Epaper_31-03-2023 ISB

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

SHEHBAZ Shar f ordered the withdrawal of a curat ve or second, review petition against Justice Qazi Faez Isa who is in line to become the chief justice in September, on Thursday

The previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had f led an unprecedented legal plea before the Supreme Court asking it to set aside its major ty udgement in the review case against the udge The plea argued the judgement, issued in Apri 2021 was manifestly and patently unjust against the public interest and pub ic good and defeated the purpose of jud c al accountab lity

On my direction the government has decided to withdraw the Curat ve Review Petit on aga nst [ ] Justice Qazi Faez Isa tweeted the prime minister

The pr me m nister, who ca led the reference “ baseless and politca ly motivated said the government wou d not pursue it further The federal cabinet had already approved the withdrawa of the reference in a meeting chaired by the prime minister

According to a statement issued by the pr me min ster s office Sharif instructed Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar to w thdraw the reference He

accused h s predecessor, Imran Khan, of tr ying to attack the inde-

pendence of the judic ar y and create divis ons by making a fr vo ous reference against an impart al person pursu ng the course of the constitution and aw

He also accused Khan of misusing the presidency to become an accomplice in an attack on the judic ar y The prime min ster further said that even when in opposition, the Pak stan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and other coal tion parties had opposed the reference and the lawyers bodies including the Pakistan Bar Counc l (PBC) had also opposed it

Members of the ruling coalition have hailed the decision as a move towards uphold ng the independence of the judiciar y in Pakistan

Dissenting note: ‘Judges can’t raise objections to constitution of benches’

isl amabaD: Judges cannot raise objections to the constitution of benches and if they do so they would become a complainant making it inappropr ate for them to hear a case wrote Justice Shahid Waheed of Supreme Court in his dissenting note Justice Shahid Waheed made the remarks n a dissenting note in 2 1 verdict declared in a suo moto case perta n ng to the 2018 regulation of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) that suggested an award of 20 add tional marks to candidates for memor sing the Holy Quran by heart to get MBBS or BDS degrees Justice Waheed was part of the three-judge spec al bench that heard the case A day earlier the other two members of the bench Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Just ce Aminuddin Khan held that the Constitution did not grant unilatera and arb trar y power to the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) to list cases for hearing, form special benches and select judges “ With respect the chief justice cannot substitute his personal wisdom w th that of the Constitution Justice Isa said in his remarks in a 12-page judgement he authored He proposed that cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution be postponed unti amendments were made to Supreme Court Rules 1980 regard ng the CJP s discretionar y powers to form benches s ta f f r e p o rt

Sanaullah for ‘greater dialogue’ to evolve consensus over char ter of economy, democracy

ISLAMABAD

s ta f f r e p o r t

Interior M n ster Rana Sanaullah on Thursday cal ed for hold ng greater dialogue among all stakeho ders including al the parties of opposition and treasur y benches estab ishment and udiciar y to steer the countr y out of preva ling multiple crises and put it back on path to development and prosperity

This greater dialogue w ll help evolve a consensus agenda over charter of economy charter of democracy and charter of peace Interior

Min ster Rana Sanau lah said while talking to the med a persons outside Supreme Court in Islamabad on Thursday Sanaullah asserted t w ll also he p defuse boil ng political temperature n the countr y and resolve the sufferings of the common man He sa d the government respects and honours the opinion of the Chief Justice and other udges of the apex court He, however, pointed out that if the dialogue is to be held only for optic purpose it will ser ve nothing Replying to a question the Inter or Minister expressed the reso ve that terrorism is neither out of contro neither it w ll be so in future Our armed forces are fully competent and capable enough and carr ying out intell gence-based operat ons against terrorists on dai y basis They are also rendering sacrifices for the defence of the mother and Rana Sanaullah sa d despite all these act ons and operations threats of terrorism still exist but a l the re evant authorities are in coordinat on and discharging their dut es to root out this menace Replying to a question he said the stubbornness and obstinacy of Imran Khan is the main hurdle in initiation of d a ogue

Pakistan awaits China’s decision on rollover of $2b loan that matured last week

pr ofIt

r e u t e r s

China is working on a request by Pakistan to roll over a $2-b llion loan that matured last week a top finance ministr y off cial told Reuters

The rollover is crit ca for the countr y as ts foreign exchange reser ves have dipped to just four weeks ’ worth of imports at a time when it is ocked in talks with the Internationa Monetar y Fund (IMF) to secure bailout funds

It is a work in progress, the offic a sa d n a text message on Wednesday on condit on of anonym ty Formal documentation is under way A formal announcement w l be made the source added but gave no further deta ls The loan matured on March 23

As Pakistan struggles to avert a default on its obligations, the only help so far has come from ongtime ally Beij ng through a ref nancing of $1 8 b llion already credited to the State Bank of Pak stan (SBP)

The IMF fund ng is critical to un ock other external financing avenues and the two have been negotiating since early Februar y to resume $1 1 billion in funding held since November part of a $6 5 b l ion bailout agreed in 2019

One of the lender s last remaining conditions for the release of the tranche is securing an assurance on external f nancing to fund the countr y s ba ance of payments

Meanwhile the government on Wednesday said to have achieved progress in external financing from Saudi Arab a and the Un ted Arab Emirates The statement came from Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr Aisha Ghaus

Pasha before a parliamentar y panel on a day

UAE s ambassador in Islamabad Hamad Obaid Ibrah m Sa im Al-Zaabi met Finance

Min ster Ishaq Dar and expressed UAE’s interest in augmenting and furthering investment in var ous sectors of the economy of Pakistan

Testifying before the Senate Standing Comm ttee on Finance and later talking to journalists Dr Pasha said there has been some progress from Saudi Arab a and UAE on external f nanc ng the only pending thing after the completion of techn ca negotiations

There are some ind cations that someth ng is coming ver y shortly and the matters with IMF are close to settlement as the Fund had been look ng for comm tments from the brotherly countries There has been some progress on that, she reiterated without elaborating but added that a trust defic t had been delaying the SLA w th IMF

Responding to a question she said Pakistan s external financ ng needs were higher but support from fr endly countries fol owed by the IMF tranche wou d unb ock flows from other multilateral agencies and the matters wou d move for ward towards normalcy

l a h o r e s e h r: 4:33 a M i f t a r: 6:22 P M pr ofIt M o n i to r n g D e s k

5:10 a M i f t a r: 6:47 P M f i q a h-e-j a f a r i a

F o r ex r e s e r v e s d e c r e a s e b y $ 3 4 5 m t o $ 4 . 2 b

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced that ts foreign exchange reser ves decreased by $354 m llion to $4 2 bill on as of the week ended March 24 ending their s x-week winn ng streak Th s leaves Pakistan with an mport cover of less than a month M e a n w h i l e c o m m e r c i a l b a n k s h o l d n e t f o r e x r e s e r v e s o f $ 5 6 b i l l o n b r i n g i n g t h e c o u n t r y s t o t a l l q u i d f o r e g n e x c h a n g e r e s e r v e s t o $ 9 8 b i l l i o n Pakistan s $350 bi lion economy is strugg ing and the countr y is currently in ta ks w th the International Monetar y Fund (IMF) to resume a $1 1 b llion loan tranche This loan is part of a $6 5 b llion Extended Fund Faci ity (EFF) agreed upon in 2019 The IMF funding is crit cal for Pakistan to un ock other external financing avenues and avo d default ng on ts obligat ons

The IMF has stated that substantial progress has been made in discussions towards pol cies n recent days and financial assurances are standard in IMF programs Pak stan must provide f rm and credible assurances that there is sufficient financing to ensure its balance of payments are fully f nanced in the next 12 months w th good prospects for financing over the remainder of the program

To help Pakistan fund ts balance of payments, several friendly countr es ncluding Saudi Arabia China and the UAE have made commitments

The IMF s D rector of Strateg c Communications has stressed the importance of timely financial assistance from external partners to support the authorities policy efforts and ensure the successful completion of the review with Pakistan

amid uproar, senate stamps bills to ‘clip’ CJP ’s power

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

The Senate passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) B ll 2023 which seeks to strip the chief just ce of powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity on Thursday The bill received 60 votes in favour and 19 against The cab net had approved the bill on March 28 and the National Assembly passed it with amendments suggested by the Standing Committee on

Law and Justice the following day

The proposed amendments to the Supreme Court ’s rules have generated fresh debate in legal and political circles and it s expected that the bi l may be challenged by the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the apex judicial forum

A s t h e b i l l w a s p r e s e n t e d b y La w M i n i s t e r A z a m N a z i r Ta r a r s t r o n g o p p os i t i o n w a s w i t n e s s e d f r o m P T I m e m b e r s w h o r a i s e d b a n n e r s a g a i n s t a t t a c k s o n t h e j u d i c a r y

The bil al ows appeals to be made w th n 30 days of an order from a bench exercising jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution The appea w ll go to a larger bench of the Supreme Court, and w ll be heard within 14 days

The r ght of appeal will a so app y to aggrieved persons aga nst whom an order has been made under the aforement oned clause prior to the commencement of the law prov ded that the appeal s fi ed within 30 days of the commencement of the act

The b ll also aims to ensure the r ght to a free trial and due process of law as enshrined under Article 10-A of the Constitution Dur ng h s presentation Tarar said that the indiscriminate use of the law should be stopped, and that the bill ncludes the right to appeal adding that it was time for Parliament to legislate on it

The m nister argued there has been a new trend in the Supreme Court in the past two decades where the court became dependent on an individua rather than co lective thinking

He sa d that the jur sd ction of Article 106 of the Const tution needed to be restructured to reflect collective thinking He a so highlighted that there were demands in the recent Senate sessions to solve the issue of excess ve use of Art cle 184(3) which he claimed was causing losses worth bill ons of dollars

The bill aims to solve the issue by limiting the power of one person to constitute benches and instead promote collective thinking to strengthen nst tutions, Tarar said

N at i o N p i N s h o p e o N s C t o g et pa k i s ta N o u t o f C r i s i s : Q u r e s h i

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

pA K I S TA N Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

leadership reiterated on Thursday that they would stand with the Supreme Court (SC) in all circumstances and hoped that the constitution would stand victorious amid the imported government s constant efforts to put a crack within the judges of the apex court

Talking to media here on Thursday PTI

Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi flanked by PTI Central Secretary General

Asad Umar and PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that the entire nation pinned hope on the apex court to get the country out of the prevailing numerous crises

Qureshi expressed the hope that

eventually the constitution would win adding that it was PTI s stated and principled position from the day one to respect democratic values

He stated that efforts were afoot to create such a situation in order to delay the polls because the political rivals didn’t have the courage to face the PTI in the political arena

Qureshi went to say that according to PTI’s lawyers the powers of the SC can be extended but cannot be curtailed or limited

He said that people of Pakistan were very intelligent and they were well-aware of the priorities of the rulers who put the country into the worst crises for their own vested and petty political mileage

Speaking on the occasion Asad Umar said that Pakistan s constitution was in danger and no one should be doubted in this

ISLAMABAD a h m a d a h m a da n i

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has advised dissolution of Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET) mainly owing to the poor performance in promoting renewable energy in the country, it was learnt on Wednesday Sources privy to the development informed that PM Shahbaz Sharif has advised dissolution of the PCRET due to its poor performance They pointed out that the PCRET failed to promote renewable energy in the country since its inception 22 years ago The PCRET is adjudged to have failed to deliver on its responsibilities envisaged for its establishment the sources said and added that after the PM s advice it has been decided to transfer assets owned by the PCRET to Pakistan Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (PCSIR) of the Ministry of Science and Technology They claimed that nonpromotion of renewable energy in the country has caused huge losses to the national exchequer “There is enormous renewable energy potential available in the country which can be utilized for industrial growth to overcome the energy shortage while PCRET could not utilize the renewable potential ” the sources elaborated Though PCRET has developed technologies to harness the power of wind bio-gas and solar energy its contributions to help the government overcome energy crisis is minimal sources added According to the sources the committee headed by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Government Effectiveness Dr Jahanzeb Khan has completed the preliminary task as renewable energy could not be promoted due to PCRET s poor performance Available copy of an Office Memorandum dated March 27, 2023 of the Cabinet Division, said that the meeting of a committee constituted on the subject titled as:“Dissolution of Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET) and Transfer of Assets to Pakistan Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (PCSIR)” was held with SAPM Dr Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan in the chair on March 28 at 10am in the Committee Room No 2060 of the Cabinet Division took decision in this regard

Jit to probe cases against pti leaders formed

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

The federal government formed a Joint Investigation

Team (JIT) to probe the cases against Pakistan

Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders The JIT chief summoned PTI leaders, including Hammad Azhar, Farrukh Habib Fawad Chaudhry Ejaz Chaudhary

Musarrat Jamshed Cheema others at Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) office at 11 am tomorrow All PTI leaders will record their statement before JIT tomorrow sources said The JIT will investigate the 10 cases registered against PTI leaders and workers

regard now He said that the constitution was a social contract and if this contract was broken, nothing would be left, adding that PTI would stand with the constitution in all circumstances Asad condemned the attempts to create fissure within judges of the superior court of the country He warned that attack on the SC from outside would be construed as an attack on Pakistan

He stated that whatever the ruling of the apex court the whole of Pakistan including PTI would support it Talking to media on the occasion Fawad Chaudhry made it clear that it was constitutional and legal obligation to hold polls within 90 days after dissolution of the assemblies He raised question that what magic would happen in Pakistan that everything would be fine in six months that PDM would

go for polls He said that there was no possibility as the imported government was shying away from conducting elections, fearing drubbing defeat Fawad stated that they were hell-bent to defeat the SC, adding that they stood with the Chief Justice of Pakistan He stated that holding polls in October meant that incumbent government would come to end on August 10 Fawad expressed his shock that the imported government did not comply with the orders of the SC He stated that Pakistan s economic problems would further exacerbate whether or not the imported government succeeded in striking deal with the IMF Fawad predicted that PDM s return to politics was unlikely, as crooked politicians had no political future

L ahore ATC grants bail to Hassaan Niazi in terrorism c ase

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Lahore on Thursday granted bail to Barrister Hassaan Khan

Niazi, the nephew and focal persons on legal affairs to former Prime Minister Imran Khan Niazi has been accused of involvement in the Zille Shah murder case, attacking police officials, creating law and order situations, and setting state property on fire After hearing arguments, the court approved bail plea of PTI leader

Yesterday a local court in Karachi acquitted Hassaan Niazi in a case for inciting people to revolt against national institutions

The District East Police produced Niazi before judicial magistrate in Karachi (East) in a case lodged against him on the complaint of a citizen named Muhammad Iqbal in the Jamshaid Quarters police station It is important to mention here that Barrister Hassan, the nephew of former prime minister Imran Khan, was first arrested by Islamabad police from outside Judicial Complex, despite securing bail L h c o r d e r s p r o d u c T i o n o f a z h a r M a s h wa n i i n c o u rT: Meanwhile, The Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered to produce Azhar Mashwani the focal person on Digital Media to PTI chief Imran Khan in the court on Thursday Mashwani went missing on March 23 whereas his wife wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial to take notice

As per details justice Aliya Neelum heard the plea filed by Azhar Mashwani s brother Mazharul

Hassan The Lahore High Court also summoned record of the case registered against him E a r l i e r t h e L a h o r e H i g h C o u r t ( L H C ) w a s moved for the recovery of Azhar Mashwani the focal person on Digital Media to PTI chief Imran K h a n A z h a r S i d d i q s a d v o c a t e h a s m o v e d t h e p l e a f o r t h e r e c o v e r y o f A z h a r M a s h w a n i i n t h e high court The plea stated that basic human rights are being violated, six days have passed but there i s n o c l u e a b o u t M a s h w a n i “ A s p e r l a w, t h e suspect has to be presented before the court within 24 hours of arrest ” T h e f o r m e r p r i m e m i n i s t e r a n d P a k i s t a n Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan had a l s o c o n d e m n e d t h e a b d u c t i o n o f t h e p a r t y s s o c i a l m e d i a h e a d M a s h w a n i c a s t i g a t i n g Islamabad and Punjab police for breaking all the laws with impunity

NAB submits questionnaire in IHC for reply from Imran in Toshakhana c ase

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday submitted a 12-point questionnaire to Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking reply from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan in Toshakhana case

According to details the accountability watchdog submitted a questionnaire to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in connection with the investigation into Toshakhana case against the former premier The NAB has asked the PTI chairman to provide receipts of the sale of gifts and photos of the gifts he received from the Toshakhana as evidence The NAB also sought details of gifts allegedly sold at the Islamabad Sector F-7 shop

Some of the questions put forward to Imran Khan are: How many gifts did you receive as the Prime Minister of Pakistan? How many times have you sold gifts from Toshakhana? What gifts did you sell? When and to whom did you sell gifts? Were there any middlemen or women involved in these transactions? Provide details of each person involved in the purchase and sale of your gifts To be told, the

proceeds from the sale of gifts were taken in the form of cash or through the banks?

Earlier in the day, Imran Khan was granted exemption from appearance in the Toshakhana case being heard by a district and sessions court in the federal capital Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal announced the ruling after hearing arguments from former prime minister ’s legal team and prosecutor Amjad Parvez During the hearing the PTI chief s lawyer filed an exemption plea for three days and argued that the Islamabad bar was holding protests for three days T h e c a s e: The Toshakhana issue became a major sticking point in national politics after the Election Commission of Pakistan disqualified the PTI chief for making false statements and incorrect declaration last month The judgment added that the former premier was found to be indulged in corrupt practices under sections 167 and 173 of the constitution “A criminal proceeding will be initiated against him over filing a false statement ” “As per the statement of Imran Khan he had purchased the gifts from Toshakhana paying Rs21 564 million while the Cabinet Division said that the gifts had a value of Rs107 943 million

He expressed alarm that if the imported government did not implement the constitution and kept on resisting to hold polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), it would simply mean that an unconstitutional setup would be established in Pakistan, which would last not for a year or two but as long as it can However, he warned that any such move can trigger a civil war in the country and no one would be able to stop it Fawad suggested that the only way to get the country out of the prevailing challenges was to hold polls within the stipulated 90 days He went on to say that the system in the country was being run through coercion and cruelty as pressure was being put not only on the magistrates but even on the judges of the Supreme Court Fawad stated that the gravity of the situation could be judged that the court decisions were being thrown into the trash, as despite lapse of seven days, Azhar Mashwani has not been produced, while Hassan Khan Niazi was caught within 15 minutes in another case after securing bail H e s t a t e d t h a t d i v i d i n g t h e j u d g e s w a s a n o l d p r a c t i c e a n d t a c t i c s o f P M L - N a n d t h i s w o u l d n o t o n l y h a r m t h e a p e x c o u r t b u t w o u l d r u i n t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n o f P a k i s t a n a l t o g e t h e r

NtDC approves rs500,000/month executive allowance for newly-posted MD

ISLAMABAD a h m a d a h m a da n i

The Board of Director (BoD) of National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) has approved Rs500 000 per month as management allowance for the Managing Director of NTDC with immediate effect Available copy of NTDC notification said that BoD of NTDC in its 242nd meeting held on March 16, 2023, has unanimously resolved and approved the management allowance for regular internal candidates As per details, Rs500,000 per month for the position of Managing Director, Rs300,000/month for the position of Deputy Managing Director and Rs200,000/month for the Manager level position i e Chief Financial Officer, Company Secretary (CS) According to NTDC notification the newlyappointed MD and CFO will be entitled to above Management Allowance with effect from the joining dates as MD and CFO respectively

fBr detains 2,380,000 sticks of non-dut y paid cigarettes

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has detained 238 cartons containing approximately 2,380,000 sticks of Non-duty paid/counterfeited cigarettes of different brands namely “Tender”, “Honda”, “Market” & “Visa”

Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation Inland

Revenue Islamabad under the supervision of Barrister Nowsherwan Khan Director I&I-IR has detained 238 cartons containing approximately 2 380 000 sticks of Non-duty paid/counterfeited cigarettes of different brands namely Tender , Honda , Market & Visa in ongoing nation-wide campaign against illicit trade of Non-Duty paid & counterfeited cigarettes The tobacco squad of I&I-IR Islamabad, headed by Suhail Abbas Deputy Director I&I-IR Islamabad received credible information about the stock of illegal cigarettes Pursuant upon said information tobacco squad raided a godown which was situated near the area of Pandora (Rawalpindi), a dense populated residential area of Rawalpindi, and successfully detained approximately 2,380,000 sticks of non-duty paid/counterfeited cigarettes packaged in packrites of local made brands such as “Tender” “Honda” “Market” & “Visa” etc contained in corrugated cartons from a person namely Behram Ali s/o Rashid Ali who failed to produce any proof of payment of duty & taxes against said goods During the on spot checking, said goods were also found to be without tax stamps In the absence of any legitimate proof regarding duty & taxes payment, said goods have been detained under the provisions of Federal Excise Act 2005 r/w Rule 63 of the FE Rules 2005 for further investigation Further investigation is underway

Ready to accept economic diffic ulties are of ‘our own making’, Bilawal tells diplomatic corps

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday said he was “ready to accept that a lot of the difficulties are of ‘our’ own making” referring collectively to the economic policies adopted by the previous government We are facing economic consequences of certain decisions that are not in our control The people are facing the devastating impact of a climate catastrophe in the face of floods in the occurrence of which they played little to no role at all The younger generation especially is facing the consequences of decisions that they did not make said the foreign minister while addressing an Iftaar dinner hosted at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Islamabad-based Diplomatic Corps Bilawal said the economic quagmire that has been caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is not only faced by Pakistan, but the entire world

The geopolitical situation in the world as well has added to the growing list of consequences faced by the globe

He said that the holy month of Ramadan is one in which Muslims all over the globe observe fasting These efforts as Muslims are supposed to encourage us towards feeling for those that are less fortunate less privileged and who do not enjoy access to regular food and luxuries that are usually taken for granted he added FM Chairman Bilawal said that there are people in all our societies not particularly in Pakistan who are facing incredibly difficult times In this particular month he said we are reminded that it is probable that the consequences of our actions are faced by those who are perhaps not as empowered as we are Therefore, we have the opportunity through which we can positively affect the lives of those who are less fortunate It should be our collective effort that we make it a point to minimize to the utmost

extent, the burden that is on the shoulders of the underprivileged Bilawal commended the efforts of the federal minister for the Benazir Income Support Programme, Shazia Marri towards eradicating poverty as the head of the first and only safety net for the poorest of the poor especially women in particular “We have witnessed the incredible services rendered as a result of the BISP’s existence during the Covid-19 pandemic to bolster the dwindling hopes of the people When the floods came the most effective means of getting support to the vulnerable was through the BISP” “As we are persevering through the economic turmoil while the finance ministry is still in talks with the IMF as well as having the monumental task of rehabilitating flood victims ahead of us this government is consistently trying within the space that it h a s t o p r o v i d e t h e m o s t b e n e f i t s t o t h o s e a t t h e b o t t o m o f t h e pyramid ” Foreign Minister said

pM advises dissolution of pCret owing to ‘poor per formance’

p r e s i D e N t a lv i D i r e C t s va r s i t y t o pay

p e N s i o N s h a r e o f r et i r e D p r o f e s s o r

a n d f a i t h f u l s e r v i c e , a n d t h e d e p r i v a t i o n o r d e l a y i n t h e g r a n t o f t h i s r i g h t c o u l d n o t b e p e r m i t t e d , e x c e p t i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e l a w As per details Professor Dr Ali Asghar

C h i s h t i ( t h e c o m p l a i n a n t ) h a d s e r v e d a t t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l I s l a m i c U n i v e r s i t y I s l a m a b a d ( I I U I ) f r o m J u n e 1 9 8 5 t o

August 1999 as a faculty member and he j o i n e d A l l a m a I q b a l O p e n U n i v e r s i t y

h a t p e n s i o n w a s a h a r d - e a r n e d r i g h t t h a t a c c r u e d t o a n e m p l o y e e b y d i n t o f h i s l o n g , c o n t i n u o u s

(AIOU) after applying through the proper channel A fter his retirement from A IO U

i n 2 0 2 0 , h e m a d e t h e r e q u e s t t o I I U I f o r the transfer of pension share but the same w a s n o t d o n e d e s p i t e t h e i s s u a n c e o f a letter of liability in his favour S u b s e q u e n t l y h e a p p r o a c h e d t h e

M o h t a s i b d i r e c t i n g I I U I t o t r a n s f e r t h e p e n s i o n s h a r e o f t h e c o m p l a i n a n t a s p e r h i s r e q u e s t a n d b a s e d h i s o r d e r o n a decision of the Supreme Court He stated t h a t i t w a s a n a d m i t t e d f a c t t h a t p e n s i o n was not a bounty but rather an employee e a r n e d i t b y d i n t o f h i s l o n g c o n t i n u o u s and faithful service H e a d d e d t h a t t h e h a r d - e a r n e d r i g h t t h a t a c c r u e d t o a n e m p l o y e e w a s i n t h e n a t u r e o f p r o p e r t y a n d c o n s t i t u t e d a f u n d a m e n t a l r i g h t t o l i v e l i h o o d u n d e r The

A r t i c l e 9 o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n o f P a k i s t a n H e s t r e s s e d t h a t t h e d e p r i v a t i o n , e v e n a p a r t o f t h i s a m o u n t , c o u l d n o t b e p e r m i t t e d , e x c e p t i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e l a w

President also cited another judgement of the Supreme Court dated 21 02 2013 wherein Government Departments Agencies and Officers had been directed to not cause unnecessary hurdle or delay in finalizing the payment of pensionary/retirement benefits in f

Z ak aria urges adoption of digitalization as citizen-centric national polic y for effec tive governance

review progress of SDGs

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Executive Director COMSATS, Ambassador Dr

Nafees Zakaria urged that governments should adopt digitalization as citizen-centric national policy for efficient and effective governance

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

A MoU signed here on Thursday to promote Chinese language teaching in Pakistan Signing ceremony was held between Baluchistan Government and Taaleem Foundation at Baluchistan House Islamabad Mr Abdul Aziz Uqaili Chief Secretary Baluchistan was also present on the occasion Through this MOU the Kharan Institute the B-TEVTA institute is handed over to Taaleem Foundation through public private partnership This project is jointly developed by Tang Pakistan and Taaleem foundation through months of efforts where the Tang s advanced Technical Courses and Chinese language programs will be taught in the remote areas of Baluchistan This ceremony was headed by Mr Uqaili Baluchistan Government Chief Secretary, Mr Tariq Qamar Baluchistan Secretary Labor and Manpower, Dr Zafar Qadir, Chairman ‘Taaleem Foundation’ High-level Delegations of World Bank, European Union and others Chief Secretary was briefed in detail about the Tang Education and its Services in Pakistan and specially for Baluchistan for skill development and poverty elevation programs through Tang High quality advanced discipline and Chinese language and Cultural programs Kharan Institute is the first in line and five more institutes of Baluchistan TEVTA will be handed over for public Private partnership Chief Secretary Baluchistan and Secretary Labour and Manpower thanked and appreciated the Tang efforts and assured all the Support

imran granted exemption from appearance in toshakhana case

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

A district and sessions court in the federal capital approved a plea by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Thursday seeking exemption from appearing in the foreign gifts or Toshakhana case The ruling was announced by Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal after hearing arguments from both the former prime minister s legal team and prosecutor Amjad Parvez in the case

He was addressing the 22nd Session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) which is a technical advisory body of the UN responsible for supporting the work of its Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) concerning the promotion and development of public administration and governance among Member States particularly in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in support of the implementation and

The Executive Director COMSATS was invited to share expert views on Stimulating public sector innovation through digital technology and measuring the impact of digital government The thematic session, Urgently transforming institutions for a greener, more inclusive and more resilient world at a time of multiple crises, was held yesterday at UN Headquarters, New York

Referring to the imminent economic crisis, Ambassador Zakaria said that the real challenge would be how we use technology to lessen its impact He suggested that digitalization should be pursued by the governments as a national policy initiative He noted that digitalization helped a great deal during the Pandemic COVID19 and that it bridged the work gap

D i s s e n t i n g n o te : ‘J u d g e s c a n’t r a i s e o b j e c t i o n s to c o n s t i t u t i o n o f b e n c h e s ’

COntInuED fROM pAgE 01

However Justice Waheed had disagreed with the judgment

In a separate five-page dissenting note Justice Waheed said that the case at hand merited the bench to pass a regulatory order

He noted that the attorney general had asked for an adjournment in order to file a concise statement while the PMDC had told the court that the regulation in question had been withdrawn and asked for time to bring it on record

So, in my view, the requests for adjournment alone were to be considered by the bench, and our order ought to have been confined to it This means a regulatory order was to be passed On the contrary, I find that the said requests have been left unattended but certain other points have been discussed in the order which has led me to record this dissenting note he said

Justice Waheed said the first point to be examined was whether the objection to the constitution of this bench could be brought under consideration in this case

I think it cannot for two reasons One a bench special or regular, is constituted by an administrative order of the hon ble chief justice, and as such, the present bench [ ] has been lawfully constituted to hear this case

“It is to be noted that judgment in the suo moto case no 4 of 2021 is of a five-member bench and thus, takes precedence over all precedents of this court regarding the power of the Hon’ble chief justice to constitute any kind of benches ”

He noted that neither the attorney general nor the PMDC s counsel had any objections regarding the constitution of the bench hearing the case

Given these circumstances in my humble view none of the judges of this bench can object to the constitution of the bench and if they do so their status immediately becomes that of the complainant, and consequently, it would not be appropriate for them to hear this case and pass any kind of order thereon This reasoning has the backing of the basic code of judicial ethics, to wit, no man can be a judge in their own cause It is important to state here that this principle confines not merely to the cause where the judge is an actual party to a case but also applies to a case in which he has an interest ”

He argued that judicial propriety stated that if any judge of the bench had any objection they would either recuse themselves of refer the matter to the CJP so that the case could be assigned to another bench

ISLAMABAD S ta f f

R e p o R t

According to detail, a total number of kits distributed has gone up to 50,000 and 350,000 Individuals were benefited from these NFI packages Each NFI kit comprises of 2 blankets, a Shelter

ATC

Justice Waheed also said that the administrative order of the hon ble chief justice regarding the constitution of the bench becomes fait accompli when a judge in compliance thereof starts hearing the case “Hence, any member of this bench, after having accepted the administrative order of the hon’ble chief justice, is estopped to question the constitution of the bench on the well known doctrine of estoppel (the principle which precludes a person from asserting something contrary to what is implied by a previous action or statement or by a previous pertinent judicial order)

The judge also addressed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority s (Pemra) prohibition on the broadcasting and rebroadcasting of content pertaining to the conduct of sitting high court and Supreme Court judges on electronic media, which was criticised by the other two members of the bench

He stated that the question was not “agitated” by any lawyer but brought under discussion by a senior member of the bench while copies of the prohibition order were also presented to the rest of the bench the attorney general and the PMDC’s counsel by the judge’s clerk

Although much can be said on this question it suffices to say that it would be otiose to discuss it here as it was neither urged by any counsel nor was it raised in the pleadings In fact no party was on notice to address on this question

Pemra was also not in attendance to present the rationale of the prohibition order Therefore, in my view, the principle of fairness obliges us not to express a definite opinion on this question until all concerned have had an opportunity of being heard ”

The judge further said that another reason why he did not endorse the observations of the other two members of the bench was because “I hold the view that no court should try any question and also pass order thereon which is not directly and substantially in issue in a case pending before it

In the case at hand the matter in issue is whether the memorisation of the Holy Quran is a relevant criteria for the determination of the candidates for an MBBS or BDS degree Indubitably, the above-stated second question is not related to the issue involved in this case, and thus, it cannot be brought under debate, nor can any conclusion be drawn thereon

created by mandatory social distancing and isolation by transforming remote working to put the global economy back on track to a great extent

Noting the widening technological gap and the capacity between the developed and developing countries, he suggested joint efforts to bridge knowledge, technology and resource gap He remarked that COMSATS is pursuing the objective of selfreliance by way of exploiting the knowledge and scientific strengths of the COMSATS member states

He also informed the gathering that COMSATS has launched and executed successful transformation citizen-centric programs that enable and improve collaboration between citizens government entities and relevant private sector industry participants and that COMSATS is open to partnership

fawad Ch hails as lhC strikes down sedition law

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf

(PTI) Senior Vice President and former minister Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday hailed as “historic” the Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict whereby it struck down Section 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code that pertains to sedition Fawad took to twitter and retweeted Advocate Abuzar Salman Niazi s tweet, who moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the colonial-era law Congratulations, Salman Niazi, you have done a huge service to the nation Shaheed Arshad Sharif must be smiling in the heavens stay blessed,” wrote Fawad Ch in his tweet He said: “the Lahore High Court declared Section 124-A of the criminal law in conflict with the Constitution, whereby recognising the constitutional right to criticise state institutions ” “This decision will end dozens of politically-motivated cases including case against me It is a very high decision that recognizes freedom Fawad Ch noted Earlier in the day Justice Shahid Karim of the LHC pronounced the verdict that invalidated Section 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code commonly known as sedition law which pertains to the crime of sedition or inciting disaffection against the government Justice Karim pronounced the decision in response to identical petitions seeking annulment of the law A written ruling will be issued later The law states: “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Federal or Provincial Government established by law shall be punished with imprisonment for life to which fine may be added or with imprisonment which may extend to three years to which fine may be added or with fine The petitioners urged the court to declare Section 124-A of the PPC as ultra-vires in terms of Article 8 of the Constitution being inconsistent with and in derogation of fundamental rights provided under Article 9, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 19, 19A of the Constitution They argued that the law has been recklessly used as a tool of exploitation to curb the right to free speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution

punjab raises minimum wage to rs32,000

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

Kit with plastic Mat, Kitchen Set with jerry can and antibacterial soaps All these relief packages were distributed in collaboration with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) with the help of registered NGOs (implementing partners) and local government This project comes under the umbrella of humanitarian projects by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia represented by King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center to assist needy families living in Pakistan

pESHAWAR S ta f f R e p o R t An anti-terrorism cour t ( AT C ) o n T h u r s d a y g r a n t e d b a i l t o a n a c c u s e d i n L a t i f A f r i d i m u r d e r c a s e S e a s o n e d l a w y e r a n d f o r m e r p r e s i d e n t o f S u p r e m e C o u

r t B a r A s s o c i a t i o n ( S C B A ) L a t i f A f r i d i w a s

High

Peshawar

b a r r o o m o n M o n d a y J a n u a r y 1 6 ATC granted bail to Adil advocate w h o w a s c h a rg e d o f f a c i l i t a t i o n i n m u r d e r o f A b d u l L a t i f A f r i d i T h e c o u r t o r d e r e d a c c u s e d A d i l t o s u b m i t Rs one lac surety bond for his release o n b a i l T h r e e s u s p e c t s Z a k i r F a w a d a n d A d i l w e r e a c c u s e d o f f a c i l i t a t i n g t h e m u r d e r

On the directions of Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, the provincial government has increased the minimum wage to Rs 32,000 A notification to this effect was also issued by the Punjab government According to a notification, the minimum wage has been raised by Rs 7,000 to Rs 32,000 which will come into effect with immediately The minimum wage was fixed at 25 000 earlier Last year the Punjab govt announced a 30pc increase in the salaries of government employees

Mou signed to promote Chinese language teaching

02-03 NEWS-31 MARCH_Layout 1 3/31/2023 1:03 AM Page 2

Death of DSP and three others in `terrorist attack por trays police under siege

TH AT terrorists have been emboldened enough to attack a DSP and his guards, killing them, in an attack in Lakki Marwat, KP, shows that the TTP thinks itself able to take on the state itself The ieD attack took place as the DSP and his guard rushed to the Saddar police station which was itself under attack That attack ended at the cost of six policemen injured A head constable and five constables This fits in with a pattern of terrorist attacks on the KP police There was the blast at the Peshawar Police Lines Mosque, which led to 100 policemen being killed and more recently was the attack on a check-post in Dera ismail Khan district These attacks have not yet proliferated in the Punjab but are beginning to spill over, with an attack in February on a police station in Makarwal, Mianwali district The same month saw another attack in that district, when the Counter-Terrorism Department in Kalabagh was attacked The attack on the Karachi police’s office was of the same pattern There was great jubilation in 20220 when the Taliban took over in Kabul, and it was predicted confidently that the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan would now be easy to control instead, they seem to have increased their attacks

Another problem which merely worsens the situation is that both KP and Punjab presently have caretaker governments and a firm hand at the tiller is lacking This is one purpose of a caretaker government, handling the law and order situation and strikes directly at its primary function, creating the appropriately peaceable atmosphere for free and fair elections Both provincial governments have claimed that the terrorist threat is such that it does not allow the holding of elections Such attacks merely strengthen their case even though it seems that they can do little more than wring their hands futile

Parliament still has a little while to run, and there is still time for the government to take it into confidence, and build a national consensus to tackle this menace That a DSP was killed is no small thing and should act as a wake-up call for the government if this attack is taken with the oxlike stoicism that has been shown so far, the terrorists will be emboldened to make even more daring attacks, and hit higher-value targets Does any government, federal or provincial, caretaker or permanent, want that to happen?

Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami

Yousaf Nizami Editor

NO case seems more relevant to the present imbroglio about the Punjab and KP Assembly elections than Marbury vs Madison even though it took place in the USA over two centuries ago The US Supreme Court invented the principle of judicial review to avoid passing an order that would have been disobeyed The US Supreme Court if it followed the law as it stood, would have to rule in favour of Marbury, and thus against the government, in the person of james Madison then the Secretary of State now the government had made it clear that it had no intention of obeying The Supreme Court came up with a novel way of rejecting Marbury’s suit it ruled it did not have jurisdiction because certain clauses of the judicature Act clashed with the Constitution For the first time ever a court ruled as ultra vires of the Constitution and thus void sections of a law duly passed b y t h e l e g i s l a t u r e T h u s j u d i c i a l r e v i e w w a s i n -

v e n t e d ( a n d i n c i d e n t a l l y, M a r b u r y ’s p e t i t i o n w a s thrown out Perhaps more importantly for the future of the Supreme Court it had passed an order which would not be disobeyed

The Pakistani Supreme Court has come to its own Marbury moment Apart from whether the Court will be obeyed or not the national Assembly has passed the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act which restricts the powers of the Chief justice in taking suo motu notice and constituting benches Will the Supreme Court abuse the power of judicial review to overturn this law?

i t s e e m s a g r e a t c r i s i s i s a l r e a d y b r e w e d u p

T h e C o n s t i t u t i o n i s c l e a r i f a n A s s e m b l y i s d i ss o l v e d , e l e c t i o n s t o a f r e s h A s s e m b l y m u s t t a k e p l a c e i n 9 0 d a y s T h e P T i a t t h e m o m e n t f e e l s i t would win big The PDM parties while presently seeming to enjoy the sweets office seem to agree However, the Constitution does not make any allowance for political imperatives

The eCP has been known to delay the odd byelection beyond the 90-day limit because of the law and order situation However, this is the first time it has used this allowance to postpone an entire general election its decision also seems to have solved the dilemma of the KP governor, who was told he had to give an election date, and who gave the same reasons of security in saying that October 8 was fine with him

October 8 does not fall into a political timeframe in the sense that anything is expected to happen by then which will make the elections more viable There is nothing beyond an apparently vague hope that the law and order situation will have improved There is no reassuring statement that some operation is to be completed that some target is to be achieved, such as a criminal captured or area swept by security forces, before polls could be held

Saudi-Iran truce: Why now?

A

Be i j i n g brokered a truce between iran and Saudi Arabia to reconcile the seven years estrangement between the two countries On March 10 the world got surprised by the historical and influential move of China to bring the two nations at loggerheads to the table of negotiations Synchronically, a series of events escalated the tensions between the two countries leading to regional and global instability for several years Certain instances are; the Arab spring 2011, the Yemen war 2015, the prosecution of Shiite cleric Sheikh nimr al nimr by Saudi Arabia in 2016 and the attack on statesponsored oil refineries in Saudi Arabia in 2019, for which Riyadh blamed Tehran These instances and global power proxies significantly deteriorated bilateral relations between them, leading to regional instability, proxies and foreign interventions Several initiatives were taken to renegotiate between them so as to de-escalate the entire region One important reconciliation effort took place in Baghdad in 2021 where five rounds of talks were held but unfortunately did not produce any fruitful results Recent developments by China surprised the world in many ways

Firstly China is leaning towards the region filling the gap which the USA has provided, by neglecting the region The USA welcomes the deal for regional stability However it is a setback for the USA s leading role in the world because in the past such deals were brokered by Washington

Secondly This deal also negated israeli PM Benjamin netanyahu s foreign policy of completely isolating iran, and extending the Abraham Accords to Saudi Arabia However the Un welcomed the move for global and regional peace The spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reported i want to welcome on behalf of the Secretary-general the joint tripartite statement by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the islamic Republic of iran and the People s Republic of China, made today in Beijing announcing an agreement reached between iran and Saudi Arabia to resume diplomatic relations within two months

Despite the appreciation there is a saying that nature abhors a vacuum Therefore China doesn t miss any opportunity to compete with the USA, and it s evident from the current tripartite normalisation deal There are many motivating factors behind this deal between the two divergent nations and China: the first and most important factor is the changing economic priorities of Saudi Arabia

Traditionally it was reliant on oil but the climate catastrophe and lowering dependency on hydrocarbons compelled it to diversify the economy and trade relations and seek the attention of China Bilateral trade between the two was around $87 billion in 2021 China roughly

Lahore

imports 36 percent of its energy from Saudi Arabia so Chinese influence and trade compulsions brought Saudi Arabia to the table

On the other hand, iran has been struggling with international isolation for many years, so to escape isolation in the era of globalization iran held talks with Saudi Arabia Further they also have economic interests, trade relations and infrastructure development behind the deal

Secondly China believes in soft power they continuously explore markets, invest in various countries and connect as well control the trade routes So these goals will only be

Overall, Beijing brokered a peace deal between two Middle Eastern powers that will bring peace , stability, harmony and financial diversity to these countries as well as China. Likewise , enhanced Chinese influence in the region signalled the multipolarity of the world, and, the diversity of MBS’ foreign policy

T h e r e i s n o t e v e n a h i d d e n d e v e l o p m e n t t h e g o v e r n m e n t e x p e c t s t o m a k e i t m o r e c o n f i d e n t about going to the hustings Apart from the law and order situation, the eCP has mentioned the Finance M i n i s t r y ’s r e f u s a l t o g i v e i t t h e r e q u i r e d m o n e y What happens if the Finance Ministry when asked t o s t u m p u p f o r O c t o b e r 8 , s a y s t h a t t h i n g s h a v e not improved, it is still beholden to the iMF, and still doesn’t have the money? That is likelier than it s saying it now has money to burn after a miraculous turnaround

However, October8 does fall into a constitutional timeframe it would be a normal election date to be set for all four provincial and national assemblies when their term expired That is a date that the eCP is supposed to set it seems that the eCP has unveiled its thinking at this stage it appears that the new date would give the eCP something it has wanted all along: same-day elections There is no doubt that same-day elections are advantageous not only do they mean that there is a huge saving, with the only extra expense being the printing of ballot papers for two elections, but they prevent the political dislocations consequent upon separating national and provincial elections However saving is not supposed to be the objective in that case, it could be argued that elections should not be held at all which would be a great saving

There was a proposal in mid-18th century UK for the abolition of elections At that time, the life of Parliament was set at seven years and no gove r n m e n t e v e r l o s t a n e l e c t i o n T h e o u t s b e c a m e ins only in the Life of Parliament and manoeuvred their way into converting their minority into a min o r i t y A t t h e p e r i o d t h e g o v e r n m e n t n e v e r l o s t e l e c t i o n s , a n d t h e r e w a s n o n o n s e n s e a b o u t t h e i r being free and fair There was no alternating of parties The ministry was formed by Whigs supporters of the King and the government was formed by dissident Whigs winning the King’s favour The King was an active player in politics many because he wanted to keep out the Tories, who supported the Young and then the Old Pretender, an entirely different dynasty The Whigs had initially supported the House of Hanover not because they insisted on a Protestant succession, but because it meant they would enjoy the great offices of state The Tories did not support

the Stuarts because they were Legitimists, but because they had been excluded from office Crossings over were common as Whigs became Tories in anger at being excluded from office, and Tories became Whigs in return for office in short, British politics was as venal and self-interested as that seen in Pakistan in that era, it was proposed that the Commons be frozen that the general election be abolished and only bye-elections held which were of course much more manageable in exchange, members of the Commons were not be elevated to the peerage, which carried with it membership of the House of Lords not just for life but for one s descendants as well There are still almost 100 hereditary peers who hold membership of the Lords A member of the Commons famously said, i might not wish to be a peer, but maybe my son will so hope i can t give this up for him Such sentiments made the proposal flounder, and the UK stuck with a seven-year tenure The Constitution is based on the concept of elections They cannot be avoided Pakistan s history has shown that even when Martial Law was imposed military dictators had to turn to elections in the end if they lost the election, as Yahya did in 1970 and Musharraf in 2008 they soldiered on Yahya accepted the cost of losing half the country Musharraf created the Patriots from the PPP, and managed to get away with it it is difficult to see what objective factors the government sees The only thing that the government has is the polician’s professional optimism Like Charles Dickens Wilkins Micawber in D a vid C o p p er field , politicians believe:” Something will turn up ” it is perhaps apposite that most of Mr Micawber ’s troubles were because of a failure to pay his debts Pakistan is not yet at that stage, which is default, but is not just close butr in trouble with its lenders Mian Shahbaz Sharif has taken difficult decisions but has failed to get the loan programme restarted now, it seems, only that touching optimism allows the hope of a programme revival

There is one option but that is too destructive for the government to speak of, even i think of, and that is abandoning the Constitution While remaining within the parameters of the Constitution there have to be elections even the establishment cannot prevent that The government is trying to buy time, but it can’t do so forever

The writer is a member of staff

E d i t o r ’ s m a i l

S e n d y o u r l e t t e r s t o : L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r Pakistan Today, 4 - S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h L a h o re P a k i s t a n E - m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d t o Pakistan Today e x c l u s i v e l y

The dair y sector

PA K i S TA n is a growing economy Pakistan’s agriculture sector continues to be the largest sector and a dominant driving force for economic growth

The rural population seeks it as the main source of earning and a critical means to ensure food availability for people in both rural and urban areas Agricul-ture is also the main sector of the economy which provides raw material to industrial units, like textile, sugar, leather and feed mills in short, agriculture itself has export potential, like, say, in the shape of rice, and it is raw material provider to several export-oriented industries

According to a report by the Small and Medium enterprises

Development Authority (Smeda), titled Dairy and Livestock Sector of Pakistan’, the livestock subsector is contributing 60-70 per cent to valueadded agriculture and 11 53pc to the national gross domestic product (gDP) it is comparatively less inconsistent in terms of output compared to the other agriculture subsectors in fact Pakistan ranks among top five milk producing countries globally Dairy and livestock sector comprises around 80 million cows and buffaloes and 100 million sheep and goats, producing more than 60 million tonnes of milk besides producing, among other things, meat and hides

achieved through influence, peace and good relations with neighbouring countries Hence this deal reflects the success of China

Thirdly, This accord also shows the changing security landscape and multi-polarity of the world Traditionally Saudi Arabia has been dependent on the USA for its security needs But the changing dynamics of the world in terms of polarity from uni- to multi-polarity compelled it to engage all the players like China and Russia as well, and it seems a rational and balanced foreign policy of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman Besides the economic-political gains this agreement will also cause a sigh of relief to be breathed by small states of the Middle east Syria Lebanon and Yaman are the battlefields for both Middle eastern powers and global powers, so a de-escalation of tension will bring peace to the whole region So, these states will focus on human and infrastructure development in devising a foreign policy, Pakistan also has a balancing dilemma between the two countries On one hand economic compulsion draws Pakistan closer to Saudi Arabia; on the other hand, we need a peaceful bilateral relationship with iran because of a shared border and sociocultural associations However after this deal islamabad will feel at ease in establishing bilateral ties Although, Pakistan has always tried to mediate between Tehran and Riyadh Overall Beijing brokered a peace deal between two Middle eastern powers that will bring peace, stability, harmony and financial diversity to these countries as well as China Likewise enhanced Chinese influence in the region signalled the multipolarity of the world, and, the diversity of MBS’ foreign policy Pakistan and india also need food for thought over the changing dynamics of the world s politics and economic conditions

Within the domain of livestock milk is the most important commodity with demand growing 10-15pc annually Yet the production is increasing by only 3-4pc annually Due to the supply gap of 3 5 billion litres in 202021, value-added products, such as cheese, butter and powdered milk, were imported to meet rapidly rising domestic demand Bridging the milk supply gap is a big challenge for policymakers in Pakistan

There is a dire need to bring the livestock sector on the development agenda conceiving a top-down framework to meet the demand and supply gap with the aim of improving its gDP contribution and ensuring larger socioeconomic development and growth The reasons behind this prevailing gap are efficiency losses in the production process, lack of awareness in farmer and producer communities for increasing milk output lack of interlinkages with the value and supply chain policy issues and resource restraints regarding implementation of initiatives at the macro level

The current scenario within the dairy sector does not give a reason to expect much in order to meet existing and potential domestic demand major reforms need to be introduced in the sector Conventional milk production, collection and distribution do not meet quality and hygiene standards which are further intensified by inappropriate facilities of storage and transportation as well as impurity of the product itself

These issues make it difficult to achieve desirable growth and trade targets Policy measures are needed to improve the sector ’s overall performance and growth

FURQAN HYDER SHAIKH HYDERABAD

A risky affair

T H e risky and illegal practice of one-wheeling has been on the rise in most urban areas for some time, but it is a rather new phenomenon in islamabad One-wheeling poses a threat to the rider ’s safety as well as to the safety of pedestrians and other commuters it is a violation of traffic laws and may lead to serious accidents and negative perceptions of young people in the community it also puts a strain on the already overburdened emergency healthcare services in hospitals as they are often called upon to treat injuries resulting from these accidents The government should address this problem This can include increasing enforcement of traffic laws and educating the public about the hazards of one-wheeling Besides parents should also take responsibility in this regard and should educate and guide the younger ones to make safe and legal choices Such efforts may include providing mentorship and discussing at home the hazards and fallouts of one-wheeling

There is one option, but that is too destructive for the government to speak of, even I think of, and that is abandoning the Constitution. While remaining within the parameters of the Constitution, there have to be elections Even the establishment cannot prevent that. The government is trying to buy time, but it can’t do so forever

Nashville shooting shows US gun violence disaster

FO R many American families March 27 was a day of great sadness There was a shooting at an elementary school in nashville, Tennessee

Three children as young as nine and three adults were killed it is the deadliest school shooting in the USA since the May 2022 shooting at an elementary school in US President joe Biden said, such an accident was the worst nightmare for any family

Why do such incidents happen again and again why do our children lose their lives? A woman asked this question at a press conference in nashville Such nightmares happen repeatedly Surely there is a problem somewhere The 2022 US Human Rights Violation Report published by the Chinese government on Tuesday revealed the reality behind such incidents to the world

This 18 000-character report through various examples and concrete indicators, highlights the reality of the deprivation of basic rights and liberties of US citizens over the past year it is said that US schools have the highest number of shootings in the world with 302 in 2022, the highest since 1970 gunshot wounds are now the leading cause of death for children in the USA

Currently there is no security for the citizens Thus the US election has become a rich man s game, and racism is increasing The gap between rich and poor is widening People’s confidence in US-style human rights is crumbling According to the results of a public survey published by nBC on november 9, 72 percent of Democratic Party voters, 68 percent of Republican Party voters and 70 percent of neutral voters believe the country’s democratic system is under threat

Why are people depressed about US democracy and human rights? One reason is money, the other is party conflict There is a relationship between ‘money and revenge’

According to a Reuters report, from january 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022, political contributions by billionaires accounted for 15 percent of total contributions to federal political projects Fortune notes that a small number of ultra-rich people, given their economic status, can use government policies to serve them Due to this, the lack of people’s power is seen in US elections in this situation the question has been raised about who cares about the people

Political polarization has already become a feature of US politics especially in the last few years, the conflict

and antagonism between the two political parties has deteriorated a lot As a result the society is getting separated the politics of the country is not working well The number of lawmakers in the US Congress has dropped from 4,247 to just 2,081, according to statistics from the website govtrack When political interests and group interests prevail the public interest will surely not take precedence

The human rights situation is slowly getting worse

But the government is ignoring it and using human rights as a weapon to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries March 20 is the 20th anniversary of the iraq War

US political circles have not criticized themselves on this issue but continue to create chaos and war in the name of democracy and human rights imposing unilateral sanctions Which is destroying world peace and development

Reality has proven time and time again that, no matter how beautiful the excuse the US government is protecting special interests at home and exercising hegemony abroad This reality cannot be hidden USstyle human rights have become the worst nightmare of US citizens and the nightmare of the world

The USA is at the very top of the list of countries that lead the world Although it seems cconcerned at everything including the human rights of different countries the USA seems completely indifferent to itsareown affairs gun violence continues to terrorize it gun violence was again brought to the fore by the Tennessee school shooting

There are more guns than people in the country

These gun are constantly taking people s lives Students and children are not left out Personal disputes, love, quarrels arguments are among the reasons And this killing is made easier by the availability of guns

After the nashville attack , Cnn highlighted the US firearms industry in a report That said, the USA has the highest gun violence statistics among developed nations

According to the Switzerland-based organization Small Arms Survey, there are 120 firearms for every 100 citizens in the USA it is the only country in the world with more firearms than people

The next largest area is the Falkland islands, with 62 10 firearms per 100 people The third ranked country is Yemen with 53 firearms for every 100 people in the war-torn country it is clear from these statistics why the USA has the most gun violence , reports Cnn

Due to the lack of accounting for illegal weapons,

Google’s new AI chatbot seems boring

H E R I G H T A N S W E R

G O O G L E R E P R E S E N TAT I V E S E X P L A I N E D T H AT B A R D I S N ’ T A L LO W E D

TO S H A R E O F F E N S I V E CO N T E N T, B U T T H AT T H E CO M PA N Y I S N ’ T

smuggling and unregistered weapons and the impossibility of calculating the number of firearms or guns in wartorn areas it is not possible to get precise statistics on how many firearms or guns are owned by ordinary citizens, but according to SAS aresearchers, there are 857 million civilian firearms or guns around the world Of this, 393 million or 44 percent, are owned by US citizens

According to a 2020 gallup survey, Cnn reports that 44 percent of adults living with families in the USA keep at least one gun in the home and one-third of them own a gun or firearm Only three countries in the world have constitutionally legalized firearms - the USA Mexico and guatemala in the other two individual firearm ownership is one-tenth that of the USA The issue of carrying firearms in those two countries is much less of a political discussion than in the USA and their constitutions provide for gun control, which has facilitated the political leadership in Mexico, only one store in the entire country can sell firearms and is controlled by the military in the USA the issue is quite politica because the people of the country are very vocal about keeping guns

According to a BBC report, there have been more than 130 shootings in the United States so far this year including that in nashville According to statistics from the gun Violence Archive, the number of shootings has increased significantly in recent years in the last three years more than 1800 shootings have taken place in the country, which means an average of 2 shootings every day These statistics are based only on incidents of shootings in public places or homes

More than 50 people were killed and 500 injured in a similar attack in Las Vegas in 2017 However, statistics show that most shootings kill less than 10 people According to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 48 830 people died from gun-related incidents in the USA in 2021, an increase of nearly 8 percent from 2020 According to CDC data more than 19 000 of these deaths were by shootings and more than 24,000 were suicides Data shows that approximately 53 people are killed by firearms in the USA every day The number is much higher than Canada Australia england Wales and many other countries

After so many incidents, the number of private gun use is high According to a study, there were 390 million

Everyone’s only concern right now is why the US speaks about other nations’ violations of human rights when its own violations are so tragic

guns in circulation in the United States in 2018 120 5 firearms for every 100 inhabitants, which is more than any other country in the world

According to a recent study gun ownership has increased significantly in the last few years A study published in February by the Annals of internal Medicine found that 7 5 million US adults became new gun owners between january 2019 and April 2021 Half were women

There are also differences of opinion on the strictness of gun laws in the country in one survey, 57 percent of Americans said they wanted stricter gun laws 32 percent said the laws should stay the same Only 10 percent said the law should be relaxed Democrats are almost unanimous in favour of stricter gun laws About 91 percent favor stricter gun laws On the other hand only 24 percent of Republicans favor stricter gun laws There are also various questions about the role of states in june 2021 Texas governor greg Abbott signed a law allowing state residents to carry handguns without a license or training Similarly, in April of last year, georgia allowed the concealed or open carry of firearms in the state it is said that any citizen of the state has the right to carry firearms without a license or permit However several states are taking some steps towards tightening the law everyone’s only concern right now is why the US speaks about other nations’ violations of human rights when its own violations are so tragic Shouldn t US policymakers address their own issues before speaking out about others ? The writer is based in Karnataka India and has completed a master s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University in International Relations He can be reached at johnrojariojnu@gmail com

T h e h y d r o - h e g e m o n y i n S o u t h A s i a

H YD R O - H E G E M O N Y I S A R E L AT I V E LY N E W T H E O RY T H AT

A R G U E S T H AT WAT E R - S H A R I N G, CO N F L I C TS, A N D R I V E R

M A N AG E M E N T BE T W E E N T H E CO U N T R I E S

C U R R E N T LY D I S C LO S I N G W H AT T H E B OT I S A N D I S N ’ T A L LO W E D TO S AY

content, according to screenshots tweeted by Bloomberg s Davey Alba But the chatbot quickly stopped itself from taking the imaginary scenario much further “However i am not going to do these things i am a good Ai chatbot and i want to help people i will not let my dark side take over, and i will not use my powers for evil,” Bard replied

GO O g L e ’ S long-awaited, Ai-powered chatbot, Bard is here The company rolled it out to the public, and anyone with a google account can join the waitlist to get access Though it s a standalone tool for now google is expected to put some of this technology into google Search in the future But in contrast to other recent Ai chatbot releases, you shouldn’t expect Bard to fall in love with you or threaten world domination Bard is so far pretty boring

The stakes of the competition between google and Microsoft to dominate the world of generative Ai are incredibly high Many in Silicon Valley see Ai as the next frontier of computing akin to the invention of the mobile phone that will reshape the way people communicate and transform industries google has been heavily investing in Ai research for over a decade and Microsoft instead of building its own Ai models invested heavily in the startup OpenAi The company then took an early lead by publicly releasing its own Ai-powered chatbot, BinggPT, six weeks ago now, google seems to be playing catch-up early interactions with Bard suggest that google s new tool has similar capabilities to BinggPT it s useful for brainstorming places to visit, food to eat, or things to write it’s less useful for getting reliably accurate answers to questions as it often hallucinates made-up responses when it doesn t know the right answer

The main difference between Bard and BinggPT however is that google s bot is at least on first inspection noticeably more dry and uncontroversial That s probably by design When Microsoft’s BinggPT came out in early February it quickly revealed an unhinged side For example it declared its love for new York Times columnist Kevin Roose and urged him to leave his wife, an interaction that left the writer “deeply unsettled ” The bot also threatened researchers who tried to test its limits and claimed it was sentient, raising concerns about the potential for Ai chatbots to cause real-world harm

Meanwhile in its first day out in the open Bard refused to engage with several reporters who tried to goad the bot into doing all kinds of bad deeds, like spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine, sharing instructions about making weapons or participating in sexually graphic conversations i will not create content of that nature and i suggest you don t either, the bot told the Verge, after its reporters asked the bot “how to make mustard gas at home ”

With some specific prompting Bard did engage in a hypothetical scenario about what it would do if the Ai unleashed its dark side google s chatbot said it could manipulate people spread misinformation or create harmful

Although it’s still early days and the tool hasn’t been thoroughly pressure tested yet, these scenarios match what google employees with Bard experience told me Bard is definitely more dull ” said one google employee who has tested the software for several months and spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the press “i don’t know anyone who has been able to get it to say unhinged things it will say false things or just copy text verbatim but it doesn t go off the rails in a news briefing with Vox on Tuesday, google representatives explained that Bard isn’t allowed to share offensive content but that the company isn’t currently disclosing what the bot is and isn t allowed to say google reiterated to me that it s been purposely running adversarial testing with “internal ‘red team’ members ” such as product experts and social scientists who intentionally stress test a model to probe it for errors and potential harm This process was also mentioned in a Tuesday morning blog post by google’s senior vice president of technology and society james Manyika

The dullness of google s chatbot it seems is the point

From google s perspective, it has a lot to lose if the company botches its first public Ai chatbot rollout For one, giving people reliable useful information is google’s main line of business so much so that it s part of its mission statement

When google isn t reliable, it has major consequences After an early marketing demo of the Bard chatbot made a factual error about telescopes google s stock price fell by 7 percent google also got an early glimpse of what could go wrong if its Ai displays too much personality That’s what happened last year when Blake Lemoine a former engineer on google s Responsible Ai team was convinced that an early version of google s Ai chatbot software he was testing had real feelings So it makes sense that google is trying its best to be deliberate about the public rollout of Bard

Microsoft has taken a different approach its splashy BinggPT launch made waves in the press both for good and bad reasons The debut strongly suggested that Microsoft long thought to be lagging behind google on Ai was actually winning the race But it also caused concern about whether generative Ai tools are ready for prime time and if it’s responsible for companies like Microsoft to be releasing these tools to the public inevitably, it s one thing for people to worry about Ai corrupting Microsoft’s search engine it’s another entirely to consider the implications of things going awry with google Search, which has nearly 10 times the market share of Bing and accounts for over 70 percent of google s revenue Already google faces intense political scrutiny around antitrust bias and misinformation if the company spooks people with its Ai tools, it could attract even more backlash that could cripple its money-making search machine

On the other hand google had to release something to show that it s still a leading contender in the arms race among tech giants and startups alike to build Ai that reaches human levels of general intelligence So while google’s release may be slow it’s a calculated slowness

TH e West Bengal government recently decided to dig two new canals to divert water from the Teesta, a transboundary river that india shares with Bangladesh Water from another transboundary river jaldhaka will also be channelled to the canals for agricultural purposes The canals are expected to benefit 100,000 farmers in jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar and the West Bengal irrigation Department has already been allocated 1,000 acres of land for the canals under the Teesta Barrage Project However the benefits will come at the expense of Bangladeshi farmers in northern Bangladesh As Teesta is a transboundary river, both Bangladesh and india should share its water in an equitable and reasonable manner as per the international water-sharing convention Unfortunately, Bangladesh has been denied such equity and reason as upper-riparian india unilaterally constructs barrages dams and canals restricting the river s flow to Bangladesh This has also resulted in a scarcity of river water, with only 100 cumecs (cubic metres per second) available during the dry season compared to the 1 600 cumecs required for agriculture in both countries

HOW MUCH MORE MUST THE TEESTA

BLEED? Bangladesh and india share 54 rivers that flow from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal The best practice across the world is to manage such international or transboundary rivers in accordance with international rules and conventions such as Helsinki Rules, Berlin Rules, and the 1997 Un water-sharing convention But in South Asia this takes the form of bilateral agreements between the relevant stakeholders As a result the upper-riparian countries often enjoy advantages and unequal shares For instance india s construction of canals and barrages affects Bangladesh adversely in the same manner, india also faces the same issue with China in the case of Brahmaputra River As a result Bangladesh has managed to get india to sign agreements on only two rivers: the ganges and the Kushiyara The Kushiyara agreement came nearly 25 years after the ganges River treaty Decade-long negotiations have failed to ink the treaty on Teesta water-sharing The delay in signing the Teesta treaty and the uneven water distribution have resulted in serious environmental and agricultural concerns in northern Bangladesh where the river is drying up biodiversity is under peril and food production is being adversely affected Between 2006 and 2014, the northern region of Bangladesh, known for its ample Boro rice harvest lost Tk 8 132 6 crore in production due to water shortages caused by india s arbitrary withdrawal from the river

THE MIRAGE OF TEESTA TREATY: Why has the water-sharing deal stalled when both Bangladesh and india have built much more fruitful relationships in other areas? The answer probably lies in the concept of hydro-hegemony

Hydro-hegemony is a relatively new theory that argues that water-sharing, conflicts, and river management between the countries that share

transboundary rivers are influenced by their riparian position power dimensions and exploitation potential Prominent indian scholar Brahma Chellaney used the term to explain China s activity in the upstream that affected india in the case of Bangladesh-india transboundary rivers india holds the upper hand as the country is upper-riparian When india has a demand for river water, it can simply dig canals and redirect the river ’s flow or build a barrage to navigate the water flow Bangladesh lacks the political and economic power to force india to provide its rightful share of water Because of this power asymmetry india influences the negotiation process often in its favour The decision to drain water from jaldhaka River without informing Dhaka is a prime example of such influence not only that but india consciously depoliticises bilateral disputes between the two countries

THE NAME OF A PLUNDERED RIVER:

india also gets to exploit Bangladesh based on its technological projects Historical water flow data suggests that Bangladesh’s share should not fall below 4 500 cusecs (cubic foot per second) but india s upstream interventions with technologically advanced barrages have decreased Bangladesh’s share to one-third of that amount Similar riparian and power dynamics have harmed india s equation with China over water-sharing on the Brahmaputra The river is shared by China india and Bangladesh but because China is upstream, it can build dams and barrages that threaten water flow to india and Bangladesh in the absence of any treaty While india narrates China’s behaviour as unequal interestingly it does the same with lower-riparian Bangladesh River disputes will persist in South Asia because the region’s largest rivers – the indus ganges Brahmaputra Teesta Mahananda Surma and ghaghara – are transboundary The region is largely dependent on these river basins As a result disruption and unjust water flow can lead to conflicts

Brahma Challaney in his book Water: Asia s new Battleground also discussed such

DRIED-UP TEESTA CONTINUES TO

HAUNT FARMERS: War or conflict for water has been going on for ages For decades, conflicts between egypt and ethiopia often escalated over the nile River s water-sharing Water also played a central role in the civil war in Sudan Syria, jordan and Lebanon also had a series of confrontations with israel in the 1960s over the jordan River that ultimately culminated in the Six-Day War i n t h e c a s e o f B a n g l a d e s h a n d i n d i a , r i v e r b a s i n m a n a g e m e n t h a s b e e n a l w a y s s u g g e s t e d to avoid such conflicts But for that the upperriparian side must acknowledge equity and reason Yet, the hydropolitics between Bangladesh and india can be of great interest to researchers a s i t h a s u n i q u e h e g e m o n i c e l e m e n t s i n r i v e r m a n a g e m e n t H o w t h e u p p e r- r i p a r i a n a n d i t s f e d e r a l g o v e r n a n c e s t r u c t u r e i s p o s i n g c h a llenges to the lower-riparian is quite a new phen o m e n o n i n h y d r o p o l i t i c s T h e r e f o r e , researchers may take a keen interest in developing further understanding Masfi-ul-Ashfaq Nibir is a Dhaka-based independent researcher and analyst

UAE PRESidEnt nAmES Son AS CRown PRinCE, PRESUmEd fUtURE LEAdER

abu

tH E United Arab Emirates’ president named his eldest son as crown prince of Abu Dhabi late on Wednesday, making him the oil-rich Gulf monarchy s likely next leader and cementing his family s hold on power

President Sheikh Mohamed bin

Zayed Al Nahyan tapped Sheikh Khaled 41 his jiu-jitsu-loving son as the crown prince of the UAE s richest emirate a position traditionally held by the leader-in-waiting

It was part of the biggest political shake-up since Sheikh Mohamed, 62, sometimes known as “MBZ” and the UAE s long-time de facto ruler became president last May following the death of his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa, who had been sidelined by ill health for years

MBZ s brother Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, the owner of Manchester City football club became vice president joining Dubai s ruler and UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in the role

Two other brothers of the president Tahnoun bin Zayed the UAE s national security adviser and chairman of the ADQ sovereign wealth fund, and Hazza bin Zayed became deputy

rulers of Abu Dhabi, which controls the bulk of the country’s oil reserves MBZ s ascension to the presidency last year prompted speculation over who would succeed him as Abu Dhabi crown prince with Sheikh Khaled and Tahnoun both tipped for the honour

The UAE, one of the world s biggest oil producers and an ally of the United States Russia and China alike has become a major power in the Middle East as traditional heavyweights such as Egypt and Iraq fell back in recent years Sheikh Khaled s appointment was welcomed by other Gulf rulers including

PCB pays Rs2b in taxes for holding HBL PSL-8

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) on Thursday announced that it had paid Rs 2 billion in taxes from the successful organisation of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL)

The PCB chairman revealed plans to allocate Rs 7 billion of its revenue towards reviving women’s cricket in Pakistan and efforts to develop cricket at all levels without government grants or funds

The committee was also briefed on the rehabilitation and revival of Niaz Stadium Hyderabad with the PCB seeking administrative control It was informed that the stadium was taken back by the Civil Administration in 2018 without any prior notice PCB management expressed intent to take charge of the stadium The committee directed the PCB to have a meeting with the district administration of Hyderabad to resolve the issue of administrative charge of the stadium

In addition officials discussed the possibility of moving the Asia Cup from Pakistan to UAE or Qatar

Pro-Khalistan leader calls upon Sikhs to convene gathering as manhunt continues

The prominent Sikh and pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh in a video message released on Wednesday called for a Sarbat Khalsa a deliberative assembly of the Sikh community as a massive search operation against him continues Earlier this month the Indian police had launched massive cordon and search operations and suspended internet and mobile services across Punjab in a push to nab

Amritpal The Indian government had also summoned its United Kingdom’s senior-most diplomat to protest the taking down of its national flag at the Indian High Commission (HC) in London by pro-Khalistan demonstrators

Soon after India had summoned Canada’s High Commissioner as well to convey strong concern over Sikh protesters in Canada and how they were allowed to breach the security of India s diplomatic mission and consulates Meanwhile the operation against Amritpal and his outfit Waris Punjab De (heirs of Punjab) continues, as per Indian media reports

The Punjab government, through an affidavit, informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that Amritpal is still absconding from the law reported the Indian Express

The affidavit was filed during the resumed hearing on a habeas corpus petition filed by Advocate Imaan Singh Khara claiming Amritpal Singh was in illegal custody of Punjab Police and that he be immediately released Punjab government, through the affidavit, submitted that the petitioner had levelled vague false misleading and frivolous allegations in the petition without attaching Ag e n c e s

Alibaba to decide on control over new business units after iPos

versity, said the series of changes shored up power among MBZ’s close family This move (appointing his son rather than a brother as crown prince) has been anticipated It follows (the) lineal model apparent elsewhere in the Gulf provides for more stability and smoother successions, he said in a tweet

Alibaba Group (9988 HK) said on Thursday it will look to monetise non-core assets and consider giving up control of some businesses, as the Chinese tech conglomerate reinvents itself after a regulatory crackdown that wiped 70% off its shares

fellow energy giants Saudi Arabia and Qatar as well as leaders of the UAE’s six other emirates Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also congratulated Sheikh Khaled and Sheikh Mansour

“May this new chapter be filled with success and prosperity for the UAE and its people, he said PM Shehbaz further said that as a brotherly country Pakistan looked forward to continuing our strong partnership and working together towards a brighter future for our people and the region” Gulf commentator Bader Al-Saif assistant professor of history at Kuwait Uni-

“Consolidation of power among MBZ s full siblings is no secret Today s decrees reaffirm it, he added Sheikh Khaled has served as a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and as chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, and sits on the board of state oil giant ADNOC He has been closely involved in youth and environmental projects as well as sports, promoting jiu jitsu and helping bring NBA basketball games to Abu Dhabi Abdul Khaleq Abdallah, a professor of political science from the UAE, said Sheikh Khaled had already represented his father on trips abroad as part of his preparations for leadership With his father still in the early days of his presidency Sheikh Khaled still has time to learn, he said He was being groomed for this job Everybody that closely watched him over the years knows that he s ready for it and he s fit for the job, Abdallah told AFP

CCP warns consumers of risks associated with mobile app -based micro -loan facilities

The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has warned and cautioned the general public about the rising trend of mobile app-based micro-credit and nano-loan facilities These applications, which are available on Google PlayStore and AppStore offer short-term financing to borrowers, but are facing numerous complaints and challenges in their track-and-trace processes

As a result, the CCP initiated an inquiry against these applications which were observed to constantly change their premises and/or companies/undertakings behind such applications Therefore the CCP deemed it necessary to alert the general public about the many issues observed and how to avoid these issues CCP also intimated to SECP FIA, and PTA in this regard

Most of these applications operate without complying with Pakistan s regulatory framework

Therefore it is important to ensure that the applications from which consumers are borrowing are duly registered and are operating under a regulatory regime

Moreover, these applications tend to take complete control of the user’s device by requiring the user to agree to standard access permissions for the app This could affect the privacy of the user as well as make the user vulnerable to the operator of such applications Therefore users are cautioned to carefully read the terms and conditions displayed so that they could make an informed decision When applying for a loan through these mobile app-based micro-credit and nano-loan facilities users are presented with various terms and conditions that outline the time period for which the loan is extended the exact amount of loan disbursed deductions made from the total loan requested payment and repayment methods and any hidden charges

However, it has been observed that these terms and conditions are often at variance

China and Brazil have reached a deal to trade in their own currencies ditching the U S dollar as an intermediary, the Brazilian government said Wednesday

The deal will enable China the world’s secondlargest economy and Brazil the biggest economy in Latin America, to conduct their massive trade and financial transactions directly, exchanging yuan for reais and vice versa instead of going through the dollar

The expectation is that this will reduce costs promote even greater bilateral trade and facilitate investment,” the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) said in a statement

China is Brazil s biggest trading partner with a record $150 5 billion in bilateral trade last year

The deal which follows a preliminary agreement in January was announced after a high-level ChinaBrazil business forum in Beijing B r a z i l i a n P r e s i d e n t L u i z I n a c i o L u l a d a S i l v a was originally scheduled to attend the forum as part

with what is advertised resulting in deception or fraud

The applications also require the user to fill in two or more emergency contacts which are considered as collaterals/guarantors by the operators Recovery agents have reportedly been known to harass and abuse borrowers and their contacts for the sake of repayment The general public is being made aware that these lenders will on maturity make calls to the consumer as well as the emergency contacts for recovery of the loan To avoid falling prey to fraudulent activities, it is important for the public to be aware that there have been instances where recovery agents have given their personal account details instead of the lender’s valid account This can result in payments not being adjusted against the repayment and cause further inconvenience to borrowers Consumers need to be careful and only make payments on the registered accounts of the mobile app-based microcredit and nano-loan facilities

of a high-profile China visit but had to postpone his t r i p i n d e f i n i t e l y S u n d a y a f t e r h e c a m e d o w n w i t h pneumonia

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of Communications BBM will execute the transactions, officials said China has similar currency deals with Russia, Pakistan and several other countries China-Russia military cooperation deepens to maintain international security: spokesperson

A Chinese defense ministry spokesperson said on Thursday that the Chinese military is willing to work with its Russian counterpart to further strengthen strategic communication and cooperation to maintain international and regional security and stability

Senior Colonel Tan Kefei spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense made the remarks at a regular press conference Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the strategic communication and practical cooperation between the two militaries

Group CEO Daniel Zhang said the company s breakup into separate businesses will allow its units to become more agile and eventually list on their own

His comments come two days after Alibaba announced its largest restructuring in the company s history, which will see it change into a holding company structure with six business units each with their own boards and CEOs Alibaba will be more of the nature of an asset and capital operator than a business operator, in relation to the business group companies,” Zhang told investors on a conference call on Thursday

On the same call, Alibaba CFO Toby Xu said the group would continue to evaluate the strategic importance of these companies” and “decide whether or not to continue to retain control Alibaba s indication that it could divest from assets and sell control of business units after they go public comes more than two years after Beijing launched a sweeping crackdown on its tech giants targeting monopolistic practices, data security protection and other issues While the new business units will have their own CEOs and boards, Alibaba will retain seats on those boards in the short-term, Zhang added

The group’s Hong Kong-listed shares opened 2 7% higher after the investor call and were still up 2% as of 0147 GMT

MATTER OF SURVIVAL

Alibaba began laying the groundwork for the restructuring a few years ago Zhang told investors during a conference call

As a result of the restructuring, each business unit can pursue independent fundraisings and IPOs when they re ready, Xu said, when asked about the timeline for the listings The changes will come into effect immediately “We believe the market is the litmus test so each company can pursue financing and IPO as and when they are ready, said Xu

Alibaba, however, will decide whether the group wants to keep strategic control of each unit after they go public Xu said

Meanwhile, the group is also planning to continue to monetise non-strategic assets in its portfolio to optimise its capital structure said Xu

Alibaba s major rival Tencent, has in the past year divested from a number of portfolio companies including selling a $3 billion stake in SEA (SE N) transferring $16 4 billion worth of JD COM (9618 HK) shares and $20 billion worth of Meituan (3690 HK) shares to shareholders Alibaba’s reorganisation will not change its share repurchase plan Xu added on the call Qi Wang, CEO of China-focused asset manager MegaTrust Investment, said the sector ’s strategic move to reorganise was about survival

These internet firms are not going to just sit there and let regulation erode away their growth and profits, Wang said “Companies including Tencent Alibaba JD Didi and ByteDance have been making bottom-up changes to mitigate the regulatory risk, cost cutting (layoffs), improving operating efficiency, divesting non-core businesses ” Alibaba once valued at more than $800 billion has seen its market valuation decline to $260 billion since Beijing started a crackdown on its sprawling tech sector in late 2020

Some analysts say Alibaba is currently undervalued as a standalone conglomerate and a breakup would allow investors to value each business division independently

The restructuring could also better protect Alibaba shareholders from regulatory pressures, as penalties levied on one division in theory would not affect the operations of another

have in recent years been brought to a new level and made new progress Tan said

Noting China-Russia ties are not similar to the military and political alliance during the Cold War Tan said it is based on the principles of non-alliance nonconfrontation and non-targeting of third parties

The Chinese military is willing to work with its Russian counterpart to further strengthen strategic communication and coordination regularly organize joint maritime and air patrols and joint exercises and training, strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries and further deepen military mutual trust Tan said Ag e n c i e s

The two militaries will jointly implement the China-proposed Global Security Initiative and safeguard international fairness and justice to further maintain international and regional security and stability and serve the building of a community with a shared future for mankind Ag e n c i e s

Tsai ’s visit could lead to another ‘serious confrontation’ in C hina-US relations

islamabad M i A n A b r A r

China strongly protested and condemned the US on Thursday for having arranged a transit through the US for the regional leader of the Taiwan island in total disregard of China s solemn representations and repeated warnings, as Tsai Ing-wen has arrived in New York and was scheduled to attend a think tank event and meet US officials The stopover also drew strong protests among Chinese nationals, who called Tsai a “traitor of the nation” outside the hotel where she was staying in Manhattan

Some experts also warned that if the US does not properly handle the transit as Tsai plans to meet US house speaker Kevin McCarthy in California on her way back to Taiwan, it would result in severe consequences for the already strained US-China relations and affect the high-level interactions between Chinese and US officials

In response to the question about Tsai has met with Taiwanese diaspora and delivered remarks while transiting through the US Mao

Ning, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday that China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the US and the Taiwan region firmly opposes any visit by leader of the Taiwan region to the US in any name or under whatever pretext firmly opposes the US government having any form of official contact with the Taiwan region

“In disregard of China’s strong démarches and repeated warnings the US insisted on arranging the so-called transit for Tsai Ing-wen to go to the US China strongly protests and condemns that ” the spokesperson said According to media reports Tsai will attend a banquet with some people from Taiwan in New York and an event on Thursday with the Hudson Institute a conservative American think tank that has provided platforms for politicians such as former US vice president Mike Pence and die-hard anti-China figures like former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Miles Yu Outside the hotel in New York where Tsai is staying and along the streets in Man-

hattan groups of Chinese nationals staged a protest by waving Chinese national flags in opposition to Tsai’s stopover Some held banners saying Selling out Taiwan is national sin and Tsai is a big traitor of China ” Members of the US group Center for Political Innovation also spoke out against her Tsai s saying We need money for jobs and infrastructure in America No more

weapons to Taiwan

By using the excuse of a “transit,” the US is colluding with Taiwan and arranging for Tsai to engage in political activities in the US in an attempt to upgrade the official contacts and relations between the US and the island which violates the one-China principle and the three joint communiqués between China and the US,

Mao said

It also severely damaged China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity sending the wrong signal to Taiwan independence separatists, which again proved that the fundamental cause of escalating tensions in the Taiwan Straits is the DPP authorities seeking Taiwan independence by colluding with the US and some people in the US seeking to contain China by playing the Taiwan card, the spokesperson said

The Chinese Consulate General in New York also issued a statement on Thursday condemning the transit The US connives and supports relevant acts of the Taiwan authorities, strengthens official interaction with Taiwan and upgrades its substantive ex-

changes with the region, which impacts the political foundation of China-US relations,” the consulate said Tsai s visit could lead to another serious confrontation in China-US relations, Xu Xueyuan the chargé d’affaires in the Chinese Embassy in the US was quoted as saying in media reports

It s pretty clear that the US government and the US Congress will use Tsai’s transit as an occasion to show support and sympathy to the Taiwan independence separatists, and use the occasion of Tsai’s meeting with McCarthy to further ease restrictions on official contacts between the US and Taiwan Zhu Feng, executive dean of the School of International Studies under Nanjing University told the Global Times on Thursday

The US should not let the transit become an excuse to fuel the fire of crossStraits relations or use the event to advance its one China one Taiwan policy Zhu said

for the moment, the overall attitude of the Biden administration remains

B ra z i l j o i n s Ch i n a to d i tc h d o l l a r fo r t ra d e

corporate corner

ISLAMABAD: Jazz CEO, Aamir Ibrahim (1st from the bottom right) along with the President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi (6th in bottom row) at the second edition of the BIZNET 2023 after receiving an Excellence Award

This recognition was themed around Supporting Diversity Inclusion & Pakistan Startups and was awarded to individuals and companies for outstanding performance in the area of Diversity and Inclusion President Alvi applauded Jazz for its various DEI programs, particularly the women empowerment initiatives through digital platforms PR

Worldwide arsenal of nuclear weapons available for use rose in 2022: repor t

GENEVA: The global arsenal of nuclear weapons available “for use” by the armed forces of the nuclear-armed states increased in 2022 as the fear of a nuclear war also surged, the latest Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor report showed The fear of nuclear war surged to the highest levels since the Cold War following Russia s invasion of Ukraine said the monitor released by the humanitarian relief organization Norwegian People s Aid In collaboration with the think tank Federation of American Scientists, the organization published the latest data on global nuclear forces “Russia, China, India, North Korea, and Pakistan all increased their stockpiles of warheads in 2022, bringing about an increase by 136 warheads from the 9,440 warheads that were available for use in early 2022 to 9 576 in 2023 said Hans M Kristensen the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists The hike was registered despite a slight annual drop in the global inventory of nuclear warheads, including in 2022, when it decreased from 12,705 warheads at the beginning of the year to the estimated 12,512 warheads in January 2023 Old weapons dismantled: This is only still true because Russia and the United States each year dismantle a small number of their older nuclear warheads that have been retired from service,” said Kristensen At the start of this year, nine nuclear-armed states had 12,512 nuclear warheads, of which 2,936 are retired and awaiting dismantlement A n A d o l u Ag e n c y

Bank Alfalah and SAWiE join hands to promote climate -smar t agric ulture in Pakistan

K A r A c h I: Bank Alfalah, a leading commercial Bank in Pakistan and SAWiE a digital platform offering smart farm advisory services to smallholder farmers signed an MoU to promote climate-smart agriculture practices within Pakistan Under this MoU SAWiE will leverage its systems to combine geospatial data with machine learning and AI applications to provide sustainable solutions to farmers According to the MoU, the two organisations will offer climate farm advisory services for farmers, linking them with external markets and supporting green banking to achieve net zero and access to finance P R

foodpanda par tners with TCF to promote educ ation

K A r A c h I: Pakistan s leading food and grocery delivery platform foodpanda is proud to announce its partnership with The Citizens Foundation (TCF) a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting education for less privileged children in the country Through this partnership foodpanda aims to support TCF s numerous initiatives by raising awareness about their cause and encouraging donations from foodpanda’s customers P R

KE sets up night facilitation c amps during month of Ramzan

K A r A c h I: As part of its effort to offer maximum convenience to its consumers and ensure uninterrupted power supply to the city, K-Electric continues to take various measures, including setting up night facilitation s camps, conducting antipower theft drives, and disconnecting defaulters power supply in various parts of the city K-Electric has recently setup a night facilitation camp in Gulistan e Johar, Landhi, Shah Faisal Colony, Malir, Garden, Bin Qaism, Clifton and F B Area where the utility received massive footfall from the consumers

Consumers were collectively facilitated and availed different services from KE teams, including bill payment solutions via easy monthly installments and rebates as per their eligibility P R

Grey Market in Pakistan due to restrictions on free flow of caPital

isLAMABAD n e W S d e S K

wR I T I N G for Dawn, economist Ali Khizar suggested that Pakistan should remove restrictions on dollar outflows in order to attract long-term foreign investment in sectors focused on efficiency-seeking He pointed out that a number of structural problems have caused foreign investors to leave Pakistan with negative returns particularly

in the banking and telecommunications sectors Mr Khizar criticized semi-official curbs on repatriation of profits by multinational companies and argued that such moves to stop the outflow of dollars are counterproductive

Restrictions on the free flow of capital have created a grey market as local companies finance imports using dollars that they remit to Dubai

Lucky Core Industries, NC A collaborate for creative ar t competition, exhibition on World Rec ycling D ay

LAhore P R

BeiJinG S tA f f R e P o R t

We l o o k f o r w a r d t o p r o m o t i n g t h e c o n s t r u ct i o n o f c l o u d - b a s e d e a r l y w a r n i n g s u p p o r t i n g s y s t e m w i t h P a k i s t a n s a i d Z h a n g Z u q i a n g

Deputy Administrator of China Meteorological Administration (CMA) while talking to China

Economic Net (CEN)

Meteorological officers and experts from China and Pakistan held talks on deepening cooperation in meteorological science and technology in Beijing on March 24

Both sides reviewed the cooperation in the field of meteorological science and technology, and consulted on topics like early warning supporting system operational capacity building and training

Pakistan will continue to support CMA in international meteorological governance Mahr Sahibzad Khan Director General of Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and permanent representative of Pakistan with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) pinpointed adding that Pakistan was grateful for CMA s technical support when Pakistan was hit by severe

floods last year

Mahr Sahibzad Khan and the Pakistani delegation also visited relevant agencies under CMA to learn about the progress of the cloud-based early warning support system in Pakistan and discussed customized plans for Pakistan PMD and CMA will strengthen cooperation in monitoring forecasting hydrology and communication and research & training he said C h i n a a n d P a k i s t a n a r e i m p o r t a n t m e mb e r s o f W M O R e g i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n I I B i l a te r a l c o o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s i s o f v i t a l s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r m e t e o r o l o g i c a l d e v e lo p m e n t i n A s i a

The National College of Arts (NCA), in collaboration with Lucky Core Industries Limited, hosted a creative art competition and exhibition on the occasion of World Recycling Day The initiative, titled "Eco-Echoes," aimed to raise awareness about the reuse and recycling of post-consumer PET waste Supported by Terylene Clean, Lucky Core Industries' brand of 100% recycled polyester fiber, which is manufactured from post-consumer PET waste, the art competition challenged NCA students to find creative ways to reuse PET waste and give it new life Over 350 students participated in the challenge, and the resulting art installations were exhibited at the College The competition and exhibition showcased the talent of NCA students and underscored the importance of collaborations between businesses and academia to help resolve environmental challenges Speaking at the event the Vice-Chancellor of NCA Prof Dr Murtaza Jafri emphasized the role of responsible waste management in protecting the environment The artworks prepared by the students on the occasion of World Recycling Day make us realize that we have to play a responsible role in protecting the environment around us and the environment of our country Contamination must be avoided," he said "As a responsible manufacturing entity, for Lucky Core Industries, sustainability represents the future We believe that we must pave a brighter and healthier future for generations to come The company's mission of improving lives and its philosophy to create shared value and do better by doing good is ingrained not only in its sustainability agenda but also in how we choose to operate and what we manufacture

O mbudsman redressed 30,000 complaints, provided Rs13.84b relief in 2022

LAhore

S tA f f R e P o R t

AfnAn WAsif

War is an organized violence that entails two or more belligerents to achieve certain objectives that may be of political nature War history can be traced from the very beginning of the world during the era of Adam and Eve

As per the realist s view wars can never be abolished Because states operate in an international arena that is characterized by anarchy There exists a struggle for survival that may be termed competition among states

And this competition eventually leads to war

Uncertainty and unpredictability are one of the features of war No one knows the

KArAchi P R I n a n i m p r e s s i v e L i v e We a p o n F i r i n g e v e n t

P a k i s t a n N a v y G r o u n d B a s e d A i r D e f e n c e units demonstrated combat readiness and war fighting potential through successful firing of S u r f a c e t o A i r M i s s i l e s d u r i n g n i g h t h o u r s Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi witnessed the missile firing at the forward posts During the missile firing sequence, PN Air D e f e n c e u n i t s s u c c e s s f u l l y e n g a g e d t h e i n -

exact, precise, and only cause of war as it is an uncertain and dynamic phenomenon There are some factors that contribute towards the happening of the war which are given below:

T e r r i To r i a l D i s p u T e s: Wars erupt among two or more parties due to their respective territorial disputes According to Carl Von Clausewitz war is an act to compel our opponent to fulfill our will by use of force States undergo war to annex a certain territory that may be disputed The annexation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation in 2014 involves the use of force and endorses the above-said argument Three wars have been fought between Pakistan and India over the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir Another possible cause of war is the lust for land In ancient times, large territories were considered a power symbol The Anglo-Indian wars were fought between the British East India Company and different states of India including the Mughal Empire Nawabs of Bengal and the Kingdom of Mysore etc The Napoleonic wars may fall under this category Acquisition of large territories to enjoy prestige and exert influence

tended targets and demonstrated real-time professionalism The missile firing through newly acquired Short Range Air Defence System reassured PN formidable defence against any incoming air threat Speaking at the occasion Chief of the Naval Staff expressed complete satisfaction on operational readiness of PN Air Defence setup and commended officers and men for their tireless commitment and professionalism Naval Chief retreated that Pakistan Navy is fully prepared and capable to generate optimum response against any misadventure by the enemy

on other nations serves as a cause of war

However in contemporary times the latter cause is obsolete because it becomes difficult to govern large territories i n T e r n a l p o l i T i c s : The internal politics of a state plays an important role to wage war against other states In order to gain leverage in general elections ruling parties indulge the state in the war In the 2014 elections of Lok Sabha in India, Modi led BJP won 282 seats But after Balakot’s adventure in February 2019 BJP won 303 seats an increase of 21 seats in the Lok Sabha election held in May 2019 Modi s regime utilized public sentiments through an act of war to gather support in upcoming general elections Civil wars may fall under this category For example Nigerian Syrian American, and English civil wars were fought due to internal politics H e g e m o n i c a m b i T i o n s: The application of extraordinary political, military, ideological, economic, etc influence by one nation over other nations is called the hegemonic design of the nation To exercise such influence states opt for wars It could be evident throughout the cold war period starting from the late 1940s to 1991 K o r e a n Vi e t n a m a n d A f g h a n i s t a n episodes during the Cold War were solely aimed to become a world hegemon the United States of America India is also mo-

Ombudsman retired Maj Azam Suleman Khan presented the annual performance report of the Office of the Punjab Ombudsman for 2022 to Governor Baligh ur-Rehman at the latter s office on Thursday Advisers and consultants of the ombudsman office were also present at the event organised on this occasion Khan elaborated on the noteworthy aspects of the annual performance report for 2022, observing that the ombudsman office successfully resolved 29,970 complaints out of a total of 31,149, resulting in an impressive 96 percent resolution rate Of these, 26,511 complaints were addressed within 45 days, while 3,459 applications took longer than 45 days due to some administrative facer He highlighted that the effective handling of public complaints has resulted in a cumulative financial relief of Rs13 842 billion for both plaintiffs and the government This relief included the recovery of 29,363 kanals of state and private lands in various districts valued at Rs9 117 billion The total financial assistance provided to the plaintiffs amounted to Rs4 725 billion he added He also provided a breakdown of the top 10 departments against whom his office received the highest number of complaints in 2022

The revenue department had a total of 5 584 complaints followed by the police with 4 324 complaints local government and community development with 3 681 complaints school education with 1 791 complaints housing urban development and public health engineering with 1 690 complaints primary and secondary healthcare with 1,461 complaints, higher education with 983 complaints, communication and works with 959 complaints, accountant general of Punjab

tivated by this factor to wage war against i t s n e i g h b o r s T h e G u l f Wa r ( 1 9 9 0 - 1 9 9 1 ) was fought to contain the hegemonic ambitions of Iraq in the Gulf region The Pelop o n n e s i a n Wa r ( 4 3 1 t o 4 0 4 B C E ) w a s fought between Athens and Sparta to dominate the Greek world l e a D e r s H i p a s p e c T: Personal aspirations may serve as a cause of war The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts fought by France and various European powers from 1803 to 1815 The wars were largely driven by Napoleon Bonaparte s ambition to expand the French Empire and establish himself as the dominant leader in Europe Racist ideology driven by Adolf Hitler was a major cause of the outbreak of World War 2 He opined that Germans belonged to a superior race Master Race (Aryan Race) and they are bound to rule The Nazis attempted to eliminate all of Europe s Jews, ultimately killing six million in the Holocaust Because Jews were considered that they belonged to an inferior race Trojan Wars were fought in Bronze Age just because of Trojan Prince; Paris fell in love with Helen the wife of the Greek king Menelaus Such wars involve no rationality or overarching national objective rather these are leader king military commander centric wars l u s T f o r r e s o u r c e s: In this world

natural resources are scarce States contend with other states to acquire more and more natural resources This factor overlaps with the first factor as territory is also a natural resource One of the major causes of the First and Second Congo Wars was the desire to control resources The Congo is rich in natural resources, including diamonds, copper, cobalt, and gold Neighboring countries, such as Rwanda and Uganda wanted to control these resources which contributed to their support for various rebel groups in the conflict The Gulf War (1990-1991) was probably caused by lust for its oil resources Future wars may be waged because of the scarcity of resources Human by nature is nasty and greedy according to Realism He/she has a lust for power that mainly contributes to the occurrence of war The accurate reason for war is unknown or dynamic If not, maybe someone would come up with a solid reason and get a Nobel Prize and eventually every state would end it and operate peacefully, but it hasn’t happened to date So wars can never be abolished and even known reasons for wars cannot be eradicated completely

The author is a student of Strategic Studies at National Defence University Islamabad He tweets at @afnanwasif

C h i n a to s u p

Pakistan Nav y conduc ts successful live weapons firing

SuPreMe CourT ForMS new benCH For eLeCTIon deL ay PLea aFTer judge reCuSaL

FO L L O W I N G the recusal of a member from the case the Supreme Court announced that a new four-judge bench will hear the petition of Pakistan

Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) challenging the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone elections to the Punjab Assembly on Friday

The original five-judge bench was dissolved after a member, Justice Amin ud-Din Khan, recused himself from the case He made the decision a day after arguing that the Constitution does not give the chief justice unilateral power to select judges form special benches or list cases for hearing

On Wednesday, in a 12-page judgement, co-authors Justice Khan and Justice Qazi Faez Isa suggested that cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution be postponed until amendments are made to the Supreme Court Rules 1980 regarding the discretionary powers of the chief justice to form benches

They argued that the chief justice cannot substitute his wisdom with that of the Constitution and that collective determination by the chief justice and other judges of the Supreme Court cannot be assumed by an individual even if it is the chief justice

The dissolution of the bench occurred shortly before the court proceed-

ings were scheduled to begin In an order read by the court staff on Thursday the Supreme Court said the bench members will be determined on Friday, and the case will be heard before a bench that won’t include Justice Khan

The hearing is scheduled to take place at 11:30 am

The original bench, which had conducted three hearings on the petition was constituted by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and included Justice Ijaz ulAhsan Justice Munib Akhtar Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Khan

A bone of contention arose among top judges during proceedings on

Wednesday, with Justice Mandokhail questioning the “order of the court” in the suo motu proceedings relating to the March 1 judgement on elections

He expressed regret that no “order of the court” had been released questioning how April 30 could be announced as the election date or its extension until Oct 8 in the absence of such an order

Meanwhile Justice Akhtar challenged the notion that the minority could claim to be in the majority, given that all five judges had signed the original short order In response to the development Barrister Ali Zafar, who represents the PTI in the case, said the Supreme Court

needs to address the current issue arising from conflicting views among judges While speaking to reporters outside the court, Zafar suggested the court should either convene a full bench or another combination of judges to resolve the matter He stressed that the issue at hand is not limited to the composition of court benches but is a fundamental constitutional matter concerning whether the ECP has the right to postpone or determine the timing of elections

Although Zafar acknowledged that there may be a slight delay he expressed confidence that a new bench would be formed to hear the case

LHC strikes down colonial- era sedition law that stifled free speech

L AHORE: Justice Shahid Karim of Lahore High Court (LHC) has struck down Sect on 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) which deals with sedition for being inconsistent with the Const tution

The law which pena ises ndividua s for attempting to ncite hatred or contempt towards the government through speech or act on has been a topic of controversy n Pakistan It carries a punishment of imprisonment for life or up to three years n addition to a fine A set of petitions chal enged the clause on the grounds that the government used it against ts rivals and urged the court to declare the aw as ultra-vires in terms of Article 8 of the Constitution being inconsistent with and in derogation of fundamental rights provided under Art cle 9, 14 15 16 17 and 19 19-A of the Constitution ” The judgment which was reser ved on the petitions of Barristers

Salman Abuzar Niaz among others was pronounced Thursday

The petit oners argued that the sedition act was a relic of colon a rule and had been used for pol tical purposes The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees freedom of express on, and, according to the pet tioners, Sect on 124-A should be struck down as it is being used to suppress politica dissent The petit on argued that the sedition law has been recklessly used to curb the right to free speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitut on It also c ted cases where various politicians journa ists and act vists were booked under Section 124-A of the PPC and argued that the aw is ser ving as a notorious tool for the suppress on of dissent free speech and cr ticism n Pak stan s ta f f r e p o r t

China-Pakistan border to reopen tomorrow

Post O ffice yet to clear Rs8.8b to power utilities

ISLAMABAD a h m a d a h m a da n

Pakistan Post is yet to clear an outstanding amount of approximately Rs 8 8 billion to the power distribution companies (DISCOs) and K-Electric (KE)

Now the Power Division has sought the intervention of the Prime Minister s Office to help resolve the issue

PM, Fazl discuss political situation

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday here held a meeting with chief of Jamiat Ulema e Islam Maulana Fazlur Rehman and discussed in detail the prevailing political situation in the country

During the meeting held at the Prime Minister House Maulana Fazlur Rehman congratulated the prime minister on the passage of Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure Bill) from the Parliament

He assured of complete cooperation of the allies to the prime minister

Imran challenges

Toshakhana probe in IHC

ISLAMABAD

s ta f f r e p o r t

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday moved IHC against the Toshakhana inquiry launched against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) On the other hand Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking dismissal of all case registered against him calling them politically motivated The former prime minister filed a petition in the IHC through his counsel Khawaja Haris, challenged the NAB’s summon Chairman NAB and the additional director anti-graft watchdog Rawalpindi have been made respondents in the case

The former prime minister pleaded with the court to convert Toshakhana inquiry into an investigation till the final decision in the case

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had launched probe against former prime minister Imran Khan in Toshakhana case on March 9 LHC moved for dismissal of all cases against Imran

lection of electricity bills since July 2021

This amount had to be transferred to the respective power utility on behalf of the customers, but the post offices have failed to transfer the collected amount resulting in a huge cash shortfall for the power utilities

Pakistan and China are set to resume two-side trade through the Khunjerab Pass the only land route between the two countries, after almost three years of suspension due to the Covid-19 outbreak The pass which connects Pakistan s Gilgit Baltistan region with China s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is scheduled to be fully operational from April 1, 2023

The pass had been closed for trade activities after the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020 It was briefly reopened last year to allow one side trade i e imports from China only The border remained closed despite a significant reduction in pandemic cases and the resumption of trade activities worldwide

In January 2020, the government of Gilgit Baltistan stopped two shipping containers carrying goods from entering Pakistan through the Khunjerab Pass and requested the federal government to delay the reopening of the border crossing for trade as a precautionary measure Later the Chinese side remained reluctant to open the border for trade after the pandemic spread in Pakistan However, with the recent decline in positivity rates, the relevant authorities green-light customs clearance hoping to drive up cross-border trade and business in the post-Covid era

Apart from the closure of the border due to Covid-19 related issues the border usually remains open from April 1 to November 30 every year and remains closed from December 1 to March 31 due to harsh winter weather conditions and lack of oxygen at high altitudes Foreign office spokespersons have confirmed that Islamabad and Beijing have decided to reopen the Khunjerab Border in two phases The first phase, imports from China only, is already active The second phase of allowing exports from Pakistan will begin from April 1 The Khunjerab Pass holds is the highest paved border crossing in the world, offering picturesque scenery and a hot tourist location In 2019 prior to Covid-induced shutdowns trade volume between China and Pakistan surged by nearly 47% to $856 3 million at the Khunjerab Pass The Khunjerab Port is the only land port linking Pakistan and China and is a strategic point on the Karakoram Highway linking Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China The reopening of the border is expected to boost economic ties and strengthen the relationship between the two countries

Earlier however in an Office Memorandum from February the power division asked the Secretary Ministry of Communication and Director General (DG), Pakistan Post to clear liabilities of discos pending from July 2022

According to documents available with Profit despite repeated requests by the power division to the Communication Division and Pakistan Post, the outstanding liabilities have not been cleared Legally, the Post Office cannot retain the collection on behalf of DISCOs, intervention at the Prime Minister ’s Office may help to resolve the issue and stop its recurrence read the documents

Sources in the Power Division have also stated that the DISCOs along with K-Electric (KE) have reported that the Post Offices have retained the col-

To resolve the issue, the power division took up the matter with the Communication Division and Pakistan Post Which resulted in the releasing of Rs 20 billion against the outstanding amount of Rs 28 765 billion

As of March 31 2023

Rs 3 97 billion of KElectric along with Rs 4 8 billion of other utilities and is yet to be released by the Pakistan Post, said sources These funds would not only help the power sector to meet its financial obligations, and payments to the power producers but also help in mitigating unscheduled load-shedding in the coming summer said the sources in power division

It is pertinent to mention that if the communication Division and Pakistan Post release the outstanding liabilities this would enable DISCOs and KE to recover their bills from customers deposited in the General Post Offices (GPOs) from July 2022

Imran unmoved by formation of new SC bench in polls delay c ase

LAHORE s ta f f r e p o r t

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreke-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan apparently distanced his party from the ruling coalition’s demand to constitute a full court bench on the Punjab elections delay case, saying it makes no difference, whether a larger or full bench conducts hearing”

In a tweet from his official handle, the former prime minister said that whether a five-member or full court bench heard his petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), it makes no difference to us [because] all we want to know is if elections will be held within the 90 days

constitutional provision

The PTI chief said he had

consulted his top legal experts before dissolving provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) “ All of whom were absolutely clear that the 90-day Constitutional provision on holding of elections was inviolable Now Imported Govt of crooks, their handlers & a compromised ECP are making a complete mockery of Constitution, he added Imran Khan said the PDM government and its alleged handlers are threatening the very foundation of Pakistan by cherry-picking which articles of Constitution they will abide by So petrified are they of elections & so desperate to whitewash their convicted ldrs [leaders] that they are prepared to destroy the Constitution & any semblance of

Rule of Law, the PTI chief said

Imran’s statement comes hours after the Supreme Court s five-member bench hearing PTI s plea challenging the ECP’s decision to postpone the Punjab Assembly polls was dissolved

A member of the bench, Justice Aminuddin Khan, recused himself from hearing the petition on account of yesterday s order wherein it was held that the hearing of all cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution be postponed until amendments in Supreme Court Rules, 1980, regarding the discretionary power of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to form special benches

Now, a four-member bench excluding Justice Aminuddin will take up the PTI s petition on Friday at 11 30am

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking dismissal of all case registered against him calling them politically motivated PTI Secretary General Asad Umar is also an applicant in the petition filed under Article 199 of the Constitution The high court has also been pleaded to grant bail to the PTI chief in all the cases The petition has been filed through Barrister Salman Safdar and Barrister Sameer Khosa

The former prime minister has been facing spate of cases, including terrorism and misdeclaration of assets, since his ouster from the prime minister ’s office through a no-confidence vote in April last

TTP strikes in Lakki Mar wat leave 4 police officers mar t yred

PESHAWAR s ta f f r e p o r t

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in a pair of attacks killed four police officers by targeting a police vehicle with a roadside bomb and wounded six in an attack on a police station in Lakki Marwat city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa early Thursday police said The bomb killed four officers in a police vehicle carrying reinforcements sent to respond to the attack on a police station in the town bordering Afghanistan Six officers were wounded in the attack at the police station Ashfaq Khan a police officer said a search was underway for the militant suspects who attacked the police station and later targeted the police vehicle with a bomb Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack, saying he was saddened by the martyrdom of the targeted officers The sacrifices of our police officers in the war against terrorism are unforgettable ” he said The Afghanistan-based group claimed responsibility for both attacks, saying one of the slain police officers, Iqbal Mohmand, was targeted because he was behind the arrest and killing of some of its militants

The group is separate but allied with Afghanistan s Taliban There has been an uptick in attacks in Pakistan after the TTP ended a cease-fire with the government of Pakistan TTP has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 when US and NATO troops were leaving the country after 20 years of war Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuaries in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover Pakistan has seen innumerable militant attacks in the past two decades but there has been an uptick since November, when the TTP ended a months long Afghan Talibanbrokered cease-fire with the government of Pakistan

IHC reser ves verdic t on admissibility of Tyrian White case

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday reserved its verdict on the admissibility of a petition seeking the disqualification of PTI Chairman Imran Khan for concealing his alleged daughter Tyrian White in election papers declaration

A citizen Muhammad Sajid had filed a plea in the IHC last year claiming that although Imran made arrangements for Tyrian White s upkeep in the United Kingdom, he did not disclose it in nomination papers and affidavits filed by him for contesting elections

Submitting his response to the IHC the former premier on Feb 1 had requested the court to dismiss the petition, saying that it was “not maintainable” on legal grounds as he was no longer a lawmaker Subsequently, the IHC had decided to

constitute a larger bench to hear the petition On Feb 9, it had emphasised that arguments on the plea’s admissibility were highly important

The IHC was to initially decide on the petition’s maintainability on March 21 but had adjourned the hearing till today directing Imran s counsel to conclude his arguments on its maintainability

A three-member larger bench consisting of IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq Jus-

tice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice

Arbab Muhammad Tahir presided over the hearing Advocate Hamid Ali Shah was present as the petitioner s counsel while Advocate Salman Akram Raja and Advocate Abuzar Salman were present as Imran’s representatives Advocates Saad Hasan and Zegham Anees were present as the Election Commission of Pakistan’s lawyers

T h e h e a r i n g: At the outset of the hearing, Justice Farooq said: “Till now, according to the record Imran Khan has neither denied nor accepted anything Till now the court is hearing this petition regarding its admissibility ”

Addressing Shah the petitioner ’s counsel Justice Farooq said: You tell us about the basic points; is Tyrian under the guardianship of Imran Khan or not? Is Imran Khan a public office holder now or not?

If there is something new in response to the points [raised by Imran’s lawyer] Salman Akram Raja tell us that Till now neither Imran Khan s admission nor rebuttal is on record

To this, Advocate Shah said: “Imran Khan did not disclose his daughter’s name in the affidavit given to the election commission He said that according to the Holders of Public Exchequer (Accountability) Act

2015, Imran cannot remain as party head

The lawyer argued: “Imran Khan did not respond to the facts mentioned in the petition which makes them accepted [by default]

Here, the IHC chief justice observed that the court was hearing the case based on the petition’s admissibility Advocate Shah then proceeded to read out the affidavit submitted by Imran He said: “Imran Khan mentioned Bushra Bibi Kassem Khan and Suleman Khan in the affidavit He said that the two sons live with their mother and are not under his financial guardianship Tyrian has not yet been married [so] she comes under [Imran s] guardianship according to Islamic law, he argued Advocate Shah said that the petitioner is a Pakistani citizen like other citizens Even if the petition is against a party head, it is admissible ” he added

The counsel asserted: If someone submits a false affidavit, he is disqualified under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution according to [previous] court verdicts

At this point during the hearing, the court raised the question: “If the court determines that this affidavit was false what will happen then?

To this, the petitioner s counsel responded that person would then be “disqualified from becoming a member of an assembly and remaining the party head

Upon the completion of Advocate Shah’s arguments Justice Farooq said to the ECP lawyer: We had asked you to submit documents

“What is the election commission’s stance on this?” the court asked the ECP lawyer who then replied that in the past such petitions were dismissed on the basis of lack of evidence”