Epaper_24-04-10 ISB

Qasim Samad Khan announced that the newly-elected senators would take their oath of office He then said that the session would resume “in the afternoon” to elect the chairman and the deputy chairman The prominent among those who took oath were: Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani Anwaarul Haq Kakar Syed Mohsin Naqvi Abdul Qadoos Bizenjo, Finance Minister Aurangzeb and ANP s Aimal Wali The newly-elected senators then exchanged pleasantries and signed the roll of members

The session was then briefly adjourned before the election of the chairman and the deputy chairman In the meantime PPP s Saleem Mandviwalla told news website that Yousaf Raza Gillani and Syedal Nasir were elected unopposed as Senate chairman and as the deputy chairman, respectively Later, secretary Qasim confirmed the same When the session resumed at 12:30pm Dar said that only Gillani s nomination papers had been received therefore he was elected the Senate chairman The PML-N leader then administered the oath to Gillani The PTI’s contention, as stated by Senator Ali Zafar on the floor of the House was that the session for electing the chairman and deputy chairman should be postponed until after Senate elections were held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa He then announced the PTI would not participate in the election for the top slots “Without 11 senators of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the election process of chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate is unconstitutional Under the Constitution the President s address is required at the beginning of the parliamentary year of the Senate and the National

Assembly and the President cannot address the joint session of the Parliament until the swearing-in

SXi , L av rov d i s c u s s e m e rg i n g c h a l l e n g e s, o p p o r t u n i t i e s

to Russian President Vladimir Putin Noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries Xi said China and Russia have embarked on a new path of harmonious coexistence and win-win cooperation between major countries and neighbors which has benefited the two countries and their peoples and contributed wisdom and strength to international fairness and justice “ P r e s i d e n t P u t i n a n d I h a v e a g r e e d t o c o n t i n u e t o m a i n t a i n c l o s e e x c h a n g e s t o e n s u r e t h e s m o o t h a n d steady development of China-Russia relations The two sides should take the opportunity of celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties and th e C h in a- R u s s ia Year s o f C u ltu r e to f u lly imp lemen t the important consensus reached by President Putin and me,” he said Xi stressed that China supports the Russian people in following a development path that suits their national conditions and supports Russia in combating terrorism and maintaining social security and stability China always attaches great importance to the development of China-Russia relations, and stands ready to strengthen bilateral communication with Russia and enhance multilateral strategic coordination in BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Xi said He added that the two countries will show more responsibility unite countries in the Global South in the spirit of equality openness transparency and inclusiveness promote the reform of the global governance system, and vigorously lead the building of a community with a shared future for humanity L

S ta f f R e p o R t

Former Federal Minister and Senator, Nisar A Memon on Tuesday urged all the political parties to set aside their personal differences and refrain from fostering divisiveness in society to stand united as nation in the fight against terrorism In a Eid felicitation message issued here, the veteran politician and senior civil society member commenced his message with the verses of Holy Quran: “As we celebrate Eid may Allah accept our fasting prayers charity and all the good deeds He made it possible for us to perform during the blessed month of Ramazan as ordained by Him in the Holy Quran – Surah Al-Bakarah 2:85 – and in accordance with Sunnah Memon said the motherland is currently facing unprecedented challenges In these times, let us recall the teachings of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah emphasizing Unity Faith and Discipline and recommit ourselves to actions to save Pakistan he said As an ordinary citizen he said he urged the federal provincial and local governments to immediately withdraw all politically motivated cases Furthermore, he called upon them for release of all individuals held under administrative orders, both from police stations and prisons so that they can celebrate Eid with their loved ones “This will create an enabling environment for us to come together and address our challenges turning them into opportunities for social political and economic progress The newly elected Senate, National and Provincial Assemblies must

R I M E M I N I S T E R Shehbaz Sharif ’ s visit to Saudi Arabia was his first foreign visit after taking office at the beginning of last month It was perhaps only fitting for though Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia are based on the religious affinity created by Pakistan being the second-most populous Muslim state and Saudi Arabia being home to the two most sacred sites of Islam Makkah and Madinah there is much more to the relationship There is a very strong security dimension as well because of the number of Pakistani armed forces personnel who are serving in the Saudi armed forces There is an important economic dimension as well for apart from a large number of Pakistani workers there, Saudi Arabia has been crucial in ensuring that Pakistan does not default, depositing $3 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan Saudi Arabia has made the deposit on condition that the IMF give Pakistan a package Mr Sharif held talks in Makkah with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Muhammad Bin Salman and the talks centred around economics for among other things, the two agreed to expedite the $5 billion investment package from the Kingdom supposed to centre around increased trade and commerce However there are other agreements where the Saudi government will be more deeply involved For a start, there is the decision to enhance the Saudi deposit with the State Bank to Rs 5 billion a $2 billion increase which will play a key role in Pakistan s getting a fresh package from the IMF Then there were further talks about Saudi Arabia investing $21 billion in an oil refinery and $7 billion in copper mines Clearly the oil refinery would operate on Saudi

T h e m e n w h o h e l p e d o n a l o n g h a r d r o a d

Washington Watch

D r J a m e s J Z o g b y

from Arab American Democrats

After the 1988 campaign as Ron Brown was set to begin his chairmanship of the Democratic Party he pledged to end this exclusion His first meeting as chair was with me, saying he wanted to send the message that Arab Americans had a home in the Democratic Party As he introduced me to key staff, he announced to all that this was a new day for Arab Americans in the party And it was A few months later he became the first party chair to address an Arab American convention one of his staff told me that before coming into our meeting he had an emergency coffee with a major pro-Israel donor who told him “if you even walk into that room, I’ll pull my donations and get others to join me ” I asked Brown what he was going to do He said “I’m going to speak to Arab Americans

The problems we faced didn t end Pressure

in and gave us a seat at the table providing Arab Americans with unprecedented access and opportunities to engage in policy discussions on a range of foreign and domestic policy concerns Along the way, at times I despaired of ever seeing Arab Americans overcome the objections of those who wanted to exclude us from participating in

Change is never easy and never comes by itself, it requires hard work and allies ThatÊs what it took to get to where we are today And thatÊs what todayÊs Arab American activists are doing to challenge the USAÊs failed policies toward the Palestinian people

symbolic righteousness in the history of our otherwise suspect judiciary Hazrat Ali (RA) was asked why he must eat dry barley bread when there was no ban on normal eating He agreed but said that he being the Caliph should eat only what the poorest in the nation could afford Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) was not at all a poor man At an advanced age, he used to walk to the office from outside Madina, just as everyone else walked to his workplace, and he could easily afford a horse or a camel By all standards we are one of the poorest nations in the world our rulers are used to royal living Suppose they want to live that lifestyle while in office; some mechanism must be used to counter them we see billions of our hardearned money wasted on luxuries the rulers cherish Millions of rupees are wasted on replacing the tires and upholstery of her car and redesigning the Punjab CM s office A new helicopter is required for the same CM queen while millions cannot afford one square meal a day we are too poor to support the Sharif and Zardari

powerful the most Remember, the Prophet (PBUH) said that all humans are his family He loves his family tremendously we humiliate his family It means invoking his wrath Many nations before much better established than us perished before they knew what hit them General Zia happened to walk into a group of senior retired generals during an Army gettogether one of them was Gen Azam Khan, the famous ex-governor of the erstwhile East Pakistan In his pretended humility, Zia said he would love to benefit from the seniors’ wisdom If so General Azam said Just leave and go home who to hand over? Zia asked sheepishly The first dog that you came across was the curt answer Nothing happened to General Azam It was not the fashion in those days A flourishing social media indicates progress At the same time it gives unbridled freedom to the shallow and the sensationalist Half-truths are dangerous Inauthentic reporting is misinformation It is treason when a narrative cuts across national interests or supports that of the enemy The enemies rejoice and applaud the upstart, mollified by flattery and undeserved adulations False propaganda renders even constructive critique skeptical That is a sheer national loss For example genuine intellectual voices like that of Haroon Rashid and Mushahid Hussain get lost in the commotion of the foolhardy A sombre well-considered, and well-intentioned opinion is a national asset It could make a consequential difference in healthy decision-making

T h e m o s t ro bu s t h u m a n t r a i t i s h u m i l i t y O n ly t h e h u m bl e , w i t h t h e i r p e rs i s t e n c e a n d r e s i l i e n c e , h av e t h e b e s t ch a n c e t o n e g o t i a t e t h e h a z a rd o u s p a t h t o u l t i m a t e g l o r y.

Making the best of a bad job

The government should prioritize full-throttle privatization of all SOEs, irrespective of their profitability status

Profitable entities are attractive to investors due to their strong financial performance, market presence, and potential for returns. Conversely, privatizing loss-making enterprises presents an oppor tunity for restructuring, reallocation of resources, and reducing fiscal liabilities.

BCourt Also six months after the invasion of Gaza, Israeli society s disaffection with Netanyahu would have increased due to its nefarious management of the crisis with Hamas and its zero interest in rescuing the Jewish hostages alive and according to the average of the latest electoral polls the Likud of Netanyahu would be arrested in the event of new elections as demanded by the new strongman of Israeli politics, Benny Gantz Consequently, the tense telephone call between Biden and Netanyahu would have laid the foundations for an agreement that would benefit both leaders consisting of the total withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza which will remain a demilitarized zone under the control of the UN Blue Helmets, with which Lebanon and Iran would now be on the target of Israel and the Pentagon who will proceed to their destabilization by expedited methods

END OF THE WAR CAMPAIGN IN GAZA? After the asymmetrical punishment inflicted by Israel, all basic infrastructure, schools, mosques, hospitals and 90 per cent of Gaza’s buildings were reportedly razed by systematic aviation bombardments resulting in more than 34 000 Palestinian civilian casualties and several thousand more buried in the rubble The real objective of the Gaza military campaign was to provoke a second nakba in which 1 5 million Palestinians were forced to leave a Gaza turned into a mass of rubble and human remains that would make it impossible for the displaced Gazan population to return and confined to the open-air concentration camp in Rafah, described by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, as “apocalyptic”, while warning of the growing risk of genocide Such forcible confinement of the Gazan population would be a measure of pressure on Egypt to open its border and settle the Palestinians in the Sinai Peninsula after which Israel would proceed to the unilateral declaration of sovereignty over Gaza and its maritime areas To complete his ethnic cleansing Netanyahu would have ordered the final assault on Rafah prior to evicting the thousands of Gazans held there military operation that the US would have forbidden him in the certainty that such an operation would result in a new massacre of civilians unaffordable by world public opinion Thus, Netanyahu would already be cornered by the international community’s condemnation of the flagrant violation of human rights in Gaza with about 35000 Palestinian civilian victims that has resulted in the presentation by South Africa to the International Tribunal in the Hague (ICC)of a lawsuit against Israel for alleged “crime of genocide” However the Solomonic decision of the Tribunal allowed the continuation of the genocide of the Gazan population using starvation and the lack of medical supplies as weapons of war in the face of the passivity of the US and Europe but Biden and Netanyahu would have agreed the total withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza that will remain as a demilitarized zone under the control of the UN blue helmets

TRussian FM’s visit to China ‘fur ther strengthens strategic par tnership’

cooperation and interaction

arena Zakharova said TASS reported on Monday Cui Heng a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, told the Global Times on Monday that “Lavrov could be paving the way for the first foreign visit of President Putin since his reelection but the final confirmation would be a formal announcement released by the two sides Reuters reported in March that Putin will travel to China in May, in what could be the Kremlin chief ’s first overseas trip of his new presidential term citing five sources familiar with the matter The Kremlin when asked about the Reuters report said information on Putin s visits would be released closer to the date Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, said the Russian top diplomat could discuss with China about some urgent and hotspot is-

sues like the Ukraine crisis and counterterrorism cooperation Russia just experienced a horrific terrorist attack in Moscow, and the attackers are from Central Asia Chinese engineers in Pakistan have also been attacked by terrorists in the region so both China and Russia share common concerns about terrorism, said analysts China and Russia are two major powers in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and counterterrorism cooperation between them and other SCO members is significant for regional peace and stability especially when the threat of terrorism has reemerged in some regions, experts said Apart from the discussion on diplomatic level, the militaries, law-enforcement and intelligence agencies of the two countries will also promote the cooperation to target terrorism experts said US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen is also on her visit to China and she warned that Chinese companies could face “significant consequences” if they provided “material support for Russia’s war on Ukraine ” according to the release from US Department of Treasury The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in response China s stance is very clear and has always paid constructive efforts for mediation to stop the conflict The Chinese foreign ministry added that other countries should not attack and smear the normal relations between China and Russia and should not harm the legitimate rights and interests of China and Chinese companies, noting China will take firm measures to safeguard its legitimate

rights and interests Yang Jin, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told the media on Monday China has its own principles in developing ties with major powers like Russia and the US as we will never interference in other countries internal affairs and will not meddle in the ties between other countries, so we hope the US could show the same respect to the China-Russia relations ” China is paying efforts to mediate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine since the very beginning of the crisis, and China never adds fuels to the flame, and if the US sanctions Chinese companies who do normal business with Russia in the name of “supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine that would be very unwise as China will retaliate for sure experts said Cui said that the timing of Lavrov s visit to China is very interesting, as it s overlapping with the time of Yellen s visit, and takes place before the potential visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “so this just shows the complexity of the interactions between China Russia and the US and in the trilateral relations, China is driven by its own national interests

Li said in the China-Russia-US relations “we are in a position with the most flexibility while the US and Russia have very limited space to change the deadlock and hostility in their relations The key for China to remain flexible is that we don t favor one take over another

C hina conveys concerns to US over sanc tions, tariffs, investment restric tions during Yellen’s visit

Eidul Fitr being celebrated in Saudi Arabia

today

Kate Middleton surprises royal fans with latest move

around the world, as well as the stability of the industrial production and supply chains Liao said He noted that in addition to these issues the discussions between Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and U S Treasury Secretary Yellen also covered other major topics, including the macroeconomic situations of both nations the response to global challenges and the exchange of mutual concerns According to Liao China and the United States have reached two new consensus outcomes during Yellen s trip First, the finance departments of both nations will take the lead in exchanges on the issue of balanced economic growth of the two countries and the world under the framework of the China-U

In meeting with Vietnam leader, Xi urges strong sense of community with shared future

g COLLABORATION WITH ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS IS UNDERWAY TO

complementarity

comparative advantage

of commerce on both ends need more frequent interaction and a framework for required legal reforms, which will ensure a smooth return on investments S T A F F R E P O R T

Insider exposes RSS's Hindutva agenda in new

China Indonesian President-elect Prabowo s visit to China was the first leg of his first overseas visit as President-elect

Last week, Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign

Minister Saleumxay Kommasith

Timor-Leste s

and Singaporean

Prime

Swee Keat are visiting China “Leaders and foreign ministers from several Southeast Asian countries have visited China over the past few days which demonstrates the great importance relevant countries attach to their relations with China, Mao said “Neighboring countries are China’s priority in its diplomacy

for personal interest as unilateral decisions cannot be imposed on us ” he added

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was appointed as leader of the House in the Senate on Tuesday, according to a notification issued by the Senate Secretariat Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), appointed Dar to the post “Dar will act as leader of the House on behalf of the prime minister to represent government and to regulate government business in the Senate with effect from April 9, 2024,” said the notification Earlier in the day Dar acted as the presiding officer during a Senate session which saw 41 newly elected senators being sworn in as members of the Upper House of Parliament PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gilani was elected unopposed to the coveted slot of Senate chairman whereas PML-N s Sardar Syedal Khan Nasir was elected the deputy chairman Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated and conveyed his best wishes to Gilani and Nasir The premier

noted that elections of the Senate chairman and deputy chairman are a continuation of the democratic process It is hoped that you will play your role for the uplift of the Constitution and the development of the country ” PM Shehbaz added The PM also expressed hope for

the active participation of the newly elected chairman and deputy chairman in crafting impactful legislation to promote public welfare and foster national progress and prosperity He also emphasised the significance of the Senate in bolstering federal units and upholding democratic principles

NEWS DESK

A wheat farmer Ishfaq Jutt residing in the Southern Punjab city of Jahanian, is facing a dire situation Over the past decade, his income has dropped by 45%, prompting him to consider offers from local real-estate developers to purchase his agricultural land

Jutt explains his decision saying All the farmers around me are doing the same I plan to sell the land and use the money to set up a business for my children ” Despite inheriting his 10-acre farmland from his ancestors dating back to pre-partition times Jutt has no desire for his children to continue the farming legacy

In Pakistan, small-scale farmers like Jutt are struggling due to persistent inflation driving up costs of pesticides fertilisers and machinery alongside unpredictable weather patterns wreaking havoc on crop yields According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan ranks as the fifth most climate-vulnerable country worldwide

The country’s Economic Survey for the financial year 2022-23 released by the ministry of finance highlights climatic shocks adversely affecting the agricultural sector With farmers spending more than they earn, many question the viability of farming altogether

This sentiment resonates across the farming community in Punjab where a growing number of farmers are selling their agricultural land to real-estate developers or being compelled to surrender it for state housing projects, resulting in shrinking agricultural land

Experts warn of the implications of diminishing agricultural land in Punjab a province crucial to Pakistan’s economy Major cities in Punjab including Lahore Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, and Rawalpindi, have lost tens of thousands of acres of farmland to public and private housing societies, according to findings from The Urban Unit, a government research department

“In Lahore alone, since 2000 over 35% of agricultural land has been converted to brown areas ” says Samiullah Khan manager of remote sensing at the Urban Unit Mapping conducted by The Urban Unit indicates that a substantial portion of this land in and around Lahore has been swallowed up by three prominent housing societies: the military-run Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and the privately-owned Lake City and Bahria Town Today the DHA Lahore alone