TARAR HOPES ‘FRUITFUL TALKS’ AS JI WARNS
PROTEST IF DEMANDS NOT MET
I S L A M A B A D: The All-Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran (APAT) and the Traders Action Committee on Saturday threatened to launch countrywide protest against the government s new tax scheme labelling it as anti-trader Ajmal Baloch, President of APAT and the Traders Action Committee Islamabad, claimed that directives had been issued to traders across the country to prepare for the protests Mr Baloch declared that the trader community across the country had categorically rejected the government s newly introduced trader-friendly tax scheme, describing it as anti-trader
enue (FBR) to withdraw the SRO immediately and engage in negotiations based on traders’ suggestions “The valuation table set by the FBR is impractical and unjust to various markets in smaller cities as well as in Islamabad Lahore Karachi Multan Quetta Peshawar, and Faisalabad, Baloch said What is the fault of the old taxpayers who are also included in this scheme? Expanding the tax net is necessary but the question lies in FBR s capacity Baloch emphasised that traders across the country have been advised to prepare for protests and shutdowns, declaring that the trader-friendly scheme will not be implemented under any circumstances S TA F F R E P O R T Tr a d e r s
He called on the Federal Board of Rev-
Govt extends negotiation offer to PTI; proposes ‘ working together ’ to resolve issues
of PTI s alleged involvement in anti-state propaganda,” though the notification does not specifically mention the party Raoof Hasan, PTI’s information secretary was arrested on Monday during a raid by Islamabad police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) at the party s Central Office The FIA s cybercrime wing subsequently charged Hasan and 11 others under Sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyberterrorism), and 11 (electronic forgery) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA) On Thursday Hasan and eight others had their physical remand extended until the following day
on
According
ministry formed the JIT under Section 30 (warrant for search or seizure) of PECA Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi will lead the JIT, which includes the FIA’s cybercrime director, FIA’s Counter Terrorism Wing director
FPCCI, ex-interim minister announce moving SC, SIFC against IPPs
despair about the country’s future on social media should know that the country’s future is bright Former caretaker federal minister for commerce and interior Dr Gohar Ejaz, who also holds the portfolio of Chairman of FPCCI s Economic Policy Business Development Think Tank said that the
Around
JERUSALEM
A G E N C I E S Gaza’s civil defense agency said Saturday that Israel’s military operation around Khan Younis has killed about 170 people and wounded hundreds since it started on Monday Since the beginning of the Israeli military operation in the Khan Younis area, we are talking of approximately 170 martyrs and hundreds of wounded ” agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP He said many people had been displaced again on Saturday as the Israeli operation continued The questions is where will these residents go?” Bassal said
government’s negligence towards IPPs was being borne by the people emphasizing that an audit of IPPs should be conducted The entire nation clamouring for cure for the wounds and agony inflicted by the IPPs and we need to find a solution to end the IPPs agreements” he stressed “We never want our country to face any crisis but the policies should be devised to move Pakistan forward There was electricity, but the problem was the cost of electricity How can we compete with the world with expensive electricity ” he questioned
“Anyone who sees the situation in Khan Younis will witness thousands of people spread out on the ground on the roads in areas that unfortunately are not suitable for living With no other options available, they are exposing themselves to death Earlier on Saturday the military issued new evacuation orders for residents of the southern city after retrieving the bodies of five Israelis and warning of new operations The United Nations said more than 180,000 Palestinians have fled Khan Younis since the Israeli operation began on Monday The evacuation orders and “intensified hostilities” have “significantly destabilized aid operations it added reporting dire water hygiene and sanitation conditions across the Palestinian territory The Israeli military said it launched the operation to halt rocket fire from the area which already saw heavy fighting earlier this year On Wednesday it said troops had retrieved the bodies of five Israelis from the area They had been killed during the Hamas attacks of October 7 and their bodies taken back to Gaza, the military said
Tarar hopes ‘fruitful talks’ as JI warns nationwide protest if demands not met
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
GOVT’S HEAVY-HANDED TACTICS AND USE OF FORCE CRITICISED
Earlier in the day addressing Jamaat-e-Islami workers Hafiz Naeem criticized the government’s heavy-handed tactics at the sit-in including the erection of barriers and the use of force He asserted that reaching D Chowk would be no challenge for Jamaat-e-Islami, emphasizing that the party could mobilize there at any time without obstruction Hafiz Naeemur Rehman revealed that ongoing talks with the government represented by Liaqat Baloch for Jamaat-e-Islami were under way He expressed skepticism about the government s negotiating committee but indicated that the consultation process within Jamaat-e-Islami continued He called on the government to show seriousness and provide relief to the people, stressing that the negotiations are not just a formality “If the government is serious it must provide relief There is no alternative he stated Legitimate taxes will be accepted by businessmen and industrialists but we must also address the concerns of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) through a forensic audit The middle and lower classes are suffering; we are fighting for the rights of 250 million people All Pakistanis should join this sacred cause Hafiz Naeem announced that the Jamaat s women workers will meet on Murree Road after Maghrib prayer on Sunday with another significant gathering planned for Monday Arrests
chapters with substantive titles like The lake where birds come to die’, ‘Parushni and the peacock’ ‘The sails of Sindhu and the great escape’ ‘Stink of a thousand years’ slavery’ Waiting for the floods Sarasvati – the mother of mighty torrents Parushni s well gets thirsty , The vanishing river , Trees don t move; I m a tree , The march of sand’, and ‘Hope is a grain of wheat’ The original novel in Urdu (1992), carries 229 pages which have been converted into 356 pages of the translated
version Translation of a mythologized narrative laid on exotic lingual speech patterns connected to a euphoric antiquity of nearly 5000 years, is an onerous exercise that the translators have accomplished with a marked Anglophonic elan Muhammad Hanif has rightly averred that Tarar is one of those rare breed of writers who are popular and iconoclastic at the same time Aamer Hussein that great story teller of the Pakistani diaspora, thinks that Tarar s sweeping, ambitious saga of the dawn of South Asian civilization, which interweaves speculative anthropology and reconstructed history with the fantasies and myths of the Indus delta has long been a favourite among fans of Urdu fiction The translation as he opines, is likely to enable the Anglophone readers to explore and discover, nay rediscover, the novel By the bye, way back in 1992, ‘Bahao’ was launched at a largely attended ceremony in Faisalabad hosted by late Yahya Amjad a famed poet historicist and author of a voluminous but remarkable book his magnum opus, titled Tareekh-e-Pakistan , with Mustansar Hussain Tarar and renowned fiction writer Abdullah Hussein as guests In their conversations whereas Abdullah Hussein termed the novel (‘Bahao’) as a masterpiece of anthropology Tarar graciously acknowledged Yahya Amjad s Tareekh as a geographical-cumgeophysical source of his novel
Introducing the novel to the readers, the translators contend that its text is ‘inscribed with both density and diversity’ According to them the author has herein created a living narrative of a dying river
It depicts the unpredictable turns and cyclic mobilities set in an unnamed village on the bank of Ghaghara The village
purportedly isolated from the civilized civic centres of the times before the Common Era, turns into a ‘synecdoche (as it were) for the existential continuum and its meandering movement’
The use of narrative techniques such as the stream of consciousness intermixing of the third and first person narrators polyphony, and multilingual interpellations serves to lend it (the novel) a unique structural immensity corresponding to its inherent thematic complexity The relative coalescence of space and time culminates in an ingenious metamorphosis of millennia the maximal measure of time into its minimal fractions and vice versa As an impressionistic work of fiction, its canvas embraces the whole ambit of human civilization Parushni Samroo Pakli Dorga Virchan Puran
Mamon Masa, Dhurva et al are mythical characters with a protean Ghagharan identity; interestingly they are archetypes also that typify a moribund human culture with a concurrent renaissance of man’s inventiveness Extinction and resurgence are thus made to cycle in repeating sequences
All said the translated version of Bahao is an intellectual feat intended to introduce Mustansar Hussain Tarar to the interested Anglophone reader ‘TARAR’S FRAGILE TIMES’ Muhammad Safeer Awan s present work has a dual significance: first it illustrates the whole gamut of Tarar s craftsmanship as a fiction and travelogue writer, and secondly it is also an insightful critique of his prodigious creativeness The book comprises some twelve compendious yet comprehensive chapters highlighting and
exploring the inner and outer world of Tarar his novel Bahao as palimpsest of history, subjects of love and death, ecosophy and environmental consciousness, traces of global literary art forms in his fiction, representation of 9/11 trauma in fiction (indigenous American and global) a critical analysis of Raakh and a postmodernist review of Khas-o-Khashak Zamanay , Tarar s language innovation and preservation enriching the cultural horizons of Urdu, Tarar ’s fictions of politics and ideological commitment and Tarar ’s cosmopolitanism and postmodern narrative in Khas-o-Khashak Zamanay In his creative oeuvre Tarar has ingested the cultural and scenic beauty of Pakistan alongwith its socio-political inequalities, ideological contradictions, and the agonies and ecstasies of its masses’ Dr Safeer Awan has ventured to locate and interpret Tarar ’s literary output with a sense of critical globility He rightly thiks that with a view to understanding Tarar s ideological and metaphorical constructions , a reader must needs be historically and politically conscious of ‘the social constructs’ ‘Fragile Times’ is a random translation of ‘Khas-o-Khashak Zamanay’ that according to the author tends to narrativize various traumas that Pakistanis have (had) to live through since Independence in 1947 History, mythology, wars, and Partition of India alongwith many other cultural and textual facts, are generally ‘intertextualized’ in Tarar ’s work Thus the pervasive but pertinent theme of the human condition forms the generic trait so to say of Tarar s fictional world its episodic circumspection notwithstanding This accounts for the validity of the
Rollover needed
Saudi and Chinese rollovers essential to debt management strategy
THE benefits of the staff level agreement on a new Extended Structural Adjustment Facility of $7 billion from the IMF will become visible once rollovers become available from Saudi Arabia and China of $9 billion, which is almost half of the $20 8 billion in the debt servicing payments that Pakistan owes this year Without those rollovers Pakistan has no real hope of making those payments Pakistan hopes to obtain $1 billion from the World Bank for the Dasu hydropower project Rs 500 million from the Islamic Development Bank for oil and commodities import, and is seeking money for the Diamer-Bhasha dam project
These prospects are all opening up because of the IMF deal, which gives lenders the impression that Pakistan s economy is being so managed that it will be able to meet its obligations
Though Pakistan has been at it for many years now it does not make it a safe strategy or a particularly long-lasting one, to use project loans and aid to meet debt servicing requirements Also while rollovers are good they are early a kicking of the can down the road, a postponement of the day when the loans have to be repaid It almost appears as if there is a disconnect between borrower and lender in that the borrower does not intend to repay Unfortunately for Pakistan its decision-makers were accustomed by the USA to lend money with the understanding that it would be embezzled, so that it could obtain influence over the embezzlers That debt is now being serviced with the result that Pakistan is now in a debt trap, where it is having to borrow or service its loans The USA extracted a price in another way by getting the country it was lending to toe its line It would be too much to expect Saudi Arabia and China not to have Pakistan follow their wishes in its foreign policy And both expect to be repaid
The only way out of this difficulty would be for Pakistan to earn enough foreign exchange by exporting more The Prime Minister has set a target of doubling exports in three years If achieved this would do the trick, but of the aid money coming in, not enough is going on projects that would earn foreign exchange, even indirectly
Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor
M A Niazi Editor Pakistan Today Babar Nizami Editor Profit
g o o d w i l l v i s i t
The bane of the digital age
WORDS play a critical role in shaping our understanding of information Whether it is misinformation, fake news disinformation or conspiracy theories each term reflects different ways through which misleading information can deceive us whether by intention or slipup In an era dominated by digital communication, the rise of fake news and social media warfare has posed significant challenges to societies worldwide A recent study conducted by MIT scholars revealed that many individuals who share false news stories online do so inadvertently and that their sharing behaviour can be influenced by reminders about accuracy The presence of such reminders was found to widen the gap between the sharing rates of true news stories versus false ones The study also identified common reasons behind the sharing of false information Approximately half of those who shared the false news stories cited inattention due to the fastpaced nature of social media Another third shared misinformation because they mistakenly believed it to be true, while a smaller proportion knowingly shared false headlines Pakistan, with its rapidly growing internet penetration and active social media structure, is not immune to these challenges The proliferation of misinformation disinformation and mal-information on platforms like Facebook Twitter and WhatsApp has not only shaped public opinion but also influenced political narratives, societal cohesion, and national security Fake news encompasses a spectrum of false information deliberately created, manipulated and disseminated to deceive readers It includes misinformation (unintentional dissemination of false
information) disinformation (deliberate spreading of false information) and mal-information (truthful information shared to cause harm or public damage) In Pakistan, fake news often takes the form of manipulated images, misleading headlines, and fabricated stories aimed at misleading the public for political social or economic gain The era of social media has amplified these issues allowing misinformation to spread rapidly and widely among the population Fake news, including falsified election results, doctored images, and fabricated narratives, exacerbates political divisions by promoting partisan narratives and undermining trust in institutions Politically motivated misinformation campaigns can manipulate voter behaviour and undermine democratic processes while polarization hampers constructive dialogue and national unity Pakistan has witnessed a significant increase in internet and social media usage, driven by affordable smartphones and data plans Platforms like Facebook WhatsApp and Twitter are widely accessed for news consumption social networking and political discourse As of March 2024 65 percent of Pakistanis utilize social media highlighting the significant influence it has on public opinion and political debate in the country Social media offers a platform for citizen journalism, activism, and public engagement, but its potential positive impacts are undermined by the unchecked spread of misinformation often used by political parties interest groups and other non state actors Pakistan s social media regulation governed by PTA has faced criticism for inadequacy and politicization The Punjab government s recent efforts to introduce stricter regulations, including measures against fake news, have sparked debates on freedom of expression and responsible online behaviour False information can significantly impact economic growth investor confidence and consumer behaviour, especially in fragile economies like Pakistan Bots, both domestically and internationally, can manipulate online discourse, skew public perception, and artificially increase the reach of misinformation campaigns This poses risks to growth and development in fragile economies
n f o r m a t i o n d e m a n d s l o n g - t e r m d e d i c a t i o n , a c t i v e p u b l i c e n g a g e m e n t , a n d s t r a t e g i e s t h a t c a n f l e x i b l y r e s p o n d t o t h e c h a l l e n g e s p r e s e n t e d b y d i g i t a l e v o l u t i o n
Par t of Pakistan’s strategy to focus on Central Asia
Aliyev to Islmabad at the invitation of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif which was quite hectic as well as successful for the mutual benefits it gave both the brotherly countries The visiting Azerbaijan President held bilateral talks with the host PM, while both Azeri and Pakistani leaders witnessed the signing of a number of agreements of MOUs and addressed a joint press conference The Azeri President also called on President Asif Ali Zardari Top leadership of the two brotherly countries affirmed their commitment to expand bilateral ties for the mutual benefits
President Aliyev in a quite emphatic and appreciable manner said that the connection between both the countries is a big asset " We are brothers we are friends and we support each other on every international issue
It is indeed very welcome that both Pakistan
H i g h l e v e l l e a d e r s h i p e x c h a n g e s b
and Azerbaijan top leadership have agreed to expand investment volume up to $2 billion which was at the lowest level of just $100 million currently Hopefully the two sides will sign agreements worth $2 billion when the PM visits Azerbaijan in November this year to attend COP29 at Baku capital of Azerbaijan to start as there is great potential on both sides in bilateral trade, joint cooperation and joint investments During the distinguished guest's visit, the two countries signed as many as 15 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements apparently as a concrete move to enhance and boost bilateral cooperation across various sectors including trade , commerce, tourism , minerals, science and technology, law, justice,and cultural exchange programmes as the visiting distinguished guest and the host PM witnessed The visit of President Ilham Aliyev was a strong indication that both Azerbaijan and Pakistan are heading towards developing a strategic partnership Though the distinguished guest's visit was short, it has certainly and surely further strengthened bilateral diplomatic relations and economic ties which quite obviously augurs well for both the countries Needless to mention here rapidly changing socio-economic geopolitical and geostrategic changes, realities and compulsions have prompted the leadership m of both Pakistan and Azerbaijan to move forward and take effective measures for promoting mutual bilateral relations Hopefully the mutual consensus and cooperation between the two brotherly Islamic countries will be further enhanced on the North-South Corridor, greater regional connectivity, socio-economic integration, public- private partnership, investment, pharmaceuticals, textiles food and energy security with the passage of time
While the Azeri President thanked Pakistan for support on its conflict last year with Armenia the host PM expressed gratitude to the distinguished guest for for continuously supporting Pakistan's just cause on Kashmir describing it as a true sign of brotherhood and political understanding between Baku and Islamabad
Needless to mention here that Pakistan attaches great importance to its relationship with Azerbaijan as Islamabad is now focusing on the countries in Central Asia as both the countries are going to advance their cooperation in various sectors including tourism, transport, energy security and defence
It may also be mentioned here that finalizing operationalizing and channelling the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) as well as Bilateral Transit Trade Agreement are quite crucial to further streamlining and systemizing the existing relations between the two countries It is also good to mention here that both Azerbaijan and Pakistan are taking measures at the appropriate level for increasing bilateral investment especially in the energy sector
Furthermore brotherly relations between the two Islamic countries will also be enhanced through exchange of parliamentary delegations , strengthening of cultural cooperation and also promotion of people-to-people contacts including the students academia businessmen and tourists
There are vast opportunities for promoting mutual relations in a number of diverse fields such as economic investment, special economic zones, CPEC, oil and gas, energy cooperation, agriculture cooperation, infrastructure development dairy cooperation climate change cooperation hydropower space sciences establishing sustainable supply chains among a host of others
Pakistan has special historic, cultural, social, political relations with Azerbaijan Historically speaking, for centuries together the people of both the countries have been visiting interacting and carrying the caravans of human values ethnic diversity education commerce and above all mutual sincerity respect and trust
High level leadership exchanges between the brotherly Islamic countries do contribute a lot in promoting, strengthening and deepening the relations between the countries As such it can safely be said here that the visit of President Ilham Aliyev has gone a long way in promoting and strengthening the existing brotherly relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan for mutual benefit of the peoples at large of both the countries
The writer is Lahore-based Freelance Journalist Columnist and retired Deputy Controller (News) Radio Pakistan Islamabad and can be reached at zahidriffat@gmail com
Public-private par tnership in education
MuhaMMaD ZahiD rifat
DrZafar Khan SafDar
Bangladesh government had to act to restore order
Twas committed to addressing their grievances through dialogue and policy adjustments Unfortunately the protests were infiltrated and manipulated by political elements, notably the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir These groups have a long history of attempting to destabilize the government through various means, including inciting unrest and violence
c e s o f i t s c i t i z e n s w h i l e s a f e g u a r d i n g n a t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y
The BNP Jamaat and Shibir have exploited the legitimate concerns of students to further their political agenda Their involvement has shifted the focus from genuine student issues to a
We don't yet know if HRW will review its stance But what is clear is that the report has promoted Israel s narrative about October 7 Its failure to conduct a fair and impartial investigation has dealt a severe blow to Palestinians and supporters of human rights around the world
The timing of the report is also of note, with stories of Palestinians being dismembered buried alive and mauled to death by dogs flooding the news cycle on the week the report was published Considering the report s pro-Israel bias it raises questions about whether the document was intended as a distraction HAS HRW IGNORED EVIDENCE?
But perhaps the most egregious fabrication that the report mentions is the long-debunked claim that Hamas fighters committed sexual violence against Israeli women on October 7 In the immediate aftermath of the New York Times article that alleged widespread
sexual violence and rape, fifty professors of journalism across the US complained to the newspaper about its lack of professionalism and integrity making special reference to the pro-genocide Israeli journalist hired to conduct the investigation and several cases of unprovable testimonies
However, HRW chose to repeat the same allegations with no new evidence And while it isn't the first time that HRW has sided with Israel over the Palestinians never before has HRW issued a report so crude so politicised and so biased in favour of the apartheid regime
The report's failure to account for the Israeli army's use of the Hannibal Directive the deliberate killing of Israelis to prevent them from being taken as prisoners was another shocking oversight HRW conveniently ignored testimonies from Israelis in the Kibbutzim that reported that the Israeli army had shelled, burned and killed Israelis
The HRW report mustn't succeed in criminalising the Palestinian resistance Remember resistance is a legitimate right of all peoples who suffer under occupation and there is a fundamental difference between one a fair investigation that deals with human rights violations, and two providing cover for Israel's genocide against the Palestinians Ultimately what the HRW report looks like is a propaganda campaign that helps legitimise Israel s genocidal war It reads like a spiteful attempt to reject the Palestinian people's success in revealing to the public Israel's genocidal
Tlikability and trustworthiness in the basement among voters A YouGov poll of 1 582 American adults conducted between July 13 and 16 revealed that 39 percent of respondents would vote for Harris if she was the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, against 44 percent for Trump This places Harris behind bumbling
Biden,
been calling the shots for the
several years I’ve got
in Virginia Beach to sell
The
the
brokers behind the
if you will
who give Biden and Harris their marching orders, are comprised of the likes of the Clintons, Obamas, Pelosis, Schumers, and many others While this may sound like a grand conspiracy theory it’s not difficult to imagine that some of the most powerful and influential Democratic dynasties of the last century have serious sway over policy in Washington Donald Trump, who knows a thing or two about how things work in DC, has suggested as much “You’ve been ripped off by everybody and betrayed by the globalists Washington Wall Street people those combinations of Washington Wall Street they re the worst of all Trump said last year at a New Hampshire event And it s never been worse than it is now under crooked
CHINA URGES US TO MANAGE RISKS, HANDLE DIFFERENCES IN REL ATIONS
and
During
that Taiwan is
of
and
and it has never
and will never be, a country “Taiwan independence” is incompatible with peace in the Taiwan Straits he said We will counter every provocation by the Taiwan independence forces, reduce the space for Taiwan independence,’ and work toward the goal of a complete national reunification ” said Wang
Donald Trump vs K amala Harris: what do the polls say?
On November 5th, Americans will head to the polls to elect their next president Until June 27th it seemed certain that the race would be a rematch of the 2020 election with Joe Biden the Democratic incumbent, facing off against Donald Trump, his Republican predecessor However, Biden’s disastrous debate performance that night led to immediate concerns among Democrats about his suitability for the job Under mounting pressure Biden withdrew from the race on July 21st and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate Early polls following Biden’s exit show Harris closing the gap with Trump but still trailing slightly A YouGov/The Economist poll conducted from July 21st-23rd put Harris at 41% and Trump at 44%, while a New York Times/Siena poll from July 22nd24th showed Harris at 47% and Trump at 48% among likely voters As more polls become available a reliable average will be calculated
to provide a clearer picture of the race For now candidate favorability ratings are being reported Harris has secured enough delegates to win the Democratic National Convention nomination She now faces the challenge of uniting her party energizing voters and countering Trump s campaign Biden s presidency has been marked by high inflation, significant industrial-policy bills, and international turmoil issues that Republicans will undoubtedly try to associate with Harris as well However Harris has a distinct advantage over Biden: her age At 59
an interview on ITV Prince Harry
his thoughts on the monumental victory he achieved last year against a major British tabloid, expressing a sense of “vindication ” However, he believes that his ongoing battle against
she is more than two decades younger than Biden and 18 years younger than Trump Donald Trump faces a daunting record as he campaigns: his supporters attempted to overturn his 2020 election loss he is facing federal charges related to that scheme and he has been convicted of felonies from his 2016 presidential campaign On July 13th, a rally in Pennsylvania turned violent when a 20-year-old man shot at Trump, grazing his ear and killing a bystander Following this assassination attempt politicians from across the spectrum called for a reduction in political tensions
respective electoral district they will be elected without needing a repeat vote 4 The elections are taking place in conditions of significantly strengthened parliamentarianism and the powers of representative bodies at the local level, as established by the Updated Constitution Specifically, the absolute powers of the Legislative
ISLAMABAD
CORPORATE CORNER
16th Int ’l S olar Pakistan exhibition opens in Multan
MART YRDOM ANNIVERSARY OF CAPTAIN SARWAR SHAHEED OBSERVED
Punjab Regiment in 1944 During Kashmir war he rendered supreme sacrifice for the nation and embraced martyrdom on July 27th, 1948 at Tilpatra in Azad Kashmir He was awarded first Nishan-e-Haider Meanwhile Armed Forces of Pakistan Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Services Chiefs
Person who has not condemned May 9 attacks until now tr ying to get out of jail: A zma
Provincial Minister for Information and Culture Punjab, Azma Bokhari, stated that the impostor who had been claiming for the past two years that he was fighting for the nation is now begging for mercy After attacking military installations and burning statues of martyrs this self-proclaimed Pharaoh of his time is now seeking forgiveness She mentioned that establishing friendly ties and sending messages of apology are termed as NRO in Imran Khan's language Yesterday being neutral was considered an insult and a curse but today he is asking them to be neutral again The person who has not condemned the May 9 attacks until now is trying different tactics to
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has decried that the India s BJP regime is subjecting illegally detained Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders and youth to vengeance for challenging New Delhi's illegal occupation of their motherland According to Kashmir Media Service APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas in a statement in Srinagar said that the people of Kashmir are being killed, arrested, tortured, and terminated for demanding their fundamental right to self-determination He deplored that India is using colonial war measures to suppress their voices He strongly denounced the continued illegal detention of Hurriyat leaders MasarratAalam Butt, Shabbir Ahmad Shah Muhammad Yasin Malik AasiyaAndrabi Nayeem Ahmad Khan Ayaz Muham-
mad Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Raja MerajuddinKalwal, Farooq Ahmad Dar, Shahid-ul-Islam, NaheedaNasreen Fahmeeda Sofi Bilal Siddiqi Maulana Bashir Irfani and others
However the APHC said that
have failed to force the Hurriyat
forgiven She said that the people of Pakistan are waiting for the judicial system to bring the accused involved in the May 9 attacks to justice PR
S ecretar y Interior, CDA C hief visit Islamabad Industrial Triangle K ahota and Industrial Estate I-9/I-10
Secretary Interior Muhammad Khurram Agha along with Chairman CDA Muhammad Ali Randhawa on Saturday visited the Islamabad Industrial Triangle Kahota and Industrial Estate I-9/I-10 The Interior Secretary said that the state-of-the-art development of Industrial Triangle Kahota should be done and the industrial estates of Islamabad should be ensured to provide all the facilities to the industrialists He further said that all kinds of encroachments should be eliminated from the Industrial Triangle area Chairman CDA said that industrialists should be given special incrntives for the establishment and promotion of information technology and telecom industry in the industrial estates of Islamabad He ditected that the allottees of such industrial plots PR PESHAWAR
and acting chairman of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has lauded senior APHC leader Shabir Ahmed Shah, the party chairman, for his unwavering commitment to the Kashmiris' struggle for self-determination Mehmood Saghar in a statement issued in Islamabad praised Shah for completing 38 years in prison and eight consecutive years in India's notorious Tihar jail, saying
He highlighted Shah s role as a strong proponent of Kashmiris right to self-determination and his pursuit of a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute in line with UN Security Council resolutions Despite suffering from acute ailments Shah remains firm and undeterred in his stance
The DFP leader condemned Shah's illegal detention as sheer vengeance and criticized the Indian
authorities for booking him under fake charges since 1968 without proving a single allegation in court Saghar urged world human rights bodies to take notice of Shah s plight and ensure his safety and early release He also appealed to influenced world governments to use their political and diplomatic clout to stop the persecution of Kashmiri political prisoners
The DFP spokesman Advocate Arshad Iqbal expressed concern over the plight of Kashmiri prisoners in Indian jails citing poor conditions, lack of basic facilities, and hostile treatment
T The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved a significant 40% increase in the rates for cardiac procedures covered under the health card scheme, aimed at enhancing free treatment for heart disease patients
Effective from August the new rates will apply to all free
cardiac procedures performed at hospitals
The adjustment reflects a range of increasesósome procedures will see a rise of up to 100%, while others will go up by 5%, as detailed by Dr Riyaz Tanoli, Chief Executive Officer of the Health Plus Program
This decision addresses longstanding demands for rate adjustments and is expected to reduce
waiting times and improve access to cardiology services Dr Tanoli explained that the previous rates set in 2016 had not kept pace with rising costs of implants diagnostic reagents, medicines, and utility charges, exacerbated by the increase in dollar value
The health card budget allocates 27% to heart disease treatments with 169 107 cardiac procedures performed to date
Customs, shipping agents' issues disc ussed
KARACHI S TA F F R E P O R T
Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Qaiser Sheikh chaired a meeting here the other day at the PNSC building to discuss and resolve trade-related issues faced by trade bodies concerning Pakistan Customs, Shipping Agents, Terminal Operators Companies, and Karachi Port Trust The meeting was convened on the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to resolve issues of the stakeholders Syed Syedain Raza Zaidi Chairman of KPT Alia Shahid DG Ports and Shipping representatives of Karachi Customs Agents Association headed by Mehmood ul Hassan, Maqbool Malik
Ijaz former Vice President FPCCI, Omer Shafique Collector Customs Enforcement KPT, representatives of Terminal Operating Companies KICT KGTL & SAPT attended the meeting
Chairman All Pakistan Custom Agent Association Asif Sakhi Vice President FPCCI Khurram
Minister Maritime Affairs emphasized ease of doing business and coordination amongst all stakeholders to resolve the issue to facilitate and reduce the time taken in cargo clearance
FREE ELECTRICIT Y FOR BUREAUCRATS, JUDGES AND PARLIAMENTARIANS TO BE ABOLISHED: GOVT
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Saturday urged state institutions to remain neutral, emphasizing that institutional neutrality was essential for a ‘fair governance system’
“The incompetent ‘mandatethieves’ have destroyed whatever they touch and the institutions would have to remain neutral to change public perception that they are behind the government , KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur stated while addressing a function in Mardan
The KP CM declared the provincial government would fulfill all needs of people of the
province, reiterating the resolve that the province will ‘snatch’ its due share of funds from the centre CM Gandapur noted that the decisions made at the provincial Apex Committee meeting were unanimous , saying that there won’t be a military operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Two days earlier the chief minister chaired the apex committee meeting which included civil and military officials The committee condemned all
US lawmaker introduces anti-Pak istan bill in S enate
strategic
The
