Issuu

In partnership with

Profit

Tuesday, 29 September, 2026 | 16 Rabius Sani, 1448

Rs 20.00 | Vol XVII No 185 | 8 Pages | Islamabad Edition

TARAR ACCUSES KP GOVERNMENT OF 'FACILITATING' TERRORISTS, BRANDS PTI LEADERSHIP 'TTP’S B TEAM' g

TARAR ACCUSES KP GOVERNMENT OF 'PRIORITISING POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL INTERESTS' OVER COUNTERTERRORISM

TALAL CHAUDHRY QUESTIONS PTI'S ALLEGED 'SOFT ATTITUDE' TOWARDS AFGHANISTAN AND MILITANT PROXIES

INFORMATION MINISTER URGES PROVINCIAL LEADERSHIP TO PUBLICLY COMMIT TO ELIMINATING TERRORISM

MINISTERS CITE ALLEGED AFGHAN LINKS TO D.I. KHAN ATTACK AND QUESTION KP'S SECURITY PREPAREDNESS

FEDERAL MINISTERS QUESTION USE OF NFC FUNDS AND DEMAND GREATER RESOURCES FOR POLICE AND CTD

Afridi rebuffs Center's allegations, warns of worsening KP security crisis PESHAWAR

STAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD STAFF CORRESPONDENT

EDERAL Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday accused the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government of facilitating terrorists for what he described as political and financial interests, alleging that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leadership in the province was the “B team” of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Speaking at a press conference alongside Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, Mr Tarar alleged that the provincial government was more focused on political interests and financial gains from activities such as illegal mining and

contracts than on combating terrorism. “You facilitate terrorists because of your political and financial interests,” he said, alleging that the provincial leadership did not care about the loss of lives because “the government’s politics are dear to them”. Mr Tarar urged the K-P government to publicly commit to eliminating terrorists from the province and the country. Tarar questions KP’s counterterrorism response The minister said that if the provincial government was serious about addressing terrorism, it would hold law-and-order meetings in Kohat and Dera Ismail Khan rather than focusing on political activities. He accused the K-P leadership of

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday renewed his attack on the federal government’s counterterrorism strategy, warning that the province’s security situation would continue to deteriorate unless Islamabad fundamentally changed its approach. The warning came as the federal government and the PTI-led provincial administration intensified their war of words over the deteriorating law and order situation, with federal ministers accusing the KP government of failing to provide adequate resources, equipment and leadership to security forces fighting militancy. Addressing a law and order meeting in Peshawar, Mr Afridi said increasing financial allocations to the police alone would not resolve the crisis, arguing that a fundamental change in counterterrorism policy was required. “We repeatedly stated that the

having “bad intentions and a bad nature” and reiterated his claim that PTI leaders in the province constituted the “B team” of the banned TTP. “K-P is burning in the fire of terrorism,” Mr Tarar said, alleging that the

state’s current policy was flawed. The blood of our Pakhtuns will flow again,” he said, accusing federal ministers of dismissing the provincial government’s warnings as “propaganda and lies”. The chief minister said he had repeatedly called for an overhaul of what he described as the “failed policy of 22 years”. He also rejected the suggestion that threats of governor’s rule or an emergency could force his government to abandon its position. Mr Afridi called for a new counterterrorism strategy formulated through consultations with all stakeholders, including the provincial government, administration and police. He claimed that peace could be restored in the province within 100 days if his proposed policy was implemented. “Where is the country being led? Is the blood of our people so cheap that it should be sacrificed for the sake of politics?” he asked.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

provincial leadership had placed its entire focus on securing the release of “one prisoner from jail”, an apparent reference to PTI founder Imran Khan.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

Government positions national digital master plan as a driver of growth across sectors ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

The federal government is advancing a National Digital Master plan built on three pillars—digital governance, digital economy and digital society—to support growth across sectors and improve services for citizens. Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Establishment Division Senator Ahad Khan Cheema said efforts would be made to place the Masterplan on the agenda of the upcoming meeting of provincial chief ministers with the Prime Minister for discussion. Senator Cheema made these remarks while chairing a meeting on the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA). Minister for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Chairman PDA Dr. Sohail Munir and officials of relevant departments attended. The Minister emphasised that digitalisation and AI-driven transformation should deliver tangible outcomes across government and contribute to growth in every sector. He said the PDA’s sector-wise plans should set out practical outcomes and realistic time-lines. The sectorwise agenda, including work on health, education, commerce and other areas, will be reviewed at the Authority’s next meeting. On education, the minister highlighted the need for a structured roadmap to introduce modern digital and AI-related skills through educational institutions, including for primary and middle-grade students. He said students should be equipped with futurerelevant skills through formal learning, supported by up-to-date knowledge and practices. On healthcare, the meeting discussed unified patient records and a registry to maintain clinical histories and treatment information across public and private hospitals. A computerised, CNIC-based system could help make patient records accessible and support continuity of care, the Minister said. The PDA highlighted the need for dedicated AI experts and digitally literate focal persons in ministries and divisions to support digital transformation and facilitate the collection and use of reliable data. Senator Cheema said existing staff responsible for ITrelated work should be trained for these roles. He also noted that Establishment Division has a pool of personnel made available through the introduction of e-Office who could be trained and deployed to support the government’s digitalisation work. Further discussion on staffing arrangements would be held with the Establishment Division. The PDA agreed to work with the National Information Technology Board (NITB) on training and informed the meeting that it was already working with federal divisions to strengthen digital capacity.

US Afghanistan War Commission delegation meets Field Marshal Asim Munir RAWALPINDI

STAFF REPORT

A delegation of the US Afghanistan War Commission on Monday met Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir at General Headquarters (GHQ), acknowledging Pakistan’s “longstanding role and sacrifices” during the two-decade conflict in Afghanistan. The visiting delegation also appreciated Pakistan’s continued contribution to regional peace and stability, according to the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR). The delegation, led by commission cochairs Shamila N. Chaudhary and Dr Colin P. Jackson, held discussions with Field Marshal Munir as part of its review of the United States’ 20-year engagement in Afghanistan. According to the military’s media wing, the meeting covered Pakistan’s support during the conflict, the regional security environment and developments in Afghanistan, with particular focus on issues relevant to the

commission’s ongoing work. Field Marshal Munir shared Pakistan’s perspective on the security dynamics that shaped the conflict and highlighted the challenges faced by the country during the prolonged US engagement in Afghanistan. The army chief stressed the importance of incorporating a regional perspective into the assessment of the conflict, while outlining Pakistan’s experience in understanding its strategic, diplomatic and operational dimensions. The Afghanistan War Commission was established by the US Congress in 2021 as an independent body tasked with reviewing US decisions concerning the war in Afghanistan from June 2001 to August 2021. The commission’s review comes five years after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan brought the 20-year military intervention to an end. The final US troops left Afghanistan on Aug 30, 2021. The United States launched its military intervention in Afghanistan following the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, beginning two

decades of conflict involving US and allied forces, Afghan security forces, the Taliban and other militant groups. The prolonged conflict exacted a heavy human cost. Around 800,000 US servicemembers served in Afghanistan during the war, with 2,238 US servicemembers killed and nearly 21,000 wounded. The civilian toll in Afghanistan was considerably higher. According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, more than 40,000 civilians were killed and around 77,000 wounded in violence involving Taliban insurgents, the Islamic State group, Afghan government forces and the US-led international coalition. Independent estimates have placed the combined number of Afghan security personnel and civilians killed during the conflict at more than 100,000. The war also involved enormous financial costs for the United States. A Wall Street Journal investigation published in 2022 estimated that US military outsourcing had

contributed to Pentagon spending of around $14 trillion since Sept 11, 2001, with contractors accounting for roughly one-third to one-half of that amount. The commission’s engagement with

Pakistan comes as it examines the decisions, policies and events that shaped the US intervention, including the role of regional countries and the consequences of the conflict’s two-decade trajectory.

02 NEWS

GOVT MAY CONTINUE PETROL SUBSIDY FOR 10 MONTHS, SAYS MINISTER

PROFIT

WEB DESK

HE federal government may continue its petrol subsidy scheme for up to 10 months if necessary, with monthly spending currently ranging between Rs35 billion and Rs40 billion, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said on Sunday while speaking to the media in Lahore. Malik said the government was aware of the difficulties faced by consumers and would pass on the benefit of any decline in international oil prices. “The petrol subsidy scheme will be continued for the public if it has to run for 10 months,” he said. The scheme provides relief of up to Rs100 per litre on petrol and has attracted more than six million registrations so far, according to the minister.

Malik said there were more than 25 million motorcycles around 20 years old in the country, adding that the subsidy could continue until the end of the

Crescent Fibres approves sale of spinning unit assets for up to Rs241.5m PROFIT

NEWS DESK

Crescent Fibres Limited has approved the sale of portions of plant, machinery, equipment, stores and ancillaries at its Spinning Unit-1 in Nooriabad, District Jamshoro, with aggregate sales of up to Rs241.5 million. In a material information disclosure to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday, the company said its board of directors approved the highest bids received from various parties for the assets during a meeting held the same day. The assets are located at the company's Spinning Unit-1 in Nooriabad, S.I.T.E., District Jamshoro. According to the disclosure, the sale was approved because of the old and obsolete nature of the plant and machinery and followed a recommendation from the company's Audit Committee. Earlier, in June 2026, Crescent Fibres Limited shareholders approved the sale and disposal of the entire plant, machinery, equipment, stores and ancillary assets of the company’s Spinning Unit-I. The resolution also authorised Chief Executive Officer Imran Maqbool and Director Humayun Maqbool to oversee and execute the transaction on the company’s behalf.

AKD Securities warns of deepfakes impersonating its top executives, files NCCIA complaint PROFIT

NEWS DESK

AKD Securities Limited has warned that unidentified individuals and groups are using AIgenerated and deepfake videos featuring the name, photograph and voice of AKD Group Chairman Aqeel Karim Dhedhi and AKD Securities Chairperson Hina Junaid to solicit funds for fake and unauthorised investment schemes. In a disclosure to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on September 28, the company said fake accounts and pages had been created on social media platforms, including Facebook and potentially other online platforms. According to AKD Securities, the content misuses the identities of Dhedhi, who is also a sponsor of the company, and Junaid through AI-generated or deepfake videos to solicit funds under fake and unauthorised schemes or advisory services for investing in listed securities and stocks. The company said it was pursuing available legal remedies against those responsible and had filed a complaint with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on September 16. It asked the agency to investigate the matter, register a case against the individuals and groups involved, and remove or block the fraudulent content from the relevant platforms. AKD Securities categorically denied any connection with the fraudulent content, accounts, callers, websites or applications promoting such claims. It said neither Dhedhi nor Junaid, AKD Securities or any other entity within the AKD Group had launched, endorsed, sponsored.

war if necessary to shield consumers from its impact. He also thanked petrol pump owners for extending the subsidy to consumers

without charging additional fees. The minister said the government would not repeat what he described as mistakes made by the previous administration, which he claimed had announced relief measures without adequate preparation and brought the country close to default. Malik also clarified his remarks from the previous week suggesting petrol prices could reach Rs1,000 per litre, saying the statement had been taken out of context. He said he had meant that controlling prices would become difficult in the event of a petrol shortage, rather than suggesting prices were expected to rise to that level. “Due to the prime minister’s better decisions, there will be no petrol shortage in Pakistan,” Malik said, adding that the government was closely monitoring the situation.

NEPRA proposes grid-sharing charges for high-rise buildings, industrial consumers PROFIT MONITORING REPORT

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has proposed new rules for imposing grid-sharing charges on high-rise buildings and industrial consumers as part of amendments to its Consumer Service Manual, The Express Tribune reported. The power regulator has sought

public feedback on the proposed amendments, which would introduce grid-sharing charges for owners of buildings requiring dedicated transformers with a capacity of more than 500 kilovolt-amperes (kVA). Under the proposed changes, such building owners would be required to pay the applicable grid-sharing charges for their electricity connections. NEPRA has also proposed

changes to electricity connection rules for industrial consumers, allowing them to obtain multiple connections with a combined load of up to 15 megawatts (MW). The proposed amendments would also revise the applicable charges for industrial and steel-furnace consumers. The changes remain proposals and would amend NEPRA's Consumer Service Manual following the public feedback process.

Imran Haleem Shaikh takes charge as BankIslami CEO PROFIT WEB DESK

Imran Haleem Shaikh will take charge as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BankIslami Pakistan Limited from September 29, 2026, the bank informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday. The latest disclosure follows an earlier announcement made by the bank on August 10 regarding the

change in its top management. According to the earlier disclosure, BankIslami's board of directors had agreed that incumbent President and CEO Rizwan Ata would continue in the position until the completion of his current threeyear term, which concludes on September 28, 2026. The board had appointed Shaikh, who was serving as Deputy Chief Executive Officer, as the incoming President and CEO for a three-year

term effective September 29. At the time, the bank said Shaikh's appointment was subject to the requisite regulatory clearance from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). In its latest intimation, BankIslami confirmed that Shaikh will take charge as President and CEO from September 29, 2026. The board also recognised and appreciated Ata's efforts during his tenure, according to the earlier disclosure.

OGRA directs 41 OMCs to display PM fuel relief signage at petrol pumps PROFIT

AHMAD AHMADANI

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has directed 41 oil marketing companies (OMCs) to display prescribed banners and standees at their retail outlets to ensure prominent visibility of the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme for consumers. In a letter to the chief executives and managing directors of 41 OMCs, OGRA said the government had provided two prototype designs for standees and one prototype design for a banner for display at retail outlets under the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme (PM FRS). “All Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are hereby directed to ensure” that the two prescribed standees are prepared strictly according to the prototype designs and displayed near the dispensing units, the regulator stated in the letter. Under the directive, the OMCs are required to arrange two standees measuring 6 feet by 3 feet at their retail outlets. These standees are to be placed near fuel dispensing units so that consumers can easily see information relating to the relief scheme while purchasing petroleum products. OGRA has also prescribed an

8-foot by 16-foot Panflex banner for display at petrol stations. The letter directs OMCs to prepare the banner according to the approved prototype and have it “displayed prominently at the retail outlet in a location visible to customers.” The mandatory display is intended to provide a uniform and clearly identifiable presence for the government’s fuel relief scheme across petrol stations, particularly as consumers interact directly with dealers and dispensing staff to avail themselves of the facility. The regulator has further instructed the OMCs to ensure that the approved designs reach their respective dealers and retail outlets for implementation. “The OMCs shall immediately circulate the approved designs to all

dealers/retail outlets and ensure compliance with the above,” OGRA stated, making the companies responsible for ensuring that the prescribed signage is installed at their retail outlets. The letter also states that the two prototype standees and one banner design are enclosed for necessary action, indicating that OMCs have been provided with the exact formats to be followed rather than being left to develop their own designs. The 41 OMCs addressed by OGRA include major players such as Pakistan State Oil, Attock Petroleum, Cnergyico, Wafi Energy, Hascol Petroleum, Parco Gunvor, Puma Energy, Be Energy, Allied Petroleum, Hi-Tech Lubricants and other petroleum marketing companies operating in Pakistan.

Tuesday, 29 September, 2026 | ISLAMABAD

Attock Refinery plans new 50,000 BPD deep-conversion refinery alongside $600 million upgrade PROFIT

NEWS DESK

Attock Refinery Limited (ATRL) is considering setting up a new 50,000 barrels-per-day (BPD) deep-conversion refinery alongside its planned $600 million brownfield upgradation project, according to key takeaways from the company's annual report compiled by Topline Pakistan Research. The proposed new refinery would be subject to sustainable enhanced supplies of locally produced crude oil from the North as well as necessary government support. Separately, ATRL said it was progressing with its Refinery Upgradation Project under the amended Refining Policy for Brownfield Refineries. The project, involving an estimated investment of around $600 million, is aimed at improving the refinery's product yield, fuel quality and long-term competitiveness. The project envisages installation of a Continuous Catalyst Regeneration (CCR) Reformer and Kerosene Hydrotreater, alongside the revamp of the existing Diesel Hydro Desulphurization (DHDS) Unit and expansion and upgradation of utilities and associated facilities. The CCR unit is expected to increase Premium Motor Gasoline (PMG) production by 25% and improve the gasoline pool's octane level to Euro-V specifications. It is also expected to reduce the refinery's reliance on octaneboosting additives and naphtha exports. The DHDS revamp, meanwhile, is expected to reduce sulphur content in high-speed diesel (HSD) from 350 parts per million (ppm) to 10 ppm, enabling ATRL to produce Euro-V compliant diesel. Preparatory work on the project has also progressed, with ATRL completing licensor FrontEnd Engineering Design (FEED) studies for the CCR and DHDS revamp and completing 90% of the overall project FEED package. The contract for project FEED and Project Management Consultancy services has been awarded to Italy's Studi Technologie Progetti SpA. Expressions of Interest have also been issued to potential Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning contractors, with positive responses received from several international companies. The refinery said that cost estimation, tender preparation and other project deliverables are progressing concurrently. On the financial side, ATRL recorded Rs3.1 billion under "Payable to Refinery Upgradation Account", representing the net-of-tax charge arising from an increase in the HSD deemed-duty surrender rate from 2.5% to 5% following amendments to the brownfield refineries policy.

Pakistan faces 25% Rabi water shortage, raising wheat production concerns PROFIT

MONITORING REPORT

Pakistan is bracing for a water shortage of around 25% during the Rabi season starting this week, raising concerns over wheat production and food security next year. Total storage in Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs has fallen below 9.5 million acre feet (MAF) ahead of the season, the lowest Rabi carryover since 2021. Last year, the season began with around 13MAF, nearly 27% higher than this year. The anticipated shortage comes after Pakistan already faced an estimated wheat shortfall of more than two million tonnes last season despite no water shortage. Against a production target of 29.7 million tonnes and consumption requirements of 31.9 million tonnes, output was estimated at around 27.5 million tonnes. The government subsequently ordered imports of one million tonnes of wheat, including 750,000 tonnes in the first phase for delivery in November. Rabi runs from October 1 to March 31, with wheat its largest crop. Gram, lentil, tobacco, rapeseed, barley and mustard are also grown during the season. The technical committee of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) is set to meet on Monday to finalise water availability estimates and recommend distribution criteria for the provinces. The Irsa Advisory Committee has tentatively been called for October 5 to approve provincial shares. Total Rabi crop water requirements under the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord stand at around 3738MAF. With limited carryover storage from Kharif, water availability is expected at around 2122MAF, supplemented by river flows during the next six months. Tarbela reached its maximum conservation level of 1,550 feet on August 9 and remained full at its 5.8MAF capacity until September 9. Mangla reached 5.733MAF on September 9 before storage at both reservoirs began declining. Mangla's storage stood at 5.12MAF on Sunday night against its maximum capacity of 7.277MAF.

Money laundering cases need not await tax proceedings, LHC rules PROFIT

WEB DESK

The Lahore High Court (LHC) ruled that money laundering proceedings can proceed independently of tax cases, holding that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) need not wait for income tax proceedings to conclude before initiating a money laundering investigation. A two-member bench comprising Justice Khalid Ishaq and Justice Hassan Nawaz Makhdoom issued the judgment in Writ Petition No. 2928 of 2026 and connected cases, dismissing petitions challenging the powers and actions of FBR’s Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation, Inland Revenue (I&I-IR). The court held that I&I-IR has the legal

authority to register cases, investigate and prosecute offences under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010. It ruled that money laundering and tax proceedings are separate matters and that one does not have to await the conclusion of the other. A person can also be prosecuted for money laundering without a prior conviction for the offence that generated the alleged proceeds. The court held that the Anti-Money Laundering Act is a special law that takes precedence over general laws, meaning ongoing tax disputes cannot be used to stop or delay money laundering proceedings. It further ruled that the Supreme Court’s decision in the Taj International case related to sales tax assessment and recovery and

could not be used to block money laundering proceedings. The judgment also held that suspicious transaction reports submitted by banks to the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU), and subsequent action based on them, operate within the legal framework and prescribed safeguards. The court observed that writ jurisdiction could not ordinarily be used to halt a criminal investigation in advance, while questions concerning the source and movement of funds would be determined by the relevant Special Courts. FBR welcomed the judgment, saying it provides legal clarity and strengthens action against money laundering and financial crime while such proceedings remain subject to due process and the rule of law.

NEWS 03

Tuesday, 29 September, 2026 | ISLAMABAD

SENATE PANEL CALLS FOR HALT TO DISCOS PRIVATISATION

A g

SUB-COMMITTEE ASKS PRIVATISATION COMMISSION TO TAKE MATTER TO CCI, WARNS OF PRIVILEGE MOTION OVER NON-COMPLIANCE PROFIT

Web Desk

Senate sub-committee on Monday called for halting the privatisation of power distribution companies (Discos), directing the Privatisation Commission to place the matter before the Council of Common Interests (CCI) or face parliamentary action. The Senate Sub-Committee on Devolution, chaired by Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro, expressed reservations over the Privatisation Commission’s decision to proceed with the process without seeking fresh approval from the CCI.

Pakistan, Chinese firms sign MoU to explore Rs20 billion energy investment PROFIT

Monitoring report

Pakistan’s Shaheen Energy (Pvt) Limited and China’s Anton Oilfield Services Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore investment opportunities of around Rs20 billion in Pakistan’s gas and upstream energy sector over the next three to five years. As per a news report, the proposed cooperation follows amendments to the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Policy 2012 allowing exploration and production companies to sell up to 35% of their pipeline-quality gas to licensed thirdparty buyers through a competitive process. Under the MoU, the companies will explore commercially viable projects involving thirdparty gas sales, upstream gas and field development, production enhancement, gas processing and energy infrastructure. The partnership is expected to focus particularly on stranded and low-pressure gas resources, gas monetisation and technology-driven production enhancement. Shaheen Energy will contribute its local operations and gasprocessing expertise, while Anton will provide international oilfield technology and upstream development capabilities. Shaheen operates a gas-processing facility at the Sinjhoro field with a designed capacity of 10 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD). The facility currently processes around 8–10 MMSCFD of low-pressure permeate gas using membrane-based technology to remove carbon dioxide and upgrade the gas to pipeline quality. The company is also working with exploration and production firms on processing, transportation and third-party sales of natural and flare gas under the emerging regulatory framework.

Bunge submits lowest offer in Pakistan’s 185,000-tonne wheat tender PROFIT

Web Desk

Trading house Bunge submitted the lowest offer in Pakistan’s tender to import 185,000 tonnes of wheat, with an estimated bid of $339.36 per tonne cost and freight (c&f), European traders said on Monday. Bunge offered around 60,000 tonnes at the lowest price, while Olam submitted the next-lowest bid at $341.88 per tonne for the same volume, according to initial trader assessments. The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) is still evaluating the offers and no purchase has been reported, traders said. A decision is expected in the coming days. The latest tender follows TCP’s purchase of 365,000 tonnes of wheat earlier this month at $348.83 per tonne c&f in a tender that had sought up to 750,000 tonnes. The lowest offer in the latest tender is around $9.47 per tonne below the price paid in the previous purchase. Other offers for 60,000 tonnes ranged from $343.47 per tonne from Ameropa to $354.83 from Aston. Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) offered 120,000 tonnes at $346.50 per tonne. The tender comes as fighting has severely disrupted seaborne Russian and Ukrainian wheat exports from the Black Sea, increasing reliance on more expensive alternative origins. Traders cautioned that the reported bids were initial assessments and estimates of prices and volumes could be revised.

The panel maintained that Discos perform functions falling within provincial jurisdiction and said the matter should either be regularised through provincial assemblies or transferred to the provinces. Ghumro warned that failure to comply with the committee’s earlier directions could result in a privilege motion against the Privatisation Commission. The issue was taken up as the panel reviewed implementation of the 18th Constitutional Amendment and the status of federal institutions dealing with provincial and CCI-related subjects. The committee also reviewed compliance reports from the CCI Secretariat, Cab-

inet Division and Establishment Division, as well as matters concerning expenditure on federal ministries, departments and organisations operating in areas the panel considers provincial or subject to CCI oversight. Ghumro said the committee had called for abolishing 24 federal ministries and organisations dealing with provincial and CCI subjects, and reducing federal expenditure from Rs19 trillion to Rs13 trillion. He said the country’s total tax and nontax revenue stood at around Rs20 trillion against federal expenditure of nearly Rs19 trillion, calling for a constitutional audit of the federal government’s size and spending. The panel also sought audited expendi-

of broadcasting and print media functions. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar sought one month to consult provincial governments and develop proposals, which the committee directed be submitted within that period. It also received a briefing from the Power Division and Thar Coal Energy Board on electricity generated from Thar coal. Officials said the electricity was being supplied to the national grid, while subsidy arrangements for consumers in Islamkot were under consideration. The committee maintained that matters falling under Part II of the Federal Legislative List should be taken to the CCI rather than decided by the federal cabinet.

ture for the past 16 years on federal ministries and organisations operating in provincial and CCI-related areas. The Cabinet Division informed the committee that matters raised at its Aug 17 and Sept 8 meetings had been forwarded to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for action. Separately, the committee examined the status of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), with officials saying policing was primarily a provincial subject but the PSP had been retained under Article 240 of the Constitution. The Establishment Division was directed to submit its comments within two weeks. The panel also reviewed the devolution

Sindh to expand urban property tax base fivefold under $150 million World Bank-backed programme

PROGRAMME WILL SURVEY AND GEO-TAG PROPERTIES ACROSS 20 LOCAL COUNCILS OUTSIDE KARACHI PROFIT

Monitoring report

The Sindh government plans to expand its recorded urban property tax base more than five-fold, from around 397,375 to 2.15 million properties, across 20 local councils under a $150 million World Bank-backed programme. The proposed Sindh Property Revenues Enhancement Program (SPREP) comprises $110 million through a Program-for-Results component and $40 million through Investment Project Financing (IPF), with the Local Government Department as the implementing agency, according to official documents. Only around one-fifth of properties in

the five divisions covered by the IPF component are currently surveyed and registered in the Urban Immovable Property Tax (UIPT) cadastre, with 397,375 records against an estimated 2.1 million properties. A planned GIS-based, door-to-door survey is expected to increase the recorded base to around 2.15 million properties. Survey teams will visit residential and commercial premises, record property attributes and geo-tag them for inclusion in a new UIPT Management Information System. The survey will cover 20 local councils outside Karachi, including nine in Hyderabad, three in Sukkur, four in Larkana, two in Mirpurkhas and two in Shaheed Benazirabad. A broader institutional strengthening component will cover all 45

participating local councils, including 25 in Karachi. The IPF component will also finance the digitisation and updating of land records, development of a digital master plan integrating land and tax systems, city surveys and the rollout of an Integrated Financial Management Information System covering budgeting, accounting, payroll and expenditure management. The programme proposes advance notification of survey visits, identification of field staff and channels allowing residents to inspect and correct property records. The survey is intended to establish a property record and does not itself constitute a tax demand. The programme also envisages Town

Tarar accuses KP government of 'facilitating' terrorists, brands PTI leadership 'TTP’s B team' CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

He also accused Chief Minister Sohail Afridi of administrative and political failures, alleging that “devastation and ruin” had spread across the province and claiming that the provincial government had itself created space for terrorism instead of effectively countering it. Drawing a comparison with Balochistan, Mr Tarar said its government was taking what he described as effective measures against terrorism and praised Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti as a “brave and capable chief minister”. He said Mr Bugti was using provincial resources to confront militants, while alleging that the K-P government was spending funds on sit-ins instead of strengthening the police and seeking to turn the force into “the political wing of the PTI”.

CHAUDHRY QUESTIONS ‘SOFT ATTITUDE’ TOWARDS AFGHANISTAN: Earlier, Mr Chaudhry accused the PTI leadership of maintaining what he called a “soft attitude” towards Afghanistan and questioned why the K-P government had not publicly condemned attacks originating from Afghanistan or involving what he described as Afghan proxies. “Why do you have a soft attitude towards Afghanistan?” he asked, questioning why the provincial leadership had maintained an “ambiguous attitude”

about the identity of the perpetrators and the locations from where militant groups were operating. Mr Chaudhry said political leadership needed to provide three things in a war against terrorism — leadership, resources and authority. He alleged that the K-P political leadership had failed to provide adequate leadership to the security forces for the past 14 years, had not stood united behind them and had deliberately maintained a soft approach towards militants, thereby creating space for them in society. “This was cowardice, this was the plan,” he alleged. The minister further blamed what he described as the provincial leadership’s policies for the worsening security situation, saying KP was “burning” because of its allegedly inadequate response to terrorism.

MINISTERS CITE ALLEGED AFGHAN LINKS: Mr Chaudhry said investigators examining an image of a suspected attacker involved in the Dera Ismail Khan blast found no corresponding record in Pakistan’s identification databases. He said investigators subsequently used open-source intelligence and located an image of the same individual at Kabul’s Pakhtunistan Square, which he presented as evidence of an Afghan connection. “This is not the first incident,” Mr Chaudhry said, adding that Pakistan had repeatedly maintained that many

militant groups involved in terrorist attacks in the country operated from Afghanistan. He claimed that Afghan nationals accounted for about 70 per cent of those involved in terrorist activities and operations during the previous two-and-a-half to three years, without providing further details of the basis for the figure. The minister said Pakistan had made efforts through international forums, bilateral contacts and friendly countries to address its security concerns with Afghanistan, but alleged that attacks had continued. “Afghanistan works as a super-proxy,” he said. Referring to civilians killed in the D.I. Khan attack and the subsequent targeting of rescue workers, Mr Chaudhry questioned whether such attacks could be justified as “Jihad”.

CHAUDHRY RAISES QUESTIONS OVER SECURITY RESOURCES: Mr Chaudhry also criticised the K-P government for what he described as inadequate resources for the Counter-Terrorism Department, questioning the availability of bulletproof jackets, vehicles, training, forensic laboratories and a Safe City surveillance network. “Tell me why you did not provide resources,” he said. He also criticised changes to the Police Act, arguing that they had weakened the institutional authority of the provincial police.

Pakistan links PSW with Hong Kong blockchain verification platform PROFIT

Web Desk

Pakistan Single Window (PSW) has operationalised its integration with ValidAP, a blockchain-based platform developed by Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department for verifying electronic trade documents. The integration went live on September 25, allowing trade documents issued through PSW to be independently checked for authenticity and integrity using cryptographic verification, according to a statement.

ValidAP creates a unique digital fingerprint, or hash, for an electronic document, allowing authorities to confirm whether it is genuine and has remained unaltered without transmitting or storing the document itself or its sensitive information on the platform. The rollout follows a memorandum of understanding signed between Pakistan Customs and Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department on May 18, which formalised Pakistan Customs’ participation in ValidAP. Pakistan is the first country to join the platform, with the latest integration

marking its first implementation of ValidAP-based document verification, the statement said. The system is aimed at reducing reliance on paper-based verification and facilitating faster and more secure processing of cross-border trade documentation. PSW said the integration also connects Pakistan’s digital trade infrastructure with an emerging regional framework for trusted electronic document verification, allowing documents to be issued and authenticated digitally across borders.

Citizen Committees in participating towns, comprising two male and two female citizen members alongside one local council member, while consultation and complaint mechanisms are planned for vulnerable groups. The World Bank document estimates that around 4.5 million people live within the jurisdictions of the 20 councils covered by the IPF component, including approximately 2.16 million women. The programme follows an earlier property survey under the CLICK project in Karachi, where the registered property base reportedly increased from around 900,000 to approximately 4.2 million after duplicates, overlaps and properties outside local councils’ mandates were removed.

Afridi rebuffs Center's allegations, warns of worsening KP security crisis CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

Defending his government’s security record, Mr Afridi said Rs35 billion had been diverted from the development budget to the police, effectively doubling its allocation. He said the Special Branch was also being strengthened while modern weapons and essential equipment were being provided to the force. The chief minister accused the federal government of pursuing a “dualstandard policy” towards KP. He also criticised remarks attributed to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz suggesting that the other three provinces posed a greater threat than India, arguing that such statements were inconsistent with the state’s position that India was involved in sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan.

PML-N FIRES BACK WITH WHITE PAPER: The political confrontation intensified after the PML-N’s KP chapter issued a white paper attacking the provincial government’s performance since Mr Afridi assumed office. Prime Minister’s Coordinator to KP Ikhtiar Wali Khan and MNA Samar Haroon Bilour alleged that more than Rs800 billion had been provided to KP for counterterrorism efforts, but claimed the provincial government had failed to equip its police force adequately. Mr Wali claimed that the provincial CounterTerrorism Department had only nine M4 rifles and 11 night-vision devices. He further alleged that bulletproof vehicles supplied by the federal government had been returned and that KP currently had only 17 such vehicles, compared with 76 in Punjab and 42 in Balochistan. The PML-N leaders also claimed that police fatalities between January and June had increased sharply compared with the corresponding period last year, while terrorist attacks and injuries had also risen. Ms Bilour criticised the chief minister for holding his first meeting of the provincial apex committee 112 days after taking oath. She also questioned the timing of the PTI’s planned long march, given what she described as the province’s heightened security situation. The PML-N leaders further alleged that the provincial government had failed to effectively contain the spread of drugs.

Sazgar says Canon Alpha, P500, TANK300, Haval H7, Jolion Max launches in pipeline g

CANON ALPHA EXPECTED IN COMING MONTHS AT COMPETITIVE PRICE; AUTOMAKER ALSO PLANS ARCFOX T1 AND T5 MODELS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BAIC PROFIT

neWs Desk

Sazgar Engineering Works Limited (SAZEW) has outlined plans to launch the Canon Alpha, P500, TANK300, Haval H7 and Jolion Max in Pakistan, while also preparing to introduce ArcFox electric vehicles in partnership with BAIC. The Canon Alpha is expected to launch in the coming months at a competitive price, management said during the company’s corporate briefing on its FY26 financial results and future outlook, according to a report by Topline Securities. The automaker also displayed a broad upcoming new energy vehicle (NEV) lineup at the Pakistan Auto Show last week, alongside the TANK300 and Jolion Max.

Under its partnership with BAIC, Sazgar plans to introduce the ArcFox T1 battery electric vehicle (BEV) and T5 range-extended electric vehicle (REEV). Management said ArcFox is positioned towards the higher end of the semi-premium segment and ranks among the higher-positioned brands out of 109 automotive brands in China. Whether the vehicles will be introduced through completely knocked down (CKD) or completely built up (CBU) units will depend on the new auto policy. The company expects government support for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) under the upcoming policy and said future product launches would be guided by this outlook. Meanwhile, shareholders at Sazgar’s 35th annual general meeting on September

26 approved a final cash dividend of Rs20 per ordinary share, equivalent to 200% of the current paid-up share capital. This takes the company’s total cash dividend for the year ended June 30, 2026 to 700%, including the 500% already paid during the year. Shareholders also adopted the audited annual financial statements for FY26 along with the directors’ report, auditors’ report and chairperson’s review report. Crowe Hussain Chaudhury & Co was reappointed as external auditor for the year ending June 30, 2027. Its annual audit remuneration was fixed at Rs2.7 million, alongside Rs750,000 for the half-yearly review and Rs50,000 each for three other certification and reporting assignments. Sazgar is awaiting the new auto policy before making major pricing decisions.

Management said the company is currently absorbing the increase in general sales tax (GST) and has not raised vehicle prices despite the 18% tax rate. It expects a potentially favourable policy with lower GST and does not want customers purchasing vehicles at present to bear the impact of higher taxation. Current prices are based on existing notified taxes. The company has also announced a Rs22 billion expansion, including a new paint shop, which is expected to be completed within nine to 10 months. Of the total capital expenditure, around Rs17 billion will be financed through debt, with the remaining Rs5 billion funded through equity. Management indicated that post-expansion production capacity could reach around 180 vehicles per day, com-

pared with the previously disclosed level of approximately 100 vehicles per day. Sazgar’s gross margin declined to 22.3% in the fourth quarter of FY26 from around 25.4% during the first nine months of the fiscal year, largely due to changes in product mix. Management said the company was preparing for gross margins to converge towards industry averages. Sazgar currently operates 32 active dealerships, with another five to six expected to open soon. Management described the existing network as the largest among new entrants in Pakistan. The company also noted that concessionary duties on vehicle parts remain intact under the existing framework, with hybrid electric vehicle parts subject to a 4% duty and PHEV parts to 3%.

04 COMMENT

Pakistan’s structural vulnerabilities in a polycentric world

Tuesday, 29 September, 2026

Fourth test

akistan’s next iMF review should be read less as a funding event and more as a checkpoint in a 37month programme that is now moving from emergency stabilisation into the harder business of reform. the expected $1.2 billion matters, but the larger issue is whether the government can keep discipline once the programme is at its close. . there has been progress, and it should not be dismissed. Pakistan has stayed inside the programme, avoided the worst external panic, and accepted a measure of fiscal and monetary restraint that earlier governments routinely abandoned. that discipline has helped restore some confidence, but it remains a thin kind of confidence, built on compliance rather than transformation. the danger is that islamabad mistakes passing a review for solving the problem. iMF programmes reward milestones, prior actions and targets, but economies are not repaired by ticking boxes. a government can do enough to secure the Fund’s approval while still avoiding the deeper political fights that decide whether Pakistan remains dependent on the next review, the next rollover and the next rescue. the tax base is the clearest example. Pakistan cannot keep squeezing salaried workers, formal companies and captive consumers while under-taxed sectors remain politically protected. Broadening taxation is not simply an iMF demand; it is the difference between a functioning state and one that survives by overcharging the already documented. if the government retreats here, the programme will remain numerically alive but economically hollow. Energy reform carries the same risk. Higher tariffs may satisfy fiscal arithmetic, but they do not fix theft, poor recoveries, capacity costs or weak governance inside distribution companies. Passing losses to honest consumers is not reform. it is a postponement dressed as discipline. the same applies to state-owned enterprises, provincial fiscal commitments and climate resilience. Pakistan has promised too much reform over too many programmes for promises alone to carry weight. What matters now is execution that survives beyond each mission visit and each press release. the iMF’s role is also limited. it can force discipline when Pakistan has no alternative, but it cannot create political ownership where none exists. the government has followed the Fund because it has had to. the test ahead is whether it can follow through because it understands that the country’s own balance sheet, taxpayers and future growth require it. this review should therefore be treated as a warning against complacency. Pakistan has bought stability at a high social and political cost. Backsliding now would waste that pain, leaving the country with the fatigue of adjustment but none of the strength that reform was supposed to build.

akistan’s geopolitical landscape profoundly shapes its national wellbeing, encompassing economic stability, human security, social cohesion, and human development indicators. as a nuclear-armed state strategically positioned at the crossroads of south asia, the Middle East, Central asia, and the evolving great-power competition between the United states and China, Pakistan navigates a complex array of external pressures and internal vulnerabilities. these dynamics often exacerbate structural weaknesses, divert resources from development priorities, and undermine citizen wellbeing. this article examines how geopolitical factors influence Pakistan’s wellbeing, drawing on recent developments through 2025. it argues that while strategic alignments have occasionally provided economic lifelines and averted crises, persistent geopolitical entanglements particularly with major powers, neighbors, and non-state actors have contributed to cycles of instability, debt dependency, and security threats that hinder sustainable progress. Pakistan’s position in the Us-China rivalry exemplifies how geopolitics constrains economic autonomy and wellbeing. the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship Belt and Road initiative project, has aimed to address infrastructure deficits, energy shortages, and connectivity gaps. investments under CPEC have supported energy security and modest growth in certain sectors. However, security incidents targeting Chinese personnel and projects particularly in Balochistan have strained relations and impeded full realization of benefits. Critics highlight debt risks, with China holding a significant portion of Pakistan’s external obligations, raising concerns about long-term sovereignty and fiscal space for social investments. Conversely, engagements with the Us and Western institutions, mediated through the international Monetary Fund (iMF), have provided critical bailouts. Pakistan secured a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in 2024, averting default and stabilizing reserves. Debt rollovers from allies like saudi arabia and the UaE, often geopolitically motivated, have eased immediate pressures. Yet these arrangements impose austerity measures fiscal consolidation, subsidy cuts, and tax reforms that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, increasing poverty and inequality. in 2025, Pakistan demonstrated pragmatic maneuvering amid shifting Us dynamics under a second trump administration, securing favorable trade terms and counterterrorism cooperation. this yielded modest economic gains but highlighted transactional foreign policy, where wellbeing improvements remain contingent on external alignments rather than domestic reforms. such balancing acts limit policy independence. Heavy defense expenditures, driven by perceived

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

The EV Mirage M. A. Niazi

Babar Nizami

Editor Pakistan Today

Editor Profit

Basil MahMood

akistan has a long history of contested statistics, yet policy proposals continue to be built on figures that few have stress-tested. Let me be clear: this is not an argument against electric vehicles. Pakistan should move towards cleaner, more efficient and less oil-dependent transportation. Electric vehicles, particularly two- and three-wheelers, can play an important role in reducing petroleum imports and urban pollution. the question is not whether EVs are the future. the question is whether Pakistan’s present economic and energy conditions justify subsidising their rapid adoption, and whether the subsidy is being directed at the right end of the equation. Electric vehicles run on electricity — a fact that seems to have slipped out of much of the current debate. Pakistan’s electricity sector continues to struggle with circular debt, expensive generation, transmission and distribution losses, inefficient distribution companies and a financially fragile power system. the iMF has repeatedly stressed energy-sector reform, cost recovery and improvements in distribution efficiency as essential to Pakistan’s macroeconomic stability. at precisely this moment, however, there is a push to subsidise electric motorcycles — a contradiction worth examining. if the state is struggling to make its existing electricity system financially viable, directing scarce fiscal resources toward stimulating additional electricity demand, ahead of supply-side reform, raises an obvious question about sequencing. the international experience is also more nuanced than EV advocates often suggest.China, the world’s largest EV market, ended its national new-energy-vehicle purchase subsidy programme in December 2022 after a gradual phase-out. Yet the market continued to

RaBia sundho

expand rapidly. By 2025, electric cars accounted for almost 55 percent of new-car sales in China, but only about 13 percent of China’s total car stock. Europe offers another data point. Germany ended its €4,500 EV purchase subsidy in December 2023. according to the international Energy agency, Germany’s EV sales share subsequently fell by around four percentage points in 2024. none of this argues against EVs. it argues against policymaking that treats headline sales figures as the whole picture. if Pakistan has limited fiscal resources available to promote electrification, the natural question becomes: where will each rupee produce the greatest economic return? Mass and commercial transport offer the clearer answer. an electric bus can replace a diesel bus carrying dozens of passengers. Electrifying buses, taxis, delivery fleets, municipal vehicles and other high-mileage commercial transport can displace considerably more imported petroleum than subsidising individual motorcycle purchases. a second priority lies in industrialisation. Pakistan has often confused assembly with manufacturing — importing batteries, motors, controllers and other components and putting them together locally does little on its own to build a deep industrial ecosystem. this gap can be addressed by weighting sub-

threats, crowd out allocations for health, education, and poverty alleviation key determinants of human wellbeing. Relations with india and afghanistan profoundly impact security and development. the enduring rivalry with india, rooted in territorial disputes and mutual suspicions, sustains high military spending and occasional escalations, diverting resources from human capital. Geopolitical competition extends to afghanistan, where post-2021 taliban resurgence has complicated dynamics. Pakistan initially anticipated strategic advantages from a friendly regime but faces blowback from tehriki-taliban Pakistan (ttP) sanctuaries across the border. terrorist incidents surged in 2024-2025, marking one of the deadliest periods in a decade. this resurgence, facilitated by cross-border havens, erodes human security, displaces populations, and deters investment. attacks on infrastructure and civilians undermine economic activity and social fabric. Meanwhile, taliban outreach to india evidenced by diplomatic engagements and potential trade avenues has heightened Pakistan’s sense of encirclement, reinforcing a securityfirst mindset that prioritizes military responses over developmental ones. these regional frictions exacerbate internal challenges, including alienation in Balochistan and khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where insurgencies intersect with geopolitical grievances, further straining state capacity and citizen welfare.

Conversely, engagements with the US and Western institutions, mediated through the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have provided critical bailouts.

sidies toward local component manufacturers rather than consumer purchases alone. support tied to measurable local value addition would align incentives with what Pakistan actually makes. a consumer subsidy that is temporary, capped and declining avoids becoming another permanent fiscal entitlement. Manufacturers receiving incentives could be asked to sign performance agreements requiring progressively higher local content, investment, employment, supplier development and eventually exports, with incentives automatically reduced or terminated where targets are missed. the objective is not to announce an impressive number of subsidised electric motorcycles. it is to reduce imported fuel consumption, strengthen the electricity system and build an industrial ecosystem capable of manufacturing the technology rather than merely assembling imported kits. a consumer subsidy disappears the moment the vehicle is purchased. a manufacturing ecosystem can create factories, suppliers, skilled employment, technology and exports for decades. Pakistan does not need an anti-EV policy. it needs an EV policy in the right sequence — where the ecosystem is built rather than the motorcycle alone subsidised, where manufacturing is distinguished from assembly, where newsales penetration is read alongside fleet electrification, and where a fashionable technology is judged, above all, against the standard of sound economic policy. The writer is a freelance columnist

Pakistan’s electricity sector continues to struggle with circular debt, expensive generation, transmission and distribution losses, inefficient distribution companies and a financially fragile power system. The IMF has repeatedly stressed energysector reform, cost recovery and improvements in distribution efficiency as essential to Pakistan’s macroeconomic stability.

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Geopolitical factors compound Pakistan’s structural economic issues. Balance-of-payments crises, recurring since the 2010s, stem partly from external shocks (e.g., commodity price spikes from global conflicts) and reliance on geopolitically driven financing. the 2022-2023 near-default, worsened by global events like the Russia-Ukraine war, illustrates this vulnerability. While iMF programs and bilateral support stabilized the economy by 2025—lowering inflation and enabling modest 3% growth underlying fragilities persist, low tax-to-GDP ratios, elite capture, and dependence on external borrowing. Geopolitical risks, including tensions along borders and threats to CPEC, deter foreign direct investment and perpetuate low growth traps. these economic pressures directly erode wellbeing. High debt servicing crowds out social spending, while inflation and austerity erode purchasing power. Poverty rates remain elevated, and human development indicators lag, with geopolitical instability discouraging reforms needed for inclusive growth. to mitigate adverse geopolitical impacts on wellbeing, Pakistan must pivot toward geoeconomics prioritizing trade, connectivity, and domestic resilience over zero-sum rivalries. the national security Policy’s emphasis on comprehensive security offers a framework, but implementation requires reducing defense burdens through confidence-building regionally and diversifying partnerships beyond major powers. Enhancing internal security, broadening the tax base, and investing in human capital could break dependency cycles. Regional cooperation potentially via normalized ties with neighbors would unlock trade dividends and reduce security expenditures. in conclusion, geopolitics profoundly shapes Pakistan’s wellbeing trajectory. While strategic positioning has yielded short-term stabilizations, it has also entrenched vulnerabilities that perpetuate underdevelopment. a deliberate shift toward geo-economic priorities, coupled with robust domestic reforms, is essential for translating geopolitical assets into enduring citizen prosperity.

The author is a freelance columnist and can be reached at rabiasundho19@gmail.com.

Editor’s mail

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan today exclusively

Generations United

tHis is with references to letters published recently — the discourse surrounding generational differences, particularly between the Millennials (Gen Y) and Generation Z, often devolves into oversimplified stereo-types. While it is tempting to romanticise the past or critique the present, a nuanced perspective is essential to foster inter-generational empathy. i wish to reframe the debate by highlighting the unique strengths and challenges of both cohorts, as well as the shared humanity that binds them. Born in the 1980s and ’90s, the Millennials are the bridge between tradition and modernity. they inherited a world in transition. shaped by analogue childhoods and digital adolescences, they are often praised for their research-oriented mindset and respect for elderly footprints — the wisdom of prior gene-rations. their moral consciousness, rooted in community-driven values, emphasises stability and incremental progress. this generation’s ability to balance tradition with emerging technologies allowed the Millennials to navigate early globalisation and economic shifts. However, critics argue that some of them cling to outdated norms, resisting critical change in favour of nostalgic ideals. Gen Z, born into a hyper-connected, post-recession world, thrives on adapt-ability. Fluency in emerging digital trends and emphasis on individualism reflect a pragmatic response to rapid technological and social change. While older generations may perceive them as emotionally driven or dismissive of tradition, Gen Z’s focus on inclusivity, mental and emotional health awareness, and climate activism reveals a profound, albeit different, moral compass. the willingness of Gen Z to challenge wellentrenched systems — from workplace hierarchies to societal norms — can be misread as irreverence, but it often stems from a sincere desire to redefine values in a fractured world. the tendency to label the Millennials as ‘the last moral generation’, and Gen Z as the ‘spiritually shattered’ generation ignores the broader context. Both these generations have faced unprecedented pressures: Millennials grappled with crises and shifting job markets, while Gen Z is confronting algorithmic polarisation and climate anxiety. nostalgia for the ‘human nature of the 1990s’ overlooks that era’s own flaws — rigid social hierarchies, environmental neglect and stifled dialogue on inequality. Rather than lamenting a loss of values, we must recognise that ethics evolve. Millennials’ reverence for tradition and Gen Z’s trend-driven innovation are not mutually exclusive. the former can mentor resilience and long-term thinking, while the latter can revitalise institutions with fresh perspectives. Let us move beyond divisive narratives, and create spaces where both generations collaborate — honouring the past without fetishising it, and embracing the future without fear. ABDUL MATEEN RAHIM KARACHI

Hate season

Karachi – Ph: 021-32640318 I

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

as happens every year, as soon as the month of Muharram began this year, online platforms and Whatsapp turned into battlegrounds, with sectarian lines drawn rather harshly. as a matter of routine, the ‘season’ is marked by comment sections overflowing with hate, old friends cutting ties, and neighbours becoming strangers. While respected scholars on both sides of the aisle have for long promoted harmony, there are many across social media platforms who are clearly more interested in fuelling such divisions. Encouraged by the divisive rhetoric of a few, many young minds begin to view ‘others’ with negativity, deepening sectarian misunderstandings. the initiative taken by the government in Punjab to form a cyber force for monitoring online hate during Muharram was, indeed, a timely step, but laws alone are not enough. the people — all of us — need to re-member that karbala and its message are universal in nature. it is about truth, courage and humanity; not sectarianism. the teachings of karbala should reflect in both our actions and words — online and offline. this is not too difficult a task. SHAFAQ ALTAF KAZMI KARACHI

Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

COMMENT 05

Trump and Xi: A truce without a settlement

Tuesday, 29 September, 2026

Qamar Bashir

HE red carpet has been rolled away, the state dinner has ended, and President Xi Jinping has left Washington. The three-day visit was presented as a landmark in relations between the world’s two largest economies. Its clearest practical result was a two-month extension of their trade truce. Trump and Xi gained time to talk again. The rest of the world gained no comparable assurance about the wars, supply chains and technologies on which its future depends. China’s account says the two leaders exchanged views on the Middle East and Ukraine. That brief diplomatic phrase should not be mistaken for a substantive negotiation on either war. Their positions on who bears responsibility, whose security counts and what an acceptable settlement would require begin so far apart that the published outcome contains no common proposal. They addressed trade, artificial intelligence and Taiwan too. On the questions where agreement would matter most, ceremony filled the space that policy might have occupied. The Iran war explains why even a declared understanding on the Middle East proved elusive. Washington defends the military campaign it launched with Israel; Beijing condemns the strikes on Iran’s sovereignty and favors diplomacy. While the summit was ongoing, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a separate interview, recalled an Oman-mediated Geneva proposal to dilute Iran’s 60 percent uranium and accept verification. Oman’s mediator had described a deal as within reach before the strikes began. Pezeshkian’s interview underscored the path abandoned when Washington chose force. Trump and Xi approached the war from opposite premises and announced no common course. China also buys most of Iran’s exported oil and depends on Gulf shipping. Washington wants Beijing to pressure Tehran, while Beijing sees American military pressure as a cause of regional instability. The two leaders could exchange views on the conflict, but neither offered a joint plan for ending it or protecting the trade routes on which

many countries depend. Ukraine exposed a comparable clash of explanations. Beijing gives weight to Moscow’s account that Western involvement in Ukrainian politics and NATO’s expansion threatened Russian security. Washington and its European partners see Russia’s invasion as an attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty and arm Kyiv to resist it. China cooperates closely with Russia; the United States supports Ukraine. These positions define different starting points for a peace discussion. Beijing cannot easily endorse a principle that outside powers may determine another country’s political future while insisting that foreign powers must stay out of what it considers the Taiwan question. Yet Ukraine’s people also have a sovereign voice that no bargain between great powers can erase. The leaders exchanged views, but there is no published evidence that they negotiated a common peace formula. Taiwan makes these disagreements even more combustible. Beijing insists on its claim to the island and objects to American arms sales. Washington maintains its own commitments and security ties, while Taiwan’s people govern themselves and face the consequences of any bargain made over their heads. The Chinese readout emphasized Xi’s warning on Taiwan but announced no new understanding. For a summit devoted to strategic stability, the absence of a visible mechanism to prevent a military incident matters more than the warmth of the photographs. Trade produced the one measurable reprieve. The truce that faced a November deadline has reportedly been extended until January. That postpones a return to the tariff and export-control escalation that shook industries on both sides. It also moves the next decision beyond the American midterm elections. Buying time has value when two economies are tightly connected. Yet the extension leaves the basic contest untouched: Washington restricts advanced chips and presses China over purchases and market access, while Beijing controls vital stages of the rare-earth magnet supply chain. Those magnets are essential to vehi-

cles, industrial motors, electronics and defense equipment. China refines about 91 percent of the world’s magnet rare earths and makes about 94 percent of finished magnets. An American tariff threat cannot instantly create the processing capacity that took China decades to build. Equally, Chinese export controls can injure its customers without settling its complaints about U.S. technology restrictions. The truce suspends the next collision; it does not remove the weapons each side has placed on the negotiating table. Artificial intelligence revealed a similar gap between aspiration and agreement. Xi has urged that AI serve the public and remain under human control. In July he offered developing countries 5,000 AI training and seminar opportunities over five years, along with cooperation centers and wider access to applications. Chinese developers have also

released influential open models. That is a serious bid to shape who benefits from AI, although China’s companies and government have commercial and strategic interests of their own. American companies, meanwhile, have poured capital into chips, data centers and models, seeking both technological leadership and enormous returns. Some American developers also publish open models and research. The real divide is therefore more complicated than a generous China facing an exclusively profit-seeking America. It lies in who controls the computing power, sets the rules, bears the risks and receives the gains. A state dinner attended by technology executives offered a stage for that question, but the summit produced no public agreement on testing frontier systems, reporting dangerous incidents or restraining autonomous military uses.

The Iran war explains why even a declared understanding on the Middle East proved elusive. Washington defends the military campaign it launched with Israel; Beijing condemns the strikes on Iran’s sovereignty and favors diplomacy. While the summit was ongoing, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a separate interview, recalled an Omanmediated Geneva proposal to dilute Iran’s 60 percent uranium and accept verification.

AI’s man of the moment

AXIOS

BEn BErkowitz

ARIO Amodei went from a MAGA smear campaign target, to a “Saturday Night Live” punching bag, to a private White House dinner with President Trump — all in the space of 72 hours this weekend. Such is life for the face of AI in America.

THE BIG PICTURE: He may not have sought the status, but Anthropic’s quirky, intellectual CEO has become the frontman for a technology that seems to be changing the world by the day. In the history of capitalism, there has seldom been a more unusual spokesman for a transformative industry. A physicist by training with links to effective altruism, Amodei runs Anthropic in a way some inside and outside the company have compared to a religious leader. His penchant for being plain-spoken — especially when it comes to the risk of disaster — has earned him admirers and critics in equal measure, although he has remained consistent in his positions for years. The SNL sketch captured what often frustrates allies about him: calling for more regulation and a slowdown to establish greater safety, while accelerating the theory that he and Anthropic are best-equipped to be at the vanguard. A looming IPO could make him one of the world’s multibillionaires, provided he doesn’t scare everyone off first.

THE INTRIGUE: OpenAI’s Sam Altman does more press, and fits the traditional CEO mold much more neatly. But despite that — or, perhaps, precisely because he’s more unvarnished — Amodei has become the first thing people think of when they think of AI.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Consider how Anthropic

spent the last few days. On Thursday, Axios’s Maria Curi and Marc Caputo scooped a new MAGA memo doing the rounds at the White House that sought to paint Amodei as the poster child of the effective altruism movement, a recent bogeyman for conservatives who want a more muscular future for AI. (Anthropic has said Amodei doesn’t identify as an effective altruist but is sympathetic to some of its tenets.) By Sunday, Maria and Marc scooped that President Trump had personally invited Amodei to dinner. (A dinner critics tried to head off by trashing him directly to the president hours beforehand.) Nothing changed in between, but it was emblematic of the rocky relationship the company and the administration have had for months.

IN BETWEEN, Amodei got the SNL treatment — an unflattering “Weekend Update” skit that painted him as barely able to complete a sentence without saying AI was going to kill us all.

REALITY CHECK: Bad press hasn’t stopped Anthropic from growing at almost unimaginable speed. The company is on pace for an annual revenue rate of more than $100 billion, more than 10x where it was a year ago. If the looming IPO goes as planned, and the revenue keeps up, by the end of the year, Anthropic could be one of America’s 50 largest companies by revenue and 10 largest by market capitalization.

STUNNING STAT: Anthropic didn’t even exist six years ago. In less than a decade, Amodei will have gone from a somewhat obscure scientist to one of the most important people in human history.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Not every icon looks like a movie star or talks like a theatre legend. Axios’s Bradley Olson contributed.

The case for digital banks

DHAKA TRIBUNE Editorial

ANGLADESH Bank’s initial approval for five digital banks is an encouraging development for the country’s financial sector — a move that can help accelerate the transition towards a more accessible, technology-driven banking system while creating new opportunities for people who remain underserved by conventional banking channels. The proposed institutions, backed by businesses including bKash, Robi, Banglalink, and Square Group, will operate without conventional branches, providing banking services primarily through digital platforms. This model could make financial services more convenient, particularly for people and small businesses that face difficulties accessing traditional banking facilities. Bangladesh has already experienced rapid growth in mobile financial services, making the expansion of digital banking a natural next step. There is also considerable potential for digital banks to support smaller borrowers and entrepreneurs: According to Bangladesh Bank, the new institutions are

expected to focus on underserved customers and smaller loans rather than large-scale lending. If managed responsibly, this could help broaden access to formal finance and support economic participation among people who have traditionally remained outside the banking system. At the same time, innovation must be accompanied by strong safeguards. Digital banking will involve the collection and management of significant amounts of financial and personal data, making cybersecurity, consumer protection, and reliable digital infrastructure essential. Bangladesh Bank must maintain rigorous oversight to ensure that technological convenience does not come at the expense of financial security or public confidence. It is also important to remember that an initial approval is not a final license. The proposed banks must establish the necessary infrastructure and fulfil regulatory requirements before they can begin operations. This measured approach is welcome. If the new banks combine innovation with accountability, security, and responsible lending, they could help make Bangladesh’s financial system more inclusive and efficient. The move, therefore, represents a potentially important step towards a banking sector that better reflects the country’s increasingly digital economy.

Space presents the same danger on a larger canvas. China has publicly opposed turning orbit into a battlefield, while the United States has acknowledged deploying space-control weapons. Both powers depend on satellites for navigation, communications and security. China, too, has strategic capabilities and interests in space; declarations of peaceful intent deserve scrutiny from every side. Yet there was no announced summit understanding on protecting civilian satellites or preventing debris and attacks from spreading a terrestrial conflict into shared orbits. Xi and Trump may meet again at the APEC and G20 gatherings later this year. More meetings can prevent miscalculation, and the tariff extension keeps negotiations alive. But the measure of a summit is what it changes. Iran remains at war, Ukraine remains at war, Taiwan remains exposed to confrontation, critical minerals remain an instrument of pressure, and AI and space remain arenas of accelerating rivalry. Washington gave the visit every symbol of respect. The harder act of respect would have been to acknowledge that neither nation can secure its own future by treating the world’s common interests as bargaining chips.

The writer retired as Press Secretary the President, and is former Press Minister at Embassy of Pakistan to France and former MD, Shalimar Recording & Broadcasting Company Limited

The AI productivity delusion

PROJECT SYNDICATE Yanis Varoufakis

S AI a bubble? It all depends, we are told, on whether massive investments in the technology will massively boost productivity. Optimists are convinced that future productivity gains will be colossal, even if a market correction is necessary to draw some hot air out of the current boom. Pessimists, from Goldman Sachs’ Jim Covello to MIT’s Daron Acemoglu, have their doubts. But optimists and pessimists alike are in the grip of what I call the AI productivity delusion. What both sides miss is that AI will devastate capitalism even if it boosts productivity beyond our imaginations—and regardless of whether it delivers the promised economy-wide automation of everyday corporate workflows. The reason why we tend to miss this point is that we look at today’s world through the lens of another world that cloud capital, especially now that it is AI-enhanced, has rendered obsolete. Until recently, it was a foregone conclusion that every technological revolution represents a moment of creative destruction. Whole sectors, professions, and skill sets were destroyed by innovations which ushered in new sectors, new professions, and new skill sets. Automobiles ruined saddlers, farriers, and knackers but begat auto workers, road builders, mechanics, and service-station personnel. The transition from coal to oil condemned whole mining communities, not to mention trade unions, to oblivion. In net terms, however, more was created than was destroyed. Creative destruction became synonymous with economic growth. Faced with the AI juggernaut, it is natural to focus on the technology’s net effects. Will it create more than it destroys? But the real question is, “More of what?” To avoid the AI productivity delusion, we must rethink how we define productivity. If by productivity we mean tasks accomplished per unit of human labor, there is no doubt that AI will prove an immense success—in fact, it already has. But, if we continue to measure productivity in terms of monetary value produced per unit of

As with previous technological revolutions, it is natural to focus on AI’s net effects: Will it create more than it destroys? But unlike previous eras of creative destruction, the real question this time is, ‘Create more of what?’

labor, the chances are that AI will prove an unmitigated disaster. Earlier technological revolutions, from the steam engine and the automobile to the personal computer and the smartphone, expanded the domain of capitalist markets. Despite the wreckage of whole professions and communities they left in their wake, they resulted in simultaneously more material output and a higher aggregate monetary value of that output. Will AI do likewise? Maybe in China, where AI is coupled with robotics, material production will rise and, at least in the short run, so will net revenues. But in the West, AI agents are deployed in the service sector—from amazon.com to back offices, law firms, hospitals, and more. In those domains, AI-enhanced cloud capital could shrink markets in two distinct ways. The first way, the one everyone worries about, is that AI will kill off entire professions: paralegals, coders, translators, accountants, even architects, mathematicians, and school teachers, while creating far fewer new jobs filled by the prompters, overseers, engineers, and operators of the new machinery. The second way is far less visible but perhaps even more worrying: the conversion of markets into cloud fiefs and of profits into rents. As I argued long ago, Amazon may look like a market, with countless buyers and sellers within its digital walls, but it lacks the central feature of a market: decentralization. In fact, it is more centralized than the Soviet planned economy ever was, with an inscrutable algorithm deciding which consumer is matched to which vendor on the basis of a probabilistic model optimized to maximize the likelihood that Jeff Bezos, its owner, collects 40% of the maximum price every customer is willing to pay. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in Bezos’s algorithm, interfaces like Alexa will communicate with us not as mere shopping

assistants but as an all-knowing friend, companion, and even therapist. Soon, capitalist vendors’ profits will end up in some tech lord’s account in the form of cloud rent, which he will most certainly invest in more AI-enhanced cloud capital that produces more power to extract more cloud rents. So, as Apple’s Siri, Google’s Gemini, and an army of such agentic assistants develop the same capacities for their tech lords as Amazon has for Bezos, the capitalist market domain will continue to shrink. While AI will have proven exceedingly productive in terms of economic activities performed per unit of human labor, the profit rates of capitalist enterprises will collapse, following society’s aggregate wages to the bottom. At that point, none of the tools of the liberal state—no amount of quantitative easing, no politically feasible levels of universal basic income, no wealth tax that the tech lords will find hard to evade—will be able to prevent a systemic collapse. The question of whether AI will generate massive productivity gains is easy to answer: Yes. AI is already proving capable of exponentially increasing the amount of work that is being done per human worker. But as long as it is used to eliminate wage labor while syphoning off profits from actual markets into our tech lords’ cloud rents, the economic value produced per worker will tank. Unless this distinction is made, the AI productivity delusion will persist. And as long as it does, we will be unable to hope for a postcapitalist future of abundance where we, along with our AI helpers, produce according to ability and distribute according to need. Yanis Varoufakis, a former finance minister of Greece, is Leader of the MeRA25 party, Professor of Economics at the University of Athens, and a senior research fellow at Fudan University.

06 NEWS

IRAN'S KHAMENEI SAYS 'ENEMY FORCES' WOULD SOON BE DRIVEN OUT OF ARABIAN SEA

TEHRAN

agencies

RANIAN forces have driven enemy forces back from waters off southern Iran to the Arabian Sea, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Monday according to his Telegram channel, warning that Iranian forces would soon push them out of the Arabian Sea as well. "Today, there are various declarations of readiness throughout Islamic Iran, particularly for armed participation, creating an arena in which our people will gain honor and their enemy disgrace," he wrote on his X account. He then said that the "bygone days" which Iran's enemies "longed to return to" have passed and "will never be repeated."

Tuesday, 29 September, 2026 | ISLAMABAD

MEDIATORS PRESS IRAN FOR NUCLEAR CONCESSION TO REVIVE CEASEFIRE TALKS WITH US: Mediators are pressing Iran to make concessions on its nuclear program in an effort to revive ceasefire negotiations with the US, The Wall Street Journal reported. The initiative follows US President Donald Trump's rejection of an Iranian proposal for a seven-day ceasefire that would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz and ended the US blockade of Iranian ports, according to the Journal. Mediators described the effort as a longshot attempt to secure movement from Tehran on its nuclear program, while Iran has so far given little indication that it is prepared to discuss the issue. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Tehran re-

Wife of Malaysia's longestserving PM Mahathir dies at 100

mained open to negotiations but would respond to renewed military action. "We are fully prepared for the war to resume," Araghchi told NBC News when asked about the Journal report. "We stand firm in the face of any new aggression, even if it comes to a doomsday war. But at the same time we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose," he added. Arab mediators said Iran had made no concessions since Trump rejected its ceasefire proposal, while Gulf officials said Tehran wants Washington to offer concessions before negotiations advance. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, whose country is relaying messages between Washington and Tehran, said the conflict was becoming increasingly difficult to resolve. "This conflict is very complex,"

KUALA LUMPUR: Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, the wife of Malaysia's longestserving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, died on Monday, the veteran leader's office said. Siti Hasmah, 100, died at the National Heart Institute, the state news agency Bernama said, citing the couple's son Mokhzani Mahathir. No further details were immediately available. Often credited with modernising Malaysia, Mahathir, 101, served two stints as premier, totalling more than two decades. During his first tenure between 1981 and 2003, he oversaw a period of rapid industrial growth, turning Malaysia into one of Southeast Asia's economic tigers. He returned to the top job in 2018, becoming the country's oldest prime minister after coming out of retirement to topple the then-leader Najib Razak, who was involved in the multibillion-dollar financial scandal. Mahathir's second stint in office ended in less than two years after his coalition collapsed in 2020 amid political infighting. Mahathir met Siti Hasmah while they were both attending medical school in Singapore in the late 1940s. ReuteRs

he said earlier in New York at a special UN General Assembly edition of the Qatar Economic Forum. Iran wants Washington to return to a memorandum of understanding reached in June that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz and eventually beginning nuclear negotiations in exchange for measures including sanctions relief, the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian funds held overseas and an end to the US blockade. US officials, however, said Trump no longer wants to return to that agreement, while Washington has tightened sanctions and maintained its blockade. A senior Middle Eastern official involved in the talks said Iran could compromise on its nuclear program but would require explicit assurances that Israel would not attack again after any US-Iran agreement.

Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Israeli official says JERUSALEM ReuteRs

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi and met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Sunday, a senior Israeli official told Reuters. Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported that Netanyahu travelled on a private plane owned by an unnamed Israeli businessman and used by senior Israeli figures for international trips. It departed Ben Gurion Airport in the afternoon and landed in Abu Dhabi at 3:10 pm (1110GMT), the broadcaster said. It took off for Israel at 7:10 pm (1510GMT), four hours later, and landed shortly after 10pm (1900GMT). KAN said Netanyahu had also used the aircraft for a trip to Abu Dhabi during the war with Iran. According to Haaretz, Netanyahu asked Al Nahyan during the secret meeting to deny Haaretz's report that the Emirati leader had warned him of an impending Hamas attack shortly before October 7, 2023, a person familiar with

the matter said. There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu's office and the UAE's foreign ministry. The visit comes after Haaretz this month reported that Sheikh Mohamed had warned Netanyahu a week and a half before October 7, 2023, that Hamas was planning a major operation against Israel. Haaretz had reported that the warning was not passed to Israeli intelligence agencies or the military. Netanyahu, who denied the report and threatened legal action against the newspaper, is facing a tough reelection campaign. Opposition leaders have accused the prime

minister of bearing responsibility for security failures that preceded Hamas' Oct 7 attack. On Friday, the New York Times also reported that Netanyahu had received a confidential warning from the UAE president before the Hamas attack but had not passed it on to Israel’s security chiefs. The UAE declined to comment on the Haaretz report but said it and Israel maintained "open and direct lines of communication" since establishing diplomatic relations in 2020. A UAE source previously told Reuters that the UAE discusses security matters with countries through the "relevant entities," but not "at the level of national leaders". Earlier this year, the UAE denied that Sheikh Mohamed met with Netanyahu after the Israeli prime minister's office said in May that Netanyahu had "secretly visited" the Gulf country and met with the president. A source familiar with the meeting said at the time that Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed met in Al-Ain, an oasis city in Abu Dhabi along the country's border with Oman, on March 26.

China-US economic and trade consultations yields positive consensus BEIJING

staff RepoRt

China and the United States held the eighth round of their economic and trade consultations in New York and Washington, DC, the United States, from September 20 to 23, reaching a positive consensus that contributes to the economic and trade outcomes of the meeting of the two heads of state, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Monday. The two sides agreed to establish the Board of Trade under the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism, with the primary target of optimizing bilateral trade, the ministry noted in a statement. The ministry said the Board of Trade will provide an important platform and institutional guarantee for the two countries to continue expanding cooperation and reduce problems in economic and trade affairs. To implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, China and the United States have held multiple rounds of consultations under the Board of Trade framework on an arrangement for a $30-billion reciprocal tariff reduction and have reached consensus, the ministry said. The two sides agreed to reduce tariffs on about $30 billion worth of goods imported from each other on a reciprocal basis, with tariffs on around 90% of the covered products to be lowered to most-favored-nation rates. These reductions will be implemented simulta-

neously after each side completes domestic legal procedures, according to the ministry. The economic and trade teams of the two sides agreed to include Chinese coal imports from the United States in the reciprocal tariff reduction framework, which is expected to facilitate Chinese coal imports from the United States in 2027 and 2028, the ministry revealed. Importing US coal will complement China's domestic coal market while providing stable revenue and employment for the US coal industry, helping to stabilize and expand bilateral trade, the ministry explained.In the consultations, China and the United States also agreed to establish the Board of Investment under the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism. It will provide an institutionalized communication platform for both sides, with the two countries' economic and trade teams conducting regular dialogue on potential investment opportunities and barriers, the ministry said. The two sides also agreed to establish an agricultural working group under the Board of Trade, to be co-chaired by China's Ministry of Commerce and the Office of the United States Trade Representative, with participation from relevant regulatory agencies of both countries, the ministry said. The working group will discuss issues including two-way market access and regulatory matters for agricultural products. Both sides agreed to hold the working group's first meeting before the end of 2026, the ministry said.

India poll chief Gyanesh Kumar under pressure over alleged manipulation of electoral rolls NEW DELHI ReuteRs

Opposition groups are demanding the resignation of India's election chief Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of widespread voter-list manipulation during the verification of the country's one billion voters. The calls come barely a month after US President Donald Trump praised Kumar, a former bureaucrat who took over as India's chief election commissioner in February 2025, for insisting that Indian voters prove their identity with photo ID, unlike in the US. Criticism of Kumar, who has denied all allegations, soared last week when the Indian Express newspaper said his two de facto deputies had raised at least 14 formal objections over 10 months to decisions related to voter rolls, registration procedures and the poll body's digital systems. Political analysts estimate that 130 million names have been struck off the voter list since the latest

round of revisions began last year. Nearly 650 million people voted in the last national election in 2024. The opposition has long claimed that the government is trying to fix voter lists to its advantage and was quick to repeat the allegations following the Indian Express report. Government ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and the poll body have all denied the charges. Kumar, 62, and the two other election commissioners have not commented, but the Election Commission said "differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution".

PROTEST THREAT: The youthled Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has threatened nationwide protests on Friday demanding Kumar's ouster, calling him the "biggest antinational". The main opposition Congress party has said Kumar should be criminally prosecuted for treason. Kumar has defended the actions

of the poll body and said at a press briefing last year: "For the Election Commission, there is neither an opposition nor a ruling side; everyone is equal." Kumar was riding high in sections of the Indian media last month when Trump praised him. But since the Indian Express report, graffiti has appeared near his ancestral home in northern India calling him a traitor. Kumar joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1988 after completing his B.Tech in civil engineering from an elite government college in his home state of Uttar Pradesh. He previously worked in the ministries of defence and interior affairs, and retired in January 2024. He was appointed as an election commissioner two months later, before becoming the chief. Kumar has had a troubled relationship with opposition parties from the very start of his tenure atop the election body. Opposition lawmakers tabled a motion to have him removed earlier this year but it was rejected by parliament.

Tuesday, 29 September 2026 | ISLAMABAD

CORPORATE CORNER

CBD Punjab’s youth career program to provide fresh graduates practical industry exposure

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The Punjab Central Business District Development Authority (PCBDDA) has opened applications for its Youth Career Program 2026, offering fresh graduates an opportunity to gain practical work experience through a paid internship of three months.The program is designed to help young graduates bridge the gap between academic learning and professional life by providing them with handson workplace experience, professional mentorship and exposure to the working environment of a major development authourity.The internship opportunities are being offered across a range of professional fields, including Technical, Commercial, Finance, HR & IT, Operations, Legal, Procurement, Land & Estate, Audit and Geographic Information System (GIS).Speaking about the program, CEO CBD Punjab Imran Amin said that youth is an important part of Punjab’s future and that the initiative is aimed at helping graduates develop practical skills and professional confidence.“Through the Youth Career Program, CBD Punjab is providing young graduates with an opportunity to gain practical experience, enhance their professional capabilities and understand how major development projects are planned and delivered.

Pakistan Cables recognized at the 3rd International Solar Technology Excellence Awards 2026

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

Pakistan Cables Ltd. has been recognized as the exclusive category winner for Solar DC Cables at the 3rd International Solar Technology Excellence Awards 2026, organized by Energy Updates, held recently in Lahore. The award was presented by Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar, Provincial Minister for Energy Punjab to Mr. Qasim uz Zaman Bajwa, Senior Manager Project Sales, who received the award on behalf of Pakistan Cables. This is the second consecutive win for the Company. The recognition acknowledges the Company’s contribution to Pakistan’s growing solar energy sector through its Solar DC Cables. Pakistan Cables is also the first in Pakistan to achieve TÜV Rheinland certification for locally manufactured Halogen Free Low Smoke Solar DC Cables, in accordance with EN 50618 / IEC 62930 testing and certification requirements. Earlier this year, Pakistan Cables also became the first company in Pakistan to successfully have its 35 kV medium voltage cables type tested successfully by KEMA Labs, Netherland.

Mastercard’s Dreamonomics Report finds SMEs in EEMEA are prioritizing growth, new technologies and cyberthreat protection ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

Small businesses are looking ahead with ambitions for growth — but they are also preparing for the pressure that comes when opportunity arrives. Mastercard’s Dreamonomics report offers a new global view of the forces reshaping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) perceptions and approach to growth. The research shows that SMEs in the EEMEA region (Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa) are among the most likely to prioritize faster growth, even at the expense of stability. They are also among the most likely to use cybersecurity tools today. Findings from the Dreamonomics Report for the EEMEA region • Stability still trumps speed: Six in ten (59%) SMEs in EEMEA (against seven in 10 globally) say they prioritize stability and predictability over fast growth. • Customer depth elevated above customer reach: Over half (54%) of SMEs in EEMEA would rather build deep customer relationships than reach as many customers as possible. • Cybersecurity is becoming a growth enabler: 78% of SMEs prioritize protection from cyber threats and 42% already use cybersecurity tools today, the highest of any region surveyed.

NEWS 07

STROKE CENTRES PLANNED IN EVERY PUNJAB DIVISION

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

HE Punjab government has decided to establish a stroke centre in every division, with 40 primary stroke centres already functional and another 17 targeted for completion by December. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, where officials briefed the meeting on progress under the Chief Minister’s Stroke Programme. The meeting was told that 336 stroke patients had been given timely treatment at designated stroke centres, saving their lives and preventing permanent disability. According to the briefing, the 40 functional primary stroke centres have trained doctors and staff for the treatment of stroke patients, while 710 TNK injections are available at these facilities.

Neuroangiography suites are also planned this year at Teaching Hospital Rawalpindi, Allied Hospital Faisalabad, Nishtar-II Multan and Teaching Hospital Sargodha. Comprehensive stroke centres are already operational at the Punjab Institute of Neurosciences Lahore and Rawalpindi

Classic Cars And Elegant Style United For Men’s Health In Lahore

Institute of Cardiology. Primary stroke centres have also been established at Services Hospital, Mayo Hospital, Ganga Ram Hospital, Jinnah Hospital, General Hospital, Children’s Hospital and Shahdara Teaching Hospital in Lahore. The meeting was further informed

Standard Chartered launches new global brand campaign, ‘Move Ahead’ KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The Distinguished Gentleman’s Drive, a global awareness and fundraising event for men’s health, took place in Lahore alongside 200+ cities worldwide on September 27th. This motoring event united classic cars 40+ year’s age and their enthusiastic owners and their families to dress stylish and drive for the cause of men’s mental health and prostate cancer, in support of November. The starting point for this drive was the beautiful lakeside location of Aristopolo in DHA Phase 8, and this was one of the biggest classic car drives that the city ever saw. Speaking on the occasion, Shoaib Qureshy, founder Antique Cars Museum, who was leading and hosting this Lahore drive said, “We are happy to make Lahore and Pakistan flag fly high in raising awareness and funds for this global good cause event for men’s health.

K-Solar rebrands as K Nova, expands vision and mandate as integrated renewable energy solutions platform KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

K-Solar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of KElectric’s (KE) investment arm KE Ventures Company (Pvt) Limited, has officially changed its name to K Nova, effective today, as it expands its scope to become an end-to-end renewable energy solutions platform.Rebranding of K-Solar to K Nova is part of KE’s long-term diversification agenda under its new Board and Management. As KE transforms beyond traditional power distribution, the company is building a future-ready energy ecosystem. As part of this agenda, K Nova has now been mandated to spearhead renewable energy (solar as well as wind) storage and management solutions via various modes of financing, while supporting KE’s commitment to energy security, sustainability, and value-creation for its customers and shareholders. Hashim Raza, CEO K Nova, said: “As the scope of the business expands, the new identity will encompass new opportunities for K Nova to tap into. Timing of this decision coincides with the national level direction to make Pakistan’s energy sector more resilient, sustainable, and affordable. K Nova will now position itself to deliver smarter, more reliable, and sustainable energy solutions for commercial, industrial, residential customers and utility partners across the country.

Standard Chartered today announced the launch of ‘Move Ahead’, a new global brand campaign inspired by its Formula 1® partnership and the shared belief that success is built long before the defining moment arrives.Building on the Bank’s global brand platform 'Now Is Your Time', the campaign reflects how Standard Chartered helps clients turn ambition into progress and capture growth opportunities across the world’s most dynamic markets.Inspired by the precision and preparation behind Formula 1®, ‘Move Ahead’ showcases how sustained performance turns opportunity into results. In a sport where success is rarely determined by a single overtake or lap, victory is earned through thousands of decisions, rigorous preparation and the ability to perform when it matters most.This reflects how Standard Chartered partners with its clients to support their ambitions, whether they are expanding internationally, growing and protecting their wealth, investing for the future or managing risk in an increasingly complex world. By combining its international network, local market knowledge and deep expertise, the Bank connects clients to opportunities and helps them move ahead with confidence.

Dengue Prevention and Vector Control Operations Intensified in Islamabad ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

Under the vision of the Chairman, Capital Development Authority (CDA), CDA has making his comprehensive and effective activities for dengue prevention and vector control are continuously being carried out across the federal capital in collaboration with CDA and the Islamabad Health Department. The objective of these measures is to ensure timely identification and elimination of dengue mosquito breeding sites, effective surveillance, and prevention of possible disease transmission at an early stage.Vector control operations are being conducted under the supervision of Director General Health, CDA-MCI. Special focus is being placed on effective surveillance, timely detection, mechanical source reduction, larval control, and targeted activities in high-risk areas to minimize the risk of dengue transmission and ensure the protection of citizens.By the grace of Allah Almighty, the dengue situation in Islamabad remains under control up to September 28, 2026, Epidemiological Week 38‫۔‬ Extensive surveillance and vector control activities are being carried out by field teams across the city as part of ongoing dengue prevention efforts. As of September 28, 2026, vector surveillance has been conducted in a total of 1,245,383 houses, while the presence of dengue larvae was detected in 65,011 houses, where the larvae were eliminated through mechanical source reduction. During these operations, a total of 1,915,999 field visits were conducted, while 13,834 mosquito breeding sites were identified and eliminated.

Jubilee Life Insurance partners with Oladoc to expand digital access to Takaful protection

ISLAMABAD: Jubilee Life Insurance Company Limited – Window Takaful Operations has entered into a strategic digital collaboration with Oladoc, enabling its digital audience to conveniently access a range of Jubilee Life’s voluntary, annually renewable Term Takaful solutions through an established digital healthcare platform.The collaboration reflects Jubilee Life’s commitment to expanding access to financial protection by integrating its Takaful solutions into the digital healthcare journey. Through the arrangement, Jubilee Life will make its range of protection solutions available to Oladoc users at a point where healthcare and financial protection needs come together, supporting its broader efforts to make Takaful more accessible, relevant and convenient through digital channels.The range of solutions available through the platform includes the Jubilee Hospitalization Cash Reimbursement Takaful Plan, Jubilee Personal Accident Takaful Plan, Jubilee Income Protection Takaful Plan, Jubilee Health Takaful Plan, and Cancer Cover Takaful Plan. These solutions are designed to address a range of protection needs, including healthcare expenses, personal accidents, income continuity and critical health risks. STAFF REPORT

that stroke injections were available at Nishtar Hospital Multan, Allama Iqbal Hospital Sialkot, Sheikh Zayed Hospital Rahim Yar Khan, Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi, Allied Hospital Faisalabad, Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur and Allama Iqbal Hospital Dera Ghazi Khan. Primary stroke centres have been made functional at the district headquarters hospitals in Sheikhupura, Mandi Bahauddin, Kasur, Khanewal, Vehari and Multan. Stroke treatment injections are also available at DHQ hospitals in Bhakkar, Layyah, Gujranwala, Narowal, Jhang, Jhelum, Toba Tek Singh, Sahiwal and Gujrat. Stroke centres have also been established at the Children’s Hospitals in Multan and Faisalabad, Sadiq Abbasi Hospital Bahawalpur, Nishtar-II, Teaching Hospital Sargodha and Allied Hospital-II Faisalabad.

SE Fruits and Vegetable Limited opens IPO subscription for general public KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

Public subscription for the initial public offering (IPO) of SE Fruits and Vegetable Limited opened today and will continue through Tuesday, September 29, 2026.Shares are available to the general public at Rs 40 per share. The minimum application is for 500 shares, requiring Rs 20,000. Investors may apply for additional shares in multiples of 500.The IPO comprises 30 million ordinary shares, representing 32.01% of the company’s post-IPO paid-up capital. Of these, 22.5 million shares were allocated to the book-building portion and 7.5 million shares to the general public. At Rs 40 per share, the total issue size is Rs 1.2 billion. The book-building portion was oversubscribed 1.6 times.Applications must be submitted electronically; physical submission at bank branches is no longer permitted under the revised regulations. Investors can use the available electronic IPO platforms or participating banks’ digital channels, subject to their bank’s facilities.SE Fruits and Vegetable Limited is an export-oriented, Shariah-compliant company engaged in the export of kinnow, mangoes and potatoes.

foodpanda partners with Dettol to elevate delivery hygiene KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

foodpanda, Pakistan’s leading delivery and quickcommerce platform, has partnered with Dettol (Reckitt) to execute a specialised hand hygiene initiative across its pandamart dark store network. To reinforce doorstep safety and protect both delivery partners and consumers, dedicated Dettol Handwashing Stations were installed across pandamart fulfillment centers. Under this protocol, delivery riders are encouraged to thoroughly sanitise and wash their hands before picking up and handling customer orders.The initiative establishes heightened sanitisation protocols for delivery riders at a crucial moment, as seasonal flu and airborne viral infections spread rapidly.The initiative successfully combined pandamart's reach with Dettol's germ-protection expertise, translating corporate social responsibility into public health protection across Karachi neighbourhoods.

Sheikh Umer Rehan Elected Unopposed as KATI President

KARACHI STAFF REPORT

Sheikh Umer Rehan has been elected unopposed as President of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI). Syed Farrukh Ali Qandhari has been elected Senior Vice President, while Nasir Sheikh has been elected Vice President.The Election Commission, comprising Syed Farukh Mazhar and Sheikh Fazal Jalil and headed by Syed Johar Ali Qandhari, announced the newly elected office-bearers and members of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee members elected unopposed include Zahid Saeed, Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Rehan Javed, Faizan Javed, Sohail Ilyas, Sohail Elahi, Shabbir Balwani, Yasir Gulzar, Syed Safwan Akif Hussain, Atif Iqbal, Karim Teli, Syed Hasnain Mazhar and Muhammad Shafi. Amber Ali was also elected unopposed on the reserved seat for women.It is worth mentioning that Sheikh Umer Rehan has previously served as President of KATI and effectively represented the industrial and business community during the challenging period of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022.

Tuesday, 29 september, 2026

PTI RENEWS TALKS OFFER, DENIES MARCH DELAY LINKED TO BACKCHANNEL CONTACTS

PRAYER TIMINGS

news

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

AKISTAN Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has once again offered negotiations to the government, while rejecting reports that its decision to postpone the Islamabad long march was linked to backchannel contacts with the authorities. In a statement, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said the party had postponed the long march to allow the government more time to reconsider its decisions. However, he said the government had so far given no indication that it was willing to engage in negotiations. The remarks came days after the PTI announced the postponement of its long march towards Islamabad, originally scheduled for September 27, until October 4. The former ruling party had been preparing for a major protest and march in the capital, demanding the release of its incarcerated founder Imran Khan and what it describes as the “restoration” of constitutional supremacy. The government has publicly opposed road blockades and disruption of routine life, while heightened security measures were put in place ahead of the original September 27 date. Mr Raja said the latest wave of terrorism made it necessary for all sides to

sit together and engage in dialogue. He added that even if contacts had taken place, there was no need for them to become public immediately. His remarks came amid reports of several rounds of informal contacts between the PTI and government-linked interlocutors over the past several weeks. According to sources, more than half a dozen backchannel meetings had taken place over the previous four to five weeks, but they had failed to resolve the deadlock over the PTI’s proposed mobilisation towards Islamabad. The contacts, however, were said to have explored a possible po-

Govt cuts petrol by Rs2.27, diesel by Rs3.56 per litre PROFIT

AHMAD AHMADANI

The government has further reduced prices of petroleum products, cutting the price of petrol by Rs2.27 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs3.56 per litre for September 29. According to the Petroleum Division, the price of petrol has been reduced from Rs391.30 to Rs389.03 per litre, while the price of high-speed diesel has been slashed from Rs408.53 to Rs404.97 per litre. The revised prices will be applicable for September 29 only under the government’s daily petroleum pricing mechanism, providing some relief to consumers amid fluctuations in international oil prices. The Petroleum Division has issued the notification for the revised prices following the price determination by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA). The latest reduction means that petrol has moved below the Rs390-per-litre mark, while the price of HSD has also fallen further after remaining above Rs400 per litre. The price cut in diesel is particularly significant for the transport and agriculture sectors, as HSD is widely used by commercial transport, trucks, buses, tractors and other heavy machinery. Any reduction in diesel prices can help lower transportation and operational costs, although the actual impact depends on freight and other operating charges. The revised prices will remain applicable for one day, after which the government may review petroleum prices again under the daily pricing mechanism.

IHC seeks replies on Peshawar Motorway closure amid PTI march ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

litical way out of the confrontation. The sources said the central issue in the discussions was whether the PTI would withdraw its planned mobilisation altogether rather than merely postpone it. According to the sources, the government and security establishment conveyed that political space could be created for the PTI, but agitation involving violence, road blockades and marches would not be acceptable. TTAP backs October 4 protest Meanwhile, Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz-eAyeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) has endorsed the PTI’s October 4 protest call, with the op-

Six terrorists killed in separate KP, Balochistan operations: state media RAWALPINDI

STAFF REPORT

Security forces killed six terrorists in two separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, state media reported on Monday, citing security sources. According to the sources, four terrorists belonging to the Indianbacked proxy group “Fitna alKhawarij” were killed during an intelligence-based operation in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan district. The sources said security forces closely monitored the terrorists’ movements before targeting them during the operation, while a large cache of weapons and ammunition, along with Afghan currency, was also recovered. The operation was carried out under the government’s Azm-e-Istehkam counterterrorism framework. Security officials said counterterrorism operations would continue as part of efforts to dismantle terrorist networks and establish lasting peace in the country. In a separate operation in Balochistan’s Nokcha area, security forces killed two terrorists be-

longing to the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) during a chase after an empty water bowser was set on fire, according to security sources. The sources said the two men torched the vehicle before attempting to flee. Security forces launched an immediate chase, and both were killed during an ensuing exchange of fire. The sources identified the two men as BLA members and said they had previously been involved in arson attacks at different locations along the N-40 QuettaTaftan highway. The incident came less than a month after a major security operation along the N-40 highway on August 31. Security sources said at the time that 11 terrorists were killed after armed men set up what they described as an illegal checkpoint on the N-40 QuettaTaftan highway in Chagai district in an attempt to disrupt traffic and extort commuters. The sources said investigators were examining possible links between previous incidents along the N-40 highway and the latest case,

particularly attacks involving the torching of vehicles. Security has been tightened in Nokcha following the latest incident. Security sources said operations against sabotage and terrorist activity were continuing in the area, while investigations were also underway into the latest incident and the alleged involvement of those killed in similar attacks. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the security forces for the successful operation against terrorists in Dera Ismail Khan. “The security forces have foiled the nefarious designs of Indian-sponsored terrorists. Under the Azm-e-Istehkam vision, indiscriminate operations against terrorists in K-P are continuing and will continue,” he added. Naqvi said that the entire nation stood with the security forces in the fight to eliminate the menace of terrorism. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist activity over the past three months, with a series of attacks across the country resulting in the martyrdom of security personnel and civilians.

Ahsan calls for complete ML-1 upgrade to strengthen Pakistan's trade, regional connectivity LAANBAATAR STAFF REPORT

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued notices to the interior secretary, communications secretary, Islamabad chief commissioner and other respondents on a petition challenging the closure of the Peshawar Motorway in connection with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) planned long march on Islamabad. Justice Muhammad Asif issued the notices while hearing a petition filed by Advocate Mian Shafqat Jan, who challenged the closure of the motorway and sought its declaration as unlawful in the absence of any formal notification, order or stated reasons. During the hearing, Justice Asif remarked that the authorities could not “block Islamabad from either inside or outside”. The petition comes days after the IHC ruled that activities resulting in violations of citizens’ fundamental rights would constitute a breach of the Constitution. In its 37-page detailed judgement issued on September 18, the court held that political parties had a constitutional right to peaceful assembly and political dissent, while citizens were also entitled to rights including life, liberty, dignity, freedom of movement and the freedom to conduct business. The PTI had initially announced a long march towards Islamabad for September 27, demanding the release of its founder Imran Khan and what it describes as the restoration of constitutional supremacy.

position alliance announcing that it would participate alongside its allied parties. A TTAP spokesperson said the PTI was part of the opposition alliance and had now issued a fresh call for October 4. The spokesperson said TTAP would participate in the protest in coordination with its allied parties. The alliance also held a meeting in which participants stressed the need to broaden the opposition’s agenda to include issues affecting the country as a whole. Speaking about the meeting, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said the opposition alliance had previously proposed transforming its political narrative into a national agenda. He said the alliance had suggested including provincial rights as well as issues facing Balochistan and Sindh in the opposition’s agenda. “Our position was that the issues of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as the country’s economic and political affairs should also be included,” Mr Abbas said. He claimed that Punjab currently had more political prisoners than at any other point in the country’s political history. Mr Abbas said these issues needed to be addressed collectively, adding that if the opposition spoke with one voice on behalf of the people, it would receive broader public support.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Monday highlighted the strategic importance of modernising Pakistan Railways’ Main Line-1 (ML-1) to expand trade, freight capacity and regional connectivity. Currently on a three-day official visit to Mongolia to attend the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) International Conference, the minister was addressing the Development Partners Dialogue on “Advancing Trade, Tourism and Regional Competitiveness.” He presented Pakistan’s ML-1 modernisation plan and briefed development partners on progress towards upgrading the KarachiRohri section. Ahsan Iqbal also held meetings with the CAREC Institute and a delegation from Uzbekistan. He said ML-1 was the backbone of Pakistan’s railway network, stretching 1,726 kilometres

from Karachi to Peshawar and carrying 76 per cent of passenger traffic and 98 per cent of freight traffic despite significant infrastructure constraints. He stressed that modernising the corridor was not merely a railway development project but a national economic priority directly linked to Pakistan’s trade and growth potential. The minister said the proposed upgradation would substantially increase line capacity from 34 to 120 train pairs, raise passenger speeds to up to 160 km/h and freight speeds from 30 to 80 km/h, while reducing Karachi-Rohri travel time from eight hours to approximately four and a half hours. The upgraded corridor would also support rising freight demand, projected to reach around 21 million tonnes annually by 2035. Highlighting progress on the Karachi-Rohri section, Ahsan Iqbal said the approximately US$2.5 billion project was the most advanced component of ML1 modernisation, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) lead-

ing the financing effort and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), World Bank, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and European Investment Bank (EIB) engaged as co-financing partners. He said the project had moved beyond the conceptual stage, with project readiness financing secured, engineering work undertaken and procurement and financing processes advancing. The minister emphasised that Pakistan’s objective was not to treat Karachi-Rohri as an isolated project but as the first step towards the complete modernisation of the Karachi-Peshawar corridor. He said Pakistan was simultaneously working to develop a financing pathway for the remaining sections from Rohri to Peshawar. “The key issue is no longer whether ML-1 needs modernisation; the requirement is clear. The priority now is to convert the progress already made on Karachi-Rohri into implementation while securing financing for the remaining corridor in parallel,” Ahsan Iqbal said.

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

5:54

1:30

4:45

5:30

5:55

7:45

Imran Khan's son seeks visa to visit Pakistan, alleges arrest threat ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

Kasim Khan, son of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, has alleged that Pakistani authorities prevented him and his brother Sulaiman from travelling to Pakistan on visas, insisting that they enter the country on their National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOPs), which he claimed could expose them to arrest. In an interview with CBC News, Kasim said the authorities “don’t want us to go over as British citizens” and instead wanted the brothers to travel on their NICOPs. “Travelling on the NICOPs makes it almost certain they’ll arrest us as they threatened,” he alleged. Kasim claimed the authorities had prevented the brothers from visiting Pakistan because they were “petrified of foreign intervention”. Asked whether he would still travel to Pakistan, he said he would “love to go on a visa”, arguing that it would provide some protection if he and Sulaiman were arrested. “It would give us that safety net where if we did go and they did arrest us, there may even be hope that there would be foreign intervention,” he said. Kasim said he was approaching the matter from a humanitarian standpoint and did not want to be viewed as a politician. “I want to see my dad basically,” he said. He also appealed to the British government to treat his request as a humanitarian matter, saying he believed British officials were concerned that supporting him or his father could be interpreted as a political statement. “It should be a humanitarian statement,” Kasim said, referring to his father’s imprisonment and describing the cases against him as “bogus”.

Three traffic cops martyred in Tank ambush TANK

STAFF REPORT

At least three traffic police personnel were martyred and three others injured on Monday when armed assailants opened fire on a police mobile in Wazirabad Bazaar, intensifying concerns over a fresh wave of attacks targeting law enforcement in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Samad Khan said Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Ismatullah was among those injured in the attack and was shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital for treatment. Two passers-by also sustained injuries in the firing. According to the DPO, the attackers fled the scene after taking away the traffic police mobile vehicle. The vehicle was later recovered from Gara Budha. Police immediately cordoned off highways and pedestrian routes in the area and launched a search operation to track down the fleeing assailants, the DPO said. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the attack and expressed deep grief over the deaths of the three traffic police personnel. Offering condolences to the bereaved families, Naqvi said the nation saluted the sacrifices of the martyred policemen. He assured the families that the government stood by them in their hour of grief and said the sacrifices of those who had laid down their lives in the fight against terrorism would not go in vain. The Tank attack came amid a series of deadly incidents targeting security personnel and civilians across southern KP. Just two days earlier, at least 13 people, including two women and a two-year-old child, were martyred when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into an anti-smuggling check post in the Darazanda area of Dera Ismail Khan, according to security sources. The victims included officials from Customs, Excise and Rescue services as well as civilians. At least 35 people were also injured in the attack, according to the Regional Police Officer. In another deadly incident last week, an explosion struck a mosque inside Kohat's old Police Lines during Friday prayers, killing 22 people, including 16 police officials, and injuring 103 others. Police and security forces subsequently conducted an overnight clearance operation inside the Police Lines, killing eight militants, according to the Central Police Office. The latest attacks have underscored the continuing security challenge confronting K-P, where law enforcement personnel remain frequent targets of militant violence. According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), KP recorded 475 violence-linked fatalities during the second quarter of 2026, the highest figure among all provinces.

Trump willing to oﬀer Iran sanctions relief for nuclear progress WASHINGTON AGENCIES

US President Donald Trump was willing to offer economic sanctions relief and release frozen funds to Iran in exchange for concrete progress related to its nuclear program, a US official told American news outlets Axios and CNN on Monday. Washington was engaging in "positive and constructive" talks via mediators, CNN quoted a US official as saying, emphasising that negotiators would not finalise an agreement unless nuclear-related concerns received full resolution.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request by Anadolu for comment on the remarks. The prospective diplomatic opening comes after Trump on Saturday rejected an Iranian proposal aimed at easing tensions and reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz, calling Tehran's conditions "unacceptable" amid the seven-month Iran war. Trump said Sunday that he expects additional negotiations with Tehran this week, asserting that Iranian officials "overplayed" their hand during earlier talks. US, Iran set to hold separate talks with mediators on Monday or Tuesday, official says

Qatari mediators were likely to hold talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New York, and separately with the US side on Monday or Tuesday, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters, in a fresh push to end the war. The talks were expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal that Iran presented last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Araghchi remains in New York after attending the General Assembly. It was not immediately clear who would represent the US side in the talks with mediators.

Iran's ISNA news agency later confirmed that Araghchi would meet the mediators in the United States on Monday morning, New York time. The two sides would "examine the latest proposals and views regarding the current situation", ISNA added. Iran's seven-day plan envisages an end to all hostilities in Iran and Lebanon, the unfreezing of billions of dollars worth of Iranian assets, an end to sanctions on Iranian oil and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports. Tehran would then allow the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the two sides would also resume talks on Iran's nuclear programme. US President Donald Trump said on Sat-

Published by Asad Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

urday he had rejected Iran's proposal, saying Tehran wanted a swift agreement because of the crippling economic pressure it is under. However, he also told Axios on Sunday that he expected US negotiators to engage in further talks this week. Araghchi said on Sunday that mediators had not formally conveyed a US rejection to Tehran and that Iran was awaiting Washington's definitive position before deciding its next steps. "Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met," he said on Sunday, adding that only a negotiated solution could resolve the impasse.