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Sunday, 11 February, 2024 I 30 Rajab, 1445

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SHEHBAZ MEETS BILAWAL BHUTTO, ASIF ZARDARI AND INVITES THEM TO WORK TOGETHER FOR PAKISTAN

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LAHORE STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have agreed to form a coalition government in the Centre and Punjab as results of some constituencies continue to trickle in on the third day.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif met PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto and former president Asif Ali Zardari and invited them to work together for Pakistan.

Shehbaz also met the PPP top leaders at the residence of Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

He discussed the future government formation with Zardari and also conveyed Nawaz Sharif’s message, said the sources.

Shehbaz Sharif met PPP’s top leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in Lahore, sources said, as the next government set-up is in discussions.

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The leaders, after deliberations, decided that they would hold another meeting once the numbers game was clear, the sources said. They added that the PML-N leader will meet JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman later. The prime minister’s slot was not in discussions, but it will be in later meetings, the sources added.

Sources said that Shehbaz Sharif is due to hold separate meetings with Muttahidda Qoumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) chief Dr Khalid Maqbool and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to help form a broad-based coalition government.

MWM, PkMAP offer PTI-backed candidates to use their party platform Meanwhile, Muttahidda Wahdatul-eMuslimeen (MWM) and Pashtunkhawa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai have invited the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)backed independent winners to join their respective parties to form the next fed-

Rs 20.00 | Vol XIV No 224 I 8 Pages I Karachi Edition

DUE TO HOLD SEPARATE MEETINGS WITH HEADS OF MQM-P, JUI-F TO HELP FORM A BROAD-BASED COALITION GOVT

No formal talks with any political party yet, says Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: In a recent statement, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), asserted that no formal discussions have taken place with any political party, including the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), regarding the government formation in Lahore.

During an interview with a private channel on Saturday, Bilawal clarified, “So far, there have been no formal talks with either the PML-N, PTI, or any other political party.” He emphasised the importance of awaiting the completion of the vote count in all constituencies before engaging in discussions about potential government alliances.

The PPP chairman expressed patience in anticipation of the official announcement of election results. He

eral government by electing party chairman Gohar Khan as prime minister.

Achakzai said in a statement that his party had been kept out of parliament because “they don’t like our faces.” He added that he knew that the election results would not be announced in his favour, therefore, he did not bother to stay up the whole night.

PTI-backed independent candidates sprang a big surprise by taking the nearly 100 National Assembly seats in Thursday’s elections. The candidates contested the elections as independents because the party

stated, “We are waiting for the completion of the vote count in all constituencies, and the results to be unveiled.”

Preceding the elections, the Central Executive Committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party nominated Bilawal as their candidate for prime minister. In response to this, he mentioned, “If we need to change this decision, we will once again convene the Central Executive Committee to decide collectively.”

Bilawal highlighted the importance of establishing a ‘political consensus’ in the country, asserting that without such consensus, any government formed would face challenges in delivering effective governance.

He remarked, “Some informal contacts are present in our relationships, but so far, there has been no contact with the PTI bloc.” STAFF REPORT

was denied its electoral symbol because of its intra-party election controversy.

Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas declared allegiance to the incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan during a press conference.

Addressing concerns about the speed of election results, he emphasised that their support was unconditional and not contingent on favours. Abbas stated, “Our party aligns with the vision of Imran Khan. We stand ready to fulfil his aspirations; we make no demands of our own.”

Imran Khan to decide about next PM, says Gohar Khan ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

PML-N forms committee to contact independent candidates for government formation LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Saturday formed a committee to contact independent candidates. According to Muslim League-N, a committee comprising of Ishaq Dar, Rana Sanaullah and Ayaz Sadiq will contact independent candidates for government formation.

It is pertinent to note on Friday PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif announced to form the government together in alliance with all the parties.

In his statement, Nawaz Sharif said that they are the majority party in the Center and Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif and Ishaq Dar will talk to Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari, Maulana Fazl-urRehman of the Jamat-e-Ulema Islami-Fazl (JUI-F), Mutahidda Qoumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) Khalid Maqbool.

It is pertinent to note that independent candidates have succeeded in making a century in the National Assembly in the general elections of 2024, where the Muslim League-N has won 73 seats.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar made it clear that PTI had emerged as a lead political party to comfortably form independent governments in the center, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab, as people gave their clear verdict “slavery is unacceptable’.

Speaking at a press conference along with PTI senator Walid Iqbal and PTI Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan, PTI Chairman congratulated the nation on behalf of PTI Founding Chairman Imran Khan for making a history by trouncing the political opponents in the electoral field with clear margin against all odds.

“Khan Sahab, who is in jail, said we won’t let slavery happen.

Now the whole situation is in front of you, as people came out in droves on their leader’s call to vote for PTI who remained unfazed despite facing all operation and suppression,” he added.

Barrister Gohar said: “We will continue to struggle for the rights of the people, and we will present some facts to you. At the moment, PTI has a lead of 170 seats, and legal avenues will be pursued regarding what happened with results.”

PTI Chairman stated that the ECP’s last responsibility was to compile the results in a transparent manner, as according to the law, the contesting candidate, an election agent and an authorised ob-

server needed to be present during the compilation process.

He said that people used their right to vote peacefully on February 8 on ex-premier Imran Khan’s call and it was the ECP’s “constitutional and legal responsibility” to declare polling results by 2am the next day and to explain the reasons if there was a delay.

PTI Chairman urged that the voters’ mandate must be respected and no hurdles should be created for PTI in forming government since it had clear-cut majority with securing victory on 170 National Assembly seats out of the 265 where elections were held.

He said that President Arif Alvi would invite his party to form the government as they had gotten a clear and convincing majority in the National Assembly. He said the economy would not be able to tolerate the suppression of peoples’ voice and forming a desired government.

Gohar Khan stated that PTI

Chairman-for-life would decide who will be the next prime minister of Pakistan. “He is the one, always, and he is the leader whether he is in jail or outside,” he added.

“PTI has claimed victory on 39 NA seats out of the 45 in KP, which was historic and unprecedented that a party had won these many National Assembly seats from the province,” he added.

“Out of these, 94 are those that the ECP is admitting and has issued Form-47,” Gohar maintained.

PTI Chairman further continued that 22 seats — including three of Islamabad, four of Sindh and the rest of Punjab — were those where according to Form-45, the PTI had won but there was an apparent attempt to shape the winning seats of the PTI into defeats.

Gohar Khan went on to say that PTI had achieved two thirds majority in KP and was heading towards winning a majority in the Punjab Assembly.

Imran granted bail in 12 May 9 cases, Qureshi in 13 cases g

AL-QADIR TRUST CASE PUT OFF TILL FEB 15 DUE TO UNAVAILABILITY OF JUDGE RAWALPINDI STAFF REPORT

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Rawalpindi on Saturday granted bail to former premier Imran Khan in 12 cases about the May 9 riots while former foreign minister Shah Mehmood was granted bail in 13 cases.

ATC Judge Ijaz Asif heard the bail applications on Saturday while PTI counsel Shiraz Ahmad Ranjha appeared before the court.

During the proceedings, the judge turned down the prosecution’s request for more time in the cases.

The court said there was no justification to keep the PTI founder under arrest and all accused in May 9 cases are on bail.

Later, the court approved the bail of the PTI founder in 12 cases about May 9 vandalism and party vicechairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in 13 cases.

Imran was also granted bail in the GHQ and Army Museum attack cases and the court ordered a surety bond of Rs0.1 million in all 12 cases.

Imran and Qureshi were indicted in the cases on February 6. The two were produced before the court, where the former prime minister informed the judge that he was illegally arrested on May 9 from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Imran was booked in multiple cases related to the violence on May 9, which erupted across the country following his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

The cases registered in Rawalpindi included the attack on the gate of General Headquarters (GHQ), rioting in the office of a sensitive institution and others.

He had denied the allegations mentioned in the first information reports (FIRs) of the cases.

It may be noted that earlier, after his release from Adiala jail, PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi was whisked away by Punjab police from prison in connection with a case pertaining to the attack on the GHQ. It is to be noted that Imran Khan has been in Adiala Jail after being convicted in cypher, Toshakhana and illegal marriages cases.

Meanwhile, An Anti-Terrorism Court Lahore on Saturday extended interim bail of Imran Khan’s sisters in a case linked to May 9 riots.

Both Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan appeared before the court in connections with May 9 incidents.

The court extended the interim bail of Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan, Zain Qureshi and others until February 22.

190 million pounds reference The Accountability Court Islamabad on Saturday adjourned the hearing against PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in 190 million pounds reference, known as Al-Qadir Trust case, till Feb 15.

Accountability Court judge Muhammad Bashir was was set to hear the case in Adiala jail. But the case hearing was postponed due to unavailabilty of Judge Muhammad Bashir.

Judge Muhammad Bashir would hear the case against PTI founder and Bushra Bibi in 190 million pounds reference.

As per sources, there was a possibility of indictment against PTI founder and Bushra Bibi in 190 million pounds reference case in today’s hearing but it was postponed.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a reference in the accountability court against the PTI chairman pertaining to the 190 million pounds AlQadir Trust scam.

The PTI founder has already been convicted in three cases, ‘cypher case’, ‘Toshakhana case’ and illegal marriage case.

COAS urges political parties to reciprocate public trust with maturity, unity RAWALPINDI

STAFF REPORT

Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir on Saturday stated that as the people of Pakistan reposed their trust in the Constitution, it was incumbent upon all political parties to reciprocate the same with political maturity and unity, the military’s media wing quoted him as saying.

“Pakistan’s diverse polity and pluralism will be well-represented by a unified government of all democratic forces imbibed with national purpose. Elections and democracy are means to serve the people of Pakistan and not ends in themselves,” a statement from ISPR quoted the army chief as saying.

The COAS added that the nation needed “stable hands and a healing touch” to move on from the politics of anarchy and polarisation which does not suit a progressive country of 250 million people.

Gen Asim Munir congratulated the entire nation, the caretaker government, the Election Commission of Pakistan, political parties and all winning candidates on the successful conduct of general elections 2024.

“Free and unhindered participation by Pakistani people to exercise their right to vote demonstrated their commitment to democracy and the rule of law as enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan,” the military’s media wing quoted him as saying.

Tens of millions of people headed to the polling stations on February 8 to elect a new government amid soaring inflation and incidents of violence.

Independent candidates led the race for the National Assembly seats, according to the provisional results by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The statement from the Inter-Service Public Relations said that leadership and personnel of law-enforcement agencies deserve

“our highest appreciation for creating a safe and secure environment for the electoral process, despite overwhelming odds.”

He hailed the role played by national media, civil society, members of civil administration and the judiciary in the conduct of the “largest” electoral exercise in national history.

“Elections were not a zero-sum competition of winning and losing but an exercise to determine the mandate of the people, he said and stated that political leadership and their workers should rise above self-interests and synergise efforts in governing and serving the people which was perhaps the only way to make democracy functional and purposeful.

“As we move forward from this national milestone we must reflect on where the country stands today and where our rightful place should be in the comity of nations,” he said and wished that polls bring in political and economic stability and prove to be the harbinger of peace and prosperity for the country.

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PTI CANDIDATES MOVE LHC AGAINST PML-N ‘WINNING CANDIDATES’

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sunday, 11 February, 2024 | KARACHI

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LAHORE

Staff RepoRt

EVERAL petitions have been filed in the Lahore High Court contesting the victories of key PML-N candidates, including three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, and Istehkam-ePakistan Party (IPP) leader Aleem Khan.

The petitioners argued that their rights were violated as they were not allowed to witness the consolidation process of the election results at RO offices during the preparation of Form-47.

Independent candidates supported by PTI, who secured runner-up positions, claimed that they were forcefully removed by police officials acting at the behest of various ROs from observing the result consolidation process. They argued that this eviction constitutes a blatant violation of the fair process for witnessing the crucial phase.

The petitioners urged the high court to

set aside Form-47, prepared in their absence, and demanded that ROs conduct the consolidation process in compliance with the Election Act 2017 and the Election Rules 2017, allowing petitioners and their agents to be present.

PTI-backed independent candidates are challenging the victories of PML-N candidates, including Nawaz Sharif from NA-130, Maryam Nawaz from NA-119, Khawaja Asif from NA-71 Sialkot, Hamza Shehbaz Sharif from NA-118, Atta Tarar from NA-127, Saiful Maluk Khokhar from NA-126, and others from different constituencies. IPP’s candidate Aleem Khan’s victory in NA-117 is also under dispute.

Additionally, PTI-backed independent candidates contesting five seats for the Punjab Assembly are challenging the victories of PML-N contestants from PP169, PP-53, PP-47, PP-62, and PP-46 on similar grounds of being forcibly removed from RO offices.

One independent candidate, Ishtiaq Ahmed Samsialvi, challenged Nawaz Sharif’s victory from NA-130, alleging that he and others were asked to leave the RO office when PTI-backed candidate Dr Yasmeen Rashid was leading. The petitioner requested the court to set aside Form-47 and direct the RO to conduct the consolidation process in his presence.

Another PTI-backed candidate, Shahzad Farooq, challenged Maryam Nawaz’s victory in NA-119, claiming that he and his polling agents were forcefully removed from the RO’s office when results were in his favour. He requested the court to provide copies of Form-45 and allow him to participate in the consolidation process, further urging the court to prevent the RO from announcing the final result.

PTI-backed contestants, including Rihana Dar, argued that they and their agents were forcibly removed from ROs’ offices as results favoured them. They implore the court to set aside Form-47 prepared in their

absence and direct the ROs to conduct the consolidation process in their presence.

Earlier, on February 9, Justice Ali Baqar Najafi of the LHC restrained further proceedings on the election results of NA128, suspending the operation of Form-47

prepared by the RO in the absence of the PTI-backed independent candidate Salman Akram Raja or his agent. The order was issued following a plea challenging Raja’s eviction from the premises during the consolidation of election results.

Alvi says use of EVMs could’ve averted election ‘rigging’ ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

President of Pakistan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, Dr Arif Alvi, on Saturday took to microblogging platform “X” (formerly Twitter), lamenting the absence of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the recent elections, stating that their implementation could have averted the current crisis.

President Alvi reminisced about the prolonged struggle for EVMs, emphasising their capability to provide quick and transparent results. In his post, he highlighted that EVMs would have allowed for the separate manual counting of paper ballots, while also featuring an electronic calculator/counter for each vote button pressed.

According to him, this would have enabled the swift availability and printing of totals for every candidate within five

minutes of the poll’s closing.

He expressed disappointment over the thwarting of the extensive effort, which

Nawaz Sharif challenges ‘defeat’ in NA-15 Mansehra ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Supremo Nawaz Sharif on Saturday formally challenged the election result of National Assembly constituency NA-15 Mansehra.

Independent candidate Shehzada Gashtasab Khan emerged victorious NA-15 Mansehra against Nawaz Sharif, securing 105,249 votes, as per the unofficial tally released by the Returning Officer/Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Nawaz Sharif trailed behind with 80,382 votes, according to the same unofficial count.

Meanwhile, the voter turnout for NA-15 Mansehra-cum-Torghar remained at 38.38 percent. In an application filed with the Election Commission, Nawaz Sharif highlighted the logistical difficulties faced by many areas in Mansehra due to severe snowfall, leading to communication disruptions during the crucial election process. Consequently, he asserted that the outcome of NA-15 should be withheld until the matter is thoroughly investigated and resolved.

involved over 50 meetings at the Presidency alone, to introduce EVMs. President Alvi asserted that had the

electronic voting system been in place, Pakistan could have been spared the current crisis surrounding delayed and uncertain election results.

In a separate post, President Alvi invoked wisdom in the face of adversity, suggesting that if one finds themselves in a hole, it is prudent to seek Allah’s help and, at the very least, stop digging.

The president’s remarks came against the backdrop of a post-election scenario where a clear victor remained elusive, and independent candidates supported by PTI maintained numerical superiority over mainstream parties. The delayed announcement of results, attributed by the government to the suspension of mobile phone services, kept the nation on edge for nearly 24 hours.

The piecemeal release of election results contributed to heightened uncertainty, sparking speculations and causing alarm among the public.

Huge number of candidates moves court against ‘massive vote fraud’ LAHORE

Staff RepoRt

Hectic legal activity is expected over next few days as several results of general elections 2024, showing PMLN candidates’ winners, are challenged in high courts, with opponents alleging that their defeat was a result of “rigging”, ARY News reported on Saturday.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) affiliated independent candidates have moved the Lahore High Court (LHC), challenging the results of the PP-164 and NA-118 – where father-son duo, Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz secured victory.

In his petition, independent candidate Yousuf Mio, who contested against PML-N president, claimed that the returning officer (RO) did not allow the petitioner to enter the office.

“The results were announced in the petitioner’s absence,” stated the application, urging the court to direct returning officer to announce the results as per Form-45.

“The court also bar the Election Commission from issuing the final result”, the petitioner said, requesting the court to declare form-47 results’ null and void.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar has called on party workers and supporters to protest outside the offices of ROs tomorrow in constituencies where the results have been delayed.

“According to [Imran] Khan’s instructions, the areas in which our results were withheld and delayed and intentionally our majority is being converted… to turn a winning seat into a defeat.” He maintained that the protests would be peaceful and urged PTI workers to protest in accordance with the law.

PML-N forms committee to contact independent candidates for government formation LAHORE

Meanwhile, Alia Hamza’s husband, whose wife contested against Hamza Shehbaz, challenged the result and noted that the PML-N candidate lost the election as per Form-45.

On the other hand, Dr Yasmeen Rashid also challenged former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s victory in Lahore’s NA-130 constituency in Lahore High Court (LHC).

Another independent candidate Shehzad Farooq challenged Maryam

MIRAN SHAH

Staff RepoRt

leading a protest against the delay in election results in NA-40 from where he was contesting. Dawar, the chief of the National Democratic Movement, was

ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

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Nawaz’s success from Lahore’s NA:119, while another PML-N winner Ata Tarar’s success in NA:127 has also been challenged in court by PTIsupported independent candidate Zaheer Abbas Khokhar.

Rehana Dar, mother of Usman Dar, petitioned the high court for recounting of votes in Sialkot’s NA-71, challenging the success of PML-N veteran Khawaja Asif in the Sialkot constituency.

Ex-MNA Mohsin Dawar injured in North Waziristan firing Former MNA and National Democratic Movement (NDM) chief Mohsin Dawar was injured in firing by police officials in North Waziristan’s Miranshah area, his party leader Bushra Gohar said.

Police claimed NDM supporters opened fire at a security camp in the area and the former lawmaker was injured in the leg after police retaliated.

Dawar and three injured NDM supporters were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital Miran Shah for medical assistance.

Taking to her X handle, Gohar condemned the “cowardly attack” on Dawar, adding that she held the ECP responsible for the attack.

In incident occurred when Dawar was

PTI calls for protest outside RO offices over result delay

contesting from the district’s NA-40 constituency, where he had alleged there were attempts to rig the polling results. The incident comes more than a month after he

survived a gun attack on his convoy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s tribal district.

Earlier in January, Dawar’s convoy was attacked by unidentified assailants in North Waziristan. The local police said that while Dawar was campaigning when his convoy came under fire in Tehsil Miranshah village Tapi.

However, Dawar, shielded by his bulletproof vehicle, remained unharmed during the assault. The police responded swiftly and immediately relocated the politician to a nearby secure location, while law enforcement initiated a search for the assailants.

The police revealed that gunfire damaged the front and side windows of Dawar’s car, but the bullet-proofing ultimately safeguarded him from harm, allowing for his secure evacuation to a protected site.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Saturday formed a committee to contact independent candidates. According to Muslim League-N, a committee comprising of Ishaq Dar, Rana Sanaullah and Ayaz Sadiq will contact independent candidates for government formation. It is pertinent to note on Friday PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif announced to form the government together in alliance with all the parties. In his statement, Nawaz Sharif said that they are the majority party in the Center and Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif and Ishaq Dar will talk to Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman of the Jamat-eUlema Islami-Fazl (JUI-F), Mutahidda Qoumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) Khalid Maqbool. It is pertinent to note that independent candidates have succeeded in making a century in the National Assembly in the general elections of 2024, where the Muslim League-N has won 73 seats.

JI, PTI stage protest outside ECP provincial office in Karachi against ‘massive rigging’ KARACHI

Staff RepoRt

The three political parties including Tehreek-eLabbaik Pakistan (TLP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) staged a protest outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) provincial office in Karachi, denouncing what they claimed to be electoral rigging in the general election 2024. As the results of the general election of 2024 emerged, the political parties staged a protest outside ECP’s provincial office and denounced against the alleged electoral rigging while demanding fair electoral results. A heavy contingent of police has been deployed around the office of the Provincial ECP office, while officials of the law enforcement agencies also took up positions to control the situation. Earlier, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) announced sit-in protests outside the ECP office, demanding a thorough review of the results of the general election 2024.

Sunday, 11 February, 2024 | KARACHI

INDEPENDENTS DOMINATE WITH 100 NA, 90 KP ASSEMBLY SEATS

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GENERAL POLLS 2024

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ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPOERT

NDEPENDENT candidates continued to consolidate their lead in the General Elections 2024 over mainstream political parties, especially in the National and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies, throughout the result announcement process.

They won 190 seats in the National and KPK assemblies, according to the results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) till Saturday.

According to available results (Form-47) from 255 National Assembly constituencies, independent candidates secured 100 seats, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) 73, Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) 54, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) three, Istehqam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) two, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan 17, Grand Democratic Alliance one, Pakistan Muslim League-Zia one, Majlis-e-Wahdat-

e-Muslimeen Pakistan (MWMP) one, and PML three seats. Out of 295 Punjab Assembly-seat results, independent candidates won 137 seats, PML-N 137, PPPP 10, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan 1, IPP 1, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) 7, and PML-Z 1.

For the Sindh Assembly, PPPP secured 84 seats, independent candidates 13, MQMP 28, GDA 2, and Jamaat-e-Islami 2, out of the total 129 constituencies’ results. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, independent candidates clinched 90 provincial assembly seats, PML-N 5, PPPP 4, JUI 7, JI 3, Awami National Party (ANP) and PTIP one each, out of 112 seats.

In Balochistan, PML-N secured 9 seats, PPPP 11, JUI 9, independent candidates 6, JI 1, Awami National Party 2, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) 4, and one each by Balochistan National Party-Awami and National Party (NP), as per the results announced for 48 seats so far.

According to the ECP, over 128 million

Fatima Surayya Bajia remembered LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

The 8th death anniversary of famous tv playwright and urdu novelist Fatima Surayya Bajia was observed across the country. The literary icon, received ample recognition for her contributions to literature. Shama, Afshan, Aroosa, Ana and Tasveer are her memorable plays. Fatima Surayya received multiple awards at home and abroad including the Pride of Performance and Hilal-i-Imtiaz. She died in Karachi in 2016 on this day due to throat cancer.

PPP, PML-N exchange reservations over criticism before elections LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), who are potentially set to form coalition governments in the Centre, exchange reservations over the criticism from both sides before the conduct of general elections 2024. In a speech on Friday evening, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif announced that he had tasked his brother, former PM Shehbaz Sharif, to reach out to major parties such as PPP, MQM-P and others, to form an alliance. In this vein, Shehbaz Sharif met with PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari and his son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, at the residence of Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

During the meeting, Shehbaz Sharif told Asif Zardari that PPP leadership – prominently Bilawal Bhutto – unnecessarily criticised PMLN in the election campaign. Responding to the reservation, Asif Zardari said it was part of the election campaign and must be ended. “Mian Sahab [Shehbaz Sharif], you too had been criticising PPP”, Zardari told the PML-N president, The PPP co-chairman stressed that now the matters should be resolved for the peaceful formation of the government. “A joint formula must be established to stable the democracy”, he added. Meanwhile, the two parties sought time for consultation before a formal agreement, sources added.

registered voters were scheduled to exercise their democratic right by casting votes for candidates participating in elections for the national and provincial legislatures.

The polling was held for 265 seats of the National Assembly and 590 seats of provincial assemblies. Voting took place on 51 seats of the Balochistan Assembly, 128 out of 130 seats of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, 296 out of 297 seats of the Punjab Assembly, and 130 seats of the Sindh Assembly.

Polling was held in 855 constituencies out of overall 859; however, due to the death of the candidate, voting was not held in NA 8, PP 266, PK 22, and PK 91.

It was the 5th consecutive general poll for the transfer of power from one democratic setup to another since the dawn of the 21st century (2002-2024), reflecting the nation’s solid commitment to democracy, democratic values, and norms.

The polls were held overall smoothly and peacefully as no major untoward

incident was reported throughout the country on Election Day with active participation of citizens who came out in droves to exercise their right to vote for electing candidates of their choice.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ensured elaborate arrangements in collaboration with security departments and other state institutions to conduct the election in a free, fair, transparent, and peaceful manner across the country.

Death anniversary of Amjad PA results: PTI-backed independents Islam Amjad observed secures 138 seats, PML-N follows with 137 LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

In a significant announcement, the results of all 296 seats in the Punjab Assembly elections have been announced shockingly the independent candidates have emerged as the front-runners, securing a total of 138 seats.

The political landscape in the Punjab Assembly reflects the dominance of independent candidates, majority of whom are affiliated with Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI), who managed to clinch a total of 138 seats out of 296 seats in Punjab. Following closely behind, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has secured 137 seats, while the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) has claimed victory in 10 constituencies.

Other notable performances include the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) with eight seats, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) with one seat, and the

Pakistan Muslim League-ZIA (PML-Z) secured one seat.

Additionally, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has also clinched one seat in the Punjab Assembly.

PP-1: PTI-backed independent candidate Qazi Ahmed Akbar won the seat with 49257 votes. PML-N’s Jahangir Khanzada bagged 36443 votes.

PP-2: PTI-backed independent candidate Sardar Muhammad Ali Khan bagged the seat with 36093. PMLN’s Ifthikhar Ahmed secured 35291votes.

PP-3: PTI-backed Syed Aijazul Hasan secured 36897 votes to beat PML-N’s Hameed Akbar who bagged 31857 votes.

PP-4: PML-N’s Sher Ali Khan defeated PTI-backed candidate, Sardar Shahnawaz Khan on PP-4 Attock. secured 48,593 votes, while Shahnawaz secured 38,790 votes. PP5: PML-N’s Malik Aitebar Khan defeated PTI-backed candidate, Malik Jamsheed Altaf on PP-5 Attock. Khan secured 46665 votes, while Altaf secured 43620 votes.

Indonesian Embassy facilitates nationals at early voting event ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPEORT

The Committee for the Indonesian General Elections with the support of the Indonesian Embassy in the federal capital conducted an advance polling event on Saturday at the premises of the Embassy.

This early voting was held for the upcoming general elections in Indonesia scheduled to be held on 14 February 2024, said a news release.

The event provided an opportunity for the Indonesian nationals in Pakistan to participate in the electoral process as well as fostered a sense of community and camaraderie among the Indonesians and their families.

The elections in democratic Indonesia will determine not only the new President and Vice President but also parliamentary and local representatives. On this occasion, the Embassy made comprehensive arrangements to facilitate more than 800 citizens along with their families from all over Pakistan to participate in the voting process including Islamabad Capital Territory.

While another approximately 200 Indonesian nationals will exercise their democratic right to vote in the Indonesian Consulate General in Karachi on Sunday.

In addition to serving as a platform for exercising political rights, the event transcended its primary purpose and evolved into a vibrant social gathering. Attendees, both old acquaintances and new friends, seized the opportunity to reconnect, share stories, and celebrate the joyous occasion together.

The atmosphere was filled with laughter, music, and the taste of Indonesian cuisine as participants enjoyed the bazaar featuring food stalls, a musical event, health facilities, and a children’s play area.

“This event is designed not only as a political event but also as a moment of sharing happiness for Indonesians despite political differences,” said Arrozi Munib, Head of the Indonesian General Elections Committee in Islamabad. “The ballot process was done smoothly with no significant hurdles on the ground,” added Zulfikar Alamsyah, Head of General Elections Supervisory Committee.

Moreover, the Embassy extended invitations to Pakistani think tanks and journalists, highlighting the significance of the electoral process in fostering strong democratic ties between Indonesia and Pakistan and further amplifying the message of cross-border cooperation and mutual respect.

Commonwealth observer group unveils preliminary findings on Pakistan polls ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPOERT

The Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) on Saturday unveiled its initial findings on Pakistan’s General Elections2024, highlighting the commendable efforts of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and other institutions for conducting general polls.

Chairperson COG, Dr Goodluck Jonathan at a press conference here acknowledged Pakistan’s significance as one of the world’s largest democracies and emphasized the importance of these elections for its people.

The COG chairperson expressed his gratitude for the invitation to observe the elections and commended the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for logistical preparations amid challenges.

The group, he said, adhered to principles of impartiality, noninterference, and independence during its deployment, engaging with various stakeholders.

Appreciating the role of Election Commission of Pakistan, he said that the COG observers were deployed in various areas including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Karachi, Hyderabad and Abbottabad on February 6, 2024 to observe election preparations.

Recognizing and appreciating the substantial work by the ECP, the COG chairperson noted delays in proceeding with the elections, attributing them to the significant task of organizing an election involving around 128 million

The Election Commission of Pakistan has put on hold the results of NA- 88, PS8 and PK-90 due to certain reasons while the announcement for awaited results of nine NA seats, Punjab one and three Balochistan would be made in due course of time by the ECP. Whereas the re-polling on the withheld sets will be on February 15, and as per the ECP, the results are to be announced the same day.

registered voters.

The security challenges were acknowledged, with condolences extended for lives lost in terrorist attacks leading up to Election Day. The impact of adverse weather conditions, including snowbound areas and the damages caused by floods in 2022, was also highlighted.

Dr Jonathan mentioned the substantially reformed legal framework leading up to the 2024 General Elections, emphasizing the importance of continued reform in line with the Constitution and

Commonwealth Charter values.

The areas for refinement in the legal framework will be detailed in the final report. Lauding the reduction in the national gender gap in registered voters and the reserved seats for women, he noted concerns regarding the participation of women candidates and some communities discouraging women from campaigning and voting.

The youth engagement in campaigns, especially on social media, was commended, but challenges for minority communities were mentioned.

The COG chairperson underscored the importance of a legal and administrative environment conducive to citizens’ right to run for office and vote.

He noted the implementation of codes of conduct for political parties and the media, with calls for more stakeholder engagement.

The complete recommendations to ensure transparency in this regard will be included in the final report.

While commending the ECP’s efforts to improve election management through the Election Management System (EMS), he acknowledged operational challenges on Election Day, which will be elaborated on in subsequent observations.

He provided a detailed overview of the pre-poll procedures, polling environment, voter turnout, role of polling staff, participation and inclusion, and the overall security situation.

Noteworthy observations included increased voter turnout throughout the day, the presence of youth and women in polling stations, and commendation for security officials’ professionalism.

As the results process unfolds, the COG chairperson congratulated the people of Pakistan for their patience and determination, urging citizens to continue exercising restraint. He emphasized the significance of elections in democracy, called for magnanimity in victory and graciousness in defeat, and reiterated the Commonwealth’s commitment to supporting Pakistan’s post-election journey.

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

The first death anniversary of renowned playwright and literary icon Amjad Islam Amjad was observed on Saturday. Born on August 4, 1944, in Lahore, he made valuable contributions in the fields of drama and poetry.

Besides, Amjad Islam authored more than 40 books in his career. He received many awards for his literary work including Pride of Performance and Sitara-e-Imtiaz.

Some of the most acclaimed TV plays he wrote for PTV include Waris, Dehleez, Samandar, Waqt, Fishaar, Raat, Din, Eendhen, and Inkaar. He also wrote some plays for children including Jadu Ki Sheeshi, Bahadur Shehzada, and Daal Mein Kala. Amjad Islam Amjad passed away on February 10 last year in Lahore due to a heart attack.

PPP to form govt in centre, says Shazia Marri HYDERABAD

STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Peoples Party leader Shazia Atta Marri has expressed hope that the PPP would form a Government in the centre and is already in a position to form a Government in Sindh. Talking to media here on Saturday She said that speculation about an alliance with any Party was baseless as election results are not yet completed and no decision has been taken about the future of Independent candidates. She said that the Pakistan Peoples Party’s central executive Committee meeting is to be held this week in which we consult on the Party's forum and the decision to be made in this regard would be communicated to the Media. She refuted the impression that the Pakistan People’s Party has held an official meeting with PML-N regarding the formation of the Government.

Over 60 mln exercised right to vote during elections ISLAMABAD: Approximately 60 million voters went to the polls on February 8 to elect their representatives in 265 National Assembly and 590 Provincial Assembly constituencies in one of the country’s most competitive political contests.

According to the preliminary report of the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), more than 1.1 million election officials performed election duties.

They ensured the integrity of voting and counting processes at the polling stations, which largely remained free of controversy. Additionally, more than 0.7 million police and military officials stood guard across the country and outside polling stations, ensuring peace and order on Election Day. FAFEN acknowledged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for setting in place a hassle-free process of accreditation for observers, indicative of the Commission’s greater focus on increasing the transparency of electoral processes. STAFF REPORT

04 COMMENT

Is education political?

Situation still not clear

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The Parliament seems badly hung

The electorate needs education to make informed choices

HE results seem to have yielded a victory for the PTI, but that party’s Chairman does not seem satisfied. Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, who has won his own seat from Buner and is functioning as the leader of the PTI though the ECP has ruled his election illegal, has alleged widespread rigging, and claims that his party has won upward of 130 seats in the National Assembly. Clearly, the PTI now wants imprisoned founder-chairman Imran Khan released as soon as possible, but there are still legal hurdles. On Saturday, the Indictment against him and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Al-Qadir Trust case was not presented, and postponed to Tuesday. His also obtained bail in 12 cases from an Anti-Terrorist Court on charges involving the May 9 attacks on military installations. However, he remains in jail as a convict in three separate cases: the cipher case, the Toshakhana case and the alienation of affections case filed by Bushra Bibi’s first husband.

Once he has these convictions thrown out, he will then have to find a seat from which to be elected. That will probably be easy, but until that is done, the PTI must select someone to ‘warm the seat’ of the PM. The PTI also has to find a CM for KP, as well as one for Punjab, if the party is serious about staking a claim there. More important than any of these, it must ensure that the MNAs-elect and MPAs-elect remain loyal, because it should be remembered that theory are independent, and thus freer agents than if they were bound by party discipline.

However, all this is speculative. The PTI has emerged as the largest group in three assemblies, but in two, Punjab and the National Assembly, it needs the support of other parties to form governments. It is here that the PTI itself may have painted itself into a corner by its past rhetoric, for it could have exchanged PPP support for it in Punjab and the centre for its own support to PPP ch-Chairman’s presidential re-election bid. After all, the PPP has its own reasons for keeping the PML(N) out of office in Punjab. However, the PML(N) has begun the efforts at coalition building, having made contact with Mr Zardari and touched base with the MQM. However, in the frenzy of government formation, while personal ambitions seem paramount, there already seems no consideration of the economic crisis that must be tackled.

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Nabila Chaudhry

N the midst of national elections, one’s entire life seems muffled under the noise of politics. The overall environment is heated with emotional slogans. It literally feels as if we are inhaling, smelling and chugging politics these days.

Being an educationist I felt compelled to explore the perceptions and beliefs of general people about the relationship between education and politics. I asked a few colleagues and college students about their views about possible connections between education and politics, and surprisingly the first reaction to this question was a straightforward no. It was difficult for them to digest that there could possibly be any relation between education and politics. When I tried to dig down deep it surfaced that mostly their responses were based on the negative connotation being associated with politics.

This led me to explore further into the meaning of politics. It is worth noting that we frequently use the term politics, yet its mental representation or understanding is as different as there are experiences.

People having different experiences interpret politics differently. For example an emotional political worker, a peasant and a government servant might have different generalizations relating to politics. These generalizations also reflect in their thought process, emotions and behaviors.

Literary speaking politics is defined as use of power by a person or group of people to influence others. Politics is characterized by control, power and authority. Maybe this is the reason that politics is usually conceptualized as something negative or demonizing. It is considered a symbol of power, authority, unjust resource distribution and social segregation.

Education on the other hand is a constructive process of bringing up future generations. Different schools of thought associate explicit objectives with

the process of education such as discovering the innate talents, inculcating critical thinking skills, developing empathy, nurturing scientific outlook or imparting useful knowledge and skills. Despite the various and varied views about the goals and objectives of education, there is a general consensus that it is a constructive and positive process. It plays a crucial role in the development of individual as well as of society at large.

If politics is something that initiates conflicts and education is a process of positive development, then it becomes quite difficult to conceptualize a positive relationship between the both. Contrary to this assumption, educational research suggests that education and politics are closely interconnected, in fact both have a symbiotic relationship. Christina Boswell, professor of politics at Edinburgh University, is of the view that politics is not just about resource allocation or power, it is also about affiliation and recognition. This explanation brings another perspective on the table highlighting the importance of affiliating and emotional engagement with a group.

In the prevailing situation it is not difficult to imagine the power and influence of group affiliations on one’s behaviour.

Education is said to be a social process because educational experts have always emphasized the importance of personality development and character building through education. Langeveld considered

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

every social interaction between teacher and child as education, while Dewey thought that education does not have any final destination rather it happens as we grow. It means that every social event, even the political activities and sociopolitical situation of the country have an impact on our personality and character.

Education has a sociopolitical basis because a society develops this institution to transmit its culture, knowledge and skills to the next generation. Every society has a politically defined roles associated with good citizens, and education sector is a vehicle that fulfils this requirement by Education policies are often considered the political agenda of the ruling party, as it is the most im-

From Drain Slabs to National Progress M. A. Niazi

Babar Nizami Editor Profit

The electorate needs to mintor the keeping of promises

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MuhaMMad ibrahiM yahya

HE cult of leadership is akin to sleepwalking in public. The deification of leaders has resulted in dwarfism of the masses. The time has come for a collective awakening, a questioning of everything, especially the process of choosing our government.

In daily life, individuals check the quality of flour, the source of meat, and the purity of sugar. However, when it comes to electing a government, a curious complacency often takes over, and manifestos are accepted without deeper inquiry. It is time to shift our mindset, to ask questions that transcend the boundaries of caste, friendships, and regional affiliations. For the next five years, let us question the promises made by the ones that are going to govern us regarding our wellbeing, education for our children, and the overall health of our nation.

In political discourse and election promises, the philosophy of Michel Foucault offers a powerful lens through which to scrutinize the complexities of power, knowledge, and societal structures. Foucault's work, characterized by its emphasis on the relationship between power and discourse, encourages us to question not only the content of political manifestos but also the underlying mechanisms that shape our understanding of truth, morality, and governance. How can three hundred units of electricity be free in a country burdened with a debt of Rs. 78 trillion? What is the concrete economic plan for thousands of houses and crores of jobs? How do these initiatives align with the terms and conditions set by international financial bodies, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF)?

These are questions that probe into the heart of political promises, demanding transparency regarding the feasibility of such processes and inquiring about the strategies for implementation and funding.

In the unending worship of cinematic figures, there lies a deliberate diversion to stifle discourse on pressing economic issues facing our nation. Let's step out of this cycle of distraction and ask ourselves: does any political party have a clear and solid plan for economic growth? And, importantly, is there a specific focus on empowering women economically in that plan? Increasing women's participation in

Pakistan's labour force emerges as a critical factor, not only for gender equality but also for economic prosperity. If women's participation in the workforce matched that of men, Pakistan's GDP could increase by 60 percent by 2025, according to a study by The International Growth Centre. Another estimate suggests that closing the gender gap in labour force participation could lead to a one-off 30 percent boost in GDP. Globally, women form 38.8 percent of the labour force, but just around 20 percent in Pakistan, one of the lowest shares in South Asia as per IGC study. Pakistan ranks poorly on all gender-related indicators according to the Global Gender Gap Index Report 2022. The report places Pakistan at 145 out of 156 countries in terms of women's economic participation and opportunity. The Global Wage Report 2018-19 by the International Labour Organization estimated the gender pay gap variation between men and women at 34 percent. Additionally, Pakistan shows the largest gender gaps among electoral democracies in voter turnout, with men being 20 percent more likely to vote.have However, the major political parties seem to neglected these critical issues. Campaign promises, especially in rural areas, often revolved around covering drain lines with slabs like projects, neglecting larger responsibilities. The glaring gaps in Pakistan's tax system contribute to a host of public service delivery issues, leaving millions without clean water, adequate sanitation, and proper healthcare.

Pakistan has been unable to expand taxation despite several donor-supported reform attempts. The tax-to-GDP ratio continues to hover

around 10 percent of the GDP, contributing to significant public service delivery gaps. Over 20 million people live without clean water, almost one in every three people not having a decent toilet, and about 40 percent children under five having stunted growth. In Karachi, residents have to use a mix of private vendors, water mafia, and the government to get access to water. The reason for this failure of sufficient public service delivery is partly Pakistan’s ineffective tax system, which has struggled to expand beyond taxing imports and consumption.

Between 2008 and 2021, Pakistan’s federal government collected between 36 percent to 39 percent of its tax revenue from direct taxes, while the rest came from indirect taxes. The inability to expand tax revenue contributes to significant public service delivery gaps, and the lack of sufficient revenue collection mechanisms impedes progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The pressing economic issues facing Pakistan calls for a collective awakening. A collective questioning into political promises, economic plans, and the urgent need for tax reforms is essential for fostering transparency, accountability, and progress. As citizens, it is our responsibility to question the cult of leadership that perpetuates a cycle of unfulfilled promises.

By embracing a Foucauldian lens, we can unravel the complexities of power dynamics, challenge societal norms, and actively participate in shaping a more equitable and prosperous future for Pakistan. Let the awakening begin, ushering in an era of critical reflection and active citizenship for a brighter, more equitable future.

The writer is a former research analyst at the Prime Minister's Office in Islamabad. He tweets @MIbrahimYahya

The pressing economic issues facing Pakistan calls for a collective awakening. A collective questioning into political promises, economic plans, and the urgent need for tax reforms is essential for fostering transparency, accountability, and progress. As citizens, it is our responsibility to question the cult of leadership that perpetuates a cycle of unfulfilled promises. By embracing a Foucauldian lens, we can unravel the complexities of power dynamics, challenge societal norms, and actively participate in shaping a more equitable and prosperous future for Pakistan. Let the awakening begin, ushering in an era of critical reflection and active citizenship for a brighter, more equitable future

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

portant means of developing the desired set of beliefs and skills in the country. Political powers not only influence the goals and objectives of education, they also set direction for the type of content, teaching activities, materials, environment, and assessment mechanisms to be used. Govt. promoting certain types of education e.g. technical, science, arts etc. also affects the way education develops in a country.

Every initiative requires financial resources.

Budget allocation and provision of funds is also in the hands of the state, therefore they control the way education is shaped in the country. We can see a clear depiction of this political agenda being imposed through education in communist and socialist countries. Even in our country the type of books, medium of instruction, historical facts to be presented, type of diversity to be included, nomenclature, and courses all are determined by the political powers.

Zooming in on the educational institutions, it becomes evident that the individuals involved in the teaching of the learning process have their own political ideals and associations. The question arises what role an academic institution has to play in political awareness and maturity of the student.

David Easton, professor of political science in Chicago University, says that even from the times of Aristotle and Plato educationists have been concerned about the political role of education, although the focus has been quite different from that of the politicians.

Education plays and should play an important role in political awareness of the students in multiple ways. It should develop critical and analytical thinking skills in them so they can evaluate different views based on credibility, significance and factual knowledge. Character building is one of the main objectives of education in Pakistan, so the virtues like honesty, truthfulness, impartiality and empathy should be inculcated into the students through the education process. Education should enable them to tolerate and accept different views.

According to a recent research published by the European Centre for Research, the increase in cognitive abilities enables the individual to process complex political information. This ability has a direct impact on decision making and raising a voice against impediments to civic participation. In common language more educated and empowered individuals are able to process information critically and make better political judgments.

The most important role of educational institutions in the prevailing situation is to ingrain a critical outlook in the students and expose them to unbiased information. We can hope that through education they will not stay mere followers rather they will be able to make intelligent and informed decisions about their vote. They will make better choices for the bright future of their country.

The most important role of educational institutions in the prevailing situation is to ingrain a critical outlook in the students and expose them to unbiased information. We can hope that through education they will not stay mere followers rather they will be able to make intelligent and informed decisions about their vote. They will make better choices for the bright future of their country

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Pakistan Today

Sunday, 11 February, 2024

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The writer is a freelance columnist

Editor’s mail

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

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Academic pressure impact

MY aim is to draw attention to an issue that is very important to our kids’ welfare: the excessive pressure parents put on them to do well in school. In a time where grades are frequently used to determine success, a lot of parents unintentionally put a lot of pressure on their kids to perform well academically.

The relentless chase of excellent grades may have negative impacts on a child’s mental and emotional health. Constantly feeling that you have to perform above and above can lead to tension, worry, and even negative self-esteem. Children may give up their passion and originality in an effort to live up to parental expectations, giving in to the limited pursuit of grades rather than comprehensive personal development.

Additionally, the parent-child bond may be strained as a result of this pressure. Children may unintentionally create a communication-blocking atmosphere because of their well-meaning desire to succeed academically. This is because they may feel unable to communicate their challenges or fear disappointing their parents. Parents must understand that every child has special abilities and skills. An excessive focus on academic success alone may restrict a child’s potential in other spheres of life. A child’s overall development can be enhanced by promoting a balanced approach that fosters a variety of interests, thereby building resilience and a positive sense of self.

Parents must approach their children’s education from a balanced perspective, even though academic success is unquestionably important. By understanding and supporting the individual needs and aspirations of their children, parents can contribute to the cultivation of well-rounded, confident individuals who are better equipped to navigate the challenges of life.

HAFSA ALI ISLAMABAD

Property business in Pakistan

PAKISTAN has a growing population and a shortage of houses. The Government does not have the funds or capacity to build so many houses, while the private sector or armed forces sector has not been able to build quickly or reduce the cost of housing over the past many years.

During World War 2, the USA faced a shortage of 3.5 Million homes and faced a similar situation. Their Government during President Truman’s time addressed the problem in a low-cost way that got them great results. Pakistan can copy that action to help increase housing in Pakistan as well.

President Truman’s Government passed a law that fixed the highest rent of a property at £80 per month, which is equivalent to £1000 in today’s terms.

They also fixed the highest price of new homes at £10,000 or £134,000 in today’s terms.

Because it became a crime to buy or rent homes at higher prices than set by the Government, the private sector could not sell expensive houses and had to rely on selling a higher number of houses to make a profit. People started constructing cheap, affordable, and similar houses, helping reduce construction costs. While people and companies also stopped investing in properties and instead invested in businesses, helping create many jobs and economic activities for the country.

If Pakistan creates a database of all properties, fix the prices of the properties to an average, also fix the price of all new properties that will be developed, stop yearly increases in the value of owned property, fix the price of rents, and allow citizens to access the database to see the actual set price of each property.

Then Pakistan will see a reduc tion in property scams, an in crease in affordable housing, an end to family disputes on prop erty, while wealth invested in property will be moved into sec tors that create economic op portunities. Many evils and un necessary work will disappear from Pakistan.

SHAHRYAR KHAN BASEER ISLAMABAD

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

COMMENT 05

The nouveau hegemon of the Indian Ocean?

Sunday, 11 February, 2024

Where will the US-India entente lead?

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aMjed jaaved

ITH reduced US influence in the Indian Ocean Region, India and France have been patrolling the Southwest Indian Ocean since 2020. Indian Navy P-8I maritime patrol aircraft participated in “joint surveillance missions” from French La Réunion.

India is being groomed as a proxy for the Western powers to oversee the Indian Ocean.

India and its allies fear China’s rising maritime influence (the so-called. “String of Pearls” bogey).

India abhors Chinese growing investments in the Horn of Africa to the ASEAN nations and the Pacific Island nations, besides in Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, Pakistan’s Gwadar Port as part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Maldives.

Maldives had banned anti-India protests (under president Soleh). Now it has demanded an end to the Indian military presence. The Indian navy chief says he has no instructions to vacate Maldives. But, it appears that they would leave by mid-March.

In the Maldives, China financed the China–Maldives Friendship Bridge, linking Malé to the island of Hulhumale and Hulhule. The Maldives also leased an uninhabited island, Feydhoo Finolhu, to China for 50 years at a price of about $ 4 million for tourism development.

To offset the Dragon, India modernized facilities in the Andaman Islands and at a base in Campbell Bay in the Nicobar Islands.

Rs 56.5 billion would be spent to increase the capacity of warships, aircraft, troops, and drones to be stationed in the Andaman and

Nicobar Islands. INS Kohassa was commissioned in the Bay of Bengal islands. Logistics facilities in Mauritius (Agaléga Islands) and Seychelles have been upgraded. .

To strangle the Maldivian economy, India directed tourists not to visit the Maldives.

The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) between Washington and New Delhi would enable India to gain logistical support from the many US facilities located throughout the Indo-Pacific.

The BrahMos supersonic missile is being tested and inducted.

China’s posture: China wants to bridge its aircraft-carrier deficiency through antiship ballistic missiles and the Xian H-6K bomber armed with advanced air-launched cruise missiles. Chinese defence systems include DF-, Dong-Feng 21 (DF-21; NATO reporting name CSS-5 – Dong-Feng (literally: ‘East Wind’). Dong-Feng 21 is a two-stage solid-fuel rocket, single-warhead mediumrange ballistic missile developed by China Changfeng Mechanics and Electronics Technology Academy. A variant is DF-26 with range increased to 3000 km (1,900 miles) to 4,000 km (2,500 miles). China has two supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, the YJ-12, with a range of 400 km, and the YJ-18, which can hit targets up to 540 km away. But they are no match for the US subsonic Harpoon anti-ship missile, which has been modified to give it a maximum range of about 240 km. An anti-ship variant of US Raytheon’s Tomahawk land attack cruise missile, with a range of over 1,600 km, has been delivered to the US Navy. China has a string of naval assets in the region from Gwadar to Djibouti.

China’s Achilles heel: China has maritime disputes over some islands in the region (Japan, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines). In the East China Sea, there is a dispute between China and Japan over the islands of Diaoyu and Senkakus islands.

India’s posture: The USA assured India that it would be its `security provider’ in moments of need. The major stakeholders in the region are the USA, China, Australia, ASEAN countries, Japan and South Korea.

Majority of the littoral states, including India, Australia, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and South Korea, are under

American influence. The USA has powerful naval bases at Diego Garcia, Busen, Guyan Island, Yongson base (South Korea) and Okinawa (Japan).The USA has stationed its littoral combat ships at Singapore besides accessing facilities of Vietnamese port Cam Ranh Bay. Despite adverse advisory opinion on Chagos Islands, including the Diego Garcia atoll, by the International Court of Justice, US forces are still entrenched there. Besides, France maintains naval bases in the Indian Ocean and stations frigates off Réunion.

To block China’s ascendancy, all littoral states including Japan, Australia, Taiwan, South Korea and other middle ranking regional powers are modernizing

The USA’s new protégé is India. To woo India firmly into its fold, the USA offered to sell it $3 billion (per one unit) Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot Advance Capability (PAC-3) missile defence systems as an alternative to the Russian S-400 system. India ditched Russia from whom it had decided to purchase five S-400s at a cost of $5.4 billion. India’s ambition to dominate the Indian Ocean does not augur well for the region. It should let the Indian Ocean remain a zone of peace their navies. China wants to surpass the USA not only in terms of GDP but also in respect of naval power.

India wants to build a blue water navy capable of defending not only its homeland, but also wider security and economic interests, in the Indo-Pacific region. In view of the South East Asia and South China Sea region, India created regional Andaman and Nicobar Tri-Service Command in Port Blair.

At US prodding, India revised its maritime strategy “Freedom to Use the Seas’ in 2015 to “Ensuring Secure Seas”. India obtained access to the US naval base in Diego Garcia, and to the French naval bases in Mayotte and Réunion islands, besides the Australian naval base in Cocos (Keeling). It signed an agreement with Seychelles to de-

The next chapter of artificial intelligence

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“The advent of AI, with its capacity to learn and process information in ways that human reason alone cannot, may yield progress on questions that have proven beyond our capacity to answer…but success will produce new questions”

NATIONAL INTEREST arthur herMaN

RTIFICIAL intelligence (AI has become the primary driver of the stock market surge in 2023, despite worries and anxieties on Capitol Hill about the technology’s unregulated status. The fear that it will turn us into prey for Terminator-style robots has faded, although not entirely gone. The one worry consuming modern experts is China’s scramble to become AI’s top nation, as it published more than twice the number of scientific papers on AI than the United States in 2022 while widening its lead over the United States in applications for AI-related patents. These numbers hardly mean game, set, and match for Beijing, but strategically and economically, they point in an alarming direction.

Nonetheless, every indication suggests that the United States will remain the world’s dominant power in artificial intelligence and machine learning in 2024.

According to Tracxn Technologies, the United States now hosts more than 18,000 AI startups. A recent Adobe study found that 77 percent of consumers now use AI technology. Furthermore, the consulting firm McKinsey found that business adoption of AI had more than doubled since 2017, with half of all American businesses using some form of AI. Overall, McKinsey predicted generative AI alone would add $2.6 to $4.4

trillion a year to the global economy, with the bulk of that flowing to the United States, the world’s dominant AI power.

America’s dominance in AI did not happen by accident, nor was it the result of government planning and investment, like China’s catch-up effort under President Xi Jinping. Instead, it has been a decades-long saga involving scientists, engineers, business moguls, investors, visionaries, and charlatans, not to mention an American free-market business culture that’s open to new ideas and new technologies and willing to put money where it sees a comfortable return.

Nonetheless, in 2023, three figures stood out as harbingers of where the AI sector is headed for good or ill in 2024.

The first is Sam Altman, CEO and genius behind OpenAI and ChatGPT, an AIdriven app that made Americans and the world aware of the explosive potentialities of generative AI. Generative AI, i.e., artificial intelligence able to generate text, images, or other media, is reshaping how we live, work, and do business. It shot out onto the world stage because of ChatGPT’s seemingly effortless ability to create poems and essays while conducting original research problems virtually on command (someone even had ChatGPT write a book review of a book I hadn’t written yet).

Altman’s sudden celebrity brought him to Capitol Hill to talk to Congress and the White House about the future of AI, a subject of which he was a strong advocate and optimist. However, others on OpenAI’s board had their doubts. Then, early last November, Altman was ousted as CEO, with

velop and manage facilities on its Assumption Island, another agreement with Mauritius to develop dual- use logistics facilities in the Agaléga Island, and obtained berthing rights in Duqm Port in Oman and Maputo in Mozambique. Besides, she took up development of the Sittwe Port in Myanmar as part of the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project for building a multi-modal sea, river and road transport corridor for shipment of cargo from the eastern ports of India to Myanmar through Sittwe. It upgraded its existing listening post in northern Madagascar.

The Indian Navy wants to attain underwater nuclear power projection capability by the year 2025. By that year, the Indian Navy will have a network-centric approach and

the board looking for a successor. The news set off shock waves around AI and business, with some clamoring for Altman’s reinstatement. Even board members who had voted him out began to doubt their decision.

In less than a week, Altman was back in charge while the board underwent a major shakeup. Some analysts compared the incident to the 1985 ousting and rehiring of Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple in 1997. However, Altman’s firing had nothing to do with his business decisions. As Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute, told Vox, he and his aide Greg Brockman “seem to be of the view that accelerating AI can achieve the most good for humanity.” The old board took a different view, “that the pace of advancement is too fast and could compromise safety and trust,” and so applied the brakes by firing Altman.

Altman’s reinstatement suggests the majority of the board had changed their mind about Altman and the future of AI. Altman’s return sent a clear signal to the AI optimists that, at least for now, we are willing to assume AI’s risks to reap its rewards.

Another AI optimist is Lisa Su, CEO of American Micro Devices (AMD). AMD used to be one of the innovative semiconductor pioneers, giving Silicon Valley its name. However, while ADM enjoyed a relatively steady market in microchips for gaming devices in the 2000s, it was being eclipsed in market dominance by firms like TSMC, Intel, Qualcomm, and Nvidia. In 2014, it was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Then came Lisa. Her stewardship brought a new generation of advanced processors for

land-attack assistance capability. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System has become operational since 2016. It will provide positional information of about 1500 km around the Indian mainland.

India is already a partner in the US security architecture of the Indo-Pacific Region. The Indian Navy’s new acquisition project in the pipeline adds up to well over Rs. 300 billion over the next 15 years.

China’s ‘string of pearls’. China is suspicious of India’s role as a US proxy in the Indo-Pacific region. It regards the arc from The Bay of Bengal to the East China Sea as a hot-spot of rivalry. China’s blue Book warns if India, China itself and the USA failed to engage with each other more constructively in view of their overlapping inAMD customers named the Ryzen generation, culminating with the launch of AMD’s MI300X chip this November. Su said the new chip was “the most advanced AI accelerator in the industry” when she spoke on December 6 at an event in San Jose, California.

It was a chip aimed directly at the industry’s leader in AI chips, Nvidia. Su’s entire presentation highlighted the superiority of the MI300X to Nvidia’s H100 chip, which companies like Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google have been using to develop their own generative AI tools.

Transitioning to AI chips is a good move for AMD since gaming chips are precisely the kind of chips needed for AI-specific chips. Unlike standard Computer Processing Units (CPUs), Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) come with thousands of cores that speed up the machine learning training process at the heart of generative AI. GPUs come into play for developing and refining AI algorithms. Another set of microchips, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), apply trained AI algorithms to real-world data inputs to solve specific problems. After being manufactured for niche computing tasks, FPGAs can be programmed in the field.

AMD’s MI300X chip contains both units, including application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) specializing in AI. Su expects the new chip to hit $1 billion in sales by mid-2024 (a variant, MI300A, will serve the supercomputing market). Securing that market means winning over big buyers like Microsoft and Meta. Both companies were at the chip launch, as well as OpenAI, which will use AMD’s new chips in the latest version of its Triton AI software. Whatever happens with AI as a technology, the competition to provide the means of doing it faster, cheaper, and more efficiently will be fiercer than ever, thanks to Lisa Su. What happens with AI as a technology was the primary concern of the third person on my list of AI revolutionaries—and the most surprising. His name is Henry Kissinger. Most know him as the legendary

terests, the Indian Ocean could end up `as an Ocean of conflict and trouble’. Chinese Battle Group and submarines often moved in the Indian Ocean, though after giving prior movement-notice to littoral states.

China has deployed Xia-class nuclear submarines with SLBMs in the South China Sea. They can reach the south-western quadrant of the Indian Ocean via the Malacca or Sunda Straits in a short time.

China is building energy relationships worldwide especially in Central Asia, Russia, Africa, Middle East and Gulf countries.

China gets about 70 per cent of its oil imports from West Asia and Africa through tankers. China is creating a strategic petroleum reserve and is building a fleet of supertankers for transport of energy to China.

The USA has over 800 naval bases while China has only two, that are Mombasa and Djibouti, aside from controversial Hambantota (Sri Lanka). Yet, the US propaganda is that China is setting up bases along the sea lanes from the Middle East to the South China Sea. The bases have dual objectives to protect energy and strategic interests.

The Indo-Pacific region is of great importance because of its impact on energy, maritime and trade security. ASEAN and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation are important politico-economic players in the region. The APEC members account for 40 percent of the world's population, 54 percent of the World’s Gross Domestic Product and 44 percent of the World’s trade. ASEAN accounts for about 8.8 percent of the world’s population and three percent of the total land area of Earth.

Robert Kaplan, in his book, Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and Future of American Power, argues that the geopolitics of the 21st century will hinge on the Indian Ocean. The USA’s new protégé is India. To woo India firmly into its fold, the USA offered to sell it $3 billion (per one unit) Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot Advance Capability (PAC-3) missile defence systems as an alternative to the Russian S-400 system.

India ditched Russia from whom it had decided to purchase five S-400s at a cost of $5.4 billion. India’s ambition to dominate the Indian Ocean does not augur well for the region. It should let the Indian Ocean remain a zone of peace.

The writer is a freelance columnist

secretary of state under Richard Nixon, who engineered the opening to China in 1971 and who saved Israel from destruction in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. However, towards the end of his life, Kissinger became fascinated by the possibilities—and dangers—of AI as a transformative technology. He and Google co-founder Eric Schmidt co-wrote a book, The Age of AI And Our Human Future, which explored the many possibilities for an AI-dominated world, including its application to lethal weapons, terrorism, and health care.

The Age of AI gave the American public its first look at the potential dangers posed by machines that can process information faster than humans and potentially replace humans in many jobs and professions, becoming superior to humans in the distant future. My review of the book at the time was highly critical, thinking that its view of the dangers of runaway AI was overstated, with its solutions (such as international agreements similar to international agreements on nuclear weapons) being ill-conceived.

However, this ideological disagreement did not interfere with our growing association until his death (he was planning a new book on AI) or my respect for his willingness to raise the critical and existential issues surrounding AI’s future as a technology. As he wrote: “The advent of AI, with its capacity to learn and process information in ways that human reason alone cannot, may yield progress on questions that have proven beyond our capacity to answer…but success will produce new questions.” Henry Kissinger was no scientist or engineer. Yet, he dared to question not only what we want to do with AI but also why we want to do it.

In some ways, that makes him just as important a figure in the making of American AI in 2024 as Sam Altman and Lisa Su.

Arthur Herman is the Director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative at Hudson Institute and Hudson Senior Fellow. He is also the author of Freedom’s Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II.

How AI could fundamentally alter our engagement with religion In the next 50-100 years, AI is likely to become a co-pilot for all human endeavours including decision-making. For maintaining righteousness or dharma in the world, the algorithm and AI language models must be trained on data that is truthful and morally right

S

CONVERSATION

SreevaS SahaSraNaMaM

CIENCE and faith are often kept in two distinct boxes that hardly ever intersect. However, I believe that as AI becomes more mainstream, it will fundamentally alter our engagement with faith and spirituality.

Let’s start by looking at what is already happening. Most ancient faith-related texts were

documented in papyrus and palm leaves, many of which are difficult to access in the modern world due to two challenges.

First, a lot of those ancient texts that are still available are in fragments, some of which could crumble at any time. Second, for texts that have been digitised already, the language used in them is known only to a few people today and therefore the texts remain inaccessible to most. AI is altering this landscape fundamentally by making access to them easy. A popular example from 2023 showed how computer scientists from the University of Kentucky had used AI to reveal the contents of carbonised papyrus that was burnt in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79.

Scientists looked through 3D X-ray images of the papyrus. They trained AI to read letters in the scrolls based on subtle changes left in structure of the papyrus by the ancient ink. The AI was able to decipher and translate the ancient Greek word for “purple” on the

scroll. Other ancient texts from the Indian sub-continent, for example, are in the Sanskrit language or Grantha script, which very few people can read and understand today.

Here again, AI systems are using language translation and text prediction to predict missing characters in old inscriptions.

Some start-ups use AI technology called small language models that are trained on Sanskrit texts to create an AI-Guru (AI-tutors) to guide people through these texts. AI can also be used to preserve and help to restore faded cave paintings.

MISINFORMATION PROBLEM? As with any other technology, AI comes with its challenges. The most prominent in the context of faith is likely to be misinformation and misrepresentation. We have already seen an example of this last year with the viral circulation of a deepfake image of the pope. In that instance, it was largely meant as a bit of fun. However, with the possibility of the creation of deepfake images

and voice cloning through AI costing as little as 10 pounds (using existing online tools such as Eleven Labs and D-ID) we might not be too far from more worrying cases. Imagine extremist organisations using this technology to create propaganda videos with the faked words of religious leaders or to misrepresent religious symbols. Similarly, language models trained on extremist views could create outputs at scale to spew venom against particular faith groups, leading to hate crimes and community tensions.

FUTURISTIC VISION OF AI AND FAITH Let’s next take a futuristic vision of AI and its intersection with faith. I would like to use the example of my Hindu faith to illustrate a 50-year future vision. A key concept of the Hindu faith is purushartha, which outlines the four aims of human life: dharma (righteousness, moral values), artha (prosperity, economic values), kama (pleasure, psychological values), and moksha (spiritual

values, self-actualisation). In the next 50-100 years, AI is likely to become a co-pilot for all human endeavours including decisionmaking. For maintaining righteousness or dharma in the world, the algorithm and AI language models must be trained on data that is truthful and morally right.

This won’t be guaranteed unless we build this into regulatory frameworks currently being drawn up for AI. The advancement in AI will naturally accelerate humanity’s attainment of artha, or economic prosperity, as we enter a world of abundance with multiple technological convergences.

Based on the clamour for solutions to the growing problem of societal inequality, we could see forms of universal basic income become the norm globally. This will free up a lot of time – now spent on day jobs – for humanity to take up other pursuits. This would in the first instance be more time spent on pleasure or kama activities.

With more quality time on our hands, we could even see a revival in spiritual and faith-related pursuits (moksha activities).

That would be an interesting outcome of AI’s growing influence on the world.

06 NEWS

Sunday, 11 February, 2024 | KARACHI

PAKISTAN POLLS: US SENATE COMMITTEE REGRETS DENIAL OF ‘MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION OF ALL PARTIES’

T

WASHINGTON AGENCIES

HE chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has regretted the denial of meaningful participation of all political parties and candidates in the recent general elections in Pakistan.

“While I appreciate those in Pakistan who cast a vote in the electoral process this week, these long overdue elections were sadly overshadowed by actions that prevented the meaningful participation of all political parties and candidates,” Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md) said in a statement issued on Saturday.

“I condemn in the strongest terms the deadly bombings at election campaign offices in Balochistan and send my condolences to the victims and their families. These attacks must be investigated and the perpetrators need to be held accountable,” he added in the statement available on the committee’s website.

Senator Cardin added that as Pakistan’s leaders proceed to form a new government, he will continue engaging on the issues that most directly impact the Pakistani people, from promoting democ-

racy and human rights in the country to addressing challenges related to climate change and sustainable energy.

“I look forward to continuing to find opportunities where the United States and Pakistan can advance our shared goals of security, stability, and prosperity

across South Asia,” he added.

A day earlier, Western capitals called into question the “undue restrictions” put in place during the February 8 elections in Pakistan and expressed concern over allegations of vote rigging, but pledged to work with whoever formed the next

government.

The United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, in their separate statements, called upon the relevant Pakistani authorities to ensure a timely and full investigation of all the reported irregularities in Thursday’s elections.

FO ‘surprised’ on negative tone Responding to the criticism, the Foreign Office earlier today said that it was “surprised” by the negative tone of some statements from foreign countries and organisations over the February 8 general elections held in Pakistan.

In a statement, the FO said it had “taken note” of such statements.

“We are surprised by the negative tone of some of these statements, which neither take into account the complexity of the electoral process nor acknowledge the free and enthusiastic exercise of the right to vote by tens of millions of Pakistanis,” said the statement by FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.

The spokesperson maintained that the statements “ignore” that elections were held in Pakistan peacefully and successfully while mitigating “serious security threats resulting primarily from foreign-sponsored terrorism”.

Special counsel report on Biden memory is wrong, White House says WASHINGTON AGENCIES

Five Eyes alliance smears China for hacking to cover up for itself: Chinese FM BEIJING

AGENCIES

The Five Eyes alliance’s repeated smearing and attacking China are merely to cover up the basic fact that the grouping itself is “the largest global intelligence agency and the US is the No.1 ‘hacking state’ in the world,” said a spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to the Five Eyes’ warning against so-called Chinese hacker group Volt Typhoon.

China firmly opposes the baseless attacks and smears against China by the US and other Five Eyes alliance countries, Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference. In May 2023, the Five Eyes alliance released a similar report smearing China. Less than a year later, the alliance staged a sequel to the smear campaign against China, which is still a “shoddy and inferior product,” Wang said.

These attacks on China are aimed at covering up the misconduct of the Five Eyes alliance itself, Wang said. The US has established a large cyber arsenal, which includes typical weapons like the “PRISM” program disclosed by Edward Snowden, the Project “CAMBERDADA” by the US media, the Equation group by the Shadow Brokers, and Vault 7 by WikiLeaks. These cyber weapons put the critical global infrastructure and people’s life and production in all countries in jeopardy.

In addition to reports released yesterday, Chinese cybersecurity institutions have released multiple reports on US-related cybersecurity issues, which disclose how the US government puts critical global infrastructure in jeopardy and becomes the No. 1 “source of cyber risks and challenges.” The US still owes the world an explanation, Wang said.

He emphasized that China firmly opposes and will legally combat any form of cyber attacks. China proposed the Global Initiative on Data Security in 2020, which calls on all countries to jointly build a peaceful, secure, open, cooperative and orderly cyberspace, and oppose the use of information technology to undermine other countries’ critical infrastructure, steal important data, as well as endanger their national security and public interests.

The White House on Friday blasted a report from a Department of Justice special counsel that suggested President Joe Biden was suffering memory lapses, and Vice President Kamala Harris called the report “clearly politically motivated.”

The report from Special Counsel Robert Hur, a former US attorney in Maryland during Republican Donald Trump’s administration, has prompted an election-year brawl and renewed questions about Biden’s advanced age. This week Biden, 81, mixed up the names of several world leaders.

Ian Sams, spokesperson for the White House legal counsel’s office, joined press secretary Karine JeanPierre in the White House briefing room to criticize Hur’s report and raise questions about his motivation.

Hur said in a report released on Thursday that he chose not to bring criminal charges following a 15month investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents because the president cooperated.

Hur said Biden would be difficult to convict and described him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” who was not able to recall to investigators when his son, Beau Biden, died.

“We don’t think that part of the report lives in reality,” Jean-Pierre

said. “We just reject that this is true,” Sams said.

Harris rushed to Biden’s defense when asked about the issue after a White House appearance.

“The way that the president’s demeanor in that report was characterized could not be more wrong on the facts and (is) clearly politically motivated,” she said, according to a pool report.

Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland have sought to present the Department of Justice as independent from the White House, after Trump put pressure on the DOJ to shut down a probe into Russia’s role in the 2016 election.

Biden said Thursday evening he still believed special counsels should have been appointed to in-

vestigate whether he or Trump had mishandled classified documents.

However, Sams suggested Hur, a Republican, may have been influenced by politics.

“We’re in a very pressurized political environment. And when you are the first special counsel in history not to indict anybody, there is pressure to criticize and to make, you know, statements that may be and otherwise you wouldn’t make,” Sams said.

Sams said the special counsel’s comment that Biden could not remember the date of his son’s death was “really out of bounds.” Biden reacted furiously on Thursday night to Hur’s comment about his son, saying “how the hell dare he” bring this up.

Biden’s son Beau Biden died in 2015 after battling brain cancer. The president regularly invokes the death of his son when consoling relatives of service members who died in action or victims of gun violence, and visits his grave site on the May 30 anniversary of his death.

Biden gave the interviews that the special counsel report was based on Oct 8 and 9, as he organised the US response to the Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Sams said Biden has ordered establishment of a task force to review the handling of classified information during the transition period between a president and his successor.

NATO chief calls on Europe to ramp up arms production BRUSSELS

AGENCIES

NATO’s secretary general called on Europe to increase its arms production to support Ukraine and prevent “potentially decades of confrontation” with Moscow, in an interview published by German media Saturday. Ahead of a key meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels and the second anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war, Jens Stoltenberg insisted that “we need to reconstitute and expand our industrial base faster, to increase deliveries to Ukraine and refill our own stocks.”

“This means shifting from slow peacetime to hightempo conflict production,” he told the German Sunday daily Welt am Sonntag.

Stoltenberg’s comments came amidst growing pleas for shells, ammunition and other military aide from Ukraine as it battles Russian forces into a third year.

Western leaders have also called for greater assistance. Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Joe Biden urged US lawmakers Friday to approve a long-delayed military aid package for Ukraine, warning that Kyiv could not hold off Russia’s invasion without it.

“The failure of the United States’ Congress in not supporting Ukraine is close to criminal neglect,” Biden said as he hosted Scholz in the Oval Office on Friday. Stoltenberg said: “There is no imminent military threat against any ally. At the same time, we hear regular threats from the Kremlin against NATO countries.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years has shown that “peace in Europe cannot be taken for granted”, the NATO chief said, emphasising the importance of protecting countries in the alliance.

“As long as we invest in our security and we stay united, we will continue to deter any aggression,” he said.

“NATO does not seek war with Russia, but we need to brace ourselves for potentially decades of confrontation,” he added.

“We monitor closely what Russia does and we have increased our presence in the eastern part of the alliance,” Stoltenberg said.

“If Putin wins in Ukraine, there is no guarantee that Russian aggression will not spread further. So supporting Ukraine now and investing in NATO’s own capabilities is our best defence.”

NATO defence ministers will meet in Brussels on February 15, one week ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. A meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group will be a key feature of the talks.

Russian drone attack kills seven in Ukraine’s Kharkiv: governor KYIV

AGENCIES

Seven people, including three children, were killed Saturday in a Russian drone attack on a petrol station in the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, the regional governor said.

“Unfortunately, the death toll from the occupiers’ attacks on Kharkiv has risen to seven,” Oleg Synegubov said on the Telegram social network. “Among them are three children: 7, 4 years old and a baby about six months old.”

The attack sprayed nearby homes with burning fuel forcing at least 50 people to evacuate, Kharkiv mayor Igor

Terekhov said earlier.

“The enemy’s Shaheds (Iranianmade drones) hit a petrol station, causing burning fuel to spill out and 14 private houses to burn,” he said, adding the fire was burning across a wide area.

Kharkiv regional prosecutor Oleksandr Filachkov said three drones hit Kharkiv’s Nemyshlyanskyi district.

“As a result, an object of critical infrastructure was destroyed. There was a large amount of fuel, which is why the consequences of the fire were so terrible,” he said, referring to the petrol station.

Saturday’s strike followed a string of night-time attacks in Kharkiv and a village east of the regional capital.

Beijing’s constructive role may be highlighted’ in Scholz’s reported China visit in April BEIJING

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will reportedly visit China with a business delegation in April, which Chinese experts said shows the great importance Germany attaches to China’s constructive role in both economic recovery and international affairs.

According to German media outlet FAZ newspaper and Reuters, Scholz will travel to China from April 15 to 16, and the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business and the BDI Federation of German Industries have sent invitations to companies to join him.

A German government spokesperson declined to comment on the potential trip, and there has been no response from the Chinese Foreign Ministry on the matter.

Scholz’s last official visit to China was in November 2022, when he was accompanied by representatives from 12 major German companies. Scholz met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, and the two leaders agreed on enhancing cooperation and maintaining dialogue, rejecting decoupling and bloc confrontation, vowing to further expand cooperation.

The two leaders also held a video meeting in November 2023, during which Xi noted that China and Germany, both responsible

major countries, should not only develop bilateral relations and serve as examples of winwin cooperation, but also defend the international order and multilateralism, and work together to address global challenges.

China remained Germany’s biggest trading partner for the seventh year in a row in 2022 with 298 billion euros ($321.3 billion) in trade volume, official data shows. That momentum continued in 2023, based on preliminary official figures, according to Reuters.

According to Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China, the German economy is in serious trouble and faces industrial and capital outflows, and the Scholz government needs some achievements to dispel opposition.

The auto industry is a pillar of the German economy, and losing the Chinese market would be disastrous, said Wang, noting that Germany lags behind in new manufacturing, especially in digital and green restructuring and upgrading, which makes cooperation with China crucial.

The International Monetary Fund predicts Germany will be the only G7 economy that shrank in 2023, and at 0.9 percent, growth is expected to remain well below the average of 1.4 percent for advanced economies in 2024, according to a Reuters report.

In the past few months, China has released a series of market-opening measures and favorable policies, which Germans have seen and do not want to miss, Cui Hongjian, a professor with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.

Despite the EU launching an anti-subsidy probe into electric vehicles (EVs) from China, Cui said Germany and Beijing should strengthen coordination on this issue, as the two countries have already forged a “symbiotic relationship” in the EV industry chain.

Schloz’s possible China visit in 2024 was revealed during the German chancellor’s ongoing trip to Washington, in which he is expected to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict, NATO’s future, and the Gaza Strip crisis with US President Joe Biden, according to media reports.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to attend the Munich Security Conference, which will take place in the southern German city on February 16 to 18.

By seeking a China trip after the interaction between the leaders of Germany and the US, it is obvious that Germany is struggling to find a balance between Beijing and Washington, Cui said.

Germany will have to strengthen its relations with the US, but it will not bet all its

chips on Washington, Cui said.

“On Middle East affairs, climate and other hot issues in the world, Germany attaches great importance to China’s constructive role,” said Wang Yiwei.

More importantly, with the possibility of Donald Trump returning to the White House, Germany, as the leader of European integration, also needs to make moves in advance to offset the uncertainty brought by his pos-

sible return and seek detente with China, said Cui. Experts noted that as 2024 also marks the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic ties, China-EU relations, led by the easing of China-France and China-Germany relations, may be relatively smooth. However, the China-EU relationship will be balanced on a dynamic basis, with both positive and negative factors co-existing.

NEWS

Hajj app launched to facilitate pilgrims: Aneeq Ahmed KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

The Caretaker Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Aneeq Ahmed on Saturday said that an app had been launched to facilitate the Hajj pilgrims.

While talking to media persons during his visit to New Haji Camp, he said that, this app will guide the pilgrims from Hajj flight to their stay in Saudi Arabia and all other relevant details will be available on the app including videos for the training of pilgrims.

Aneeq said that all the pilgrims would be provided with a free single-colored QR code suitcase so that they could easily identify their belongings. He said that every pilgrim will be given a mobile SIM of a Saudi company for free which will have 180 minutes for international calls.

He further said that the Caretaker government reduced the price of the official Hajj package by Rs0.1 million.

While talking about the building of the New Haji Camp, the Minister said that the building had been renovated and a vaccination center had also been established for Hajj pilgrims.

He said that the ‘Interfaith Harmony Conference’ was organized under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Religious Affairs, in which the ambassadors from 30 countries were invited.

Aneeq said that Interfaith Harmony Dialogue was held in University of Karachi, NED University and Iqra University Karachi and Islamabad campuses. The dialogue was also arranged in St. Patrick’s Church in which Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Hindu, Parsi and Jain scholars participated. We conveyed the message of humanity to the world . He said that the project of establishing schools and clinics in mosques had been initiated by the Badshahi Mosque of Lahore and will be expanded across the country.

ECP orders re-polling in specific constituencies of NA-88, PS-18, PK-90 ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has ordered re-polling in specific polling stations of NA88 (Khushab II), PS-18 (Ghotki I), and PK-90 (Kohat I) following alleged rigging on Feb 15.

In a statement, the ECP spokesperson announced repolling at 26 polling stations of NA-88 after a mob reportedly set fire to polling material at the returning officer’s office. The re-polling is scheduled for February 15.

Re-polling in PS-18, attributed to reported confiscation of polling material by unidentified people, is also slated for Feb 15.

Likewise, re-polling will be conducted at 25 polling stations of PK-90 due to damage caused to polling material by terrorists, the ECP said.

Furthermore, the ECP has sought a report from the district regional officer within three days regarding alleged vandalism at one polling station of NA-242 (Karachi Keamari-I).

F

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

REE and Fair Election Network (FAFEN ) noted on Saturday that transparency in elections was observed at polling stations, but not in the offices of returning officers (ROs). Addressing the media at the launch of the electoral watchdog’s preliminary report on the February 8 elections, FAFEN spokesperson Musarrat Qadeem said that delay in the release of poll results, and suspension of internet and mobile services damaged parliamentary efforts made through the Election Act. The electoral observatory further noted, “The failure to display copies of Form 45, as required, in 29% of polling stations was a notable oversight.”

These findings underscore challenges in the electoral process, urging thorough examination and improvement for future elections, the spokesperson noted.

FAFEN emphasised that, “The Election Commission must promptly address and resolve candidates’ complaints, as timely resolution is crucial for maintaining electoral credibility.”

“Despite these challenges, over 50 million voters participated in the February 8 elections,” Musarrat said, observing that while that was a substantial turnout it remained at 48%.

The election, held after two years of continuous deliberation, drew attention to the commitment of political parties to the democratic process, the spokesperson stated, adding that, “Participation of parties in elections reflected their dedication to democracy.

Commending the ECP, she highlighted that, “Holding elections despite criticism demonstrates resilience.”

“This election was the country’s largest endeavor,” she observed. Despite appointing 5,664 observers across the country, FAFEN highlighted certain issues. The spokesperson noted, “Presiding Officers did not provide Form 45 to observers at 28% of polling stations.”

Access was denied at RO offices, hindering transparent observations, according to FAFEN. FAFEN revealed, “The margin of rejected votes was higher than the winning margin in 25 constituencies.”

Despite challenges, the elections saw a record number of candidates participating, marking a remarkable turnout.

A day earlier, Interior Minister Dr Gohar Ejaz while

discussing security challenges faced by the interim government during the general elections stated on Friday that 56 incidents were reported on election day despite the suspension of mobile services.

Addressing a presser along with caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, Ejaz said “The decision to shutdown mobile services was made at a high-level security meeting”.

He revealed that the “emergency decisions” were made due to the “martyrdom of 28 individuals” a day earlier to the elections. The mobile services were suspended because the terror attack was “not a suicide attack, but a device bomb attached to a motorcycle”.

The minister highlighted the necessity of such measures for the protection of human lives, stating: “These actions were crucial for ensuring the safety of individuals.” Furthermore, he reported that “there were 56 incidents on the day of the election, and there were intelligence reports of terrorist incidents taking place.”

Eijaz said that “February 8 was a challenging day” as he referenced the terrorist incidents of February 7 in which 26 people were martyred. In light of the Qilla Saifullah incident, he said, “We decided to close mobile sig-

ISLAMABAD

The Hindutva-inspired Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in India is conspiring to hang illegally detained Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, for political gains.

An analytical report released by Kashmir Media Service, today, said the Narendra Modi-led BJP government is preparing grounds to hang Yasin Malik as was done in the cases of Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru. It said Modi wants to make the Kashmiri leader a scapegoat to stage a comeback in the 2024 elections in India.

nals” in a high-level meeting.

He acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, saying, “It was not an easy decision to close mobile signals”, justifying it as one taken to “secure lives”.

Cellular services suspension Pakistan witnessed a countrywide shutdown of internet and cellular phone services a day earlier during the polling process with the authorities attributing the move “to maintain law and order” in the wake of the violence that occurred a day earlier.

However, the suspension was denounced by Amnesty International, which described it as a “reckless attack on people’s rights”, as well as experts and political stakeholders, particularly the PTI, a political party that relied heavily on social media platforms for its electoral campaign.

“It has been decided to temporarily suspend mobile services across the country,” an interior ministry spokesman said in a statement.

The spokesman added that “precious lives have been lost” in recent militant attacks in the country and “security measures are essential to maintain law and order situation and to deal with potential threats”.

PTI-backed candidates move IHC against NA-47, NA-48 results ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

PTI backed candidates Shoaib Shaheen and Ali Bukhari filed petitions in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday, challenging the results of constituencies NA-47 and NA48 respectively.

Speaking to the media outside the IHC, Shoaib Shaheen said, “Today, I and Ali Bukhari have filed petitions. We have requested the registrar’s office to schedule an immediate hearing. We urge the chief justice to expedite the case since all of Islamabad knows that NA-47 is my constituency. I have the Form-45. We have won this election with a significant majority.”

The PTI-backed independent candidate blamed the powers that be for “pressuring the returning officers.” He further added, “Today, you are replaying the crime you committed in the past. Now the only hope left is the judiciary.”

According to the results announced a day earlier, independent candidate Raja Khuram Shehzad Nawaz won the election for NA48 Islamabad-III by securing

69,699 votes.

However, Bukhari claims he was winning the contest according to initial results. He was later announced as the runner-up candidate after receiving 59,851 votes.

A day earlier, Shaheen addressed the media, slamming NA47 results where PML-N’s Tariq Fazal Chaudhry was declared victorious, stating that he would pursue political and legal options.

Expressing concerns about “injustice and oppression against the PTI”, he claimed that the nomination papers were unjustly taken away, accusing the Returning Officers (RO) of being “experts in corruption”.

Shaheen stated, “They took away our bat [PTI’s electoral symbol]” as he blamed the Supreme Court for the ongoing injustice and tyranny. The PTI-backed candidate asserted, “I had a lead of more than 50,000 votes, my opponents had a total of 40,000 votes polled.”

“My votes were added to Tariq’s vote list,” he alleged.

The PTI candidate said he approached the DCO and the Election Commission by writing applications but received no re-

sponse. He pointed out that every candidate was supposed to be given Form 45. In questioning the democratic process, he rhetorically asked, “If you don’t like someone, will you change their vote?” “I wasn’t behind Tariq in any of the polling station results,” stated Shaheen, blaming the ECP for the “indecent” conduct of the election. He also mentioned his willingness to address any reservations against him with the RO. “There was no need to spend billions. You should have just announced that the ladla (favourite) [PML-N’s Nawaz Sharif] is coming into power,” Shaheen stated.

Accusing the authorities of “undermining the foundations” and “causing harm to the state”, Shaheen declared his intent to “protest and challenge the result”. “The people are being denied their basic rights,” he said, emphasising that “today’s war is not for power but for the survival of the people”.

Furthermore, he mentioned, “We had the complete results by 11 PM and we will go to the court to challenge this dishonesty”. He claimed that “there has been a change of over 50,000 votes”.

Modi regime conspiring to send Yasin Malik to gallows AGENCIES

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FAFEN REPORT SAYS NO TRANSPARENCY IN RO OFFICES DURING 2024 POLLS

Sunday, 11 February, 2024 | KARACHI

The report pointed out that Modi can go to any extent to achieve victory in the coming general elections.

It said Modi’s apartheid regime wants to kill every Kashmiri who refuses to accept the Indian narrative on Kashmir and is punishing Yasin Malik for refusing to toe its line in the occupied territory.

The KMS report maintained that the BJP government is using the judiciary to silence the voices of dissenting Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders. It lamented that the Indian judiciary bypasses all the principles of law and justice when it comes to convicting the Kashmiris. The RSS-backed Indian regime has resorted to implicating Hurriyat leadership in fictitious and politically-motivated cases to suppress their voice, it added.

The report said the Modi regime is brazenly violating

the Geneva Convention on prisoners’ rights in occupied Kashmir. The UN and other world rights bodies must take cognizance of the plight of Yasin Malik and other illegally detained Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders, it said, adding that the fascist regime of India must be stopped from its genocidal policy against Kashmiri people.

The JKLF chief was arrested in March 2019 in false cases registered against him and remains presently lodged in New Delhi’s infamous Tihar Jail. He was sentenced to life by a special court of India’s dreaded National Investigation Agency (NIA) in New Delhi on May 25, 2022, in a false case. Earlier on May 10 that year, having noticed the bias of the Indian judiciary, Yasin Malik refused to defend the charges against him in the NIA court.

Firdous Ashiq Awan booked for slapping police officer SIALKOT

STAFF REPORT

Firdous Ashiq Awan, a prominent leader of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), has found herself in legal trouble after a video surfaced on social media, allegedly showing her assaulting a policeman at a polling station in Sialkot.

The incident reportedly occurred on Thursday, during the elections.

The Sialkot Sadar police have taken action, registering a case against Firdous Ashiq Awan based on a complaint filed by ASI Amjad. The FIR states that Awan allegedly misbehaved with and slapped a policeman who was on duty at Government High School Gana Kalan in Sialkot NA 70.

The video clip of the incident has gone viral on social media platforms, sparking widespread outrage and debate.

Awan s actions have drawn condemnation from various quarters, with many demanding accountability and strict action against her.

The incident has highlighted concerns about the conduct of political leaders during elections and their interactions with law enforcement personnel.

It also underscores the importance of respecting the rule of law and maintaining decorum at polling stations to ensure free and fair elections.

As the legal process unfolds, it remains to be seen how Awan and her party will respond to the allegations and what consequences she may face if found guilty.

PPP leader changes tone, says ‘limited parties’ coalition could be beneficial ISLAMABAD

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Saturday changed its tone on striking an alliance with the like-minded parties to form coalition governments in center and provinces, saying that such a coalition could be beneficial for all parties.

PPP’s veteran leader Syed Khurshid Shah told media in Hyderabad that having a ‘limited number’ of political parties in the coalition government would be beneficial for decision-making and policy implementation.

In an interview, Khurshid Shah expressed his belief that a coalition formed by two major parties collaborating in decisionmaking processes would yield optimal results for the government.

Drawing a comparison, Shah cautioned against the potential challenges that may arise with a coalition consisting of six or more parties, pointing out that such a sce-

nario could result in a situation reminiscent of the complexities faced by the previous government, specifically referring to the difficulties associated with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Highlighting his stance, Shah made it clear that he does not advocate for aligning with political entities similar to the previous PDM government.

Earlier in the day, the former President Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto reached Lahore for a ‘crucial post-election meeting’.

The PPP leaders are expected to hold a meeting with Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Supremo Nawaz Sharif during their visit to Lahore for an emergency meeting with party leaders to consult on challenging the election results in NA-127.

The PPP leadership is also expected to adopt a stance on their reservations regarding election results in the Punjab region. Furthermore, there is a potential chance of a

post-election meeting between the leadership of PPP and PML-N in Punjab.

Meanwhile, PPP leader Nasir Hussain Shah has said that the PPP has swept Sindh in the election and will also play key role in formation of government in Punjab.

Former Sindh minister said that no party could form government in centre without the PPP. PPP leader said, “We are not considering the PTI-supported winning candidates as independents,” he said. “We will talk with them in group,” he said. He said the independent winners apart of the PTI are our first priority.

He claimed that the PPP will form government in Sindh and Balochistan.

“Balochistan’s chief minister would be from Pakistan People’s Party,” he said.

“We don’t require anyone for formation of government in Sindh but we respect the mandate of other parties. We will hold talks with other parties for making government despite our majority,” he cioncluded.

independent RESULTS REFLECT ELECTIONS WERE ‘BY Two MNAs-elect join PML-N AND LARGE’ FREE AND FAIR: PM KAKAR

Sunday, 11 February, 2024

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ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

ARETAKER Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Saturday said that the voters exercised their constitutional right to vote in elections, and by and large, they voted for their favorite candidates despite security challenges.

“It is the beauty of a vibrant democracy, and in Pakistan, it is a transformational democracy, also a brave democracy, considering the security challenges,” he opined during in an interview with Turkish broadcaster TRT. The caretaker premier said despite security challenges, the people voted for their favorite candidates. He said the results showed that it was, by and large, a free and fair exercise.

To a question, he said that the next parliament would decide to hand over the power to that party who would meet the required magical number to form the new government.

The prime minister said that their responsibility as a caretaker government was to ensure security, and ahead of the elections, two terrorist incidents in Balochistan province occurred, which reminded the people of the real-time threat.

The government always had more responsibility when it came to security,

he asserted.

Responding to a question about the suspension of the mobile services, he said that to face the security challenge, they had to block the communication channels; otherwise, they did not have any political motive whatsoever.

Elaborating his viewpoint, he said

that considering that the terrorists would confine themselves to these two provinces would be a fallacy, there might be other potential attacks in other provinces.

He said they did their best to secure them. It was only mobile services that were suspended while the internet service was available.

He did not think that this suspension had hindered the huge democratic exercise. The results showed that it was, by and large, a free and fair exercise.

The caretaker prime minister said that even though people went out and peacefully exercised their right to vote, for the time being, he didn’t have figures as to how many people had voted.

Probably it would have been a record, which meant that everyone was allowed and their votes were counted. So else was democracy, he added.

Two provinces were badly hit by terrorist attacks, and if it was kept in mind, people came out and bravely voted for their candidates, which was not usual but rather quite unusual, he opined.

Pakistan may face more economic misery if election result unclear LONDON

REUTERS

Pakistan brushes aside objections to elections ‘as nonfactual’ g

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FO REITERATES RESOLVE TO WORK TOWARDS BUILDING A VIBRANT DEMOCRATIC POLITY ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday said that it had taken “note” of statements from “certain countries” and organizations on the general elections held in Pakistan and “surprised by surprised by the negative tone”.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office, in a statement said, “We are surprised by the negative tone of some of these statements, which neither take into account the complexity of the electoral process nor acknowledge the free and enthusiastic exercise of the right to vote by tens of millions of Pakistanis.”

Certain Western capitals on Friday questioned the “undue restrictions” put in place during polling for the February 8 elections in Pakistan and expressed concern over allegations of vote rigging. They pledged to work with whoever formed the next government.

The United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, in their separate statements, called upon the relevant Pakistani authorities to ensure a timely and full investigation of all the reported irregularities in Thursday’s elections.

The FO spokesperson said: “these statements ignore the undeniable fact that Pakistan has held general elections, peacefully and successfully, while dealing with serious security threats resulting primarily from foreign sponsored terrorism.”

“Some statements are not even factual. There was no nationwide internet shutdown. Only mobile services were suspended for the day to avoid terrorist incidents on the polling day. The elections exercise has demonstrated that the concerns of many commentators were misplaced,” the FO statement claimed.

The MOFA spokesperson said: “Pakistan held the elections as part of its commitment to building a stable and democratic society. While we value constructive advice from our friends, making negative commentary even before the completion of electoral process is neither constructive nor objective.”

The statement reiterated the government’s resolve that Pakistan would continue to work towards building a vibrant democratic polity. “Every election and peaceful transition of power brings us closer to that goal”, it added, elaborating that Pakistan do this not on account of the concerns expressed by others but because that is the aspirations of “our people and the vision of our founding fathers.”

The possibility of a political stalemate in Pakistan leading to delays in both reforms and crucial foreign funding has sparked a selloff in its international bonds and fuelled analysts’ fears of further economic misery for the country.

Results coming in from Thursday’s election saw an unexpectedly strong showing for independents – mostly supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan – trailed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Sharif has already claimed victory, but his party remains far short of the necessary number of seats to form a government on its own.

The election, which was itself much delayed, comes at a pivotal moment. Pakistan is in an economic crisis, with dwindling foreign currency reserves that will be further strained by a $1 billion bond payment due in two months, while its $3 billion funding programme with the International Monetary Fund expires on April 12.

“Pakistan will be entering into more severe political and economic instability if no party emerges with a simple majority,” said Sajid Amin of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, a former adviser to the ministry of finance.

“But most important is credibil-

ity of elections and legitimacy of the government – any government which lacks credibility will not be able deliver on much needed reforms.”

Securing funding will be a top priority, with the country having not yet fully covered its external financing requirements for 2024 and its near $100 billion external debt burden casting a long shadow over the A new government is expected to quickly take the necessary steps for example on governance of stateowned enterprises to complete the last remaining review of the current $3 billion IMF Standby Arrangement – a bridge loan that helped pull the country back from the brink of default. Doing so would secure it a final $1.1 billion tranche before the current IMF programme expires in mid-April – with the government then having to secure a follow-up programme straightaway.

“We expect one of the most immediate policy initiatives taken by the new government will be to negotiate a new IMF Extended Fund Facility program, which typically runs for about 3-4 years,” said Johanna Chua, global head of emerging market economics at Citi in a note to clients.

Deadlines aplenty While the country’s international bonds make up just 3.4% of its total public debt – dwarfed by the near 13% it owes to China, external debt amortisation is high in percent of FX reserves, according to calculations by Oxford Economics.

China is a major creditor for

Pakistan and has in recent times rolled over loans to the country, as have the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

“Investors will be worried about protests, worried that Imran Khan might end up coming back and worried that a non-Khan government will find it harder to push through further austerity – which is required given the IMF deal expires in April,” said Charlie Robertson, head of macro strategy at asset manager FIM Partners.

Political fragmentation might make it harder to push through painful and unpopular but necessary measures such as widening the tax base, analysts said.

Should the unrest and demonstrations that Pakistan witnessed in the run up to the election continue, this would also have an impact on the economy, said Joe Delvaux, a portfolio manager at Amundi, whose firm is invested in Pakistan bonds.

“This is a country that is in and out of political turmoil on a regular basis, so we are monitoring this very closely,” Delvaux said.

Pakistan’s international bonds dropped as much as 5 cents in the dollar on Friday before trimming some losses. Its sovereign dollar bond due on April 15 trades at 95 cents in the dollar, reflecting expectations that investors will get paid back, but maturities coming due in 2027 and beyond trade at or below the 70 cents in the dollar below which debt is seen as distressed, Tradeweb data showed.

Shehbaz Sharif calls on Asif Zardari to form govt; contacts MQM LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

Former Prime Minister and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday met with former President Asif Ali Zardari here.

Shehbaz Sharif conveyed Nawaz Sharif’s message on forming a coalition government. The two leaders met at the caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s house. Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was also present during the meeting.

Shehbaz Sharif met Asif Ali Zardari after receiving the task of negotiating with political leaders to form a coalition government. Shahbaz Sharif also conveyed the message of PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif in his meeting with Asif Zardari.

On this occasion, both parties agreed to work together and hold meetings for government formation.

During the meeting, Shahbaz Sharif also contacted MQM Coordination Committee leader Khalid Maqbool by telephone and invited him to come to Lahore.

PML-N consultation committee reviews contacts with like-minded parties The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) consultation committee on Saturday held an important

meeting to discuss the consultation process with the like-minded parties for formation of the governments in center and provinces.

Former Prime Minister and President of Pakistan Muslim League (N) Shehbaz Sharif presided over the meeting which discussed issues related to government formation.

Shahbaz Sharif informed the meeting about the contacts made with various parties on the instructions of Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. The meeting discussed various options for government formation.

The party leaders congratulated the party president on his victory in the February 8 elections. He said that with the grace of Allah and the support of the people, Muslim League (N) has emerged as the largest party, Shahbaz Sharif.

Shahbaz Sharif said the PML-N will fulfill the expectations of the people. He said the goal of the government will be to relieve the people from inflation and problems. Shahbaz Sharif said all political forces must be united for Pakistan.

Senator Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Maryam Aurangzeb, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, Senator Azam Nazir Tarar, Attaullah Tarar and Khawaja Imran Nazir attended the meeting.

Two independent lawmakers-elect, who secured victory in general elections 2024, have announced to join Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), strengthening the party’s position in National Assembly (NA).

The two independent candidates – one from Islamabad and another from Rawalpindi – threw their weights behind Nawaz Sharif-led PML-N. Barrister Aqeel Malik, who secured Rawalpindi’s NA-54 seat, said that the victory belongs to Nawaz Sharif. On the other hand, Raja Khurram – who claimed victory in Islamabad’s NA-48 – was the joint candidate for IPP and PML-N. Earlier in the day, it was reported that PML-N began contacting ‘disgruntled’ candidates, who contested the general elections 2024 independently and came out victorious, in efforts to strengthen the party’s position in National Assembly (NA).

Independent candidates came up from behind and stole the show, with so far securing 102 seats in National Assembly (NA). Besides PTI, the successful candidates also include some who had only been awarded a ticket following the rejection of their party’s more preferred nominees.

The results of 257 out of the total 265 National Assembly constituencies where elections were held had been announced, which showed the independents in the lead with 102 seats overall. The PML-N and PPP had won 73 and 54 seats, respectively, and were set to bag most of the 70 reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the house.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement had bagged 17 seats, while the PML-Q had three. The JUI-F and Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) had secured three and two seats, respectively. MWM and BNP had clinched one seat each.

SHO martyred, three terrorists killed in Darazinda gunfight DERA ISMAIL KHAN STAFF REPORT

A Station House Officer (SHO) was martyred and three terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire ensuing a terrorist attack on a mobile van in ID Khan’s Darazinda area, police said on Saturday.

According to security officials, a police team was on routine patrol when unidentified assailants targeted the police mobile van with hand grenades and indiscriminate firing in Morgah area of Darazinda.

The police team retaliated the firing and in exchange for fire, Additional SHO Din Muhammad Sherani was martyred while three terrorists were also killed.

As a result of this attack, the people of the area gathered on the spot and surrounded the terrorists along with the security forces. All three terrorists were killed.

Later, the killed terrorists were identified as Khaliq and Hayatullah while the identity of the third terrorist cloud not been ascertained yet.

All the people fully supported the security forces and fought alongside them.

The Rescue 1122 team shifted the body of the martyred SHO to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Dera Ismail Khan.

District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Rauf Babar Qaisrani along with a heavy contingent of police and security forces reached the site soon after the incident.

The police also started a search operation in the area.

Internet watchdog reports nationwide disruption of social media ISLAMABAD AGENCIES

A nation-scale disruption of social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is being reported by users and internet watchdogs in Pakistan on Saturday.

NetBlocks, a global internet watchdog, said the incident comes “amid political turmoil after a controversial election held under an internet and mobile network blackout”.

Pakistan on Thursday witnessed a countrywide shutdown of internet and cellular phone services during the polling process with the authorities attributing the move “to maintain law and order” in the wake of the violence that occurred a day earlier.

However, the suspension was denounced by Amnesty International, which described it as a “reckless attack on people’s rights”, as well as experts and political stakeholders, particularly the PTI, a political party that relied heavily on social media platforms for its electoral campaign.

In the run-up to the February 8 elections in Pakistan, the country suffered from multiple internet disruptions and slow-downs. The interim government justified the disruptions as ‘technical glitches’.

Just earlier today, the Foreign Office denied that there was any wide-scale internet disruption on polling day.

Untapped graphite wealth awaits exploration for graphene synthesis PESHAWAR

AZIZ BUNERI

Pakistan’s landscape holds a hidden treasure trove – vast deposits of graphite, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohistan terrain and the axial belt regions. These resources offer a unique opportunity to tap into the revolutionary world of graphene, a wonder material with applications ranging from electronics to medicine.

Geologist Muhammad Yaqub Shah emphasizes the potential of these deposits, envisioning Pakistan’s transformation into a sophisticated technology producer. Graphite, the raw material for graphene, is found in metamorphic rocks like schists and gneisses, and even in organic-rich shale and coal beds.

Notably, regions like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Balochistan boast significant graphite reserves. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms, is the thinnest and strongest material known, excelling in both thermal and electrical conductivity. It can store energy, is inherently non-magnetic, and its multi-layered forms are 200 times stronger than steel yet incredibly lightweight.

Graphene can be synthesized through various methods, including chemical vapor deposition and extraction from waste materials. Its applications are diverse, spanning energy, defense, electronics, medicine, and even desalination. Graphene’s strength makes it ideal for lightweight, durable materials, while its electrical properties enhance computing speeds and fire resistance.

The medical field stands to benefit immensely from graphene’s potential in drug delivery, disease detection, tissue engineering, and even genetic disorder treatments.

The global graphene market is booming, with a projected CAGR indicating robust growth until 2030.

While the potential is undeniable, challenges exist. Pakistani experts require training and access to advanced equipment for graphene synthesis. Collaboration with nations like China could provide technical expertise and boost export potential, strengthening local industries. By addressing the challenges and leveraging partnerships, the nation can unlock the true potential of this wonder material and propel itself towards a future of technological advancement.

Published by Asad Nizami at Plot No 66-C, 1st Floor, 21st Commercial Street, Phase-II (Extension), DHA Karachi and printed at Ibn-e-Hassan Printing Press, Hockey Stadium, Karachi, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 021-35381208-9. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk