Profit PM SHEHBA Z HOLDS MEETINGS WITH Z ARDARI, TAREEN AS POLITICKING PICKS UP

ISLAMABAD

S TA F F R E P O R T

PR I M E Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday met PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) patron-in-chief Jahangir Khan Tareen in Lahore on Saturday, as political parties gear up for general elections

The PML-N said in a statement on Twitter that Zardari who is an important ally of the PM-Shehbaz-led ruling coalition at the Centre called on the premier at his residence in the Punjab capital today where the two discussed the country s current political situation

In another tweet, the PML-N said the PM visited Tareen today and extended condolences over the demise of the IPP leader’s brother Alamgir Khan Tareen earlier this month who died purportedly by suicide

The meetings take place with just four weeks remaining in the 15th National Assembly’s tenure, which will end on August 12, and political parties set to kick off their election campaigns

For his part PM Shehbaz has promised timely elections saying that the government s reins would be handed over to a caretaker setup in August

However, no hint has been dropped by either the premier or any other leader from the ruling coalition about when the elections will be held as they have been insisting that it is the domain of the Election Commission of Pakistan to issue the polls schedule

Similarly, the legally required consultations that must take place between the prime minister and opposition leader in the National Assembly over candidates for the caretaker government have g NATIONAL-FLAG-CARRIER REMINDED

TO PAY 8 2M RIYAL yet to begin

On this, a Dawn editorial said today, “The names of several controversial characters have been doing the rounds and it is with quiet trepidation that many have been speculating the actual mandate of the interim set-up that will be announced

It further pointed out: Given the absence of any real opposition in the National Assembly the consultation process at the moment appears to be a mere formality The opposition leader a

PTI turncoat keen on securing a ticket from another political party is unlikely to have any strong or independent opinions on the matter

The editorial also mentioned a Dubai huddle between the PML-N and PPP leadership last month during which the two sides discussed the timing of the elections names for the caretaker setup and their share in the future setup if they won the polls, according to reports

The huddle seemed to have irked another key ally Maulana Fazlur Rehman president of the political alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement of which the PML-N is a part for not being consulted on the meeting However, after he had a meeting with PM Shehbaz, Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl spokesman Mohammad Aslam Ghauri denied his party chief had expressed any concerns or dislike over the Dubai huddle claiming the media had distorted Fazl s off-record conversation with journalists

PM Shehbaz s today s meetings also come a day after the PPP and the newly formed IPP which is expected to play an important role in Punjab politics in the upcoming general elections reacted sharply to the PML-N s reluctance to go for major seat adjustments

COAS Munir, Iran’s top general discuss defence cooperation in Tehran meeting

ISLAMABAD

Chief of the Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir met Iran’s top general Mohammad Bagheri in Tehran on Saturday and discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest including defence cooperation Gen Munir reached the Iranian capital for a two-day visit on Friday where, an Inter-Services Public Relations’ press release said, he would meet the Iranian military and civilian leadership and discuss with them bilateral matters relating to defence and security cooperation

Subsequently he met Chief of General Staff for the Armed Forces of Iran Mohammad Bagheri on Saturday morning, Iran s state news agency IRNA reported The meeting was held with the aim of increasing bilateral interactions to expand military educational defence and security cooperation the report said During the exchange the report added Bagheri highlighted the historical background of the two neighbouring countries as a basis for the expansion of bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields, especially military”

Gov t slashes petrol price by Rs9, high speed diesel by Rs7

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday strongly rebuked Afghanistan for neglecting its obligations a neighbouring and fraternal country , and disregarding vital obligations made in the Doha peace agreement, specifically with regard to use of Afghan soil for terrorist activities

In a detail tweet on Saturday the defence minister lashed out at Afghanistan, alleging a failure to uphold its commitments as outlined in the Doha agreement “Afghanistan is neither fulfilling its obligation as a neighbouring and brotherly country nor safeguarding the peace agreement

Kh Asif issued the categorical statement a day after the Armed Forces of Pakistan expressed “serious concerns regarding the safe havens and freedom of movement enjoyed by the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) within Afghanistan the TTP from Afghanistan to Pakistan, should also communicate with the families of those who become martyrs on a daily basis

He further stated that those individuals were the ones who “introduced Imran Khan in 2018 leading to the unfortunate events of May 9 that the nation had to endure

For the subsequent four years, they were responsible for causing immense destruction to our beloved country in every possible aspect He prayed to Allah to protect this sacred land through the sacrifices made by the martyrs

ISLAMABAD S TA F F C O R R E S P O N D E N T retaliatory action of Marketing & Corporate Communications Abdullah Khan states that the matter is not something extraordinary

He says that There is no final warning It was merely a reminder The news is ‘overly exaggerated'” He admits that “PIA is behind payments” but insists that “the airline is making regular albeit delayed payments and that operations continue as normal If the situation is as dire as it is being made out to be then they would have seized our permissions, Khan asserts

S

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had issued the statement following Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir ’s visit to Quetta Garrison where he was briefed on a recent attack on a military installation in Balochistan s Zhob Cantt Gen Munir is presently in Iran, having arrived there yesterday for an official visit scheduled to last two days

A total of nine soldiers were martyred in the attack that took place on Wednesday while security forces killed five terrorists in

LAHORE

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the economy is taking a positive turnaround due to untiring efforts of the government The role of business community is of utmost importane

The Prime Minister was addressing LCCI Executive Committee at the Governors House Lahore Governor Punjab

Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman and Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar through zoom

LCCI President Kashif Anwar gave a detailed well thought out and well tailored roadmap to expedite economic recovery He said that alternative energy, agriculture, import substitution and broadening of tax base are path to progress

LCCI Senior Vice President Zafar Mahmood Chaudhry Vice President Adnan

Khalid Butt former LCCI Presidents Mian

Anjum Nisar Sheikh Muhammad Asif

Mian Misbahur Rahman, Muhammad Ali

Mian, Shahzad Ali Malik, Almas Haider, Secretary Finance, Secretary Commerce, Secretary Industries CCPO Lahore DIG Operations Lahore CEO PBIT DG TDAP DGTO Chairman FBR and LCCI Executive

Committee Members were also present Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that he has a deep attachment with the Lahore Chamber as he has served this organization as President He said that the businessmen are facing difficult situation but the government is utilizing its all energies to make the things good

“I have thanked the Managing Director of IMF while US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has congratulated us on the approval of the IMF program , he said and added that it also makes it clear that the previous government’s unfortunate blow to our relationship with the US was due to narrow-mindedness Shahbaz Sharif said that this government has worked day and night to smooth relations with the United States During the last fifteen months, we have repaired our relations with the US and the efforts of Foreign Minister were also laudable All this was possible through collective efforts It is our aim that the personal interests should be placed under the national interests The PM said that the real thing is to solve the problems of entrepreneurs and take the economy forward Pakistan has not fol-

According to Zhob District Commissioner (DC) Azeem Kakar a civilian woman was also killed in the incident after being caught in the crossfire while five other civilians were left injured Kh Asif continued that Pakistan has provided refuge to five to six million Afghan refugees for 40 to 50 years with all their rights intact However he added: Conversely, the terrorists who shed the blood of Pakistanis find refuge on Afghan soil ” The minister cautioned that the ongoing situation could no longer persist He asserted that Pakistan would employ all possible resources and measures, with the guidance of Allah, to safeguard its territory and citizens”

In another tweet, the minister stated that the individuals who attended the assembly during the PTI government and provided briefings to the members, emphasising the advantages of bringing lowed the conditions of IMF in the past so it did ask for a guarantee from us Now it has got a nine-month breathing space with $2 billion from Saudi Arabia $1 billion from the UAE and $1 2 billion from the IMF

He said that currently, our reserves have reached 14 billion dollars China must be mentioned in all these cases China has rolled over five billion dollars of Pakistan’s commercial debt in four months If China had not done this we would have defaulted He said that this breathing space we have got is meant to reform and restructure A country that was self-sufficient in jute, today imports cotton Bangladesh’s textile exports have surpassed us The same factories the same system is there as in Pakistan but how did their exports become more than ours? He said that this is our collective failure

The industry has become a rental income in Pakistan We don’t want to compete We did not bring modern technology We were supposed to spend on research “During my tenure as Chief Minister I spent a hundred billion rupees only on farm-to-market roads but there was no difference he added He said that in 1990, Nawaz Sharif came with an economic program which made a big difference

Pakistan has witnessed an increase in terrorist activities, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan following the termination of the ceasefire between the government and the banned TTP in November of the previous year

Apart from the assault on Zhob garrison, the militants also targeted security forces in Sui, Balochistan resulting in the martyrdom of three brave soldiers who valiantly fought during the exchange of fire Two terrorists were eliminated during the operation

The cumulative loss of 12 soldiers from these attacks marks the highest single-day death toll reported by the military from terrorist incidents this year

During a weekly news briefing on Wednesday, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch emphasised the importance of Afghan authorities fulfilling their commitments to prevent their territory from being exploited for terrorism against Pakistan

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday announced a reduction of Rs9 per litre in the price of petrol and Rs7 per litre in that of high-speed diesel (HSD) for the next fortnight The new price of petrol is Rs253 per litre and Rs253 5 per litre for HSD

The finance minister did not announce any changes in the price of kerosene oil or light diesel oil

Dar said that there was a reduction in the price of one fuel product and an increase in the others in the international markets in the last 15 days without specifying which products he was referring to

He said the appreciation in the value of the rupee had compensated for the price increase of these products Dar added that since the government had already passed on a portion of the petroleum development levy (PDL) to the masses in the fuel prices announced on July 1 it had decided not to make any increase with respect to the levy this time Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wants us to grant as much relief as we can [to the people] so we are not doing any change in the PDL ”

On July 1 the government hiked the HSD rpice by Rs7 5 per litre to Rs260 5 and kept the petrol price unchanged at Rs262 per litre

He had said the decision to increase the HSD price was made considering the rising prices of petroleum products in the international market at the time At the same time, the finance minister had said that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority had made efforts to minimise the burden of price increases on the masses

The Prime Minister said that earning profit is the right of every entrepreneur but earning profit should not be the end of the story but should move on to next industry and research He said that we had to increase electricity rates This is due to the circular debt and it is also the demand of the IMF We have line losses and transmission losses The billing system is in shambles He said it is also true that the taxes have been increased but if the levied taxes are not paid then additional taxes will have to be imposed

He said that the Special Investment Facilitation Council is a recovery plan The secret of Pakistan’s development and prosperity lies in it revival of agriculture is the easiest task Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar who attended the meeting through zoom, said that before the budget, he has detailed meetings with the President of Lahore Chamber Kashif Anwar and the budget was made according to his suggestions

He said that borrowers cannot be choosers The re-engagement of the IMF by us was a tough decision We did as much as we could bargain He said that various good announcement made in budget, were taken back half heartedly

“I have been saying for the last twentyfive years that devaluation is the mother of all evils Due to devaluation we have to increase the policy rate which has been 22 percent , he added

He said that we need private sector support in many things We are running different models It is hoped that our economy will reach six to seven percent in two years

He said that if we win after the general election we will fulfill the agenda of the business community We realize that businesses cannot run with 22 percent markup We will try to bring it down as well He said that the government has set up a Central Monetary Unit to monitor State Owned Enterprises He said that A way has to be found for the grey economy but only in consultation with the IMF He said that the confidence of businessmen is improving in Pakistan

LCCI President Kashif Anwar lauded the efforts of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for economic development He said that in the budget the government tried to give us all the facilities we were asking for like the limit of SMEs was increased from 250 millions to 800 million