Epaper_24-06-13 KHI

U D G E T

Decoding Rs18 9tr federal budget

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grow 4% on average over 2024-25 slightly slower than in 2023 Growth in low-income economies is expected to accelerate to 5% in 2024 from 3 8% in 2023 However the forecasts for 2024 growth reflect downgrades in three out of every four low-income economies since January In advanced economies growth is set to remain steady at 1 5% in 2024 before rising to 1 7% in 2025 Four years after the upheavals caused by the pandemic, conflicts, inflation, and monetary tightening, it appears that global economic growth is steadying,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President However growth is at lower levels than before 2020 Prospects for the

world s poorest economies are even more worrisome They face punishing levels of debt service constricting trade possibilities and costly climate events Developing economies will have to find ways to encourage private investment, reduce public debt, and improve education, health, and basic infrastructure The poorest among them especially the 75 countries eligible for concessional assistance from the International Development Association will not be able to do this without international

The

COMMITTEE SUGGESTS CLOSURE, MERGER, OR HANDING OVER SOME GOVT DEPARTMENTS TO PROVINCES

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It is in this document that a government decides whether it will increase or decrease its expenditure in a particular sector The government also projects the revenues that it will collect through taxes and other sources in the budget and it is based on those estimates that the government allocates budgets to different sectors ministries and provinces So making a budget is an accounting exercise with underlying policy objectives The accounting exercise is divided into 6 essential steps namely, Preparation, Authorization, Execution, Reporting and Monitoring, Review and Policy setting This sounds a well-rounded approach to tackle the exercise however oftentimes the miscalculation in the first two steps renders the last 3 utterly moot A good example of that would be the last federal budget of FY24 which was changed majorly within days after being presented in the parliament The annual budget statement

(ABS) is the main document for the federal budget After the preparation and authorization the ABS makes its way to the senate and eventually to the public In terms of expenditures, the ABS categorically differentiates between “Receipts” and “Expenditures” R E V E N U E S/R

and the government during that year Combined these resources constitute federal gross receipts This means that the provincial share is deducted to arrive at net federal receipts available to finance the federation’s expenditures For the upcoming fiscal year Pakistan’s net fiscal revenue receipts is estimated to be at 10 377 trillion Meanwhile

fiscal year was Rs 40 billion For the Natural Gas Development Surcharge (GDS), which is the difference between the prescribed and sale price of gas that goes to the provinces the government projects Rs 25 618 billion next year This is down from the original budget of Rs 40 billion and the revised estimate of Rs 27 169 billion for the current year The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) is auditing the GDS claims of Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) to confirm the actual collections The government also plans to collect Rs 3 537 billion through the PL on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in fiscal year 2024-25 slightly up from the revised target of Rs 3 516 billion for the current year The original budget for PL on LPG for this year was significantly higher at Rs

PTI, JI, businessmen dub ‘IMF dic tated’ budget lethal, poisonous

to Rs 12970 billion which is a very cruel move of the government

He pointed out that non-tax revenue, which was a major source of inflation, had been surged to Rs 3,587 billion, adding the budget deficit, which according to the Federal Finance Minister would be 6 9 percent of the GDP, would go to the highest level in history PTI Spokesperson feared that the abolishment of tax exemptions on exporters would adversely affect domestic exports, besides the increase in tax on real estate sector would not only cause panic in the market but also encourage transactions through cash He went on to say that after paying the

money to the provinces the income of the federal government will be Rs 9119 billion which is insufficient to pay only Rs 9775 billion as interest PTI Spokesperson stated that for the first time, the pension bill has been increased of the civil government expenditure of Rs 839 billion to 1014 billion, adding that the salaried class has been strangled by increasing the tax rate from 35 to 45 percent and changing the tax slabs PTI Spokesperson stated that for the first time the tax on the real estate sector has been increased to 15% and for the poor section of non-filers to 45%, adding that inclusion of late filer category was another stupid move by the government He said that surprisingly Rs593 billion were allocated for the Benazir Income Support Program benefiting families only 9 3 to 10 million adding that in contrast to Shahbaz Sharif ’s claim of earmarking Rs1 800 billion for the agriculture package allocating only Rs5 billion was mere a joke

IN a sense, this is the first Budget presented by a Shehbaz government It had presented one before, in fact the Budget running out on June 30 but that was almost presented while staring down the barrel of a dissolution to be followed by a general election It had been a time for a Budget in which the mouths of the coffers would be thrown open but they were not Similarly this Budget was expected to be a scorcher as the Finance Minister who was making his maiden presentation, was still involved in negotiations with the IMF, from whom a package was urgently required It remained to be seen whether the Budget would meet its requirements

The petroleum levy has been increased by Rs 20 or Rs 25 per litre, meaning that the government wants to keep fuel at its peak Of course, if international oil prices also go up, the levy would remain However, the General Sales Tax has not been increased At the same time, the Federal Board of Revenue has been set an ambitious target of Rs 13 trillion, including upward revisions in the income tax Retailers have been spared a dreaded turnover tax

An interesting aspect of the taxation measures has been the zero-rating of materials used in solar panels inverters and lithium-ion batteries That seems directed to encourage the manufacture locally of solar panels in the teeth of Energy Ministry resistance and campaign for the reversal of the present policy of adoption of solar power The impression also came through that the IMF favoured some sort of revision of the current policy, as the distribution companies were finding that consumers switching to solar power had led to their already weak financial positions weakening even further As the IMF places great store by the circular debt issue, it has taken the side of the power companies The problem is that, among all sectors and industries, the power industry is in a state of flux in which the traditional power generation companies are the past, but are still very influential

One of the components missing in the Budget was how to achieve a major increase in exports

Without such an increase there is no hope of escaping the debt trap in which the country is enmeshed With Rs 9 8 trillion earmarked for debt servicing just over half of the total no-development outlay of Rs 18 9 trillion, the Budget was clearly not an easy one to make It avoided putting much further burden on the populace, though that is to damn with faint praise

Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami

S u f i s m i n I s l a m

to be shunned altogether for spiritual benefits Islam

Calling a spade a spade

SO deeply has tasawwuf or the Sufi interpretation of Islam been ingrained in the Muslim psyche and since such a long time back that it is considered by many especially so in the Indian subcontinent but by no means there only to be the true Islam Anybody who even suggests therefore that Sufism is more accurately categorized as a parallel religion than as the most popular interpretation of Islam exposes himself to unpleasant epithets It is true that all manifestations of the revealed religion have had mystical streams Why something as legal as Judaism has had one! Islam is no exception This was inevitable considering the human propensity of blending various items into a mixture whether they mix well or at all But this does not change the fact that Sufism (mysticism) and revealed religions are essentially two completely different things There are, no doubt any number of similarities between the two in terms of practices or derived beliefs but all such similarities are merely superficial when one considers the quite irreconcilable differences between their respective foundations Not only is Sufism not based on the Quran and the Sunnah, it contradicts them on the foundational concepts of God, Prophethood and Revelation and the Hereafter Those who dispute this either do not have the foggiest idea about Islam or know next to nothing about mysticism; probably both

When it is said that Sufism is a parallel religion it does not mean that there is no good in it whatsoever Nor that no good man has ever been associated with it Incidental good can emerge from almost anything That does not mean that all those things are worth advocating Even a broken clock is right twice a day As for good folks there have been many from the Sufi tradition There have been numerous decent human beings hailing from the atheism camp as well; as well as belonging to all the theistic interpretations under the sun for that matter What does that prove though?

That there could be great superficial similarity despite fundamental differences can be illustrated by considering (for instance) the stance of Sufism and Islam on material comforts Both teach that corporeal gains are not worth compromising one s integrity for But Sufism bases this on its broader contention that worldly desires are great evils in themselves, ideally

m b r a c i n g A r t i f i c i a l I

in stark contrast, uses the exact same word (khair) for good as well as a man s income It only stresses the need to be responsible while pursuing worldly success Similarly, Sufism has many other (apparently) good things going for it: its monasteries have been sources of food shelter and education for centuries; numerous Sufi sheikhs have served as spiritual guides and mentors to multitudes of disciples tending to their material, spiritual as well as psychological needs All this is commendable But for it to be called a stream of Islam, Sufism must share Islam’s fundamentals; which unfortunately it does not by a long stretch

The sources of Islam are the Quran (for doctrine) and the Sunnat (for practice) – both transmitted via Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) As for Sufism, the Prophet never taught or practised any of it The Sufis realize that the inability to properly ground their doctrines and practices is a serious shortcoming on their part They tend to solve this problem in one of three ways First: resorting to the private- or the esoteric- interpretation of the Quran where any of its verses can be given any arbitrary meaning that suits the interpreter This solution hardly merits a comment Second: by claiming that although they do not apparently derive their interpretation from the Prophet (PBUH), he is the source of it nevertheless–the way a melon inside the darkness of the earth grows by benefiting from the heat of the sun without knowing about the process (the famous melon analogy) This raises one question: How come these melons figured it out then?

The third explanation is that in addition to the religion he passed on publicly, the Prophet also taught Sufism, privately and in secret, to a select group; and an unbroken chain has continu(PBUH) that if he fails to deliver God s undiluted and unadulterated message to everybody he will not have fulfilled his mission This last rationalization leads directly to the class structure involved in the teachings of Sufism to this day In Sufi circles therefore, there is one religion for the masses, another for the elite, and yet another for the super-elite Their professed doctrines change dramatically according to their audience; and they are especially careful about whom they take into confidence regarding the more controversial of their teachings The Sufis ambivalence regarding Mansoor al-Hallaj is illustrative He is revered in their circles The complaint against him, however, is that he should not have divulged the secret in public The problem is not with what he said but with where he said it

There is this unfor tunate tendency among many Muslims to

criticism against any of their beliefs as motivated by ulterior

Ulterior motives and mala fide are facts of life , but only God

whether they are there in any given case . As far as mere

tals are concerned then, the criticism still has to be addressed

n t e l l i g e n c e

Atial to disrupt industries, create new job categories, and alter work, with countries leading in AI innovation potentially gaining economic advantages The race for AI dominance in geopolitics raises concerns about arms races technological espionage and power imbalances AI integration into military systems raises ethical and strategic questions about autonomous weapons and cyber warfare Ethical

policymakers, businesses, and societies, necessitating effective governance and collaboration to harness its benefits while mitigating its risks With a growing youth population Pakistan is at the precipice of a transformative era driven by technological advancements AI represents the emulation of human intelligence processes by machines, encompassing technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision Its applications are far-reaching altering the way we live work and interact

The AI age is also transforming the employment model in Pakistan presenting both challenges and opportunities for the youth As AI disrupts traditional job roles, individuals must adapt to new skill-sets that require creativity, critical thinking, and adaptability Upskilling and reskilling initiatives are crucial to equip the youth with the competencies demanded by the AI-driven economy Access to AI education and training programmes provides young individuals with the tools and skills necessary to thrive in an increasingly digital world AI holds the potential to drive innovation and entrepreneurship among Pakistani youth With the rise of AI-powered startups and initiatives young innovators are harnessing the technology to address pressing societal challenges and create meaningful solutions However, the proliferation of AI raises concerns and challenges for Pak-

istan s youth The rapid pace of technological advancement risks exacerbating existing inequalities, particularly in terms of access and opportunity Disparities in digital literacy and infrastructure may widen the gap between urban and rural youth hindering inclusive development and socioeconomic progress Ethical considerations surrounding AI loom large necessitating careful deliberation and regulation to ensure responsible and equitable deployment By grappling with these ethical dilemmas and navigating the ethical dimensions of AI Pakistani youth can chart a path towards inclusive and sustainable development in the 21st century The integration of AI may initially lead to job displacement, but proactive measures can mitigate these effects by fostering an environment conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship AI-driven efficiencies can enhance productivity potentially offsetting job losses with new opportunities in emerging sectors such as data analytics machine learning and robotics Emerging job opportunities emerge as AI permeates various industries, demanding specialized skill-sets Data scientists, AI engineers, cybersecurity specialists, and digital transformation experts are among the roles in high demand Encouraging STEM education equips youth with the skills needed to thrive in these domains

The private sector plays a pivotal role in driving AI adoption and fostering youth employment by investing in research and development, facilitating industry-relevant training programs, internships and mentorship initiatives The government’s responsibility is to craft policies that facilitate a smooth transition to the AI-driven economy promoting digital literacy vocational training, and entrepreneurship Universities serve as incubators of talent, preparing the youth for the challenges and opportunities presented by AI Curricula should be updated to incorporate AI-related subjects providing students with practical skills and hands-on experience Partnerships with industry enable universities to offer internships co-op programs and industry projects, ensuring graduates are equipped with the skills sought after by employers Parents and society play a crucial role in

shaping the aspirations and career choices of the youth Encouraging a culture of lifelong learning and embracing change fosters resilience and adaptability, while destigmatizing vocational education and non-traditional career paths promotes diversity in the workforce Meanwhile, the broader community has a crucial role in influencing the career choices and ambitions of young individuals fostering a mindset of continuous learning and embracing diverse career paths Destigmatizing vocational education and promoting diverse career options ensure inclusivity and provide opportunities for all segments of society Collaboration among stakeholders is vital as Pakistan navigates the AI revolution By embracing innovation investing in human capital and fostering an inclusive ecosystem Pakistan can harness AI s transformative potential for sustainable economic growth and societal development Government support should be allocated for AI research and development, with centres of excellence and grants for universities and research institutions Industry collaboration should be encouraged with internship programs apprenticeships and partnerships with tech companies To promote entrepreneurship, a conducive environment should be created, offering incentives like tax breaks, grants, and incubation centres A robust digital infrastructure should be built including high-speed internet connectivity and data centres Skills development should be implemented with training programmes and workshops to upskill the workforce in AI technologies A clear regulatory framework should be developed, addressing ethical and privacy concerns while fostering innovation International collaboration should be encouraged to share best practices and resources in AI development and implementation Public awareness should be raised about the benefits and risks of AI, and lifelong learning and professional development should be encouraged By following this roadmap, Pakistan can position itself to capitalize on AI opportunities and become a leader in the new world order of technology

The writer has a PhD in Political Science and is a visiting faculty member at QAU Islamabad He can be reached at zafarkhansafdar@yahoo com and tweets @zafarkhansafdar

International collaboration should be encouraged to share best practices and resources in AI development and implementation Public awareness should be raised about the benefits and risks of AI, and lifelong learning and professional development should be encouraged By following this roadmap, Pakistan can position itself to capitalize on AI opportunities and become a leader in the new world order of technology

Insane loadshedding

Tentative schedule

Dr ZAFAr KHAN SAFDAr

A strategic alliance or tactical bluff?

to threaten going nuclear

MO S C O W brought up the possibility of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine once again However, deploying such weapons involves several critical factors First the weapons must be deliverable meaning they need to reach their target accurately Second the target must be valuable enough to justify the use of such a powerful weapon, ideally causing minimal damage to nearby friendly cities

The most important thing is that the country launching the attack must be confident that its enemy cannot or will not respond with a nuclear attack The uncertainty about how the attacked country might respond, the ability of the attacker to survive a counterattack, and whether the initial strike would be devastating enough are significant unknowns This uncertainty is a major reason why nuclear weapons have not been used since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Russia s threats to use nuclear weapons are more about creating fear than actual plans to use them The main goal is to make the USA and its allies reconsider their support for Ukraine by raising the stakes of the conflict Despite the repeated threats Russia has not followed through with a nuclear attack largely due to the many uncertainties involved More interesting is China s reaction to Russia’s threats Initially, China maintained a neutral stance on the Ukraine conflict, even abstaining from a United Nations vote condemning the war rather than supporting Russia However as the war dragged on and China s relationship with the USA worsened

China s position shifted The need for a strong ally and economic partner became more pressing, and Russia fit this role At the same time, Russia began to realize that it would not easily win the war in Ukraine and might not win at all Like China Russia s biggest challenge was the USA Moscow s recent nuclear threats are part of a strategy to increase the perceived risks for the USA in supporting Ukraine The complexity and risks associated with a nuclear strike combined with the strategic and political dynamics involving China and the USA highlight why these threats are more about posturing than immediate action This ongoing situation underscores the complicated balance of power and the high stakes involved in the Ukraine conflict

An alliance goes beyond just a press release and a handshake although it is often mistaken as such It involves real cooperation and the creation of complementary weapons and forces to defeat a common enemy While there are non-military alliances, every alliance assumes that both sides have, or can obtain, the necessary tools to successfully wage war when needed The main goal of any alliance is to significantly strengthen a joint force Many have assumed that Russia and China would form an alliance to challenge or weaken the USA However, this has not happened The USA, supported by its NATO allies, posed a land challenge to Russia In theory, Russia could have used Chinese troops in the Ukraine war but the distance between the two countries

made logistics difficult Moreover China s primary interest was to prevent the USA from blockading its ports or creating a defensive line of islands Additionally, China and Russia have a contentious history, marked by numerous invasions and conflicts After a clash on the Ussuri River China formed an anti-Russian agreement with the USA in the 1970s which included an intelligence-gathering post for the USA in China Given their tense history, it was surprising when, after Russia hinted at using nuclear weapons, China suggested that using them against the USA was reasonable This created a verbal alliance between the two countries without any real commitment China is known to be a nuclear power and U S intelligence monitors the situation closely Therefore, China s statement did not change the overall dynamics Speculating on China’s purpose, it seems that Russia might be facing peace talks that President Vladimir Putin has already discussed China likely does not want to deal with a more confident USA By temporarily aligning with Russia and mentioning the nuclear option, China aimed to create the perception of a strong alliance with Russia, while also signaling that it does not fully trust the US capabilities Alliances are complex and involve much more than simple agreements They require material cooperation and the ability to create a powerful joint force The assumed RussiaChina alliance to weaken the USA has not materialized, due to logistical challenges and a history of conflict China’s recent statements about nuclear weapons create a superficial alliance with Russia mainly as a strategic move to manage the balance of

Modi the authoritarian will have to learn to compromise

The shif t from collec tive Cabinet responsibilit y to one individual has ended and the shif t back has begun

cause of course they will listen to what concerns them Modi has an advantage over alliances of the sort that began just after P V Narasimha Rao s government fell And that advantage is that he has 240 MPs His predecessor as NDA leader three-time Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had only 180 MPs in his last term That meant more vulnerability to allies to the point where the alliance itself was becoming the news There was a fascinating report in February 1999 about Vajpayee sending defence minister George Fernandes to assuage AIADMK leader and NDA partner Jayalalitha George Fernandes flew to Chennai to her Poes Garden residence with the BJP s Pramod Mahajan after he was given an appointment But they were not given an audience Instead, Jayalalitha admonished Fernandes over the intercom and they left Another news story from November 2001 headlined “Mamata sulks over PM refusal for Cabinet berth reported how the TMC boycotted a Cabinet meeting after joining the NDA The BJP s then president, Jana Krishnamurthy, said: How can somebody expect to become a minister immediately? There are our own MPs aspiring to be ministers and they have been waiting for quite a while The reference was to two BJP Lok Sabha MPs from Delhi Madan Lal Khurana and Sahib Singh Verma who had been waiting for ministerships and they were also sulking

This is what alliances are about and that is what they have always been about The last decade was an aberration in India s politics of give-and-take Vajpayee was a pragmatist and a politician of the old school, willing to accept the discomfort and irritation and occasional humiliation Though he had fewer numbers he held this advantage over Modi, who is authoritarian by nature (I know him personally and can attest to this) and will have to learn how to compromise Modi hopefully will not be put in such a position as frequently as Vajpayee was, given his larger plurality of seats, but there will be moments when what has happened over the last decade from 2014 to 2024 will not happen When his will to impose something over the heads of his Cabinet will be tested We can be absolutely sure that this will be reported because the allies, or people inside the BJP looking to assert themselves, will want it reported Telling people to ignore the news will not work The word “ally” in a coalition is misleading because it suggests someone who is always for you and with you This is incorrect They are always for themselves and sometimes with you In perfect partnerships, such moments of difference do not come But that happens only in the realm of fairy tales and divine beings For us mortals the world is a real place and its unpleasant realities have to be engaged with not ignored because they absolutely will come up For those who write, report and consume the news, this will be an interesting, fascinating and often entertaining five years

RO C K E T S fired by Hezbollah at northern Israel last week caused days of wildfires that burned over 2,500 acres of land, raising fears of an all-out war amid fresh calls for a military escalation from Israeli officials Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Wednesday that he is prepared to take very strong action to restore security along the border while Israel s northern army commander said the military is ready for war Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, meanwhile have further ramped up the rhetoric calling for Israel to invade and reoccupy Lebanon Such statements along with recent Israeli army drills in northern Israel raise the prospect of a more intense conflict with Hezbollah following cross-border exchanges since October In that time, Israeli attacks have killed around 300 Hezbollah members and 80 civilians while 18 Israeli soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed in attacks from Lebanon

CALCULATED ESCALATION: Hezbollah has said its military operations in Israel are in response to Israel’s war on Gaza and that the group is not seeking an all-out conflict with Israel But both sides have intensified attacks in recent weeks amid ongoing Gaza ceasefire talks with Hezbollah saying in the past it would halt attacks if a truce were agreed and the Gaza war ends Israel, meanwhile, faces huge internal pressure to secure the release of hostages in Gaza and return 80 000 residents displaced from the north to their homes amid the conflict with Hezbollah This urgency to return displaced residents is fuelling calls for Israel to strike Hezbollah strongholds to stop attacks from the group, but that strategy in itself risks widening the conflict and preventing their return In this context wildfires in northern Israel are not a threshold that would automatically trigger a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah They do, however, accelerate the likelihood of a broader escalation with each passing moment

“Both sides are still exercising restraint despite increased aggression since 7 October This is a subthreshold conflict with significant damage on both sides particularly in northern Israel, where 80,000 Israelis cannot return home, Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London and CEO of consulting firm MENA Analytica told The New Arab

While Israel is hesitant to open a second front in Lebanon due to its commitments in Gaza, the situation is becoming intolerable, especially with Hezbollah s new ability to bypass the Iron Dome system, indicating that Israel may soon need to take more decisive action ” he added Hezbollah has been using new

weaponry and tactics in its conflict with Israel, employing advanced weapons and targeting deeper within the country This includes explosive-laden drones firing a guided missile at Israel s Iron Dome air defence system in Ramot Naftali and using squadrons of drones to target Israeli units in Galilee Hanin Ghaddar, a Friedmann Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy told TNA that although Israel wants to eliminate Hezbollah it acknowledges that this would lead to a destructive war and a severe response from the Lebanese group especially during the war on Gaza The analyst pointed out that Israel cannot engage in a full-scale war with Hezbollah without US military support which is unlikely before the US elections in November Therefore the aim is to establish deterrence and reduce Hezbollah s attacks I think what we can expect is probably more escalation, but it will still be some kind of calculated escalation,” she said Michael Young a political analyst and senior editor at the Carnegie Middle East Center told TNA that amid Gaza ceasefire talks both Israel and Hezbollah are trying to impose a solution on the border to their own advantage, intensifying the level of fighting to show they have deterrence capability Israel and Hezbollah know that an American-mediated border negotiation may take place and are preparing for such talks he suggested Both Israel and Hezbollah need a solution at least a face-saving measure, to convince their own population the border is safe, he said While a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas could lead Hezbollah to halt military operations against Israel Krieg argues that it s uncertain whether Israel would follow suit If Israel enters the second phase of the Biden proposal, which involves a permanent ceasefire, the Israeli army would partially demobilise and withdraw from Gaza This would allow Israel to redirect military resources to the north to confront Hezbollah Israel seeks to reestablish escalatory dominance which may involve significant military action against Hezbollah to push them north of the Litani River While Hezbollah, lacking political intent for a full-scale war, is unlikely to escalate the conflict Netanyahu might prefer ongoing conflict either in Gaza or the north to avoid political instability and potential elections he told TNA From a political perspective, Young explained that both Israel and Hezbollah need to avoid appearing weak, which could escalate tensions before potential negotiations Israel can’t prevent Hezbollah’s presence at the border without a continuous war therefore hindering the return of northern Israeli residents Both Israel and Hezbollah have interests in finding a solution For Israel, this is to facilitate the return of its northern residents, and for Hezbollah, it is to prevent unrestrained Israeli attacks

However, Ghaddar explained that regardless of the willingness of both parties to find a solution on the border Hezbollah’s actions are linked to the war in Gaza While a ceasefire would stop Hezbollah s military operations the decision for Israel to engage in

Russia needs China

Dr MuhaMMaD akraM Zaheer

WIRE AAKAR PATEL

Atwo-day meeting of foreign ministers belonging to the BRICS of emerging economies has concluded in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, with all parties calling for adherence to multilateralism, improving global governance and increasing the voice and representation of developing countries

The meeting from Monday to Tuesday marks the first gathering since the group expanded from five members (Brazil Russia India, China and South Africa) to nine in January with the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as official members The “BRICS Plus” dialogue at the foreign ministers level is held in Nizhny Novgorod Russia June 11 2024 COUNTRIES APPLAUD

MECHANISM On Monday, BRICS countries engaged in in-depth discussions on cooperation as well as international and regional hot topics

A joint statement of BRICS foreign ministers was issued following the meeting

All parties spoke highly of the important role of the BRICS mechanism and the achievements of its membership expansion They agreed that the accession of more countries to BRICS has accelerated the process of world multi-polarization and promoted a more just and equitable international

order They also voiced support for the establishment of partner countries

All parties called for adhering to multilateralism, opposing unilateralism and protectionism, promoting reform of the international financial architecture, enhancing and improving global governance and increasing the voice and representation of developing countries

All parties emphasized resolving disputes peacefully through dialogue and consultations, and supporting all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of crises On the second day a dialogue was held between the BRICS countries and 12 other major developing countries namely Thailand Laos Vietnam Bangladesh Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Türkiye, Mauritania, Cuba, Venezuela and Bahrain

The participants praised the strategic significance of the dialogue noting that the BRICS+ model facilitates unity and cooperation among developing countries enhancing the Global South s influence and building a more just and reasonable international order

They called for reforms to the international financial system, enhanced cooperation in the digital economy infrastructure and other areas safeguarding the stability of the global industrial supply chain narrowing the development gap and achieving shared progress CHINA’S VOICE Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the

Communist Party of China Central Committee stressed universal security common development and global governance at the meetings He said BRICS should take the lead in safeguarding the international system with the United Nations at its core and push for an equal and orderly multipolar

On the

Asia to act as a united front and cooperate to effectively resolve and eliminate drug-related problems On June 7, based on the results of a secret ballot, Uzbekistan received 185 votes from UN member states and, for the first time in its history was elected to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the specified term

Xi Jinping says China will always belong to developing countries

China has always been a member of the Global South and will always belong to developing countries Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday Xi made the remarks when delivering a video speech to the opening ceremony of the celebration for the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Over the 60 years since its establishment, the UNCTAD has vigorously advanced South-South cooperation,

THashoo Group Real Estate Division, Park View enclave join hands to enhance premium urban residential experiences

ISLAMABAD

Two of Pakistan s leading groups Hashoo Group and Park View Enclave, have joined forces to elevate Islamabad's urban landscape with state-of-the-art residential properties, complete with luxurious amenities, designed to enhance the quality of life in the city This strategic collaboration will oversee the development of several key projects in Islamabad aimed at providing unmatched comfort and convenience to residents These projects include the development of serviced apartments, the opening of Pearl-Continental Signature Restaurants, and the

O pen cour ts best forum to resol ve consumers' issues

Education, legislation key to eradicate child labour: Ibrahim Murad

the architects of the nation s future He stated that preventing child labour requires concrete measures, and the most viable solution lies in providing education and enacting robust laws He emphasized that strict actions must be taken against those involved in child labor to ensure that children hold

ISLAMABAD: