Epaper_23-08-20 LHR

FIA ARRESTS PTI’S SHAH MAHMOOD

QURESHI IN CYPHER PROBE

opposition’s no-confidence motion in April last year

The cipher case against the former premier became serious after his principal secretary Azam Khan stated before a magistrate as well as the FIA that the former PM had used the US cipher for his political gains and to avert a vote of no-confidence against him

The former bureaucrat, in his confession, said when he provided the ex-premier with the cipher he was “euphoric and termed the language a US blunder The former prime minister according to Azam then said that the cable could be used for creating a narrative against establishment and opposition

Azam said the US cipher was used in political gatherings by the PTI chairman, despite his advice to him to avoid such acts He mentioned that the former prime minister also told him that the cipher could be used to divert the public s attention towards foreign involvement in the opposition s no-confidence motion

Nawaz Sharif summons

PML-N’s Lahore leadership to London

LONDON

S TA F F R E P O R T

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo

Nawaz Sharif has summoned the party leadership of Lahore to London, whereas former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif is also likely to travel to London tomorrow (Sunday)

PA K I S TA N Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday was arrested from his residence in Islamabad in connection with an investigation into cypher which PTI alleges contained the threat from the United States to oust Imran Khan from power Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti confirmed later in the day that Qureshi was taken into custody by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) The caretaker minister said Qureshi was arrested as he was nominated in the cipher case

The PTI has also confirmed that the party leader was arrested from his residence and is being moved to the FIA headquarters in the federal capital

The arrest came shortly after Qureshi addressed a presser wherein he dispelled the reports of infighting between party leaders to replace incarcerated party chief Imran Khan

The PTI has also confirmed that the party leader was arrested from his residence and moved to the FIA headquarters in the federal capital The FIA sources said the PTI leader has been arrested in light of the statement of party chief Khan related to the cipher probe

The development came only two days after PTI chief Khan, who has been imprisoned in Attock Jail, following conviction in Toshakhana case named in a first information report (FIR) registered by the FIA under Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act 1923 in the cipher case

The counter-terrorism wing of the FIA had registered the case against the former prime minister who was ousted from office after a no-confidence motion in April last year after ascertaining his deliberate involvement in misusing the classified document follow-

President

ing a probe

The government sources had also confirmed that the PTI chief has been booked under Section 5 of the recentlyamended act However authorities displayed reluctance in sharing a copy of the FIR

Earlier in July this year, the FIA grilled Qureshi and PTI leader Asad Umar for nearly two hours in connection with the probe into controversial US cipher Qureshi time and again has reiterated that the US cipher was reality backing the party chief s claims that the US engineered his ouster from power by supporting then

The controversy first emerged on March 27, 2022, when Khan just days before his ouster brandished a letter, claiming that it was a cipher from a foreign nation which mentioned that his government should be removed from power He did not reveal the contents of the letter nor mention the name of the nation that had sent it But a few days later, he named the United States and said that Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu had sought his removal

The cipher was about former Pakistan ambassador to the US Asad Majeed’s meeting with Lu

The former prime minister claiming that he was reading contents from the cipher said that all will be forgiven for Pakistan if Imran Khan is removed from power

Media reports said that Saiful Malook Khokhar and President Youth Wing Lahore Malik Faisal will leave for London tomorrow and will present a report to Nawaz Sharif on organisational structure of Punjab capital

Meanwhile, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif is also likely to travel to London tomorrow (Sunday) The former prime minister will be accompanied by Marriyum Aurangzeb sources claimed

During his visit Shehbaz Sharif will also meet his brother Nawaz Sharif and other leaders The top leadership will deliberate on Nawaz Sharif s return to Pakistan, sources claimed, adding that PMLN s legal team will also attend the meeting

PPP demands ECP to hold elections within 90 days

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Saturday strongly denounced the illegal and unjustifiable arrest of PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in connection with the cipher despite his full cooperation with FIA’s JIT regarding the ongoing investigating into the matter PTI spokesperson in his strong-worded statement termed the detention of the PTI Vice Chairman a sheer misuse of the law, the state s malicious interference in politics and the worst move against human rights

He said that the caretaker government was following the footsteps of the criminal PDM government and was advancing the agenda of lawlessness and fascism in the country

PTI spokesperson stated that there was no justification of arresting Qureshi, who was fully cooperating with the JIT and even appeared officially on July 24

He went on to say that Qureshi in his press confer-

Alvi signs

Ar

my

ence on Saturday exposed the worst state fascism against the PTI leaders and workers of before the nation PTI Spokesperson said that Qureshi’s real and sole crime was expressing unequivocal and unwavering confidence in Imran Khan’s leadership adding that Qureshi announced that Imran Khan was the chairman of PTI is the chairman and will remain the chairman for life He stated that PTI Vice Chairman also presented the road map of legal and political resistance to the attempts to defer the polls beyond the constitutionally permitted timeframe of 90 days in the light of the unanimous decision of the party

PTI spokesperson stated that the arrest of Vice Chairman was the worst attempt to create leadership crisis in PTI and to paralyze the relationship between the leadership and the workers

Act (Amend),

Official Secrets Act bills into law

The Pakistan People s Party (PPP) has demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold general elections within 90 days as per the Constitution Provincial president PPP Sindh Senator Nisar Khuhro along with party leaders Senator Waqar Mehdi and Saeed Ghani while addressing a press conference on Saturday urged the Election Commission of Pakistan to reconsider the decision to complete delimitation process by December and said holding general election within 90 days was a constitutional requirement

According to the Constitution the Election Commission is bound to hold the elections within 90 days after dissolution of assemblies before completing 5 years term Nisar Khuhro said and added that Pakistan cannot afford delay in elections PPP leaders demanded the Election Commission and the Chief Election Commissioner to review the decision regarding the duration of delimitation of Constituencies and hold elections on time Senator Khuhro said Assemblies were dissolved two days prior to give 90 days time to ECP for completing delimitation process therefore Chief Election Commissioner must take initiative for holding election as per constitution He said that new voter lists should be made under the new census, while there is no need for changes in the constituencies

On this occasion Pakistan Democratic Party s leader Bisharat Mirza along with his party colleagues announced participation in Pakistan People s Party Irtaza Baig, Khalid Parvez, Ghulam Sabir, Abdul Hakeem, Muhammad Saleem, Tariq Hassan, Waqar Shaikh and others were among those who joined PPP Senator Nisar Khuhro Waqar Mehdi and Saeed Ghani welcomed Basharat Mirza and his colleagues on joining Pakistan People s Party

Indictment of Islamabad DC, SSP fixed in contempt case over Afridi’s ar rest

The Islamabad High Court is to indict the federal capital s deputy commissioner (DC) and senior superintendent of police (SSP) operations on August 28 for arresting Shehryar Afridi in cases pertaining to Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) despite court orders it emerged on Saturday

The IHC also asked the Islamabad inspector-general of police (IGP) to reveal the names of the relevant officers who gave the ‘source report’ on the basis of which Afridi was arrested Issuing the written order for contempt of court case against DC Irfan Memon and Operations SSP Jameel Zafar Justice Babar Sattar stated that the replies submitted by the two and the district court magistrate on show cause notice issued over Afridi’s arrest were unsatisfactory The court observed that the high court

had annulled the MPO against Afridi in June but the district magistrate issued another order based on a source report illegally It further noted that once the MPO issued by the Rawalpindi DC expired, another MPO was issued by the Islamabad DC

The court observed that prima facie it appears that the Islamabad DC violated the orders of this court The DC belittled the justice system by implying that court orders are not binding for the city administration, noted Justice Sattar, adding that the district magistrate could submit another reply elaborating on the matter if he so wishes

The court further observed that SSP Operations also violated the IHC s orders and appeared to have treated a source report as rubber stamped Justice Sattar noted that the incumbent station house officer (SHO) and deputy police officer (DPO) of the relevant police station informed the court that they assumed charge on August 8

The IHC directed the federal capital’s IGP to inform the court of the SHO and DPO who gave the source report in question The court issued show cause notices to the relevant officials and sought replies by the next hearing Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ’s (PTI) Afridi and Shandana Gulzar were detained on May 16 during a massive crackdown against the former ruling party The authorities had launched the crackdown after alleged PTI supporters vandalized and set fire to state and army properties and memorials in retaliation to party chief Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9 Ordering their release on August 16 the court had observed that prima facie it appeared that the detention order issued by a district magistrate had no basis in law It also appears, the court said, that the detention orders issued in Punjab, the KP and Islamabad had been synchronized in such a way that before or at the time of expiry withdrawal or setting aside of a detention order a subsequent order was issued like clockwork

to keep the petitioner in detention At the hearing on

P T I d e n o u n c e s a r r e s t a s

g FIA REGISTERED CASE AGAINST IMRAN AFTER ASCERTAINING HIS ‘DELIBERATE INVOLVEMENT’ IN MISUSING CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT

g CARETAKER INTERIOR MINISTER CONFIRMS QURESHI WA S TAKEN INTO CUSTODY BY FEDERAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY

U N P R E C E D E N T E D I N 3 5 Y E A R S ’ : S U T L E J R I V E R I N

E X T R E M E LY H I G H - F LO O D ’ AT G A N D A S I N G H W A L A

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

SUTLEJ River is at extremely high-flood level at Ganda Singh

Wala and Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that rescue efforts were underway after a flood “unprecedented in 35 years” was reported in the river

According to the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) the river is at an extremely high flood level at Ganda Singh Wala and will remain at this critical state while the NDMA in its advisory issued on Saturday said that Sutlej River had reached an “extremely high-flood level” at Ganda Singh

Wala The FFD said that River Sutlej at Sulemanki Headworks is anticipated to attain a high to very high flood level at the Sulemanki Headworks in the next 24 hours

Similarly, the Islam Headworks is expected to witness a high flood level from Aug 22 onwards

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) today the caretaker CM said 278 000 cusecs of water is rushing near the Ganda Singh border in Kasur and the government was closely monitoring the situation “Visited flood-affected areas and relief camps today Appreciation for district

Administration, Rescue 1122, Police, and Irrigation teams for their 24/7 efforts over the past 3 days

“This flood is unprecedented in 35 years, but our teams are on the ground dedicated to securing and helping our people Insha

Allah we ll get through this together the chief minister added Separately, in a media talk in Lahore later in the day, Naqvi said 10 to 12ft

floodwater had entered several villages in Kasur and 6 500 people had been evacuated from affected villages in the last 24 hours

We will if we have to forcefully evacuate people from the villages under threat to prevent any loss of life, he stated, adding that Section 144 had been imposed in the area

‘India would keep releasing water into Pakistan’

In a statement issued on Saturday Punjab PDMA Director General Imran Qureshi said there were reports that India would keep releasing water into Pakistan on a daily basis until Aug 21

It asked all the departments to remain on high alert

A spokesperson for Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) stated that the water level in the river at Talwar Post has reached to 12 feet, while it is as high as 15 ft at Fateh Mohammad Post

Authorities began evacuations in Punjab on Friday after the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued an alert about high to very high-level flooding in Sutlej PDMA stated that the flooding in Sutlej has severed land link of various villages in Kasur and standing crops on hundreds of

acres land have been destroyed PDMA stated that water flow has been currently 80,000 cusecs at Sulemanki Headworks High flood in Sutlej will likely to pass through Islam Headworks on August 21

The Punjab PDMA said that the Office of the Indian Commissioner for Indus Water Treaty had intimated that Harike and

General elections after completion of delimitation process: Sanjrani

KARACHI

S ta f f R e p o R t

Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani on Saturday affirmed that next general elections would be conducted on time immediately upon completion of delimitation process on the basis of new census

Talking to media at the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam

Muhammad Ali Jinnah he said that PDM coalition government was consisted of almost all the political parties that had taken decisions in this regard The previous coalition government in the Council of Common Interests, also granted approval to the census 2023 being cognizant of the constitutional requirement of delimitation of electoral constituencies on the basis of new census data he recalled adding that now Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would carry out delimitation of constituencies on fresh census data

P

Under the procurement plan for the

the PNCS intends to procure two

chemical tanker for its fleet,

during the

years T h e s h i p p i n g s e c t o r i n P a k i s t a n i s u n d e r u t i l i s e d a s t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y o f national trade is carried out by foreign shipping lines Domestic entities such as

a

E a r l i e r, t h e S e n a t e c h a i r m a n v i s i t e d M a z a a r- e -

Quaid in Karachi on Saturday and laid floral wreath and offered Fateha

As soon as delimitation exercise is completed the ECP would announce the date for next general election he maintained reiterating that next general election would take place and on the right time as the ECP would conduct the elections and the nation should remain contented The Upper House of the parliament is present as the representative of all the federating units of Pakistan and it will continue working to ensure the rights of all the four provinces of the country during the tenure of the caretaker government Sanjrani stated

Senate is a constitutional body and it does not have executive authority but senators as representatives of the people were effectively raising their voice on the issues concerning the country and the nation while as chairman of the Upper House he was also playing his role the

P N S C o ff e r a n a t t r a c t i v e v a l u e proposition by accepting Pakistani rupee a s p a y m e n t i n s t e a d o f U S d o l l a r a n d o ff e r i n g a t t r a c t i v e c r e d i t t e r m s Pakistan’s shipping sector can stand to b e n e f i t f r o m t h e s e d e v e l o p m e n t s u s h e r i n g i n s u s t a i n a b l e g r o w t h a n d c r e a t i n g a s t r o n g l o c a l d e m a n d w h i l e a l s o g e n e r a t i n g e m p l o y m e n t opportunities A c c o r d i n g t o a n n u a l r e p o r t o f P N S C f o r 2 0 2 2 P N S C w i t h a t o t a l DWT (deadweight tonnage) capacity of 1 0 4 5 m i l l i o n m e t r i c t o n s l i f t e d c a rg o o f a b o u t 11 9 7 1 m i l l i o n t o n s i n 2 0 2 2 (FY 2021: 11 09 million tons), which is e q u i v a l e n t t o a b o u t 11 2 1 % o f t h e c o u n t r y ’s t o t a l 1 0 6 8 2 0 m i l l i o n t o n s s e a b o r n e t r a d e b y v o l u m e T h e P N S C

Senate Chairman said

Responding to a query on the election of the President the Chairman Senate said that though the tenure of the incumbent president was being completed on September 09 2023 the constitution provides for continuity of the outgoing president till the election of the new president He added that following the general election in the country, the electoral college for the presidential election would come into being with the formation of National and provincial assemblies and the election for the next president would also be conducted subsequently as well

To another question he said caretaker set up in the country came after consultation with all stakeholders and political forces Yet to another question, he said there should be no surprise on caretaker Prime minister from Balochistan Awami Party as it was the largest party in outgoing Balochistan Assembly

fleet, which shrunk over the years to 12 vessels operating in dry and liquid bulk c a rg o , h a s b e e n f a c i n g d i ff i c u l t i e s i n o p e r a t i n g t o i t s m a x i m u m c a p a c i t y i n the seaborne trade On the other hand t r a d e r e s t r i c t i o n s i n v a r i o u s c o u n t r i e s h a v e b e e n s e v e r e l y d e n t i n g i t s operational capability T h e P N S C v e s s e l s h a v e l e s s e r d e a d w e i g h t c a p a c i t y i n c o m p a r i s o n t o B a l t i c S t a n d a r d S u p e r m a x , H a n d y m a x U l t r a m a x a n d K a m s a r m a x w h i c h r e p r e s e n t t h e g l o b a l s t a n d a r d s f o r c e r t a i n d e a d w e i g h t f o r a s p e c i f i c v e s s e l

The dry global deadweight capacity for the Supramax vessel is 58,328 tonnes, whereas the vessels in the PNSC fleet can only carry 52 951 tonnes Handy max

standard stands at 38,000 tonnes, whereas PNSC has 28,000 tonnes, which deprives the national flag carrier of the opportunities available in the shipping industry

The procurement plan of PNSC would address these concerns which would give a big boost to the national carrier to enhance its share in the seaborne trade

The annual report of PNSC says that in the era of globalisation and internet every shipping practitioner should be fully aware of the developments An accurate forecast of the future always helps in taking the right decision at the right time, and marketing strategy and optimising chartering policies eliminate litigation risks

Ferozepur Headworks in India have entered into the flood regime

The water will be regularly discharged on daily basis from the water works until August 21 ”

“All concerned departments have been put on high alert the settlements along the river being evacuated while five were partially evacuated PDMA stated The authorities of the districts along Sutlej River being provided food items, shelters, medicines, boats and other necessary goods to tackle any emergency

Earlier on Friday the authority had issued a letter to deputy commissioners of districts along the Sutlej to broadcast announcements through mosques in rural areas adjoining rivers and canals to raise awareness The administrations were instructed to announce on public address systems of mosques regarding the flood situation to inform local communities ensuring effective dissemination of information at the grassroots level

The PDMA added that continuous reinforcement is being provided to discourage crossing rivers and nullahs and there was a need to limit the movement of snakes and other dangerous animals to ensure public safety

It urged the public to cooperate with the administration to prevent potential human and property losses

VCI moves SC seeking stern action against vandals of Jaranwala churches

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The Voice of Christians International (VCI) on Saturday filed a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking action against those responsible for Jaranwala tragedy in which churches and dozens of houses belonging to Christian community were ransacked The Voice of Christians International (VCI) filed the single-page application under Order 33 Rule 6 of the Supreme Court Rules 1980 VCI Director for Human Rights Samuel Makson, in the application urged the top court to take action against the culprits involved in the unfortunate incident The churches Holy Bibles and residences of Christian community were burnt on Aug 16 in the gruesome incident, said the applicant He said that a case related to the implementation of a 2014 judgment regarding minorities’ rights is also pending with the apex court The Supreme Court gave a ruling in 2014 that the law enforcement agencies would register criminal cases for desecrating the places of worships of minorities or violation of any of their rights guaranteed under the law The federal government was also asked to ensure that the hate speech was discouraged on social media, according to the SC verdict It was also directed in the 32page judgement that a national council for minority rights must be formed The verdict had come on suo motu notice taken in Sept 2013 over Peshawar church bomb attack which claimed 81 lives Meanwhile, the religious scholars hailing from all the sects have termed the Jaranwala incident against the teachings of Islam “A high-level inquiry commission sh ould be constituted to probe the tragedy and government must take stern action against the culprits Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abul Khabir Azad said while addressing a press conference in Lahore

P T I ’ s S h a h F a r m a n d e c i d e s n o t t o c o n t e s t e l e c t i o n s

PESHAWAR

S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Shah Farman decided to not contest the upcoming general elections As per details Shah Farman said that he and his family including his sons and brothers will not contest the upcoming elections The former governor said that he hands over his constituency to the party workers People who are actively trying to introduce their family in politics are conspiring against me,” he added

LHC orders IGP, PPG to devise SOPs for discouraging child marriages

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

The Lahore High Court dismissed the pre-arrest bail of a man suspected of kidnapping a 14-year-old girl and then raping her The court also ordered concrete measures to prevent child marriages Justice Anwaarul Haq Pannu issued the 22-page detailed judgment in the case and ordered that a copy of the judgment be sent to the Punjab IG Police, the Punjab prosecutor general and the local government director The Lahore High Court directed that the prosecutor general prepare SOPs related to early child marriages with the assistance of the Punjab police chief It directed that concrete measures be taken to prevent child marriages According to doctors, the kidnapped girl is 13 or 14 years old, the verdict stated, adding that according to the suspect, he did not abduct the girl but married her According to the record, the suspect has violated the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 the order mentioned It added that the suspect was bound to follow Pakistani laws before getting married The victim girl has also given a statement regarding kidnapping and rape against the suspect The suspect was found guilty during the police investigation, the court verdict stated A case under various provisions, including kidnapping and rape has been registered against the suspect in Sargodha

L A H O R E AT C O R D E R S R E L E A S E O F 2 0

A R R E S T E D I N J I N N A H H O U S E AT TA C K C A S E

D u r i n g t h e d e m o n s t r a t i o n s s e v e r a l m i l i t a r y a n d c i v i l i a n i n s t a l l a t i o n s i n c l u d i n g J i n n a h H o u s e i n L a h o r e w h e r e t h e c i t y s c o r p s c o m m a n d e r r e s i d e s , w e r e v a n d a l i s e d

According to the court order issued by the ATC today the case against the suspects was registered at Sarwar Road police station T h e y w e r e a r r e s t e d u n d e r S e c t i o n 5 4 o f t h e C o d e o f C r i m i n a l P r o c e d u r e w h i c h e l a b o r a t e s o n c i r c u m s t a n c e s d u r i n g w h i c h a p o l i c e o ff i c e r m a y a r r e s t a p e r s o n w i t h o u t a w a r r a n t o r a n o r d e r b y a j u d i c i a l m a g i s t r a t e a n d s e n t t o a j u d i c i a l l o c k u p f o r a n i d e n t i f i c a t i o n p a r a d e t h e c o u r t o r d e r s a i d c i t i n g a n a p p l i c a t i o n s u b m i t t e d b y

required in any other case

8th Colour & Chem expo k icks off

LAHORE S h a h a b o m e R

The caretaker government needs to reduce the cost of doing business for the ailing industry of the country

The past mistakes have already dragged the country towards grave economic crisis so the current government should avoid repeating such mistakes at the cost of national economy Vice President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Pakistan and former president Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Mian Anjum Nisar said after inaugurating the 8th Color & Chem Expo Saturday

The two-day 8th Color & Chem Expo kicked off at the Lahore International Expo Center The exhibition was inaugurated by former President FPCCI Mian Anjum Nisar along with local and foreign guests PIAF Chairman Faheem ur Rehman Sehgal was also present After the inauguration the organizer of the exhibition Rashidul Haque took the chief guest and other dignitaries to the stalls and briefed them about the display of products

The Pakistan chapter of American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists was also launched during the exhibition with Abdul Rahim Chaghtai appointed as its president

Talking to the media Anjum Nisar said that the economic crisis in Pakistan

is due to the past mistakes and that we should learn from the past mistakes and move forward He said that Pakistan should follow other countries in economic development

rate in Pakistan is 22 percent while the interest rate in China is barely 3 5 percent, in Bangladesh 6 percent and in India 6 5 percent

In response to a question, he said that

I don’t think that the interest rates of the State Bank of Pakistan will decrease rather there are reports of an increase

Due to the increase in the interest rates

the Pakistani industry cannot compete with the rest of the world

Anjum Nisar further said that in the last two years Pakistan’s exports have plunged from $31 5 billion to $27 5 billion Director Event & Conference

need to promote regional trade

To a query that Pakistan should import raw material from India and enhance mutual trade, Anjum Nisar, who is representing SAARC in Pakistan, avoided answering the question while citing political issues

International Rashidul Haq told the media that more than 200 companies from China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Germany, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom are participating in the two-day expo He said that Pakistani companies have set up their stalls for joint ventures

Armed forces pay tributes to Rashid Minhas Shaheed

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Armed Forces of Pakistan CJCsSC & Services

To a question, Anjum Nisar said that he hoped that the new government won’t repeat the mistakes He said opportunities have to be created to develop local industries and the national economy

He said that the new government needs to reduce the cost of doing business Pakistan needs new industrial units Trade among SAARC countries is not satisfactory he said adding like other regional trading blocs in the world we

He however put his weight behind enhancing regional trade among the SAARC members

The former FPCCI president said import of raw materials and interest rates will have to be brought down In the absence of subsidies, revitalizing the local industry is a big challenge

Anjum Nisar said that the interest

Iraq announces 30-day free visas for Pakistani Arbaeen pilgrims

The Iraqi government has announced free visas for the Pakistani Arabaeen pilgrims from August 19 to September 20 It was decided by Baghdad to give free visas to Pakistanis as a result of bilateral talks between the two countries during the visit of former interior

minister Rana Sanaullah to Iraq The Iraqi Embassy has released the details of the 30-day free visas for the Pakistani pilgrims The quota of Pakistani visitors has been increased to 100 000 for the first time by the Iraqi government Only Iraqi Airlines and Pakistani airlines will provide the travel facility to the pilgrims Pakistani pilgrims will enter Iraq from Al-Sheib Port through the land route of Baghdad and Al-Najaf

The participation of foreign companies in the national exhibition is a ray of hope in the current economic crisis, he added President Pakistan Chapter of American Association of Textile Chemical and Colorist Abdul Rahim Chaghtai said that the Pakistan chapter of AATCC had been opened for the promotion of local textile industry The main objective of the expo is to create an atmosphere of transfer of modern technology and joint ventures between local and foreign companies he added

International Airport

Moreover, the condition of arrival and departure at the same airport for Pakistani visitors has also been abolished Earlier a 15-day visa along with fee was the rule of the day Both countries will also regulate tourism companies to provide quality services to visitors The Pakistani Embassy will take steps to control overstaying cases

From the dark niche of a dungeon

SYED AFSAR SAJID t t l e : K u n j - e - Q a fa S

Fawad Hasan Fawad a retired federal secretary and an intellectual par excellence, belongs to that rare breed of native civil servants who adopted literature as their secondary vocation side by side with their multidisciplinary preoccupations in bureaucracy

The list of such personages includes

Syed Hashim Raza Qudratullah Shahab Mukhtar

Masood Mustafa Zaidi Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi

Manzoor Elahi Sheikh, Akbar S Ahmad, Abdul Aziz

Khalid, Ejaz Rahim, Murtaza Birlas, Ata Hussain Shad, Parveen Shakir, Mahboob Khizan, Hassan Akhtar Jalil, Javed Qureshi Abdul Rasheed M Athar Tahir Syed

Shaukat Ali Shah Muhammad Saeed Sheikh Tariq

Mahmud Sahibzada Riaz Noor Syed Aftab Ahmad

Shah Dr Shahzad Qaiser Jamil Ahmad Raja Safdar

Hassan Fayyaz Tehsin Hameed Ahmad Sethi Tauqir

Ahmad Faiq, Dr Waheed Ahmad, Capt (R) Ata

Muhammad, Muhammad Izhar ul Haq, Rahman Faris, Shakil Jazib, Muhammad Naeem Khan Eusophzye, Dr

Athar Masood Dr Hameedullah Sheikh Rao Manzar

Hayat Masood Mukhtar Ali Shahzad Saima Aftab

Shafaat Ahmad Sharjeel Anzar Seemab Zafar et al

Fawad has now come out with a verse collection purported to encompass the poetry that he composed during his 2-year incarceration at Camp Jail, Lahore

The book is artistically designed with a symbolic black dustcover with the author ’s image on the back bearing a symbolic ‘shayr ’ denoting ‘Though I know not as to when my journey started yet my visage does not bear any trace of regret or despair

Poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz wrote the following lines when put in solitary confinement: What if my pen and paper have been snatched away from me?/I have dipped my fingers into my heart’s blood/What if my lips are sealed /I have lent my tongue to each link in the chain’

This is one of the top classical texts written in different languages of the world produced by writers while serving imprisonment across different cultures

Critical issues relating to prison literature include how the writers represent their sufferings, experiences, and emotions during incarceration, their strategies of survival and how prison literature reveals hidden violations of human rights while resisting official discourse and serving other functions in society

Living in prisons these writers are denied all outside communication with no facility to read or write

But they defy their captors with the will not to surrender

English cavalier poet Richard Lovelace (1617-57) when imprisoned in 1642, wrote behind the walls: ‘Stone walls do not a prison make/Nor iron bars a cage /Minds innocent and quiet take/That for an hermitage Fawad Hasan Fawad s 260-page long poetic

to

and

accomplish despite the base handicaps blocking his way up As a ‘prisoner of conscience’ he comes upto the criteria currently envisaged by Amnesty International that prisoners of conscience are people who have not used or advocated violence but are imprisoned because of who they are in terms of their religious political or other conscientiously held beliefs Such men and women are also called non-conformists, iconoclasts, or dissidents in their respective socio-political setups For Fawad the prison cell is a metaphorical ‘brave

Universit y student gangraped, blackmailed for six months via videos

Chiefs pay glowing tribute to Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas Shaheed Nishan-e-Haider on his 52nd Shahadat Anniversary today Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas is the youngest recipient of Nishan-e-Haider, who embraced Shahadat at Goth Ahmed Shah, Sujawal on 20 August 1971 Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas’s martyrdom anniversary serves as a powerful reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the Armed Forces of Pakistan In the line of duty Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas lived up to great traditions of Pakistan Armed Forces in defending the motherland Let us remember these heroes who have laid down their lives in defence of our motherland The nation is proud of its gallant sons BAGHDAD

new world’ wherein Aldous Huxley’s persona seems to pronounce indefatigably: But I don t want comfort I want God I want poetry I want real danger I want freedom, I want goodness ! The collection in hand comprises some 107 items of divine poetry, ghazal and nazm, prefaced by the introductory writings of famed lawyer, intellectual, and litterateur Aitzaz Ahsan seasoned journalist and anchor Hamid Meer noted journalist businessman and an erstwhile cricket administrator Najam Sethi an expublic servant litterateur and ace photographer Sharjeel Anzar, Fawad s promising son Salal F Hasan, and Fawad Hasan Fawad himself In his critique, Aitzaz Ahsan singles out Fawad’s nazm as an epitome of the latter ’s poetic vision and sagacity It tends to encapsulate the poet’s aesthetics his

travail of adversity, and his steadfast yet uncompromising stance in the face of a murky existentialistic situation Aitzaz connects Fawad to the luminous tradition of Urdu nazm as reflected among others in the work of poets like Faiz Sahir Kaifi Azmi Gulzar Majeed Amjad Jalib Faraz Munir Niazi Javed Akhtar, Amjad Islam Amjad, and Sarmad Sehbai What a tribute! H a m i d M e e r i d e n t i f i e s , a n d r i g h t f u l l y s o , a s h r i e k o f r e b e l l i o n a n d r e s i s t a n c e i n F a w a d ’s p o e t i c a c c e n t a s a n a t u r a l c o r o l l a r y o f h i s u n j u s t i m p r i s o n m e n t a n d i t s o m i n o u s b a c k l a s h N a j a m S e t h i h a s s e l e c t e d F a w a d s p o e m d e d i c a t e d t o h i s y o u n g s o n S a l a l o n h i s b i r t h d a y a s a n a c m e o f t h e p o e t s b i t t e r n e s s a n d d i s m a y o n t h e v a c u i t y o f h i s l o n g c h e r i s h e d d r e a m s s h r o u d i n g h i s s t u p e n d o u s p e r f o r m a n c e i n t h e c i v i l s e r v i c e

It is an ironic apostrophe exhorting the lad not to follow in his father s footsteps lest he should also meet the same fate as his sire did during the course of his long eventful tenure in public service In his poetic tribute to his illustrious father, Salal pertinently quotes him thus: He says hold your head up high /Carry yourself with pride/Bow not to tyranny and injustice/Take adversity in your stride ’ Sharjeel Anzar a close friend of Fawad and a discreet connoisseur of the literary art in his own right traces the artifacts as it were of joy and grief in his (Fawad s) poery He thinks that it is a direct outcome of the poet s deconstructive combat with the absurd as ingrained in the crude fabric of a fulsome scheme of existence alloyed with pain, penury, mischief, unjustness graft and perversion Fawad’s voice is a cry in the wilderness of this knotty imbroglio

In his prefatory remarks Fawad contends that the modernistic literature in the language (Urdu) has turned the tide of the conventional narratives riveted on anatomical beauty of the human frame, mundane love, pangs of separation, and the yawning gap between one’s longings and their fructification The manuscript of this book was the product of his fateful solitary confinement in a 10x10 dingy dungeon

The poet seems to have immersed himself body and soul, in the gruesome context of his verse which embraces the harsh realities of a baleful existence In ghazal and nazm both, he maintains a reasonable balance between thought and feeling so that like a metaphysical he can ‘think’ his feelings and ‘feel’ his thoughts Vacillating between fear and hope he proclaims his conviction that the minacious niche of a dark dingy dungeon cannot sap his energy nor weaken his resolve to fight tyranny and injustice

Paigham-e-junuN, jura t-e-izhar say aagay/Yeh baat hai ab jubba o dastaar say aagay/Ek shahr k jo saakit-o-jaamid hi khara hai/Ek kunj-eqafas waqt ki raftaar say aagay

A university student in the federal capital Islamabad was gang raped by five suspects and filmed the immoral and illegal activity subsequently using the videos to blackmail her into submission for six months According to details the Shalimar Town police have registered a case of the incident regarding the sexual harassment of a university student in Islamabad In the First Information Report (FIR), five suspects were nominated including Adnan Bilal Zaman Walid and Sheikh Adeel As per FIR text the girl was blackmailed for six months through videos and she was also forced to give away her jewelry and cash

PTI denounces arrest as ‘illegal, unjustifiable’

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

However, he vowed that all the nefarious attempts to suspend the decision-making of the party would be thwarted and foiled through the PTI Chairman’s instructions and the approved special mechanisms

PTI spokesperson stated that PTI would move forward under the mechanism approved by the party Chairman and would also take steps to ensure earliest release of the leadership He made it clear that PTI s legal team would chalk out a legal plan for the immediate release of vice-chairman The PTI spokesperson vowed that no tactics of repression lawlessness and fascism could neither dampen their courage nor prevent them from achieving the goals of true freedom supremacy of the constitution rule of law and protection of people s right to vote

THE primary task of the Kakar caretaker cabinet may have been the holding of elections on time, but that, it is not going to do That means that its financial management team does not merely have the task of handling the economy for 90 days, but for an indeterminate period that may last until February, if the Election commission of Pakistan does complete delimitations by December 15

It will thus take up the bulk of the nine-month period of the SBA, which was approved by the IMF Board in June, and should last until next March The SBA does not mean money handed over to Pakistan, but merely means money that it will lend to meet debt servicing payments

That means sticking to the conditions set by the IMF, because the caretaker government not only must stay on the programme, but will supervise the preliminary work that will be needed for the new elected government to negotiate a new agreement with the IMF, which will presumably be of longer-term than nine months The intentions of the new government became evident in the ease with which it went ahead with the rise in the prices of petrol and diesel for the current fortnight A further rise in the electricity tariff is on the cards, and if the IMF asks for it, it will get it

There are two other indicators which are showing a trace of worsening one is the interest rate Already at 22 percent, it has not delivered what it is supposed to have, a slowing of inflation, which strengthens the view that this wave is not demand-pull but cost-push and imported to boot In worse news for the consumer worried to a frazzle already by rising prices the rupee is facing speculative pressure as well as a worsening current account which showed a deficit in July for the first time after four months of surplus

The Kakar cabinet has got sufficient weight to handle the task of keeping the IMF happy The caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar not only has held the portfolio before but has been governor of the State Bank as well as worked for the World Bank A PM’s Adviser is Dr Waqar Masood Khan gohar Ejaz the businessman is Textiles Minister The only problem will be it must keep it happy even at the cost of the people of Pakistan

Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late)

Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Editor

M A Niazi Joint Editor Umar Aziz Executive Editor

THE scarcity of employment opportunities for young people will increase the age dependency ratio, which currently stands at 62 percent whereas in India and Bangladesh, it hovers around 37 percent and 38 percent respectively

Young people are the future of a nation They represent potential employees investors buyers and driving forces behind business development Their presence in the skilled labour force will invigorate the economy Moreover, the involvement of young people is indispensable for businesses to innovate and compete on a global scale However there are meagre employment opportunities for them which increases unemployment As per the International labour organisation (Ilo) there are approximately 73 million unemployed youth globally despite being educated The scenario of unemployment among young people is not different as per the World Development Indicator (WDI), 11 3 percent of youngsters are unemployed and the percentage of unemployment between males and females is 10 3 percent and 14 percent respectively

However the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) has found that 31 percent of educated youth are unemployed Within this group, female unemployment is particularly concerning at 51 percent, while male unemployment is at 16 percent This report underscores the fact that many unemployed youths possess professional degrees Surprisingly a substantial portion of the working-age population remains detached from the labour force either due to discouragement or alternative income sources on the other hand, as we can see in the graph, age dependency ratio in youngsters remains high in Pakistan that is 62 percent in 2022 as compared to India (37 percent) and Bangladesh (38 percent) We should keep in mind that Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world It is expected that by 2100 its population will grow to 310 million As per the national Human Development Report, 64 percent of the population in our country is below the age of 30, which means we have a high youth bulge This flock of young people can be an opportunity for the country but due to economic and environmental crises it may turn into a demographic bomb instead of a demographic dividend The government has to nod its head towards this imminent tide, if the appropriate measure will not be taken then the graph below replaces young people figures with the old age population till 2050 else there will be a massive brain drain It was calculated by PIDE 67 percent of the young people wanted to leave Pakistan and only in the first six months of the year 400 000 qualified people had already left the country

Employment can be generated by industrialisation and fostering a startup culture Pakistan's industrial sector has been hampered by a severe energy crisis and those industries that endure are operating below optimal capacity In contrast to global trends where countries leverage Artificial Intelligence and

Decoding Human Suffering

technology to enhance production Pakistani industries struggle to meet consumer demands

Startups present a beacon of hope, potentially creating 15 percent of employment opportunities In Pakistan, every year 90 percent of start-ups fail whereas in India 80 percent of the startup fails within five years In Pakistan startups are struggling to sustain themselves because entrepreneurs lack comprehensive vision shortage of product market fit complex rules and regulations flawed Venture capital funding, foresightedness, and copying the ideas without investing time in market-based research to give solutions to the problems nonetheless, these problems can be handled if national universities design curricula with a focus to elevate entrepreneurial skills by merging practical-based knowledge of business ecosystems into courses let s take a look at what India and Bangladesh are doing to generate employment opportunities for youngsters Bangladesh has initiated the ‘Youth Entrepreneurship Development Program’ which aims to provide mentorship training and access to finance to young entrepreneurs; ‘Ecommerce Training Hubs’ which give training about digital marketing logistics and customer which helps to grow the retail market and jobs and ‘Startup Incubation Village’ set up the clusters of incubation space in the rural areas to uplift local startups

The Indian government has also taken initiatives for increasing employment such as Mahatma gandhi national Rural Employment guarantee Act (MgnREgA) is a providing a safety net for rural youth by enforcing wage employment for them; Digital India is one concept that promotes digital technology and connectivity and creates employment in the sectors like digital marketing, e-commerce and IT; ‘Rural Technology Hubs’ that provide IT and freelancing training to rural people; ‘Entrepreneurship grants for Students’ this initiative provide loan to college students who have innovative business ideas but have no funds to finance it

economy of the country

For instance the government can launch targeted micro-financing initiatives to help youth start small businesses and a national startup incubation network providing shared office spaces, mentoring, and access to a market resource, establish a national job placement and training program that connects young job seekers with employers create hubs and technology parks in urban and rural areas, offer tax incentives to companies generating substantial youth employment specifically micro-enterprises and SMEs

The government should implement a comprehensive curriculum reform to align education with industry needs and include youth representatives in the policy-making process. It is the situation of now and never. There is a need to accommodate the youngsters and shape a future where every young mind finds purpose; every skill finds canvas and opportunity to grow and earn

The government needs to make strategies to create a gove r n m e n t - b a c k e d venture capital fund dedicated to funding early-stage startups led by youth, simplify the Vc funding application process, and establish a regulatory sandbox for startups allowing them to test their innovative ideas without facing stringent regulations and to develop public-private partnerships to create apprenticeships

The government of Pakistan can also take steps to increase employment opportunities for young people and take full advantage of their skills to uplift the

Along with these reforms the government should implement a comprehensive curriculum reform to align education with industry needs and include youth representatives in the policy-making process It is the situation of now and never There is a need to accommodate the youngsters and shape a future where every young mind finds purpose; every skill finds canvas and opportunity to grow and earn

The writer is a freelance columnist

E d i t o r ’ s m a i l

S e n d y o u r l e t t e r s t o : L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r Pakistan Today 4 - S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h L a h o re P a k i s t a n E - m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d t o Pakistan Today e x c l u s i v e l y

Neglected facilit y

Along time ago, I came across a book by Eckhart Tolley, entitled The Power of now Back then, when I read it, I found many of its insights quite enlightening especially the one which says our minds don t allow us to be in the present moment They either keep us in the past or the future, and that s why we miss a lot of what is happening in the present moment by not being fully present, thus pitting ourselves against something over which we have no control Indulgence of the mind in the past or future is the first step to step into human suffering

Eckart Tolley attributes suffering among humans to the ego In simple words, what he says, humans suffer because of their egos Ego, before Eckart Tolley, is an attachment on the part of humans to any particular form of life To put it in simple words he says that we humans have life around us in different forms or we experience life in different forms If these forms are put in terms of age we humans have forms like childhood, youth, and old age If these forms are put in terms of relations, we humans at the same time might be playing the role of brother, uncle, son husband and father If these forms are put in terms of profession whatever profession we have it s a form of life

Before Eckart when humans start defining themselves with a particular form of life or stick to it, that s the best illustration of ego among humans and when this happens, it’s a recipe for human suffering

Why? Because like life is mortal the same are its forms As life fluctuates so do its forms These forms are a part of life They are not life

When we humans try to find permanence in any particular form of life, like forever we want to have it; we are not only challenging the mortality of life but are equating life with a particular form in which life itself does not believe For life a form is a part of life not whole life

We humans can t tame life by sticking to one form of life Yes life shows up in a lot of forms in our life, but sticking to one form of life and wishing that it does not go away is something we can wish but, in reality, it does not happen It’s a mistake to identify life with a particular form of life The key to happiness is to experience various forms of life but defining your whole life with one particular form may make you end at the door of suffering In simple live life; experience all

forms of life but have this belief that just like we humans are mortal in the same way whatever form we are experiencing is also mortal That form, no matter how dear it is to us, is not going to stay with us forever It dies like we have to die one day

Some general takeaways which I wanted to highlight in the context of insights I got from Power of now are as follows live in the present if you want to experience life fully It seems easy to say but it s difficult to actualize Each day when life pits us against its vicissitudes, we unc o n s c i o u s l y forget how to be in the present moment I usually during my classes sometimes share insights of The Power of now and especially this being present in the moment when I find students physically present and mentally not present in class, but I do confess that at times even after preaching this message of being present in the moment I sometimes forget and feel overwhelmed by life unfolding around me The point I am trying to convey is that you have to consciously give a

Never assume or believe that whatever form of life you are experiencing is going to last forever We are not forms of life we are experiencing, we are life, flowing through various forms of life but not defining itself with one particular form Whenever we define or attach ourselves to one form of life, we suffer. When we define one particular form of life, it’s not we who are living life but these are our egos, and ego is the ultimate source of human suffering

reminder to your mind by saying that although you like wandering in the past or future yet your job is to be present at the moment If you tame your mind this way, it s guaranteed that you are going to make each moment of your life count If you don’t believe it experience it yourself The second takeaway is; never assume or believe that whatever form of life you are experiencing is going to last forever We are not forms of life we are experiencing we are life flowing through various forms of life but not defining itself with one particular form Whenever we define or attach ourselves to one form of life we suffer When we define one particular form of life it s not we who are living life but these are our egos and ego is the ultimate source of human suffering

REcEnTlY I used the lyari Expressway for getting home and found it to be a completely neglected facility I saw people jaywalking and crossing the expressway right from the starting point on Mauripur Road till at least the garden interchange Young boys going to self-designated play areas along the liyari River below the expressway were running blindly on either side of the road likewise people in groups of three to four were also seen walking on either side of the road A patrol car of the national Highways and Motorway Police quite ignorant of this unchecked dangerous pedestrian movement was also seen standing on the alert without doing anything about the whole activity It was stationed right after the toll-collecting booths, and was seen busy stopping and checking most commercial loading vehicles That was the only activity the patrol care was alert about There were no police patrol cars for surveillance on the unlit expressway The toll-collecting booths were without any protective arrangement to facilitate the staff to survive the vagaries of weather It was a disappointing experience The authorities concerned should take notice of this neglect and take appropriate measures for the prevention of fatal road accidents to make the lyari Expressway a safe and rapid route for users

SHAHID AHMAD KHAN KARACHI

Overcoming blood donation myths

In Pakistan the need for blood donation is enormous and it is a challenge to keep the supply chain moving The country faces several issues in maintaining an adequate and safe blood supply owing to various factors such as limited awareness misconceptions cultural barriers and inadequate blood donation infrastructure However, none of the challenges is unsurmountable Pakistan faces blood shortage, particularly during emergencies, disasters and other such peak phases The limited availability of safe blood hampers the delivery of quality healthcare leading to increased mortality rate one of the major obstacles in encouraging blood donation in Pakistan is the prevalence of myths and misconceptions surrounding the process common misconceptions include concerns about religious beliefs fear of infections, and doubts regarding the safety of the donated blood It is crucial to debunk these myths and to educate the community about the reality of blood donation

Through awareness campaigns, accurate information can be disseminated helping to alleviate fears and misperceptions and encouraging more people to donate blood Pakistan needs to foster a culture of voluntary blood donation Traditionally blood donation in the country has been reliant on replacement donations from family and friends which often leads to inadequate supply and a lack of diversity in blood types

What we need to do is to shift the paradigm and emphasise the importance of voluntary blood donation We should actively work towards promoting a culture where individuals willingly donate blood without any expectations of reciprocity ultimately saving human lives and improving overall healthcare outcomes Engaging young people in blood donation initiatives is essential for building a sustainable blood donation system The youth is a significant segment of the population and possesses the potential to drive positive change We should mobilise our young, educating them about the importance of blood donation and equipping them with the necessary knowledge and skills to become advocates for this cause By encouraging youth participation the community may create a long-lasting impact and ensure a continuous supply of safe blood for those in need

Improving the blood donation infra- structure is crucial for enhancing the efficiency and safety of blood donation programmes in Pakistan We should also focus on developing well-equipped blood centres, where the donation process may be seamless, and the safety of both the donors and the recipients gets prioritised

A Putsch that is…

THE finale for the political unrest, which engulfed the polity society and the economy since April 2022 has taken place at last As the dust settles the power sharing rather power-yielding mechanics of the society have not just gone through a radical change’, rather a ‘regime change’ As things stand the role of constitutional supremacy coupled with an assertive role of Parliament are the things of the past The foundation of one-page hybrid which was set in 2018 elections which b rought a political trend well versed in fifth generation political gaming, has gone full circle in 2023

With the electoral process apparently delayed; and if one goes by smelling the mood and environment likely to be heavily managed the constitution of Pakistan as chided by successive dictators to be a piece of paper , has been actually turned into a worthless one

Exactly 70 years ago in another part of the world, a fist fight between the democratic forces and the non-democratic ‘thugs’ on the streets of Tehran on a hot August afternoon resulted in the victory of the latter For the people of this part of the world, called Pakistan, it is 19 August 1953 replayed over weeks and months

A walk through the mechanics of the narrative, which caused the change of guards in Pakistan reveals trends needing debate It demonstrates that if one opponent is equipped with all the necessary ammunition; the proverbial one to influence the public perception, while the other side is treating the scroll in the corridors of power as a lifetime opportunity, enough to make as many bucks as one can It was not that the other side was composed of mystics Rather it had the fair share of worldly flair complete with available facilities and purchasing power

The impression of the political side only interested in making bucks seems to have overtaken a general perception paradigm

The utility of the political forces in setting the direction of the state and the society as has been successfully practiced and maintained in leading democracies the world over

was ignored and belittled since the inception of the nation-state called Pakistan True that in the aftermath of the demise of the Father of the nation in 1948 and the assassination of the Prime Minister in 1951, Pakistan s political direction was rudderless and it was still too early to call it a day for the political order in its true sense

Resultantly the initial encroachment of the civil service followed by military bureaucracy changed the whole face of the state and consequently the rules of engagement between the rulers and the ruled gone were the friendly and brotherly bonds, which could solve many a problem in a collective manner The state which sprouted out of these mishaps was a national security state always faced with this or that threat The Ayub era has the Mccarthy doctrine in hand to stifle public dissent in the name of suppressing Marxist subversion Zia continued with the same under new banners By the time Musharraf took over the ‘Islamist’ threat had been blown over to justify picking up dissidents in the dead of night never to return to the laps of their close ones

1988 to 1999

The political governments always had a mix of civil and law enforcement solutions to get out of the quagmires The 9/11 incidents for Pakistan, reversed the process of gradual democratization of the society For all practical purposes the Pakistani society degenerated to the period which the Turkish chilean or Argentinian democracies have long left as an undesirable legacy The neighbouring Indian state took a literal vow, never to repeat the repeal of civil rights like what it did in that particular midnight procla-

of power for the money-minting exercise If the country was to be saved the only solution was to shun their participation in the system and treat them as pariahs for the society As a result the only other option left for leading the society were the institutions well versed in fifth-generation media-influencing strategies Regretfully while the media regulatory bodies advisory bars to name any political movement in any narrative, it is the hard fact that the post-2018 elections hybrid setup was the first step towards what can be called the march towards ‘shrinking the civilian space’ in the decision-making mechanisms of the society

The way out squarely stands not with the political forces who seem to have traded their independence The average person and the new breed of street fighters with probably no police record might undo the ills being strengthened across. A middle class able to make the most of the space and able to educate the public at large might be the only silver lining. Any division will be killer and being content with any small concession a suicide for that movement. Hopefully the younger generation feels the pain of their cowardly parents and rises to the occasion

Musharraf's retreat under pressure from his colleagues in november 2007 did not change things favourably for the nation-state The state by that time with components and the institutions making the most of the fallout of 9/11, was transformed from a political state to a national security one It was not so that civil strife and militancy did not raise its head during the civilian period between

The myth of global grain shortages

duction in another

So what caused the surge in wheat prices?

To answer this question we must follow the money The global grain market operates as an oligopoly, with the four largest grain traders –Archer-Daniels-Midland, Bunge (which recently merged with Viterra), cargill, and louis Dreyfus – controlling more than 70% of the market and glencore accounting for another 10%

mation of Emergency in 1975

The post-2008 period, when the political governments were miraculously able to complete terms, though without a single person completing the term alone The reason for that disturbance lay in the perception that political leaders were only in the corridors

Here the powers that be made use of the differences among the various political camps to steer the polity and society towards the desired goals

The post-2018 experiment was faced with the first obstacle when the two partners were finding ways to part ways The final setting ground was witnessed in the shape of the vote of no-confidence in the beginning of 2022 Apparently it looked good that the political forces were sorting out things for themselves However the developing scenario ominously suggested otherwise

The hybrid experiment was never deserted as might have been claimed by the originating setups Rather only the actors were changed keeping in view the expediencies of the time Practically all the stalwarts in the political groups with least courage to do things themselves tried to befriend the ‘cop’ to get the opponent fixed

The period between April 2022 to date is illustrative of the fact that the perception about the political forces being after loot and plunder has strengthened in the minds of a ‘numb’ populace to that extent that gradual ‘surrender ’ of the society to the new rules of business seems seamless; and so the feared putsch

Practically, without any formal announcement made or any such thing; with the country seemingly ruled as per the dictates of the 1973 constitution; the on-ground situation is more like what the Ayub setup tried to instil for legitimacy A push for foreign investment, a so-called farmer-friendly policy, a foreign policy seemingly nonaligned but actually putting all the bets in the ‘Pentagon’ camp All the good things covered by the iron hand of the state under the rationale of the national security state

The developing scenario where the political solutions might give way to the adm i n i s t r a t i v e o n e s ; w i l l l i k e l y c o m p l i c a t e the going in the future A hung parliament courtesy a managed electoral process will e m p o w e r a n d e m b o l d e n t h e n o n p o l i t i c a l s o l u t i o n s t o g a i n c u r r e n c y S e p a r a t i s t movements need to be cajoled into the fold through dialogue However, what seems to be the order of the day is finding a geopolitical military percept on these hard questions Predictably, these solutions are likely to increase the number of fellow citizens alienated The way out squarely stands not with the political forces who seem to have traded their independence The average person and the new breed of street fighters with probably no police record might undo the ills being strengthened across A middle class able to make the most of the space and able to educate the public at large might be the only silver lining Any division will be killer and being content with any small concession a suicide for that movement Hopefully the younger generation feels the pain of their cowardly parents and rises to the occasion

The writer is a freelance columnist

The return of animal sacrifice

In recent years soaring food prices and the growing frequency and intensity of floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events have prompted warnings of a looming grain shortage, potentially spelling disaster for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations Although climate change poses the greatest medium to longterm threat to global food security Russia s invasion of Ukraine is frequently cited as the immediate cause of the current hunger crisis

But this is a red herring

To be sure, the war has disrupted wheat exports from both Russia and Ukraine two of the world’s leading producers throwing critical trade relationships into disarray given that Ukraine and Russia previously accounted for more than a quarter of global wheat exports, policymakers and commentators attributed the surge in prices in early 2022 largely to supply shortages caused by the conflict

But while the global wheat price index rose by around 23% in the months following Russia s invasion prices began to drop in June 2022 By December they had returned to prewar levels Even when acknowledged, this trend was attributed to the success of the Black Sea grain Initiative (BSgI), a United nationsbacked agreement that lifted the Russian blockade of Ukraine’s grain exports conversely Russia s recent decision to pull out of the deal has raised concerns about its potential effects on the global grain trade

These concerns are misguided for two reasons First, the global wheat supply (both total production and the traded amount) has remained steady since the onset of the Ukraine war The Agricultural Market Information System administered by the Food and Agriculture organization of the United nations incorporates data from the International grains council to provide estimates of supply, usage, and trade Between July 2021 and June 2022 – a period when wheat prices peaked – global production rose by five million tons while trade volumes increased by three million tons over the same period stocks rose slightly (by three million tons)

Most notably, the total wheat supply (defined as production plus opening stocks) exceeded utilization by as much as 275 million tons This surplus challenges the prevailing narrative of a global shortage Similarly global supply is estimated to have exceeded demand between July 2022 and June 2023 suggesting a consistent trend

Second, governments and the media tend to emphasize specific regional shortages while overlooking increases in production and trade in other parts of the world

In reality wheat is produced globally which means that shortages in one region could be offset by increased pro-

In the early stages of the Ukraine war especially between March and June 2022 the Big Four grain traders reaped record profits and revenues cargill’s annual revenues were up 23%, to $165 billion, while louis Dreyfus’s profits soared by 80% These gains reflected price hikes that were not aligned with real-world demand and supply dynamics

Moreover grain futures markets experienced a flurry of activity between April and June 2022 Financial investors, including pension funds, increased their share of long positions in the Paris wheat futures market from 23% in May 2018 to 72% in April 2022 Ten momentum-driven hedge funds reportedly earned $1 9 billion by capitalizing on the foodprice surge triggered by Russia s invasion of Ukraine Instead of preventing or containing such financial maneuvers, regulators in the United States and the European Union allowed them to continue unabated

Surprisingly most of Ukraine s grain exports did not reach the world s poorest countries Instead 81% of the 32 9 million metric tons exported under the BSgI went to high-income and upper-middle-income countries, mostly European countries such as Spain, Italy, and the netherlands as well as china and Turkey low-income countries received 3% of Ukraine s grain exports and 9% of its wheat (most to Bangladesh) given that food-importing African countries received only a fraction of these exports, the fears that the deal s breakdown would lead to mass starvation across the continent seem vastly exaggerated

The BSgI seems to be more about facilitating exports from Ukraine – a laudable goal in its own right

than about addressing world hunger In addition to the Russian blockade of its maritime routes, Ukraine s overland routes have been compromised by the implicit import restrictions imposed by central and Eastern European countries such as Poland Bulgaria Hungary Slovakia and Romania which aim to shield struggling local farmers from competitively priced Ukrainian grain But as others have pointed out, the BSgI primarily serves the interests of the agribusiness giants trading in Ukrainian grain and the financiers backing them While global hunger has surged in recent years it is not because of a shortage of grain Instead plummeting exports dwindling foreignexchange revenues capital flight and higher debt-servicing costs have diminished many countries ability to import foodstuffs To address these challenges, we must shift our focus Rather than distribute grain as charity global policymakers must mitigate impoverished countries foreign-exchange vulnerabilities and take measures to support increased domestic and regional production of essential food items

Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at

WE look back with bewilderment at the ritual sacrifice of animals by our ancestors Whether it was the celtic people s sacrifice of livestock to appease pissed-off deities or the Ancient Romans’ slaughter of oxen so that Jupiter might be more sparing with his stormy weather it was all a bit mad We would never be so superstitious we tell ourselves I m not sure that s true consider the proposed slaughter of hundreds of thousands of cattle in Europe in the holy name of net Zero This is the return of pagan lunacy, surely I r i s h f a r m e r s a r e u n d e r p r e s s u r e t o c u l l u p t o 2 0 0 0 0 0 c o w s i n o r d e r t h a t I r e l a n d m i g h t m e e t i t s c l i m a t e g o a l s r e p o r t e d t h e F i n a n c i a l Ti m e s a t t h e weekend The Irish government is considering p r o p o s a l s t o b u m p o ff t h a t a m o u n t o f cattle over the next three years to help it a c h i e v e a 2 5 p e r c e n t r e d u c t i o n i n i t s a g r i c u l t u r a l e m i s s i o n s c o w s p r o d u c e m e t h a n e y o u s e e a n d m e t h a n e i s b a d It s a greenhouse gas Farming accounts for 40 per cent of I r e l a n d ’s g r e e n h o u s e - g a s e m i s s i o n s , s o it has become a natural target for the net Zero zealots Every EU member state is u n d e r p r e s s u r e t o m a k e s t r i d e s t o w a r d s net Zero and if that entails the sacrifice o f l i v e s t o c k s o b e i t S a v e t h e p l a n e t slaughter the cows

It s so superstitious A mooted cow mas s acre’ to try to offs et the angry clim a t i c c o n d i t i o n s a p p a r e n t l y c a u s e d b y man? If someone can explain how this is any different to an ancient people s ritualistic killing of a poor bull in a desperate bid to placate the weather gods, I d be most grateful In fact, if anything, the proposed cow-culling in Ireland is worse than the paganistic antics of our ill-educated forebears At least they were wise e n o u g h t o o ff e r u p o n l y o n e o r t w o beasts to the gods of thunder – the neopagans of the net Zero cult are offering u p w h o l e h e r d s t o t r y t o a s s u a g e t h e heatwaves and floods they think furious M o t h e r E a r t h h a s i n s t o r e f o r u s A n d t h e y s e e m t o c a r e l i t t l e f o r t h e c o n s eq u e n c e s o f t h e i r h e t h e n c a r b o n - o ff s e tting Irish farmers are seriously worried for their livelihoods The dairy industry i s w o r t h € 1 3 b i l l i o n a y e a r t o t h e I r i s h e c o n o m y I t p r o v i d e s 5 4 , 0 0 0 j o b s I t b r o u g h t i n A s t a g g e r i n g € 6 8 b i l l i o n i n e x p o r t s i n 2 0 2 2 a l o n e What will become of all this fruitful work if cow slaughter in the name of net Zero takes off? We re portrayed as clim a t e k i l l e r s c o m p l a i n s o n e I r i s h farmer Indeed, eco-activists marched in D u b l i n w i t h b a n n e r s s a y i n g M e a t + dairy climate crisis’ – a perfect snaps h o t o f o u t h o w o u t - o f - t o u c h t h e u r b a n elites are who probably never give a second thought to the question of who prod u c e d t h e l u s c i o u s c r e a m t h a t a p p e a r s atop the €20 pancakes they scoff for Sunday brunch in a hip Dublin eatery

The other likely consequence of Ireland’s ‘mooted cow massacre’ would be more global emissions Ireland’s brilliant dairy farmers supply 130 markets around t h e w o r l d W h e r e w i l l t h o s e n a t i o n s source the milk butter and cheese they n e e d i f n o t f r o m t h e I r i s h R e p u b l i c ? P r o b a b l y f r o m c o u n t r i e s w i t h w o r s e g r e e n c r e d e n t i a l s t h a n I r e l a n d ’ , I r i s h f a r m e r s s a y T h e y ’ r e r i g h t F o r t y - t h r e e per cent of Ireland’s beef goes to the UK Remember that next time you re tucking

THE oil market is in a bullish move and heading well into the $90 per barrel range, Bob Mcnally, President at Rapidan Energy told cnBc’s Squawk Box program on Monday oil hitting $100 per barrel is “entirely possible Mcnally added oil prices are climbing a wall of doubt and skepticism he said So far, traders have been focused on the lack of a significant drop in Russian supply The market is also dancing in a macro minefield,” Mcnally told cnBc “There are good reasons to be skeptical But fundamentals are fundamentals oPEc+ is going to put a huge deficit into the market into the second half ” he added

i n t o a d e l i c i o u s m o i s t b u rg e r : i t w a s probably made by one of those climate killers across the Irish Sea Where will B r i t s g e t t h e i r b e e f i f t h e I r i s h e l i t e ’s c o w - k i l l i n g f r e n z y r e a l l y s p i n s o u t o f control? new Zealand? The air miles involved in such a long-distance meaty relationship would make the farting cows o f o u r n e i g h b o u r i n g n a t i o n s e e m p e rfectly eco-friendly in comparison

So this is the double impact of the neo-paganism of net Zero, of today’s irrational dread of weather that comes dressed in the garb of scientific revelation: we undermine domestic production while potentially increasing global emissions It s lose-lose And it isn t only in Ireland that anti-farming hysteria has taken hold Dutch farmers have been protesting for four years over their government’s determination to slash nitrogen emissions in half by 2030 which could lead to the closure of 3 000 farms That is, to fewer cows, and fewer jobs This week, Australian farmers joined the growing workers’ revolt against the net Zero ideology They drove their tractors around the parliament in Victoria to protest a new renewables policy that they believe will intrude on their land and limit their ability to farm Surely nothing better sums up the irr a t i o n a l i s m o f t h e 2 1 s t c e n t u r y ’s e c oe l i t e s t h a n t h e i r c a v a l i e r a t t i t u d e t o t h e rights and happiness of the people who make our food Ritual sacrifice to mollify t h e h e a v e n s i s o n c e a g a i n a l l t h e r a g e among the rulers of Earth Sacrifice not o n l y o f a n i m a l s t h i s t i m e b u t a l s o o f livelihoods and even liberty Dairy farmi n g f o o d p r o d u c t i o n p e s t i c i d e - u s e cheap flights our right to drive – all are being offered up at the apologetic altar of net Zero ‘Forgive us our hubris’, cry the e l i t e s a s t h e y s a c r i f i c e o n e b y o n e t h e things that make life good and tasty It is t i m e f o r a r a t i o n a l p u s h b a c k , s u r e l y, against this modern paganism

Brendan O’Neill is spiked’s chief political writer and host of the spiked podcast The Brendan O Neill Show

The U S Administration doesn’t have any good options for bringing the price of gasoline down Should national average prices hit $4 per gallon again there could be more draws from t h e S t r a t e g i c P e t r o l e u m R e s e r v e ( S P R ) b u t t h i s i s n t a v e r y good option after last year s releases from the SPR, Mcnally told cnBc oil prices traded lower on Monday as china’s economic recovery continued to disappoint while the U S dollar strengthened The downside risks remain limited as long as oPEc+ maintain production at the current tight levels not least considering IEA s forecast from last week that oil demand surged to a record high in June and may rise even further, Saxo Bank analysts said in a market commentary on Monday Brent prices have now registered seven consecutive weeks of gains as tighter fundamentals continue to feed through to a stronger flat price and time spreads, Ing strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said on Monday Sentiment remains largely positive with the oil balance set to continue to tighten while stronger refinery margins are also providing some support they added

PL A HOLDS JOINT DRILLS AROUND TAIWAN FOLLOWING

‘SEPARATIST’ L AI’S PROVOCATIVE US ‘STOPOVERS’

BEIJING

S TA F F

TH E Chinese People s Liberation Army (PLA) announced on Saturday that it is holding a joint exercise around the island of Taiwan following the return of the island’s separatist deputy regional leader Lai Ching-te from his stopovers in the US Military exercises serve as countermeasures to secessionist activities, and the more separatists provoke, the dimmer a peaceful future is for the island of Taiwan observers said

The PLA Eastern Theatre Command is holding a sea and air joint combat readiness alert patrol and a joint training exercise involving naval and aviation forces on Saturday, said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, a spokesperson at the PLA Eastern Theatre Command in a press release on the day In a move to test the troops’ actual capabilities in joint operations the exercise focuses on training subjects including vessel-aircraft integration and seizing control, Shi said Mission units including multiple Navy destroyers, frigates and missile boats formations of Air Force fighters early warning aircraft and electronic warfare aircraft as well as conventional missiles from the Rocket Force rapidly maneuvered and assembled toward preset regions and started combat deployment, the PLA Eastern Theatre Command said in a separate press release later the day

According to videos released by the PLA Eastern Theatre Command J-10C

J-11B

J-16 Su-30MK2 fighter jets Type 054A frigates and DF-15 ballistic missile transporter erector launchers were among the weapons and equipment involved in the drills Fighter jets carried live munitions including PL-10 short-range combat missiles and PL-15 beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, videos show

Working with support from multiple intelligence sources, these combat platforms operated as a system and coordinated with each other according to their missions as they arrived in designated waters and air spaces around the island of Taiwan as planned the PLA Eastern Theatre Command said The PLA forces carried out a close-in deterrence mission from multiple directions in multiple dimensions and through

Holy Quran desecrated during far-right demo in Netherlands

HAGUE A G E N C I E S

A Dutch far-right activist trampled on and tore up a copy of the Holy Quran at a demonstration outside the Turkish embassy in The Hague on Friday infuriating dozens of counter-protesters

The Dutch government had already condemned the holding of the demonstration ahead of the event but said it had no legal powers to prevent it Edwin Wagensveld, who leads the Dutch branch of the far-right group Pegida, damaged a copy of the Quran He was accompanied by two other people

Police had sealed off access to the street where the Turkish embassy is located and there were around fifty counter-protesters also present

Some of them began throwing stones at Wagensveld when he tore up pages from the Quran, the holy book of Islam

Around 20 police equipped with shields and batons intervened when some of the crowd tried to chase after him as he left

On Friday morning Dilan Yesilgoz the Netherlands

Turkish-born justice minister described the plan to destroy the holy book as fairly primitive and pathetic

But the country s laws authorised such a demonstration, she added

Wagensveld nevertheless faces trial for comments he made during a similar demonstration in January when he tore up a copy of the Quran outside parliament while likening the book to Adolf Hitler s Mein

Kampf A T-shirt he wore at Friday s demonstration made a similar claim Geert Wilders, the leader of another far-right party, the PVV, posted a message online supporting Friday’s demonstration by Pegida

Similar attacks on the Quran have taken place in other European countries recently In late July two men set fire to a copy of the Quran in front of the Swedish parliament and similar incidents have taken place in Denmark this year Such demonstrations have provoked anger and sometimes unrest in several Muslim countries On Thursday, Sweden’s intelligence agency heightened its terror alert level to four on a scale of five in response to the angry reactions in the Muslim world to Quran burnings

an extended time period forming a situation that the island of Taiwan is surrounded and approached from all directions PLA destroyers and frigates took advantageous positions through high-speed maneuvering and stealth approaching with standing-by missile boats carrying out tracking and aiming at hostile mobile targets throughout their entire courses jointly with land-based missile assault groups, electronic countermeasure units as well as observation and communications forces the China Central Television (CCTV) reported Warplanes seized air superiority and coordinated with warships in striking hostile vessels and aircraft in reconnaissance and patrol missions, CCTV said Drills were conducted for jointly seizing maritime and airspace control subma-

rine search and anti-submarine operation in the waters and airspace to the north and southwest of Taiwan island to test the capability of the command’s forces in coordinated operations and systematic confrontation according to the PLA Eastern Theatre Command This is a stern warning to collusions between Taiwan independence secessionist forces and external interference forces, Shi said Lai, a candidate of the separatist Democratic Progressive Party for the 2024 Taiwan regional leader election returned to the island on Friday after stopovers in the US during his trip to Paraguay

When Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen made stopovers in the US in a similar manner in April, the PLA Eastern Theatre Command held combat alert patrols and “Joint Sword” exercise encircling the island of Taiwan in waters to the east of the island The latest exercise is a pointed countermeasure against Lai s stopovers in the US, a Chinese mainland military expert who requested anonymity told It marks the third major PLA countermeasure operation against collusion between Taiwan independence secessionist forces and external interference forces over the past a little more than a year, the expert said, referring to the large-scale joint exercise around the island in August 2022 in response to then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s provocative visit to the island as the first and the combat alert patrols and Joint Sword exercise in April in response to Tsai s stopovers and her meeting with current US House speaker Kevin McCarthy as the second

US approves transfer of Dutch, Danish F-16s to Ukraine

KYIV

A G E N C I E S K y i v o n F r i d a y w e l c o m e d a U S decision to let Denmark and the N e t h e r l a n d s h a n d F - 1 6 f i g h t e r jets over to Ukraine once its pilots are trained to use them

In Russia the authorities shut down respected rights group the Sakharov Center and announced f r e s h i n t e r n a t i o n a l s a n c t i o n s against its critics abroad A n d e a r l i e r F r i d a y R u s s i a n f o r c e s d e s t r o y e d U k r a i n i a n drones targeting Moscow and its Black Sea Fleet In Washington a U S S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t o ff i c i a l s a i d D e n m a r k a n d t h e N e t h e rlands had been given formal assurances for the jet transfer Tr a i n i n g b y a n 11 - n a t i o n coalition is to begin this month, a n d o ff i c i a l s h o p e p i l o t s w i l l b e ready by early 2024

U k r a i n i a n D e f e n c e M i n i s t e r O l e k s i i R e z n i k o v h a i l e d “ g r e a t n e w s f r o m o u r f r i e n d s i n t h e United States K y i v h a s b e e n p u s h i n g f o r months to get Western fighters to replace the heavy losses incurred b y i t s a i r f o r c e , w h i c h f l i e s mostly Russian aircraft The US F-16 has better combat capabilit i e s t h a n t h o s e o p e r a t e d b y Ukraine R u s s i a o n F r i d a y c o n t i n u e d i t s b a t t l e a g a i n s t i t s c r i t i c s a t home and abroad The authorities s h u t d o w n p r o m i n e n t r i g h t s group the Sakharov Center saying it had illegally hosted confere n c e s a n d e x h i b i t i o n s N a m e d after Nobel Prize winner and Sov i e t - e r a d i s s i d e n t A n d r e i Sakharov, it was set up in 1996 to defend human rights and preserve his legacy C r i t i c s s a y t h e g r o u p i s t h e

High-quality BRI cooperation brings real benefits for Malaysia, says former envoy

Noting that bilateral relations are at their historical best former Malaysian ambassador to China Dato

Abdul Majid said he hopes that China can cultivate more talent for Malaysia via high-quality Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation so as to further promote Malaysia-China ties in the next 50 years, in a recent interview with the Global Times in Kuala Lumpur Majid stressed that Malaysia is one of the earliest countries to support the BRI and multiple Malaysian prime ministers have been very supportive in the past three BRI summits held in Beijing

In the eyes of Majid who served in China for a total of 12 years, China is very strong in industrialization and many countries are expecting vocational training via working with China “I think many countries require this Malaysia also needs it because we are now reaching a certain level of industrialization We need a lot of training for talented people at a subprofessional level I think China can offer this and I think this could be part of the BRI

The veteran diplomat said that in the early stages, there was some confusion among local Malaysians as large swaths of land seized by Chinese companies caused concern But they have learned that not only does China boost the domestic market it also creates employment so people have started to get past their early misconceptions about China Also local people realized that they were not fully utilizing local resources, labor and raw materials, said Majid

The former ambassador noted that all the Chinese factories coming to Malaysia have improved their operations bringing positive effects for local people He cited the example of the China-built East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) saying that it has linked four very underdeveloped areas and now serves as an economic corridor

I am happy to see that the project is moving fast now Once it gets completed, the traffic flow will be easier for people from the West coast to the East, which used to take seven to eight hours ” he said

The ECRL project is a catalyst that can balance the economy of the East Coast with the West Coast because the rail infrastructure can stimulate investment and commercial activities, offer job opportunities and boost the tourism sector and the manufacturing sector in the states of the East Coast Economic Region

l a t e s t t a rg e t o f t h e K r e m l i n ’s clampdown on liberal-leaning organisations that challenge the authorities

Also Friday a Russian court placed the co-chair of independe n t e l e c t i o n m o n i t o r i n g g r o u p Golos in pre-trial detention until at least October 17 The ruling by Basmanny District Court comes as Russia gears up for regional elections next month

A n d M o s c o w a n n o u n c e d s a n c t i o n s a g a i n s t I n t e r n a t i o n a l Criminal Court prosecutor Karim K h a n , w h o i n M a r c h i s s u e d a w a r r a n t a g a i n s t P u t i n a c c u s i n g h i m o f h a v i n g “ i l l e g a l l y d ep o r t e d t h o u s a n d s o f U k r a i n i a n children to Russia

Two British government mini s t e r s w e r e a l s o o n t h e u p d a t e d sanctions list, as well as journalists from the BBC, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph

Guantanamo judge rejec ts tor ture - derived confession

A US military judge ruled for the first time Friday that an Al-Qaeda bombing suspect’s confession cannot be used as evidence because it was derived from torture potentially setting a new hurdle for September 11 prosecutions The judge in the Guantanamo Bay Cuba US military tribunals said that a confession by Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the alleged mastermind of the 2000 attack against the USS Cole in Yemen that left 17 dead, was tainted by years of abuse at the hands of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

“Exclusion of such evidence is not without societal costs ” wrote the judge Col Lanny Acosta

“However permitting the admission of evidence obtained by or derived from torture by the same government that seeks to prosecute and execute the accused may have even greater societal costs Nashiri s attorney Anthony Natale said the judge threw out the key evidence military prosecutors hoped to use to convict Nashiri The ruling left the long-running death penalty case mired in the pretrial phase with no sign of when a full trial could begin

Russia’s nuclear weapons a reminder for West, Sergei Lavrov says

KREMLIN A G E N C I E S

Sergei Lavrov the foreign minister of Russia said that ownership of nuclear weapons protects his country from security threats and serves as a constant reminder to the West about the risk of nuclear war The recent comment by Lavrov comes after a rhetoric of military escalation by Moscow that has increased furiously since Russian forces invaded Ukraine last year

The possession of nuclear arms is today the only possible response to some of the significant external threats to the security of our country,” Lavrov said in an interview with the state magazine called The International Affairs Dmitry Medvedev a former Russian president predicted last month that if Ukraine s counteroffensive against Russian forces was successful, Moscow would have to deploy nuclear weapons Lavrov said that the United States and NATO military alliance members risk ending up in “a situation of direct armed confrontation of nuclear powers

We believe such a development should be prevented That s why we have to remind about the existence of high military and political risks and send sobering signals to our opponents” Lavrov added Ukraine re-

ceives the majority of its military support from NATO nations and the US in its conflict against Russia US President Joe Biden has called a threat of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons real reported Al Jazeera

The Western military alliance has not detected any changes to Russia s nuclear force stance, and therefore, NATO did not need to reciprocate in its nuclear posture” said NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg On Thursday Belarusian

President Alexander Lukashenko one of Russian President Vladimir Putin s closest allies, warned that he would use the nuclear weapons that Russia had deployed in his country if faced with external aggression

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin s closest supporters Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned on Thursday that if his nation came under external attack, he would use the nuclear weapons that Russia had stationed there “There can be only one threat – aggression against our country If aggression against our country starts from Poland Lithuania Latvia we will respond instantly with everything we have , Lukashenko said in an interview The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank said earlier this year that Russia’s increasing nuclear war

CORPORATE CORNER

CEO SI Global Noman Said and Chairman PASHA

Muhammad Zohaib Khan hosted a farewell dinner in honor of former Federal Minister for IT and Telecom

Syed Aminul Haq Distinguished figures from the IT industry including Jahan Ara former president PASHA, EO Systems Limited, Asif Peer, Nadeem Elahi , CEO Ibex, former State Minister Azfar Ahsan also joined the event PR

K P G O V T S E C U R E S R S 2 2 9 B LO A N S

F R O M A D B F O R D I V E R S E P R O J E C T S

cluding women’s health projects and healthcare development programs

TH E Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has recently secured loans amounting to over Rs229 76 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for various projects across the province

Among the projects Transport and Communication Departments received the highest loan of Rs124 58 billion which is intended to boost the development of transportation and communication infrastructure Similarly the Agriculture Department managed to secure loans worth Rs485 million for three projects of agricultural development, aquaculture development, and livestock development Education is also a priority, with Rs3 11 billion secured for a series of projects These initiatives include teacher

training programs, improvements in middle schools, technical education enhancement and projects focused on girls’ primary and secondary science education Energy-related projects have also received substantial support with loans amounting to Rs47 228 billion allocated for endeavours such as enhancing power ac-

cessibility, developing the energy sector, and investing in hydropower infrastructure Environmental and health initiatives have not been overlooked Loans totalling Rs3 817 billion have been obtained for environmental programs while Rs6 336 billion has been dedicated to strengthening the healthcare system, in-

TDAP organizes Mango Festival at China Eurasia Commodit y and Trade Expo -2023

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T

role in identifying suspicious elements PR

Mir waiz continues to face restrictions on Friday prayers

MIRPUR (AJK)

Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Mohammed Umar Farooq was once again prevented from leading the Majlis-e-wazo-tableg and offering the obligatory Jumma prayers for the 208th consecutive Friday at Jama Masjid in Srinagar

The Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid has reported in a statement that its intention is to pursue legal action against the continuous house detention of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq by the administration installed by Delhi

The report states that news circulated on social media indicating the possibility of Mirwaiz's attendance at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, following an interview with the "Lieutenant Governor" of the State, where he suggested that Mirwaiz might be allowed to offer Friday prayers there Seeking clarity on this matter

Anjuman reached out to the concerned police authorities in Srinagar

However, the authorities stated that they had not received any communication from higher authorities regarding the matter, leading to the continuation of Mirwaiz's detention

Despite conflicting statements and repeated appeals for his release Mirwaiz has remained under house detention for the past four years

In response Anjuman has announced Mirwaiz s decision to take the legal route by sending a legal notice to the concerned authorities

This step aims to clarify his status and initiate proceedings for his release from house detention ensuring that his religious and public obligations are not further compromised

The Anjuman expressed hope that through legal channels, Mirwaiz s relief would be secured, enabling his return to the centuries-old Jama Masjid's silent pulpit The people, eagerly awaiting his presence, anticipate hearing him once again address them from this historic place of worship

Sindh caretaker CM, cabinet members meet Governor Tessori

S

KARACHI

Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd)

Maqbool Baqer and members of the provincial caretaker cabinet held a meeting with Sindh Governor

Kamran Khan Tessori on Saturday at Governor

House In the meeting the development plans for Sindh by the federal government measures taken to improve the economic and the overall political situation came under discussion

They also discussed priority measures for solving the problems of the people and other matters of mutual interest The caretaker provincial ministers included Brigadier (retd) Haris Nawaz Mubeen

Jumani Ishwar Lal Muhammad Younis Dhaga Dr Saad Khalid Niaz Khuda Bakhsh Marri Dr Rana Hussain, Dr Junaid Shah, Umar Soomro and Arshad Wali Muhammad

Ministry of Commerce through Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) organized Pakistan Mango Festival at the China Eurasia Commodity and Trade Expo-2023 on 17th August 2023 in Urumqi China The Festival was jointly inaugurated by Governor of Xinjiang, Senator Rana Mahmoodul-Hassan and Professor Ahsan Iqbal former Federal Minister At the Festival the Pakistani growers introduced a new variety of white Chaunsa at the Pakistan Pavilion Senator Mahmood-ul-Hassan shared with the audience that the Mango diplomacy has played a historical role in developing Pakistan-China relationship as during the 1960s Pakistan’s foreign Minister presented mangoes to Chairman Mao Zedong He explained that the Pakistani mangoes are unique in their taste and aroma and are famous for their sweetness He mentioned that Pakistan has introduced these mangoes to China after COVID-19 pandemic He added that Pakistan is the 6th largest producer and 4th largest exporter of mangoes in the world He invited Chinese experts and investment

into food processing industry of Pakistan Professor Ahsan Iqbal, former Federal Minister lauded the efforts of the organizers for hosting the Festival which lent an opportunity to Pakistan to exhibit Pakistani mangoes He further expressed the importance of CPEC under the leadership of President Xi Jinping He added that the CPEC has transformed Pakistan’s economy by providing the much-needed infrastructure and energy projects at the time when Pakistan needed them the most He said that the 10th anniversary of CPEC is a hallmark occasion and this decade has laid foundation of the 2nd phase of high quality development of CPEC Pakistani mango experts ex-

plained the characteristics of White Chaunsa and presented a special platter and “Mango Lassi” to the Governor and other senior officials Governor loved the mangoes and the mango lassi The Festival was attended by a large number of local and other international businessmen The Pakistan Pavilion also included a special booth for JD com for promoting Pakistani mangoes and other products online The exhibitors appreciated the efforts of TDAP and Embassy of Pakistan in holding this much needed event The Embassy in Beijing has also organized b2b meetings of Pakistani enterprises with Chinese businessmen The Festival would continue till 21st August 2023

Funeral of mar tyred FC soldier offered with militar y honors

ABBOTTABAD S TA F F R E P O R T

The funeral prayer of the brave Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice in Terah was offered with military honours in the ancestral village of Nazarabad Khanpur

The martyred soldier Syed Munazim Hussain Shah who sacrificed his life in the line of duty in Terah was laid to rest in the Nazarabad area of Tehsil Khanpur district Haripur amongst a heartfelt gathering of mourners, local residents, municipal representatives, and dignitaries from the Pakistan Army

The funeral procession was marked by military precision a smartly turned out contingent of the Pak Army presented him with a guard of honour and also laid a

floral wreath on the grave of the martyred soldier Amidst the gathering, the father of the martyr, Syed Mukhtar Hussain Shah, expressed profound pride and deep sorrow for the loss of his son He underlined that his son's sacrifice for the country brings not only an honour but also a sense of responsibility to continue supporting the nation

He expressed his willingness to make further sacrifices if required for the well-being and security of the nation Syed Munazim Hussain Shah's valour and dedication to his duty were highlighted during the funeral proceedings

His service in a critical area underscores the unwavering commitment and bravery exhibited by the Pakistani security forces in upholding the peace and stability of the nation

A JK President urges global ac tion against human rights abuses in IIOJK

MIRPUR (AJK)

S TA F F R E P O R T

Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry has called upon the international community to intensify efforts to halt state terrorism and human rights violations in the Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) State

Speaking during a meeting with prominent thinker and writer Nida Jamal at the Jammu Kashmir House in the federal metropolis, President AJK stressed the urgency for international human rights organizations to take effective notice of the worsening political and human rights sit-

uation in the Indian-held territory, coinciding with World Humanitarian Day on August 19

Expressing deep concern over the global community s lack of action in addressing the suffering of the Kashmiri people, President criticized the world's failure to curb bloodshed and violence in the occupied region

He lamented the discrepancy between the efforts invested in resolving other global disputes and the insufficient attention given to the Kashmir issue President urged entities such as the United Nations Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International to play a more active role in

Furthermore a sum of Rs253 million has been set aside for the Technical and Vocational Training System Project, aimed at boosting industrial skill sets

In the realm of water management and urban infrastructure loans of Rs5 226 billion have been acquired for various projects Additionally a separate project for water and sewage has been allocated Rs1 239 billion These loans build upon prior agreements, with the provincial government having secured loans from different international financial cycles resulting in a cumulative total of Rs1 trillion The ADB has been a primary contributor to these funding arrangements

The KP government has embarked on a new project known as KP cities improvement project for which a loan of Rs9 9 billion is being borrowed from the ADB

PIA’s 11 planes with technical faults remain grounded due to financial crisis

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T

As many as 11 planes of national flag carrier Pakistan

International Airline (PIA) including three Boeing 777 grounded due to technical faults could not reactivated due to poor financial condition of the airline According to official documents available with the organization, during 16 month tenure of PDM’s coalition government, the national airline had to face severe financial crisis due to uncontrolled hike in dollar and petroleum products

The PIA was unable to purchase spare parts for repair of the faulty aircrafts due to which they remained grounded and couldn t be reactivated enabling them to resume flights

The documents further stated that three Boeing 777 aircraft of PIA were grounded, of which two aircraft were grounded in 2020 while one aircraft was grounded in 2021 On the other hand five aircrafts of A320 are grounded of which two aircraft were grounded in 2021 and three aircrafts were grounded in 2023 Meanwhile, three planes of ATR remain grounded, out of which one plane was grounded in 2020, one plane was grounded in 2022 and one plane was grounded in 2023 Due to financial issues spare parts could not be purchased to enabling these planes to resume flights

Taxila Police bust gang involved in child pornography

TAXILA

S TA F F R E P O R T

Taxila Police have busted a gang allegedly involved in earning money from the dark web through child pornography Addressing a press conference at Taxila police station on Saturday SP Potohar Muhammad Waqas Khan said that a gang involved in raping children and selling their videos to dark web has been arrested He said that two cell phones were recovered from possession of the detainees which have been sent to Lahore for forensics

The SP said that the nabbed accused have admitted of 13 child pornography many cases have not been yet reported while three children have been rescued

11 dengue patients repor ted in various Lahore areas

LAHORE

S TA F F R E P O R T

Eleven new dengue virus cases were reported in the provincial metropolis on Saturday

ending the ongoing human rights abuses in Indian-Occupied Kashmir

He emphasized the importance of resolving the longstanding dispute peacefully in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions

Highlighting the need for stronger measures, President AKJ called for economic sanctions against India as a means to pressure the nation into ending human rights violations in the region

He also pointed out the Modi government's record of rights violations against minorities both in Occupied Kashmir and India, which he believed had exposed the regime's oppressive nature on the international stage

According to the Health Department sources besides the dengue virus cases 1 030 larvae cases were reported in the last 24 hours with many patients under treatment in different hospitals of the city

Various squads conducted surveillance at various indoor and outdoor places to detect dengue larvae during the last 24 hours

Meanwhile the anti-dengue squad destroyed dengue larvae at 1030 places in the province during continuing surveillance

The Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department sources told APP that 11 cases of dengue were reported in Lahore on Saturday including four cases from Allama Iqbal Town, three from Cantt Area, two from Gulberg Town and one each from Nishtar and Wahga Town areas

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Lahore Rafia Haider is continuously paying surprise visits to check the performance of dengue teams working on the ground, besides increasing dengue cases after rains

M angla D am holds steady at 1242 feet, its maximum c apacity

Illicit cigarettes poised to outpace legitimate market share in Pakistan, industr y player c autions

With illicit cigarettes, both smuggled and counterfeit, having already secured over 40 percent of the market industry insiders are sounding the alarm that these contraband products may potentially surpass the legitimate tobacco industry within the next quarter

The alarm bells have been ringing louder as concerns escalate over the proliferation of inexpensive, illicit cigarettes that conspicuously lack the mandated health warnings

The tobacco industry has sharpened its criticism of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Ministry of Health for their perceived failure to effectively curb this growing menace Speaking at a significant media briefing convened at the Pakistan Tobacco Company s (PTC) state-of-the-art facility in Swabi Sami Zaman the Head of External Affairs at PTC did not mince his words as he shared his unease over the prevailing situation Zaman stressed the pressing nature of the issue, issuing a stern warning that if left unchecked illegal cigarette sales could soon

secure over 50 percent of the market share in a matter of mere months

Zaman emphasized that these illicit cigarettes, having evaded proper taxation and sidestepped the legally mandated graphic health warnings manage to entice consumers with their lower price point and a spectrum of alluring flavors He boldly criticized health activists for their apparent reluctance to voice opposition against the influx of smuggled and unregistered cigarettes into the country However, the industry’s woes have deepened due to a dire supply shortage De-

spite initial promises to procure a substantial 85 million kg of raw tobacco from local farmers, a paltry 72 million kg was actually secured for the entire cigarette manufacturing industry This scarcity-induced imbalance has sent tobacco prices skyrocketing during this season The subsequent entry of investors into the tobacco sector has further propelled the minimum tobacco support price to unprecedented heights, soaring from an initial Rs 310 per kg to an astonishing Rs 1400 per kg, eventually stabilizing at a still significant Rs 1000 per kg

Zaman underscored that while tobacco enjoys the protection of Pakistani law, the evident absence of a robust mechanism to counteract illegal tobacco acquisitions has inadvertently facilitated widespread price manipulation To lend perspective Zaman compared tobacco prices across different nations citing rates such as $2 96 per kg in Bangladesh $1 5 per kg in the Philippines and $4 75 per kg in Pakistan This erratic pricing landscape has inevitably led to restricted exports of processed tobacco, stifling the nation’s economic prospects

Solangi urges media role in combating growing intolerance

Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi visited multiple media houses and the National Press Club (NPC) on Saturday to discuss matters of mutual interest with the journalist community The visit marked the formal commencement of his duties in his newly-assumed position as the Interim Minister for Information and Broadcasting Solangi expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome he received from the media community upon his appointment acknowledging the support prayers and well-wishes extended by his friends and colleagues in the media industry

During his visits, Minister Solangi visited the offices of leading publications including Daily Nawa-i-Waqt, The Nation and Ausaf, besides TV channels such as Dunya News, Sama News, 24 News, ARY News, Express News Suno News Hum News and Dawn News

In these interactions Solangi expressed gratitude for the affection shown by his well-wishers Addressing the journalist community Murtaza Solangi underscored the critical role of the Election Commission in upholding the democratic process by ensuring free and fair elections

He assured the caretaker government’s complete facilitation to the commission in the discharge of its constitutional duties The minister highlighted the prevailing challenge of forging a national consensus on significant national matters He lamented the transformation of political disagreements into personal animosity, stressing the need for rectifying this trend and fostering unity among diverse segments of society Murtaza Solangi further emphasized the necessity of combating the growing intolerance within society He said the Ministry of Information in collaboration with the media would strive to provide the public with accurate and comprehensive information about the prevailing situation As a representative of the journalist community, our foremost priority is to create an enabling professional environment and safeguard the rights of journalists ” Solangi maintained