and the IMF had reached a long-awaited staff-level agreement (SLA) on $3 billion SBA on June 30

With sky-high inflation and foreign exchange reserves barely enough to cover one month of controlled imports, Pakistan has been facing its worst economic crisis in

decades which analysts say could have spiraled into a debt default in the absence of the IMF deal

I am pleased to announce that the IMF team has reached a staff-level agreement with the Pakistani authorities on a ninemonth Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) in the amount of SDR 2 250 million (about $3 billion or 111 percent of Pakistan s IMF quota) Nathan Porter the IMF s Mission Chief to Pakistan, had said in a statement

The $3 billion funding, spread over nine months, is higher than expected for Pakistan The country was awaiting the release of the remaining $2 5 billion from a $6 5 billion bailout package agreed in 2019

The deal comes after an eight-month delay and offers some respite to Pakistan, which is battling an acute balance of payments crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves

The former ruling party PTI also welcomed the SBA to preserve macroeconomic stability by anchoring external financing and sound policies ahead of the national elections due in the fall of this year and until a new government is formed, party leader Hammad Azhar said

Taking to Twitter Azhar said that the IMF team called on the PTI chairman at his residence on Friday

The meeting was attended by IMF country chief Nathan Porter who joined virtually from Washington and Resident Representative ester Perez Luis who was physically present he added

Giving details the former minister said that discussions took place around the stafflevel agreement that the IMF reached with the government for a 9-month $3 billion SBA “In this context, we support the over-

The PTI considers political stability and rule of law as integral to the economic stability of Pakistan Azhar said adding that following free fair and timely elections as per the Constitution, a new government mandated by the people will initiate reforms and engage on a longer-term basis with multilateral institutions to further economic transformation higher and more inclusive growth

PTI s team included Imran Khan Shah Mehmood Qureshi Hammad Azhar Shaukat Tarin, Omer Ayub Khan, Dr Sania Nishtar, Shibli Faraz, Taimur Jhagra & Muzammil Aslam earlier Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar also held a crucial meeting with ester Perez Luis the country representative of the IMF

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A N D E D A S S E C T I O N S O F K K H

C K E D I N G B , K P A M I D R A I N - T R I G G E R E D F LO O D S

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

SEVERAL passengers travelling to Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad were stranded at the Karakoram Highway on Friday as parts of the thoroughfare that connects Punjab to Gilgit-Baltistan before crossing into China remained blocked in GB and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa amid rain-triggered floods, officials and a traveller said Ghulam Abbas the National Highway Authority s deputy director for Shangla and Kohistan in KP said that the Karakoram

Highway was blocked at Jijal Pattan Uchar

Nullah and other areas adding that the Frontier Works Organisation was clearing the impediments

Meanwhile, the bridge on Uchar Nallah, swept away by floods in August last year has yet to be rebuilt

Abbas said an under-construction bridge at the site was being opened for traffic from today as the makeshift route that was being used after the 2022 floods had been damaged

Asadullah Khan, chairman of Upper Kohistan’s Harban tehsil said after heavy rainfall streams in his areas had overflown

resulting in the suspension of road traffic blocking of pedestrian paths and damage to water supply schemes

In the meantime, passengers travelling to Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad have been stranded at Karakoram Highway as it has been blocked at Uchar Nullah ” he added

The highway was also blocked at Basari and Gadoon the official said work to clear the routes at these points was under way

He further said that the road connecting the Karakoram Highway to the Harban valley, as well as water supply lines and pedestrian paths in the area had been completely washed away due to which

locals were facing difficulties

Hafiz Waqar assistant commissioner of Dasu in Upper Kohistan, said no loss of life or property had been reported yet from Harban tehsil amid the chaos following raintriggered floods

Separately a stranded tourist Anayat Ali

Shah said that the Karakoram Highway was also blocked at Goharabad a village in GB s Diamer district In recent days, at least 50 people have been killed by floods and landslides triggered by monsoon rains that have lashed Pakistan since last month

The Meteorological Department has predicted more heavy rainfall nationwide in

the days ahead and warned of urban flooding

Meanwhile, another person lost his life in a landslide in Shangla today Shangla Deputy Commissioner Hassan Abid said that a man died and another was injured when a boulder hit a pickup van due to a landslide

The incident occurred at Zero Point on the Bisham-Swat Road near the Ranyal area, he said, adding that the deceased and the injured were travelling from Bisham to Swat Today’s incident comes a day after eight children were buried alive in a landslide in the Kuz Kalay area of Shangla

PDM govt put national honour, assets, foreign policy on sale: Sh Rashid Justice Mussarat Hilali takes oath as SC judge

RAWALPINDI S ta f f R e p o R t

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief

Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said on Friday the “illegal” government had put the national honour assets and foreign policy on sale to stay in power Hitting out at the ruling coalition in a t w e e t , t h e f o r m e r i n t e r i o r m i n i s t e r q u i p p e d t h a t b u r i a l s h o u l d b e d e c l a r e d free for poor people at least to give them relief at this stage

He said the observers from across the world wre asking whether elections will b e h e l d i n P a k i s t a n o n t i m e i f s o t h e n h o w i t w i l l h a p p e n H e a s k e d a g a i n s t w h o m w i l l t h e P P P a n d P M L -

Cloudy weather with isolated rains, thunderstorm likely in KP

Peshawar trader ’s house damaged in grenade attack

PESHAWAR S ta f f R e p o R t The house of a local trader was partially damaged in a grenade attack on Friday T h e i n c i d e n t t o o k p l a c e i n t h e

j u r i s d i c t i o n o f H a y a t a b a d p o l i c e s t a t i o n T h e r e w a s n o l o s s o f l i f e i n t h e a t t a c k H o w e v e r t h e h o u s e w a s p a r t i a l l y d a m a g e d , p o l i c e s a i d “ T h e a c c u s e d e s c a p e d a f t e r h u r l i n g a g r e n a d e a t t h e h o u s e

Drone loaded with drugs crashes in Lahore’s Kahna: Police

F u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n s a r e u n d e r w a y t h e y a d d e d

Meanwhile the police arrested five culprits besides recovering cache of arms and narcotics during search and strike operations in different areas of Hangu on Friday DSP City Amjad Hussain and SHO City police station Fiaz Khan said that in line with the directives of DPO Asif Bahadur to ensure peace during holy month of Muharram-ulHarram, search and strikes operations were conducted against outlaws in different areas of city police station jurisdiction

They said that during these operations five culprits were held with two Kalashnikovs, four pistols, one rifle and 1 2 kilogram hashish

The Hangu DSP and SHO vowed to continue strict actions against these anti-state elements

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t C h i e f J u s t i c e o f P a k i s t a n ( C J P ) U m a r A t a B a n d i a l o n F r i d a y a d m i n i s t e r e d t h e o a t h o f o ff i c e t o J u s t i c e M u s s a r a t H i l a l i f o r m e r C h i e f J u s t i c e , P e s h a w a r H i g h C o u r t , a s J u d g e o f t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t o f P a k i s t a n h e r e i n a s i m p l e b u t d i g n i f i e d c e r e m o n y J u d g e s o f t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t o f P a k i s t a n , A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l f o r P a k i s t a n A d v o c a t e G e n e r a l I s l a m a b a d s e n i o r l a w y e r s a n d l a w o ff i c e r s o ff i c e r s o f L a w & J u s t i c e C o m m i s s i o n o f P a k i s t a n a n d F e d e r a l J u d i c i a l A c a d e m y I s l a m a b a d a t t e n d e d t h e c e r e m o n y T h e R e g i s t r a r S u p r e m e C o u r t c o n d u c t e d t h e p r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e o a t h - t a k i n g c e r e m o n y O ff i c e r s a n d s t a ff o f t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t o f P a k i s t a n a l s o a t t e n d e d t h e c e r e m o n y A f t e r J u s t i c e H i l a l i s e l e v a t i o n , t h e n u m b e r o f t o p c o u r t j u d g e s h a d i n c r e a s e d t o 1 6 o u t o f a t o t a l s a n c t i o n e d s t r e n g t h o f 1 7

FIA arrests six suspects from UAE with Interpol’s help

ABU DHABI S ta f f R e p o R t T h e F e d e r a l I n v e s t i g a t i o n A g e n c y ( F I A ) a r r e s t e d s i x a c c u s e d , w a n t e d b y P u n j a b p o l i c e f r o m t h e U n i t e d A r a b E m i r a t e s ( U A E ) w i t h t h e h e l p o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l P o l i c e ( I n t e r p o l ) T h e a c c u s e d a g a i n s t w h o m c a s e s w e r e r e g i s t e r e d u n d e r t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f m u r d e r a n d d a c o i t y w e r e b r o u g h t t o S i a l k o t A i r p o r t b e f o r e b e i n g h a n d e d o v e r t o t h e p o l i c e c o n c e r n e d b y t h e F I A I m m i g r a t i o n Wi n g T h e y w e r e i d e n t i f i e d a s Q a m a r S h e h z a d Ta u q e e r B u t t B o s t a n H a s s a n S a i m Z a i b , Wa q a r A z e e m a n d N a s e e m A b b a s T h e y w e r e w a n t e d b y A t t o c k Ve h a r i G u j r a n w a l a P a k p a t t a n a n d To b a Te k S i n g h p o l i c e L a s t y e a r, I n t e r p o l P a k i s t a n i s s u e d 11 7 r e d n o t i c e s f o r t h e s u s p e c t s a r r e s t w h i c h w a s m a d e p o s s i b l e d u e t o t h e c l o s e c o o r d i n a t i o n o f I n t e r p o l I s l a m a b a d w i t h I n t e r p o l U A E

G l o w i n g t r i b u t e s p a i d t o B u r h a n Wa n i o n h i s

7 t h m a r t y r d o m a n n i ve r s a r y

SRINAGAR S ta f f R e p o R t

A l l P a r t i e s H u r r i y a t l e a d e r i n I n d i a n i l l e g a l l y o c c u p i e d J a m m u a n d K a s h m i r, B i l a l A h m e d S i d d i q u i a n d o t h e r H u r r i y a t l e a d e r s h a v e p a i d g l o w i n g t r i b u t e s t o p r o m i n e n t y o u t h l e a d e r B u r h a n Wa n i o n t h e e v e o f h i s 7 t h m a r t y r d o m a n n i v e r s a r y

According to Kashmir Media Service

Burhan Wani was martyred along with his

two associates by Indian troops in a fake encounter in Kokernag area of Islamabad on July 08 in 2016

Bilal Ahmed Siddiqui in a statement issued from Central Jail Srinagar remembering the great son of soil Burhan

Wani said he will always remain an inspiration to suppressed people not only for Jammu and Kashmir but for the whole

world He reiterated the Kashmiris resolve to take the martyrs’ mission to its logical conclusion at all costs

APHC leader Noor Muhammad Fayaz in a message issued from Uttar Pradesh Nainital jail said Burhan Muzaffar Wani breathed a new spirit and gave a new dimension to the freedom movement with his unparalleled performance, enthusiasm and tireless work He said that Burhan Wani could not bear the Indian oppression and he became ready for freedom from Indian slavery

APHC-AJK chapter Convener Mehmood Ahmad Saghar in a statement issued in Islamabad paid rich tributes to Burhan Wani and his other companions who were martyred with him by Indian troops He added that the sacrifices of Burhan Wani and other Kashmiri martyrs would definitely bring positive results

Rescue-1122 put on high aler t to cope with possible flood

WASA Rawalpindi

PROTECTION OF JOURNALISTS’ RIGHTS TOP PRIORIT Y, SAYS MARRIYUM

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

MINISTER for Information and Broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb, expressed on Friday that the government fully believes in the freedom of the press and considers addressing the issues faced by journalists as its highest priority S h e m a d e t h e s e r e m a r k s during a meeting with a delegation o f j o u r n a l i s t s , l e d b y A b b o t t a b a d P r e s s C l u b P r e s i d e n t R a j a H a r o o n

a n d S e c r e t a r y G e n e r a l R a j a M u n i r T h e m e e t i n g w a s a l s o a t t e n d e d b y F e d e r a l M i n i s t e r f o r P a r l i a m e n t a r y A ff a i r s M u r t a z a J a v e d A b b a s i She stated that the Ministry of Information will continue to play a vital role in equipping press clubs across the country with modern facilities and resources She highlighted the significance and responsibility of the Abbottabad Press Club considering it as one of the most important press clubs in the country During the meeting, the minister issued directives to promptly

establish a computer lab and studio at the Abbottabad Press Club She further assured that the club would receive the previously announced grant as well ensuring its support and development

Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Murtaza Javed Abbasi thanked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for the announcement of the establishment of a computer lab studio and grant for the Abbottabad Press Club Abbottabad s journalistic community was doing its

professional work despite limited resources, Murtaza Javed Abbasi said The delegation apprised Marriyum Aurangzeb about the difficulties faced by the media persons in Abbottabad The delegation expressed their gratitude to Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb and Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi for their support Marriyum grieved over demise of PTV Director Programs Akbar MalikMinister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday expressed deep grief and sorrow

over the death of PTV Director Programs Akbar Malik In a condolence message the minister expressed sympathy with the family and children of Akbar Malik over his sudden death

Paying tributes to Akbar Malik for services to Pakistan Television Corporation, she said that Akbar Malik was a professional, compassionate and respectful person She said he was recognized in the institution for his high standard of professional competence and his death was a great loss for the national institution

Pakistan obser ves ‘Quran Sanc tity Day ’ to denounce desecration in Sweden

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

In Lahore Jamaat-i-Islami s Ziauddin Ansari addressed a rally and said that the ruling coalition had only passed a resolution in the National Assembly condemning the incident He called on the government to call a meeting of the OIC and to expel the Swedish envoy from the country He also told participants to boycott Swedish products

Rallies were also taken out in parts of Karachi, including Bolton Market, main M A Jinnah Road and Dawood Chowrangi, disrupting traffic in the city

According to AFP about 3 000 supporters of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) marched for kilometres

Meanwhile Swedish flags were burned during a rally at Islamabad s Sitara Market

“The Holy Quran is our red line,” chanted hundreds of protesters at the market who held placards calling for the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador and the severing of diplomatic ties with Stockholm

Others trampled on modified Swedish flags that read “#Boycott Sweden” and featured a crossed-out image of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson

People burn a banner of Sweden s flag during a demonstration in Peshawar on July 7 2023 as they protest against the burning of the Quran outside a Stockholm mosque that outraged Muslims around the world AFP

Separately several rallies were held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa s Shangla district Political parties, including the PTI, PML-N and the JI, staged protests in Bisham Karora Alpuri Puran and Chakesar

During a protest at Khatmi Nabuwat Chowk in KP s Battagram PTI leaders Amal Shah Sherazi, Ghulamullah, Ajab Khan addressed the demonstrators, saying the desecration of the Holy Quran could not be tolerated

The leaders said the intention behind the act was to hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims across the globe

Noting that such incidents had been taking place in Europe repeatedly, the called for European nations to take measures to stop these occurrences

These countries must draw a line between the freedom of expression and hurting the Muslim community s religious beliefs the leaders stressed demanding action from the Swedish government against the person who burnt the Holy Quran last week

Hold him accountable for hurting billions of people the leaders said

They also demanded the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador from Pakistan as a means to register the country s protest over the incident Muslim Ummah disturbed at incident in Sweden’

In a tweet today Shehbaz said

When it comes to the [matter of] Quran the [entire] nation is united The entire Muslim Ummah is disturbed by the

KARACHI s ta f f r e p o r t A f t e r a l a p s e o f f o u r d a y s t h e a u t h o r i t i e s h a v e f i n a l l y r e g i s t e r e d a F i r s t I n f o r m a t i o n R e p o r t ( F I R ) a g a i n s t t h e y o u t h i n v o l v e d i n a n a t t e m p t e d s e x u a l a s s a u l t o n a w o m a n i n G u l i s t a n - e - J a u h a r a r e a o f t h e p o r t c i t y O n F r i d a y t h e l o c a l p o l i c e o ff i c i a l l y l o d g e d a c a s e b a s e d o n t h e s t a t e c o m p l a i n t a t t h e J a u h a r p o l i c e s t a t i o n t a k i n g c o g n i z a n c e o f t h e d i s t r e s s i n g i n c i d e n t t h a t o c c u r r e d o n J u l y 3 I n r e s p o n s e t o t h e i n c i d e n t , a t h r e e - m e m b e r c o m m i t t e e h a s b e e n f o r m e d t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e c a s e o f t h e w o m a n ’s h a r a s s m e n t i n K a r a c h i ’s G u l i s t a n - e - J o h a r T h e c o m m i t t e e w i l l b e l e d b y t h e G u l s h a n s u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f p o l i c e a n d i t s p r i m a r y o b j e c t i v e w i l l b e t o a s c e r t a i n t h e f a c t s s u r r o u n d i n g t h e i n c i d e n t a n d b r i n g t h e p e r p e t r a t o r t o j u s t i c e M e a n w h i l e , t h e w o m a n h a s b e e n i d e n t i f i e d t h r o u g h C C T V f o o t a g e , b u t h e r f a m i l y h a d a l l e g e d l y r e f u s e d t o c o o p e r a t e i n t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n A c o u p l e o f d a y s a g o a d i s t u r b i n g v i d e o o f a n u n d r e s s e d m a n h a r a s s i n g a y o u n g g i r l i n t h e G u l i s t a n - e - J a u h a r a r e a o f K a r a c h i g a r n e r e d w i d e s p r e a d s o c i a l m e d i a c o n d e m n a t i o n , w i t h p e o p l e c a l l i n g f o r t h e p o l i c e t o t r a c e a n d t a k e a c t i o n a g a i n s t t h e s u s p e c t a t t h e e a r l i e s t

PM reaffirms commitment to fur ther expand BISP to suppor t deser ving families

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed commitment to further expand Benazir Income Support Program to support the deserving families He was addressing a ceremony in connection with the launching of Social Protection Accounts under the Benazir Income Support Program in Islamabad on Friday The Prime Minister applauded the sincere efforts of Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri to bring improvement, transparency and expansion into this program within the span of one year only Terming the BISP program as a valuable welfare project the Prime Minister said Benazir Bhutto Shaheed envisioned this program and then it was initiated back in 2008 Shehbaz Sharif thanked the friendly countries which extended finanncial assistance to Pakistan during the recent difficult times He said the country will stand on its feet by generating its own resources

Over 100 cattle heads killed in Tharparkar lightning incidents

THARPARKAR s ta f f r e p o r t

incident in Sweden He further said the nation will unite to protest to express their feelings and emotions over the disheartening incident”, adding that after the Friday afternoon prayers “all classes of Pakistani Muslims will raise the flag of the Holy Quran s honour and record their peaceful protest

The Holy Quran is in our hearts

The Holy Quran is not only a recitation for us but a guideline for living,”

Shehbaz said

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto

Zardari also took to Twitter noting that the desecration was another example of the rising Islamophobic mindset that seeks to dehumanise and denigrate our faith He called the act a blatant provocation to try [to] inflame sentiments and undermine Islam as a religion of peace tolerance and acceptance Bilawal asserted that Pakistan will be raising the issue at the urgent debate of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which will be held on July 11 in Geneva, on behalf of the OIC group Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman voiced similar concerns saying that the incident not just dehumanises our religion but also deliberately seeks to provoke Muslim sentiment Premier urges OIC to chalk out ‘comprehensive’ strategy The premier also held a telephonic conversation with OIC SecretaryGeneral Hissein Brahim Taha and appreciated his role in articulating the

Muslim Ummah s concerns and demands about Islamophobic trends and incidents

He urged the Taha to chalk out a coordinated and comprehensive strategy aimed at raising global awareness about its perspective apart from building legal and political deterrence against rising incidents of anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia

Referring to the recurring incidents of the Holy Quran’s desecration, PM Shehbaz conveyed Pakistan’s strong condemnation of the willful and provocative acts which had hurt the sentiments of Muslims worldwide

He stressed that the vilification of religion, revered religious personalities, holy scriptures and symbols could not be condoned on the self-serving pretext of freedom of expression and protest

Welcoming the convening of an urgent debate at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council over the issue, PM Shehbaz said that the OIC must raise the issue with the UN secretary general and at other relevant forums and bodies within the UN system

The OIC secretary general echoed Pakistan s condemnation and concerns about the despicable incidents of the public desecration of the Holy Quran Taha reaffirmed the OIC s firm commitment to tackle the contemporary scourge of Islamophobia He also lauded Pakistan s leading role in OIC deliberations in general and on this issue in particular

LHC sets aside objec tion to PTI chief ’s plea for clubbing of c ase against him

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday set aside objection raised by the registrar office to a petition filed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran seeking to club all cases register against him PTI Chief Imran Khan filed the petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC), requesting the court to stop proceedings and club all cases against him but the registrar office raised an objection

The high court however overruled the registrar office s objection and fixed the plea for hearing on July 14 The court sought arguments from the lawyers to decide on the maintainability of the petition

The hearing was conducted by LHC Justice Muhammad Amjad Rafiq over the plea of the PTI chief O n J u l y 5 , P a k i s t a n Te h r e e k - eInsaf (PTI) chief was nominated in the first information reports (FIRs) r e g i s t e r e d a g a i n s t M a y 9 r i o t s a n d a t t a c k o n t h e G e n e r a l H e a d q u a r t e r s ( G H Q ) According to details, the former

prime minister has been nominated in cases – May 9 riots vandalism of state properties and GHQ attack –registered at police stations RA Bazar and New Town

The case of the attack on the Pakistan Army s General Headquarters (GHQ) was registered at the RA Bazar police station 15 people including PTI leader Raja Basharat were already nominated in the case Yesterday an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore issued nonbailable arrest warrants for 22 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) central leaders in the May 9 riots case Police pleaded with the ATC to

issue non-bailable arrest warrants for the 22 PTI leaders in the May 9 riots case The plea was accepted and arrest warrants were issued by the anti-terrorism court during the hearing yesterday

The nominated PTI leaders in the May 9 riots case include Shah Mahmood Qureshi Fawad Chaudhry Hammad Azhar Murad Saeed Azam Swati Ali Amin Gandapur Jamshed Iqbal Cheema Musarrat Jamshed Cheema, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Hassaan Niazi, Zubair Niazi, Imtiaz Sheikh, Andleeb Abbas Karamat Khokhar Ghulam Abbas Ali Abbas Uzma Bibi and Haleema Bibi

Pakistani parliamentar y delegation visits China to understand ‘whole-process’ people’s democrac y

The China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy (CIIDS) on July 6 2023 invited the Pakistani parliamentary delegation to visit Jingshan Sub-district of Dongcheng District and Chunshu Sub-district of Xicheng District, where they had an experience of the Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage handicrafts, Chinese tea art and public library

The parliamentarians were most fascinated by the rich and diverse cultural activities for the public in the Civic Cultural Center of Jingshan

Sub-district

According to Wang Hui, Deputy Director of Jingshan Sub-district, the MEI HOU SI SHI Jingshan Civic Cultural Center since its setup in

2020 has been continuously providing cultural services for citizens on their doorsteps and practicing the whole-process people s democracy At the site, the delegation had an immersive experience of traditional Chinese culture such as guqin (traditional Chinese zither) tea art calligraphy and painting and opera as well as rich community-based convenience services and had enthusiastic exchanges with citizens who were participating in community activities While visiting the Chunshu Sub-district, the parliamentarians learned from the person in charge of Chunshu Library (the public library of the sub-district) about the practice of party-building the library and house of deputies to the National People s Congress Since its inception in 2018, Chunshu

More than 100 cattle heads were killed after being struck by lightning during rains in different areas of Tharparkar, it came to light on Friday According to the Meteorological Department, it rained with thunderstorm in Mithi Islam Kot Nangarparkar and other areas of Tharparkar It rained 55mm in Islam Kot The low-lying areas were flooded with rainwater while the administration was nowhere to be seen More than 100 cattle heads were also killed after being struck by lightning at various places during rains The Meteorological Department has forecast more heavy rains in the next 24 hours

ATC orders Qureshi, Asad Umar to join investigation into May 9 cases

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) Lahore issued an order on Friday, instructing PTI leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar to participate in the investigation regarding the violent incidents that occurred on May 9 ATC Judge Ijaz Ahmed heard the interim bail application of both Qureshi and Umar related to the May 9 incidents in which both persons appeared before the court SMQ, who is the PTI s vice chairman, has already filed applications for interim bails after the issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants in three cases s ta f f r e p o r t

MoST recommends three names for DG PSQCA in violation of MP-1 policy

CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE

Moreover the absence of the ministry s secretary during the interview and selection process, along with the appointment of an additional secretary to oversee the proceedings, has raised eyebrows This deviation from established protocols has added to the perception that the process lacks transparency and adheres to irregularities Given the significant role played by the DG PSQCA in maintaining standards and ensuring quality control in various sectors, it is imperative that the appointment process adheres strictly to meritbased criteria and eliminates any perception of favoritism or political influence As this issue continues to unfold stakeholders and observers are closely monitoring the developments hoping for a fair and transparent resolution that upholds the principles of meritocracy and safeguards the integrity of the PSQCA

IMF delegation calls on Imran Khan, PPP leaders ahead of board meeting

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

Library has become an important place for NPC deputies to learn and replenish themselves enhance their ability to perform their duties and strengthen their communication with the masses The delegation praised the cultural activities and operation mode of the library as it facilitated in-depth exchanges between NPC deputies and citizens and also created an engaging environment for reading and learning

From their visit to the grassroots, the delegation has deepened their understanding of the concept and practice of the Chinese path to modernization and the wholeprocess people s democracy During their stay in China the delegation will continue to visit Beijing, Shanxi and other places to further deepen their understanding of China

In another significant development for Pakistan s economic landscape, the delegation met the finance team of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) including its Senator Saleem Mandviwala The meeting held at the minister ’s enclave was aimed at discussing the possibility of a standby agreement with Pakistan which would have a profound impact on the nation s financial stability, an official statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce said The PPP team expressed its willingness to support the IMF programme, citing larger national interests as the driving force behind their decision Naveed Qamar representing the PPP finance team acknowledged the significance of the standby agreement in addressing Pakistan s economic concerns He reiterated the PPP s commitment to working in harmony with the IMF to ensure the successful implementation of the programme The discussion between the IMF representatives and the political parties is seen as a positive step towards economic reform and stability in the country

After lapse of 4 days, man booked for exposing himself, groping woman

IT is almost as if the authorities at all levels find out every year anew that we live in a monsoonal climate and are thus the subject of floods This monsoon, the very beginning has been marked by many deaths, which should have been avoided had the authorities taken the proper amount of care Perhaps the problem can be seen in the fact that the main government agency responsible for dealing with these issues the local bodies are nowhere in place The provincial government is not holding elections to them and is not carrying out the necessary municipal functions one of the most basic issues is vetting plans for new neighbourhoods to ensure that they are not liable to flooding Instead, once a place is well and truly established as prone to flooding, there are large sums spent (in lucrative awards of contracts) to solve the problem another function which the provincial government ducks is to inspect buildings because buildings are dilapidated, house collapses are increasing fly frequent, causing loss of precious lives

The failure to drain floodwater for prolonged periods of time also means that foundations are undermined, and the buildings on top of them rendered more liable to collapse another danger that is observed is that of electrocution lESCo seems to have developed a preventive strategy that of simply shutting down the grid, but that seems a bit like throwing out the baby with the bathwater It does not help that power shutdowns also mean the shutting down of the water supply, which is a little ironic considering that so much rainwater is around as the weather is extremely humid especially just after the rains which have caused the flooding and the consequent power shutdown tempers are understandably frayed

What is not so easily understandable is that the authorities seem to hope that ignoring the problem will make the problem go away It will not In fact, it will only get worse The initial effect of global warming (spread over some decades) is to intensify existing weather patterns which means that the monsoon will get progressively worse every year Floods like last year ’s are likely to become increasingly frequent Therefore it only makes sense for the authorities to make the assumption that these unusual weather patterns form the new normal, rather than exceptions

Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami (Late)

On June 26 through a press conference the DG ISPR told the audience that May 9 was an event tantamount to a conspiracy or revolt against the state He also claimed that his institution had gathered solid evidence to support his assertion The DG ISPR had a right to make any declarations but that does not mean that all listeners could fall in line with his avowals on the events of May 9 the country is divided into two halves: one supporting the claim of the DG ISPR that May 9 was a pre-planned conspiracy (or revolt) against the state and the same reason renders the culprits (and the prime instigator) liable to be tried in an army court Disagreeing with this claim the second school of thought asserts that May 9 was a spontaneous reaction to the arrest of the PTI Chairman and that, on May 9, the demonstration turned violent

During the press conference, the DG ISPR also delivered a brief speech to make the audience realize and concede the army’s stance The expectation was to earn the favour of the audience and through them the approbation of the public at large The assumption could be that people in general see eye to eye with the assertions of the DG ISPR an allied assumption might be that, in 2023, the awareness level of people was akin to those of surviving in 1923 a problem with a developing country like Pakistan is that every institution wants to regulate the country in its own desired way People are just mislaid in the country They are supposed to pay taxes to serve the salaried class and they have to keep on praying for better days to come They have to take refuge in hoping against hope

The post-May 9 era divides the PTI into two halves The first group consists of those who publicly renounce their allegiance to the PTI denounce the party Chairman and proclaim to step aside They are called the pavitra (the hallowed) group which consists of PTI leaders only They are not the material meant for passing through the ordeal of the army courts They are exonerated (or will be exonerated in due course) and permitted to proceed with their lives In the scientific lexicon the process is called positive selection

The second group consists of those who either re-

fuse to be positively selected or who are not given a chance to be positively selected In this group there are a few hardline PTI leaders and most PTI workers They are destined for the rigour of the army courts In the scientific lexicon, the process is called negative selection

The DG ISPR’s press conference also suggested to the Supreme Court (SC) a message that the army was determined to go ahead with trying the apprehended civilians in the army courts before Eid ul adha the SC valued the message and avoided granting a stay against the army courts nevertheless, the main challenge before the army courts is that the whole exercise of sentencing a few PTI diehard leaders and numerous arrested fervent PTI workers would be futile if the PTI Chairman remains unscathed–out of bounds of the snare To evade the noose, the main defence of the PTI Chairman is that he was in the police custody when May 9 took place This is the reason why there has been launched an earnest search for finding approvers against the PTI Chairman, who must have masterminded May 9 events In an effort to find an approver main reliance is placed on the pavitra group though the incarcerated PTI workers may offer some ray of hope

The attached challenge is the number of approvers, as one approver may not be enough To forestall the question on the credibility of any approver the army courts would prefer to secure multiple approvers ready to give statements against the PTI Chairman If approvers were found from amongst the pavitra group, the cause of penalizing the PTI Chairman would be served This is a touchy point In civilian courts, approvers (even en masse) alone are insufficient There must be plausible solid evidence to corroborate the statement of an approver In this way DG ISPR s claim that the army has gathered solid evidence may stand relevant to the army courts but

it cannot stand as acceptable in the courts of law in the civilian domain The proclaimed solid evidence must pass through the test of credibility and permissibility defined in the civilian law of evidence nonetheless, in a civilian court, the major challenge before multiple approvers would be to establish the timeline of instigation by and coordination with the PTI Chairman It simply means that the approver strategy to penalize the PTI Chairman is bound to fail in civilian courts Hence the reason for insistence on the army courts another challenge before an approver would be how to sustain politics afterwards That is any member of the pavitra group who is turned approver would be afraid of the reaction of the PTI workers subsequently The act of approving against the Chairman PTI would ensure the approver ’s political reduction to naught During the press conference two blunders of the DG ISPR are going to cost his office a lot First, he was indifferent to the formation and the swelling of the ranks of the pavitra group by expressing this DG ISPR tried to convey the message that the army was not involved in the PTI s disintegration Second, on May 9, the army made a strategic retreat to expose the true face of the PTI and, by doing so, the army ingeniously denied the PTI a chance to play the victim card in case the army retaliated immediately

In short without finding multiple approvers to incriminate the PTI Chairman the exercise of constituting the army courts to penalize the PTI s captured politicians and workers is going to be futile Moreover, without penalizing the PTI Chairman, the rationale for the army courts falls flat

The writer can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo com

C l i m a t e C h a n g e : A d d r e s s i n g t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l c r i s i s i n P a k i s t a n

has caused the desert to sizzle with high temperature and absence of rainfall: around 200 water ponds have dried, causing hardships to the local population and their animals

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

A lesson that we all should remember

Gl o b a l ly people are already noticing the effects of climate change, and if nothing is done to stop them, they will have severe economic effects Despite the fact that Pakistan’s contribution to Green House Gases (GHG) emissions is low (0 8 percent) when compared to other countries but it is one of the hardest hit by climate change The present study is an attempt to identify the impact of climate change on economic growth Climate change is widely acknowledged as having major consequences for water supplies agricultural growth ecology the health of humans and animals forestry systems and socioeconomic sectors

The industrial discharge of GHGs grew rapidly after Industrialization GHGs have a strong warming propensity and a lengthy lifespan which can contribute to global warming It should be realized that the climate is not a continuous unchanging reality even when left alone High levels of Co2 emissions are frequently cited as a primary driver of global warming and lowering Co2 emissions is typically seen as the most pressing issue for global economies Forecasts show that if effective Co2 emission reduction measures are not implemented the global temperature would rise by 3–4 C over pre-industrial levels To improve social welfare sustainable economic growth and development are required It implies that envi-

By working tog ether and taking immediate action, we can mitigate the impacts of climate chang e , protect the environment, and create a sustainable future for g enerations to come The Climate chang e crisis is a pressing global challeng e that requires immediate attention and concer ted effor ts from all nations.

ronmental sustainability should be safeguarded rather than economic progress occurring at the price of environmental damage It has been emphasized that environmental deterioration is a difficult issue in the process of economic growth because environmental deterioration has a direct influence on people’s living standards and the operation of the economy Pakistan a warm region is especially vulnerable to atmospheric changes since it is situated in an area where temperatures are higher than the world average The majority of the country is dry and semi-arid (around 60 percent of the area receives less than 250 mm of rain annually, with the remaining 24 percent getting between 250 and 500 mm) while Hindu KushKarakoram Himalayan glaciers provide the majority of the nation s rivers The accelerated melting of these glaciers contributes to increased water flow in the short term, leading to the risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GloF)

Due to global warming, they are fast vanishing, making the economy highly vulnerable In recent years rising temperatures have caused a noticeable change in monsoon patterns as well as an increase in hurricane activity in northern Pakistan, with implications for agriculture Pakistan is the world s sixth most susceptible country to climate change and it can be seen that the future rise in average temperature in Pakistan is significantly greater than in the world temperature which is a very alarming situation

The temperature change also caused droughts

desertification water stress and flooding a heat wave hit Karachi in 2015 lead to a subsequent water shortage that exists to date, and a drought in balochistan and Tharparkar that caused largescale deaths More than 1 200 people died in Karachi alone during the June 2015 heat wave while 200 more perished in other areas of Sindh province In 2022 the heat wave in Cholistan

Pakistan s population is expanding more quickly than that of the rest of the world and as a result urbanization has increased raising serious concerns about sudden changes in the climate over 25 million people are employed in Pakistan’s agriculture-based economy Pakistan is ranked as the world’s fifth most populous economy where the population growth rate is more than 2 83 percent Managing urbanization effectively requires urban planning investment in infrastructure, and provision of basic services

Environmental change in Pakistan will require the commitment and cooperation of all sectors of society, along with effective governance and long-term planning We should launch large-scale afforestation and reforestation projects to counter deforestation and restore ecosystems Tree planting efforts can help combat climate change Governments, businesses, civil society organizations, and individuals all play critical roles in tackling the climate change crisis It is essential to prioritize sustainability in decision-making processes invest in green technologies and infrastructure and develop policies that align with global climate goals by working together and taking immediate action, we can mitigate the impacts of climate change, protect the environment, and create a sustainable future for generations to come The Climate change crisis is a pressing global challenge that requires immediate attention and concerted efforts from all nations The climate change crisis requires a multifaceted approach that encompasses various sectors, including energy, agriculture, transportation, waste management and policy implementation

The writer can be reached at mohsinfareedshah786@gmail com

M ay 9 will remain a black day in national history, for we all witnessed the supporters of a political party attacking and vandalising military installations, including the Corps Commander House in lahore Regardless of the reason(s), such a reaction could not be justified Though at a much lesser level people had reacted when a sitting prime minister was disqualified in the Panama Papers saga both were an attempt to root out the military influence from national politics Will such incidents help the cause? after the downfall of the ayub Khan regime amid widespread protests, it was not a civilian setup that had followed; rather it was a martial law that later saw one half of the country becoming an independent state Ziaul Haq’s military rule did not end because of people’s struggle; it was a plane crash that brought the curtain down on it Pervez Musharraf also left the presidency when he felt politically threatened; not by public protests The lesson from history is loud and clear and we must pay heed to it; violence leads to nothing

If we take a look at Turkiye, argentina, bangladesh, brazil and Indonesia, where the military has overthrown governments, we will see that even these countries were successful in their democratic endeavours not by adopting violent methods but through constitutional approaches to their crises We can learn plenty of lessons from these nations particularly from the brotherly Turkiye

Whenever the military establishment is coerced into submission anywhere in the world, more often than not, it springs back into action with even more force, as has been the case in, say, Thailand and Myanmar Therefore, it is pertinent that our political leaders keep their focus on parliamentary measures rather than pushing their followers and supporters into a frenzy that causes nothing but destruction of public and private property That after all is not the target of the politicians either or is that the case? MUHAMMAD ARSLAN MEHMOOD TOBA TEK SINGH

Books and their prices

l I T E R a Ry festivals are organised in various cities of Pakistan where journalists and writers deliver talks on a range of subjects These festivals present a positive image of the country abroad and encourage people to read books I attended one such festival and found it interesting There are many book shops in Pakistan s major cities such as Islamabad lahore and Karachi, but most of them have few visitors and even fewer buyers due to the rising prices of books Regrettably, the prices of books have increased phenomenally Just like most other things, books have become seriously expensive and have gone beyond the reach of many The reading culture in the country is already declining and soaring prices would only accelerate the pace of the decline The government should control the prices of books and ensure that they remain affordable to the masses especially the young besides, the dearth of libraries in the country is also alarming libraries provide a conducive environment for learning and reading In the West, people can be seen reading books while commuting in buses and trains They are also seen reading while having a pleasant evening out in some public park Unfortunately we are not provided the resources and facilities to develop the reading habit The government should take the matter seriously control the price of books and establish more libraries in the country It will encourage people to read and gain knowledge It will also keep them busy in a healthy undertaking that will ultimately pave the way for progress, curiosity for learning and success

As climate change makes the weather worse, all levels of government must gear up

In shor t, without finding multiple approvers to incriminate the PTI Chairman, the exercise of constituting the Army cour ts to penaliz e the PTIÊs captured politicians and workers is going to be futile

I n s e a r c h o f a n a p p r o v e r

Mafias and elites

Parliament remains full of upholders of the status quo

sequence, the basic structure of society did not change and Egypt stayed poor

Under Pakistan s Constitution sovereignty belongs to Allah Almighty and authority is exercised by elected representatives Pakistan s rulers presume that being chosen they are clothed with divine authority like that of the kings However, Locke reminds us that people have the right to overthrow even the divine rulers if they do not deliver the goods

Locke postulated that men are naturally free and equal as part of the justification for understanding legitimate political government as the result of a social contract where people in the state of nature conditionally transfer some of their rights to the government

The UNDP foresees a social movement to transform the baneful system But the sine qua non of every movement is grass-root awareness That’s lacking in Pakistan

WI L L I A M A Welsh says, The rise of democracy has signaled the decline of elites (Leaders and Elites p 1) Not true of Pakistan? Here talent rusts and mafias prevail We see mafias all around in media, politics, justice, education and health-care

The equal citizen as enshrined in the golden words of our constitution is a myth About 460 inter-related figures would continue being perched in Parliament for another 100 years The journalist Zahid Hussain in his article House of feudals in a 1985 issue of a new magazine portrayed the dynastic composition of our Parliament

Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson in Why Nations Fail point out, The United States became rich because their citizens overthrew the elites who controlled power and created a society where political rights were much more broadly distributed where the government was accountable and responsive to citizens and where the great mass of people could take advantage of economic opportunities The result was a fundamentally different political and economic trajectory culminating in the Industrial Revolution

They observe that Egypt [for example] could not change for the better as each upheaval led to the substitution of one elite with another They point out that Egypt is poor precisely because it has been ruled by a narrow elite that has organized society for its own benefit at the expense of the vast mass of people (as in Pakistan)

Political power has been narrowly concentrated and has been used to create great wealth for those who possess it, such as the $70 billion fortune apparently accumulated by ex-president Mubarak The losers have been the Egyptian people as they only too well understand

Though the Egyptian shook off the Ottoman and British Empires and in 1952 overthrew their monarchy these cataclysmic changes were not revolutions like that of 1688 in England Rather than fundamentally transform politics in Egypt, they brought to power another elite as disinterested in achieving prosperity for ordinary Egyptians as the Ottoman and British had been In con-

Life, liberty, and property are the cornerstones of Locke’s ideas According to Locke, Government exists to protect and secure the rights of the subjects A person with rights has something of his own for the government to secure and in that sense has a property to protect

A person without rights has nothing of his own and is a slave, not a member of political society This thought has a long lineage and is at least as old as Cicero It follows, as Locke is at pains to say that absolute authority is not the essence e of political authority as Hobbes and Filmer said but inconsistent with it

The feudal elite of only 1 1 percent of the population own 22 percent of the country s farm area A study revealed the feudal aristocracy and industrial robber barons together enjoyed privileges of a whopping Rs 1114 billion

The feudal enjoyed Rs 370 billion while the business tycoons enjoyed Rs 724 billion

Being perched in Pakistan s Parliament they ensure that Pakistan s taxation system remains regressive The average income of a high networth household is 600 times more than that of an average Pakistani household Despite being filthy rich, the high-networth bracket evades taxes worth over Rs 168 billion

The 20 percent richest devour 50 percent of the country’s national income as compared to seven percent which the poorest 20 percent get Instead of paying most taxes the high net-worth individuals enjoy privileges amounting to Rs 368 billion

Pakistan is unable to undertake radical land and capital reforms It could not do away with the jagirs granted by the British raj to its “chiefs” and “chieftains”, as India did Bhutto’s land reforms were annulled by a majority decision of the Shariat Appellate Bench in the Qizilbash Trust vs Karachi Commissioner Case

Factors contributing to Pakistan’s economic malaise are obvious However political will to grapple with them is lacking We should activate the planning commission and the statistical offices We should float fair global tenders to tap our mineral resources China should launch turnkey projects to utilize our local resources and create jobs The import-export policy should be bridled Economic relations with the Muslim world should be improved It is India not Pakistan that is benefiting from the economic potential of Muslim countries Each year India s ministry of information publishes India s Year Book and India s Joint ventures abroad to guide the investors Add to them the Statesman s Year Book and the Times of India year Book and Directory

Y: Demokratia is the government of the people In his study of political systems (oligarchy, monarchy, democracy), Aristotle concluded demokratia was probably the best system The problem that bothered him was that the majority of free people (then excluding women and slaves) would use their brute voting power to introduce pro-poor legislation like taking away property from the rich During the Aristotelian age there was only one house a unicameral legislature Aristotle too was a man of means His household had slaves Aristotle suggested that we reduce income inequalities so that have-not representatives of the poor people were not tempted to prowl upon haves’ property Like Aristotle, the American founding fathers were unnerved by the spectre of ‘rule of the proletariat’ James Maddison harboured similar concerns He feared if freemen had democracy then the poor farmers would insist on taking property from the rich via land reforms (Noam Chomsky, Power Systems) The fear was addressed by cre-

ating a senate (US) or a house of lords (Britain) as antidotes against legislative vulgarities of a house of representative or a house of commons , a house of peoples (lok sabha) vs council of states (rajya sabha) in India and so on Democracy in Pakistan failed to deliver the goods as it ignored the sine qua non of Aristotelian demokratia They were honesty merit nationalism spirit of sacrifice, corruption-free public services, across-the-board military-civil accountability, truthfulness and welfare of the masses History shows that the demokratia (the power of the people) has always been an ideal No system including ochlocracy (mobocracy) could ever diminish the power of the governing elites Although the goal of democracy was to equalise citizens the equal citizen , as enshrined in the golden words of our constitution, remains a myth

The demokratia envisioned opportunities of political participation for larger proportions of the population and across-the-board accountability But Michel’s Law of Oligarchies precluded popular participation in democracy A handful of legislators exercise brute power forcing Noam Chomsky to call even the American public a bewildered herd Aristotle would rejoice in the grave to see Pakistan’s National Assembly and Senate, populated by the rich One member defiantly wears Louis Moinet Meteoris’ wrist-watch worth about Rs 460m Another with a selfclaimed capacity to shut down the whole country lives in a 30-kanal house They never took any legislative steps to equalise citizens in access to education, healthcare, housing and jobs In short, in all realms of life

The political baton is passed on to scions of political dynasties and their ilk Taxes become regressive throttling the poor and sparing the rich (owners of plazas car fleets farm houses posh idyllic mansions including those at Bani Gala Jati Umrah Clifton Sea View and elsewhere at home and abroad)

When Parliament becomes irreverent to the masses, non-political or non-elected entities ascend in the asymmetry to make it irrelevant Will we never learn?

The writer is a freelance journalist has served in the Pakistan government for 39 years and holds degrees in economics business administration and law He can be reached at amjedjaaved@gmail com

Debtors of the world, unite!

RED PEPPER

L I A m K E N N E dy

Liam Kennedy: This year, 91 low and middleincome countries are expected to spend 16 3 per cent of their revenue on debt repayments the highest level in 25 years How did we get here and what does this mean?

Jayati Ghosh: From the turn of the century, and especially after the global financial crisis (GFC), global investors got much more interested in what they called “emerging markets” or what I’d call developing countries This was celebrated by the IMF Davos the World Economic Forum private finance was going to be somehow emancipatory for these people and places

But this borrowing comes at a much greater cost to debtor countries [through the higher interest rates of private borrowing], and international finance remains very hierarchical so these big players are encouraging countries to borrow even more Of course there is a much longer history of colonialism and extraction that predates the GFC which cannot be ignored But meanwhile, there is an explosion of lending on bond markets which has created huge uncertainty in debtor countries as the value of bonds can change massively overnight as investors sell the bonds looking for larger profits elsewhere This often meant that debtor countries faced even higher borrowing costs as a consequence of being deemed risky, even though they had done nothing wrong

So many countries end up in a situation, with multiple creditors, where they are using one loan to pay off another, trying to implement various conditionalities that are often regressive all the while unable to invest in the things that are actually going to bring prosperity and growth to their country This obviously is going to end in tears which is basically where we are at right now Then, of course, the pandemic impacts developing countries the hardest (through decreased tourism and exports) and the war in Ukraine has increased food and fuel prices a result of corporate greed and not genuine supply constraints

It s worth noting here that there is also the entry of China into the global debt system from the mid2000s onwards There is a tendency in the Western media to say oh it s all China s fault and they have created debt traps’, but this is nonsense China is now the largest bilateral lender for many countries, some of the lending was self-serving and involved vanity projects (a good example is Hambantota port in Sri Lanka) but some of it did create infrastructure that is useful and was needed Their behaviour is really no different from many other large creditors

LK: There is an interesting tension here in that the IMF has a long history of structural adjustment programmes in the global south that have been broadly regressive and cemented disparities between countries At the same time more recently the IMF has also spoken about the need to move away from austerity and the dangers of inequality

You’ve called this ‘schizophrenic’ but what do you think explains this paradox? For context, recent

W h a t A p p l e d i d t o h i t $ 3 t r i l l i o n Th e I M F n o w d o e s n o t p u t a l o t o f t h e i r re q u i re m e n t s i n t o t h e a g re e m e n t s, b e c a u s e t h e y k n o w t h o s e w i l l b e c r i t i c i s e d, s o t h e y a s k c o u n t r i e s t o d o a l o t o f t h e u n p l e a s a n t c h a n g e s b e f o re t h e y a re e ve n w i l l i n g t o s i g n a n a g re e m e n t Th i s h a p p e n e d i n Pa k i s t a n a n d Z a m b i a

Oxfam research suggests that for every $1 in additional spending incentivised by the IMF, they demand $4 of cuts elsewhere

JG: I think there are two things going on here One is that there is a discrepancy between IMF research (as an internal department that yields very little power) and IMF programmes (the arm that agrees and implements deals around the globe) So, in terms of the role of taxation, the different kinds of fiscal multipliers and even the significance of capital controls, all of this is there in IMF research When you get down to the actual programmes at country level it’s the same old Well actually there have been some changes

First of all they are much more careful to put in agreements that they explicitly want to protect social spending (health and education, for example) and they want to bring in social protection measures (that expand the social safety net) However, those social protection measures are almost always small scale cash transfers and pale in comparison to other regressive changes as the Oxfam report shows But the other thing that has changed and it s very recent, is that the IMF now does not put a lot of their requirements into the agreements, because they know those will be criticised, so they ask countries to do a lot of the unpleasant changes (privatisation liberalisation removal of subsidies etc ) before they are even willing to sign an agreement This happened in Pakistan and Zambia and is now happening in Ghana

LK: So the obvious question is where is the pressure to do this coming from? Is it as simple as saying that it’s corporate interests leaning on the IMF?

JG: I guess you’ve got the answer when we don’t know what goes on inside these institutions

But in any of these situations you have to follow the money And so who is gaining from this? The domestic elites gain international finance and international corporations gain It s also a very short term game These agreements promote a rather blinkered view of what constitutes growth, one that is defined by extraction rather than genuine development

LK: What would you say have to be some of the key demands that would move us towards debt justice given the parameters corporate power and undemocratic multilateral institutions that we’ve already covered?

JG:

Debtors have to coordinate There is a problem with the accountability of a lot of these debtor country governments that are either unresponsive to the needs of the people and/or more widely authoritarian But it s so important for debtor countries to

look, the IMF is asking me for this Did they ask you for that? How were you able to get better conditions?

There is a significant problem also in the reliance on external consultants in negotiations that erodes state capacity and prevents internationalist alliances

But given the power imbalances that we have groups of debtor countries have to talk and, in certain situations, threaten joint default We have seen this year that when it comes to events that are seen as of systemic importance, say Silicon Valley Bank or Credit Suisse, governments will come up with rescue packages in a few days Countries that go for debt resolution under the common framework wait for three years and even then there are no guarantees It s because they re not seen as systemically important And you won t be systemically important if you re on your own

LK: You’ve highlighted the role of massive consultancies here and the flagrant abuse they often enact across the globe, yet there is very little concern within the boundaries of the so-called West about what goes on in the global south A generous diagnosis would say, look there’s a deliberate lack of transparency here, the topics at hand are quite dense etc So is it just a case of visibilising external suffering or what truly can be done to raise consciousness in the West?

JG: This is such a tough question Because I think that you re right debt and taxation are deliberately obfuscated to alienate people But then there s the other part, and this is where I despair, to be honest Let s take something like Covid-19 vaccines where the impact is so exceedingly obvious and concern amongst progressives in the U S where I live was minimal There was next to no mainstream coverage of the deliberate prioritising of corporate profits over lives of people in the global south

LK: Finally, what would you say to a progressive government in the UK or the U S are some absolutely non-negotiable commitments or principles that would move us towards a more equal and just world

JG: Well to begin with transparency Who is advising government at what cost and for what ends?

This also extends of course to the international financial institutions; they don t release their debt sustainability assessment methodologies for instance They don’t reveal who all the creditors are Trade deals are another area where this a disgraceful lack of transparency Take the deal currently being negotiated between the UK and India we have no idea what is in it

Regulation of private capital is another absolutely critical feature we just have lost all the basic regulations that we had in the 1950s and 60s We have to enforce conditions on and have accountability for private players, rather than just rely on carrots that are completely ineffectual The complete eradication of tax havens is also obviously needed and we need strong requirements for access to public funding if you are taking U S $2 billion from the government you bloody well share your technology

More widely it s important to recognise this is a world economy in flux Things we have taken for granted are now up for debate, U S dollar dominance for instance The major architecture of the international system is being questioned often by some of the chief architects themselves! So a lot of these massive institutions are fragmenting and are being forced to adapt or disintegrate, that leaves a lot of things open Liam Kennedy is a Red Pepper editor

In this economy?

WH E N Apple s market capitalization scooted past the $3 trillion mark for the second time in its history, it did so under some incredible circumstances The company had seen sales decline for two straight quarters with another anticipated on the way It posted an earnings miss for the first time in almost seven years in February And its most highly anticipated product the Vision Pro isn t scheduled to hit stores until 2024 and still feels like a prototype Yet while it seems like Apple shouldn t be setting all-time stock market highs, and shouldn t be up 53 percent this year, the company is much better positioned to remain at the $3 trillion level than when it first reached it briefly in early 2022 With a whole lot of cash a little financial manipulation and a growing services business Apple has thrived in a period of rising interest rates And now that the worst of a tough economic moment is likely behind it, it s set to flourish in the rebound ahead

Of all the factors that played a role in Apple’s surge, cash may be the most important When interest rates rose from zero to more than 5 percent profits suddenly mattered more than promise and Apple collected plenty of the former The company built a formidable war chest amassing more than $100 billion in cash and deployed it masterfully In May it announced a $90 billion share buyback, its second in two years, putting that money in its investors hands Apple s buybacks have distinguished it from many of its tech peers who’ve struggled with profitability

Taking Apple s cash into consideration portfolio manager Patrick Burton told Bloomberg the company s valuation made sense In my career I never envisioned a company of this size, he said But then I never envisioned a company capable of generating more than $100 billion in free cash flow in a year ” Citi analyst Atif Malik set a $240 price target for Apple, anticipating another near 30 percent climb

To remain at $3 trillion Apple will need to show sales growth or keep buying back stock but it s demonstrated enough strength in its iPhone and services businesses that it appears likely to reverse the trend Even as Apple s Mac sales dropped 31 percent and iPads sales dropped almost 13 percent in the most recent quarter, its iPhone revenue rose 2 percent, beating expectations by nearly $2 5 billion Its services business meanwhile made up 22 percent of its revenue in the recent quarter larger than every product but iPhone insulating it a bit from the declines elsewhere And with the iPhone 15 on the way this fall a major upgrade cycle awaits

When Apple first reached $3 trillion in January 2022, it was in a tenuous position Inflation was rising and the Fed was preparing to start a campaign of significant interest rate hikes that have depressed asset prices Meanwhile Apple was in the thick of COVID’s Omicron wave in which supply chain disruptions cost it billions The company would take some time to figure these issues out but its supply chain has improved and the Fed appears to be nearing the end of its rate raises The near future, at the very least, looks bright

When Parliament becomes irreverent to the masses, non-political or non-elected entities ascend in the asymmetry to make it irrelevant Will we never learn?

Jayati Ghosh is professor of economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and the executive secretary of International Development Economics Associates (IDEAS)

YELLEN SAYS US NOT SEEKING ‘WINNER-TAKE-ALL’ COMPETITION WITH CHINA

BEIJING ag e n c i e S

TREASURY Secretary Janet Yellen told Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday that the United States is not seeking “winner-take-all” competition, in a visit to Beijing aimed at stabilising fraught ties Yellen s four-day trip is her first as Treasury chief to China with which the United States is butting heads over trade curbs, human rights, and a litany of other disputes

But Washington is working to dial down the temperature and on Friday Yellen underscored to Li that the United States does not seek an economic showdown

We seek healthy economic competition that is not winnertake-all but that, with a fair set of rules can benefit both countries over time she told Li at Beijing s Great Hall of the People

The United States has said it is seeking to de-risk from China by limiting the world s second-largest economy’s access to

advanced technology deemed crucial to Washington s national security

Yellen underlined to Premier Li that while Washington would “in certain circumstances need to pursue targeted actions to protect its national security that should not derail ties

We may disagree in these instances, she said We should not allow any disagreement to lead to misunderstandings that needlessly worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationship Highlighting the challenges, just days before Yellen s visit, Beijing unveiled new export controls on metals key to semiconductor manufacturing on national security grounds in the latest salvo in the chips war

The Treasury secretary Friday told American businesspeople Washington was concerned about the curbs

She stressed during her visit that Washington was not seeking a wholesale separation of our economies

A decoupling of the world s two largest economies would be

Commissioner Malakand Division Shahid

Ullah Khan, Director General of Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism (KPCTA), Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khan and Brigadier Imran on Friday inaugurated the three-day Shandur Polo Festival in Chitral district amid an atmosphere of jubilation

A large number of local and foreign tourists arrived to attend Shandur polo festival The festival has been jointly organized by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA) the Pakistan Army the Frontier Corps and the district administration

Speaking on the occasion Commissioner Malakand Shahid Ullah Khan said that holding such a big polo festival in Shandur Valley is a milestone and proof that peace has been restored in the country He mentioned that arranging the polo festival was a difficult task but the security forces and district administrations have made it possible The Commissioner Malakand Division also highlighted the tremendous skills of Pakistanis which would be utilized for the prosperity and development of the country He also lauded the efforts of KPCTA, Gilgit Baltistan and the district administrations of Chitral for arranging recreational activities during the festival DG KPCTA Bakhtiar Khan stated that all the necessary arrangements have been made for the facilitation and assistance of tourists He mentioned that tourism police and guides have been deputed to assist tourists and adequate accommodation facilities have been ensured for visitors Additionally camping pods have been installed and are available for

destabilising for the global economy, Yellen told a meeting with representatives of US business at a session hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in the capital

WE CAN SEE A RAINBOW

Despite tensions Beijing has struck an optimistic tone about the visit

Premier Li told Yellen on Friday that China could see the relationship recovering after a difficult period

Yesterday the moment you arrived at our airport and left the plane, we saw a rainbow, Li said I think it can apply to the US-China relationship too: after e x p e r i e n c i n g a r o u n d o f w i n d s a n d r a i n s w e s u r e l y c a n s e e a rainbow

Analysts said Yellen s visit could allow for a warming of ties

Chen Dingding, the president of the Guangzhou-based think tank Intellisia Institute, told AFP the visit could have “positive implications for US-China relations

A small step towards better Sino-US relations would be a big

step for the world and the world economy, said Lyu Xiang, an expert on the topic at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

“The impact of this would be very significant ”

WE RE TALKING

The United States does not expect specific policy breakthroughs this time but hopes for frank and productive conversations that can pave the way for future talks a Treasury official told reporters

But they said Especially if they re things that we may disagree about, it s even more important that we re talking Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China who met with Yellen on Friday told AFP:

We re hoping that she would set the tone

The hope is that following her visit there would be more visits” both ways, he added Tensions soared earlier this year when the United States detected and then shot down what it said was a Chinese spy balloon after the craft traversed its territory

tourists, and the helpline of the tourism authority is functional Different colorful programs including paragliding food stalls and traditional dances have also been arranged at the festival S t a l l s h a v e b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d t o h i g hl i g h t a n d p r o m o t e t h e a r t w o r k s o f l o c a l artistes and skilled individuals from Chitral a n d G i l g i t I t i s w o r t h m e n t i o n i n g t h a t t h e Shandur Polo ground is situated at the highe s t l e v e l o f 3 8 0 0 m k n o w n a s t h e “ R o o f o f t h e Wo r l d a n d t h e K i n g G a m e h a s b e e n

h e l d a n n u a l l y s i n c e 1 9 3 6 C h i t r a l i s t h e most peaceful region and attracts thousands of domestic and international tourists annua l l y e s p e c i a l l y d u r i n g t h e S h a n d u r a n d K a l a s h f e s t i v a l s The KPCTA has made all the necessary arrangements to hold the festival in a befitting manner and to attract domestic and foreign tourists to witness the beauty of the scenic region and traditional games On the first day the Upper Laspur team beat the Lower Laspur team by 5-1 in a thrilling match

Three Palestinians killed in West Bank violence

WEST BANK ag e n c e S

Three Palestinians were killed on Friday in the occupied West Bank, a day after the United Nations urged a “meaningful political process to stem renewed violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Israeli forces killed two Palestinian fighters during an Israeli raid on the northern West Bank city of Nablus Israeli and Palestinian officials said The Palestinian health ministry announced two martyrs and three injured as a result of the occupation [Israeli] aggression on Nablus” The Israeli army reported no injuries among its forces T h e a r m y s a i d i t h a d e n t e r e d N a b l u s t o a r r e s t t w o i n d i v i d u a l s w a n t e d o v e r a s h o o t i n g e a r l i e r t h i s m o n t h t a rg e t i n g I sr a e l i p o l i c e a t a We s t B a n k s e t t l e m e n t t h a t r es u l t e d i n n o c a s u a l t i e s

T h e P a l e s t i n i a n h e a l t h m i n i s t r y i n a s t a t e m e n t i d e n t i f i e d t h e t w o d e a d a s K h a i r i S h a h e e n , 3 4 , a n d H a m z a M a q b u l 3 2 The army claimed they “were killed following an exchange of fire with security forces During the activity, weapons which were used by the terrorists were confiscated,” the army added Witnesses told AFP Israeli troops entered Nablus on Friday morning and surrounded a house in the Old City, a stronghold of Palestinian groups, before calling on those inside to turn themselves in The Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades a wing of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), claimed Shaheen and Maqbul as its members

H i s to r i c S h a n d u r p o l o fe s t i va l 2 0 2 3 k i c k s - o f f i n C h i t r a l

SHORTAGE OF CLIMATE RESOURCES HOLDING PAKISTAN BACK , SAYS SHERRY REHMAN

smart agriculture opportunities for small farmers

PTCL Group’s S ummerS park Internship Program 2023 set to ignite c areers of young graduates

FE D E R A L Minister for Climate Change & Environmental Coordination, Senator Sherry Rehman on Friday said Climate Finance was uncharted territory for many developing countries due to a significant knowledge and capacity gap on this critical issue

Pakistan faces dual challenges of limited accessibility to climate finance and a lack of technical capacity, impeding its progress in achieving crucial climate adaptation and mitigation goals

The minister was delivering her key note address at the launch event of the Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) organized by the UK Government where she emphasized the significant role that programs like CFA could play in knowledge-creating, building capacity and new pathways within both the public and private sectors a news release said

She underlined the challenge of prioritizing climate change in both sectors and highlighted the potential of such initiatives to elevate the government s narrative on climate finance

By creating awareness and aligning

public interests with government objectives, these programs can effectively enhance the discourse on climate finance

The minister highlighted Pakistan’s commitment to exploring Carbon Markets as part of its efforts under the Paris Agreement She mentioned that the country was in the process of developing an interim framework for a voluntary carbon market and we had officially signed on a collaboration with Verra a global standard-setting body to share knowledge and educate stakeholders on carbon markets and the certification process for generating carbon credits She spoke about the Delta Blue Car-

IBA K arachi joins hands with donors to empower underser ved students

i s l a m a b a d : Pakistan’s leading telecommunications and integrated digital services provider PTCL Group (PTCL & Ufone 4G) has launched its highly anticipated SummerSpark internship program at a vibrant opening ceremony held at PTCL Group Tower in Islamabad The 6week internship program, SummerSpark received an overwhelming response upon opening the registration process, with over 15,475 young graduates from top universities eagerly vying for a spot After a rigorous selection process the top 30 candidates with exceptional competencies and potential were selected to participate in the program These future leaders will enjoy valuable hands-on work experience on various business projects under expert mentorship at PTCL & Ufone 4G offices in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi that will facilitate them to set the stage for the successful commencement of their professional careers ahead P R

K a r a c h i: The Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi organized an orientation ceremony for IBA-Talent Hunt Orientation Program - Batch 2023 at the Main Campus to welcome more than 250 enrolled students Initiated in the year 2004, the program provides free-of-cost training to selected students from underserved communities over a period of six weeks preparing them for the rigorous admission process at the IBA Karachi Selected students are then offered up to 100% scholarships for a four-year undergraduate degree program The program covers accommodation, mess, and other recurring educational expenses To date, more than 450 students have become a part of this program and over 250 have successfully graduated PR

bon Project by the Sindh Government as a flagship in voluntary carbon markets, which was the world’s largest blue carbon project with a 60-year lifespan and aim of restoring 350 000 hectares of land in the Districts of Thatta and Sujawal in Sindh She said that the restoration of the mangrove forests has the potential to increase Pakistan’s mitigation capacity by reduction in emissions worth 27 million tons of CO2e over the life cycle of the project

Most of the resources from that carbon trade will go into regenerating mangroves and enhancing water conservation projects, as well as for building climate-

EIGHTEEN star ts handing over of villas to homeowners

i s l a m a b a d: EIGHTEEN, a modern, luxurious sustainable residential project developed by Ora developers in partnership with Saif Group and Kohistan Builders has now commenced the handover process for homeowners who purchased villas in the project A colorful handover ceremony of the first villa at EIGHTEEN was held in the presence of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Commercial Officer Chief Community Officer and inaugural client The handover process for all the villas of this Cluster Dandelion will be completed by June 2024 With gorgeous designs, spacious layouts, excellent amenities and sustainable technology, properties in EIGHTEEN offer the best of both worlds – an attractive and future-proof investment that also offers an eco-friendly way of living and a high-quality of life P R

Pakistan reducing share of furnace oil in energy mix

Pakistan is currently grappling with a historic financial crisis as its foreign reserves dwindle, leaving only enough to cover one month's worth of import bills, and the economy continues to face a difficult time However amidst this challenging situation there is a silver lining: Pakistan is gradually reducing its reliance on imported fuels This shift not only addresses the main cause of depleting foreign reserves but also benefits consumers P R

Mastercard par tners with JazzCash to revolutionize digital payments

K a r a c h i: Mastercard has announced a collaboration with JazzCash the largest digital wallet provider in Pakistan serving over 43 million accounts to revolutionize digital payments by introducing affordable acceptance solutions in the country The partners are launching QR code payments, Pay by Link, and Tap on Phone solutions to facilitate cost-effective P R

The minister highlighted that Pakistan was an extremely climate-stressed country and drew attention to the increasing frequency of extreme weather events in the country and stressed that these events were no longer isolated or random occurrences but were a direct result of climate change

She emphasized that climate inaction had disrupted nature’s ability to maintain its natural weather patterns and it was crucial for society to take responsibility for creating an environment where nature could thrive and preserve its existing balance

She continued, “We need promises made at COP27 to materialize, but clearly the financial challenges faced by the international public sector in meeting the massive funding requirements of the developing world which have gone to trillions from billions, fall far short of the quantum of funding now needed

The world is not only missing its emissions reduction targets but is also failing to fulfill the promised funding pledges made by the global community

T h e P a r i s g o a l o f l i m i t i n g g l o b a l warming to 1 5ºC is no longer alive and we are hurtling towards a 2 8ºC where c o u n t r i e s l i k e P a k i s t a n w i l l f e e l t h e burn first ”

CPEC: Road to prosperity and growth amidst challenges

islamabad: Bahria University Pak-China Study and Research Center and National Institute of Maritime Affairs (NIMA) jointly organized an international seminar on July 07, 2023, titled CPEC

- The Road to Prosperity and Growth Amidst Challenges" to mark the 10-year celebrations of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Prof Ahsan Iqbal Federal Minister MoPD&SI graced the occasion as a Chief Guest

While addressing the audience, the Minister highlighted how CPEC has emerged as a gamechanger for both Pakistan and China, heralding a new era of economic prosperity and growth He expressed his confidence that through CPEC, Pakistan shall be able to secure the development opportunities which were overlooked in the past P R

IESCO holds protest against desecration of Holy Q uran in Sweden at head office

A protest was recorded by the IESCO officers and employees against the recent incident of desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden after performing Friday prayers at IESCO head office Chief Executive Officer IESCO Dr Muhammad Amjad Khan said that the condemnation of this heinous incident is less In the name of freedom of expression, such incidents are intolerable He further said that the teachings of the Holy Quran are a source of guidance for us and as Muslims it is our responsibility to live our lives in the light of the teachings of the Holy Quran Speaking at the protest, Operations Director IESCO Muhammad Aslam Khan said that there is a lot of anger among Muslims over the incident and we need to fight against Islamophobia and religious hatred together P R

ISLAMABAD:

There is a pressing need for collaboration and cooperation between the United States and China to tackle emerging global challenges, including traditional and nontraditional security threats Speakers and experts emphasized the critical importance of building bridges and fostering dialogue between these two influential nations to

S peakers urge US and C hina to forge cooperation in face of emerging global challenges

M o S T r e c o M M e n d S T h r e e n a M e S f o r d G P S Q c a i n v i o l aT i o n o f M P - 1 P o l i c y

the position

These sources suggest that political pressure may have influenced the officials to forward the summary recommending unqualified candidates

TH E Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has come under scrutiny for recommending three candidates for the post of Director General (DG) of the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) in violation of the MP-1 policy This decision has raised concerns about the integrity and transparency of the appointment process

According to the available information, the ministry has submitted a summary to the cabinet recommending Engr Nasir Ali Baloch Syed Azhar Kazmi and Engr Muhammad Amin Khan for the position of DG PSQCA However it has been revealed that these three shortlisted candidates do not meet the qualification criteria for the MP-1 scale, as stated in the MP-I Scale Policy 2020

The summary which has been obtained by this correspondent explicitly states that although the candidates do not fulfill the MP-I scale qualification they meet the criteria advertised for the post, which requires a BS/BE degree

The ministry is requesting the federal cabinet to approve these recommendations despite the apparent discrepancy Sources within the ministry have expressed concerns that candidates who do not meet the qualifications for the MP-I scale (BS-21) should not be considered for

Documents reveal that the vacant post of Director General PSQCA (MP1 Scale), was advertised on November 27, 2022

To ensure a wider pool of candidates with relevant experience, the qualification criteria were expanded to include a BS/BE degree in scientific or managerial disciplines Ninety-eight applications were received in response which were then scrutinized by a Scrutiny Committee Nine candidates were shortlisted for consideration by the Selection Committee

The Selection Committee evaluated the candidates based on leadership qualities financial and administrative management skills communication abilities relevance of knowledge, and proposed ideas/business plans for improving the organization The committee conducted interviews on May 17, 2023, and recommended a panel of three candidates in order of merit to the Federal Government for consideration

The appointment of the DG PSQCA has been surrounded by controversy, leading to the issuance of contempt of court notices by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to the Minister and Secretary of MoST The court proceedings revealed that the position had been filled on an acting basis for over 14 years which raised questions about the depart-

ment’s compliance with court orders

Advocate Saifur Rehman, the petitioner ’s counsel presented evidence before Justice Babar Sattar exposing the longstanding practice of acting appointments for the DG PSQCA position

Sources indicate that the ministry intends to appoint a candidate named Nasir Baloch, who is allegedly favored by influential individuals However officials argue that the shortlisting process itself is suspicious as it seemingly violated the rules for MP-1 scale appointments Only nine candidates were shortlisted out of over 98 applicants, a move that is considered a procedural violation by an official familiar with the rules Additionally concerns have been raised regarding the interview and selection process The absence of the ministry s secretary who also serves as the secretary of the selection committee, due to retirement resulted in an additional secretary overseeing the process This deviation from established rules is seen as contradictory and irregular

Earlier reports indicated that the shortlisted candidates lacked the technical expertise and experience necessary for the DG PSQCA position Allegations were made that candidates with suitable qualifications and experience were either pushed down the list or not shortlisted due to political considerations

It is worth mentioning that the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) is an autonomous

organization operating under the administrative control of the Ministry of Science and Technology Established through the PSQCA Act of 1996, its purpose is to provide comprehensive services for standardization and conformity assessment

The violation of the MP-1 policy in the appointment process for the DG PSQCA raises serious questions about the transparency and fairness of the selection Critics argue that the ministry’s recommendations despite candidates not meeting the required qualifications indicate a disregard for merit-based appointments and a potential compromise of the organization s integrity

The controversy surrounding this issue intensified when the IHC issued contempt of court notices to the Minister and Secretary of MoST The revelation of prolonged acting appointments for the DG PSQCA position showcased a systemic problem within the department Advocate Saifur Rehman, representing the petitioner, presented compelling evidence, exposing the irregular practice of acting appointments and demanding accountability

Insiders within the ministry have expressed concerns that the selection process has been marred by political interference The suspicion arises from the shortlisting of only nine candidates out of a large pool of applicants, potentially indicating a bias in favor of certain individuals Furthermore allegations have been made that technically qualified candidates were overlooked or downgraded due to political considerations

Yo u t h e m p owe r m e nt ke y to d e ve l o p m e nt, p ro s p e r i t y o f Pa ki s t a n :

ISLAMABAD

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said the government was committed to empower youth of the country as empowering them was key to ensure development and prosperity of Pakistan

He said the youth of the country were capable enough to transform the country s fate as with their hard work and dedication, they could help Pakistan develop at faster pace leaving its neighboring country far behind in term of economic development and prosperity

P M

classes online while sitting home and also earned their bread and butter by working as freelancer

He informed that he as CM Punjab also provided scholarships to the talented youth under Punjab Education Endowment Fund (PEEF) and the beneficiary of these programmes was now serving the country in various areas including health, IT and Engineering

The prime minister maintained that this had been his mission to provide every youth with a laptop machine to enable them to successfully move forward in their respective areas

and asked them to provide the details by July 11 The email also shared an alphanumeric five-digit passcode without specifying what it was for A Google search of a telephone number attributed to the sender did not show any results relevant to the election commission

In January this year, Power Minister Khurram Dastgir had said a “cyberattack on the national grid cannot be ruled out” when detailing the inquiry progress on a countrywide power outage earlier that month

cPec attracted $25.4b in 10 years: Beijing

ISTANBUL

S TA F F R E P O R T

Beijing revealed on Thursday that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) attracted $25 4 billion in direct investment in the 10 years since being launched in 2014 The projects are creating 192 000 jobs generating 6,000MW of power, building 510 km (316 miles) of highways, and expanding the national transmission network by 886 km (550 miles),”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing

population The unemployment rate slipped to 3 6% from 3 7% in May

Though job growth is slowing, the labor market remains unbowed despite the Federal Reserve delivering 500 basis points worth of rate hikes since March 2022 when it embarked on its fastest monetary policy tightening campaign in more than 40 years For now it is helping the economy to defy economists predictions of a recession

Average hourly earnings rose 0 4% last month after climbing by the same margin in May In the 12 months through June, wages increased 4 4%, matching May’s advance

Annual wage growth remains too high to be consistent with the Fed’s 2% inflation target The U S central bank is almost certain to resume raising interest rates later this month as signaled by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, after pausing in June

While the higher paying industries like technology and finance are purging workers, sectors like leisure and hospitality as well local government education are still catching up after losing employees and experiencing accelerated retirements during the COVID-19 pandemic Companies are also hoarding workers a legacy of the dire labor shortages experienced as the economy rebounded from the COVID-19 downturn in 2021 and early 2022

But some economists argued that worker hoarding was masking weakness in the economy pointing to worker productivity which slumped in the first quarter

They also noted that while gross domestic product the traditional measure of economic growth, was solid in the January-March quarter, an alternative gauge, gross domestic income, has contracted for two straight quarters

Though businesses are content for now to continue hoarding workers that could change once slowing consumer spending starts to erode profits the economists said predicting major layoffs

There are also concerns that the slowdown in wage growth, driven by the loss of high-paying technology and finance jobs among others, portends slower consumer spending, the main anchor of the economy

Addressing the launching ceremony of laptop programme here, the prime minister said this ceremony reminded him of the days when as Chief Minister Punjab he distributed hundreds of thousands laptops among the students on merit

He said those laptops helped the students a lot during Covid pandemic days when they took their

He informed that apart from the 100,000 laptops approved for the previous financial year, he also get another 100 000 laptops approved for the current fiscal year

He said the laptop distribution process would totally be on merit and no influence will be accepted in this regard

For the youth from rural areas,

he said the government had allocated Rs 5 billion to provide agriculture loans, while another Rs 5 billion had been allocated for the provision of skilled-based training to the youth

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Shaza

Fatima Khawaja said Muslim League (N) in its every tenure, had empowered the youth

She said since 2011, one million laptops had been distributed among talented students while over Rs 100 billion loans had also been provided to the youth to empower them S h e s a i d t h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r w o u l d d i s t r i b u t e 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 l a pt o p s a m o n g t h e s t u d e n t s i n t h e d a y s t o c o m e M i n i s t e r f o r I n f o r m a t i o n M a r r i y u m A u r a n g z e b S p e c i a l A s s i s t a n t t o P r i m e M i n i s t e r o n I n t e r i o r A t t a u l l a h Ta r r a r a n d C h a i r m a n o f H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n D r M u k h t a r A h m e d w e r e a l s o present on the occasion

Details regarding CPEC from China came in light of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif s acknowledgement of the pivotal role the infrastructure project has played in Pakistan s economic transformation CPEC, a part of China s Belt and Road Initiative, is a major economic and infrastructure project between China and Pakistan estimated to exceed $50 billion which enables China to access the Arabian Sea through the Gwadar Port There have been discussions to include Taliban-led Afghanistan in the infrastructure project, and the administration has also resolved to make the country a transit hub between Central and South Asia “CPEC has made tangible contribution to the national development of Pakistan and connectivity in the region said Wang He said CPEC has established a 1+4 cooperation layout with CPEC at the core and Gwadar Port transport infrastructure energy and industrial cooperation as the key areas China is ready to partner with Pakistan to enhance the development of CPEC, following important agreements between the leaders of both countries which aims to promote high-quality development benefiting China Pakistan the region and all nations involved Wang stressed

violent events of May 9: Probe repor t of five key cases sent to authorities

PESHAWAR

A Z I Z B U N E R I

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Caretaker Minister for Industries Commerce and Technical Education Muhammad Adnan Jalil has said that apart from religious cultural similarity and border connectivity, Pakistan and Afghanistan has cordial relationship, based on closed proximity and neighborhood between the two countries

He said that people of Both countries feel brotherly sentiments for each other while Pakistan wish for sustainable peace in Afghanistan which is a catalyst for the stability of the whole region

The provincial minister said that there are vast possibilities for more deepening the bilateral trade and economic ties, which requires to facilitate the business and investors community of both countries

He expressed these views during a meeting with the Afghan diplomatic delegation led by Afghan Consul General Hafiz Mohibullah at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade (KPBOIT) office here at Peshawar on Friday

During the meeting, Director Business Development KPBOIT Bilal Sarwar, Coordinator FPCCI Sar-

taj Ahmed Khan, Economic Advisor Industries Department Abdul Rehman and other officials were also accompanied the provincial minister

The provincial minister discussed matters of mutual interest with the Afghan diplomats focusing further expansion of trade and business activities between the two countries increasing the volume of Pak-Afghan trade and taking benefits from cross border investment opportunities

The minister also invited Afghan relevant authorities, traders and business community to come Pakistan and participate in the upcoming Pak Afghan Expo to be held at Peshawar in upcoming month of September while accepted the offer of Afghan officials for participating of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa investors and relevant officials, at Afghan Business Conference, to be held in Afghanistan in near future

On this occasion, border trade was also came under the discussion while the minister termed it a major source of trade development between the two countries He said that Afghanistan in this purpose as a trade corridor should provide facilities for the peaceful access of the Pakistani businessmen to Central Asian countries so that to run the Cross-border trade and business activities in conducive environment

The investigators from different institutions on Friday claimed to have finalised report of probe into five key cases registered under terrorism charges in connection with violent events of May 9 and forwarded to the high authorities Police said that the investigative institutions prepared the report after a thorough probe into five key cases related to May 9 riots lodged at the Sarwar Road police station under the terrorism section and forwarded it to the higher authorities

According to the report an inspector-ranked officer is carrying out investigation into the terrorism cases related to the killing of two persons and injuring 64 police officials It stated that 430 suspects were arrested in the five terrorism cases, whereas, 49 persons were nominated and 51 were arrested with the help of the footage The arrests of 330 unidentified persons were carried out in the terrorism case

The report stated that 74 accused were discharged after the identification parade It added that 27 cases had also been lodged at the Cantt Division under different sections and an investigation is underway

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US job growth slows in June; unemployment rate falls to 3.6%