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CHINA, PAKISTAN TO WORK TOGETHER TO SAFEGUARD REGIONAL, GLOBAL PEACE
Profit
Friday, 20 October, 2023 I 3 Rabi us Sani, 1445
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Rs 15.00 | Vol XIV No 110 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
KAKAR TELLS XI PAKISTAN STANDS g XI HOPES PAKISTAN GOVT WILL GUARANTEE SAFETY BY CHINA AND ‘TRUSTS IT BLINDLY’ OF CHINESE PERSONNEL WORKING IN PAKISTAN
Pakistan, China ink agreement for Gwadar Port and CPEC progress PROFIT
NEWS DESK
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BEIJING MIAN ABRAR
RIME Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Thursday met Chinese President Xi Jinping and hailed Pakistan’s partnership with its neighbour as ‘made in heaven’. “We will always stand with China and trust you blindly,” the premier told President Xi during a meeting on the sidelines of the third Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation. The premier is in China on a two-day visit to attend the forum which is being held amid the backdrop of ongoing celebrations marking 10 years of the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Chinese President Xi Jinping said China will work with Pakistan, which he said is an “iron-clad friend,” to make new contributions to safeguarding peace and stability and promoting prosperity in
the region and the world. Over the past decade, the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has yielded fruitful results and vigorously promoted Pakistan’s economic and social development, making the corridor a signature project of the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi said when meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar in Beijing. Both sides should strengthen cooperation in fields including industrial parks, agriculture and mining, new energy, promote the early implementation of major connectivity projects and achieve practical results, Xi said, adding that he welcomes more Pakistani high-quality agricultural products to be exported to China. He expressed hope that the Pakistani side will guarantee the safety of Chinese organizations and personnel in Pakistan. China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Pakistan within the framework
PLRA reports Rs15b collection in Q1 of FY 2023-24 PROFIT
SHAHAB OMER
The Punjab Land Records Authority (PLRA) has reported a collection of approximately Rs.15 billion during the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24. This significant revenue was primarily attributed to the issuance of land documents (Fard) and mutation services provided to 900,000 citizens. In an exclusive interview with Profit, a PLRA spokesperson detailed the financial breakdown. The provincial government’s treasury saw an influx of around Rs. 4 billion. Concurrently, the PLRA’s service charges amounted to an impressive Rs. 800 million. With an aim to optimize land-related services, the PLRA has been diligently expanding its network of land record centers. Data spanning from July to September 2023 reveals that 250,000 individuals utilized mutation services, while another 600,000 availed land document issuance services. This led to earnings of Rs. 360 million from mutations and a marginally higher, Rs. 400 million, from document issuances. In line with its reformative strategies, the PLRA successfully collected Rs. 1.2 billion for the Local Government Tax (TTIP) and a substantial Rs. 9 billion on behalf of the Federal Government (FBR). To elevate user experience, the PLRA has also introduced e-registration for registries, offering a more streamlined process for the public. Additionally, efforts are underway to digitize urban land records, and to achieve an International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) certification. This would ensure top-tier land record services for the community. Saira Umar, the Director General of PLRA, recently emphasized the organization’s shift towards digitalization. She reiterated the authority’s dedication to modernizing the land administration system to meet international benchmarks. Umar further highlighted the integral role of advanced technology and software in propelling the PLRA’s objectives.
Pakistan and China have entered into a new advisory agreement to expedite the development of Gwadar Port, a pivotal element of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that has faced significant delays. This accord was one of 20 agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) inked between the two nations. Under this agreement, two Chinese state institutes will provide technical, intellectual, and consultation support to enhance the efficiency and speed of Gwadar Port’s development. Additionally, an addendum to the Mainline-I project of CPEC aims to reduce its scope and design, significantly cutting the construction costs from $6.7 billion. Gwadar Port considered the linchpin and gateway to CPEC, has faced numerous challenges, including issues related to infrastructure development and industrial zone utilization. During the first decade of CPEC, Pakistan received $25 billion in investment, falling of the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, promote regional solidarity and cooperation, and safeguard the legitimate interests of developing countries, he added. A day earlier, the two countries had decided to expand the scope of the multibillion-dollar infrastructure project, which will now diversify to areas like in-
short of the initially announced $62 billion due, in part, to a failure to establish Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Despite being fully capable of handling general cargo and achieving full operational capacity, Gwadar Port’s utilization remained low during the initial ten years of CPEC. Numerous projects in Gwadar, encompassing major and small initiatives, have encountered delays, resulting in issues related to the provision of essential services like water and electricity. To address these challenges, Pakistan and China have signed multiple agreements and MoUs that encompass areas like connectivity, food security, research, media exchanges, space cooperation, urban sustainable development, capacity building, mineral development, industrial cooperation, climate change, and vaccine development. One of the key objectives is the faster development of Gwadar Port, with Chinese state institutes providing technical expertise. There is also an emphasis on enhancing cooperation in the mineral sector, including geological and mineral surveys and development.
dustrial development, ICT, livelihood projects, mining and mineral exploration, and agriculture. During his meeting with President Xi today, PM Kakar expressed Pakistan’s “deep commitment” to China. He described the ties between the two countries as “sweeter than honey” and an “iron-clad brotherhood”.
SC directs Finance Ministry to furnish opinion on retired CJP’s electricity bill PROFIT
SHAHZAD PARACHA
The Top court has asked the Ministry of Finance to furnish opinion regarding reimbursement of the cost of the consumed units of Electricity adjusted through net metering (solar system) of retired Chief Justice of Pakistan bill. Sources said that former CJP Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali has written a letter to SC regarding availing of facility under paragraph 25(I)(c)-(Facilities to retired Judges). Former CJP has installed, from his own pocket, a 15 KV solar system at his residence, therefore, in his bills the cost of the electricity units consumed at his residence are being adjusted through net metering (solar system) and the cost to be paid by him has been shown as “PAYMENT NOT REQUIRED”. Paragraph 25 (1) (c) of the Supreme Court Judges (Leave, Pension and Privileges) Order 1997 states that every former Chief Justice of Pakistan and Judge of this Court is entitled to claim reimbursement of 2000 units of electricity per month. In addition, a Judge on retirement, and after his death, his widow, shall be entitled 25 HM of Gas per month and free supply of water. The retired CJP in its letter
submitted that a bare reading of the provision from the Supreme Court Judges (Leaves, Pensions and Privileges) Order, 1997 makes it abundantly clear that each month a judge of the Supreme Court will be entitled to a maximum of 2000 (two thousand) units of electricity on actual consumption basis. However, no specific mode of payment by the Judge is prescribed in the paragraph (ibid). In the present case, following the policy of austerity, more than three years ago former CJP installed a 15 KV solar system at his residence to meet the challenges of skyrocketing electricity consumption charges from KElectric, the suppliers. The immediate benefit of this working has been that each year during many months towards payment of electricity consumption charges a substantial sum is paid by way of adjustment of electricity units sold to K-Electric by the Consumer through net metering on grid supply. Till recently, he was not aware, rather in dark, that the office is misinterpreting the above provision of the 1997 order in the payment of electricity consumption charges of 2000 units or less as consumed per entitlement, by the Consumer. This fact came to the knowledge when vide letter dated 31.05.2023, a cheque for payment
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of electricity dues was received showing an amount of electricity consumption charges from January to April 2023 (four months) at only Rs 6,608 as against the actual sum paid through adjustment of units and cash to Rs 78,935 when further probed, it came to light that this erroneous practice is being followed by the office for more than 3 years causing heavy financial loss in aggregate to lakhs of rupee. It is pertinent to mention that the monthly electricity bills issued by K-Electric contain all details about net-metering of on grid supply by the Consumer and adjustment of such due payment towards electricity consumption charge as per their policy in vogue, therefore, for this purpose no further documentation is required. It may also be mentioned here that payment of electricity bills to the concerned department of KElectric is sole responsibility of the Consumer and reimbursement of such consumption charges, as per entitlement is duty of the office as per Presidential Order 1997. The former CJP directed SC to take care of all earlier electricity bills of the undersigned which may be rechecked in line with the above interpretation and accordingly due sums may be paid. Moreover, in future this practice shall be followed, the retired CJP asked the top court.
CJP Isa hints at taking up pleas on election, military court trials ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Thursday hinted that the Supreme Court may take up the petitions seeking timely elections and challenging the trial of civilians in military courts soon. The CJP passed the remarks while discussing the adjournment of a case related to Pak Arab Refinery’s employees when the lawyers for the petitioners asked the top judge to adjourn the hearing for 15 days. “Cases seeking timely general elections and trial of civilians in military courts will be fixed soon. Difficult cases are about to come in the Supreme Court and it will be tough to schedule other cases [during this period],” remarked CJP Isa. He further stated that they would fix the employees’ case after two months. UNCERTAINTY AROUND POLLS: The Shehbaz Sharif-led government dissolved the National Assembly on August 9, while Sindh and Balochistan assemblies were also prematurely dissolved to allow the electoral authority to hold elections in the country within 90 days. Had the assemblies been dissolved on time, the electoral body was constitutionally bound to hold polls in 60 days. However, the ECP decided against holding polls within the stipulated time as the Council of Common Interest (CCI), days before the dissolution of the assemblies, approved the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023. The CCI approval made it mandatory for the commission to hold elections following fresh delimitations in light of the results of the census. Subsequently, on August 17, the ECP announced the schedule of new delimitations to be carried out as per the new census approved by the CCI. But in September, the commission announced that general elections in the country would take place in the last week of January 2024. However, before the announcement, multiple petitions were filed in the Supreme Court against the delay in polls. Among the petitioners are the Supreme Court Bar Association, Jamaat-e-Islami and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). All three petitioners have been asking the apex court to ensure that polls are held within 90 days. These petitions were filed during the tenure of former chief justice Umar Ata Bandial, however, they were not fixed for a hearing. MILITARY COURT TRIALS: The other petition that CJP Isa hinted about is related to the trial of civilians in military courts who were arrested in connection with attacks on army installations during the May 9 protests. In response to the move, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, former chief justice Jawwad S Khawaja, lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, and five civil society members, including Piler Executive Director Karamat Ali, requested the apex court to declare the military trials “unconstitutional”. The initial hearings were marred by objections on the bench formation and recusals by the judges. Finally, a six-member bench comprising then CJP Bandial, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, and Justice Ayesha Malik heard the petitions. It had held multiple hearings of the case but had not issued a verdict. In the last hearing, the case was adjourned indefinitely after Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan assured the CJP that the military trials would not proceed without informing the apex court.
Nawaz gets protective bail in Avenfield, Al-Azizia references till Oct 24 ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
The Islamabad High Court on Thursday accepted PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s plea, granting him protective bail till Oct 24 in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia cases. It comes before the former premier’s impending arrival on Oct 21. His planned return to Pakistan would be after more than four years of self-imposed exile. In July 2018, ousted Nawaz was handed 10 years in jail in the Avenfield property corruption reference for owning assets beyond known income and one year for not cooperating with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which was to be served concurrently. The Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference pertains to the case in which he was sentenced to seven years in jail and then taken to Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. He was also fined Rs1.5 billion and US$25 million respectively in the case. A day ago, PML-N lawyers had moved the IHC seeking protective bail for
Nawaz in these two cases, with NAB Special Prosecutor Afzal Qureshi saying that the accountability watchdog did not object to pleas moved by the elder Nawaz Sharif. Nawaz’s counsels, including former law minister Azam Nazir Tarar and Amjad Pervaiz, appeared before the court while NAB
prosecutors Rana Maqsood, Qureshi and Naeem Sanghera were also present. PERPETUAL ARREST WARRANTS IN TOSHAKHANA REFERENCE: Separately, an Islamabad accountability court suspended perpetual arrest warrants issued against Nawaz in 2020 in the Toshakhana reference.
The case accused him, former president Asif Ali Zardari and ex-prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani of receiving luxury vehicles and gifts from the Toshakhana — a department that stores gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats and officials by heads of other governments, states, and
foreign dignitaries. In June 2020, an accountability court issued non-bailable arrest warrants against the former premier in the case. Months later, Nawaz challenged the warrants in the IHC but withdrew the petition days later.
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Criminal granted foreign travel, bail upon return unprecedented: PBC
PTI dubs grant of bail to convicted Nawaz ‘murder of justice, law’
ISLAMABAD: Executive Chairman Committee Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Hasan Raza Pasha on Thursday raised concerns about the unusual practice of allowing criminals to travel abroad and secure bail upon their return. Speaking to a private TV channel, he questioned whether common criminals should be permitted to leave the country and whether they should be granted protective bail, emphasizing that such a scenario is unprecedented. Pasha pointed to the case of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was granted permission by the Lahore High Court to travel abroad for medical treatment for a period of four months. However, Nawaz Sharif is now required to surrender before the court, as his security bail application has been submitted on his behalf. STAFF REPORT
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) outright rejected the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and the Accountability Court’s acceptance of pleas granting protective bail to the fugitive, liar and convicted PML-N supremo in the country’s biggest graft cases by trampling the constitution and laws. PTI spokesperson termed the courts’ decision of grating protective bail to the certified corrupt Nawaz Sharif as the ‘darkest day’ in the country’s judicial history and ‘murder of justice and law’. He lamented that the national criminal, who was convicted by the Supreme Court and the trial court but fled from the prison by lying to the nation of being unwell, was granted protective bail. PTI spokesperson reminded that the nation fought a long and hard fight for the judicial independence but the same judiciary undermined the law and justice through their own flawed and compromised decisions. STAFF REPORT CONTINUED ON PAGE 03
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LHC GIVES POLICE ‘FINAL DEADLINE’ FOR RECOVERY OF SH RASHID
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Friday, 20 October, 2023 | ISLAMABAD
NEWS
RAWALPINDI
StaFF report
HE Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi bench on Thursday issued a ‘final deadline’ for the recovery of Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, ordering the police to recover former federal interior minister till October 26. Awami Muslim League chief and PTI ally Sheikh Rashid has being missing since arrested from his residence in Rawalpindi on September 17 and there is no clue about his whereabouts, according to his lawyer Sardar Abdul Razzak Khan. “Men in plainclothes arrested Sheikh Rashid from his residence,” the lawyer had said, claiming that the former interior minister had been moved to an “undisclosed
KSE-100 index reclaims 50,000 level after six years
location”. The next day on Sep 18 Sh Rashid’s nephew had filed a petition in LHC’s same bench seeking direction to the police to produce his uncle, a brother and two servants. On Sep 21, the Evacuee Trust Property Board had sealed Lal Haveli – the political office and public secretariat of Rashid Ahmed – after the board chairman cancelled the registry of the building. The LHC on Sep 22 summoned Rawalpindi Regional Police Officer (RPO) Syed Khurram Ali on September 26 regarding the former lawmaker’s arrest. During the hearing, Additional Attorney General Malik Siddique Awan had presented City Police Officer (CPO) Khalid Hamdani’s report to the court which stated that Rashid was neither in their custody nor had he been arrested by the Rawalpindi police.
g Experts attribute market
gains to satisfactory financial results reported by companies for first quarter of current fiscal year PROFIT
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Bulls made a strong return to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index surging by 934 points, closing above the 50,000 level for the first time in six years. The last time the KSE100 closed above the 50,000 mark was on May 31, 2017. The market witnessed robust buying across various sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, and oil marketing companies (OMCs), all trading in the green. The positive trend follows a slight dip in the KSE-100 Index on the previous day, where it closed nearly 100 points lower at 49,431.48 points, as investors opted to book profits in a somewhat volatile session. Several factors contributed to the recent market surge. One key element was the strengthening of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar, which was observed trading at around 278 levels in the interbank market. This currency ppreciation played a role in boosting investor confidence. Furthermore, experts attributed the market gains to the satisfactory financial results reported by companies for the first quarter of the current fiscal year. These positive earnings reports have encouraged investors and contributed to the upbeat sentiment. Notably, Pakistan’s trade deficit for the month of September saw a significant improvement, standing at $1.518 billion compared to a deficit of $2.856 billion in the same month the previous year. This marks a nearly 47 percent year-on-year improvement, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. PKR shows resilience against USD in both interbank and open markets
As per SBP data, the Pakistani rupee settled at 278.81, marking an increase of Rs1.48 compared to the previous trading session PROFIT
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After depreciating for two days, the Pakistani rupee exhibited recovery in both the inter-bank and open markets on Thursday, appreciating by 0.53% against the US dollar at the closing of trading session. As per data shared by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), local unit closed trading at 278.81, marking an increase of Rs1.48 compared to the previous session. The Pakistani rupee also displayed positive trend in the open market against the greenback, with currency dealers quoting it at 279 for selling and 276 for buying. This positive movement follows a 1.16% depreciation experienced by the rupee on Wednesday when it settled at 280.29 in interbank.The recent fluctuation comes after a remarkable 28-day winning streak for the Pakistani currency, which concluded on October 17 with a marginal 0.07% devaluation. According to a report by Profit, the rupee had fallen to a record low of PKR 307.09 per dollar on September 5. But following a crackdown by agencies on illegal foreign exchange trading and structural reforms introduced by the central bank, the rupee had recovered every day in the interbank market since then. It had gained PKR 30.26 or 9.85% prior to today’s depreciation.
The report had added that the case fell under the Islamabad police’s jurisdiction. On Sep 26, while Rashid’s lawyer had argued before the court that his client was arrested by the Rawalpindi police, the latter denied having the politician in their custody. The court had then directed the police to locate the AML chief’s whereabouts and asked the law enforcement agency to make an all-out effort for his recovery. On Oct 2, the same bench had warned that a case would be registered against police officers if the former interior minister was not produced within one week. Later on Oct 11, the LHC’s Pindi bench had ordered the registration of a case against the top police officers of the garrison city over their failure to trace the whereabouts of Rashid. A one-judge bench headed by Justice
KASUR
Civil lines police on Thursday claimed to have arrested the former police inspector Abid Boxer from Kasur. According to the police statement, several cases have been registered against former police officer Abid Boxer in three different police stations. Abid Boxer was booked in several cases including terrorism, extortion, money
arrest.” He requested the court for more time. “We are trying, give us time and we will recover him.” Accepting the request, Justice Khan again ordered the police authorities to produce the former security czar till the next hearing after a week on Oct 26.
New CEO of U Microfinance Bank (U Bank) announced g Mohamed Essa Al Taheri replaces Kabeer Naqvi as the acting President and CEO of U Bank
KARACHI
MariaM UMar Farooq
In a surprising turn of events, on October 18, it was announced that Kabeer Naqvi, CEO of U Microfinance Bank (U Bank) had resigned. The next day on October 19, according to a press release by the bank, Mohamed Essa Al Taheri was announced as the acting President and CEO of U Bank. Al Taheri has been associated with U Bank as a member of the Board of Directors and worked with e& Group as the Group EVP Financial Policies and Systems. He holds a master’s degree in International Business from the University of Wollongong, Dubai, and brings over 20 years of professional experience from working with HSBC Bank, Dubai Commercial Bank, and the Development Board of Dubai Government. The appointment of Essa Al Taheri comes soon after the resignation of Kabeer Naqvi, who earlier held the position of President and CEO of U Bank. He has been associated with U Bank since 2015. According to a source in the microfinance industry, Naqvi was forced to resign. According to multiple sources, U Bank’s board of directors had also asked the upper management to resign as well, due to concerns over the CEO’s aggressive expansion strategy and alleged artificial growth tactics. However, a source privy to the industry, disclosed that the resignations were later retracted on the announcement of the new management. According to multiple sources, this decision comes as a result of
mounting doubts about the bank’s performance and adherence to industry standards. When Profit contacted Naqvi for a comment, he said he “was leaving on his own accord” and that he “will be joining his family in Chicago.” According to sources contacted in the parent company PTCL, “Forced is a strong word. Maybe both parties thought it is best.” Profit reached out to Misbah Naqvi, a member of the board of directors but she declined to comment. Profit also reached out to employees in higher management but received no response. DELAY IN PUBLICATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The latest period for which the financial statements of U Bank are available is the first quarter of the calendar year 2023. The bank made a profit of around Rs36 crore in the first quarter of 2023. Following this report, no financial statement have been released. Usually, banks release first-quarter reports of January to March in late April or early May, half-yearly reports of January to June in late August or early September and third-quarter reports of July to September in late October or early November. Annual reports are usually released three months after the accounting year’s end, as the reports need to be audited which takes some time. Sometimes, banks do not release their reports if there have been losses. In fact, U Bank has a history of delaying releasing financial statements. The 2023’s first-quarter reports were released in July. The annual report 2017 was released in June 2018, six months after the accounting year ended. The third
quarter report for 2022 was released in November, a little over the normal timeframe. Since the microfinance bank has not released the reports for the second quarter of 2023, and now it is time to release the third quarter’s report, there is speculation amongst the microfinance industry that the bank has experienced significant losses. According to a source in the microfinance banking sector, U bank’s financials presented an overly optimistic picture of the company’s performance. One example, as quoted by a source privy to the matter, was regarding the implementation of IFRS-9. The bank classified a significant portion of its Covid-era rescheduled portfolio under stage one of the expected credit loss model which implies that there was no significant decline in credit quality. However, according to source, the classification was erroneous as the recoverability of these loans was contentious and the management was aware of the fact. U BANK’S STRATEGY Unlike other big telecom-based banks (Telenor microfinance Microfinance Bank and Mobilink Microfinance Bank) that had set their sights on branchless banking, U Bank took a more conventional brick-andmortar strategy. Naqvi had been spearheading an ambitious campaign to open new branches in urban cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. In a previous interview with Profit in June 2023, Naqvi said, “We did not try to turn it into a telecom company. We said that this is a bank, and its mission is microfinance. Just
Sadapay brings Apple Pay to Pakistan LAHORE
Saneela Jawad
Sadapay has announced that it has integrated with Apple Pay for invoicing with freelancers. This allows iPhone users globally to easily and quickly pay freelancers in Pakistan, eliminating the need for clients to go through traditional payment platforms. Additionally, the company stated that SadaBiz will soon start accepting payments via Google Pay, which has also gained significant popularity on a global scale. This move by SadaPay addresses a longstanding void left by international payment companies, which have historically overlooked the Pakistani market. The announcement was made by SadaPay’s Founder and CEO Brandon Timinsky last week during the SadaSummit held at COLABS Lahore. The event focused on the art of mastering freelance in Pakistan, a concept that has grown widely in the last few years. What does Apple Pay and Google Pay coming to Pakistan mean for freelancers? The introduction of this financial service in Pakistan aimed at freelancers makes it easier for them to receive payments. It allows anyone worldwide to send payments to freelancers through a simple Apple Pay link. Clients can simply click on a payment link, enter their
information, and complete the transaction in a matter of seconds. T Apple Pay and Google Pay together offer a significant advantage due to their massive user bases, with Apple Pay being four times larger than PayPal. This means that freelancers in Pakistan can potentially connect with 700 million clients worldwide. The CEO said that by using SadaPay and bypassing traditional freelancing platforms, freelancers can save a significant amount of money on platform fees, which can often range from 10% to 30%. In the past year, Apple Pay achieved a remarkable $6 trillion in payment volume, with a user base of 550 million, surpassing PayPal, which recorded $1.4 trillion in payments from 450 million users. Notably, PayPal saw an 8% decrease, whereas Apple Pay demonstrated an impressive 52% year-over-year growth. The potential for Apple Pay’s continued expansion is substantial, as there are roughly two billion iPhones
Abid Boxer arrested from Kasur StaFF report
Sadaqat Ali Khan resumed hearing the case today. RPO Khurram Ali again submitted a report to the court regarding Rashid’s alleged arrest. “Sheikh Rashid Ahmed is not in police custody,” he said. “CPO Khalid Hamdani and SSP Faisal Salem are not involved in his
laundering, and ransom. The police handed him over to the investigation wing for further investigation of the cases registered against him. The police produced the ex-police officer Abid boxer in Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC). The judge Abhar Gul Khan after hearing the case, approve a seven day physical remand of the ex-police inspector. Earlier this week, the Lahore Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) claimed that
they found extortion and money laundering evidence against former inspector Abid Boxer. The Lahore CIA investigators made proress on the probe against the exinspector Abid Boxer. During the initial investigation, it emerged that the former cop owned plazas and flats worth billions, whereas, he was also involved in extortion and money laundering. The CIA said that Abid demanded extortion from different
globally equipped to utilize this service. Considering the prolonged discussions about bringing PayPal to Pakistan without fruition, the integration of Apple Pay emerges as a significant development. It now enables freelancers to seamlessly accept payments from a vast clientele base, totalling 700 million people worldwide, through the connection to both Apple Pay and Google Pay. An earlier report by Profit stated that freelancers in Pakistan earned around $400 million in both 2021 and in 2022. This accounts for about 15% of Pakistan’s total $2.6 billion ICT (information-communicationtechnology) exports. An Oxford Internet Institute (OII) report ranks Pakistan 4th in the global digital gig marketplace, with about 8% of the total freelance work in 2017. Pakistan stands at 4th position due to a rising number of qualified graduates who are working by freelancing their expertise.
housing societies in Islamabad and Lahore and the investigators also found evidence against him. Additionally, Abid’s bank account was also used for money laundering which was allegedly committed through Farooq Dar. The CIA also collected records of bank transactions. The former cop was using a SIM card registered with his wife’s credentials. The CIA Iqbal Town officials also acquired Abid Boxer’s mobile data. The scope of investigation against the ex-inspector was expanded by the Lahore police and more arrests are likely to be made in the coming days.
like a bank, its balance sheet will grow. It will have liquidity, strong cash reserves, a treasury function, Islamic banking, digital banking, and even conventional microfinance. It will also have an urban unit responsible for deposit mobilisation. If all these elements are in place, (only then) will this institution thrive and last for the next hundred years”. These new branches were essentially to bring in lowcost deposits. The deposits did increase but the bank mostly attracted high-cost deposits from other banks and firms. These deposits are not sticky. Moreover, in 2022, U Bank’s balance sheet increased by three times. U Bank used its deposits to purchase money market mutual funds (MMFs) or government securities (T-bills). Then, it pledged those very PIBs to the same banks or even a third-party bank, allowing U Bank to borrow additional funds through repurchase agreements with a small margin. With the borrowed money in hand, U Bank repeated the process of purchasing more Tbills. This cycle continued, spinning a web of financial manoeuvring so much so that while the size of assets increased from Rs 10,458 crore in 2021 to Rs 22,130 crore in 2022, net assets have declined from Rs 749 crore in 2021 to around Rs 709 crore in 2022, a decrease of Rs 40 crore. In other words, it became a highly leveraged bank, as it had accumulated a lot of government securities. In case of change in interest rates, the bank could have incurred mark to market loss. According to a source, the board had concerns over the aggressive expansion strategy and alleged artificial growth tactics.
Center directs ministries, provinces to finalise formula of 50% cost-sharing for devolved functions
PROFIT
Monitoring deSk
The interim government in the center has issued directives to ministries and provinces to collaborate on finalizing a proposal for sharing expenses related to devolved functions, including programs such as BISP, the Higher Education Commission (HEC), and power subsidies. As per a report by BR, this decision was reached during a recent meeting of the Apex Council of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), which included representatives from civil and military leadership. It is now mandatory for the provinces to share 50 percent of the total cost of projects in the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) as per directives of the SIFC. The federal government provides over Rs 1 trillion in annual subsidies to the power sector and provinces are encouraged to contribute their share to this subsidy program. The Finance Division will work on the National Finance Commission (NFC) award in line with the recent census results, ensuring transparent provincial funding with specific conditions. Sponsoring ministries and provinces are urged to adhere to policy guidelines, and the Ministry of Planning emphasizes the need for cost-sharing by provincial governments to sustain provincial projects. Under the new policy, Federal/PSDP financing will cover capital investments, projects in underprivileged areas, and the original project costs, with any subsequent changes becoming the responsibility of provincial governments. Projects following the federal government’s financing policy will require approval from the relevant decision-making bodies. However, some provinces are hesitant to share 50 percent of the subsidy on urea, creating a point of contention with the federal government.
CPEC GENERATED 236,000 JOBS IN PAKISTAN, A GLIMPSE OF 10-YEAR-OLD BRI Friday, 20 October, 2023 | ISLAMABAD
NEWS
BEIJING
Staff RepoRt
Data from the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan shows that till the end of 2022, CPEC has generated a total of 236,000 jobs in Pakistan, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Thursday. It has been a decade since China unveiled the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Ten years on, what has the mega project brought to the people of the countries along the BRI route, and what can we expect from BRI in the days to come? Pakistanis working on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a massive project under BRI to capitalize on Pakistan’s geographical importance and improve Pakistan’s socio-economic conditions, shared their views. Pakistan is a country facing a severe power shortage. According to Ktrade
Research, the percentage of the population in Pakistan that has access to electricity in 18 years increased by only 1.1 ppts. However, 9,740MW in capacity created by CPEC had fueled the number rose by 3.8 ppts in just 4 years. CPEC power plants are providing cheaper electricity by utilizing coal reserves, which reduced Pakistan’s oil and gas bill burden. Inside the Thar Block-1 Integrated Coal Mine Power Project, an open-pit coal mine with an annual lignite output of 7.8 million tons and a total capacity of 1,320MW, is providing the most cost-effective energy to millions of Pakistani households. Gul Hassan, a mining engineer with Sino Sindh Resources (Pvt.) Ltd. (SSRL), told China Economic Net (CEN), “The Thar Block-1 project has been instrumental in transforming the lives of people in Thar.” Furthermore, renewable energy projects of
water, wind, etc. under CPEC are also optimizing the country’s energy structure. Peerzada Zain ul Abideen, O&M manager of PowerChina HDEC Engineering Company Limited Pakistan, proudly said that the 12 projects in Jhimpir of his company have generated 1888.29 GWh of electricity so far. In Gharo, Sindh, Muhammad Saleem Munshi, Chief Financial Officer of Hydrochina Dawood Power (Pvt) Limited told CEN that the wind speed in the area is up to 7 meters per second. If properly developed, it can meet 5%-10% of the nation’s power demand. Data from the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan shows that till the end of 2022, CPEC has generated a total of 236,000 jobs in Pakistan. Azim ul Haq is a HSE Engineer working at the 1263MW Punjab Power Plant in Jhang to ensure the project personnel’s safety and health standards are met. “Earnings from this job provide comfortable
living for my families. Although living away from family and my newborn daughter is difficult, given that the power project’s location is far from my home town, the company provides me with all kinds of benefits and allows me to take vacations as needed,” he said. “Locals find learning and working opportunities here. Most of the engineers, managers, and workers are from nearby areas”, Peerzada Zain ul Abideen said, adding, “I myself have also been offered a job that my family and friends are proud of and a good salary”. Muhammad Waqas, Director Finance of the UEP 100MW wind farm in Jhimpir said the most worthwhile thing he ever did was to choose wind power as his career while he also holds certificates in computer programming, teaching, and accountant. “I can learn state-of-the-art technologies of one of the most promising sectors. Chinese
Six months on, Suzuki’s still reeling from disastrous first quarter results CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE
This is the highest contribution these two have ever made in relative terms. What does this imply? The rest of Suzuki’s lineup — the Wagon-R, the Cultus, the Bolan, and the Ravi — have been virtually obliterated. The substantial middle ground of sales that Suzuki achieved between its price points has evaporated, and Suzuki has undoubtedly felt the impact. While a greater number of customers on the more expensive end buying their Swift and motorcycles might have cushioned it against inflationary shocks to buying, these buyers are minuscule compared to the buyers for the aforementioned middle-ground vehicles. Similarly, while the Alto has been Suzuki’s cash cow for several years now, such high reliance on the Alto leaves Suzuki vulnerable to future inflationary waves. Despite all this, the more pressing issue plaguing Suzuki for the entirety of
the year has been the supply-side constraints and the capital controls that precipitated them. SUPPLY SIDE BOTTLENECKS, AND CAPITAL CONTROLS Beyond the dwindling demand for Suzuki’s vehicles, the company found itself ensnared in a predicament where it couldn’t sell as many vehicles as it would have liked this year. Suzuki was simply hamstrung, unable to import the necessary raw materials needed to keep the wheels of production turning. As a result, the company was hit by over ten plant shutdowns, thereby imposing self-inflicted bottlenecks on its sales capacity. Now, let’s dissect the most critical reason why Suzuki finds itself in its current quagmire: its losses in the first quarter of the year. Suzuki kicked off 2023 on a grim note, bleeding a loss of Rs 12.9 billion from January to March. The lion’s share of this loss was attributable to the staggering Rs 12.8
Govt to start exploring raw materials for fertilisers, batteries CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE
The PCSIR and GSP will also be working towards establishing a business proposal and attracting investments for this purpose. In the weeks ahead, the Ministry of Science and Technology has scheduled further meetings to deliberate on these plans. The key points of discussion in these forthcoming meetings will include: the current status of phosphate and lithium ore reserves in the country, strategies for responsible extraction and utilisation, regulatory and policy framework updates, investment and collaboration opportunities and stakeholder concerns and recommendations.
Senior jurist SM Zafar passes away at age of 93 LAHORE
Staff RepoRt
Senior Pakistani jurist and former Senator Syed Muhammad Zafar, popularly known as SM Zafar, passed away at the age of 93, his family members in Lahore confirmed on Thursday. The family revealed that the legal expert had been ailing for a long time. Also known as one of the most prominent Pakistani human rights activist and noted lawyer, Zafar was the father of Barrister Ali Zafar — a top leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — and served as the federal minister of Law and Justice from 1965 to 1969. The veteran jurist was born in Burma on December 6, 1930, and began his career as a lawyer in the 1950s after graduating from University Law College. After retiring from the government in 1968, he started his own law practice and hung the boots as an active law practitioner in 2014. His landmark legal contributions include the acquittal of Pakistani Scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, the discussion and draft of the 1973 Constitution, and participation in the drafting of the 18th constitutional amendment. The veteran lawyer had also served as a senator as part of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) before announcing his retirement from politics in 2018.
billion paid out as cost of financing. What led to this astronomical cost of finance? In addition to the costs associated with borrowing, Suzuki’s cost of finance includes costs related to mark-up on late delivery, demurrage and detention charges, and exchange losses. “The way this business operates is that you procure your inputs from your supplier on credit terms for anywhere between three to four months,” Farooq elucidates. He further adds, “So, what transpired is that they ordered goods, manufactured a car and sold it. Yet, when they tried to remit payment to their overseas supplier in the corresponding foreign currencies, they found themselves barred from doing so. This restriction was a direct consequence of Pakistan’s precarious foreign exchange reserves at the time. Consequently their payable remained in limbo, and when they finally had the opportunity to make the payment, they had to disburse a
higher amount due to the Rupee’s depreciation over that specific time period.” In essence, exchange losses are what Suzuki is still wrestling with. Now, Suzuki is not an anomaly. The majority of Pakistan’s companies suffered exchange losses over the past year due to the Government of Pakistan’s imposition of capital controls and foreign exchange rationing. Suzuki just happens to be an extreme case. BEYOND THE FINANCIALS Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. Alongside the release of their financials, Suzuki made another significant announcement: their board has decided to push through the decision to delist the company from the Pakistan Stock Exchange. What does all of this mean? More importantly, what’s led them to do this? Profit has covered this matter in a separate article on our website, and Pakistan Today for those interested.
China, Pakistan to work together to safeguard regional, global peace CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
“The kind of global challenges that many nations are facing today, they need answers — deep and long-term answers. And the Belt and Road Initiative is an answer to all those questions,” Kakar said. He stated that the path of modernisation adopted by China for the past many years was a lesson for Pakistan on how a country could transform the lives of millions of people. Kakar reiterated that Pakistan would stand steadfast with China and there was no “dissenting view” in this regard. “I reiterate that Pakistan will not allow anything to undermine our strategic partnership and we actually mean that. We will continue to strengthen, realise and articulate in
our actions […] we will not just show commitment through words but also through action,” he said. The Chinese should be assured that Pakistan would not “take back an inch” in its relationship with China, the PM vowed. Kakar said Pakistan firmly adheres to the oneChina principle and stands firmly with China on issues concerning its core interests. Pakistan will always be a credible and reliable friend of China and will never allow any force to undermine Pakistan-China friendship, he said. He said Pakistan is willing to work closely with China to promote the high-quality development of the CPEC. The government of Pakistan will do its utmost to safeguard the security and interests of Chinese citizens and organizations in Pakistan,
he added. Separately, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kakar said: “President Xi reassured that China would continue supporting Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and development, and would continue supporting us in harnessing our geoeconomic potential and as a hub of regional trade and economics, which is our shared vision”. He added that the Chinese President had also accepted his invitation to visit Pakistan at the earliest. PM seeks more Chinese investment: Earlier in the day, Kakar also met a number of Chinese corporate executives. During the meetings, the premier encouraged Chinese firms to explore the “vast investment potential in Pakistan, especially in information technology, agriculture, renewable energy, textile, digital economy and the mining sector”.
PTI dubs grant of bail to convicted Nawaz ‘murder of justice, law’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01 He said that the nation pinned high hopes with the judiciary to protect the supremacy of the Constitution and the law, however the presence of Justice Munir like people of ‘doctrine of necessity’ in the ranks of the judiciary, were working tirelessly to perpetuate the “doctrine of lawlessness” in the country. PTI spokesperson lamented that a part of the judiciary was playing a role of an open facilitator in the ongoing worst political engineering in the country and robbing the people of their right to vote in broad daylight, besides subjecting the politics to the will of the non-political circles through unconstitutional, undemocratic and immoral tactics. PTI spokesperson said that the state was striking a very expensive deal by trampling the law and justice system of the country for removing unlawfully all hurdles to ensure smooth arrival of the national criminal who was deprived of moral character, vision and public support altogether. He said that all unconstitutional and unlawful tactics from his homecoming under judicial refuge, holding a public meeting in Minar Pakistan under the state patronage, delaying polls beyond the constitutional timeframe of 90-day on the aspirations of the state and providing him an electoral field of his choice were badly exposed in front of the nation. He said that the ongoing
discriminatory and unjust judicial treatment against PTI Chairman Imran Khan, attempts to pull PTI out from political arena through the state coercion and the failure of the judiciary in protecting the basic constitutional and legal rights of PTI workers badly dented the nation’s confidence in the justice system. PTI spokesperson pointed out that such disparities in delivery of justice undermined the credibility of the judiciary and the legal system, besides it was further eroding rule of law in Pakistan. He reminded that those who were hell-bent to bring this cowardice and convicted person back home under the judicial shelter should bear in mind that the nation would not accept him come what may. PTI spokesperson stated that those who made plans to bury the democracy to bring this national criminal into power should remember the devastating impacts of the 17-month-long failed experiment in the country. However, he made it clear that it would be a litmus test for the Chief Justice of Pakistan to ensure sanctity of the constitution and judiciary and shield the institution from the destructive effects of the worst political meddling. PTI spokesperson said that the Supreme Court should protect its sanctity and the state should guard its own reputation, as the republic would deal with Nawaz’s henchmen in the political arena themselves very well.
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brothers are transferring the advanced mechanism to Pakistan”, he said, adding, “Before the pandemic, I went to China every year to learn about power-related technologies and business know-how”. Mir Arslan Ali, Assistant Duty Officer of the Control and Protection Department, Matiari to Lahore ±660kV HVDC Transmission Line project, is training junior engineers to grasp the state-of-the-art power transmission technology from China. [Photo provided to CEN] With total funds of $25 bn that have been invested in energy, IT, transport, etc. under CPEC so far, local social and economic conditions are being greatly improved. “Since the start of construction, the project has actively contributed to the local construction of Thar, and its development is changing with each passing day,” Mazhar Ali Khan said. “I believe that the Thar Project will bring more vitality to the local social and economic development after its commercial operation date.”
Court moved to provide cycle to PTI chairman for exercise ISLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
A special court hearing cipher case on Thursday moved to provide a cycle to the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) chairman for exercise in the jail. Former prime minister Imran Khan is currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail in cipher case. Advocate Sheeraz Ahmed Ranjha filed the plea in the special court for the provision of the cycle to the PTI chairman. The plea stated that as per the jail manual, the former prime minister is entitled to have a cycle in the jail for exercise to keep himself fit. Judge Abul Alhasnat will take up the plea on October 23. Notices have been served to the respondents in the case. In a separate development on October 17, it emerged that the cell of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan was extended in Adiala Jail.
UoE hosts launch of two books of well-known authors
LAHORE
Staff RepoRt
The University of Education Lahore hosted launching ceremonies of two books written of two well-known Pakistani writers at its main in campus here. The books launched included: “Pakistan, Education, and the 21st Century” authored well-known teacher, and former Allama Iqbal Open University Vice Chancellor Dr Shahid Siddiqui and the other a novel “Second Coming” by famous author, poet, and former Federal Secretary Athar Tahir. The launch of Dr Shahid Siddiqui’s book “Pakistan, Education, and 21st Century” was presided over by UoE Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha (H.I., S.I.), while Vice-Chancellor Allama Iqbal Open University Prof Dr Nasir Mehmood, Dr Salma Nazr Khan from Fatima Jinnah Women University, and Prof Dr Tayyaba Tamim from Lahore University of Management Sciences were the guest speakers. Addressing the ceremony, Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha said that the topic chosen by Dr Shahid Siddiqui in his book is undoubtedly the utmost need of Pakistan today. In the book, while covering the educational problems and challenges of the present day, it is not only criticized, but its solutions have also been thoroughly discussed. He said that this is an excellent book regarding the education sector, which should be read by all of us. On this occasion, while addressing the ceremony, the AIOU VC, Dr. Salma Nazr Khan, Prof Dr Tayyaba Tamim and other speakers declared the book the best for positive change in the educational system of the country.
04 COMMENT
A dangerous beast
Hospital in Gaza
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War of words over hospital attack shows how horrific it was
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HE blame game between Israel and Hamas over Tuesday’s bombing of the Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital, in which over than 500 people were killed, shows how Israel is trying to avoid the blame for war crimes, and how its favourite victim card is wearing thin. Its blaming the bombing on a misguided missile fired by Islamic Jihad serves two purposes: first, it lets its own forces escape culpability for something that is considered a classic war crime; second, it throws the blame onto an organization it badly wants to go after because of its ties with Iran. Another subtext of the Israeli attempt to throw the blame onto the Palestinians is perhaps its desire to portray them as guilty of the crime they have themselves committed so often, the killing of children. The reaction to the hospital bombing, with the victims including a large number of infants, has caused a revulsion of feeling even within those countries which have been steadfast in their support of Israel. Israel contrasts that reality with the failure of its claim that Hamas had decapitated babies in its October 7 attacks. It had wanted Hamas to have done so, judging by how much that claim was pushed, but it was so patently false, that it failed to gain any traction, even among the Western powers that, like the USA, have gotten behind Israel and are throwing their weight behind the Israeli narrative of a misguided Palestinian rocket hitting the hospital. The problem with the Israeli narrative is that it has been guilty of bombing hospitals before, claiming that they were being used by Palestinian fighters as ‘safe havens’ from which to attack with impunity. It seems that it realizes that its previous narrative, that Israeli forces would strike wherever they felt the need to, regardless of the restraints placed on combatants by the laws of war, would no longer wash in the face of the enormity of the crime that had been committed, and the huge number of innocent victims. Instead of the blind backing of Israel, covering any war crimes its forces might commit, the Western powers must obey their own principles, which call for a regard for the rights of the oppressed, including the right of selfdetermination. The Palestinian people are only asking for their rights as human beings, not for having their hospitals bombed.
Not revenge for the dead, but the IDF At Penpoint M A NIAZI
HILE the world watches, Israel is preparing to go into the Gaza Strip after an horrific aerial bombardment which killed 2300 Palestinians, but its war aims are as murky as those of the Hamas attack for which the Israeli attack is being launched. One motive which is not realized is that of revenge. It is not so much revenge for the killing and kidnapping of Jews, but revenge for the way that the Israeli Defence Forces were unable to prevent those attacks, having their defences overwhelmed by the original Hamas attack, and by the intelligence failure made evident by the surprise achieved by the Palestinians. The IDF has great influence within Israel, because of the universal conscription, which means that everyone has served before the colours. Another effect has been that military men have often made a career in politics, and three former chiefs of defence staff (or heads of the Israeli IDF) have even become prime minister. Indeed, even now, one of the members of ‘war Cabinet’ created by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is Benny Gantz, a former chief of defence staff. One of Israel’s problems is that the ‘war’ is asymmetric. After all, it is not against a state. The previous wars Israel has fought have all been against states. This war is against Hamas. This means that formulating war aims is that much more difficult, because it is engaged in what is essentially a police action. In 1967, Israel fought the Six-Day War, which was almost ideal, in that it ended in Israel occupying the Sinai Desert from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and handing out a defeat to the Arab countries. In 1973 it is true that the Egyptian forces broke through the Bar Lev Line, the fortifications erected by the IDF, then under the command of Lt Gen Haim Bar Lev in the Sinai. True, the Egyptians did not do all that well, but the doggedness with which its forces resisted the Israelis at the Chinese Farm redeemed something of the military honour they had lost in 1967. Though Egypt had achieved strategic surprise, at the end of the War, they had not lost all their gains in the Sinai, but they had not been able to stop Israeli armour from crossing into the Egyptian mainland and poising itself to reach the Nile. However, one view is that the 1973 War led to the Camp David Accords, when Egypt exchanged land for peace, getting back the Sinai in exchange for recognising Israel. It could be argued that the Camp David Accords led to the Oslo Accords, in which PLO chief Yasser Arafat accepted a two-state solution, perhaps because he was aware that support for the Palestinian cause was crumbling. It did not help that the PLO’s main non-Arab backer, the USSR, had collapsed. One of the main features of the present attacks is that the IDF has not got to expand once again, and it
Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami
Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor
Yousaf Nizami
is appropriate that it is doing so in the area where it had evacuated last. It occupied Gaza in 1967, along with the West Bank territories, and vacated them only when it handed over to the newly-elected Hamas government in 2006, when it had already evacuated the settlements it had built there. It had also invaded Lebanon and occupied a portion, vacating it in 1985, but retaining a 12-mile buffer zone, which it is sticking to despite Hezbollah efforts to vacate it. Perhaps the Gaza incursion illustrates that Israel is sitting on a powder-keg in the form of the West Bank. The West Bank not only contains Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is the most sacred place for Muslims outside of the Arabian Peninsula, but is also the focus of Israeli settlement activity. Being much larger than the Gaza Strip, and containing East Jerusalem, it is much more crucial to a future Palestinian state. The two-state solution legitimizes the existence of Israel, which had no real right to exist. However, Israeli settlements continue to be built in the West Bank, and the roads linking them mean that the West Bank is broken up into many little pieces, and it is virtually impossible to establish an state there. At least the Gaza Strip is in one piece The Strip has a population of 2 million, mostly Palestinian refugees who fled Palestine in 1948, with 600,000 still living in camps. Any attempt to expel them would create yet more refugees, and though few would be refugees twice, most would belong to such families. Pakistan has had a similar experience. A large number of Biharis went to East Pakistan in 1947, and then came to West Pakistan in 1971 (this is apart from those who had to stay behind in Bangladesh). The MQM found scions of such families among their most committed and extremist cadres. Wherever the Palestinians now displaced go, they will carry the turbulence of that double forced migration. Israel will find to its cost
One of the consequences of the current invasion has been to expose all the governments of the Arab world, and the wider Islamic world. While the peoples have expressed solidarity with the people of Gaza, the governments have done nothing. This deafening silence, out of fear of the USA, is why the Palestinians are in the plight they are in.
ESG: Adapt or be left behind Editor Umar Aziz M. A. Niazi Joint Editor
Executive Editor
The EU is cracking down on trade partners
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Dr SyeD ASIM AlI BukhArI
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change”. (Charles Darwin)
UE to a deal between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, all businesses based in the European Union (EU) countries will be required to report on the imported products that are “carbon emission-intensive”. In addition, the new regime requires that all carbon emissions be “financially offset” from the year 2026 onwards. Renewable energy has emerged as a new trade barrier for Pakistan’s export industries. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will impose carbon fees on all imports into the EU from non-members. Under the CBAM, importers into the EU of carbon-intensive goods (mainly cement, electricity, fertilizers, iron and steel, aluminum, and hydrogen) will be required to pay a charge for the carbon emissions embedded in those products. This charge will be gradually phased in from 2026 to 2034. This means a completely changed business landscape for the stakeholders. The solution to climate change is becoming clear, i.e., adapt or be left behind. Nations that are reshaping the various economic sectors according to the various environmental and social challenges have a fighting chance against the inevitable consequences of natural environmental degradation. As the planet’s climate changes, the
world is adapting by creating a new green generation of businesses based on the ideology of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance). ESG is a framework for sustainability management, ethical practices and conscious consumerism that is gaining widespread popularity in the business world. The roots of this ideology can be traced back to 2004, in which the United Nations Global Compact and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs published a report named “Who Cares Wins”, in which the term ESG was coined. It is defined as “a set of environmental, social, and governance factors considered by companies when managing their operations, and investors when making investments, in respect of the risks, impacts, and opportunities”. The ‘E’ in ESG stands for Environment and it revolves around the idea that organizations rely on natural resources and physical assets to perform their business operations. Products and business operations may directly or indirectly impact the environment adversely. ESG calls for increased environmental responsibility and accountability as part of daily business operations. Organizations’ connection with various issues such as climate change, carbon management, resource depletion, loss of biodiversity, energy consumption, water conservation, etc. stems out of this ESG component. Moving towards the ‘S’ in ESG, it can be understood as the organization’s impact on society. The products and services of a company or the operating activities involved in production may benefit society or cause harm. ESG ideology requires an organization to adopt socially responsible business behaviour through job creation and improved working conditions, providing equal employment opportunity, managing workplace diversity, and creating positive impacts on local communities through products and services and CSR activities. Under ESG, Governance means that when making decisions and allocating their natural, human, and financial resources, companies should consider how they will create long-term value that will benefit all stakeholders. This is reflected through the organization’s defined purpose, values and culture, the diversity, structure and oversight of the top management,
A few decades ago, ESG was a foreign concept to most investors. Now, ESG strategies are a ubiquitous presence in the investment landscape. The rules of the game are clear, organizations need to truly embrace this dynamic business ideology instead of just using the term for „greenwashing,‰ „purpose washing,‰ or „woke washing.‰ Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965
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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9
Editor’s mail
Dr. Syed Asim Ali Bukhari (PhD in Green Banking) is working as a Chief Manager – Green Banking Office in Bank AL Habib Limited, Pakistan. He can be contacted at aasimalibukhari@yahoo.com Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545
that whatever it does in Gaza will not get it security, not unless it wipes out all Palestinians. However, as Jews showed the world during the Holocaust, such ‘final solutions’ are not easy to achieve, as the people one tries to eliminate simply will not die. Another problem for Israel is that there is a significant Palestinian diaspora. While it may persuade the USA, the EU and Australia, to name a few, to look the other way while it kills its own Palestinians, it will not be able to persuade them to hand over theirs. Pakistan should find the actions of Israel in the Gaza Strip interesting, not just because of the eerie resemblance to the Bihari issue, but because what Israel does in the Occupied Territories, India does tomorrow. India tilted towards the Palestinians for some time, because of a fascination with PLO chief Yasser Arafat, but when the Janata Dal government started building ties back in the 1970s, it started a process which ended in 1992 with the establishment of an Indian embassy in Tel Aviv, under a Congress government, making the relationship bipartisan. Still, so far it seems India has been learning, using in Indian-Occupied Kashmir methods tested by Israel in the West Bank and Gaza. Most notable is that of changing the demographic balance. Jewish settlements are doing in the West Bank what India is doing by issuing domicile certificates to persuade Hindus to move to Kashmir. Israel made the Arabs withdraw their political and diplomatic support for Palestinians. India made Pakistan do the same for Kashmir. The genocide of the Palestinians will not win Israel security, but it won’t stop them trying. Similarly, Partition occurred because of historical realities, but that won’t stop the BJP from trying to reverse it. The unfortunate reality is that the kind of ethnic cleansing the Israelis are trying to commit on the Palestinians is what the Hindus, especially but not only the BJP, would like to commit on Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslims. Congress supporters might not wish to dirty their hands with such genocide, but they would not lift a finger to prevent it from happening. One of the consequences of the current invasion has been to expose all the governments of the Arab world, and the wider Islamic world. While the peoples have expressed solidarity with the people of Gaza, the governments have done nothing. This deafening silence, out of fear of the USA, is why the Palestinians are in the plight they are in. It has also exposed the Western countries, and their unseemly scrambling over another to express support for Israel. They have seemingly lost all concern for human rights in their bid to satisfy their domestic Zionist lobbies. The writer is a member of staff
the organization’s risk management strategy and scope, ethical and compliance policy, shareholder’s rights, and disclosure and transparency practices. A precondition for creating long-term sustainable value is to manage, and address, massive, paradigm-shifting externalities such as environmental and societal impacts. Thus, integrating ESG in the business philosophy ensures that the business endures, with societal support, in a sustainable, environmentally viable way. Today, ESG is one of the critical factors in the success of businesses as the world is undergoing a major shift in priorities. According to the United Nations estimates, US$ 5 trillion to US$ 7 trillion is needed each year to achieve the United Nations - Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) 2030. This requires financial institutions to include ESG factors in their investment decisions. ESG as a concept is used universally by investors to assess corporate behaviour and to evaluate the future financial performance of the company by measuring its sustainability. In other words, ESG has brought a holistic approach to measuring the organization’s performance by encompassing all stakeholders and society as a whole. The business case for the ESG strategy can be observed across various horizons including economic returns, fostering a green economic transformation, positive environmental outcomes, social legitimacy, and stakeholder satisfaction. ESG adoption by organizations is becoming synonymous with value creation in terms of growth, innovation, and reduced costs. The most important aspect of understanding this business ideology is that adopting ESG does not mean decreased economic sustainability of the business. True ESG is consistent with a company’s well-considered strategy and advances its business model. This business philosophy proposes environmental and social sustainability, ultimately leading to economic sustainability. The true essence of ESG is the creation of congruence, synergy, and equilibrium within these three dimensions of corporate sustainability. Based on the new carbon taxes, 0.2% of Pakistan’s total exports to the EU worth US$ 16.83 million could be adversely affected by the implementation of carbon tax by the EU. Under the new regime, the EU importer would bear a cost to importing from higher carbon-emitting countries or businesses, hence carbon emissions will have a direct impact on the demand for Pakistani products. A few decades ago, ESG was a foreign concept to most investors. Now, ESG strategies are a ubiquitous presence in the investment landscape. The rules of the game are clear, organizations need to truly embrace this dynamic business ideology instead of just using the term for “greenwashing,” “purpose washing,” or “woke washing.”
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Friday, 20 October, 2023
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Women’s empowerment globally
IN today’s world, women have undoubtedly made significant strides in various fields. However, we still encounter numerous challenges, obstacles, and disparities that impede our full potential. It is imperative to continue our efforts to empower women on a global scale. Women’s empowerment has gained significant traction recently, transcending geographical boundaries and cultural norms. It represents a fundamental shift in societal attitudes towards women, recognising their potential, abilities, and rights. Women’s empowerment is not just a buzzword; it’s a crucial movement that seeks to create a world where women have equal opportunities, rights, and the ability to make choices that affect their lives. Women’s empowerment refers to granting women the power and agency to make choices and decisions about their own lives and to participate fully in all aspects of society. It is not about giving women power but rather recognizing the inherent power and potential within every woman and removing the barriers that hinder them from realizing it. Education is the key to unlocking a woman’s potential. It is a powerful tool for empowerment. When girls and women receive an education, they are better equipped to make informed decisions about their lives, health, and future. Moreover, educated women tend to have smaller and healthier families, which can positively impact a nation’s demographics. In some regions, girls still face barriers to education, including a lack of infrastructure and cultural norms that prioritise boys’ education. Women’s empowerment is about building women’s self-confidence, self-esteem, and decision-making abilities. This can be achieved through education, mentorship, and providing safe spaces for women to express themselves. When women are personally empowered, they can make choices that align with their goals and aspirations, leading to greater personal fulfilment and happiness. Women’s empowerment plays a vital role in improving the health and well-being of communities. Empowered women are more likely to make informed decisions about their health and the health of their families. Empowering women is not just a moral imperative; it is also essential for achieving sustainable development and a more equitable world. By working together, we can create a future where women are empowered to reach their full potential, and in doing so, they can shape a brighter future for all of humanity. KASHAF ASHRAF SINDH
Daredevil motorcyclists
THE federal capital has always garnered attention for many of its qualities. From serving as an administrative unit to being ranked as one of the most beautiful capitals in the world, Islamabad is a utopia for everyone. Unfortunately, no matter how much the Islamabad Traffic Police tries to create awareness among pedestrians and motorists alike, no one is ready to pay any heed to the rules of the road. The daredevil motorcyclists have taken it upon themselves to make and break them. The so-called overhead “pedestrian” bridges are now reserved for motorcyclists to cross the highways, causing major inconvenience for the pedestrians who have nowhere to go with traffic coming in from both ways. The CDA-designated parks have also become a “shortcut” for those who would rather ride through the park filled with children for their own time-saving convenience rather than taking turns where they are supposed to. Hundreds of accidents occur daily due to the reckless riders of motorcycles, and the blame is pinned on the automobile drivers, who are the real victims. The authorities are requested to charge fines from these motorcyclists, especially the ones with no rear lights, as it’s dangerous at night in the absence of street lights for some drivers when the motorcyclists appear out of nowhere, causing misery to the drivers as well as their own families alike. IFRAH SHAHBAZ ISLAMABAD
Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk
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COMMENT 05
State sponsored assassinations
Friday, 20 October, 2023
India Israel and the USA
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AmjED jAAvED
ANADA has burgeoning trade relations with India. The world was stunned when the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian intelligence agencies of being behind the assassination of Khalistan activist and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar. This event reflected that there has been a cataclysmic change in India’s covert-operation policy. Emulating the USA and Israel, India has begun to “eliminate” people which it regards as enemies of the Indian state. Israel is believed to be assisting India in honing its covert-assassination skills. India’s “hard “policy dovetailed with Ajit Doval’s “offensive-defensive” doctrine, has been on the anvil since 2015 or perhaps a few years earlier. Within the framework of this nouveau “hard” policy, India crossed Myanmar’s border ostensibly to punish “Naga militants” in 2015. Recall the 2016 post-Uri-attack surgical strike across the LoC and the 2019 Balakot airstrike after the Pulwama terror attack, the 72-day stand-off in Doklam due to India’s intransigence, the confrontations at Galwan and Pangong-Tso due to India’s provocations. The metamorphosis in India’s “soft’ policy remained unnoticed by the world community. It appears that India told world leaders “You better stay mum like you stayed at Mossad or CIA assassinations or renditions”. India’s argument is that if the USA and Israel could act as judge, jury and executioner, “why can’t I?” Like Mossad and the CIA, India, too, gets its targets whetted by a conglomerate of hit men, psychologists, and other technical experts. India collected a wealth of information from the CIA’s and Mossad’s modus operandi and tactics. It baffles one’s imagination how India managed to plant bombs in seminaries in Pakistan, or kill “targets” in congested Pakistani cities. Like Mossad, India also has specializsed in use of drugs and poisons to “eliminate” targets. Those killed in India’s covert operations include: (a) Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He was killed near a gurud-
wara in Surrey, Canada, by two unknown assailants in June 2023. (b) Rayaz Ahmed alias Abu Qasim. Shot dead in a mosque in Azad Kashmir in September 2023. (c) Bashir Ahmed Peer of Hizbul Mujahideen. Shot dead at point-blank range in Rawalpindi in February 2023. (d) Al Badr commander Syed Khalid Raza. Killed by a single shot in the head in Karachi in February 2023. (e) Khalistani extremist Avtar Singh Khanda. He was poisoned and died from “unknown causes” at a Birmingham hospital in June 2023. (f) Aijaz Ahmad Ahangar. Killed in Afghanistan’s Kunar province in February 2023. (g) Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Mistry Zahoor Ibrahim (one of the IC-814 hijackers). Shot dead in Karachi in March 2022. (h) Khalistan Commando Force’s Paramjit Singh Panjwar. Shot dead in Lahore by two gunmen in May 2023. (i) Lal Mohammed. India portrayed him as an ISI operative who pushed fake currency into India. He was chased and shot dead on the outskirts of Kathmandu (Nepal) last year. (j) Khalistani activist Harwinder Rinda. He too mysteriously died in a Lahore hospital in November 2022. (k) A day later, Khalistani activist and Rinda’s aide, Happy Sanghera, was killed in Italy. (l) Khalistani activist Kulwinderjit Singh Khanpuria. He was abducted from Bangkok, but his arrest was shown to have been made in Delhi (rendition). (m)In June 2021, a powerful blast rocks Hafiz Saeed’s abode. Earlier, his companion Talha Saeed was injured in a blast in Lahore. Maulana Masood Azhar. In 2019, India managed to plant a bomb at his seminary at Peshawar. It is speculated that he happened to escape unhurt.
It is now common to dub oneÊs adversary a ÂterroristÊ. Doing so foreclose the possibility of political negotiation, and gives the powerful definer the right to eliminate the ÂterroristÊ
Curbing government internet surveillance
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PROJECT SYNDICATE
RIANA PFEFFERKORN AND CALLUm vOGE
OVERNMENT efforts to access private communications are nothing new. In decades past, such attempts at prying were often justified on national-security grounds. Today, however, policymakers point to child safety and disinformation as reasons to limit privacy protections. Established democracies are often leading this charge, inadvertently paving the way for the world’s autocrats. But people around the world are not taking these policies lying down. They speak out, using events like Global Encryption Day to highlight the importance of privacy and security not just for their own lives but for their communities and societies. And as vociferous opposition continues to stymie government efforts to expand surveillance powers, it has become clear that public pressure works. Encryption, which scrambles digital data so that it can be read only by someone with the means to decode it, has become ubiquitous because it keeps information confidential and secure while authenticating the identity of the person with whom one is communicating. Today, billions of people use encryption to send digital messages and emails, transfer money, load websites, and protect their data. The gold standard in security is “end-to-end” encryption (E2EE), as only the participants have access to the data – not even the service provider can decipher it. Despite its immense value and global appeal, encryption is under threat worldwide. It is used by law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, but also by bad actors to hide their malicious activities. For this reason, law-enforcement authorities oppose encryption designs, especially E2EE, that prevent them from accessing data. But even after decades of research, there is still no known way to grant law enforcement access without undermining encryption’s privacy and security features. The makers of encrypted devices and services have therefore resisted calls to build in “backdoor” government access, which would make all of their users more vulnerable. The harmful online activities that concern police do not happen only in encrypted spaces. Hate speech, disinformation, and other objectionable content remain a pernicious problem on social-media platforms and other sites, motivating a worldwide legislative push to force tech companies to improve their services. The British Parliament, for example, recently passed the Online Safety Bill (OSB) after several turbulent years during which civil-society pressure changed its scope significantly. The final version focuses mainly on the removal of illegal content and mitigating risks to children. Yet the OSB still has serious flaws. For example, Parliament failed to include language safeguarding encryption. Moreover, the law gives Ofcom, the United Kingdom’s communications regulator, the authority to compel social-media platforms and messaging services to mass scan their users’ files and communications for evidence of child sexual abuse. No one contests that fighting child exploitation is im-
India was emboldened to follow the Mossad and CIA line as the world ignored them. A cursory view of Mossad’s assassinations: Killing Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi, Abu Hamza Rabia, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Abu Laith al-Libi, Imad Mughniya, Abu Khabab al-Masri, Mohammad Hasan Khalil alHakim, Abu Zubair al-Masri, Abdullah Said al Libi, Salah Mustafa, Ghassan Kanafani, Abdel Wael Zwaiter, Mahmoud Hamshari, Kamal Adwan, Kamal Nasser, Sayeret Matkal, Wadie Haddad, Yehia El-Mashad (Egyptian nuclear scientist) , José Alberto Albano do Amarante (a Brazilian Air Force lieutenant colonel), Said S. Bedair (Egyptian scientist), Gerald Bull (Canadian engineer), Yahya Ayyash , Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam (architect of the Iranian missile system), Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan (Iranian nuclear scientist), among others. Assassinations by the CIA include: Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi (linked to the USS Cole bombing), Haitham al-Yemeni, Abu Hamza Rabia,Abu Musab alZarqawi, Abu Laith al-Libi, Imad Mughniya (C.I.A.Mossad operation), Abu Khabab al-Masri, Abu Haris, Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim, Abu Zubair alMasri, Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam. Sheikh Ahmed and Salim Swedan (1998 United States embassy bombings), Baitullah Mehsud, Qari Mohammad Zarif (Fada’iyan-e Islam), Hamza al-Jufi (Jundallah), Abu Yahya al-Libi, Hamza bin Laden, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and others. “Terrorism” (violence plus political agenda) is a ploy to gain publicity (Verinder Grover, Encyclopaedia Of International Terrorism). “Terrorists” are so designated under the United Nations’ resolutions 1267 and 1373. The US was the power behind these resolutions. Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg (2008) observed that “arbitrary procedures for terrorist black-listing must now be changed”. There is no universal definition of terrorism. Ihekwoaba D. Onwudiwe, in The Globalization of Terrorism, within World Systems theory, thinks terrorism is a world-wide phenomenon. He links the terrorism with
mensely important. But Ofcom’s power covers E2EE messaging services, which, by definition, cannot be accessed by service providers. Thus, the only way these services could comply with an Ofcom order is by making fundamental changes to their encryption design. In other words, the OSB gives Ofcom the power to force service providers to undermine their own encryption. Apple, Meta, and Signal have all promised to pull their E2EE apps from the UK rather than comply with any government order to diminish their users’ privacy and security. In response, Ofcom has publicly vowed not to use its new authority, at least for now. And with good reason: important bodies have concluded that scanning technologies are not sufficiently accurate, would limit fundamental rights, and would likely fail the proportionality test – the disadvantages would outweigh the advantages. Furthermore, criminals could easily circumvent these controls by encrypting content with a separate application. Ofcom would be wise to tread carefully, lest it risk the privacy and security of internet users for the sake of unproven and potentially ineffective technologies. Ofcom’s (supposed) forbearance recalls Australian authorities’ conduct since the passage of a contentious 2018 law granting new governmental powers to compel communications providers to add backdoor access to their products. Civil-society and cybersecurity experts raised alarms about the law’s dangers for privacy and security, and legislators themselves admitted the bill was flawed, but it passed anyway. Five years later, not a single compulsory notice has been issued. This may reflect a deliberate choice: exercising such a power risks political blowback. Wield the sword too enthusiastically, and it might be taken away; better to keep it sheathed in favor of other, less controversial tools. Then again, government forbearance might also indicate that the controversial new power was unnecessary in the first place. Public scrutiny of government powers keeps them in check. That is how a democracy is meant to work. In promising not to use its new tool, Ofcom appears to have grasped that the government’s legitimacy is at stake. But as the UK bill inspires similar legislation in other countries, some of which are less democratic and have a track record of weaponizing digital technologies against their citizens, this nuance will likely be lost. The first test will come in the European Union, where legislators are fighting over a draft regulation to expand tech companies’ child-safety obligations. Like the UK bill, the proposed Child Sex Abuse Regulation (CSAR) has already gone through numerous revisions, as member states lock horns over protecting E2EE. Derisively called “chat control,” the draft CSAR has been widely decried for potentially forcing European service providers to scan all public and private communications, which would amount to an illegal general monitoring obligation. Recent reporting stoked these concerns by revealing that Europol, the EU’s law-enforcement agency, requested unlimited access to and use of the data produced beyond the purposes identified in the regulation; it appears to have no intention of restraining itself. Continued public pressure is necessary to push for reform of “the most criticized draft EU law of all time.” If government surveillance is a concern in an established democratic entity like the EU, what hope is there for beleaguered democracies like Turkey, India, and Brazil, much less autocracies? Fortunately, the public movement in support of encryption is growing, with advocacy groups like the Global Encryption Coalition leading the charge. By engaging with civil society, technologists, and the public, governments can design regulations that respect privacy, data security, and freedom of expression while still helping protect users from harm. Doing so is the only way to make sure that the internet works for everyone.
Riana Pfefferkorn is a research scholar at the Stanford Internet Observatory. Callum Voge is Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy at the Internet Society.
global inequality. Both India and the US appear to consider Hafiz Mohammad Saeed the mastermind of Mumbai attacks. Yet, a host of critics consider Mumbai trials lacked transparency. According to principles of penology, an offence has to be first defined before it is made punishable. In the absence of a global, universally acceptable definition of the word ‘terrorism’, any figment of imagination could be stretched to mean terrorism. Unless ‘terrorism is defined, it will not be possible to distinguish it from a freedom movement, protest, guerrilla warfare, subversion, criminal violence, paramilitarism, communal violence or banditry. A nation cannot be punished for individual acts of terrorism, according to principles of natural justice and penology. In the historical context, the term meant different things to different individuals and communities. The oldest ‘terrorists’ were holy warriors who killed civilians. Recent examples of religious terrorists are Aum Shinrikyo (Japanese), Rabbi Meir Kahane and Baruch Goldstein and Yigal Amir (Jews). The Jewish-controlled media describes Hezbollah and Hamas as ‘religious terrorists’. In the first century A.D Palestine, the Jews publicly slit the Romans’ throats, in the seventh century India, the thugs strangulated gullible passersby to please the Hindu Devi Kali, and the 19th century adherents of Narodnaya Volya (People’s Will) in Russia mercilessly killed their pro-Tsar rivals. Most historians believe that the term ‘terrorism’ received international publicity during the French reign of terror in 1793-94. It is now common to dub one’s adversary a ‘terrorist’. Doing so foreclose the possibility of political negotiation, and gives the powerful definer the right to eliminate the ‘terrorist’.
The writer is a freelance journalist, has served in the Pakistan government for 39 years and holds degrees in economics, business administration, and law. He can be reached at amjedjaaved@gmail.com
The news media and AI
The Associated Press became the first news outlet to reach a licensing agreement with OpenAI over the use of some of its news content, effectively sidestepping court involvement and ensuring that the news agency would benefit from the use of its work
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COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW YONA ROBERTS GOLDING
N the months since OpenAI and other companies began releasing generative AI tools to the public, the technology has become the basis for jokes, apocalyptic fears, business models—and it has also become a highly contested front in copyright law, including for the news media. A step back: the thing we call generative artificial intelligence is, in fact, a kind of computing that looks for patterns in information and mimics them on command. To do this with any amount of coherence, the system must first be rigorously “trained”—fed absolutely enormous amounts of data to digest into a series of statistical probabilities. For an image-generating AI, this content includes millions of images. For a words-generating AI, it includes millions of words. Several artists and authors have filed lawsuits over the use of their work in these training datasets. Karla Ortiz, a conceptual artist, is a plaintiff in ongoing cases against three image-generating services. “The creative economy only works when the basic tenets of consent, credit, compensation, and transparency are followed,” Ortiz said at a roundtable hosted by the Federal Trade Commission on October 4. And, according to interviews with lawyers and media companies, as well as public statements from some of the key players, it may be an issue for the news media, too. We know for certain that at least some of the large language models (LLMs) behind generative AI tools—Open AI’s ChatGPT, Meta’s Llama, Google’s Bard—pulled from the copyrighted material of online publishers to train their systems. The data on what material was used is ambiguous and fragmentary. But in addition to repositories of pirated books, research papers from Meta and OpenAI report that their models were trained in large part with data scraped by CommonCrawl, a nonprofit that essentially compiles data from public websites for use in research. In 2021, the Allen Institute of AI ran an analysis based on a snapshot of CommonCrawl data. The Washington Post drew on this report to publish a searchable index of the websites scraped by CommonCrawl and used to train LLMs. The analysis revealed that half of the top ten Web sources were news outlets, including the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. (CJR was 13,420th on the list.) What remains unclear is how the inclusion of this content could affect the news publishing industry— and what individual publishers will do about it. Tech companies maintain that their datasets are protected by the fair use doctrine, which allows for the repurposing of copyrighted work under certain conditions. But Ortiz’s lawyer, Matthew Butterick, is not
convinced by that argument. “Worst of all,” he said in an interview, “these language models are being held out commercially as replacing authors. There are instances already of AI-generated books being posted to Amazon, sometimes under real names, sometimes under fake names.” In recent months rumors have circulated that several high-profile media companies might also bring the likes of OpenAI, one of the most prominent generative AI developers, to court. During an interview at the Semafor Media Summit in April, Barry Diller, chairman of IAC, which owns the Daily Beast and People magazine, among many others, said that unless media companies are compensated for the use of copyrighted material, “all will be lost” for the industry. Diller argued that the practice is absolutely grounds for litigation, suggesting that companies should pursue legal action against OpenAI and others. (Later he seemed to soften that position.) In June, the Wall Street Journal reported that companies including the New York Times, News Corp, and Diller’s IAC were considering forming a coalition to address the threats posed by AI. According to the article, one threat was that the ability of chatbots to respond directly to user queries could draw traffic away from publishers’ own websites, potentially diminishing ad and subscription revenue. (In June, ChatGPT Plus users discovered that the chatbot’s internet search feature, Browse with Bing, could even bypass publisher paywalls directly when asked to reprint an article from a URL. The company temporarily disabled the feature “in order to do right by content owners,” which it said it did “out of an abundance of caution.” The feature was modified and made available again to paying users in September.) According to Mehtab Khan, a lawyer and legal scholar at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Institute whose work focuses on copyright and internet law, filing a lawsuit at this stage would be a gamble. If the publishers lost, it could define training data for AI as fair use, which would close off an avenue for contesting the practice. So other options are also being explored. The Times and a number of other outlets have indicated their desire to protect their copyrighted material with the addition of a line of code, robot.txt, meant to prevent Web scrapers from accessing their materials in the future (it does nothing to remove material that had previously been scraped). In July, the Associated Press became the first news outlet to reach a licensing agreement with OpenAI over the use of some of its news content, effectively sidestepping court involvement and ensuring that the news agency would benefit from the use of its work. Even as the industries work toward common ground, Congress and the FTC are involved in discussions around how copyright law applies in the training and use of AI. Their task, according to Khan, will be reframing existing ideas about how the fair use doctrine protects the public interest. “There’s this fear that if text and data mining is restricted, if it’s not considered fair use, then there’d be too much power concentrated in the hands of large copyright holders,” she said. The key, she said, is to “find a balance that would allow the public to have access, but would also address some of the anxieties that artists and creative industries have about their words being used without consent, and without compensation.” Yona Roberts Golding is a CJR fellow.
06 NEWS
XI, PUTIN TALKS DEMONSTRATE ‘HIGH LEVEL’ OF STRATEGIC COORDINATION
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HINESE President Xi Jinping held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday on the sidelines of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), and during the meeting, Xi said China is willing to deepen cooperation with Russia and jointly safeguard global justice and fairness and contribute to global development. Xi extended his welcome to Putin for attending the BRF, calling him an “old friend,” as over the past decade since 2013, Xi has met with Putin 42 times, establishing a strong working relationship and deep friendship. Xi said Putin has attended the BRF three times in a row, demonstrating Russia’s support for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). A major significance of Putin’s visit to China is the demonstration of the high level of strategic coordination between Russia and China, and especially given the current international landscape and challenges that Russia has been facing, there is a need for the two sides to enhance coordination at both bilateral and international levels to counter
Friday, 20 October, 2023 | ISLAMABAD
the West’s unreasonable containment and suppression, Chinese experts said. Unlike the bloc confrontation driven by the West, the partnership between China and Russia is an open cooperation for mutual benefits, which eyes peaceful and common development, which is not the so-called alliance hyped by Western public opinion, experts said, noting that in a changing international landscape, the West-led power politics has led Global South countries to seek solidarity for mutual support. China supports the Russian people in pursuing the path of national rejuvenation independently and safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, he said, calling on the two sides to promote high-quality development of China-Russia practical cooperation and actively explore cooperation in strategic emerging industries. “Under the international landscape, apparently, Russia has a more positive attitude in developing relations with China,” Zhang Hong, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told media on Wednesday. China-Russia relations have been continuously developing as the two heads of
state share many similar understandings about bilateral relations and the geopolitical landscape, including the importance of a secure and stable environment among neighboring regions and the need to push the global order in a democratic and fair direction, Zhang said. Xi pointed out that not long ago, BRICS
countries had achieved a historic expansion, demonstrating the confidence of developing countries in promoting a multipolar world and the democratization of international relations. China is willing to continue to strengthen communication and collaboration with Russia in multilateral frameworks such
as the UN, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, G20 and so on, playing a bigger role in ensuring food and energy security, and the stability of global industrial and supply chains, thereby protecting the common interests of China, Russia and other developing countries, Xi said. The two heads of state also exchanged in-depth views on the situation in Israel and Palestine. China has been successfully implementing the Belt and Road Initiative, and Russia welcomes that success, Putin said in an address to a plenary session of the third BRF, TASS reported. Given the Eurasian Economic Union, Russia maintains very close ties with Central Asia, and its support for the BRI is of immense significance, Cui Heng, an assistant research fellow from the Center for Russian Studies of East China Normal University, said. “The reason Russia chose to support the BRI is that over the past decade, Russia has reaped dividends from its development. The cooperation between the two countries is not merely based on mutual strategic needs, nor is it a short-term measure for convenience,” Cui said, noting that Russia, in reality, is already enjoying the dividends from BRI development.
Pakistan, China ink agreement for Gwadar Port and CPEC progress BOTH COUNTRIES ALSO HAVE AN EMPHASIS ON ENHANCING COOPERATION IN MINERAL SECTOR, INCLUDING GEOLOGICAL AND MINERAL SURVEYS AND DEVELOPMENT
US targets Iran missile, drone programs as UN measures lapse WASHINGTON Agencies
The United States tried to limit Iran’s missile and drone programs by imposing new sanctions, warning companies how to avoid selling Iran sensitive technology and dusting off a 20-year-old program to stop weapons of mass destruction shipments. The United States announced the steps as U.N. sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program expired under the defunct 2015 Iran nuclear deal and amid renewed Western criticism of Iran for backing Hamas, which conducted a brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel. U.S. officials say they do not have evidence tying Iran to the cross-border rampage against communities in southern Israel in which at least 1,300 people died, mostly civilians, but fault Tehran for its long-standing support of Gaza-based Hamas. Washington and its allies fear the expiration of the U.N. sanctions on Wednesday may make it easier for Iran to develop and export missile and drone technology, including to Russia, which has used Iranian drones in its war against Ukraine. In its most tangible action, the U.S. Treasury said it imposed sanctions on 11 individuals, eight entities and one vessel based in Iran, Hong Kong, China and Venezuela that enable Iran’s “destabilizing” ballistic missile and drone programs. The U.S. government also issued an “Iran ballistic missile procurement advisory” to industry laying out what it said were the deceptive practices that Iran uses to obtain parts for its ballistic missile program from around the world. In a joint statement, more than 45 states, including the U.S. and close allies in Europe and Asia, committed to uphold the 2003 Proliferation Security Initiative designed to stop shipments related to weapons of mass destruction. The steps aim to blunt the impact of the expiration of U.N. sanctions under a “sunset” clause of the defunct 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which gave Tehran relief from American, European Union and U.N. sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear program. Former U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned that deal in 2018 and restored U.S. sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to gradually violate the pact’s nuclear restrictions. U.S. President Biden’s efforts to restore the pact have failed. “The sanctions relief “was based on the assumption that Iran would take the necessary steps towards restoring confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program. This has not happened,” the joint statement said.
PROFIT
operational capacity, Gwadar Port’s utilization remained low during the initial ten years of CPEC. Numerous projects in Gwadar, encompassing major and small initiatives, have encountered delays, resulting in issues related to the provision of essential services like water and electricity. To address these challenges, Pakistan and China have signed multiple agreements and MoUs that encompass areas like connectivity, food security, research, media exchanges, space cooperation, urban sustainable development, capacity building, mineral development, industrial cooperation, climate change, and vaccine development.
news Desk
Pakistan and China have entered into a new advisory agreement to expedite the development of Gwadar Port, a pivotal element of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that has faced significant delays. This accord was one of 20 agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) inked between the two nations. Under this agreement, two Chinese state institutes will provide technical, intellectual, and consultation support to enhance the efficiency and speed of Gwadar Port’s development. Additionally, an addendum to the Mainline-I project of CPEC aims to reduce its scope and design, significantly cutting the construction costs from $6.7 billion. Gwadar Port considered the linchpin and gateway to CPEC, has faced numerous challenges, including issues related to infrastructure development and indus-
trial zone utilization. During the first decade of CPEC, Pakistan received $25 billion in investment, falling short of the initially announced $62 billion due, in
One of the key objectives is the faster development of Gwadar Port, with Chinese state institutes providing technical expertise. There is also an emphasis on enhancing cooperation in the mineral sector, including geological and mineral surveys and development.
part, to a failure to establish Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Despite being fully capable of handling general cargo and achieving full
US missiles won’t help Ukraine, says Putin BEIJING
Agencies
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday the long-range missiles Washington had supplied Kyiv would only prolong the country’s agony, hours after Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky said they had already proved their worth. Ukraine also reported more deaths from the latest wave of Russian missile strikes and said they were bracing for an expected fresh assault on the frontline town of Avdiivka. It had been a “mistake” for Washington to give Ukraine long-range ATACMS missiles, Putin told journalists at a news conference in Beijing. “War is war, and, of course … they pose a threat, that goes without saying,” he said in response to questions about the weapons. “But most importantly, this will not change the situation on the line of contact dramatically at all,” he added.
The decision to supply the missiles had been “another mistake on the part of the United States,” he said. “It just prolongs the agony.” White House confirmed on Tuesday that it had provided Ukraine with the longer-range weapons they had requested to strike deep inside Russian-held territory. According to US media outlets the ATACMS have a maximum range of around 160 kilometres (100 miles). Russian officials had already accused Ukraine on Tuesday of using the US-supplied missiles to attack Berdyansk, a Russian-controlled port city in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. Zelensky confirmed Ukraine had used the missiles after the attacks, but did not give details about how or when they were deployed. “They have performed very accurately. ATACMS have proven themselves,” he said in an evening address Tuesday. On Wednesday, he posted on X, formerly Twitter, to say he had had talks
with French President Emmanuel Macron “on the next steps to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence, long-range, and naval capabilities”. Zelensky later said in his evening address that he had discussed “the work of ‘grain corridors’ in the Black Sea” which he said were “important not only for our country but also for the whole world, for global stability”. Macron said that the multiple unfolding global crises would “in no way weaken” French or EU support to Kyiv. Russia on Wednesday said it had shot down two Ukrainian missiles targeting Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 and is increasingly under fire from Ukrainian strikes. Russia’s defence ministry said the missile debris fell in a deserted area and there was no damage or casualties. Kyiv warned that Russian forces were likely to escalate their assault on the frontline town of Avdiivka, as Moscow continued shelling nearby Ukrainian positions.
Ukraine has in recent weeks reported intense Russian attacks on Avdiivka, which lies just north of the Moscow-controlled city of Donetsk, seized by pro-Russian separatist forces in 2014. “I can say for sure that this is the largest offensive that has ever taken place in Avdiivka since the war began in 2014,” the head of the town’s administration Vitaliy Barabash said on television. While attacks on the town itself had quietened down, Russia had continued to shell Ukrainian positions. “Most likely, in the next few days we expect this escalation to continue,” he added. The town has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance against Moscow, with Kyiv clinging on despite relentless Russian attacks during the Kremlin’s almost 20-month long offensive. Russian forces now control territory to the east, north and south of Avdiivka, gradually tightening the noose in a bid to push Ukrainian forces further from Donetsk.
China launches Global AI Governance Initiative, offering an open approach in contrast to US blockade BEIJING
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China on Wednesday launched the Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance Initiative, offering an open, inclusive and fair approach for the development, security and governance of emerging artificial intelligence technologies and services, in stark contrast to the US’ restrictions and blockade aimed at preserving its hegemony. Even as China stressed fairness and nondiscrimination in AI development so as to benefit all countries and regions, the US intensified unilateral restrictions over normal global cooperation in AI and other technologies. Western countries have also been seeking to set rules for AI, which experts say is mostly aimed at protecting their own interests. The Global AI Governance Initiative, announced at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing, represents another Chinese proposed solution
for global AI governance, which has brought both tremendous opportunities as well as challenges and risks, underscoring China’s approach of openness and inclusiveness in global cooperation and development, experts said. In a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the third BRF, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will launch the Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance Initiative at this year’s forum. The initiative covers various aspects of AI governance, calling for adopting a people-centered approach and upholding the principles of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit in AI development that benefits countries and regions, according to the Cyberspace Administration of China. “We should respect other countries’ national sovereignty and strictly abide by their laws when providing them with AI products and services,” the initiative read. “We oppose using AI technologies for the purposes of manipulating public opinion, spreading
disinformation, intervening in other countries’ internal affairs, social systems and social order, as well as jeopardizing the sovereignty of other states.” The initiative also called for the establishment of a testing and assessment system based on AI risk levels and the establishment and improvement of relevant laws, regulations and rules, so as to ensure personal privacy and data security. It also urged the adherence to the principles of fairness and non-discrimination, and to avoid biases and discrimination based on ethnicities, beliefs, nationalities, genders, etc., during the process of data collection, algorithm design, technology development, and product development and application. “The Initiative presents a constructive approach to addressing universal concerns over AI development and governance and draws up blueprints for relevant international discussions and rule-making,” a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said
in a statement on Wednesday. “China stands ready to have exchanges and practical cooperation with all sides on global AI governance and deliver benefit for all human beings through AI technology.” China’s cooperative and win-win approach is conducive to not only its own de-
velopment but also common progress in technological innovation for all countries participating in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said Sun Yuzhong, a researcher at the Institute of Computing Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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07
CPEC HELPS TO BUILD AN ENABLING ECONOMIC Mohamed Essa Al Taheri joins ENVIRONMENT IN PAKISTAN: DR MEHMOOD U Microfinance Bank as CORPORATE CORNER
Acting President & CEO
LAHORE: U Microfinance Bank is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Mohamed Essa Al Taheri as the Acting President & CEO of U Bank. We welcome him onboard!Mr. Al Taheri has been associated with U Bank as a Member of the Board of Directors and worked with e& Group as the Group EVP Financial Policies and Systems. He holds a Master’s degree in International Business from the University of Wollongong, Dubai, and brings over 20 years of professional experience from working with HSBC Bank, Dubai Commercial Bank, and the Development Board of Dubai Government.The appointment of Mr. Essa Al Taheri comes soon after the resignation of Mr. Kabeer Naqvi, who earlier held the position of President & CEO of U Bank. Mr. Naqvi leaves behind a remarkable legacy of progress, innovation, and exponential growth during his tenure at the bank. He was associated with U Bank since 2015 and led it with vigor and a drive to create an impactful difference in the microfinance industry of Pakistan. PR
SadaPay enables Apple Pay invoicing for freelancers in Pakistan
LAHORE: Today marks a monumental day for freelancers across Pakistan. SadaPay, the fintech that launched a business account (SadaBiz) tailored for freelancers earlier this year, announces that SadaBiz users will now be able to receive payments via Apple Pay. The announcement came as part of SadaPay’s first ever SadaSummit held last Friday at COLABS. The event was attended by IT industry veterans, thought leaders in the freelancing ecosystem and early adopters of SadaBiz. In addition to the Apple Pay announcement, the agenda featured panel talks and fireside chats full of optimism for the future of Pakistan as a global freelancing hub. Apple Pay’s user base, at 550 million, has surpassed PayPal’s 450 million. Not just that, but the payment volume via Apple Pay is four times greater than PayPal’s, and is growing at an exponential rate. The reach is massive, with over 2 billion iPhones globally equipped with Apple Pay. SadaPay recognized this potential and its importance for the Pakistani market and its freelancers to have a popular and trusted payment rail available for their clients to easily make payments. PR
Another 118 gas connections disconnected in Punjab, KP and Islamabad: SNGPL
During the ongoing crackdown against gas pilferers, SNGPL continued raids in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad, disconnecting another 118 connections while imposing fine of Rs.8.03 million and 324 under billing cases processed In Lahore, the regional team disconnected 10 connections on illegal use of gas, another 04 connections on the use of compressor and 10 Under billing cases processed. The team also booked Rs.0.22 million against gas theft and Under billing cases. In Bahawalpur, the regional team disconnected 04 connections on the use of compressor and 24 Under billing cases processed. The team also booked Rs.0.003 million against Under billing cases. The company disconnected 06 connections on illegal use of gas, another 01 connection on the use of compressor and 77 under billing cases have been processed in Multan and amount of Rs 0.37 Million have been booked against gas theft and Under billing cases. PR
KP TB Control Program committed to eradicating TB
PESHAWAR: As a part of its initiative towards preventing tuberculosis (TB) in Pakistan, Mercy Corps, in collaboration with TB Control Program Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Association for Community Development (ACD), and Greenstar Social Marketing (GSM), organized a one-day seminar titled 'Advocacy and Awareness Seminar on TB Preventive Treatment (TPT)’. Mercy Corps and its implementing partners with the financial support of The Global Fund are actively implementing a comprehensive TB program in 120 districts of Pakistan.Over the years, Mercy Corps has been engaging the private health sector, boosting community awareness, and conducting outreach activities, including remote areas of Pakistan through collaboration with the National TB Control Program (NTP) and Provincial TB Control Programs (PTPs), Health Departments, and its implementing partners. The TPT initiative is a pivotal component of Mercy Corps' strategy aimed at curtailing the spread of TB. PR
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ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
XECUTIVE Director, Center for South Asia and International Studies (CSAIS) Islamabad, Dr Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan on Thursday said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had helped build an enabling economic environment in Pakistan as energy, education and the economy being among its key pillars. China had invested US$25.4 billion in direct projects in Pakistan, creating 236,000 jobs, generating 8,000 megawatts of electricity, and building 510 kilometers of highways and 886 km of the national electricity grid, said a press release issued here. Also, about 28,000 Pakistani students were studying in China and more than 20,000 Pakistanis were learning Chinese, he said. Dr Mehmood said that all prominent
national experts were of the view that CPEC was a blessing and guarantor of our future socio-economic prosperity and eradication of poverty. Meanwhile, talking on the 3rd Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Forum, he said that during his keynote speech, the Chinese president Xi covered all aspects of BRI’s past achievements, present status and future priorities. It was constructive, positive, and productive, giving the message of hope of a brighter future through international cooperation, economic globalization, openness, inclusiveness, modernization and qualitative industrialization in all the member countries and rest of the world, he said. It clearly explained the important experience in achieving the success of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and proposes China’s support. It was a clear demonstration of the Chinese Geo-Economics, he said.
Moreover, the speech was highly constructive, positive and effective. He said President Xi’s pledged that the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China would each set up CNY 350 billion financing windows, and the Silk Road Fund would add CNY 80 billion in funds to support Belt and Road projects through market-oriented and commercial methods. Thus President Xi initiated a grand financial integration for the member countries of the BRI. Fortunately, during BRF CEO Forum agreements reached on 97.2 billion US dollars of project cooperation through the Entrepreneur Conference. China will also implement 1,000 small livelihood assistance projects, promote vocational education cooperation between China and foreign countries, and strengthen security guarantees for Belt and Road projects and personnel which is good omen for the development of SMEs in the member countries.
Adamjee Life wins 17th Consumer Choice Award 2023
KARACHI: Adamjee Life, one of Pakistan's largest life insurance companies, received the coveted ‘Trusted Insurance Partner Award’ for ‘Excellence in Customer Service’ at the Consumers Association of Pakistan's 17th Consumers Choice Awards 2023 in Karachi. Mr. Kamran Tessori, Minister of Sindh, presented the award to Ms. Nabeela Darugar, Head of Corporate Sales & Marketing at Adamjee Life. This Award represents Adamjee Life's growth, customer-centric attitude, innovative products, and ability to meet consumers' changing needs. Ms. Nabeela Darugar stated, "It is an honor and a privilege for Adamjee Life to receive this recognition from Pakistan's esteemed network of consumer rights. Adamjee Life has always been a consumerfocused company, and we continue to strive to serve our customers more effectively through technology driven services & products.” PR
NEPRA hosts hearing on KE’s plea on FAC for April to June 2023
NEPRA conducted a public hearing on the petition filed by K-Electric (KE) on account of Quarterly Tariff Adjustments (QTA) for April to June 2023. Under the Uniform Tariff Policy that is applicable throughout the country, the impact of QTA is usually not passed to customers. Final decisions, however, are based on NEPRA’s determination and subsequent notification by the Federal Government. The QTA includes unrecovered cost related to changes in T&D loss component of FCA, O&M and capacity power purchase, other adjustments and write off claims as per the prescribed mechanisms. PR
Public safety ought to be top priority: Dr Shahzad Bangash
Dr. Shahzad Khan Bangash, Federal Secretary Ministry of Housing and Works visited Shaheed-eMillat Secretariat Islamabad, today. During his visit, Secretary Ministry of Housing and Works inspected the lifts installed in the building, which were closed due to technical reasons. He was briefed by DG PWD and his maintenance staff that the lifts were installed in 2006 and due to excessive use and maintenance issues the lifts have been closed to avoid any accidents. They further apprised the secretary that the lifts are being inspected by a team of experts from a French company, who will advise the development if the lifts could be replaced. The Secretary emphasized the importance of regular maintenance of lifts to prevent any malfunctions or accidents. He also directed the concerned authority for procurement of three new lifts to the building immediately and said that public safety. PR
Nestlé Pakistan posts third quarter results
LAHORE: Nestlé Pakistan recorded a revenue of PKR 151,153 million for the third quarter of 2023, an increase of 24.9% as compared to the same period last year. This increase in revenue can be attributed to broad-based growth across our products and demand generating activities.The results were shared at the end of the Company’s Board of Directors’ meeting at its Head Office.Despite headwinds – high inflation and limited foreign exchange availability for imports, among others – a tighter control on fixed costs by the Company as well as focus on localization of raw and packaging materials led to an improvement in the operating profit. The Company maintains a cautiously optimistic outlook for the rest of the year. The Company’s efforts will focus on accelerating our exports to remain resilient and contribute to the national economy, while continuing to delight our consumers with quality products. PR
Talking on Strategic significance of the ongoing BRF 2023, he said that the 3rd BRI Forum for International Cooperation was commenced in Beijing, the participation of more than 140 countries and 30 international organizations vividly reflected the strategic importance of BRI in term of socioeconomic development and trans-regional connectivity with the member countries covering more than 75 percent of world population and a large proportion of its GDP. It was carried out under the theme “High-quality Belt and Road Cooperation: Together for Common Development and Prosperity”, the forum, apart from the opening ceremony, consists of three highlevel meetings for in-depth discussions on connectivity, green development and the digital economy, and six thematic forums on trade connectivity, people-to-people relationship, exchanges among think tanks, green Silk Road, subnational cooperation and maritime cooperation.
Unilever Pakistan, SEED Ventures launch '2nd Life Pakistan' to revolutionize plastic waste management H. E. Chakkrid Krachaiwong, Ambassador of Kingdom of Thailand, presenting a memento to Arif Suleman on behalf of the Government of Thailand for his remarkable dedication and outstanding support in promoting friendship and activities of business communities of both Thailand and Pakistan. Also, Mr. Narut Soontarodom, Consul General of Thailand, was present during the special recognition at Thai Consulate Karachi. PR
Reforms in ICT Traffic Police Headquarters to enhance civic facilities in current year
ISLAMABAD: According to the details, following the special directives of the Islamabad Capital City Police Officer (ICCPO), Dr. Akbar Nasir Khan, the Islamabad Capital Police has undertaken significant reforms for the betterment of citizens at the Traffic Police Headquarters in Islamabad, a public relations officer said. He said that major reforms were implemented on a large scale during the ongoing year to provide better facilities to the citizens. The issuance of new driving licenses for citizens was made possible with the License Branch extending its working hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The DDL Hall will remain open on Saturdays for the convenience of the public. Additionally, a dedicated driving school and testing center were established for women in Sector H-11. For Pakistani expatriates, obtaining an online driving license has become easier. Safe City Islamabad is actively monitoring traffic violations using modern technology and issuing echallans for various traffic law violations. In cases of traffic law violations, driver’s licenses were suspended, and strict enforcement of traffic laws is being ensured. Unilateral road violations led to the registration of 686 FIRs, while 1,423 driving licenses were suspended for serious traffic law violations. ICCPO emphasized that the goal of all these reforms is to provide citizens with the maximum possible convenience, maintain the smooth flow of traffic in the federal capital, and ensure the safety of citizens from accidents. PR
IESCO continues action against defaulters and electricity thieves
Chief Executive IESCO Dr. Muhammad Amjad Khan said during a briefing that the best results are being achieved in ongoing campaign to clear the IESCO region from the scourge of electricity defaulters and theft. According to the details, IESCO's recovery teams have successfully collected 208.65 million from 19361 running defaulters, as well as 234.13 million from 8319 dead defaulters. Overall ongoing campaign IESCO has recover 442.78 million from 27680 customers. On the other hand, IESCO has also taken action against electricity theft by charging 3.07 million units by imposing fines 142.98 million on 2204 electricity thieves. Dr. Muhammad Amjad Khan emphasized that there should be no slackness or negligence in this campaign and that consumers should report electricity theft on the IESCO Helpline at 118 or contact the Chief Executive Complaint and Monitoring Cell at Phone No. 051-9352933. PR
Balochistan govt approves establishment of SSGC Police Station in Quetta
The Provincial Cabinet of the Government of Balochistan has unanimously approved Home Department’s request for establishing a dedicated Police Station for SSGC, with a condition that all the financial implications with regards to the salary, pension, operations and maintenance would be borne by SSGC. Meanwhile, the Police Station situation in situated in Quetta city formally started its operations last week. SSGC’s Police Station will support the Company’s Counter Gas Theft Operations teams and other departments of the SSGCL in cracking down on gas thieves, lodging FIRs and assisting in the prosecution of the miscreants. By acting as a major deterrence against gas theft and recovery, the Police Station and its Force are likely to significantly contribute towards reducing Unaccounted-for-Gas (UFG) or line losses in Balochistan. The Police Station will soon be inaugurated by SSGC’s MD, Imran Maniar and ADMD (Operations and UFG) Saeed Rizvi. PR
KARACHI: Unilever Pakistan and SEED Ventures announced a collaborative initiative named '2nd Life Pakistan,' to address the issue of plastic waste and sustainable waste management in Pakistan.Speaking about the initiative, Amir Paracha, Chairman & CEO, Unilever Pakistan, highlighted, "The '2nd Life Pakistan' challenge represents a significant step towards addressing plastic waste issues in our country. At Unilever Pakistan, we are passionate about sustainability, and through this initiative, we aim to harness local talent and innovation to create a lasting positive impact on our environment."In the words of Shaista Ayesha, CEO of SEED Ventures, "Initiatives like '2nd Life Pakistan' serve as bridges between nascent innovations and established industries. They expand the horizons for research and contribute to a knowledge pool where all stakeholders can gain a better understanding of the landscape." PR
Health Asia hosts multiple seminars on health issues
KARACHI: The 20th edition of Health Asia has commenced on Thursday hosting various seminars on critical health issues to discuss the way forward to bring modern practices of healthcare treatment across the country through high-tech infrastructure and innovative technologies at Karachi Expo Center.The seminar on Digital Health highlighted various efforts of the private sector to provide treatment rural and remote areas in the country with the aid of various devices and support of paramedic staff. The importance of digital health system has increased in Pakistan following the devastation of the floods in all provinces, hence the coverage of digital health should be enhanced at an accelerated pace.The seminar on Sustainable Health Practices also highlighted the emerging practices in the healthcare in developed countries which should be adopted and available to the masses on affordable basis. The seminar also urged young students to be a part of the healthcare sector to meet the shortage of medical professionals in the country. PR
UNFPA organises Naqsh Digital Film Festival under banner of Fatima Jinnah Women University
ISLAMABAD: The Naqsh Digital Film Festival, a remarkable cinematic event aimed at celebrating creativity and promoting social awareness, recently concluded its successful run in Islamabad. Organized in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Fatima Jinnah Women University. One of the festival's Food Partner, Cheezious, played a vital role in making this event possible, contributing to the success of the festival and its mission.This festival showcased the talents of aspiring filmmakers and emphasized critical themes such as women empowerment, Pakistan as a tourist destination, digital innovation, peace, tolerance, and environmental sustainability. Our distinguish guest Minister of Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi & elite panel of judges, comprised of prominent figures in the film and entertainment industry, had the challenging task of evaluating and recognizing outstanding entries. PR
Friday, 20 October, 2023
PRAYER TIMINGS
SIX MONTHS ON, SUZUKI’S STILL REELING FROM DISASTROUS FIRST QUARTER RESULTS NEWS
NINE MONTHS INTO YEAR, COMPANY IS ON ITS WORST FOOTING IN PAST FIVE YEARS DESPITE JULY-SEPTEMBER PERFORMANCE BEING BEST IN RECENT MEMORY
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DANIYAL AHMAD
UZUKI Pakistan, formally known as Pak Suzuki Motor Company, released their earnings for the ninth period ending September on October 19. The verdict? The company has registered its most dismal performance for the ninth month over the last halfdecade. Suzuki has been dealt a crushing blow across all major financial performance indicators. The company’s earnings before interest, and net profit have plummeted to five-year lows. If it weren’t for the company’s revenue and gross profit marginally surpassing their counterparts during the pandemic-ridden 2020, this would have been a complete financial meltdown over a five-year span. Intriguingly, this downturn also coincides with Suzuki recording the best July to Sep-
tember earnings over the past five years. “Suzuki is essentially a casualty of the relentless economic storm. That has hopefully ended now,” Yousuf Farooq, Director of Research at Chase Securities, articulates. Echoing his sentiments, Faizan Kamran Khan, CEO of FRIM Ventures, adds, “The automobile sector has arguably borne the brunt of the economic meltdown that’s swept the country.” Before we dissect how Suzuki found itself ensnared in this predicament, it’s worth spotlighting that the company performed exceptionally well from July to September. In fact, Suzuki has outperformed its own expectations over the past quarter. The company’s net profit of Rs 4 billion marks a recordbreaking July to September profit in the company’s ledger over the last five years. So, what’s their secret? “A significantly low tax rate this quarter was bolstered by utilisation of its deferred tax asset while margins im-
Govt raises Rs1.1tr in short-term debt as T-bill yields decline slightly g
DATA SHARED BY JS GLOBAL CAPITAL SHOWS HIGHEST-EVER PARTICIPATION IN 12-MONTH T-BILLS
PROFIT
proved due to efficient inventory procurement. The company also recorded finance income instead of a charge, possibly due to exchange gains resulting from the Rupee’s appreciation,” Khan elucidates. Now, onto Suzuki’s woes. Demand destruction Much like the rest of the industry, Suzuki’s total sales have taken a nosedive. The combined sales of four-wheelers and two-wheelers stand at a mere 40,274 units. This represents the lowest inventory of vehicles that Suzuki has managed to sell by September in any year over the past five years. Alarmingly, the current figure is even lower than what Suzuki recorded during 2020, at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The culprits behind Suzuki’s sales slump? From a demand perspective, it’s the rampant inflation and the relentless upward price revisions due to the Pakistani Rupee’s continuous depreciation against the US Dollar. One way to
gauge the impact of the economic crisis on automotive demand is by examining automotive lending. “Auto financing accounted for 44% of total personal loans back in August 2021, while it currently stands at 33%,” Khan reveals with a hint of exasperation. There’s also been a shift in Suzuki’s sales composition that further intensifies the inflationary pressures wreaking havoc. Customers are essentially gravitating towards either Suzuki’s most expensive offering or its most affordable. A whopping 36% of Suzuki’s total nine-month sales are attributable to the Alto. While this figure is lower than the 39% of total sales the Alto achieved over the same period last year, it still surpasses the previous year’s average of 29%.Moreover, Suzuki’s Swift and its motorcycles now account for 9% and 31% of total vehicular sales respectively.
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Govt to start exploring raw materials for fertilisers, batteries PROFIT
GHULAM ABBAS
The federal government of Pakistan has set in motion ambitious efforts to host exploration missions for phosphate and lithium ores. These ores are crucial for both agricultural fertilisers and lithium, a fundamental component for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. As per documents available with this scribe, the Federal Secretary for Science and Technology, Mr Ali Raza, recently chaired a pivotal meeting with the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) and representatives from the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) on September 19, 2023. The meeting was held at the Ministry of Science and Technology. The primary objective of this meeting was to strategize and coordinate the exploration of Phosphate and Lithium Ores, both of which are of substantial economic and strategic significance for Pakistan. Phosphate Ores: As per details Phosphate ores play an indispensable role in agriculture, serving as the primary source of phosphorus, a vital nutrient essential for crop growth. The rising global demand for phosphate fertilisers is driven by the increasing requirements of food production, raising concerns about supply security for many nations. Thus, the exploration of domestic phosphate reserves becomes imperative to ensure Pakistan’s agricultural needs and food security. Currently Pakistan is highly reliant on imports to fulfil its fertiliser needs. In the fiscal year 2020-21, Pakistan imported 749,154 tons of phosphate, valued at $109 million. In 2022-23, imports decreased to 438,356 tons but surged in value to $ 143 million. Even though Pakistan imports most of the extracted phosphate, it also exports some of its phosphate ores.
In 2020-21 21,634 tons were exported, which were valued at $2 million. In 2022-23, exports saw an increase to 27,042 tons, which were worth $ 3 million. Lithium Ores: The documents highlight that lithium is a critical ingredient in the manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy storage systems. The global shift towards clean energy and the electrification of transportation has fueled a significant demand for lithium. Currently, China and Australia are the dominant global suppliers of lithium, highlighting the issue of supply chain dependency. Therefore, exploring domestic lithium reserves assumes strategic importance. In the fiscal year 2021-22, Pakistan exported 46.6 tons of lithium, with an export value of $46.6 thousand (approximately Rs 97 lakh). Notably, no imports of lithium were recorded during this period. Mapping the Value Chain: During the meeting, the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) and PCSIR were assigned the task of “mapping the entire value chain of phosphate and lithium ores in Pakistan.” This comprehensive analysis will encompass processes from extraction to the final product, necessitating access to current information and resources within the country’s mining and processing sectors. A series of strategic actions were outlined during the meeting to advance the exploration and utilisation of phosphate and lithium ores. These actions contain steps like updating and digitising the current data and making it accessible online for all stakeholders. The collective bodies plan to conduct surveys throughout Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province for exploration, while also conducting mining surveys of already available phosphate and lithium ore sites in the country.
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UROOJ IMRAN
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) raised Rs 1.09 trillion in short-term debt via a treasury bills (T-bills) auction held on Wednesday. This was higher than the target of Rs 900 billion, which the central bank had set for debt maturity of Rs 783 billion. Tenders for the sale of three-month, six-month and 12-month T-bills were invited by SBP through primary dealers on October 18, for settlement the next day. According to the results shared by the SBP, bids amounting to Rs 1.69 trillion were received for the shortest tenor, while bids for the six-month and 12-month tenors stood at Rs 425 billion and Rs 2.15 trillion, respectively. According to data compiled by brokerage house JS Global Capital, this was the highest-ever amount of bids received for the longest tenor. The cut-off yield — the highest interest accepted — for the three-month T-bills was 22.2% while that for the six-month and 12-month tenors was 22.39% and 22.4% respectively. This was a decline of 35 basis points (bps), 45 bps, and 44 bps, respectively from cutoff yields in the previous auction held on October 4. According to brokerage house Topline Securities, the slight decline can be attributed to market expectations that the SBP’s Monetary Policy Committee will maintain the policy rate at 22% in its next meeting scheduled on October 30. SBP data showed the government raised the highest amount via the sale of 12-month T-bills i.e. Rs 931.29 billion. Meanwhile, Rs 50.75 billion and Rs 110.39 billion were raised through six-month and 12-month T-bills, respectively. The next T-bills auction will be held on November 1, through which the government aims to raise Rs 975 billion for debt maturity of Rs 1.29 trillion.
Textile exports dip by 10pc in July-September g
IMPORT OF TEXTILE MACHINERY DECREASED BY 75.38PC FOR CONSECUTIVE THREE MONTHS PROFIT
NEWS DESK
Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports have declined for the third consecutive month due to rising production costs and a liquidity crunch, as reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The export value of textile and clothing exports in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 (July-September) fell by 9.95 percent, dropping to $4.12 billion from $4.58 billion in the same period the previous year. In September, the textile and clothing exports contracted by 10.88pc, reaching $1.36 billion compared to $1.52 billion in the same month in the previous year. Caretaker Commerce Minister Gohar Ejaz had previously announced measures to address issues such as providing competitive energy prices to textile exporters and resolving cash flow problems through pending sales tax refunds, although these initiatives have not been implemented yet. The textile and clothing exports contracted by 14.63pc to $16.50 billion in the previous fiscal year (FY23). However, total merchandise exports also declined by 12.71pc to $27.54 billion from $31.78
billion in the preceding year. Data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics indicates that exports of readymade garments decreased in value during July-September but increased in quantity. Similarly, knitwear exports dipped in value but grew in quantity. Bedwear exhibited negative growth in value but grew slightly in quantity, while towel exports increased in value and quantity. Cotton cloth exports, on the other hand, declined in both value and quantity. Additionally, Pakistan experienced an increase in the export of raw cotton and yarn. However, made-up articles, art, silk, and synthetic textiles, as well as tents, canvas, and tarpaulin exports, witnessed declines in value. The import of textile machinery significantly decreased by 75.38pc in July-September, indicating a lack of priority for expansion or modernization projects. Moreover, the import of raw cotton also saw a substantial decline of 68.73pc in the same period. On the import front, synthetic fiber imports increased by 21.41pc, while synthetic silk yarn and worn clothing imports rose significantly. However, the overall exports in the first quarter of FY24 decreased by 3.63pc to $6.91 billion.
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ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) spokesperson Haroon Shinwari Thursday said that the ECP was trying its best to ensure transparency and credibility in upcoming general election polls where they had invited international and national observers to observe the electoral process. While talking to a TV channel, he said that national and international observance will provide us neutral feedback about the electoral process, adding, that the Election Commission accorded approval to the code of conduct for International Observers and also allowed to publish it on a priority basis. He added that the voter lists across the country will be frozen on October 25, formally stopping the process of registration, correctness and transfer of voters. He said all of the registered nationals will cast votes in the upcoming general elections, adding, that there are only 6 days left for the registration, transfer and correctness of the voters’ data. Replying to a question, the Spokesperson said the Elections Act 2017 empowers the electoral body to invite local or foreign observers to monitor the elections, adding, that under section 238 of the act, they can observe the election process. To another question, ECP special Secretary Dr Sayed Asif Hussain added the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is ready to hold general polls, adding, that we will utilize all available resources to conduct a transparent and peaceful election in the country.
Pakistan sends 100 tons humanitarian aid for Palestinians via Egypt ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Pakistan on Thursday sent humanitarian assistance for the people of Palestine including medicine, tents, and blankets. A chartered aircraft carrying 100 tons of essential medical supplies, tents, and blankets departed from Islamabad for Egypt this afternoon. From Egypt, the supplies will be transferred to the people of Gaza. At least 3,785 Palestinians were killed in Gaza in Israeli strikes since Oct 7, the health ministry in Gaza said Thursday. It comes as four more residential buildings were struck by Israeli air raids, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on X.
Six terrorists killed, four soldiers martyred in Waziristan gun battles ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Four soldiers of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom during two encounters with terrorists in North and South Waziristan districts, the military said in a statement on Thursday. According to InterServices Public Relations (ISPR), the first engagement occurred in the general area Gharyoum in North Waziristan district where Pakistani troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location as a result of which six of them were killed including a high-value target. It said that terrorist ringleader Hazrat Zaman alias Khawarey Mullah was actively involved in multiple terrorist activities in the area and was highly wanted by law enforcement agencies. However, during the operation, three brave sons of soil, a 36-year-old resident of district Rawalpindi Lance Naik Tabbasum UI Haq, a 30-year-old resident of district Attock Sepoy Naeem Akhtar and a 23-year-old resident of district Multan Sepoy Abdul Hameed, having fought gallantly, embraced martyrdom. In another intense fire exchange between own troops and terrorists in general area Asman Manza in South Waziristan district, a 25-year-old resident of district Kashmor Sepoy Farman Ali paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced martyrdom. The statement said that sanitization is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area. “Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” it further said.
AS OF OCTOBER 15, A TOTAL OF 5.99 MILLION BALES OF COTTON HAVE ARRIVED AT GINNING FACTORIES PROFIT
NEWS DESK
Cotton production in Pakistan has seen a substantial growth of 22 percent by October 15 compared to the same period of the previous year, according to data from the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association. However, this increase was not uniform across the country, as cotton production in Punjab plunged by 16 percent, while Sindh recorded a remarkable 84 percent growth. By October 15, a total of 5.99 million bales of cotton had arrived at ginning factories nationwide, marking a 16 percent rise over the total production of the previous cot-
ton season. In Sindh, cotton arrivals reached 3.45 million bales, representing an 84 percent surge compared to the previous year. The Sanghar district in Sindh emerged as the largest cotton-producing district, with 1.55 million bales, contributing 45 percent to Sindh’s and 26 percent to the national production of lint. In Punjab, 2.54 million bales arrived at ginning factories during the same period, 16 percent less than the province’s total production in the previous year. The decline in Punjab’s cotton production is attributed to a heavy whitefly attack on the crop. Chairman of the Cotton Ginners Forum Ihsanul Haq expressed concerns about the
overall cotton production, suggesting that the domestic cotton production for the year is expected to be around 9 million bales, falling short of the revised target of 11.5 million bales. It is said that local textile mills have purchased 4.99 million bales from ginning factories, while a foreign company acquired 0.268 million bales, leaving 0.735 million bales still available for sale with the ginners. One notable factor contributing to the increase in available cotton stock is the recent depreciation of the dollar, along with rising electricity and gas prices. In addition, textile exporters are waiting for refunds worth more than Rs700 billion.
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Published by Asad Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk