Epaper_23-10-11 KHI

COAS, PM TAKE STOCK OF SECURIT Y SITUATION IN BALOCHISTAN

CH I E F of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir and caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar visited Quetta on Tuesday, where they were briefed on a range of matters encompassing law enforcement operations, antismuggling efforts, and security for foreign nationals in Balochistan The briefing took place during the Provincial Apex Committee meeting which was also attended by caretaker Chief Minister Balochistan Ali Mardan Khan Domki

The forum was briefed in detail about the revised National Action Plan, law enforcement operations, antismuggling measures, anti-narcotics operations in Balochistan and the security of foreign nationals employed on both CPEC and non-CPEC private projects

The participants were also informed about the repatriation of illegal foreigners measures related to foreign currency regulation, and the progress made on initiatives in the SIFC (Special Investment Facilitation Council) in Balochistan

During the meeting the COAS emphasised that the army would offer complete support in collaboration with law enforcement agencies and other government departments to enforce actions against a range of illegal activities in order to fully prevent the pilferage of resources and the economic losses that the country incurred as a result of those activities

Meanwhile the prime minister expressed confidence in the progress achieved by the Balochistan government and pledged all-out support from the federal

President Alvi for ‘end to bitterness, way for forgiveness’ ahead of polls

In a bid to create a level playing field before general elections in January President Arif Alvi on Tuesday stressed the need to “end bitterness and make way for cooperation and forgiveness His remarks come as Pakistan is gearing up for polls Last month the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that polls would be held in the last week of January 2024 but didn t specify a date While the JUI-F has raised objections over the timing of the elections the PPP and PTI have repeatedly bemoaned the lack of a level playing field

Meanwhile the PML-N is preparing for the return of party supremo Nawaz Sharif later this month

On the other hand, the interim government has dispelled the impression of caretakers being a B team of the PML-N, adding that it did not have any favourites

In a meeting with Senator Muhammad Ali Khan Durrani at the Aiwan-e-Sadr today the president said the upcoming general elections should be free fair transparent and inclusive According to a statement issued by the President s House, Alvi stressed that all political parties and their leadership should be given equal opportunities to participate in the electoral process to

“strengthen democracy in the country”

“Democracy will be meaningless if people are not able to elect a leader of their choice he said

The president emphasised there was a dire need for political and institutional unity in the country to battle challenges, such as rising inflation

“Bitterness should end, and a way should be carved for cooperation and forgiveness,” he stated President Alvi further said that ownership and backing were needed from the public to take difficult decisions

The upcoming general elections provide a good opportunity to create the vibrancy needed to rebuild our country, he said, adding that political participation was the spirit of democracy

government

The socio-economic development of Balochistan is essential to ensure peace and prosperity in the province ” PM Kakar said adding that initiatives undertaken by the SIFC at the federal level should positively impact each province and benefit local communities

He highlighted that Balochistan possessed abundant mineral resources, and fostering development would stimulate economic activity and create job opportunities for the local population

Each institution responsible for self accountabilit y: CJP

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T

Every institution is responsible for conducting selfaccountability, remarked Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Tuesday as the top court resumed hearing on petitions challenging the Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Act 2023

The hearing was adjourned till Wednesday after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan s (MQM-P) counsel Faisal Siddiqi completed arguments in favour of the law The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and attorney general of Pakistan (AGP) are due to present arguments at the next hearing

Questions have been raised on parliament’s competence to regulate the administrative workings of the Supreme Court (SC) as well as transparency in the workings of the judiciary in previous hearings

Furthermore, he stressed the importance of directing investments toward agriculture and IT, in addition to human resource development

The prime minister also stressed the necessity of collaboration and coordination among all relevant departments to maximise the positive impact of these initiatives

The participants expressed their collective commitment, affirming that state institutions, government departments, and the people are unified in their pursuit of progress and prosperity for the province

Pakistan set new WC record by chasing down Sri Lanka’s 345-r un target

Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique clubbed centuries as Pakistan chased down the highest target in World Cup history to beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in Hyderabad on Tuesday

The diminutive Rizwan overcame leg cramps to score a 121ball 131 not out while Shafique hit a 103-ball 113 as Pakistan

overhauled their 345-run target in 48 2 overs

The victory gives Pakistan

two wins in as many games and a huge boost in confidence ahead of their high-profile clash against India in Ahmedabad on Saturday

Sri Lanka s imposing total of 344-9 was built around brilliant hundreds from Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama

Rizwan cracked eight boundaries and three sixes while Shafique s knock had ten boundaries and three sixes as Pakistan improved on the previous highest World Cup chase of 328 by Ireland against England in Bangalore in 2011

Rizwan added a match-turning 176 run stand for the third wicket with Shafique and another 95 for the fourth with Saud Shakeel who made a 30-ball 31

Rizwan and Shafique lifted Pakistan from a disastrous start in which they lost Imam-ul-Haq (12) and skipper Babar Azam (ten) to pacer Dilshan Madushanka

Haq, who completed 3,000 runs in 67 innings to become the second joint fastest to the milestone hooked into the hands of the fielder while Azam edged a flick behind the wicket Shafique, who replaced outof-form Fakhar Zaman, justified his selection by reaching his maiden hundred off 97 balls

Shafique fell in the 34th over to Matheesha Pathirana but Rizwan continued the chase, reaching his third ODI hundred off 97 balls

He hit the winning single and raised his hands in delight

When Sri Lanka batted after winning the toss Mendis smashed the fastest century for Sri Lanka in a World Cup match with a 77-ball 122, his highest score in ODIs and third century

It was an innings spiced with 14 boundaries and half a dozen sixes leading the charge for Sri Lanka

while Samarawickrama hit an 89ball 108 for his maiden hundred

Samarawickrama hit 11 boundaries and two sixes

Mendis twice escaped dropped catches Shaheen Shah Afridi dropped him off his own bowling in the fifth over and then Imam-ul-Haq blundered in the next over again off Shaheen on 18 Mendis completed his 50 off 40 balls with his seventh boundary, lifting Sri Lanka from the early loss of Kusal Perera (nought) in the second over to Hasan Ali Mendis put on a 102 with Pathum Nissanka whose 51 came off 61 balls with seven boundaries and a six Once Nissanka fell to Shadab Khan, Mendis and Samarawickrama unleashed some superb hitting against Pakistan’s pacers and spinners alike adding 111 for the third wicket

The law in question, passed by the parliament in April 2023, regulates discretionary powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) by requiring a committee of three senior judges of the apex court, including the CJP to form benches for constitutional matters of public importance and taking suo motu notice

A full court led by CJP Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood Justice Ijazul Ahsan Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar Justice Ayesha Malik Justice Athar Minallah Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Musarrat Hilali has taken up nine review petitions against the 2023 Act

The petitioners view the law as an attempt to clip the powers of the CJP and pave the way for parliament’s interference in the internal workings of the apex court Today (Tuesday) was the fourth hearing on the matter which has been live telecasted since the proceedings began The court intended to conclude the case today but the hearing was adjourned due to time constraints

At the outset of the hearing, Faisal Siddiqi contended that the petitions should be dismissed on merit while acknowledging that they were maintainable He maintained that an intra court appeal was liberating and both the apex court and parliament could provide for them

At this Justice Ahsan said that the basic principle was that an appellate for the right of appeal is provided by the statute which conferred the jurisdiction in the first place Here, it is the Constitution creating the statute and if the right to appeal is provided it should be provided by the same jurisidiction – the Constitution –and not by a sub-constitutional legislation he said

During the hearing CJP Isa expressed regret that despite four hearings, it was the court s performance that the case had not concluded

At one point, he asked his fellow judges to allow the counsel to complete his arguments when Justice Akhtar questioned Siddiqi in the middle of his argument This prompted Justice Akhtar to register his own objection at being interrupted all the time When asked by the CJP whether any political party voted against the law under review, Siddiqi apprised the court that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had opposed in the Senate

The CJP also questioned whether the SC rules were binding on an apex court bench Siddiqi replied in the affirmative Meanwhile Justice Minallah noted that the separation of powers was limited to the judiciary What if the judiciary starts encroaching upon the powers of the legislature so the Parliament is empowered to legislate and all that they have legislated is something that ensures access to justice ” he asked Justice Hilali observed that excercising of jurisdiction under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution had shaken the fundamentals of the country

700 Palestinians killed as Israel pounds Gaza with ‘ fierce airstrikes’

GAZA

A G E N C I E S

Israel said on Tuesday it had reclaimed control of the Gaza border pounding the enclave with the fiercest air strikes in the 75-year history of its conflict with the Palestinians despite a Hamas threat to execute a captive for each home hit Nearly 700 Palestinians have since been killed in Israeli strikes according to officials while whole districts in Gaza have been flattened

Air strikes wrought widespread destruction in the Jabalia refugee camp, where charred bodies were pulled from the rubble and relatives wailed in grief

The United Nations said 180 000 Palestinians had been made homeless many huddling on streets or in schools Smoke and flames rose into the morning sky, while bombardment of the roads often made it impossible for emergency crews to reach the scene of strikes

At the morgue in Gaza s Khan Younis hospital bodies were laid on the ground on stretchers with their names written on their bellies Medics called for relatives to pick up bodies quickly because there was no more space for the dead

There were heavy casualties in a former municipal building struck while being used as an emergency shelter for displaced families

“There is an extraordinary number of martyrs people are still under the rubble some friends are either martyrs or wounded said a Ala Abu Tair 35 who had sought shelter there with his family after fleeing Abassan Al-Kabira near the border “No place is safe in Gaza, as you see they hit everywhere ”

N O W H E R E TO H I D E: Three Palestinian journalists were killed when an Israeli missile hit a building while they were outside reporting That brought the toll to six journalists killed in Gaza since Saturday

At one point the Israeli military advised Gaza civilians to flee to Egypt only to issue a quick clarification confirming that the crossing was closed and there was no way out Israel already imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip on Monday, cutting off food, water and electricity supplies, and sparking fears that an already dire humanitarian situation will swiftly deteriorate Tel Aviv has been left reeling by Hamas s unprecedented ground air and sea assault The death toll rose to more than 900 in Israel, which has retaliated with a withering barrage of strikes on Gaza, raising the death toll in the besieged enclave to 687

The Israeli army said Tuesday it had “more or less restored control” over the Gaza border after Saturday s mass breach by Palestinian fighters

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) claimed it had recovered the bodies of around 1 500 Hamas fighters inside Israel confirming the scale of Saturday s assault It said it had nearly completed the evacuation of Jewish communities around the border Fireballs lit up Gaza City before dawn on Tuesday as explosions sounded and sirens wailed Hamas said Monday that Israeli air strikes had killed four captives It later said it could start killing them itself

Every targeting of our people without warning will be met with the execution of one of the civilian hostages,” Hamas armed wing the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement

In a televised speech late Monday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared Hamas to the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, and said Israel planned to deploy “unprecedented force” “Hamas terrorists bound burned and executed children They are savages Hamas is ISIS Netanyahu said He also vowed to strengthen other fronts in the north against Hezbollah , where fighters and Israeli forces exchanged fire for a second day Hamas launched more rockets as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem where missile defence systems fired and air raid sirens blared

Total siege of Gaza ‘prohibited’ under inter national law: UN

NEW YORK: Israel’s total siege of the Gaza Strip depriving civilians of goods essential for survival is banned under international law the United Nations human rights chief said on Tuesday Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said people’s dignity and lives had to be respected as he called for all sides to defuse the explosive powder-keg situation It comes after Israel imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip yesterday cutting off food, water and electricity supplies, and sparking fears of an increasingly desperate humanitarian situation

“International humanitarian law is clear: the obligation to take constant care to spare the civilian population and civilian objects remains applicable throughout the attacks, Turk said in a statement

The siege risk seriously compounding the already dire human rights and humanitarian situation in Gaza including the capacity of medical facilities to operate especially in light of increasing numbers of injured the statement said The imposition of sieges that endanger the lives of

civilians by depriving them of goods essential for their survival is prohibited under international humanitarian law Turk said

Any restrictions on the movement of people and goods to implement a siege must be justified by military necessity or may otherwise amount to collective punishment the statement added

The United Nations humanitarian office said that nearly 200 000 people or nearly a tenth of the population have fled their homes in Gaza since the start of hostilities and is poised for shortages of water and electricity due to a blockade “Displacement has escalated dramatically across the Gaza strip reaching more than 187 500 people since Saturday Most are taking shelter in schools Jens Laerke OCHA spokesperson, told a Geneva briefing, saying further displacement was expected as clashes continue A World Health Organisation spokesperson said it had reported 13 attacks on health facilities in the Gaza strip since the weekend and said that its medical supplies stored there had already been used up

P S O E X P LO R E S $ 1 0 B N I N V E S T M E N T

PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H B A N K O F C H I N A , S I N O P E C

PR OFIT N e w S D e S k

PAKISTAN State Oil (PSO) is reportedly engaged in high-level discussions with the Bank of China and Sinopec for a groundbreaking investment partnership exceeding $10 billion Wellinformed sources have revealed that the collaboration could potentially lead to the establishment of a significant oil refinery or

Habib Metropolitan Bank to set up Exchange Company with Rs1bn initial capital

PR OFIT N e w S D e S k

The Board of Directors of Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited (PSX: HMB) has approved the creation of an Exchange Company, according to the bank s filing on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday This exchange company will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the bank However the final decision is pending approval from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the completion of regulatory requirements Read This: Big banks are all set to run the open market What does it solve and what it doesn t This move is part of a broader effort to combat illicit activities in the black market The SBP is implementing structural reforms in the exchange company sector to strengthen oversight governance structures internal controls and compliance procedures The SBP has also increased the minimum capital requirement for exchange companies from Rs 200 million to Rs 500 million,

petrochemical facility within Pakistan’s borders

According to insiders Secretary Petroleum recently updated the Executive Committee of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) on the progress of negotiations between PSO and representatives from the Bank of China and Sinopec These talks, seen as a crucial step toward energy sector expansion and international cooperation are expected to take further strides during an imminent visit

to China by Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar

The SIFC has been actively involved in facilitating these discussions and has issued directives to key government officials to expedite various energy-related initiatives

Notably, the council has urged the Secretary of Petroleum, Secretary of Finance, Secretary of Law and Justice, Chairman of FBR and Chairman of OGRA to finalize the Host Government Agreement (HGA) for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India

(TAPI) pipeline project, ensuring adherence to established timelines and achieving consensus on outstanding matters

Furthermore the Secretary of Foreign Affairs Secretary of Petroleum and Secretary of Planning have been tasked with addressing the Pakstream gas pipeline project within a dedicated working group, with updates to be presented to the Executive Committee of SIFC In a significant development aimed at boosting the country s energy supply

OGRA has taken the lead in formulating a comprehensive plan for the provision of virtual Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in partnership with the Petroleum Division This includes streamlining the codal formalities necessary for the issuance of No Objection Certificates (NOCs), a critical step in enhancing Pakistan’s energy infrastructure

Meanwhile the Minister for Maritime Affairs Secretary Petroleum and Chairman OGRA have received explicit instructions to devise an Action Plan designed to maximize the utilization of existing LNG terminals This effort is intended to increase LNG imports and ensure a stable energy supply well before the onset of winter in 2023

G amer Pak istan’s US Stock Debut: shares slump by 30pc

a c t i v e l y i n v o l v e d i n f a c i l i t a t i n g b u s i n e s s d i s c u s s i o n s a n d h a s i s s u e d d i r e c t i v e s t o ke y g o v e r n m e n t o f f i c i a l s t o e x p e d i t e v a r i o u s e n e r g y- r e l a t e d i n i t i a t i v e s g T h e f i r m ' s c o r e a r e a s o f o p e r a t i o n e n c o m p a s s g a m e d e v e l o p m e n t, i n - g a m e A I c o m m u n i t y e n g a g e m e n t, o r g a n i z a t i o n o f e - s p o r t s e v e n t s i n Pa k i s t a n

PR OFIT

N e w S

D e S k

Gamer Pakistan, one of Pakistan s pioneering technology and e-sports firms, made its historic debut on the US stock market, listing on the New York-based Nasdaq exchange However, the initial excitement was met with a significant challenge as the share price experienced a dramatic decline of approximately 30 percent on Monday evening Gamer Pakistan founded in 2021 positioned itself as a unique player in the burgeoning world of e-sports and gaming The company successfully raised $6 8 million by selling 1 7 million shares at $4 each, despite the challenging market debut The firm’s core areas of operation encompass game development in-game AI community engagement and the organization of e-sports events within Pakistan Their vision includes tapping into

ECP reser ves ruling on plea for PTI chief’s removal from par t y chairman slot

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reserved its ruling on plea seeking removal of PTI chief from party’s chairmanship and withdrawing bat from the party as an election symbol for contesting polls A five-member commission of the top election body of the country heard the plea seeking removal of PTI chief from party chairmanship Petitioner Khalid Mehmood Khan’s counsel appeared before the commission During the proceedings, petitioner s counsel said PTI chairman had been convicted in Toshakhana case He said in case of Nawaz Sharif an order was issued by the Supreme Court Member Election Commission from Sindh asked what clauses Election Act had in this regard The lawyer said Political Parties Act had a clause in this regard but Election Act was silent in that context

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N)

leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi asked former premier against Nawaz Sharif to leave himself on the mercy of the court as a convicted absconder cannot get bail from the court During a TV interveiw, Abbasi made these remarks in an interview while commenting over the possibility of protective bail to Nawaz Sharif He said that the PML-N was misleading Nawaz Sharif

PTI’s difcult

SWABI S ta f f R e p o R t PTI central leader Asad Qaiser has said he believes the PTI s difficult time will come to end soon says in media reports

In an interview with a private TV channel, former speaker National Assembly called for mutual respect despite political differences He praised Muhammad Ali Durrani s effort and said What he is saying is our party narrative we don t want any confrontation with institutions We have talked with the PTI chairman, he doesn t want clash with anyone Firstly, our committees decide for talks which was later endorsed by the party chairman ” Qaiser said “What I am

the global e-sports market, which boasts nearly half a billion enthusiasts worldwide Gamer Pakistan has ambitious plans for the utilization of its newly acquired capital It intends to build essential infrastructure bolster e-sports tournaments in Pakistan expand its workforce acquire e-game developers and provide working capital for ongoing operations

Additionally, the company is eyeing a unique avenue for revenue generation by collecting data on the mobility patterns of college students in Pakistan related to video gaming and then selling this data in ad exchanges

According to research cited by Gamer Pakistan in its securities filings with US regulators an estimated 36 8 million Pakistanis engaged in video gaming in 2022, a figure projected to grow to 50 9 million by 2026 This growth potential has captured the attention of investors, despite the company’s financial accounts for 2022 showing a net loss of $0 31 million

Forex association repor ts around $1bn deposited into banks after crackdown

PR OFIT

N e w S D e S k

Sustained efforts to combat illegal forex trading and the smuggling of foreign currency have led to approximately $1 billion being deposited in banks, as reported by the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP)

Zafar Paracha General Secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) said Since the crackdown began in September we have successfully deposited an estimated $800 to $900 million in banks, reflecting commendable results As a direct result of these actions, exchange companies’ daily average trading volume has surged from $5-$7 million to an impressive $50 million Paracha added

We are now consistently selling up to $40 million per day to the banks with an unprecedented influx of funds from overseas Pakistanis Currency dealers have praised the effectiveness of administrative measures, which have yielded positive outcomes for Pakistan’s economy Policy reforms aimed at curbing Afghan transit abuse and the smuggling of Iranian oil have also played a role in preserving foreign exchange reserves

Remittances channeled through exchange companies have seen a substantial increase of 10 to 15 percent, with

adding that he is not convinced of carrying a convoy of buses to welcome Sharif

He said that he has spoken to some legal experts who say that if a person is declared a fugitive by the High Court, he cannot get bail and will have to surrender in front of the court The only legal way he said is for Sharif to return to Pakistan and leave himself at the mercy of the court

If he does not get relief from the court, he can file an appeal in the Supreme Court

The former prime minister said that if Nawaz Sharif does not follow the law, then who will follow the law in the country? He

time

expectations of a corresponding rise in inflows through banks Dealers in the banking sector anticipate that remittances in September will increase by 25 percent reaching $2 5 billion compared to August figures

On the other hand State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has been actively purchasing dollars from the interbank market for debt servicing, precise figures remain undisclosed As of September 28, the SBP held reserves amounting to $7 6 billion

Bankers noted that the interbank market is witnessing heightened inflows due to the daily depreciation of the dollar prompting exporters to sell their dollar holdings

They said that the SBP is not intervening in the exchange rate, and import restrictions have curtailed dollar outflows

The government’s measures to reduce imports have also led to a decline in the current account deficit to $2 4 billion in FY23 down from $17 5 billion the previous year

In the open market the dollar depreciated by Re1 to Rs280 50 on Monday Dealers noted that sellers have been prevalent in the market while buyers are relatively scarce reflecting reduced demand for dollars

Experts suggest that the reforms in the Afghan Transit Agreement hold promise for Pakistan’s long-term economic stability as the agreement has historically been susceptible to exploitation by smugglers on both sides of the border

UAE plans to invest $200m in establishment of cloud ser vices in Pakistan

g G o v t a l s o h o p e f u l f o r $ 6 5 0 m i n v e s t m e n t i n o p t i c f i b e r a n d t e c h m a n u f a c t u r i n g

ISLAMABAD

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government is reportedly planning to invest $200 million in the establishment of cloud services in Pakistan

further said that all the country s political parties have seen power and that they should not have formed the government

after the lack of confidence

He said that he could not join the PML-N and participate in the election under these conditions

Abbasi also said that his leader is Nawaz Sharif not Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz He said there is a place for a political party but that is a later matter He said that the country s history has been distorted and that there is a need to step back from the power struggle and greed for seats He said that the people of the constituency would decide whether to go to the reception

will come to end soon: Asad

talking is on the mandate delegated by the chairman, PTI leader said I believe, the PTI s difficult time will come to end soon,” he said

“Keep Pakistan, the democracy and the military away from all disputes ” Asad Qaiser who has been head of the PTI s political committee urged Apart of Muhammad Ali Durrani there are some other people, striving for reconciliation, he said Those engaged in efforts are hopeful that the sanity will prevail,” Qaiser stated We don t believe in any minus-one formula PTI chairman is the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf former speaker said

After mutual consultation, we have decided that we don t believe in the politics of vengeance,” he said

Qaisar

He expressed hope that the PTI chairman will be soon between people of the country Pervaiz Khattak has committed biggest political mistake of his life,” he commented on the former party colleague He said the PTI passing through a very difficult patch of its history It is regretful that concocted and false cases have been fabricated against our leader What is being done with the PTI, is based on misunderstanding,” he said “We will face the cases in courts don’t want any support We are Pakistani citizens and it is our right to contest elections PTI stalwart said We have made strategy for selection of party candidates and tickets distribution for election We have learnt much and want level playing field and transparent

elections he said Let the people decide Any theft of the people s mandate will be an excess with the country, he said Commenting on the PML-N’s stance, Asad Qaiser said, “It is the PML-N behind what is happening with us ” “What happened with Usman Dar happened on behalf of Khawaja Asif he alleged People take other names but I believe the PML-N has been behind all this, he said How did Shehbaz Sharif perform, they are responsible for what happened to the country ” he said “Maryam Nawaz talks about a formula you keep ruling for 30 years what was the formula he questioned You are holding public rallies, we are not allowed a public meeting, our people arrested over the party’s convention,” he said

Sources said that the government of Pakistan is expecting over one billion dollar in investment in the Information and Telecom Sector It was revealed that 4x data centers with appropriate backup sites will be established The public cloud includes (government organizations NTC NADRA) and FBR Private cloud (Banking Telcoes Educational Institutes, SMEs) Air gapped Tri services cloud and central analytics platform Similarly, the Ministry of IT and Telecom is also expecting a $400 million investment in National Optic Fiber infrastructure Under this 75000 KM fiber network deployment demand exists including fiber deployment from Rawalpindi to Gwadar and Karachi Meanwhile, the government is also working to attract local and international companies to make upto $250 million investment in Manufacturing of Smart Devices (Localization and export) Pakistan believes that it has skilled human capital for localization and domestic manufacturing and export proposition towards GCC Africa and Central Asia It is pertinent to note that companies in Pakistan are already assembling as well as exporting mobile phones and the Ministry of IT thinks that Pakistan can further manufacture indigenous phones In addition the Ministry of IT and Special Technology zone authority has also been working on bringing up to $500 million Investments in seven special Technology Zones to be established in different cities of Pakistan As per details, Pakistan has offered GCC companies to use local talent for product development and other professional services

Cour t seeks arguments in reference against

S hahid K haqan urges Nawaz to leave himself ‘at merc y of cour t ’

IHC REMOVES OBJECTIONS ON IMRAN’S APPEAL FOR ENHANCED SECURIT Y

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

THE Islamabad High Court (IHC)

on Tuesday removed the objections of the registrar office on an intra court appeal seeking provision of security and facilities to Pakistan

Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in Adiala Jail

A two-judge bench, comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, heard the case The court directed the registrar office to fix the

CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE

case for hearing

During the hearing Sher Afzal Marawat Advocate the petitioner s legal representative read out the verdict of a single-member bench issued on September 25 regarding the transfer of Imran Khan to Adiala Jail

The lawyer said that the single-member bench had not passed any order regarding the provision of facilities to the chairman PTI and permissions to meet his lawyers and family members Marawat highlighted that the previous ruling did not address the provision of

However all this trading is done on paper only and cannot be regulated In his assurances to the authorities Chand said that henceforth only physical gold would be sold at the spot rate which would be in line with the daily updates announced by the APGJA

In another voice note shared with the media on Sep 19, Chand blamed the situation on the ‘gold mafia’ and those doing illegal trade He revealed that certain jewellers in Lahore and Peshawar were quoting rates as high as Rs 222 000 and Rs 230 200 per tola respectively When bullion is closed which mafia is selling gold at those rates? If official rates are not being released and they are still selling, then anyone can sell at any rate, and the industry will be destroyed I urge you to straighten yourselves out,” Chand said in the voice note

DWINDLING BUSINESS AND AN ENVIRONMENT OF FEAR

It became clear that the APGJA chairman s appeals were not being heard by everyone in his sector And with the impasse, the association continued to dillydally about sharing the ‘official’ gold rate Two jewellers that Profit reached out to quoted rates between Rs 200 000 and Rs 202 000 per tola on Monday (Oct 9)

How has this crackdown and the parallel crackdown on the open market that led to the rupee s appreciation, affected the gold trade?

The first jeweller that Profit spoke to and who owns a large shop on Karachi’s Tariq Road said that his business had already been declining amid high inflation There has been an extreme slowdown he rued When asked about sellers he said people were choosing to hold off on it as the gold rate was falling and they did not want to suffer losses in case it later went back up

The second jeweller, who is based in Karachi’s Saddar, said his business had declined by 80-90% since the crackdown started “People are not buying or selling because they expect the rate to fall further

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

Israel said it had called up 300 000 army reservists for its Swords of Iron campaign Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would impose a complete siege on the long-blockaded enclave of 2 3 million people: No electricity, no food, no water, no gas it s all closed United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply distressed” by the siege announcement, and warned Gaza’s already dire humanitarian situation will now only deteriorate exponentially

Palestinians in the coastal territory braced for what many feared would be a massive Israeli ground attack aiming to defeat Hamas and liberate the captives Hamas has called on fighters in the West Bank and in Arab and Islamic nations to join what it has dubbed “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” “The military operation is still continuing ” Hossam Badran a Hamas official told AFP from Doha adding that there is currently no chance for negotiation on the issue of prisoners or anything else Israel, which has long prided itself on a high-tech military and intelligence edge, has been shaken to the core by the surprise Hamas strike, and now faces the threat of a multi-front war

On Monday the Israeli army said its soldiers had killed a number of armed suspects who had crossed

essential facilities to Imran Khan or permissions for meetings with legal counsel and family members

He informed the court that currently the jail administration permitted the PTI chief s family to visit him twice a week, with only four lawyers being granted access He requested the court to amend the singlemember bench’s judgment

In response the court issued instructions in line with Marawat s request

Meanwhile former first lady Bushra Bibi approached the IHC seeking an early hearing into the petition seeking security for

There are also reports that the FBR (Federal Board of Revenue) will impose a tax on gold trade which is keeping people away There is a sense of fear There were reports that the authorities have asked associations to provide a list of all jewellers so transactions can be monitored and the data of every person purchasing or selling gold can be shared with the FBR he added

The second jeweller said that prior to the crackdown, a lot of people were coming to his shop looking for gold bars Since gold is not a regulated sector, this meant people would not have to provide documentation to purchase gold and gold bars would be a “safe” asset to park their money in Gold provides the best profit margins he commented According to a research report by Topline Securities gold was the highest-performing asset in 2022, with a return of 41%

When asked how trade was being conducted given the absence of the ‘official’ gold rate shared by the APGJA he said every shop owner was quoting his own rate but keeping a margin of a few thousand rupees so they wouldn t face any losses ANOTHER LAYER TO THE COMPLEXITY

W h i l e t h e s h a r i n g o f t h e o ff i c i a l r a t e r e m a i n e d s u s p e n d e d a m i d a l a c k o f p r o g r e s s o n f i x i n g t h e issues that necessitated the crackdown, the Ministry o f I n d u s t r y a n d P r o d u c t i o n f o r m e d a c o m m i t t e e comprising jewellers from different cities to resolve t h e p r o b l e m H o w e v e r t h i s l e d t o f u r t h e r complexity as APGJA Chairman Chand who is also k n o w n a s B a b a - e - G o l d ( f a t h e r o f g o l d ) w a s n o t i n c l u d e d

In a voice note shared with the media on Oct 6, an angry Chand claimed that those included in the committee were the ones who had “looted wealth and destroyed the trade” He appealed to the army chief and the intelligence chief to discuss matters related to the bullion market with the APGJA and announced that he would hold a meeting with other jewellers to discuss the issue Profit also reached out to Pakistan Gems Jewellery Traders and Exporters Association

her husband Imran Khan Sardar Latif Khosa said that the registrar office had fixed the case for October 25 for further hearing and prayed the court to fix it early In her petition Bushra expressed the fear that her husband might be poisoned through food in the jail She said that Imran was not allowed the home-cooked meal – a facility provided to under-trial prisoners in the past She contended that any adulterated food could be harmful to Imran s life Bushra also claimed that the PTI chairman was not being provided the facilities he was entitled to under the Jail

Chairman Akhtar Khan Tessori who is reportedly heading the committee multiple times but he was unavailable to comment

WHY THE SUSPENSION WAS LIFTED

A day earlier, Profit asked Chand when the APGJA would resume sharing the ‘official’ rate and whether the situation in the gold markets would improve any time soon He evaded the answer and said only that they [presumably the gold mafia he spoke of] were not listening and that discussions with the authorities were ongoing

Why then did the APGJA suddenly decide to start sharing the official rate again? Speaking to Profit, Chand said the prevailing uncertainty in the market convinced the association

Everyone was quoting rates based on their whims [Some] jewellers were buying gold at Rs 5 000 per tola less than that rate and selling it at Rs 5,000 per tola more The global rates are being released anyway and we cannot prevent that We wanted to end the uncertainty so trade could be conducted on an official level ” Does this mean the crackdown has also come to an end? The APGJA chairman said it hadn t and the operation against speculators and gold mafia is still going on He noted that the latest gold rate was down Rs 15,500 per tola compared to the Sep 12 rate, and said it would be brought further down “The rupee has appreciated ” he pointed out adding however that the Israel-Hamas conflict would cause the global gold rate to surge as people would seek to buy the safe-haven metal

When asked what had improved since negotiations with the authorities started, Chand said large jewellery stores had been brought into the tax net and all trade was documented Commenting on the latest development the second jeweller Profit spoke to earlier said the move would be welcomed by the gold markets Business will likely resume as normal and customers may be less hesitant to come to shops because the official rate is now available,” he added

Manual She added that the inhumane treatment meted out to her husband in jail was in violation of articles 9 and 14 of the Constitution

PTI chairman cannot be allowed to talk to his sons, jailer tells cour t

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

The incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister cannot be allowed to talk to his sons the Adiala jail superintendent told a special court on Tuesday The PTI Chairman Imran Khan was sent to jail on August 5 following his conviction in the Toshakhana case and later was shifted to the Adiala Jail in cipher case The jailer said this before a special court formed under the Official Secrets Act hearing the case to allow the PTI chairman to talk to his sons from Adiala Jail The plea of the PTI was taken up by Judge Abual Hasnat The jailer of Adiala prison said suspects arrested under the Official Secrets Act cannot be allowed to talk abroad The judge after the response of the jailer, summoned the Jail SOPs regarding telephone talk of the prisoners with relatives and adjourned the hearing of the case until October 18 It is to be noted that PTI chairman is currently in Adiala Jail in the cipher case He was shifted from Attock Prison on the orders of the Islamabad High Court CJ PTI chief Imran Khan and vice chairman were booked for deliberately missing a copy of the diplomatic cipher ’ The special court will indict both Qureshi and the PTI chairman on October 17

Japanese Embassy donates 55 books to Gandhara Universit y Peshawar

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

the border from Lebanon and that Israeli helicopters were striking targets in the area

The Palestinian group Islamic Jihad later claimed responsibility for the thwarted infiltration from Lebanon to Israel Lebanon’s Hezbollah said Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed three of its members prompting the movement to retaliate against two Israeli barracks using guided missiles and mortar shells that hit them directly

It was the second day of an exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, which on Sunday said its strikes were “in solidarity” with the Hamas attacks

We are deeply concerned about Hezbollah making the wrong decision and choosing to open a second front to this conflict a senior US defence official said

The United States top general warned Iran not to get involved: We want to send a pretty strong message

We do not want this to broaden and the idea is for Iran to get that message loud and clear ” General Charles Q Brown the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters travelling with him to Brussels Washington which moved its biggest aircraft carrier and other warships closer to Israel in a show of support, has said it has no plans to put US boots on the ground but is working with its ally Israel on hostage recovery efforts Hamas’s attack penetrated the Gaza border fence

Bilawal for ensuring education, safet y of girls

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

Chairman of Pakistan People s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto

Zardari has urged that as a nation, more efforts are still needed to ensure the education and safety of young girls in our country He said that the entire nation has to work together to prevent issues like discrimination against girls domestic violence forced labour and early marriages The Chairman PPP in his message on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child said that the girl children of Pakistan are also brave and talented like Pakistani women He said that the government and the society are bound to provide a friendly and harmonious environment including better education and health facilities to the girl child “If given a better environment and opportunity to exercise their due rights our girls have the potential to change the situation he noted Chairman Bilawal said that PPP believes in equal rights and equality for all citizens in the country He said that the founding chairman of the party and the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, introduced progressive thinking and policies for women at the government level for the first time in the country “The Constitution of 1973 Shaheed Bhutto s great gift to the nation encourages full participation of women in all spheres of national life, he pointed out

long deemed impregnable and guarded by surveillance cameras, drones, patrols and watchtowers Israel has blockaded Gaza since Hamas took control in 2007, leading to four previous wars with Israel Israeli strikes have levelled residential tower blocks a large mosque and the territory’s main bank building

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said it was sheltering more than 137 000 people in schools across Gaza The situation is unbearable, Amal al-Sarsawi, 37, said from a classroom with her terrified pupils

In the West Bank, protesting Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces leaving 15 Palestinians dead since Saturday The spiralling conflict has been felt globally with oil prices surging on fears of tightening supplies US energy firm Chevron said it suspended operations at a natural gas platform off Israel s coast at the request of authorities Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in a phone call that the Gulf kingdom was working to prevent the conflict from spreading across the region state media said early Tuesday

The European Commission said it was reviewing its development aid to the Palestinians, but clarified that no support had yet been suspended Britain said it was undertaking a similar review

LHC sets aside proper ty transfer ruling over maintenance of minors

The Lahore High Court (LHC) set aside a court order on Tuesday over due process of property auction not being followed, disallowing a property transfer in a mother ’s name as adjustment of maintenance amount of her minors from her exhusband

Particularly this leaves the minors with no maintenance again the high court maintained Hence, it is the minors who are on the losing side, Justice Anwaar Hussain observed in his judgment

The respondent (mother) had instituted a suit for dissolution of marriage and recovery of her dowry articles as well as the maintenance of her minor children also respondents from petitioner Muhammad Waqas

The former husband s property was transferred in the mother s name by adjusting the amount of maintenance, which was calculated by the executing court considering the maintenance amount that the father has to pay for the minors till 2032 “This court while exercising parental jurisdiction is perturbed from such state of affairs that on failure of the

petitioner (father) to maintain the minors, on the one hand, the former has been deprived of his property, which may form the inheritance of the minors in future and on the other hand the same has not been transferred in the names of the minors rather admittedly sale deed in favour of respondent (mother) has been executed Hence, it is the minors who are on the losing side in both eventualities, Justice Anwaar observed

The suit was decreed in favor of the mother on April 3 2018 through an ex-parte judgment Later execution proceedings were initiated to which the petitioner did make some payments On February 13, 2019, the matter was consigned to record room after the respondent (mother) in her statement claimed that she does not want to proceed with the execution petition However in May 2019 the execution proceedings were restored on the respondent s application Thereafter on June 21 2019 after issuing the warrant of attachment of the property of the petitioner (father) an auction schedule was chalked out on July 20, 2019 while calculating the decretal amount till the year 2035 Thereafter, the property was auctioned

The Embassy of Japan in Pakistan, in collaboration with The Nippon Foundation, has donated a collection of 55 books on Japan to Gandhara University Peshawar as part of the “Read Japan Project aiming to promote further understanding of Japan and its culture through books Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan H E Mr WADA Mitsuhiro presented the books to Mrs Roeeda Kabir, Chairperson of Gandhara University, at a ceremony held on Tuesday October 10 The 55 carefully selected books in English language cover a range of topics related to Japan such as politics economy security philosophy art and culture The Ambassador congratulated the students and teachers for receiving this valuable gift from the Nippon Foundation and expressed the hope that with these books, students will have more fascinating information on Japan “I also hope that the students as well as the faculty members would continue to explore new ways of learning more about the Japanese culture On our side we would provide our cooperation to facilitate this endeavor especially at a time when we have celebrated 70 years of diplomatic relations last year and will celebrate the 70 years of Japanese ODA support for Pakistan next year ” Ambassador Wada said “Young people are the future of the country It is my desire that more and more future generations of Japan and Pakistan will get to know each other and cooperate in order to make our countries better The Read Japan Project was initiated by The Nippon Foundation in 2008 to promote the understanding of Japan through the donation of Japan related books in English to universities and libraries around the world

FM Jilani arrives in A zerbaijan to attend COM- ECO

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Tuesday arrived in Shusha Azerbaijan to attend the 27th Meeting of Council of Ministers (COM) of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Foreign Minister Jilani will address the Council of Ministers (COM) and hold bilateral meetings with participating ministers of member states and other dignitaries on the sidelines of the event the Foreign Office Spokesperson said in an earlier press statement At the 27th COM the member states will discuss the promotion of sustainable economic development of the ECO region through trade and economic cooperation and mutual assistance in social, cultural, technical and scientific fields

‘Official’ gold rates have finally been released again. What took so long?

7 0 0 Pa l e s t i n i a n s k i l l e d a s I s r a e l p o u n d s G a z a w i t h ‘f i e r c e a i r s t r i ke s’

The Supreme Cour t case

TH E live telecast of the proceedings of the Supreme Court Full Court on the Supreme Court (procedure and Practice) Act have been unprecedented, not just because it has removed the cloak of the esoteric from them, but because it has allowed everyone an insight into the minds of the judges Though the Full Court has not yet proceeded to judgement, that stage is not far off, and the tenor of remarks from the Bench, as well as the questions asked by the learned judges, indicates that the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr Justice Qazi Faez Isa, wants the surrender of the CJP’s powers to a committee of judges as envisaged by the Act and is also very cautious about stepping into the domain of the Legislative Branch Other judges seem inclined to protect the Chief Justice’s powers against Parliament However, whatever the result of the case it has been useful in highlighting an important question: who shall have the power of constituting benches in suo motu cases

That issue has been highlighted by the case, and even if the Supreme Court was to strike down the Act because it found Parliament not competent to make the law it is difficult to see the Supreme Court not reforming the rules and moving away from singleperson discretion towards greater collegiality For the first time, under the Act, a committee of senior judges has been delegated a function of the Supreme Court, that of deciding which suo motu cases to take up So far that function of the Supreme Court has been exercised by the Chief Justice of Pakistan

There seems a progressive realization of the implications of various positions The principle is that of the independence of the judiciary That had been understood to be freedom from interference from the Executive It can be argued that that fight is not yet over, but it has to be admitted that there has been enough progress for attention to be paid to the need for what might be described as intra-judiciary independence; to make sure that independence is not compromised by the whims of any individual figure within the judicial establishment Perhaps then the spotlight will shift to mob justice, where hordes of lawyers try to influence judges particularly of the subordinate judiciary in their favour

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

N o l e s s o n s l e a r n e d

explosion waiting to happen

IT has been horrifying to watch this most recent iteration of wanton violence in the IsraeliPalestinian arena But it should not have been unexpected What can also now be expected is that the horrific murders carried out by Hamas on day one will be more than matched by Israel as it proceeds to use its massive military power to massacre thousands of captive Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip What is also par for the course is that the USA, instead of playing the role of the adult in the room, has once again reduced itself to being a cheerleader and coat-holder for one side enabling and supporting Israel s escalation of violence In this regard it was shocking to note that the State Department deleted two of its initial statements calling for restraint and protection of civilians, changing them to statements offering Israel our full support

It’s distressing to see this nightmare unfolding precisely because we’ve been down this same road so many times before and by now should know exactly where it leads It takes us back to where we began

After the dust has settled and the tears have dried, other than having thousands of dead to mourn and bury, we’ll be right back to where we were when it started The one change will be that hardliners on all sides will have gained support - with no lessons learned - thus sowing the seeds for another round of violence at some indeterminate point in the future

The lessons we should have learned are many To begin with: just as violence will not end the occupation, neither will violence end the resistance to the occupation Suicide bombers or Hamas rockets didn’t bring peace they only hardened Israeli attitudes against Palestinians and peace And Israel s violent occupation massive retaliations its strangulation of Gaza, and its brutal repression of the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem hasn t squashed the Palestinian will to be free It has only fueled more resistance

Occupation and oppression are cruel and inhumane- and the consequences of occupation cannot be ignored As a corollary of this efforts by the US and Israeli leaders going back to Shimon Peres to build a New Middle East while failing to resolve the injustices of the Old Middle East are doomed Herein lies a critical failure of this and past US Administrations

Instead of seeing the possibility that the Abrahamic Accords could provide the USA leverage to alter Israel s behaviour the administration ignored the extremist policies and practices of the Netanyahu government by offering it more unearned benefits, further imperiling the prospects for Palestinian rights and regional peace While the Israelis doubled down on apartheid, expanded settlements increasing the de facto annexation of the West Bank conducted nightly undercover raids into Palestinian cities allowed settlers to conduct violent raids into Palestinian areas and accelerated provocative assaults into Jerusalem s holiest sites; the USA either acquiesced or made do with expressions of concern At the same time, we rewarded Israel with admission into the US Visa Waiver Program despite Israel’s failure to meet the program s statutory requirements - and issued frequent pronouncements of unwavering unbreakable unshakable support The results of this US failure are clear Hardliners in Israel have been emboldened to behave like a spoiled child knowing that there are no restraints on their behaviour They therefore act with impunity Meanwhile Palestinians believing that there is no recognition of their humanity or their rights to freedom and security have come to feel like the abused child They therefore feel no hesitation to strike out wildly to make their point

The bottom line is that it was, to be sure, unpredictable that Hamas would engineer a surprise invasion of Israel accompanied by the killing of hundreds of innocents and taking hundreds more hostage But

While all par ties share some degree of blame, I mainly fault successive US administrations for failing to play its self-proclaimed role of the promoter of human rights and peace . It has abdicated its responsibility diminishing itself to become IsraelÊs par tner in the oppression of Palestinians. For shame

Israel should have known and was warned that the Palestinian pressure cooker was bound to explode At the same time Hamas should have known that Israel would respond with massive force that would result in the devastation of Gaza and the killing of thousands of innocent Palestinians And they should have known that the USA would do nothing to restrain Israel’s massive and deadly assaults

While all parties share some degree of blame I mainly fault successive US administrations for failing to play its self-proclaimed role of the promoter of human rights and peace It has abdicated its responsibility diminishing itself to become Israel s partner in the oppression of Palestinians For shame

The writer is President of the Arab American Institute

Valuing the girl child

mary level institutions as the higher educational institutions even have a greater role to play

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

Nothing but geopolitics

TH E International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated every year on October 11

The UN General Assembly adopted resolution 66/170 on 19 December 2011 to declare October 11 the International Day of the Girl Child

The idea behind this step was to direct the world s attention towards the challenges a girl child faces and to address them Although it has helped in directing the world’s attention towards the issues of a girl child a lot of work still needs to be done

To start with very few girls know that their day exists and is celebrated globally Very few schools, colleges, and higher education institutes celebrate this day Even fewer people know that there exists a day for a girl child So, how can it yield good results in the favor of the girl child?

Along with the theoretical framework for the empowerment of the girl child a multidimensional practical approach is needed to address the issue Family, society, institutions, and the state all should play a part by collaborating to resolve the issue

The basic and most important role in this regard is of the family Parents have to play the most vital role It is a family which nurtures a girl child and prepares her for the outside world Parents need to adopt multidimensional strategies to empower their girl child by removing the obstacles in her journey

In a society where a girl child suffers in most cases because of ingrained prejudices the weak status of women deprivation of basic human rights, and gender discrimination, a family can be the most important tool to empower a girl child It is a family that can determine and create a bright future for a girl child

However it cannot do it all alone It needs to be backed by the state with adequate health education and economic opportunities better laws for the protection of the girl child and progressive policies for uplifting the status of women in society It is a state that needs to make parents aware of their obligations concerning a girl child and realize their role It will result in a better future for the country as investing in a girl child today will lead to a better future tomorrow

Along with the state, society, social, religious, and educational institutions should help a family realize its role and duty and take actions that empower a girl child They should help parents by giving them wisdom through their platform Educational institutions should celebrate this day It should not be left to pri-

Girl Child Day celebrated at a university will mean that both members of a family (father and mother) are being educated and made aware of their role when they become parents It should be celebrated at the basic level so that the girls get to know about the day that is for them Along with educational institutions religious and other social institutions should also play their part by adopting strategies that result in girl child empowerment They should also sensitize parents about their obligations towards the girl child

Coming back to the role of parents in a family it is their role that can empower a girl child and address the issues a girl child faces

Parents need to take four actions simultaneously to empower a girl child These four actions are; attention, value, avoidance, and realisation These actions should be taken simultaneously from adolescence to her age as a girl child and beyond that

The first action parents need to take is to give attention to certain aspects The parents should pay attention to the personality development of the girl child by providing her with the emotional support and self-respect she deserves Very little attention is given to the personality development of a girl child She loses her selfrespect in between and lacks emotional support from her parents Parents need to pay attention to her dreams thoughts and ideas They should back her and let her see the world through her eyes She should be allowed to pursue her dreams without any resistance

Similarly, parents should focus on the health and education of a girl child Her desire for knowledge should not be curtailed instead it should be supported T h e n e x t a c t i o n i s t o v a l u e h e r l i f e T h e l i f e a n d r o l e o f a g i r l c h i l d i n a f a m i l y, s o c i -

e t y, a n d s t a t e s h o u l d b e g i v e n u t m o s t i m p o r-

tance Parents should not take her for granted and she should have a role to play in a family a n d s o c i e t y w h e n s h e g r o w s u p i n s t e a d o f b e i n g a b u r d e n

The rights of a girl child should be valued and parents should make an effort to provide those rights Unfortunately, a girl child has a very minimum number of rights as her rights a r e c o m p r o m i s e d f o r h e r s i b l i n g s i n m o s t

cases To empower a girl child to be an empowered woman her life role and rights need to be valued first

The next action in this regard is to avoid certain behaviors while nurturing a girl child

Parents should avoid gender discrimination and treat a girl child in the same way they treat her brother By facing gender discrimination in her own family a girl child learns to compromise on the fact that she has to face it throughout her life This needs to be avoided at all costs

Similarly, parents should avoid shaping their minds to live in a toxic relationship to save it It is one big reason women live in toxic marriages throughout their lives and end up empty-handed Other than that parents should avoid crushing her character by comparing her to others They should let her be herself and support her

The fourth action is realization Parents should tell her importance to her brothers so that they cannot think of snatching away her rights Parents need to make both the girl child and other family members realize that she is an integral part of a family not only till her marriage but throughout her life

Parents should make her realize that their door is open for her no matter what the situation is They should make a girl child and others realize that her rights cannot be snatched No one has the right to snatch her rights She should be given rights with dignity and respect It leads to a better future This realization will help in making life easier for a girl child when she grows up And, she will not be at the receiving end

In this way, one can hope that girl child empowerment stands a chance in an otherwise male-dominated society and world

The writer is freelance columnist

Pa r e n t s s h o u l d m a k e a g i r l ch i l d a n d o t h e rs r e a l i z e t h a t h e r r i g h t s c a n n o t b e s n a t ch e d . N o o n e h a s t h e r i g h t t o s n a t ch h e r r i g h t s . S h e s h o u l d b e g i v e n r i g h

s h e w i l l n o t b e a t t h e r e c e i v i n g e n d

T H E R E has been much hype and hoopla especially in the West around Indian spacecraft s landing on the moon It is but geopolitics that is dictating the West s reaction As for India, the elections are around the corner, and this was yet another expensive publicity stunt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the expense of poverty-stricken Indian people India surely would have been better off spending the money to address poverty within People who are critical of the Islamic world for not having even attempted a journey to the moon have been brainwashed into thinking that the Muslims are not good enough There are several facts to the contrary Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman became the first Muslim to travel into space back in 1985 Two years later, Syrian national Muhammed Faris went into space as part of a Soviet space mission In 2007, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, an orthopaedic surgeon became the first Malaysian to become an astronaut and the first Muslim to observe fasting during Ramazan while in space He performed experiments related to the characteristics and growth of liver cells during the mission Today drones as a lethal weapon are changing the nature of warfare, and are a rage all over the world Turkiye, a Muslimmajority country, has been making waves in drone manufacturing, with its Bayraktar TB2 deployed by Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, where it has become a legend with its precision air strike capabilities Iran, another Muslim country has launched its Mohajer-10 drone capable of striking Israel which is giving the Jewish state a scare

Before the European colonists ruined agriculture in Palestine the Muslims there used to grow the best fruits and vegetables organically Munir Daraghma, a Palestinian farmer, despite all odds has managed to grow dragon fruit, which is native to South and Central America The West and its allies like to paint Islamic countries as backward, while the truth is that the Muslims have given knowledge to the world Baghdad which has been in ruins since the US invasion in 2003 used to be a centre of science and knowledge about 1 200 years ago In fact Arab scientists were busy in various fields hundreds of years before the scientific revolution in Europe

Today, the West is bragging about India s moon-landing without having the decency to admitt its own folly of attacking Muslim lands and nations, and exploiting their resources, leaving them in ruins through war and destruction

Protecting whales and dolphins

W H A L E S and dolphins are often showcased to the public with trainers performing various stunts with them sometimes without regard for their well-being This practice has led to a concerning trend of capturing a large number of dolphins from the sea every year, pushing these magnificent creatures closer to the brink of extinction However, it’s crucial to recognise the vital role these giant animals play in our ecosystem, as they can effectively remove substantial amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere Yet the threats faced by whales and dolphins extend far beyond entertainment exploitation Climate change plastic pollution noise pollution chemical pollution and even ship strikes are posing severe challenges to their survival The blue whale, for instance, has already fallen victim to unregulated commercial whaling, and every year, numerous whales continue to be sacrificed for their oil, meat, or whalebone Historically, during the 19th and early 20th centuries whaling was so rampant that many whale species nearly went extinct Today it is imperative that we take collective action to protect these majestic creatures and the fragile ecosystems they inhabit A comprehensive approach to conservation is necessary including a temporary ban on whaling to allow these species to recover It is the responsibility of the global community to address the factors harming these species and ensure their long-term survival By coming together to protect whales and dolphins and implementing measures to safeguard their habitats, we can help preserve the ecological balance of our oceans and secure a brighter future for these incredible marine beings TAHIRA WASHDIL TURBAT

Proceedings show which way the judges incline

Can the Russia-China alliance challenge the USA?

The USA and it allies are getting scared

Haseeb-bin-Haroon

IN recent years the growing closeness between China and Russia has been the center of attention on the global scene Both countries are increasing cooperation on the economic, military, and diplomatic fronts In 2022, the bilateral trade volume reached $190 billion 30 percent more than in 2021 They often support each other s position in international forums like the UN This growing alliance between two superpowers Russia and China is particularly troubling for the USA and its allies Why are two major countries increasing ties? And what has been the nature of relationships in the past? Why are the US and its allies worried about this proximity? What are the chances of China and Russia becoming part of a major defense deal?

RUSSIA AND CHINA: Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of land area Its land area is over 17 2 million square km, which covers 11 percent of the world s landmass But China is not a small country; its land area is second only to Russia, with an area of more than 9 6 million sq km, or 6 3 percent of the earth ‘s landmass Thus these two countries alone cover 17 3 percent of the earth s land area

China has over 2 million military personnel the most in the world Russia is fifth after China India America, and North Korea, with over 900,000 Thus they are counted among the big ones China is the second largest economy in the world after the USA, while Russia is the eleventh Both countries are big in all respects

They are also considered powerful countries globally and both are nuclear powers Apart from that both countries share a border

Both countries have shared a border for centuries

The history of their relationship dates back to the 17th century, when China was under the Qing Dynasty, and the Russian Empire was also expanding Their forces often clashed on the border The first formal treaty was signed in 1689 A large part of Russia s Far East was under Chinese influence In the coming decades the grip of the Chen dynasty began to weaken in China So it was taken advantage of by external powers After that, China’s century of Humiliation (1839-1949) began At that time China was entangled with other Western powers Britain France and Japan and civil wars Russia began to demand the region of Outer Manchuria from China

To avoid a new war China reluctantly conceded Manchuria in the agreements of 1858 and 1860

After acquiring the territory of outer Manchuria Russia took away China s direct access to the Sea of Japan

This area later proved to be very important strategically

for Russia Today, the two largest cities of the Russian Far East are located in this region After this Russian Pacific Fleet is based in Vladivostok, from where Russia gains access to the Pacific Later leaders of China never forgot these agreements They call them unequal treaties

In 1949 China became independent when the USAUSSR Cold War was on Although China and Russia were communist, due to their different interpretations, they had disagreements China s founding leader Mao Zedong was a staunch opponent of previous treaties He wanted to reverse those agreements Amur and Ussuri rivers were established as the border between China and Russia

These rivers are very wide and there are many islands between them Russia s position was that the border is the banks of rivers on the Chinese side This meant that all the river s islands were owned by Russia But China’s position was that the border is in the middle of the rivers This difference also led to a clash in 1969 between Chinese and Russian forces when China claimed ownership of Zhenbao Island in the Ussuri River There was fear of a possible nuclear war at that time Relations between China and the USSR continued to fluctuate in the following years due to border disputes

But after Mao’s death, these relations began to improve slightly In 1991, shortly before the collapse of the USSR Russia and China settled a border dispute dating back to 1860 under an agreement China s right to Zhenbao Island was also accepted After that Russia and China completely resolved the more childish disputes

After the settlement of the Bards dispute, the era of good relations between the two countries began

In 2001, the two countries also signed the Treaty of Good Neighborliness and friendly cooperation It was a strategic economic and allegedly military agreement Shortly before thbe agreement China and Russia along with other central Asian states also founded the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001 After that, many bilateral trade agreements were signed China also started buying military equipment and oil from Russia

In 2014, Russia took control of Crimea from Ukraine After that the Western world and the USA imposed various economic sanctions on Russia To avoid the effects of these sanctions Russia had to deepen its relations with China because China was a big market and Russia had to export its products somewhere

These ties between China and Russia were strengthened when Chinese techi nology companies faced US sanctions in 2018 Since the USA was a common rival of both it was not surprising that the two would come closer In February 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Chinese counterpart XI Jinping at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics

After that, in the joint declaration, both countries declared their friendship as No Limit Friendship The visit was significant in many ways because shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine China also did not blame Russia

Gaza seized the initiative: Might vs willpower

I s r a e l h a d d e s c r i b e d i t s d a i l y i n c u r s i o n s i n t h e We s t B a n k c a m p s a n d t o w n s , a n d e a r l i e r w a r s o n G a z a a s “m o w i n g t h e l a w n . ” T h e Pa l e s t i n i a n l a w n , h o w e v e r, h a s g ro w n b a c k s t ro n g e r, re s i s t i n g t h e I s r a e l i l a w n m o w e r a n d re j e c t i n g i t s Pa l e s t i n i a n A u t h o r i t y a g e n t s

MIDDLE EAST MONITOR

Iwrite as we watch the news of Palestinian fighters from the besieged and starved Gaza Strip having crossed into Israel and taken control of military vehicles According to the UN prior to the recent events more than 200 Palestinians had been killed by Israel, almost a quarter of them children This is in addition to the desecration of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and other occupied Palestinian communities Gaza has endured a harsh economic blockade for more than 17 years Palestinians are lynched by the illegal colonisers in cities like Huwara and Hebron The burning of Palestinian cars, homes and businesses, under the protection of the Israeli occupying army and with direct support from racist Israeli ministers have become daily occurrences Additionally more than 5 000 Palestinians continue to languish in Israeli jails

The racist Israeli government has introduced new harsh measures, including extended isolation, limited family contact, restricted access to medical treatment, among other limitations This does not even account for the 1 200 individuals held under administrative detention which means imprisoned without charge or trial

The international community s silence has granted Israel impunity and has perpetuated the normalisation of the Israeli occupation s apartheid, imposing a way of life that Palestinians are forced to endure and tolerate

This background sets the stage for Palestinians to for perhaps the first time take the initiative and raid the posts that kept Gaza under siege for nearly two decades

With this in mind, it is disheartening to witness the biased coverage by some networks including Fox, CNN, and MSNBC, who have all displayed their hypocritical handling of today’s events by ignoring the policies and abuses of the 75-year Israeli occupation and dispossession of Palestinian lands They have without hesitation referred to the Palestinian struggle for freedom

UkraineÊs President Volodymyr

Zelensky said, among the seiz ed Russian weapons, they found several types of Chinese components.

after this attack Rather, China’s stance was considered to be Russia’s

After the war started a resolution was presented to the UN General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council China voted against the resolution Although not directly Russia has China s support in the Ukraine war, at least at the diplomatic level To escape Western influence and to continue its war campaign, Russia increased its trade with China

According to a report in the year 2022 the year the war started bilateral trade increased by 30 percent over 2021 China exports semiconductors to Russia In return China gets cheap oil and gas from Russia Apart from this, both countries are also working on a de-dollarization policy Both countries are considering the use of national currencies for bilateral trade Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said, among the seized Russian weapons they found several

types of Chinese components The USA has warned China about this But China has denied the allegations of supplying any type of weapons to Russia Apart from this there is another reason for the USA and its allies to worry about the growing closeness of Russia and China

That is the sanctions imposed on Russia after the war have had negligible effect on Russia, because it is busy bypassing these restrictions and increasing trade with China It is also a concern of the USA and its allies if Russia is successful in this war this could give China the motivation to attack Taiwan as well

It is highly unlikely that Russia and China will become part of the defense agreement Because there are some points of difference between the two countries That will not allow them to get too close :

First of all Russia and China have differences in policy towards Central Asia The region is considered Russia s backyard as all Central Asian states were part of the former USSR Russia still has a lot of influence here China has also been busy increasing economic activities in this region in recent years Russia doesn t seem too happy about China’s growing influence in Central Asia

Another point of difference can be that the third largest country in the region is India The policy of both countries towards India is different The border dispute between China and India is going on and the relationship between China and India is always cold Russia is an ally of India and the history of defence and diplomatic relations between both countries is quite long

The writer is graduated from National Defense University Islamabad Holds BS degree in Strategic studies and keen interest in World Politics International conflicts and great power games

Get this straight , Western media: Palestinians aren’t sub-human

At the core of this blindness is a shared doctrine that holds that a Palestinian is a disposable non-entity, an expendable by-product of Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself

In this perverse construct, Palestinian civilians are not considered innocent casualties of war but remain largely responsible for their own deaths and desperate fates

from apartheid from blockade from the defilement of their holy sites destruction of their homes and the threat to their lives as terrorist attacks Adding that Israelis taken as prisoners of war in the struggle are hostages

Meanwhile, the same media industrial complex never ascribed the term hostage to Palestinian men women and children kidnapped half naked in the middle of the night from their bedrooms by the Israeli occupation army They never referred to the 1,200 administrative detainees as hostages – even though they are held for years without charge

This blatant double standard becomes evident when comparing the Gaza coverage with that of Ukraine If residential towers and homes filled with sleeping families were to be targeted in Kyiv instead of Gaza, we would undoubtedly witness relentless headlines, slow-motion replays of the implosions, and listen to lectures on “Russian brutality” against civilians However, since it is happening in Gaza to Palestinian victims instead of white Europeans and the weapons destroying the towers and homes are most likely American made it is accepted as collateral damage that Western media neither acknowledges nor discusses

The Israeli prime minister s threat of severe vengeance adds nothing new, as vengeance has been an integral part of the Zionist philosophy Palestinians experienced this vengeance in Deir Yassin and numerous other unknown villages in 1948 during the defenseless camp massacres in Beirut in 1982, and in the continuous lawn mowing in Gaza and the West Bank

Palestinians are well aware that their actions against the Israeli guard posts of the largest openair prison might come at a significant cost They face the greatest technology by the most rudimentary weapons system Palestinians realise they have no match to the American supplied Israeli military might However, the latest battle has also demonstrated the unmatched bravery of the Palestinian fighters who went fishing for Israeli soldiers hiding inside the most expensive and most sophisticated military tanks

AL JAZEERA a n d r e w M i t r ov i c a

IS R A E L has waged war on Palestinians for decades

That fact may come I suspect as a surprise to many people whose grasp of the world is shaped by their exclusive consumption of Western media The deep and lasting human consequences of Israel’s terrifying, perpetual war on Palestinians – prosecuted with indiscriminate cruelty by an occupying army and its de facto proxies fanatical settler militias – have been plain for anyone willing or inclined to see for generations Countless lives lost and maimed in body and spirit Land and homes stolen Livelihoods and ancient traditions destroyed The exhausting cycle of having to rebuild, then watching all the promise and possibility turn in an instant to dust The wholesale imprisonment of a people penned like cattle behind walls and barbed wire fences where water and electricity food and fuel are switched on and off on a colonial power s whim But, of course, much of the Western media won t acknowledge these facts and outrages That’s because many of the reporters and columnists now gripped by the latest eruption of murderous madness in Palestine and Israel have always interpreted events through a prism chiefly dictated by Israel –whether they are prepared to admit it or not In this myopic calculus Israel is always the victim never the perpetrator Israel s understanding of history matters; Palestinians reading not only of the past but of the present and the future too, does not count And, perhaps most indecent of all, Israeli lives and deaths matter; Palestinian lives and deaths don’t Riyad Mansour the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations made this point in a quiet but persuasive address he delivered on Sunday to that apparently powerless body History, he said, begins for some media and politicians when Israelis are killed Our people have endured one deadly year after another” Mansour recounted the repeated warnings he and other exasperated Palestinians have issued – time and again – of the potential “consequences of Israeli impunity and international inaction He was not alone Human rights groups based in Jerusalem London and New York have published report after report that establishes, as a matter of international law, that Israel has, for a long time, been guilty of apartheid – a state-sanctioned, systemic policy to impose ethnic supremacy over besieged Palestinians with brutal grinding efficiency Implicit in those dense meticulously chronicled studies was what amounted to a blazing flare intended to seize finally the flighty attention of complicit Western governments and media Israel s deliberate organised oppression is not only unsustainable, it disfigures both the oppressor and the oppressed Ultimately, violence begets violence in round after round of horrific vengeance by both sides Predictably the cautions were not heeded Instead many Western news outlets either dismissed outright or used the familiar vocabulary of denial to obscure the blatant truth Others opted for wilful malpractice preferring to devote time and resources to the death of a celebrity dog over the documented theft, deprivations and indignities endured by Palestinians – young and old

The result: Western columnists will defend Israel – without so much as a hint of doubt or equivocation – despite its demonstrable record of erasing Palestinians whenever it wants, wherever it wants, for whatever reason it wants The sad, human evidence abounds Mahmoud al-Saadi an 18-year-old student was erased by Israel while walking to school in the Jenin refugee camp last November Mohammad al-Tamimi a two-and-a-half-year-old toddler was erased by Israel while he was sitting in his father s car parked outside their home in Nabi Saleh, a village northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, as he waited to go to a birthday party in June 2023 Shireen Abu Akleh, a 51year-old Palestinian-American journalist was erased by Israel while she was preparing to report on yet another raid in Jenin in May 2022 Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish a 67-year-old PalestinianCanadian physician scholar and humanitarian witnessed three of his daughters – Bessan 21 Mayar 15 Aya 13 – and a niece Noor, 17, being erased when Israeli tank shells shattered the family home in the Gaza Strip in January 2009

Omar Abdulmajeed Asaad, a 78-year-old PalestinianAmerican retiree was erased by Israel while en route home to Jiljilya a town a little northeast of Ramallah in the West Bank after an evening playing cards with friends in January 2022 Soldiers marched Asaad to a nearby construction site and dumped him onto cold stone pavers That s where he died of a stress-induced heart attack Alone Twelve-year-old Hassan Abu al-Neil was erased by Israel on August 21, 2021 while standing on what remains of Palestinian soil in Gaza in defiance of the occupation The lethal ledger goes on and on and on In the awful days weeks and potentially months ahead a gallery of writers will no doubt stand rhetorically shoulderto-shoulder with Israel s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his appalling calls to impose a total blockade on Gaza and bludgeon it into a “deserted island” in the wake of Hamas’s ruthless onslaught Netanyahu’s chilling vow to in effect obliterate Gaza and his warning to the 2 million Palestinians who live in that thin strip of land to get out is the inevitable expression of apartheid which is predicated on the dehumanisation of an entire people

As Palestinian-American writer, Ra fat Al-Dajani, has explained, the dehumanisation of Palestinians is based on two tenets widely held among Western media: “Palestinians are violent because of who they are – because of something intrinsic in their very nature and culture Dajani wrote rather than because of the oppression and violence of the Israeli occupation As a corollary to this, since Palestinians lack basic standards of morality the only way to interact with them is through the use of force, whether state-sponsored force by the Israeli security forces or non-state actors such as Israeli settlers Force is the only language they understand ” Both of these blasphemies have already been on display on Western cable news channels 24/7 loop and in opinion pages featuring the usual parade of Israeli-aligned officials and pundits

In rebuttal, Mansour was obliged, remarkably, to state the obvious: “We [Palestinians] are not sub-humans Let me repeat: We are not sub-humans We will never accept a rhetoric that denigrates our humanity and reneges our rights A rhetoric that ignores the occupation of our land and oppression of our people Mansour defended the resistance as an understandable response to Israel s longstanding war on Palestinians saying: Israel cannot wage a full-scale war on a nation, its people, its land, its holy sites and expect peace in exchange

In the end, the ambassador said, Palestinians, and Palestinians alone will decide their destiny “The Palestinian people will be free one day or another one way or another ” Mansour said He is right

Andrew Mitrovica is an Al Jazeera columnist based in Toronto

I M F S AY S G LO B A L E C O N O M Y

L I M P I N G A LO N G ’ , C U T S

G R O W T H F O R E C A S T F O R C H I N A , E U R O Z O N E

THE International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its growth forecasts for China and the euro zone and said overall global growth remained low and uneven despite what it called the “remarkable strength” of the U S economy In its latest World Economic Outlook the IMF left its forecast for global real GDP growth in 2023 unchanged at 3 0% but cut its 2024 forecast to 2 9% from its July forecast of 3 0% World output grew 3 5% in 2022 IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said the global economy continued to recover from COVID-19 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and last year ’s energy crisis but that diverging growth trends meant mediocre medium-term prospects

Gourinchas said the forecasts generally pointed to a soft landing, but the IMF remained concerned about risks related to China’s property crisis, volatile commodity prices geopolitical fragmentation and a resurgence in inflation

A fresh risk emerged in the form of the Israel-Palestinian conflict just as officials from 190 countries met in Marrakech for the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, but

came after the IMF s quarterly outlook update was locked down on Sept 26

Gourinchas told Reuters it was too early to say how the major escalation would affect the global economy: “Depending how the situation might unfold there are many very different scenarios that we have not even yet started to explore so we can t make any assessment at this point yet

He said the IMF was monitoring the situation, noting that oil prices had risen some 4% in recent days, reflecting concerns that production or transport of oil could be interrupted Research by the IMF showed a 10% increase in oil prices would dampen global output by about 0 2% in the following year and boost global inflation by about 0 4%, he said Stronger growth is being throttled by the lingering impact of the pandemic, the Ukraine war and increasing fragmentation, along with rising interest rates extreme weather events and shrinking fiscal support the IMF said Total global output in 2023 is slated to be 3 4% or roughly $3 6 trillion –below pre-pandemic projections

The global economy is showing resilience It’s not knocked out by the big shocks it’s experienced in the last two or three years but it’s not doing too great either Gourinchas said in an interview We see a global economy that is limping along

and it s not quite sprinting yet

The medium-term outlook was darker especially for emerging economies, which faced a slower catch-up in living standards and more debt worries, Gourinchas told a news conference Even in 2028 the IMF is projecting global growth of just 3 1%

You have uncertainty You have geoeconomic fragmentation low productivity growth, and low demographics You put all these things together and you have a slowdown in medium-term growth,” Gourinchas told Reuters INFLATION UNCOMFORTABLY HIGH

Inflation continued to decline around the globe due to a fall in energy prices and to a lesser extent food prices, but remained too high It is expected to drop to an annual average of 6 9% in 2023 from 8 7% in 2022, and to 5 8% in 2024 Core inflation excluding food and energy should drop more gradually – to 6 3% in 2023 from 6 4% in 2022 and to 5 3% in 2024 – given tight labor markets and stickier-than-expected services inflation, the IMF said “Inflation remains uncomfortably high ” Gourinchas said warning: “Central banks must avoid a premature easing ” Labor markets were buoyant and unemployment rates low in most advanced

UN asked to resolve K ashmir dispute, ban on DFP denounced

ISLAMABAD s tA f f r e p o r t

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter has appealed to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, to take steps for resolving the Kashmir dispute in line with right to self-determination as guaranteed by the UN through its resolutions

The appeal has been made during a meeting of a delegation of Jammu based Hurriyat leaders and activists with APHC-AJK Convener Mahmood

Ahmad Saghar in Islamabad

The delegation included Malik

Muhammad Aslam, Khalid Shabir, Qazi

Muhammad Imran Zahid Fazal Abdul

Ghani Lone Muhammad Owais Bilal and Imtiaz Ahmed Butt APHC AJK

General Secretary Shaikh Abdul Mateen

was also present in the meeting

The delegation maintained that on January 5, 1949, the United Nations Commission for Pakistan and India had passed a very important resolution calling for settlement of the Kashmir dispute by giving the Kashmiris an opportunity to decide their future by themselves under UN-supervised plebiscite It said since then, due to India s stubbornness, the Kashmir conflict remains unresolved

They said the Kashmiri people have rendered unparalleled sacrifices in their struggle for achieving this right in the last over seven decades

The delegation updated the APHC convenor about the current human rights situation of Jammu region including atrocities and terrorism of Indian forces, the personnel of NIA SIA and VDGs during cordon and search operations and

house raids The delegation while denouncing the banning of Hurriyat organization Democratic Freedom Party by the Modi government said that such nefarious tactics cannot suppress the Kashmir freedom movement They condemned the Israeli atrocities on the Palestinians and lamented the support of international

economies but there was not much evidence of a wage-price inflation spiral, even with a major strike by U S autoworkers in the United States

“We’re not seeing strong signs of an out-of-control sequence of wages chasing prices and prices chasing wages he told Reuters

The IMF said uncertainty had narrowed since its April forecasts, but there were still more downside than upside risks for 2024 The chance of growth falling below 2% –which has only occurred five times since 1970 – was now seen at 15% compared with 25% in April

The IMF noted that investment was uniformly lower than before the pandemic, with businesses showing less appetite for expansion and risk-taking given higher interest rates, stricter lending conditions and less fiscal support Gourinchas said the fund was also advising countries to rebuild thin fiscal buffers against future shocks noting that a substantial deterioration in fiscal deficits in the United States was most worrying US GROWTH BEATING PRE-PANDEMIC FORECASTS

The IMF raised its forecast for U S growth by 0 3 percentage points to 2

and

powers to the usurper Israel

Meanwhile, People’s Political Party (PPP) in a statement in Srinagar also condemned the ban on Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) This inhuman and undemocratic act of Government of India is in sheer violation of International Law and UN Charter, the party said

C hinese SMEs ’ development rebounds in Q uar ter 3

BEIJING s tA f f c o r r e s p o n d e n t

An index gauging the development of China’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rebounded significantly in the third quarter as government progrowth measures took effect

The encouraging figure which came ahead of the release of economic data for September and the third quarter, signalled that the economy is on a steady path of recovery, experts said

The China Small and Medium Enterprise Development Index rose by 0 2 points in the third quarter to 89 2 after a decline of 0 3 points in the second quarter the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (CASME) said on Tuesday

CASME head Xie Ji said that the index was near a two-year high due to the impact of government policies Among the sub-indexes the macroeconomic sentiment index a measure of enterprises confidence, rose by 0 5 points, recording its largest increase

The encouraging data indicated that China’s economy returned to a steady re-

WHITE PAPER

covery track in the third quarter, Zhou Maohua an economist at China Everbright Bank told the Global Times on Tuesday Zhou noted that the better-than-expected economic data since August and robust tourism and consumption during China’s Golden Week holidays all indicated that consumer confidence in China is improving and market expectations are bouncing back Based on the economic data and trends seen in July and August, it is expected that the GDP growth rate in the third quarter could reach 5 percent or even higher,” Zhou said Ti a n Yu n a v e t e r a n e c o n o m i s t b a s e d i n B e i j i n g s a i d t h a t t h e m o s t n o t a b l e p o l i c y e ff e c t s w o u l d b e s e e n i n t h e S e p t e m b e r e c o n o m i c d a t a C h in e s e g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c i e s a n d l o c a l g o v e r n m e n t s h a v e a c t i v e l y i m p l em e n t e d p o l i c i e s f o l l o w i n g a k e y m e e ti n g h e l d o n J u l y 2 4

There should be continued upward momentum if pro-growth policies are consistently implemented especially in addressing local debt and stabilizing the real estate market, Tian told the Global

Times on Tuesday He expected the GDP growth rate to be about 5 percent in the third quarter increasing to above 5 percent in the fourth quarter China posted better-than-expected economic data in August Valueadded industrial output increased by 4 5 percent year-on-year, higher than a reading of 3 7 percent in July and retail sales grew by 4 6 percent accelerating from 2 5 percent in July Vi b r a n t d o m e s t i c t o u r i s m d u r i n g t h e G o l d e n We e k h o l i d a y s p r o b a b l y a d d e d f u e l t o c o n s u m p t i o n i n t h e t h i r d q u a r t e r Holiday tourism generated 753 43 billion yuan ($104 68 billion) in revenue up 129 5 percent year-on-year and up 1 5 percent from 2019 data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed on Friday

All these offered further proof that the China collapse claim and the slowert h a n - e x p e c t e d e c o n o m i c r e b o u n d ” h y p e d b y We s t e r n o ff i c i a l s a n d m e d i a outlets are both absurd experts said There is no need to address the speculation made by foreign media outlets, as it is merely a verbal battle Capital markets, having become more rational,

will undoubtedly choose China due to the improving data ” Tian said

Contrary to the bleak picture painted by the Western media foreign investment is pouring into the Chinese market with a positive outlook on investment prospects in China U S m e d i c a l e q u i p m e n t e n t e r p r i s e B o s t o n S c i e n t i f i c C o r p a n n o u n c e d o n M o n d a y t h a t i t w i l l e s t a b l i s h a m a n u -

facturing base in Shanghai its first in China

Germany-based Wacker Chemie in late September started construction of new production lines in Zhangjiagang, East China’s Jiangsu Province to expand its manufacturing capacity in China with an investment of some 150 million euros ($159 million) the Global Times learned from the chemical group More than 100 top multinational companies have confirmed they will participate in the 134th China Import and Export Fair also known as the Canton Fair set to open on Sunday The number of overseas buyers has significantly jumped spanning 215 countries and regions, up 23 5 percent from the previous edition

for next year citing stronger business investment and growing consumption

That makes the United States the only major economy to beat pre-pandemic forecasts

China was forecast to grow 5 0% in 2023 but slow to 4 2% in 2024 0 2 and 0 3 percentage points less than previously expected due to a property crisis and weak external demand

If the real estate crisis deepened, China s growth could be lowered by as much as 1 6% percentage point, which in turn would knock 0 6 percentage points off global growth Gourinchas said

Unless China takes forceful action to clean up the real estate sector the problem could fester and become worse

The IMF cut its estimates for euro zone growth to 0 7% in 2023 and 1 2% in 2024, from July forecasts of 0 9% and 1 5%

The UK also hit hard by high energy prices saw its growth forecast raised by 0 1 percentage point to 0 5% for 2023 but cut by 0 4 percentage point to 0 6% for 2024 Japan is expected to grow 2 0% in 2023, a 0 6 percentage point upward revision, buoyed by pent-up demand, a surge in inbound tourism its accommodative monetary policy and a rebound in auto exports the IMF said It left Japan s 2024 growth outlook unchanged at 1 0%

Video showing man’s body ablaze prompts call for justice from tribals in India’s Manipur

GUWAHATI

Ag e n c e s

A video showing a man s body on fire in India s restive Manipur prompted calls for justice from a minority tribal group in the northeastern state, which remains on edge more than five months after bloody ethnic clashes killed at least 180 people State authorities said they had ordered an investigation by the federal police into the incident suspected to have taken place on May 4 The violence erupted on May 3 as members of the majority Meitei ethnic group and minority Kuki tribals clashed over sharing government benefits and quotas in jobs and education Sporadic violence has continued after the peak of the clashes despite tens of thousands of extra security personnel being deployed marking a rare security failure for Prime Minister Narendra Modi s government in a state ruled by his Bharatiya Janata Party The seven second video, which surfaced on social media on Sunday and has been verified by state police, showed a man with injuries to the head lying near barbed wire while a portion of the body was ablaze Voices and gunshots could be heard in the background It is unclear whether he was alive or already dead Authorities identified the victim as Laldinthanga Khongsai 37 and an umbrella body of Manipur s tribal groups said he belonged to the Kuki community Kuldiep Singh, the state s security advisor, said the man was killed on May 4, when armed members of the two communities fought pitched battles and a mob stripped and sexually assaulted two tribal women The body is still unclaimed Singh told reporters on Monday adding that the case will be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum, an umbrella body, said, The video is a harrowing testament to the ethnic cleansing campaign against the Kuki-Zo community by the majority Meiteis ” Asserting that such “brutal acts” cannot be overlooked the ITLF said: “The selective application of justice further reinforces our demand for a separate administration The Meitei make up 53% of Manipur s population, while the Kuki account for 16% Both sides have suffered casualties, but government data reviewed by Reuters in July showed 113 Kukis and 62 Meiteis had been killed

global well-being, the path to peace, the path to prosperity the path to openness the path to innovation and the path to social progress noted the white paper

BEIJING

M i A n A b r A r

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) China published a white paper on Tuesday, highlighting the role that the iconic century project has played during the last decade as well as its achievements in living up to its goal of providing a platform for building a global community of shared future

The white paper is titled Belt and Road Initiative: A Key Pillar of the Global Community of Shared Future and the scope of the BRI expands, the initiative has now become the world s largest platform for international cooperation with the broadest coverage ranging from policy coordination to infrastructure connectivity unimpeded trade financial integration and closer people-to-people exchanges

Over the past decade, according to the white paper, the BRI cooperation has delivered real gains to participating countries It has contributed to the sound development of economic globalization and helped resolve global development challenges and improve

the global governance system

The joint initiative has also opened up a new path for all humanity to realize modernization, and ensure that the efforts of building a global community of shared future are delivering real results ” the white paper said

The white paper issued by the State Council Information Office gives the international community a better understanding of the value of the initiative

It also aims to facilitate high-quality BRI cooperation in the future and ultimately ensure the initiative will deliver benefits to more countries and peoples

The white paper expounded on the background against which BRI was launched In response to a changing global situation and the expectations of the international community, and with the future and overall interests of humanity in mind China proposed the BRI This initiative was launched by China but it belongs to the world and benefits the whole of humanity the white paper noted Also, the economic globalization dominated by a few countries has not contributed to the common development that delivers

benefits to all Instead, it has widened the wealth gap between rich and poor, between developed and developing countries, and within developed countries

The white paper said that it is imperative to address such global problems including sluggish economic growth shortcomings in economic governance and imbalanced eco-

nomic development It is no longer acceptable that only a few countries dominate world economic development, control economic rules, and enjoy development fruits ” the white paper said The ultimate goal of the BRI is to help build a global community of shared future

joint initiative promotes the path to

The white paper also pointed out that the BRI is a public road open to all, not a private path owned by any single party It is free from geopolitical calculations It does not aim to create an exclusive club nor does it target any party ”

Currently the world is in a period of turbulence and transformation Rivalry and competition between major countries is escalating; the geopolitical situation remains tense; global economic recovery is yet to appear over the horizon; cold-war and zerosum mentalities are resurgent; unilateralism protectionism and hegemonism are also proliferating

A new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation has given rise to ever fiercer competition All of this presents unprecedented challenges to humanity The white paper said that certain countries overstretch the concept of national security and seek decoupling in the name of derisking Against this backdrop the BRI becomes more meaningful and is an initiative of global importance

As a large and developing country that meets its responsibilities, China will continue to promote the BRI as its overarching plan and its top-level design for opening-up and win-win international cooperation the white paper said

‘

A decade of BRI ushers in ‘illustrating path’ to global connec tivity, prosperity

Another 58 connec tions disconnec ted in Punjab, KP and Islamabad

F B R T O E X PA N D TA X N ET B Y 1 M I L L I O N

P E O P L E I N C U R R E N T F I S C A L Y E A R

regional team also launched 1FIRs against gas theive and 0 009 amount have been booked against gas theft In Rawalpindi the regional team disconnected 03 gas connections on direct and illegal use of gas and 02 under billing cases have been processed SNGPL s team in Mardan 06 connection were disconnected on illegal use of gas The team also booked an amount of Rs 0 340M against gas theft PR

FFC wins Best ESG Repor ting Award

SCCI c alls for rationalization of duties, tariffs to enhance cross border trade

PESHAWAR

Z I Z B U N E R I

A

Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Fuad Ishaq demanded rationalization of duties and tariffs on exporting items to improve cross border mutual trade and exports

The SCCI chief said high duties/tariffs on imported items has encouraged transit and illegal trade which should be eliminated Also he urged Islamabad and Kabul to devise a joint mechanism to remove hurdles in order to carry out smooth trade between the two neighbouring countries

Other members of the delegation consisted of chairman All Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellery and Tahafaz e Hindkowan Foundation

Haji Amin Hussain Babar Shahid Khan presidents and general secretaries from the business community

Members of the business community during the meeting raised concerns about repatriation of illegal Afghan refugees and current state of the national economy and highlighted other issues that were adversely affecting trade and commercial activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

FY21 a total of 97 819 were added in FY22 a total of 243 795 were added, and in FY23, a total of 616,517 taxpayers were added

Lifebuoy Pakistan Joins Forces with Jazz to Make Healthc are Accessible for All

(IAP) led by its acting president Ayub Zakori also called on the president Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Other members of the industrialists delegation include Senator Nauman Wazir senior member IAP Malik Niaz Ahmad, Farhad Asfandyar, Haris Mufti, Junaid Altaf, Salman Altaf, secretary general Muqtasid Ahsan and others

Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC) was conferred with Best ESG Reporting Award at 20th Annual Excellence Awards Ceremony Ceremony organized by the CFA Society Pakistan on October 06, 2023 in Karachi FFC was represented by Brig Irfan Khan, Company Secretary and Syed Imran Rizvi Manager Corporate Affairs The Company Secretary received the award on behalf of FFC This award is an acknowledgement of best ESG practices compliance to international ESG disclosure frameworks with our continued commitment to global ESG implementation mission PR

ZTBL, PARC organize marathon webinar for farmers

I S L A M A B A D: Zarai Taraqiati Bank g ایف Ltd (ZTBL) and Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) on Tuesday organized national level webinar aimed at uniting agriculture experts, academia, lenders, farmers and other stakeholders for ensuring food security The webinar being first of its kind is an attempt by ZTBL as financial lender and PARC as research institute to mitigate the challenges faced to farming community in the country ZTBL had gathered farmers in its 31 zonal offices across the country under the leadership of President/CEO ZTBL Tahir Yaqoob Bhatti for attending the lectures/research findings of agriculture scientists The webinar was addressed by Chairman PARC Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali besides Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) National University of Science and Technology (NUST) Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, famers and independent experts PR

EBM recognized as ‘Best Place To Work ’ for the Fifth Consec utive Time

Similarly, he called for reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue and taxation system and facilitating the business community

Fuad Ishaq was speaking to a 24 member traders delegation headed by Ghulam Bilal Javed here at the chamber house on Tuesday

Sanaullah Khan, senior vice president and Ijaz Khan Afridi vice president and Sajjad Aziz Secretary General of the chamber and others were present during the meeting He noticed the PakAfghan mutual trade had dropped to $400 to 500 million, which was around $ 2 5billion a few years ago

The delegation formally congratulated the newly elected president Fuad Ishaq and senior vice president Sanaullah Khan and expressed hope that they along with other members of the cabinet will play an important role in resolution of the business community issues

Fuad Ishaq while speaking on the occasion assured that the business community issues would be resolved on priority basis by taking up relevant authorities at federal and provincial level in an efficient manner The SCCI chief urged the government to take pragmatic steps to provide a conducive business atmosphere for revival of the ailing economy Meanwhile a delegation of the Industrialists Association Peshawar

Ayub Zakori and other members of the delegation congratulated the newly elected president and senior vice president of the chamber and expressed their best wishes and hope they will serve the business community with new passion and zeal Fuad Ishaq assured the IAP delegation that the SCCI will take up all issues that had been mentioned during the meeting with relevant federal and provincial authorities and resolve them on priority grounds

Later, a delegation of Khyber Bazar Carpet Association led by former president Faiz Muhammad Faizi also met with the chamber s newly elected cabinet members and congratulated them and expressed hope that they will deliver the business community in an efficient manner

Members of the delegation included Haji Attaullah Mohmand Haji Muhammad Azeem and others

Expor ts of Agro and Food Produc ts to cross US$ 7 Billion in 2023-24: Zubair Motiwalla

ISLAMABAD P R

During the first quarter of the financial year of 2023-2024, exports of Agro and Food products from Pakistan has been increased by 37 4% as compared to the same period during 2022-2023 Major increases were in export of Sesame seed (427%), Maize/corn (109%), Ethyl alcohol (559%), Meat (16%), Rice (14%), Fruits and Vegetables (11 8%), Fish and Fish products (3%)

Pakistan exported sesame seed worth US$ 182 2 million during July-Sept 2023-24 as compared to US$ 34 during July-Sept, 2022-23 showing a positive growth of 427 04% The reasons for increase of sesame seed is the increased production in 2023 (2022 crop was destroyed by flood) and higher

demand/rate from China and Japan

Similarly the exports of maize were US$ 130 million during July-Sept, 2023-24 as compared to US$ 60 62 in July-Sept 2022-23 showing a positive growth of 109 32% Pakistan s maize exports have increased manifolds in value as global prices of food commodities have increased due to the outbreak of Russian- Ukraine war The major markets for are Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea and Oman

Pakistan exported ethyl alcohol worth US$ 126 81 million during July-Sept 2023-24 as compared to US$ 19 23 during July-Sept, 202223 showing a positive growth of 559 1% The reason for increase is the high global demand In meat sector Pakistan exported worth US$ 112 36 million during July-Sept 2023-24 as compared to US$ 96 4

Secretar y BISP hosts live e -k atcheri to address beneficiar y concerns

K A R A C H I: English Biscuit Manufacturers (EBM) the leading food FMCG company in Pakistan has been recognized as the Best-in-Class top 10 companies across industries and has yet again won Best Place to Work amongst FMCG industry award for the fifth consecutive time The rankings, compiled and issued by the Pakistan Society of Human Resource Management’ (PSHRM) and ‘Engage Consulting’ are based on a comprehensive study of 140+ companies and 40 000+ employees The survey measures the organization s engagement and capabilities across key parameters of foresight, growth, belonging, alignment, and commitment EBM s continued efforts to nurture quality human resources and implement industry-best practices have been recognized and awarded on numerous occasions

The continuous recognition in this prestigious ranking has proved EBM s dedication and commitment to provide its employees with the best and most enabling workplace PR

I S L A M A B A D: Secretary of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Mr Amer Ali Ahmad, conducted a Live E-Katcheri session today at the BISP Headquarters in Islamabad This online interactive session hosted on BISP s official Facebook page served as a follow-up to a meeting held last week dedicated to address the unresolved complaints related to the tranche disbursement under the Benazir Kafaalat Programme During the Live E-Katcheri, Secretary BISP actively engaged with BISP beneficiaries and the general public, listening to their live calls and inquiries He took the opportunity to directly communicate with the beneficiaries and understand the challenges they encounter during the registration process The issues brought up during the session primarily revolved around eligibility status and non-provision of financial assistance In response, Secretary BISP promptly issued directives to the concerned officers to establish direct contact with the affected beneficiaries and resolve their concerns within a day PR

in July-Sept 2022-23 showing a positive growth of 16 54% The reasons for positive growth of meat sector is due to opening of new markets (Jordan Egypt Uzbekistan) and participation of many new companies for exporting meat to UAE KSA & GGC Region Additionally 3 more slaughter houses were approved for exporting/processing by Malaysia Moreover, one Meat exporting company also got market access for exports of heat treated meat to China

The exports of rice from were US$ 407 million during July-Sept 2023-24 as compared to US$ 357 4 in July-Sept, 2022-23 showing a positive growth of 14% The reason for increase is due to India s rice export ban & increased production of rice in Pakistan Pakistan exported fish and fish products

PTA hosts meeting with religious scholars to promote safe & responsible use of social media, internet

I S L A M A B A D: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) took a significant step toward fostering safe and responsible internet usage by organizing a meeting with prominent religious scholars at PTA Headquarters Islamabad The event held today marked a collaborative effort between the PTA and religious leaders to address the challenges of social media and the internet while promoting a digital environment that aligns with cultural and religious values The meeting was attended by Islamic scholars from various schools of thought including Dr Qibla Ayaz Chairman Council of Islamic Ideology (CII); Moulana Abdul Khabeer Azad Chairman Ruet-e-Hilal Committee and Maulana Tariq Jameel among others Senior PTA officers were also present at this occasion The event commenced with a welcome note from Director-General Web Analysis Division (WAD) PTA who provided an overview of PTA's PR

K A R A C H I: Lifebuoy, Pakistan s No 1 hygiene brand, is proud to announce its strategic partnership with Jazz, Pakistan's premier telecommunications network to advance its mission of improving healthcare access With less than 50% of the country without access to healthcare Lifebuoy in collaboration with Sehat Kahani, a telehealth service provide has built a dedicated helpline providing free of cost doctor consultation Huda Haroon, Senior Brand Manager Lifebuoy stated, “Lifebuoy soap has always been at the forefront of spreading awareness on the importance of hand hygiene Taking this mission forward Lifebuoy is now dedicated to enhancing access to healthcare in Pakistan This signifies a broader commitment by Lifebuoy to not only inspire better hygiene practices but also to make healthcare more accessible to the remote communities ” Amidst the challenges posed by rising healthcare costs and inflationary pressures Jazz in collaboration with Lifebuoy aims to raise awareness of this invaluable service Jazz with its nationwide subscriber base is actively supporting the promotion of the Lifebuoy Telehealth Helpline (0800 – 13000) Shoaib Ehsan Aftab - Head of Brands and Communication on the importance of this initiative stated, “With an ambition to lead digital transformation in Pakistan Jazz is leveraging the power of data science PR

Mondelēz Pakistan bags ‘Best Place to Work - Winner in Medium Scale Organization’ in Pakistan Award

K A R A C H I: Mondelēz Pakistan has been recognized as the "Best Place to Work - Winner in Medium Scale Organization at the Best Place to Work (BPTW) in Pakistan Award Gala 2023 The brand known for its snacks and confectionary items has also been able to secure the position of Runnerup for the "Best Place to Work in the FMCG Industry" category The BPTW Award is a joint initiative of the Pakistan Society of Human Resource Management (PSHRM) and Engage Consulting Among the 140 organizations nominated 30 were honored for their outstanding dedication to creativity, well-being, growth, and CSR This recognition reflects Mondelez's continuous commitment to creating an environment that is conducive to employee growth and wellbeing It highlights the company’s steadfast dedication to cultivating a positive workplace culture that enables employees to pursue their career goals with confidence PR

E n g r o Po l y m e r s o f f e r s s u p p o r t f o r f l o o d - r e s i l i e n t h o u s i n g s o l u t i o n s

K A R A C H I: Engro has extended its support for flood-resilient housing solutions, in partnership with Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO) and Indus Valley School (IVS) In this regard, Engro recently shared findings from two projects at a briefing held at the IVS Karachi Engro Polymer & Chemicals led the collaborative project with Indus Valley School to explore PVC as the material of choice in rehabilitation efforts Through extensive research into flood-responsive housing and the socio-cultural aspects of rural Sindh, the IVS students shared a shelter design using regional materials and construction techniques incorporating locally sourced bamboo sun-dried brick concrete blocks and recyclable UPVC sheets These materials not only align with the region s climate but are also highly adaptable as they are designed to float, transform, submerge, or block in response to flood disasters, ensuring safety and security for their inhabitants The partnership exemplifies how industry and academia can unite to address pressing real-world challenges using the wisdom of local materials and construction whilst making use of the next generation of architects and designers PR

FO R the past few weeks the gold market s usually bustling and lively atmosphere has been replaced with uncertainty and fear Jewellers say business has declined drastically and their shops wear a deserted look But a glimmer of hope was seen today (Tuesday) after the All Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Association (APGJA) released the official gold rate which had been suspended since Sep 13

The APGJA typically shares the gold rate every evening However, the association suddenly stopped sharing them mid-September Various reports emerged regarding the reason before APGJA Chairman Haji Haroon Rasheed Chand shared a voice note with the media on Sep 15, stating that a crackdown had been launched and discussions with the authorities were ongoing

But what necessitated the crackdown?

Gold has always been an attractive investment – its value rises in times of

economic and political uncertainty, and it can act as a hedge against inflation and rupee devaluation As the country’s situation worsened earlier this year with the crackdown on the PTI and the arrest of its chairman and concerns about a potential default were voiced loudly, the per tola gold rate rose to a record high of Rs 240,000 on May 10, 2023 While the price later fell as the situation improved – reaching Rs 204 000 per tola on July 12 – it started rising again eventually

Authorities turn their focus to the gold market

Since the domestic gold rate is pegged to the international bullion price, it continued to rise despite a decrease in the latter as the rupee depreciated sharply And when the authorities launched a crackdown on dollar smuggling and illegal foreign currency dealings, there were concerns that these elements would move to the gold market (Profit has done two separate stories on the currency market developments:

‘Dollar Danda: How the currency market was tamed and why it won t work and Big banks are all set to run the

PML-N ‘suspends’ rallies as Nawaz Sharif set to fly to Saudi Arabia today

ISLAMABAD S TA F F

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has suspended party rallies and corner-meetings as the party supremo Nawaz Sharif plans to fly to Saudi Arabia today (Wedneday) where he will perform Umrah and spend time with his son Hussain Sharif

Senator Irfan Siddiqui on Tuesday confirmed that Nawaz plans to travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday Nawaz who has been in self-imposed exile since 2019 left for London in the middle of his seven-year jail term on medical grounds In the four years that transpired Nawaz was declared a proclaimed offender in the Al Azizia and Avenfield graft cases for his continuous absence from proceedings

Last month, Shehbaz had confirmed that his elder brother was returning to the country on October 21

Subsequently the PML-N had declared that Nawaz was ready to face all kinds of circumstances upon his return from London

Last week Nawaz s legal team submitted his medical reports to the Lahore High Court, which said the PML-N supremo had some residual anginal symptoms” Separately, Shehbaz said the party’s legal team had cleared Nawaz’s arrival Meanwhile, the elder Sharif marked his final day at Stanhope House the party s de facto London headquarters on Oct 6

In a talk with journalists PML-N s Irfan Siddiqui said Nawaz would leave for Saudi Arabia tomorrow (Wednesday) I don t have any reports of his meeting with the Royal family But he will perform Umrah, spend time with his son most of his stay would be in Madina ” he revealed Siddiqui added that Nawaz would leave for the United Arab Emirates two days before his expected arrival in Pakistan on October 21 He will rest there and is also expected to meet some party leaders In response to a question on reports regarding Nawaz visiting China and Qatar, the PML-N senator said the elder Sharif had no such trips scheduled before Oct 21

N: Meanwhile in a recent development regarding the Pakistan Muslim League –Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif s return to the country, the PML-N leadership reportedly suspended the workers convention and rallies across Lahore Sources close to the development revealed that the PMLN leadership called off the rally which was scheduled to be held tomorrow at Gulshan-e-Ravi Lahore Similarly the senior politician – Khawaja Saad Rafique – and other party leaders canceled the rallies and workers conventions in their respective constituencies Media reports further revealed that the PML-N representatives from all constituencies will convene for workers’ conventions at the party secretariat in Model Town Lahore These meetings will be presided over by PML-N party organizer – Maryam Nawaz Sharif – reaffirming the leadership s involvement in the preparations and reviewing the arrangements for the warm welcome planned for PML-N Supremo Nawaz Sharif upon his return to Pakistan

World Cup 2023: Indian embassy finally begins processing visas for Pakistani journalists

ISLAMABAD

open market What does it solve and what it doesn’t’)

But the crackdown wasn’t only because of the concerns that black money would flow into the gold market; authorities also wanted an end to rate manipulation and smuggling On Sep 12, the last day the rates were issued, the global price of gold declined by $15 per ounce but the domestic price went up by Rs 5 600 per tola (one tola is equal to 11 6 ounces) And this happened while the rupee was appreciating

Shortly after a task force of officials from law enforcement and intelligence agencies was formed to take action against “gold smugglers and mafia” According to APP the task force had prepared lists of those involved in illegal gold trade In a voice note shared with the media on Sep 15 (a day after the staterun APP published news of the task force), APGJA Chairman Chand said association members were being summoned by agencies and five jewellers had already been detained The purpose of the crackdown according to Chand

was to bring the gold rate down and end speculative trading (more on how this is done later)

Since the crackdown was launched the APGJA did not share gold rates and its chairman did not specify when they would be released again In his Sep 15 voice note, Chand said the authorities wanted the bullion market to remain shut for three months He added however that he had assured them that all gold trade henceforth would be legal and documented and he would uncover the mafia involved in illegal gold trade He also advised jewellers to direct any people who came to them with dollars or other foreign currencies to moneychangers Chand also said the gold trade would be computerised and weekly speculative trading would end A jeweller who spoke to Profit on the condition of anonymity explained that this type of trading is done only on paper It is a sort of futures trading where one person agrees to buy gold at a specified rate at the end of the week from the jeweller

Invitation to S audi company to invest in corporate farming picking pace

for corporate, small holder and contract farming

Similarly, the government also has a plan to streamline the seed certification process to reduce the time required for certification

Pakistan looks to fast track the invitation process for corporate farming especially to Saudi companies to invest in the country’s agriculture sector Sources revealed that the Special Investment Facilitation Center (SIFC) has asked the Ministry of National Food Security and Research for an update on the invitation sent to Al Marai of Saudi Arabia to invest in farming in Pakistan Almarai Company is a Saudi multinational dairy company which is listed on the Tadawul stock exchange which is the principal securities exchange of Saudi Arabia The company boasts a massive 65% market share in the dairy industry It also specializes in food and beverage manufacturing and distribution It is a market leader in its domain in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait

Al Marai currently boasts large scores of farmlands in Argentina and the United States Earlier this year Al Marai was caught in a controversy as their farming of alfalfa hay was seen as a reason for water drought in Arizona, US, as reported by the Washington Post

The Ministry of National Food Security and Research has prepared short and medium term plans to bolster the agriculture sector Under the short term plans the Ministry of NFS&R will prepare Terms of Reference (TORs) for legal experts with regard to legislation

The government is also considering delisting dormant and underperforming seed companies The use of the Land Information and Management System (LIMS) office for the quantification of the impact of LIMS is also on the cards

Under the medium term, the government also has a plan to develop in-house quarantine facilities with detailed track-and-trace systems to facilitate export-oriented agriculture-specific Special Economic Zones (SEZ) /Export Processing Zones as reported previously by Profit Sources said that the Ministry of NFSR has also briefed the invitees about the farming potential on 50,000 acres in Cholistan They have also included the intentions of establishing corporate dairy, feedlot and camel farms in the letter of intent A food processing zone at Daraban D I Khan by Enertech Holding Company is also in the relayed plans

The government is also working to develop an irrigation network for water availability in the Cholistan area to cater to proposed corporate farming investment projects In a recent meeting, Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Sindh have also updated the SIFC about the cooperative farming models as well as horticulture vegetation and development of essential infrastructure in the suburbs of Karachi

In a major development, the Indian embassy has finally started processing visas for Pakistani journalists to travel to the neighbouring country to attend the ongoing International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023

The embassy on Tuesday started contacting the journalists willing to cover the showpiece event underway in India, and directed them to submit their passports at the earliest The much-awaited development came a day after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) once again expressed dismay over the delay in the issuance of Indian visas for Pakistani fans and journalists despite nearly a week into the World Cup 2023 The mega cricket event began on October 5 but the Indian authorities have not yet issued visas to Pakistanis for attending the World Cup, leaving them in uncertainty In a statement, the board said PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf had called upon Pakistan Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi and raised serious concerns and alarm over the delay in fans and journalists visas for India to cover the World Cup

Impor ted trucks held at Torkham border despite customs clearance

PESHAWAR

A Z I Z B U N E R I

In an unusual turn of events, over 50 imported trucks have been stranded at the Torkham border for the past 22 days, despite having cleared customs duty taxes This situation has resulted in heavy financial losses for traders and transporters involved in PakistanAfghanistan trade Customs clearing agent Amir Shanwari informed that these trucks part of bilateral trade with Afghanistan have undergone the necessary documentation and duty tax clearance process They are carrying various goods, including beans, lentils, alfalfa seeds, and cabbage Shanwari expressed his concern and urged the Plant Protection Department’s (PPD) high-ranking officials to upgrade the system at Torkham He specifically requested the inclusion of relevant codes for the imported items into the system Such an enhancement, he argued, would expedite the vehicle clearance process, alleviating the difficulties faced by traders and reducing financial losses Ma’az Ali from the PPD confirmed the absence of user codes for the items carried by the vehicles arriving from Afghanistan This issue has been conveyed to authorities at the Karachi headquarters but awaiting a response to address the matter Meanwhile, the drivers of the stranded vehicles continue to bear daily financial losses and are burdened with daily rental costs for trucks

ECO intra-regional trade needed to be enhanced: FM Jilani

ISLAMABAD

S TA F F R E P O R T

ISLAMABAD S TA F F R E P O R T

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday said the state must fulfil its responsibility in recovering missing Baloch students

IHC judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani presided over the hearing with advocate Imaan Mazari appearing before the court

In regards to implementing the recommendations of the Baloch

Enforced Disappearance Inquiry

Commission the court approved the federal government s request for respite in submitting the implementation report related to the recommendations

The court also directed the federal government to review the report on the forcibly disappeared Baloch students and issue a written

order concerning the commission s recommendations or the court will take action

The Additional Attorney General (AAG) in response stated that the federal government is indeed interested in the matter and there are multiple stakeholders involved

To which the judge reiterated that this case involves a violation of human rights and is a sensitive matter He stressed that the federal government has a responsibility to address the issue of missing students from Balochistan, while the courts are responsible for rendering decisions

“It is ultimately the federal government’s role as the executive to take action said the judge Justice Kayani also pointed out that the families of the missing persons are still searching for their

loved ones He referred to a previous detailed order issued by Justice Athar Minullah on this matter and reiterated that the state has an obligation to protect its citizens

H e u rg e d t h e f e d e r a l g o v e r nm e n t t o t a k e a p p r o p r i a t e a c t i o n a n d p r o d u c e t h e n e c e s s a r y d o cu m e n t s a n d r e c o r d s f o r t h e c o u r t ’s r e v i e w Mazari on the other hand inquired the government representatives about the actions taken against those who had been visiting educational institutions

Subsequently, the judge stated that the court would aid in resolving the issue and directed the federal government to provide a report and submit it in court for review

The hearing was adjourned until November 14 awaiting a report by the federal government

g WITH FORTNIGHTLY PRICE UPDATE ON HORIZON, OMCS HAVE RESORTED

PR OFIT D A N I YA L A H M A D

In an unexpected twist, Attock Petroleum, arguably Pakistan s premier vertically integrated petroleum firm, has taken the unusual step of offering discounts to its

“The final price does not matter for OMCs but the ex-refinery price does If the ex-refinery price does go down on Sunday then it will lead to losses, states Fahad Rauf Head of Research Ismail Iqbal Securities The latter is the final price that the Government sets for the fuel products, which influences the demand and supply of the market The distributor s margin is currently pegged at Rs 7 for both petrol and diesel

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Tuesday said that the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member states need to change the dynamic of their intra-regional trade and make determined efforts to support regional trade integration In a statement at the 27th ECO Council of Ministers meeting held at Shusha the cultural capital of Azerbaijan he said that ECO intra-regional trade was less than 8 percent of the region s aggregate trade and was in stark contrast to other regional groupings such as the European Union where intra-regional trade stood above 70 percent Jalil Abbas said that the ECO region comprising 8 million square kilometers and half a billion people representing 15% of the world population had a share of only about 2% in the global trade He recalled the ECO Vision 2025?, adopted during the 13thECO Summit in Islamabad which aptly provided them a roadmap “To seize the moment, we need to make concerted efforts to meet intended targets and anticipated goals as enunciated in the ECO Vision 2025 and set a realistic time frame for their completion to reap tangible benefits the foreign minister said He said the ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) was a landmark preferential trade arrangement aiming to lower tariffs in the region over an agreed time-frame In the long-term, the minister said it comprised the single most comprehensive ECO initiative to broaden intra-regional trade and socio-economic prosperity of their future generations

TO GIVING DISCOUNTS FOR PETROL AND DIESEL

make a Rs 5 profit

However, the more decisive factor in our current situation is the final price of the fuel that the Government determines “OMC losses are a common practice because OMCs are obliged to maintain a specific minimum stock level per OGRA regulations This stock helps OMCs reap profits when fuel prices soar and cushion losses when prices plummet Petrol pumps usually follow certain practices: during price hikes they restrict sales and set caps for customers Conversely during price drops they slash their stock levels drastically and pressure OMCs to deliver supplies promptly when prices decrease, elucidates Tariq Mehmood, CEO of OTO Let us suppose that an OMC imports a fuel product (petrol or diesel) for Rs 100 It can only sell it for the price set by the Government Therefore if the Government sets the price at Rs 105 then the OMC will

However, if the Government sets the price at Rs 95, then the OMC will incur a loss of Rs 5 Now, whilst the Government does not want to bankrupt OMCs it also does not want to relinquish its pricing powers Consequently it forces OMCs to get their timing right The current appreciation of the Pakistani Rupee and the global dip in petroleum products have sparked speculation that prices will drop When these prices do drop OMCs that bought a lot of petroleum products at the higher rates prior to the fortnightly update will have to sell them at the lower price Subsequently, without having done anything wrong, their sales revenues will be slashed and that is why Attock Petroleum is offering a discount “It’s part of their business They also get inventory gains when the prices moves up states Rauf

I H C s e e k s r e p o r t o n m i s s i n g B a l o c h s t u d e n t s f r o m fe d e r a l g ov t

‘OFFICIAL’ GOLD RATES HAVE FINALLY BEEN RELEASED AGAIN. WHAT TOOK SO LONG?

g DEVELOPMENT FOLLOWS WEEKS OF UNCERTAINTY, A CRACKDOWN, AND PEOPLE’S RELUCTANCE TO BUY OR SELL PRECIOUS COMMODITY AMID RUPEE APPRECIATION