Epaper – April 23-2022 ISB

Saturday, 23 April, 2022 I 21 Ramzan, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 295 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

NSC fiNdS No foreigN CoNSpiraCy to topple imraN khaN govt

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News Desk

he National Security Committee on Friday concluded that there was no foreign conspiracy to oust the Imran Khan-led government. According to a press release issued after a meeting of the body, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the 38th meeting of the NSC to discuss the telegram received from the Pakistan embassy in Washington.

It was attended by former Pakistan ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee General Nadeem Raza, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar and senior civil and military officers.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs hina Rabbani Khar were also in attendance.

Former Pakistan Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan briefed the com-

mittee on the context and content of his telegram. “The NSC discussed the telegram received from the Pakistan embassy in Washington. Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US briefed the committee on the context and content of his telegram,” it stated. “The NSC, after examining the contents of the communication, reaffirmed the decisions of the last NSC meeting,” the press release said.

“The NSC was again informed by the premier security agencies that they have found no evidence of any conspiracy.

Therefore, the NSC, after reviewing the contents of the communication, the assessments received, and the conclusions presented by the security agencies, concluded that there has been no foreign conspiracy,” it added.

It is pertinent to note that the statement by the NSC comes as former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has launched a campaign, claiming that his government was ousted by a “foreign conspiracy”. To back his claim, Imran has continuously referred to a cable sent by Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed, which he said contains evidence of the conspir-

acy to topple his government. This is the second time in as many months that the NSC has held a meeting to review the contents of the cable sent by Majeed.

In March, the NSC had decided to issue a ‘strong demarche’ to a country, that it did not name, over what it said was “blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan”. While the forum had stopped short of calling the interference a conspiracy in its last meeting, which was chaired by then-prime minister Imran Khan and included the same services chief who attended today’s meeting, it had explicitly not denied that a conspiracy was hatched. Last month’s NSC meeting had also termed the interference “unacceptable under any circumstances”. earlier this month, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar categorically said that the word “conspiracy” was not used in the statement issued after March’s NSC meeting.

“As far as military response about the NSC meeting is considered, that stance, in that meeting was fully given, and then a statement was issued … which clearly says what was concluded in that meeting. “The words used are in front of you … as I said … the words used are clear. Is there any word such as conspiracy used in it? I think not,” he had said in response to a question asked by a journalist.

The DG ISPR had also said that issuance of demarches was not specific to the hatching of conspiracies but could also be given for other reasons. “In this case, it was given for undiplomatic language and … interference,” he had said. ever since he was ousted by the opposition through a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly, Imran has dismissed the Shehbaz government, erming it “imported”.

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President administers oath to 4 new cabinet members

News Desk President Dr Arif Alvi administered oath to three federal ministers and one minister of state for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet at the Aiwan-i-Sadr on Friday, the first time the president led the ceremony involving members of the new government.

The president had previously “complained of discomfort” just a day before then prime ministerelect Shehbaz was to be sworn in as head of government. Shehbaz was then administered the oath of office by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.

On Tuesday, 33 lawmakers were

inducted in the new premier’s cabinet after they were sworn in by Sanjrani in the absence of the president, who had refused to administer the oath to the lawmakers, adding that a Cabinet Division notification issued at the time carried the names of 26 federal ministers and two ministers of state.

In Friday’s oath-taking ceremony, Pakistan Muslim LeagueQuaid’s (PML-Q) Chaudhry Salik hussain — son of Chaudhry Shujaat hussain — Balochistan National Party-Mengal’s (BNP-M) Agha hassan Baloch and PML-N’s Javed Latif were sworn in as federal ministers, staterun APP reported.

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saturday, 23 April, 2022 | IsLAMABAD

news

ELEctioNS wiLL bE hELd AftEr govt coMPLEtES itS tENurE, SAyS MiNiStEr

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News Desk

EDERAL Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said that general elections would be held after the government completes its tenure, as she excoriated former prime minister Imran Khan and his governance.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, she said, “And when the elections are held this time, the mistake of the RTS’s failure will not happen again, Imran Khan sahib.

“This time, fog won’t appear like it did in Daska. This time, ballot boxes will not be stolen like they were in Daska. This time, officers of the Election Commission of Pakistan will not go missing like they did in Daska.”

The minister claimed that people

had “learnt from their mistake” and would not vote for Imran Khan again, adding that they had realised that he was a “liar and a hypocrite”.

Aurangzeb’s statements come a day after former prime minister and PTI chairman Imran Khan, held a rally at Minar-e-Pakistan, attended by thousands of supporters. In it, he once again demanded immediate elections, urging “whoever made the mistake” of ousting him to rectify it and call elections. Since Khan was removed as prime minister in a no-confidence vote, he has been consistently calling for elections to be held, questioning the legitimacy of the new Shehbaz Sharif government, and dismissing it as “imported”.

In his speech yesterday, Khan had also called upon the entire nation to get ready for a nationwide movement to achieve “real”

independence and democracy. “I’m not giving a call just to the PTI but all of Pakistan: You all have to prepare in the streets, cities and villages. You have to wait for my call when I call you all to Islamabad,” he had said.

In Aurangzeb’s press briefing today, the information minister said that the nation would decide for itself no matter what the ex-premier said, accusing him of trying to “malign” institutions.

“This campaign that you’re running against the institutions …

We have taken notice of it,” she said.

“Sometimes you call strained relations with the establishment the reason for your government’s fall.

Sometimes you talk of a conspiracy.

“Let me tell you today, the reason for your ouster is you and your deeds,” Aurangzeb said,

demanding an apology from Khan.

Meanwhile, referring to Khan’s “mistake” remark, she said that the former PM, himself, made the “biggest” mistakes. “He’s the man who snatched medicines from the public. He’s the man who created a sugar shortage. He’s the man who managed Modi’s campaigns. He’s the man who laundered money via foreign funding.

“You talk about mistakes … You attacked the Constitution, you attacked parliament, you tried to attack the no-confidence vote. You looted the Bait-ul-Mal by selling the gifts that you got as the prime minister,” the federal minister said.

She added that all these mistakes would be corrected now. “The nation has learnt and it will vote for those who brought it growth and prosperity.”

Govt to remove thousands of names from ECL: Sanaullah News Desk Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah announced Friday the newly-elected government has brought about changes in the rules followed for an individual’s name in the Exit Control List (ECL), and through it, several thousands of the people will have their names removed from it.

In his first press conference at the Interior Ministry, Sanaullah said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed a committee to update the rules of including a person’s name in the ECL. “Therefore, with a quick pace, federal minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Asad Mehmood, Naveed Qamar, and Azam Nazeer Tarrar put forth their suggestions and the cabinet has approved it,” Sanaullah said.

The interior minister said if a person’s name has been on the exit list for more than 120 days then their name would be automatically removed from the ECL. “…a total of 4,863 are in the list, and with this intervention, around 3,000 people’s names have been removed.”

The interior minister said the government could extend the duration of the cap by 90 days if it believes of having had evidence against a person.

“The government will have to present the said evidence before the ECL committee, and once they approve it, the duration will be moved forward.”

Sanaullah Said following people would not be exempted: Individuals involved in terrorism People considered a threat to national security If their names have been added to ECL by any court

People involved in terrorism large-scale public cheating. Moving on, the interior minister said 30,000 people were placed on the black list and the Provisional

National Identification List (PNIL). He added that since the number of people on the lists is huge, there will be changes to them as well in the next few weeks.

Sanaullah said that since 60-65% of the people have been removed from the ECL, a similar move would be made in regards to the other lists as well.

The interior ministry noted that since there were threats to former prime minister Imran Khan, foolproof security has been provided to the PTI chairman.

“The same security that his principal secretary Azam Khan had approved has been given […] rangers, Frontier Corps, bulletproof cars, and other requirements have been provided,” he said.

The interior ministry assured that despite PTI being the incumbent government’s political rivals, the current regime would ensure the provision of security to Khan and his allies.

He also added that following the conclusion of the National Security Committee’s (NSC) meeting, a press release has been issued and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed government officials to not discuss it further. “…but I will tell you this, there is a consensus that there was no conspiracy against Imran Khan,” the interior minister said.

Sanaullah said he saw the letter sent to ex-Pakistan ambassador to Washington Dr Asad Majeed Khan and no one’s name was written on it, rejected Khan’s claim of his name being included in it.

“There should be no foreign interference in a country’s matters,” he added.

PML-Q eyes NA opposition leader slot News Desk The Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) on Friday forwarded the name of Hussain Elahi to the National Assembly speaker for the coveted post of opposition leader in the lower house.

In a letter written to the NA Speaker, the PML-Q – the largest party on the opposition benches after the former ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) quit the assembly – asked the speaker to appoint Elahi as the opposition leader. The letter to the speaker has been signed by PML-Q lawmakers Moonis Elahi, Farah Khan, and Hussain Elahi himself.

On April 10, the PTI announced it was resigning from the National Assembly minutes before the scheduled election of the new prime minister, paving the way for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif to secure the coveted slot. Then deputy speaker Qasim Suri had accepted the resignations of the PTI lawmakers; however, the incumbent speaker said the NA Secretariat would conduct the verification of these resignations from the start.

Ilhan’s visit not ‘sponsored’ by US govt: Ned Price News Desk

Sharjeel Memon appointed as Sindh information minister News Desk PPP leader Sharjeel Memon has been included in the cabinet of the Sindh government after he was appointed as the provincial information minister, a statement in this regard said Friday. The ex-information minister, Saeed Ghani, will retain his portfolio of labour and human resources, according to the statement from the Services, General Administration, and Coordination Department. Acting Governor Agha Siraj Durrani administered the oath to the newly-appointed cabinet member as Imran Ismail had resigned from governorship a few days back. The development comes a day after Memom — who has previously held the portfolio of information minister — was inducted into the cabinet following ex-transport minister Syed Awais Qadir Shah’s removal. The former transport minister was shown the door only a day after he announced that a consignment of over 120 diesel-hybrid buses had started their voyage from two Chinese ports to Karachi. A provincial minister had to be axed to make room for Memon to rejoin the provincial cabinet, so Shah was shown the door, as according to the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the strength of the Sindh cabinet cannot exceed 18.

Amid claims that the United States was “trying to clear the air” with former prime minister Imran Khan through Congress Representative Ilhan Omar who is on a visit to Pakistan, Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said the visit of the US lawmaker who also met PM Shehbaz was not “sponsored” by the US government.

The spokesperson was responding to a question from a Pakistani media outlet’s reporter who sought the stance of the US government over claims being made by the supporters of Imran.

“Close associates of Mr Khan claim that [the] United States is trying to clear the air with Mr Khan.

Is it true that Ilhan Omar is representing [the] Biden government there in Islamabad,” the journalist asked alluding to the conspiracy allegations levelled by Imran against Washington.

“Well, as I understand it, Representative Omar is not visiting Pakistan on US government-sponsored travel, so I’d need to refer you to her office for questions on her travel,” Price responded during a presser.

Omar, a Muslim Congress representative, on Wednesday called on Imran to discuss “Islamophobia” and related issues with the former prime minister. The picture of the meeting was shared by PTI stalwart and former human rights minister Shireen Mazari.

The Ilhan-led delegation had also met National Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Ashraf and President Arif Alvi during the visit.

She had also visited Azad Jammu Kashmir and met its president to discuss rights abuses by India in occupied Kashmir.

“I don’t believe that it (Kashmir) is being talked

about to the extent it needs to in Congress but also with the administration,” Omar told reporters after visiting the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing the disputed territory between Pakistan and

India.

Her LoC visit also prompted a sharp response from the Indian government who termed the visit a violation of its “territorial sovereignty”.

saturday, 23 April, 2022 | IsLAMABAD

hoNourAbLE wAy out for diSSidENt LAwMAkErS iS to rESigN: Sc judgE

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MANAl JAffery

UPREME Court Justice Munib Akhtar, who is part of a fivemember bench hearing a presidential reference seeking the SC’s interpretation of Article 63A of the Constitution, observed on Friday that the “honourable way out for dissident lawmakers is to resign and go home”.

He was responding to PML-N counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan’s argument that disloyalty to the party was different from disloyalty to the state.

During a hearing earlier this week, Justice Akhtar had likened defection in parliamentary democracy to the devastation wrought by cancer on a human body.

The five-member bench of the SC hearing the presidential reference, which is related to disqualification of lawmakers over defection, is headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and comprises Justice Akhtar, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.

When the hearing resumed today, PTI counsel Ali Zafar continued his arguments, saying the purpose of Article 63-A was to end horse-trading.

“Violation of 63-A is a violation of the Constitution,” he said, adding that votes cast by dissident lawmakers would not be counted as per the concerned article.

“There are court decisions on the role and importance of political parties.

Independents and ticket holders of political parties become members [of the National Assembly] and Article 63-A is related to a member of the latter,” he said.

Justice Ahsan questioned whether Zafar meant the votes would not be counted under Article 63-A, to which the counsel replied that he was saying the same in light of judicial interpretation.

The judge observed that counting of

votes and dissent were two separate matters, asking whether a lawmaker’s vote would not be counted even if there were no instructions from the party head.

Zafar replied that the party head would first issue instructions about voting and then the declaration regarding dissident members.

Justice Mandokhail then repeated Justice Ahsan’s question about counting of votes in the absence of instructions from the party head, observing that if votes were not counted, it would mean no wrong had been committed since the concerned Article would come into force only after the vote has been cast. He observed that according to Article 63-A, a dissident lawmaker could cast his vote but he would subsequently lose his seat.

Meanwhile, Justice Miankhel observed that the party head could only give a declaration after the vote had been cast, adding that the party chief could inform the speaker even while polling was going on.

Justice Mandokhail pointed out that after the vote had been cast, the party chief would first issue a show cause notice and seek the dissident member’s reply.

“The party chief may end the show cause after being satisfied with the response received,” Justice Mandokhail added.

Justice Ahsan questioned whether the decision regarding defection was taken by the head or the parliamentary party and what the procedure was. A parliamentary party has a constitution and the majority took the decision, Zafar responded.

Justice Mandokhail questioned why political parties could not deal with the “cancer” of defection themselves. “If political parties have a problem, they should treat it.” Addressing the PTI counsel, he said the stance of most parties was different to the PTI’s. “Are you expecting that we will leave the majority and agree with you? Only one political party is against dissidents.”

Zafar responded that the authority to

interpret the Constitution lay with the Supreme Court.

Justice Ahsan observed it was “very clear” that legislation was the parliament’s job and interpreting those laws was the court’s duty.

“The purpose of Article 63-A’s inclusion was to end the cancer of defection,” he added. The bench directed Zafar to submit detailed arguments.

PML-Q lawyer Azhar Siddique endorsed the PTI counsel’s arguments, saying Article 63-A was a “protective wall” against a no-trust resolution. Whatever had happened in the recent no-confidence vote that led to the ouster of Imran Khan was against the charter of democracy, he added.

Meanwhile, PML-N counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan argued that the National Assembly’s term was five years and a dissident lawmaker could be disqualified only for that length.

He recalled that Imran Khan had submitted a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking a lifetime ban from contesting elections for dissident lawmakers.

The chief justice noted that the question raised in the petition was the same as that in the reference.

“The court has no evidence in front of it as to why the lawmakers became dissidents.

There is no proof of bribery or changing of consciences,” the PML-N counsel said, arguing that it was not the dissident lawmaker’s job to provide reasons for his defection.

The legal fraternity and the public had protested over certain constitutional amendments, he said. “The 7th Constitutional Amendment allowed [the government] to summon the armed forces in aid of civil institutions. The armed forces’ actions in helping civil institutions were excluded from judicial jurisdiction.”

The chief justice asked whether the apex court’s interpretation of the law was limited

to the questions asked in the reference to which Khan replied that the SC had been asked its opinion and it could exercise its authority under Article 184(3), which empowers the top court to intervene in matters involved in enforcement of fundamental rights. The CJP remarked that the country needed to be taken towards “mature democracy” for which legislative discussion was essential.

The PML-N counsel said the PTI chairman had argued in his petition that the votes of dissident lawmakers should not be counted, adding that the reference had been filed to save the former premier from the notrust vote. “The court gave a historic decision to restore the Assembly,” he added, referring to the SC’s decision to set aside the deputy speaker’s ruling to dismiss the notrust resolution against Imran and the subsequent dissolution of the NA by the president.

“We do whatever seems correct in accordance with [our] consciences and the Constitution,” the chief justice responded.

“We pray that improvement comes in the country because of our decisions.”

Subsequently, the hearing was adjourned till after Eidul Fitr.

Ahead of its ouster, the PTI government had filed a presidential reference for the interpretation of Article 63-A, asking the top court about the “legal status of the vote of party members when they are clearly involved in horse-trading and change their loyalties in exchange for money”.

The presidential reference was filed under Article 186 which is related to the advisory jurisdiction of the SC. In the reference, President Dr Arif Alvi also asked the apex court whether a member who “engages in constitutionally prohibited and morally reprehensible act of defection” could claim the right to have his vote counted and given equal weightage or if there was a constitutional restriction to

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exclude such “tainted” votes.

He also asked the court to elaborate whether a parliamentarian, who had been declared to have committed defection, would be disqualified for life. Alvi cautioned that unless horse-trading is eliminated, “a truly democratic polity shall forever remain an unfilled distant dream and ambition”.

“Owing to the weak interpretation of Article 63-A entailing no prolonged disqualification, such members first enrich themselves and then come back to remain available to the highest bidder in the next round, perpetuating this cancer.”

The reference had been filed at a time when the then-opposition claimed the support of several dissident PTI lawmakers ahead of voting on the no-confidence resolution against then-prime minister Imran Khan. Eventually, the dissident lawmakers votes were not needed in Khan’s removal, as the opposition managed to stitch together support from government-allied political parties.

However, the role of dissident lawmakers was crucial in the election of opposition candidate Hamza Shehbaz as the Punjab chief minister who bagged 197 votes, including from 24 PTI dissidents.

According to Article 63-A of the Constitution, a parliamentarian can be disqualified on grounds of defection if he “votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the parliamentary party to which he belongs, in relation to election of the prime minister or chief minister; or a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or a money bill or a Constitution (amendment) bill”.

The article says that the party head has to declare in writing that the MNA concerned has defected but before making the declaration, the party head will “provide such member with an opportunity to show cause as to why such declaration may not be made against him”.

After giving the member a chance to explain their reasons, the party head will forward the declaration to the speaker, who will forward it to the chief election commissioner (CEC). The CEC will then have 30 days to confirm the declaration. If confirmed by the CEC, the member “shall cease to be a member of the House and his seat shall become vacant”.

Ahsan Iqbal invites predecessor Asad Umar for farewell dinner News Desk

Early elections won’t solve people’s problems: Shujaat News Desk Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said that holding fresh elections is not the real demand of the people, adding that the core issues of the masses are to see poverty being eradicated, reduction in inflation and relief to the salaried class, a news outlet reported on Friday.

According to the report, Shujaat said that it is a difficult task but the government should focus more on the welfare of the people, adding that the businessmen could increase prices but the salaried class can’t increase their salaries by themselves. “The real problem of the people is not early elections,” Shujaat said in a video message, “the real problems of the people are to eradicate poverty, control prices and provide relief to the salaried class.” Shujaat’s statement comes at a time when the former prime minister, Imran Khan has frequently been calling for fresh general elections in the country following his ouster through a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly. Following the defenestration of the former PM, he has been holding rallies in different cities and demanding snap polls. In his rally in Lahore on Thursday, Imran asked people to get ready for his call to gather in Islamabad in the next stage of the “real freedom” movement.

To a question about what advice did he give to his son Chaudhry Salik Hussain and party stalwart Tariq Bashir Cheema, Shujaat said that he has shared the advice that his father had given him. “There should be no arrogance, no matter what the circumstances are,” Shujaat recalled his father’s advice, adding that “hypocrisy should be avoided and the politics of hypocrites should also be avoided.”

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Friday established a new tradition in politics and invited his predecessor Asad Umar for a farewell dinner.

According to sources, Iqbal wishes to hold a farewell dinner to discuss development projects initiated by his former counterpart and their continuation in the public interest. The minister is reportedly awaiting a reply from Umar.

Ahsan Iqbal, who has previously served as interior minister, was sworn into Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet on April 19 and was given the charge of the Ministry of Planning, Development

and Special Initiatives.

The minister, compelled by an urgent need to develop the economy cluster, announced on Thursday to bring all the relevant stakeholders from across the country under the umbrella of a “Turn Around Conference” to get their input on the country’s stuttering economy and find practical solutions to bring it back on track.

“TAC will invite all stakeholders from across Pakistan to boost the economy through short-term initiatives,” he said while chairing a meeting.

Emphasising how the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a big gamechanger for the region, Iqbal said action will be taken on war footing to complete the projects initiated in 2013.

Army officer martyred in gunfight with terrorists in Balochistan’s Awaran: IsPR APP A Pakistan Army major embraced martyrdom during an exchange of fire with terrorists in Balochistan’s Awaran area, the military’s media affairs wing said on Friday.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a group of terrorists “fire raided” a security forces’ checkpost in the area of Kahan, near Awaran. However, the forces repulsed the attack and went after the terrorists in the nearby mountains.

“At one of the cordons established to block the passage of fleeing terrorists, a heavy exchange of fire took place between terrorists and security forces,” the ISPR added.

During the skirmish, the military said, a valiant son of the soil, Major Shahid

Basheer, lost his life while another soldier sustained injuries. The ISPR said the forces caused heavy losses to the terrorists.

“Security forces, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability, and progress of Balochistan.”

Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), he prayed for the “higher ranks of valiant son of the soil, Major Shahid Basheer, who embraced shahadat and prayed for recovery of the injured”.

PM Shehbaz also appreciated the determination and security forces’ resolve to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress in Balochistan.

“He (Shehbaz) said that the nation is standing solidly behind its armed forces in the fight against terrorism,” the PMO quoted him as saying.

In January this year, ten soldiers were martyred after terrorists attacked a security forces’ checkpost in Balochistan’s Kech district.

The ISPR had said the “fire raid” by terrorists occurred on the night of Jan 2526. One terrorist was also killed in retaliatory fire by the forces.

Last month, four soldiers had embraced martydom in North Waziristan’s Hassan Khel area during an exchange of fire with terrorists who attempted to infiltrate into Pakistan from Afghanistan on the night between March 23 and March 24.

Saturday, 23 April, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

04 NEWS

IMran, wIfe PaId rs38M tO retaIn fOreIgn gIfts wOrth rs142M, reveal dOcuMents

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APP

oRMER prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi retained all the 112 valuables worth Rs142.02 million gifted by different countries, either for free or purchased at a throwaway price of Rs38 million. The official documents, available with APP, revealed that Imran and his wife retained 52 free gifts worth Rs800,200 “without paying a single penny”.

The list of Toshakhana gifts re-

ceived by ex-PM Imran between August 2018 and December 2021 remained a secret during his tenure, making the situation scandalous to reports of hiding the information from the tax authorities.

Toshakhana is a department under the Cabinet Division which maintains the record of the precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, and officials by heads of other governments, states, and foreign dignitaries as a goodwill gesture.

The then government had adopted

the stance that the disclosure of any information related to Toshakhana would jeopardise international ties.

The list of gifts showed that the other valuables were kept by the couple after paying a meagre amount than the assessed value.

From seven luxurious Rolex and other expensive watches to gold and diamond jewellery including multiple necklaces, bracelets, rings, multiple diamond chains, an expensive pen and cufflinks worth millions, dinner sets, perfumes, and oud fragrance, the couple

retained everything that different states of the world were gifting to Pakistan.

The most precious gift was presented by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman during the very first visit of Imran to the kingdom.

However, to the irony, the Rs85 million Graff wristwatch was retained by the former prime minister by paying only Rs20 million. Below is the detail of the gifts received and retained by Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, their value, and the amount paid by the former premier to retain the presents.

Sadozai to head Fatima Fertiliser's marketing department KArAcHI PR

Fatima Fertilizer is pleased to announce that Rabel Sadozai, a seasoned marketing professional, has been recently promoted to lead the Sales and Marketing function within the organization. Rabel has become the first-ever female within Pakistan’s agriculture and fertilizer sector to have claimed such a high ranking position. This comes as a bright futuristic prospect since Rabel is a true representation of 22 million empowered women, directly or indirectly associated with the Agriculture sector of Pakistan.

In line with the new role, Rabel will utilize her 22 years of earned experience to set even higher standards within her work domain. Having been associated with Fatima Fertilizer for over 9 years, she was able to ef-

fectively lead the functions related to marketing communications.

Her most significant achievement is related to steering the effort of introducing Pakistan’s firstever Kissan Day on December 18, 2019, which was duly recognized by the Federal Government

and has been adopted as an annual event ever since by all Government and industry stakeholders.

In addition, she has also been instrumental in promoting farmer-focused communication across traditional and digital media to highlight their ongoing challenges and promote solutions to uplift their economic and social status.

Chairman of Fatima Group, Mr. Fawad Ahmed Mukhtar has also time and again stressed on the need for innovative and insight based marketing to reach out to the

farmers of Pakistan and help them increase their yield and productivity.

Sarsabz Fertilizer's disruptive marketing strategy based on the brand promise of 10% greater yield has been a game changer not just for the company but farmers livelihood and Pakistan's prosperity at large. He also added that he and his team are working hard to promote equal opportunity within the company and believe in promoting a culture where women feel valued and empowered.

Man files case against spouse SYED SHAHABUDDIN A man has filed a case against his spouse for faking gender in Swat. The police registered the case against Mohammad Izzat Khan and his parents for faking his gender and marrying him off as a girl in Swat. Even though Mohammad Izzat Khan was a boy, his parents declared him a girl only on the basis of a few signs and got him married in December 2017. According to details, Izzat Khan did not establish a relationship with the complainant (her husband), who later for Malaysia, soon after the wedding.

BOP registers 18pc growth LAHorE PR

Ameeting of the Board of Directors of The Bank of Punjab was held on April 21, 2022 to consider and approve the un-audited Financial Statements for the 1st quarter of year ended March 31, 2022.

During the meeting, the Board reviewed Bank’s performance for 1st quarter of the year 2022 in comparison with the set business targets. The Board expressed satisfaction on overallfinancial performance of the Bank and noted that Bank is moving in right direction for achievement of strategic business targets. During 1st quarter of year 2022, Bank’s Net Interest Margin (NIM) improved to Rs. 8.11 billion as against Rs. 6.87 billion during 1st quarter 2021 registering a growth of 18%. Similarly, Non-Markup/ Interest Income (excluding gains on securities) increased to Rs. 1.80 billion as against Rs. 1.27 billion during 1st quarter 2021 showing an increase of 41%. During 1st quarter of the year, the Bank posted after tax profit of Rs. 2.16 billion as against Rs. 1.83 billion earned during 1st quarter of year 2021 with a growth of 18%.

PID (I) 7454/21

CMYK

Saturday, 23 April, 2022 | ISlAmAbAd

PAleStINIANS clASh wIth ISrAelI PolIce At JeruSAleM holy SIte, 31 INJured JERUSALEM

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T least 31 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli police at Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Friday, Palestinian medics said, the latest outbreak in a recent upsurge of violence at a site revered

by Muslims and Jews alike.

The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service said 14 Palestinians had been taken to hospital, two with serious injuries.

Israeli police said its forces intervened when hundreds of people began hurling rocks and fireworks and drew close to the Western Wall, where Jewish worship was underway.

Reuters witnesses said police entered the compound after the morning prayers and fired rubber-tipped bullets and stun grenades at a crowd of about 200 Palestinians, some of whom were throwing rocks.

Police also fired rubber-tipped bullets from a close range at a group of journalists documenting the clashes, the witnesses said.

An upsurge of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in recent

weeks has raised fears of a relapse into a broader conflict, like last year’s Gaza war.

Since March Israeli forces have killed at least 29 Palestinians in West Bank raids, the Palestinian health ministry said, and a series of deadly Arab street attacks have killed 14 people in Israel, Israeli police and

medics said. Last Friday, more than 150 Palestinians and several Israeli police officers were injured in similar clashes at AlAqsa, Palestinian medics and Israeli police said. The conduct of Israeli security forces that day “raises serious concerns that the use of force was widespread, unnecessary and

indiscriminate,” a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.

Tensions this year have been heightened in part by the Muslim holy month of Ramazan coinciding with the Jewish celebration of Passover, which brings more Muslim and Jewish visitors to the compound, the holiest in Judaism. Palestinians accuse Israel of restricting Muslim worship at AlAqsa mosque – the third holiest site in Islam and known to Jews as the Temple Mount – while not doing enough to enforce a longstanding ban on Jewish prayer there. Israel rejects this accusation.

As in previous years, Israel is halting Jewish visits during the final days of Ramazan, starting Friday, an Israeli official said. Traditionally, Muslim attendance at the compound increases during the final days of the fasting month. Al-Aqsa compound sits atop the Old City plateau of East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in a 1967 war and annexed in a move that has not won international recognition.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a state they seek to establish in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

Education imperative for development of society, state: minister PR The Federal Minister, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & HRD, Mr. Sajid Hussain Turi said that Education is one of the most important elements for collective development of a society and a state.

Addressing at formal launch of education portal in OPF, the Federal Minister emphasized on maximum utilization of technology to improve educational standards. He said; the Internet has revolutionized the education paradigm worldwide as it opens doorways to a wealth of information, knowledge, educational resources, increasing opportunities for learning in and beyond the classroom.

While highlighting the significance of educational portals, the Federal Minister said; in today’s internet driven society, education portal provides an immediate access to institution’s services on 24/7 basis.

The information seekers do not have to

physically visit the institution for obtaining information. They can locate the required information anytime and from anywhere through his/her computer or mobile phone.

They only need to have a robust Internet connection.

He appreciated the management of OPF for developing education portal which hosts the important information about OPF’s educational services such as scholarships for children of overseas Pakistanis, reserved seats for overseas Pakistanis in public sector universities, OPF’s e-Learning program etc. Besides, the portal will also provide an instant access to websites of OPF’s 26 educational institutions which are being run across the length and breadth of Pakistan. Before launch of education portal, Managing Director, OPF also gave a comprehensive presentation regarding the welfare services being provided to overseas Pakistanis by OPF.

The former PM said that the no-confidence move against him was part of a foreign conspiracy, claiming that the cable received from the ambassador on March 7, a day before the opposition officially filed the notrust move against him, was evidence of the conspiracy.

The issue was first raised by Imran at a public rally on March 27. Imran said the cable carried details of the ambas-

sador’s meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu in which the latter allegedly threatened Pakistan. Majeed, in the cable, reportedly said that Lu warned that Imran’s continuation as the prime minister would have repercussions for bilateral relations.

The US, Imran claimed, was annoyed with his “independent foreign policy” and visit to Moscow.

PTI’S RESPONSE: Later on Friday,

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Air chief meets Nigerian chief of defence staff PRESS RELEASE General Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff Nigerian Armed Forces called on Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force in his office on Friday. The visiting dignitary appreciated sound professionalism of PAF personnel and also acknowledged the achievements made by PAF in recent years through indigenization. The Air Chief said that Pakistan and Nigeria had longstanding religious, cultural and historical bonds which were manifested through strong ties between the Air Forces of two countries. The visiting dignitary expressed his complete satisfaction on the performance of JF-17 fighter aircraft, inducted from Pakistan.

He also said that the JF-17 aircraft, with its multirole fighting capabilities, would prove to be a great asset in addressing the security requirements of Nigeria.

Both the dignitaries agreed to further revitalize defence ties including training and indigenous production. Various matters of professional interest and regional security also came under discussion during the meeting.

Minister mulls expansion of BISP PR

NSC finds no foreign conspiracy to topple Imran khan govt ContinUEd fRoM PAgE 01

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while responding to the NSC’s statement, the former ruling party Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) said that the committee’s findings have validated its position on the “threat letter”.

“The existence of the letter is a fact and every word of PTI Chairman Imran Khan is true in this regard,” the PTI said.

It said that the statement proved foreign interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan, adding that the decision to lodge a protest with the United States was correct.

The party called for the formation of a judicial commission as soon as possible to get to the bottom of the controversy and bring facts in front of the nation.

It urged the commission to investigate the threat given to Pakistan and trace the local characters who are part of the controversy. It demanded investigators look into meetings between ambassadors of a “certain country”, opposition parties (currently in government) and PTI dissenting members.

Federal Minister Shazia Marri chaired a review meeting at the Benazir Income Support Program Office and discussed the expansion of the program. Secretary Ismat Tahira gave a briefing on the programs and structure of the organization. Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Security, Shazia Marri, sought suggestions for improving the payment system of Benazir Income Support Program and issued instructions to further improve it before the release of next installment. She made a review of eligibility and exclusion criteria for deserving persons in the program. Shazia Marri said that it was unfair to remove deserving people from the program on the basis of unnecessary filters. She said that it was not right to exclude deserving persons from the program on the basis of foreign visits for attending religious rituals alone.

She said that the exclusion of people from Benazir Income Support Program on the basis of mobile spending is unfair. Shazia Marri said that if people have to be expelled from the program, then first empower them. In the end, she said that the name of Bibi Shaheed would be used with all the programs as major programs are being run under the supervision of BISP.

President administers oath to 4 new cabinet members ContinUEd fRoM PAgE 01 After the three were sworn in a federal ministers, BNP-M’s Hashim Notezai was administered the oath of office and inducted into the cabinet as a minister of state.

No details of their portfolios were immediately available.

PM Shehbaz was also present at the oath-taking ceremony, and was seated next to President Alvi.

The oath-taking had taken place just

days after the president and the prime minister held their first meeting since Shehbaz became premier. The President’s Secretariat had said the leaders discussed issues related to the evolving political and economic situation in the country.

PM Shehbaz’s cabinet continued to expand amid reports of differences among allies in the new coalition government and even within the PML-N over the selection of members and distribution of portfolios among them.

A source in the PML-N revealed that there was a divide within the party over the selection of cabinet members and distribution of portfolios among them.

He had said PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz was “unhappy” with the PM for not considering names of veteran party leaders, who had a close and long association with the party’s supreme leader Nawaz.

Later, Javed Latif had been identified as one such party member, saying that PM She-

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hbaz had accommodated him in the cabinet to honour Nawaz’s wish. The report stated that Latif and Shehbaz had were not on talking terms since the former had raised questions over the latter’s alleged links with the establishment.

According to the report, Latif had not taken oath on Tuesday citing that he was busy in a party rally in Okara, while a PMLN insider revealed that the PML-N leader had done so because Shehbaz would not have been comfortable with his presence at

the ceremony.

Meanwhile, there were also reports of the BNP-M of not joining the cabinet, as the party had accused the government of not preventing violent incidents in the province, such as the recent firing on protesters in Chagai.

A day after the oath-taking, it has been reported that two main parties of the ruling coalition — PML-N and PPP — were also at odds over the selection of their members for the cabinet and distribution of portfolios.

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Saturday, 23 April, 2022

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Musbat reporting

No time for rallies Let the new government deal with economic challenges

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TI chief Imran Khan is out to create chaos in the country which badly needs peace to deal with its overarching economic crisis. At his third public meeting after ouster as PM, Mr Khan announced massive protest demonstrations against the government after eidul fitr. He claimed that his elected government was toppled through a conspiracy hatched by the USA as it resented Mr Khan’s independent foreign policy. Through hints and innuendos Khan held the establishment and judiciary also responsible for getting an “imported government” installed. As he put it, the mistake of imposing this government could only be rectified by holding immediate elections in the country. Imran Khan is in a haste because he fears that the allied government would get strengthened if given time to stabilize. While an untimely agitation can harm the national economy, whether it can bring down the government remains questionable.

The PTI was much stronger in 2014 than now. Having no negative incumbency factor to his discredit and enjoying the support of the high and mighty, Mr Khan exhausted the entire playbook of agitational tactics without success. He went for protest marches, blocking roads, attacking government installations, shutting down entire cities, resigning en masse from the national Assembly and holding the country’s longest sit-in. He had to call off the agitation as the PMl(n), PPP and other parliamentary parties joined the ranks.

Mr Khan demands immediate elections. A section of the ruling alliance too wants elections, albeit after electoral reforms so that the elections do not get mired in dispute as in 2018. The election Commission hopes to finish demarcation of constituencies which is a constitutional requirement and hold elections in October.

The way out is to settle the issue through talks. This however does not suit Mr Khan who wants to resort to agitation in the name of the “real freedom movement” for political gains. Having lost a number of electables and allies and the goodwill of the establishment Mr Khan needs a political stunt to come to power.

Imran Khan’s call for agitation has led PMl(n) VicePresident Maryam nawaz to announce a series of rallies across the county. There is a need on both sides to postpone public rallies to let the government concentrate on the economy. They will have enough time for activities of the sort once the elections are announced.

Dr QaiSar raShiD

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n 6 december 2018, the Inter-Services Public relations (ISPr) director General Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor held a press conference and called upon the media to play a positive role, do musbat (positive) reporting, and show Pakistan’s potential and progress within and outside for just six months and then see where the country would reach.

Many people still believe that merely a change in the strategy of reporting, even if it were contrived, could make a difference. That is, even if the economy were in the doldrums, governance in tatters, and foreign policy ruined, keep papering over all these realities and the situation would improve. The underlying assumption was that the media had been playing a negative nefarious role which had subdued Pakistan’s potential and downplayed Pakistan’s image.

At the occasion, General Ghafoor lamented for the lost time: “How 70 years have passed and we are still telling the nation that the country is passing through difficult times. Why did these difficult times come and who is responsible? There is a debate on this but no result. We keep on blaming each other.”

These were brilliant questions to ask and these queries are still relevant. Who is responsible for the testing times the country has been passing through? frequent martial laws and then a semi-martial law couched in the term hybrid regime have undermined democracy. In terms of progress and development after 2018, the country remained stalled. now, refuge

Spotlight on Waziristan

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rIMe MInISTer Shahbaz Sharif announced the setting up of a university and a medical college in Waziristan, as well as the extension of the danish schools programme to the area, during his visit to north Waziristan on Thursday. Mr Sharif was accompanied by Interior Minister rana Sanaullah, defence Minister Khwaja Asif and COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, while there was a briefing by the Corps Commander Peshawar, lt Gen faiz Hameed, on the security situation in the area.

Until recently a tribal area, Waziristan had developed into a node of terrorism all over the country, as well as the headquarters of the Tehrik i Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It was only after two major operations; the latter commanded by a lieutenant general, that some semblance of peace was restored to the area. However, at the present juncture, that good work seems to be going for nothing, with the Taliban victory in neighbouring Afghanistan coinciding with an upsurge in terrorist activity centered around this area. Also worrisome is that the area seems likely to play its former role, and acts as a relative safe haven.

With the Taliban refusing to help Pakistan with the TTP, Waziristan provides the easiest route into the rest of the country. It is almost as if the military, which hitherto had been jealously keeping civilians out of the area, both literally and figuratively, is now seeking the help of the civilian government in tackling this issue. While the support of two independent MnAs from the area was crucial for the new government, which alone would not cause the high priority indicated by a prime ministerial visit, especially when compared to the neglect that had gone before.

It took a constitutional amendment to bring the tribal areas, including Waziristan, into the national mainstream.

However, that was only political, and it is only going to by concrete steps such as more education, that these areas will come out of the benighted support for terrorism that they have shown in the past.

Boosting defense capabilities is preemptive for South Asia Sabina babar

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lfred Thayer Mahan’s geopolitical vision of sea power and the significance of a protective system for organized warfare is more relevant today than it was a hundred years ago. The Indo-Pacific has become a geographical locus of all three major powers, with middle powers following in their footstep, containing potential flashpoints of conflicts that can trigger conventional military confrontation and a race for dominance in the region. On March 28,, US president Joe Biden announced that the USA will reinforce its role in the Indo-Pacific region and will extend its cooperation with longtime allies with a specific focus on defense and security along with emerging technologies. The Biden Administration has announced a budget of $ 1.8 billion to support the Indo-Pacific strategic encounter.

In the near future, the region will witness the deployment and use of hypersonic missiles, as part of advanced technologies, which will radicalize the regional strategic dynamics. The US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region are focusing on enhancing their defense capabilities. Japan has a goal for a Mach 5 + hypersonic scramjet by 2030. recently, it was announced under the Quad umbrella that the US and Japan have to sign an agreement on advanced research and development of hypersonic missiles. Similarly, Australia is planning to advance its capabilities in longer-range missiles. On April 5, AUKUS members announced a new trilateral alliance on joining the development of hypersonic and counter-hypersonic missiles.

India, another major ally of the USA in the IndoPacific region is also focusing on enhancing its missile defense system in order to tilt the regional balance of power in its favour. India has developed its first BrahMos missile and is now working on a follow-up BrahMos II with a peed of Mach 7. On March 9, India accidentally landed a BrahMos 124 km inside Pakistani territory. This inadvertent strike by India instigated a debate on hypersonic warfare and its impact in South Asia. The missile attack was a alculated act by India to access Islamabad’s “response spec-

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami M. A. Niazi

Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

The words of General Ghafoor are relevant even today. Replacing the old government, the new government is in the saddle.

The threat of hypersonic warfare in Indo-Pacific

PM’s visit shows importance paid to the issue

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

is sought in neutrality and constitutionalism.

Who would be held responsible for unemployment and the economic slump that Pakistan has been experiencing since 2018? On 11 October 2017, on the topic of economy, Karachi witnessed a running commentary delivered to an audience of business and the military leadership in an event organized by the federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (fPCCI) and the ISPr at the dHA Golf Club.

Though the economic jargon used at that time is still relevant today, the whole effort remained futile. At that time, the economy was the major fault line. The economy refused to comply with the dictates of the ISPr. What about now? Since 2018, poverty has been taking its toll. Its emergence is with the reality that, once introduced, poverty consumes decades to get alleviated in a developing country like Pakistan. now, the mitigation of poverty is the headache of the newly installed government, as the mastermind stands neutral. refuge has been sought in constitutionalism. What a strategy!

On the occasion, General Ghafoor laid emphasis on the importance of the media as the state’s fourth pillar which had a front line role to play in the fifth generation hybrid warfare imposed on Pakistan. later on, the youth were invited and encouraged to fight the war and this was how the one-man army on social media was born. robots were employed to perform the odious, dreary task of re-tweeting the same message time and again to delude both prospective participants and indolent bystanders into believing that Pakistan’s youth were earnestly waging and fighting the fifth generation hybrid warfare. The embattled gallant youth just needed ammunition. The adversary was about to be defeated.

Interestingly, now one of the main targets of the cybernetic missiles launched from the social media war platforms by the same youth is the parent institution of General Ghafoor. The chickens have come home to roost.

At the press conference, General Ghafoor also said, “I have also met owners of the media houses and anchorpersons and requested them to play a role to create a positive image of the country.” He also said that the media should “show all the good things in

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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our country. Create public awareness and show them what has improved in Pakistan.” He advised the anchorperson by saying: “Your target through perception and narrative is to reach the youth.”

Since 2018, most media houses have been showing a positive image of the country and projecting all the good things happening in Pakistan, besides raising public awareness and showing the Pakistanis the improvement yet remained hidden from their eyes. nevertheless, the youth remained the focus of attention.

One of the reasons was that the youth were pliable and easy fodder. They got mesmerized with the glamour shown and got misdirected through slogans of change.

In the 2018 elections, the youth remained captivated by the ethnic card (to form a new province of South Punjab) and enthralled by the religious card to make Allama Iqbal’s Pakistan. With that, Jinnah’s Pakistan lost relevance. Progression and tolerance were over. lynching on mere allegation was practised. first decay the country and then repent on the loss.

General Ghafoor also said, “from a difficult time we are now at what is a watershed of our history.” He thanked God for ending the ugly old days of the winter and heralding the decent new days of the spring.

“Can we not move towards a better Pakistan from this watershed? We have to make the decision on whether to stay like this or jump on the roller coaster of success … to move towards the silver line which can be seen from this watershed.”

He also said, “If we remain in the past, we cannot move forward. We can learn from the past”. By so saying, he must be expressing the power of clairvoyance. Interestingly, more than before, his words seem more relevant and applicable in April 2022.

At the occasion, General Ghafoor also said, “It is the nation, and not the Army, which gives confidence to a government. The new government comes in when a government loses the nation’s confidence.”

He was right, as 10 April 2022 saw the prophecy of General Ghafoor come true.

The words of General Ghafoor are relevant even today. replacing the old government, the new government is in the saddle. If anyone could call upon the media to play a positive role, do musbat (positive) reporting, and show Pakistan’s potential and progress within and outside for just six months, and then see where the country would reach.

trum.” Since there was no ongoing crisis, Pakistan acted with restraint but in a crisis situation, Islamabad is unlikely to show this restraints and this potentially could lead to a nuclear strike.

Pakistan has recently tested its ballistic missile Shaheen III, which is a defensive addition to its weaponry, however in the supersonic and hypersonic domain Pakistan still lags behind India. In response to the recent attack, Pakistan needs to focus on boosting its capabilities in supersonic and hypersonic missile technologies. So far, Pakistan has viewed the hypersonic race in the Indo-Pacific as a power competition of ascendency between the USA and China, however with recent incidence, Islamabad is cautious about the security and safety against supersonic and hypersonic on its border. It is likely that China will assist Pakistan in developing a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle missile (HGV).

A more militarized India has time and again threatened Pakistan’s minimum credible deterrence.

Hypersonic weapons are offensive weapons with short reaction times that could potentially prompt conflict at the conventional level, causing an inadvertent escalation. To substantiate its defensive fence, Islamabad needs to spend wisely in order to boost its defensive capabilities.

A preemptive strategy is required to counter any supersonic and hypersonic attack by India. Pakistan has built modern subsonic cruising Babur/Harbah and ra’ad series al ong with the CM-302 Type-054A/P frigate programme. It seems Pakistan will pursue its own

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

The writer can qaisarrashid@yaho.com

be

reached

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supersonic-cruising lACM through potentially the Hd-1A, which China marketed as an option for the Jf17. Having said that, Pakistan still has not developed the land-based hypersonic missile defense system which is important for countering in a strategic domain.

Moreover, It is important to notice that the hypersonic race and missile development have come at a time of crumbling international architecture. States leading in this missile race are aligning themselves in blocs and coalitions which would further deepen the arms race and will bring regional and global instability. Indian advancement in missile systems along with its delinquent behaviour in the safety and security of missiles will undermine nuclear deterrence. In a similar scenario addition of hypersonic missile capabilities will further enhance India’s offensive counterforce posture.

With this undermining of the Indian safety and security posture, it becomes crucial for Pakistan to adopt a possible countermeasure. The race for advanced technologies is extended beyond major powers and it is compulsory for South Asian states to boost their defensive capabilities preemptively in order to retain the strategic stability in the region Hypersonic weapons are included in the vital capabilities of major powers in the Indo-Pacific region, while semi-periphery states in the region are trying to match these capabilities.

This has implications and compels these powers to preemptively adopt new ways to counterbalance and mitigate or develop advanced technologies otherwise the potential fait accompli defeat will become their fate. Great powers need to avoid arms races as Patrick Morgan rightly said that arms control thinking can reinforce the emphasis on stabilizing and if indulged in an arms race it can end up making everyone less secure by undermining the strategic stability.

With this undermining of the Indian safety and security posture, it becomes crucial for Pakistan to adopt a possible countermeasure.

The race for advanced technologies is extended beyond major powers and it is compulsory for South Asian states to boost their defensive capabilities preemptively in order to retain the strategic stability in the region.

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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The writer is working as a Research Officer at the Strategic Vision Institute (SVI), a non-partisan think-tank based in Islamabad.

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

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COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

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Natural disasters

Impacts of Populism across the Globe Imran is part of a global trend nazim UDDin

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InCe the dismemberment of the Soviet Union and the end of History for communism on the heels of providing a free pass to neo-liberal capitalism— which to quote Harvard economic historian niall ferguson is neither new nor liberal, and nor capitalism— there has been simmering a sort of uncertainty. The journey from venture capitalism to vulture capitalism, although it created unprecedented growth across the globe, was illiberal for its concentration of wealth— in effect all powers— in the hands of very few people, ushered in disillusionment among the masses across the globe. The more the wealth got concentrated in a few hands without any plan of trickling down, the more discontent it produced quite legitimately.

If it was not enough then came a chain of American overt interventions in the aftermath of 9/11 that too disabused many Third World Countries and made them see the superpower with suspicion or rather undue contempt. This wave resonated quite tangibly among Islamic countries from Africa to Asia and the Middle east.

There has been, furthermore, a certain discontent against the USA among devout Muslims for the former’s blatant violation of international norms to support Israel against the Palestinians, but when the support of autocrats, dictators, kings, and other non-democratic forces became manifest, even those Muslims who had appreciated the USA’s liberty, freedoms, education, and progress either put an end to their advocacy or raised their voices against Uncle Sam loud and clear. eqbal Ahmed and edward Said among others belong to this camp.

Another mainstay of the post-Cold War world comes from its economic institutions and the way the rich stashed their wealth in the West.

While the US-led system provided a lifeline for the countries on the verge of collapse through the international economic institutions like the IMf and World Bank, that too on the client states’ requests, the net result turned out to be a pure disaster, partly because of the fund’s namby-pamby understanding of the client state and partly the very conditions of those agreements. needless to say that corruption, weak governance, and ineffective institutions coupled with political instability poison any hope of staving off the dependency syndrome. One only has to read the Confessions of an Economic Hitman to fully make sense of the agenda behind the so-called economic aid and the rest.

The way the rich in developing countries are given a free pass to funnel their money to the Western banks via both legal and illegal ways, needs no emphasis. frank Vogl, who is a leading expert on anti-corruption, in his recent book, The Enablers, unveils that a whopping amount of $2 trillion goes to the West every year from the poorest countries. Out of it, almost $600 billion reaches the USA alone. This illicit or black money can’t be traced even by the guest countries which are known for their viable institutions, let alone

the countries which are looted without end.

Although all the above scenarios played against developing countries, the US-led system doesn’t bode well for the West either. The gap between the haves and have-nots skyrocketed, engendering a sense of what Pankaj Mishra calls the ‘Age of Anger’. for years this precarious trajectory moved ahead until the pandemic came and worsened the situation to a nadir.

In this backdrop of moribund politics, transcendentally awful institutions, and a highly narrow base of representation, a demagogue takes the matter to another end. This demagogue, usually a man, identifies the issues at hand precisely– much more like Marxist critiques of capitalism— but nevertheless, he doesn’t give any viable way forward apart from some reductive ravings. first, he divides society between two binaries, namely us-vs-them. Since economic crunch exists everywhere, a populist accuses his opponents, who belong to the status quo, as corrupt, incompetent, and dangerous to national interests. nationalism and conservatism, additionally, are two powerful weapons almost all populists use and they consider globalization a manipulative initiative.

The most menacing and power-thirsty megalomaniacal populists use even the religious right to meet political ends by raking up theological debates. After highlighting the issues— some genuine and some preposterous— a populist leader presents himself as the only solution. He makes a cult personality because of his demagoguery, reductive solutions to complex issues, and utopic vision of the greatness of his nationhood and divisiveness. When such a person gets to the highest office in his country, the first casualty becomes democracy itself, then institutions, and lastly a slew of political witch hunts emanate to no end in sight against those who come in his way.

To put the above abstract depictions in perspective, let’s see some major examples. Orban in Hungary after three terms in office has razed not only democracy but his opponents as well.

In his recent manipulation of elections, there seems a clear indication that on which path he would take his country.Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and rodrigo dueterte in the Philippines didn’t do anything different. nevertheless, with the rise of two figures— donald Trump who came from the oldest democracy and richest country on the planet, and narendra Modi, who represents the largest democracy on earth— populism took an unprecedented force and momentum. They both epitomize all the worst forms of divisive, vindictive, and cultish traits. While the USA survived some of Trumpian onslaughts— the 6 January 2021 attack on Congress, the attack on media freedom and judiciary— thanks to its resilient institutions, India seems to be going on a precarious trajectory for its institutions have to

carry the load of an organized fascist party spearheaded by a dangerous man.

Today, in the name of Akhund Bharat, Muslims are attacked with impunity and rSS members who are the BJP supporters openly call for Muslim genocide. Of course, it takes days only to get submitted an fIr, let alone action in any form when you are a Muslim in India. Both judiciary and the media toe the line of the Modi-led government that holds ironclad sway over power. critical voices, Muslims, journalists, and rights activists are targeted, intimidated, and cowed when they come in the way of the Modi-fication of India from a secular country to Hindu rashtra (a country exclusive to Hindus). from Arundhati roy to Shashi Tharoor and others have rightly lamented the rotten system shrouded in fascist ideology effected by a ruthless demagogue whose hands are coloured in the blood of thousands of innocent Muslims and Christians.

In Pakistan, Imran Khan’s self-serving claims despite being democratically ousted from power are on full display consuming netizens who find his message immune to scrutiny or question. Both judiciary and the Army rubbished his claims, but he and his supporters live in a parallel universe where what he says supersedes data, facts, and ground realities. His sausage of religion with arcane jingoism deranges any thinking person.

Interestingly, all his populist claims have been put on the back burner, and a purported conspiracy has been brought to the fore in spite of being debunked by the judiciary and the army.

What makes everything hopeless is the state of the youth who find no alternative— to be fair with them, legitimately so— to their leader. It is a matter of shame for a country of 225 million that there is no one who is a genuine politician. The only rationality behind dynastic politics comes from Bilawal when he said to the Cnn host that this life chose him not vice versa. I wish he could understand how absurd that comment seems to be.

If the opposition doesn’t order their rank and file, the cult of Imran Khan will sweep them aside like what Modi did in India. The two major parties haven’t given Pakistan anything given their considerable time in power. Corruption still hovers around them whether one likes it or not. Personalized politics still festoons their rank and file.

In this milieu, Imran Khan has ignited a flame of change no matter how that is removed from reality, but it resonates among those who don’t have either an understanding or any other hope to cling to. The best way to save Pakistan from utter cataclysm is through the democratization of political parties and de-politicization of state institutions. At best, it seems Pakistan is now on the right path but it is a matter of time before the path gets crooked.

In this milieu, Imran Khan has ignited a flame of change no matter how that is removed from reality, but it resonates among those who don’t have either an understanding or any other hope to cling to.

The writer is a freelance columnist

IT is extremely disturbing to know the latest warnings issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] about climate changeinduced natural disasters up ahead. Post the latest climate change report released by the IPCC, almost all the media outlets have been highlighting the key takeaways from the report. from Time Magazine to The new York Times to Cnn to almost all the Asian media houses, the global media outlets have gone into detail about issues like climate change, global warming, sea-level rise and the like.

Overall, it is all about human activities that have been the major driver of all these natural disasters. Countries from across the world should take serious and immediate steps to reduce the emissions of methane and carbon dioxide that have been the major contributors to the climate change crisis. Given the latest findings and current erratic weather patterns like intense tropical storms, it is amply clear that no concrete steps have been taken worldwide to reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions.

On all these official occasions, the IPCC Climate Change reports have often been talking about sensible things like planting trees and developing forests as part of fighting the climate change issue. Interestingly enough, my native areas such as Korkai, Tuticorin, Tiruchendur, nagercoil, Kanyakumari, Marthandam and Tirunelveli in Tamil nadu have been hubs of natural resources like big trees, rivers, seas, mountains and other natural vistas apart from having been home to rigorous agricultural activities like crop cultivation. As a matter of fact, such green activities and natural canopies will definitely act as a protective layer against the so-called greenhouse effect. On top of all, public awareness is crucial to the fight against climate change. In fact, great efforts by green activists like Greta Thunberg towards climate change mitigation should be encouraged and appreciated. efforts like communicating all the IPCC climate change findings to people through proper channels and raising global/public awareness of climate change problems will go the extra mile to pitch for a strong fight against the issue so as to be able to save our beautiful planet.

ABDUL KHAN LAHORE

Government sent packing PTI government is finally sent packing by the opposition alliance. Amid all the allegations of incompetence and all its clumsiness, the most severe impact it has left behind is the sharp divide in society. It seems a reasonable chunk of society has fallen to PTI’s populism. riding on the establishment fanned wave of populism, Imran Khan has left indelible marks on the minds of Pakistani youth within the country and overseas. He enjoys the status of a messiah without whom there is no redemption. Khan has very effectively sown the seeds in the unripe minds of millions that it was only him who could ever be trusted to deliver goods. Once you take populism and hollow sloganeering out of the picture, only unfulfilled promises leave behind. during Khan’s tumultuous tenure, the most crying issue was economic experimentation. despite the tall claims of having the ablest group of professionals, PTI miserably failed to bring economic stability leading to prosperity for the masses. Khan’s unceremonious departure is a combination of fatal errors he made himself. Khan’s show is over and if history is any reference, it seems like he is out at least for some time. The biggest and the most pinching question at the moment is who will take the boat to shore. Whoever has hatched this situation, must tell the nation what is next now. Pakistanis regardless of where they live, are at the moment very much concerned about the future of their beloved homeland.

MALIK ATIF MAHMOOD MAJOKA AUSTRALIA

Promoting Peace In the present scenario, only intercultural communication can avoid the 3rd World War. Humans, being social animals cannot live alone.

Globalization has linked all nations but the looming clouds of devastation, lust for power, and dream to rule the masses are ringing war alarms in this century. The Arab-Iran, russia-Ukraine tussle and US-China rivalry are ringing alarm bell for war.

In this nuclear age, statesmen, iconic representatives and organisations should leap forward to avert the war crisis in the world. everyone knows that if nuclear war occurs, humans can be wiped out.

Intercultural communications can be promoted by enhancing mutual tourism, opening borders and by stirring up “Art for Peace” initiatives.

Broadcasting serials and films would help to build inter-faith harmony.

Pakistan has done quite well to open the ‘Kartarpur’ corridor and won millions of hearts across the globe of Sikh pilgrims. Mitigating the fear of “Islamophobia” and eradicating ethnocentrism should be the top priorities of the world’s watchdogs that hinder them to be peaceful.

SYEDA HADIA BAKHTAWAR NANKANA SAHIB

District Skardu THe era of the renaissance from the 14th to 17th century has been affirmed as bridging the gap between the middle age and the modern age.

Art, culture, science, economics, and political rebirth in the 14th century had proved to be a spark that ignited the fate of human generations toward advancements.

The district Administration in Skardu dreams to transform Skardu and adjoining small towns into a society where knowledge and literature dominate in the character of every individual by launching mobile library services. The initiative is to innovative and aggrandize the thirst and curiosity in people. dispossessed of high speed and uninterrupted internet, people here have not made much progress in learning and reading books through the internet. In such discrepancy, the personal keen interest and zealousness of the indefatigable young Assistant commissioner Skardu, Mr. Waqas Johar in practically making this dream of the mobile library come true in far mountainous regions, is highly commendable. The people of Baltistan have been always affectionate and indulgent toward the national and international guests, I hope with such innovative steps the people of Baltistan shall also progress in arts, literature, science, and other grounds.

NAVEED AKHTAR GILGIT BALTISTAN

08 WORLD VIEW 23rd April 22_Layout 1 4/22/2022 10:08 PM Page 1

Saturday, 23 April, 2022

08 WORLD VIEW

What a Le Pen Win WouLd mean for euroPe DO THEY REALLY WANT A PRESIDENT WHO WANTS TO CRIMINALIZE THE WEARING OF A HEADSCARF IN PUBLIC SPACES? LE PEN HAS PROPOSED THAT MUSLIM WOMEN BE FINED 135 EUROS IF THEY FLOUT THE PLANNED BAN

Die SPieGeL Britta SandBerg

Y

ou could view it as a provocation, or as an omen: The hall in which Marine Le Pen is speaking to journalists on this Wednesday afternoon is called the Salon Élysée. The right-wing populist speaks for an hour and a half about her foreign policy plans. And if it wasn’t clear before, her comments confirm that if Le Pen becomes president, France will not only become a different country – Europe will also be a different continent.

Le Pen clearly wants to place national interests above those of a united Europe and withdraw from NATo’s military command structure. She wants to cut France’s contribution to the European union’s budget by 5 billion euros a year because she believes the money could be better spent elsewhere. And, she says, she wants to break Germany’s perceived dominance.

Le Pen promises to do things differently than Emmanuel Macron, who she claims blindly followed Angela Merkel. “We will defend our interests.”

President Le Pen? It’s a scary idea for many in France and Europe, but since last Sunday, it has become one of only two possible scenarios.

In the first round of the French presidential election, incumbent Macron came in at 27. 8 percent, with Le Pen trailing at 23.1 percent. Now, the two will face each other in a runoff on Sunday, April 24, just as they did five years ago. only this time, the gap between the two is much smaller, the result much harder to predict.

In 2017, Macron was predicted to have a 20-percent lead in the second round of voting. He ended up winning with 66 percent of the vote. Depending on the polling institute, there is only a 2- to 8-percent gap between the two candidates this year.

“With such a small margin, a margin of error of 2 percent and the usual dynamics of an election campaign, the game is still open,” says Jerôme Fourquet of the polling institute IFoP, France’s best known demographer. He says that although Le Pen is not the favorite in the race, it would be wrong to rule out her possible victory now, “especially given that we are seeing increasing antiMacron sentiment.”

PRESIDENTIAL STATURE? Fourquet says that more than half of French men and women now believe Le Pen has the necessary “stature présidentielle,” the gravitas to hold the country’s highest office.

Five years ago, this would have been unthinkable. Fear of the right-wing candidate pushed voters to Macron in droves. But that fear now seems to have faded for many.

Even if a Le Pen victory is less likely than a second term for Macron, for the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic, there is a danger that a right-wing radical politician

will enter Élysée Palace. The weekly magazine L’obs recently ran a cover story with the headline “National Alarm.” Macron’s team had long believed it could secure a victory in the election, that he would receive a boost as the incumbent, because of the war bonus and self-righteous campaign commercials. until the awakening that followed on Sunday evening.

A President Le Pen has said she would let her compatriots vote in a referendum on how many immigrants should be allowed into the country as her first official act. She wants to severely restrict social benefits for foreigners. under her leadership, there will be a “policy of national priority,” she has announced. The candidate wants to give preferential treatment to French women and men in the allocation of jobs and social housing. It would be a “France First” policy. But it would also violate the principle of equality enshrined in the French constitution.

The European union that the candidate has in mind should take into account “vital French interests,” she says.

Le Pen wants to place national law partly above European law and cancel all Franco-German defense projects “because of irreconcilable strategic differences with Berlin.”

This would affect both the FCAS joint air combat system and the planned main battle tanks the countries are developing together.

ity of French people voted against Macron, they don’t want him anymore. That’s why, this time, there will be a Republican front against Emmanuel Macron.”

Seventy-two percent of the French voted against the president in the first round, Aliot says, referring to all the people who cast ballots for a candidate other than Macron. RN is now seeking to attract voters from that pool. Polls suggest that more than four-fifths of people who voted for the right-wing radical candidate Éric Zemmour should be safe for them. It’s hard to predict how many supporters of the radical left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who established himself as the third force in the election, might defect to Le Pen. “We’re going to explode this system,” Aliot says. Aliot was far less optimistic in January. That month, he sat down in a hotel bar in Perpignan for an interview while Le Pen was meeting with local supporters in a conference room next door. Perpignan is Le Pen country, the only city in France with more than 100,000 residents that is governed by an RN mayor, Aliot.

Aliot said he was worried.

“We’ve never been this close to a possible win,” he said.

“Marine is ready for office, she worked hard to get here. And yet, everything could still go wrong.”

Le Pen was polling at 18.5 percent in January, but Zemmour, the new rival in the far-right camp, continued to climb in the polls from week to week. Speaking at the bar, Aliot explained how he had told Zemmour to back off, reminding him that if the right’s ideas weren’t represented in this election, it would be his fault because he was dividing the electorate in two. Zemmour declined, and then he lost anyway.

In retrospect, he had probably been a stroke of luck for Le Pen. The man, who called immigrants thieves, murderers and rapists, had the effect of moving Le Pen from the right-wing fringe to the center.

Zemmour’s presence reinforced the soft focus with which Le Pen had started this campaign.

“Zemmour has contributed to the fact that the caricature that has been drawn of me for years has finally collapsed,” is how Le Pen described it in an interview with DER SPIEGEL earlier this year. Compared to his political platforms, hers suddenly looked quite reasonable.

This Sunday’s election will not only pit two candidates against each other, but also two different models for society. Macron views closer cooperation among Europeans as an opportunity for France, whereas Le Pen sees it as a threat. Macron wants to better protect the borders of the Schengen area; Marine Le Pen wants to renegotiate the Schengen area of border-free travel.

The question is which model the French will opt for.

Do they really want a president who wants to criminalize the wearing of a headscarf in public spaces? Le Pen has proposed that Muslim women be fined 135 euros if they flout the planned ban. In the first interview she gave after the election on Tuesday morning, the radio station France Inter asked whether that would not be a violation of the right to the free exercise of religion.

“The headscarf is an Islamist uniform, not a Muslim uniform,” Le Pen replied. “It is the uniform of an ideology, not of a religion.”

The interviewer then countered by recalling how Macron has said this would also mean that you would have to ban Jews from wearing the kippah according to the constitution. “Then I guess he didn’t read my political platforms correctly, perhaps because he started campaigning too late,” the candidate answered.

If Marine Le Pen wins, she has 70 percent of the population against her,” he says. “If Macron wins, it’s no different. But you can’t reform a country with so little support

THE EUROPEAN PEACE PROJECT WOULD BE CALLED INTO QUESTION: It would be a voluntary step backward into a past that many thought they had surmounted. The European peace project would be called into question, as would the closely coordinated Franco-German security and foreign policy – and this in the midst of the war in ukraine.

Le Pen’s European plans are absurd, says Christine Verger, vice president of the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris, a European think tank that has compared the planned European policies of the candidates. “No European state can arbitrarily reduce its share of the Eu budget – that’s not possible, the budget has been adopted until 2027. Beyond that, what would then happen to the 40 billion euros due to France as part of the (corona pandemic) reconstruction program that has been adopted?”

Verger says Le Pen is tabling the same lazy arguments as the Brexiteers did in Britain years ago and that she is tricking her voters into believing that if they attack Europe politically, France will automatically be much better off. It’s a “take back control” logic. But the Le Pen camp, is nevertheless pursuing an anti-Eu course, in contrast to Macron, a staunch supporter of European integration.

It is the evening of April 10, Louis Aliot, a member of RN’s national executive committee and Le Pen’s former partner, is standing in the large hall of the pavilion in Paris’ Parc Floral, where RN has invited people to an election night party after the first round of voting.

Louis Aliot is in irritatingly good spirits this evening, as is everyone here, even though the candidate is a good four percentage points behind the president in the first round. “Still, we have improved on our 2017 result,” Aliot says. “And a major-

A President Le Pen has said she would let her compatriots vote in a referendum on how many immigrants should be allowed into the country as her first official act

THE CANDIDATE WANTS TO GIVE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT TO FRENCH WOMEN AND MEN IN THE ALLOCATION OF JOBS AND SOCIAL HOUSING The tone in the run-up to the second ballot has been set on both sides. “Madame Le Pen is saying stupid things as usual,” Macron replied.

A CAMPAIGN CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE: Le Pen’s election campaign has also been successful because she broadened her range of issues. Late last year, she began focusing on the issue of purchasing power and spoke frequently about the concerns of laborers, employees and single mothers. She doesn’t necessarily have a coherent plan, but unlike Macron, she was simply there, talking to young girls and retirees and embracing them at weekly markets without being asked and beaming in all the selfies.

“Her secret is that she feels really close to people,” says the French politician Robert Ménard, who has known Le Pen for years, “and they feel they are being listened to. She doesn’t embody the France of winners like Macron.”

Pollsters say the election campaign is no longer a battle between left and right, but rather a confrontation of the top against the bottom, of the France of the winners against that of the losers. once a Trotskyist, Ménard, 68, later joined the Socialists and then founded the organization Reporters without Borders with others. In 2014, with the help of right-wing nationalist parties, he became mayor of Béziers in southern France. To this day, he is not a member of RN, but he does support Le Pen’s candidacy, even if he criticizes it.

He considers her headscarf ban to be unenforceable and the congratulations she gave for Viktor orbán’s election victory to be gratuitous. But he still defends her. “She has become calmer, no longer so sectarian, less closed in her thinking,” he says. “She has also gotten rid of a lot of bad advisers.”

Ménard is sitting in his office in Béziers’ historic Town Hall as he shares all this. He’s wearing a dark suit, with red trim around the buttonholes. That morning, he had taken Le Pen on a tour of one of his city’s problem neighborhoods. La Devèze is inhabited mainly by immigrants from the Maghreb.

Ménard is in the process of having a bilingual school built here, which he wants to make the best in the city. In parallel to the school project, he also allocated inexpensive plots of land for construction in La Devèze to middleclass families, and single-family homes are now being built where 600 social housing units once stood.

Le Pen walked across the site in a soft, camel-colored wool coat, not quite knowing what to say. What she was visiting was quite the opposite of her get-the-immigrants out principle. French people are to move into the neighborhood to prevent further ghettoization. Le Pen had blueprints handed to her and she greeted workers at the construction site. She then finally concluded it was an interesting project.

Ménard says you can talk to her about a lot of things today, and that wasn’t possible a few years ago. “She’s willing to compromise now, and that’s new,” he says. “She has done a lot of reading and a lot of work in the past five years.”

too soft a course. She left arrogant Zemmour, who had declared her a failure months ago, in the dust. The only hurdle left for her is to beat Macron.

To win on April 24, both the president and Le Pen will have to attract voters from the left. After five years of Macron, France’s party landscape has shrunk to three major blocs. Besides the governing La République en Marche party, there are only two blocs on the right and left fringes: Le Pen’s Rassemblement National and the La France Insoumise of left-wing radical Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The political alternatives to Macron are now limited to the extremes, which is dangerous for a democracy.

“But if the people go to the polls, the people will win,” RN party Chairman Bardella said on Thursday morning. He went to bed late and got up early, sat in on a talk show until midnight, then joined a radio show starting at 7 a.m. “If the Mélenchon voters go to the polls and don’t abstain, then things look good for us,” Bardella says. “They have been mobilizing against Macron for five years, so they’re not necessarily going to vote for him now.”

He says that Le Pen won in 20,000 of France’s 35,000 municipalities in the first round of voting. “This is the France of those who feel forgotten and unheard by Macron,” he says.

Before the first round of voting, Macron announced reforms that are unlikely to please the left: He wants to raise the retirement age from 62 to 65, make social security benefits contingent on working more hours per week and improve teachers’ pay only if they are willing to perform a greater number of tasks. He has since retracted many of those proposals.

He announced this week that he also wouldn’t rule out holding a referendum on pension reform. He said that the criticism of the French has reached him and that he is capable of listening. But do voters still believe him?

The president’s record isn’t necessarily bad. Macron did a better job than many other leaders of steering his country through the pandemic. At the beginning of his term, he pushed through several labor market reforms. Today, France is a more attractive location for foreign investors than Germany, and unemployment is at its lowest level in 14 years. Macron faced the brunt of the yellow vests protests by holding town hall meetings lasting several hours, and his approval ratings at the end of his term are better than those of his two predecessors.

In the first round of voting on April 10, more French people cast ballots for him than in 2017. And yet there is still resentment of a president who likes to preach and governs in solitude, who is respected, but not loved.

It’s the beginning of last week, and Green Party politician Daniel Cohn-Bendit, who holds dual French and German nationality, is sitting on the terrace of a café in Paris, expressing his worry. Cohn-Bendit was among the many unofficial advisers the new president consulted with, especially at the beginning of Macron’s term.

No matter what happens in this second round of voting, Cohn-Bendit says, things will get difficult after that. “If Marine Le Pen wins, she has 70 percent of the population against her,” he says. “If Macron wins, it’s no different. But you can’t reform a country with so little support.” He says France’s electoral system is also partly to blame. on the previous evening, he made a plea on French television for the introduction of proportional representation, saying that people in France need to finally be given back the feeling that their vote makes a difference.

Le Pen clearly wants to place national interests above those of a united Europe and withdraw from NATO's military command structure

HAS SHE REALLY CHANGED, THOUGH? In an interview in her office earlier this year, she said she is more relaxed than she used to be, partly because she had to suffer through a lot. Le Pen said you don’t become a good presidential candidate from one day to the next. “You have to have fought and suffered. You have to have scars.” But now she feels ready for the job.

She’s almost at the place she has always wanted to be. She stood up to her headstrong father, who accused her of charting

Saturday, 23 April, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

newS

09

$12.77bn loanS SecUReD in nine monthS: eaD LoAnS TLTP

The country has incurred external loans of $12.77 billion in the first nine months (JulyMarch) of the current fiscal year from multiple financing sources against the annual budget estimates of $14.09 billion for the entire fiscal year.

According to the latest monthly report by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD), in the month of March, the country got foreign assistance of $588.97 million from multiple financing sources.

Out of $12.77 billion, the government obtained $10.11 billion loan for non-project aid that includes $8.88 billion in the form of programme/budgetary support assistance to restructure Pakistan’s economy, $1.21 billion

for short-term credit, and $24.41 million for TDPs while $1.82 billion have been obtained for project aid financing and guaranteed loans of $832.5 million during July-March period of the current fiscal year.

Going into details made available by EAD, the disbursement from bilateral and multilateral development partners maintained a strong trend as it totaled $4.27 billion of foreign economic assistance during 9MFY22. These healthy inflows also helped to improve foreign exchange reserves.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs noted the country relied on foreign commercial borrowing as it was recorded at $2.62bn that included a $1.14bn from Dubai Bank, $591.25mn loan from Emirates NBD, $61mn from Ajman Bank, $487.26mn loan from Standard Chartered Bank London

Gold falls to Rs115,800 per 10gm ISLAMABAD TLTP

Gold prices extended its four days' retracement slide on Friday amid a stronger US dollar and surging treasury bond yields. As of 1425 hours GMT, gold in the international market was available at $1,942.90 per ounce, shedding $9 (-0.46 percent). Out of the $9 per ounce decrease, -$7.35 was due to strengthening of the US dollar and $1.65 was due to predominant sellers, according to Kitco Gold Index. The price of 10 grams of 24carat yellow metal in Pakistan, meanwhile, increased to Rs115,800 after shedding Rs400. Gold price in the local market settled at Rs116,200 on Thursday last. The reverse change in local gold prices was due to falling rupee against the US dollar. During the last five days, the rupee has shed Rs5.15 against the US dollar and slipped to 186.70 from 181.55. According to experts, gold came under some renewed selling pressure and dropped to a near two-week low, around the $1,930 region during the early trading. The speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at an International Monetary Fund event sounded extremely hawkish and it confirmed a 50 bps rate hike at the upcoming policy meeting on May 3-4. This was evident from an extended selloff in the US fixed income market, which pushed the US Treasury bond yields back closer to the multi-year high and weighed on the non-yielding yellow metal.

while Suisse AG, UBL & ABL provided $343.50mn during July-March FY22.

Similarly, the country received $2.04bn from bonds issuance and $3bn time deposit

Railway minister announces 30pc reduction in train fares

F

SHAHAB oMeR

EDERAL Minister for Pakistan Railways (PR) Khawaja Saad Rafique has announced a 30% reduction in train fares during Eid-ul-Fitr, Profit learnt here on Friday. Speaking to the media here at Railway Headquarters Lahore on Friday, the Federal Minister said that restructuring reforms would be carried out in the railways and the railways would be restored in a few days.

“Civil aviation has started gaining momentum and we will not waste a single moment. We will not take any kind of revenge from anyone and we do not have so much spare time. I will say two things about railways that pensions and salaries will be received on time and funds have been arranged,” he said.

The federal minister also said that no work had been done on most of the railway projects and their status was the same as it was four years ago.

“The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) wreaked havoc and did not allow the railways to function. We’ve restored the working environment. The new CEO for Railways will be a senior officer and no one will be fired,” he added.

PLL receives bids for LNG supply in May, June AHMAD AHMADAnI Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) on Thursday received bids from the four international commodity suppliers to supply cargoes of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for delivery windows for May and June 2022 in response to an emergency tender floated in the international market.

As per details, following the cancellation of committed cargoes, PLL has issued tenders for six deliveries in May and June earlier this month and it (PLL) has now received the lowest contract price of $29.67 per Million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU) from Total Energies for LNG cargoes for delivery windows for May 2022 while the second bid for same delivery window was received from Vitol Bahrain at

$29.7920/MMBTU. According to available documents, Qatar Energy quoted the lowest bid $25.15 per MMBTU for May 12-13 delivery while for the June 6-7 delivery window at $27.65 per MMBTU. Total Energies also quoted the lowest bids for the May 17-18, May 27-28 and June 16-17 deliveries at $31.77 per MMBTU, $26.87 per MMBTU and $29.04 per MMBTU. It is relevant to note that a board of PLL will take final decision regarding the final acceptance or rejection of the submitted bids.

After rapid depletion of indigenous natural gas reserves, Pakistan has increased its dependence on LNG in recent years and issued emergency tender for six deliveries in May and June 2022 earlier this month.

KP govt decides to take loans from international financial institutions peSHAwAR Aziz Buneri

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to borrow more from international financial institutions for development projects.

The official source said that work has been started on a feasibility study for a project worth Rs52 billion for construction and rehabilitation of roads leading to health centers and educational institutions in different districts of the province. The officials said that the project will be part of the next year’s annual development program for which a loan will be taken from the World Bank (WB).

According to sources in the finance department, KP government has failed to secure its share of net hydel profit from the central government in the last three years due to which government is borrowing from international institutions to fund uplift projects. Thus,

from Saudi Arabia during the said period.

During July-March FY22, the foreign assistance obtained by Pakistan through multilateral sources totaled nearly $3.95bn. Amongst the multilateral development partners, Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided $1.45bn, followed by Islamic Development Bank (IDB) provided $1.21bn as short-term finance and International Development Association-World Bank (IDA) with $942mn.

The report revealed that the collective disbursement from bilateral donors amounted to $320.43mn during July-March FY22 wherein Pakistan received $102.05mn from China, followed by Saudi Arabia with $101.09mn, the United States with a grant of $60.85mn, the United Kingdom with $14.54mn while Japan gave $13.9mn during the period under review.

during the past years rule of the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI), the foreign debt of the province has exceeded Rs500 billion.

Sources in the communications and works department informed that it has been decided to borrow more from the World Bank to rehabilitate the dilapidated roads leading to health centers and educational institutions in the province. It is estimated that a total of Rs52.70 billion will be required for the project for which the WB will be approached.

If the loan is approved, it will be a major foreign funded project in the next year’s annual development program. The Planning and development department has recommended to set aside Rs1.5 billion for this project in the next financial year.

The sources in P&D said that the present KP government is trying to get more loans for development projects in different constituencies of the province during its last year.

PKR gains 27 paisas against USD KARACHI TLTP

Pakistani rupee snapped its four-day losing streak against the US dollar and appreciated to 186.70 on Friday. The State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement that the rupee opened at 186.97 against the US dollar in the interbank market and closed at 186.70 after gaining 27 paisas (+0.14 percent). Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 186/187.80 per dollar without any change.

During the five days of this week, the rupee shed Rs5.15 against the US dollar and slipped to 186.7 from 181.55. Overall, the rupee devalued by Rs29.27 against the US dollar during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22 and Rs10.25 during the current year 2022. According to experts, the rupee’s appreciation is primarily attributable to an increase in the foreign exchange reserves as the total liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the country increased by $16.9 million (+0.09 percent) on a week-on-week basis to stand at $17.04 billion. They said that a further increase next week is also possible due to the ongoing month of Ramazan and approaching Eid-ulFitr. Moreover, the market experts are hopeful regarding the resumption of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They said that the rupee is under severe pressure due to a set of economic challenges including foreign direct disinvestment, widening fiscal deficit and raging commodity prices. Rising crude oil and commodities prices are further adding to the woes by multiplying the import bill, which is further weighing on the rupee.

Higher import payment owing to the 96 percent increase in petroleum products and crude oil imports has put pressure on the domestic unit.

Saturday, 23 April, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

10 FOREIGN NEWS

BriTain and india in new defenCe and seCuriTy parTnership: pM Johnson

B

aFP

RITAIN and India agreed a “new and expanded” defence and security partnership on Friday, underfire British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on a visit to New Delhi.

Johnson travelled to India as he faces criticism at home and the embarrassing prospect of a probe into whether he lied to parliament over the lockdown-breaking “Partygate” scandal.

India is part of the Quad grouping with the United States, Japan and Australia that is seen as a bulwark against an increasingly assertive China. But New Delhi also has a long Cold War history of cooperation with Moscow, still its biggest military supplier, and has refused to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

“The threats of autocratic coercion have grown even further,”

Johnson said alongside his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, in an apparent reference to Beijing.

“And it’s therefore vital that we deepen our cooperation, including our shared interest in keeping the Indo-Pacific open and free.”

The new partnership was “a decades-long commitment”, he added, hailing the relationship between “one of the oldest democracies, and India, certainly the largest democracy”.

But relations between Britain and India have long been coloured by the legacy of colonial rule — when London saw the world’s second-most populous nation as the jewel in the crown of its empire but hundreds of millions of Indians chafed under its authority.

Modi’s Hindu nationalist government regularly emphasises the independence struggle as a vital component of India’s national identity. It has built giant statues of key independence leaders and cre-

ated a museum to one of them in New Delhi’s world heritage-listed Red Fort.

It was “historic” that Johnson’s visit to India came in the 75th year of its independence, Modi said.

“We discussed several regional and international developments and

stressed a free, open, inclusive and rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific,” he added.

Exact details of the security partnership were not immediately available. But Johnson said the two had agreed to work together in defence procurement “to meet threats

across land, sea and air, space and cyber, including partnering on new fighter jet technology, maritime technologies to detect and respond to threats in the oceans”.

New Delhi has long sought to bolster its domestic military manufacturing capacity, partly to reduce its dependence on Moscow and partly as a contribution to its “Make in India” campaign. diplomatic visitoRs: A stream of diplomatic visitors have been making their way to New Delhi in recent weeks as a US-led alliance seeks to lure India away from Moscow, promising enhanced security, defence and energy cooperation.

Modi had telephone talks with US President Joe Biden last week, while European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is due to arrive on Sunday.

For their part, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi have also visited in recent weeks.

India has urged cessation of violence while refusing to explicitly condemn Russia, and has abstained on Western-backed United Nations resolutions censuring Moscow.

It argues it needs to ensure its security and energy needs are not compromised and has bristled at criticism of its purchases of Russian oil, pointing to Europe’s far larger buys. Johnson began his maiden India visit as prime minister on Thursday in Modi’s home state Gujarat, where he announced new investments worth 1billion ($1.3 billion) that he said will help create 11,000 jobs across the UK. Johnson said the two countries were on the path to finalise a postBrexit free trade deal by October that has been held up by New Delhi’s desire to secure more visas for Indians to work or study in Britain. “We are making full use of the freedom that we now have to reach a Free Trade Agreement, a deal where you can lift those tariffs,” he said.

Russian general says Moscow aims to capture southern Ukraine kyiv ReuteRs

Thailand drops on-arrival Covid-19 tests for vaccinated visitors Bangkok AFP

Thailand on Friday announced the end of compulsory Covid-19 tests for vaccinated travellers, as the country steps up efforts to revive its pandemicthumped tourism industry. Tight border restrictions helped the kingdom limit infections and deaths in 2020 but brought the tourism sector — which had accounted for about a fifth of the country’s economy — to its knees. Thailand’s Covid-19 taskforce said that from May 1, fully vaccinated visitors would no longer have to take a test on arrival and wait in a hotel room for the result. Taskforce spokesperson Taweesin Visanuyothin said authorities will now only require arrivals to show proof of vaccination and health insurance coverage of at least $10,000. “This will propel the economic (recovery) momentum since we are a country that relies quite heavily on tourism,” said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha. Unvaccinated travellers will either need to show a negative test result taken within 72 hours of departure for Thailand or undergo five days of hotel quarantine and a test. Earlier this month, Thailand dropped the requirement for mandatory pre-arrival Covid tests. Hotels, resorts and tour operators have long been pushing for hassle-free entry rules in an effort to lure more foreign tourists. The kingdom faces an uphill battle to bounce back from its worst economic performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Experts estimate around five million international visitors will come to Thailand this year, down from nearly 40 million in 2019. The country has a seven-day average of about 20,000 new daily infections, and the daily death rate has hovered above 100 for almost a fortnight. Out of some 260,000 foreign tourists arriving under the Test and Go scheme, only 1,195 (0.46 percent) tested positive for the virus in April, according to government data.

A Russian general declared on Friday that Moscow wants to seize all of southern and eastern Ukraine, far wider war aims than it had acknowledged as it presses on with a new offensive after its campaign to capture the capital Kyiv collapsed last month.

Ukraine said the comments by Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russia’s central military district, had given the lie to Russia’s previous assertions that it has no territorial ambitions.

“They stopped hiding it,” Ukraine’s defence ministry said on Twitter. Russia had “acknowledged that the goal of the ‘second phase’ of the war is not victory over the mythical Nazis, but simply the occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Imperialism as it is.” Minnekayev was quoted by Russian state news agencies as saying Moscow aimed to seize the entire eastern Donbas region, link up with the Crimea peninsula, and capture Ukraine’s entire south as far as a breakaway, Russian-occupied region of Moldova. That would mean pushing hundreds of miles beyond current lines, past the major Ukrainian cities of Mykolaiv and Odesa.

Ukraine’s general staff said Russian forces had increased attacks along the whole frontline in the east and were trying to mount an offensive in the Kharkiv region, north of Russia’s main target, the Donbas.

In Kharkiv city, Russian shellfire hit the main Barabashovo market. Ambulance services said there had been casualties but no details were available yet. A wedding hall and a residential building were also struck.

In Geneva, the United Nations human rights office said there was growing evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, including indiscriminate shelling and summary executions, that had caused many civilian casualities. It said Ukraine also appeared to have used weapons with indiscriminate effects.

Russia denies taRgeting civilians: Russia said on Thursday it had won the war’s biggest fight – the battle for the main port of the Donbas, Mariupol – after a nearly twomonth siege. President Vladimir Putin decided not to try to root out thousands of Ukrainian troops still holed up in a huge steel works there.

In a Russian-held section of the city, the guns had largely fallen silent and dazed looking residents ventured out on streets on Thursday to a background of

charred apartment blocks and wrecked cars. Some carried suitcases.

Volunteers in white hazmat suits and masks roved the ruins, collecting bodies from inside apartments and loading them on to a truck marked with the letter “Z”, symbol of Russia’s war.

Maxar, a commercial satellite company, said images from space showed freshly dug mass graves on the city’s outskirts. Ukraine estimates tens of thousands of civilians have died in the city during Russia’s bombardment and siege.

Kyiv says 100,000 civilians are still inside the city, and need full evacuation.

It says Moscow’s decision not to storm the Azovstal steel works is proof that Russia lacks the forces to defeat the Ukrainian defenders.

The United Nations and Red Cross say the civilian toll is still unknowable but at least in the thousands. Russia says it has rescued the city from nationalists.

In Zaporizhzhia, where 79 Mariupol residents arrived in the first convoy of buses permitted by Russia to leave for other parts of Ukraine, Valentyna Andrushenko held back tears as she recalled the ordeal under siege. “They (Russians) were bombing us from day one. They are demolishing everything. Just erase it,” she said of the city.

Kyiv said no new evacuations were

planned for Friday. Moscow says it has taken 140,000 Mariupol residents to Russia; Kyiv says many of those were deported by force in what would be a war crime.

Mariupol’s mayor, Vadym Boichenko, who is no longer inside Mariupol, said: “We need only one thing – the full evacuation of the population. About 100,000 people remain in Mariupol.”

In a late-night address, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was doing all it could “to talk about at least some victories”.

“They can only postpone the inevitable – the time when the invaders will have to leave our territory, including from Mariupol, a city that continues to resist Russia regardless of what the occupiers say,” Zelenskiy said.

Abandoning the effort to defeat the last Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol frees up more Russian troops for the main military effort, an assault from several directions on the towns of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the Donbas, to cut off the main Ukrainian military force in the east.

Minnekayev, the Russian general, described a much wider goal of linking up with Transdnistria, a Russian-occupied breakaway part of Moldova, which is on Ukraine’s southwestern border.

He said Russian speakers there were oppressed, the same justification Moscow has given for its interventions in Ukraine since 2014, which Western countries call a baseless pretext.

While Russia has withdrawn from northern Ukraine and so far made only limited headway in the east, it still occupies a swathe of southern Ukraine captured in the early days of the war.

Ukrainian officials fear Moscow might try to organise fake independence votes to try to wrest those areas away.

British military intelligence reported heavy fighting in the east as Russian forces tried to advance on settlements, but said the Russians were suffering from losses sustained early in the war and were sending equipment back to Russia for repair.

The United States authorised another $800 million in military aid for Ukraine on Thursday, including heavy artillery and drones.

Pope Francis dropped plans to meet in June with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a Putin ally and backer of the war. Francis, who has denounced the war, told Argentine newspaper La Nacion the plan was suspended because Vatican diplomats advised that such a meeting “could lend itself to much confusion at this moment”.

Saturday, 23 April, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

SPORTS 11

Burnley keep pressure on everton with win over sAints BURNLEY

B

ReuteRs

UrNLEy piled the pressure back on Everton in the Premier League relegation battle with a 2-0 win over Southampton on Thursday, moving them within a point of Frank Lampard’s side.

The Clarets, who sacked long-serving manager Sean Dyche last week, are in 18th place in the standings on 28 points from 32 games with Everton on 29 points from a game less. Southampton should have taken an early lead when Oriol romeu was left unmarked at a corner but his header was off target and Burnley were able to build themselves into control.

Welsh international Connor roberts put the home side ahead in the 12th minute with a beautiful curling shot into the far-corner that gave Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster no chance.

Jay rodriguez then saw a header superbly saved by Forster and Dutch forward Wout Weghorst put his follow-up header against the woodwork.

Burnley, with their Under-23 coach Mike Jackson and injured club captain Ben Mee in temporary charge of the team, were playing with a level of creativity and verve that they have struggled to find under Dyche this season.

There were more chances at both ends, with romeu missing an almost identical chance for Southampton, before Burnley doubled their lead, a minute before the break with Nathan Collins heading in a Josh

Brownhill corner.

Burnley thought they had a third when Jack Cork turned the ball in after James Tarkowski had headed a deep ball from Dwight McNeil across the area but the effort

was ruled out for offside by VAr. Nick Pope pulled off an outstanding reflex save to keep out a volley from substitute Che Adams but Burnley were never in real danger in the final minutes as they made sure

of three vital points.

The Lancashire club host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday and a win — or even a draw — would move them above Everton and out of the bottom three before Lampard’s side face Liverpool in the Merseryside derby at Anfield later that day.

Goalscorer roberts said there was no lack of confidence in the Burnley camp.

“There will always be belief. We know we have quality. We will give everything to try and keep this club up. We have five games to give everything. Mike (Jackson) hasn’t changed everything but has given us a bit more freedom to do what we want,” he said.

Jackson finds himself uncertain as to whether he will be in charge for the visit of Wolves but praised the way his players had dealt with the unexpected changes at the club.

“The players remembered what they were. We haven’t done loads different but they have come together as a group. Everyone has mucked in and it is a great result,” he said.

“I will probably speak to the chairman and he will let me know if I am needed for next game. I am here to prepare the group, I don’t want to think or talk about all that,” he added.

Southampton manager ralph Hasenhuettl said his side had not done enough to win the game.

“We had the first big chance but couldn’t take it. We were lacking everything after the first 15 minutes and it was not good enough.

“In the end it was too easy for them to defend us, we were not dangerous enough. I gave them the chance to change things at the start of second half, when you start like this at Burnley it’s tough to come back. We were far away from deserving something,” said the Austrian.

Fury’s legacy on the line in front of record crowd LONDON AFP

Mohammad Amir signs for Gloucestershire LONDON AFP

English county cricket club Gloucestershire announced on Friday they had signed former Pakistan paceman Mohammad Amir on a three-match deal.

The 30-year-old, who played 36 Tests, 61 one-day internationals and 50 Twenty20s, will be available for Gloucestershire’s County Championship division one games against Surrey, Hampshire and Somerset. Amir will provide cover for fellow Pakistani bowler Naseem Shah, who has been ruled out of action for the next month with a shoulder injury.

Amir, who received a five-year ban from cricket for his part in a 2010 spot-fixing scandal, said: “The County Championship is an amazing competition and I can’t wait to get going with Gloucestershire. “I love playing in English conditions and I’m feeling really good, so I hope I can perform well for the team.” Gloucestershire’s performance director Steve Snell said: “We are delighted to have signed a bowler of Amir’s calibre. “We will sadly be without Naseem for a few weeks due to injury and while we help him get back to full fitness, Amir will provide us with quality and international experience in our seam attack for what is a strong first division competition.”

Tyson Fury will defend his WBC heavyweight title in front of a British record boxing crowd of 94,000 at Wembley on Saturday as Dillian Whyte finally gets his shot at becoming a world champion.

Fury claims his first fight on home soil since 2018 will be his last before retirement.

There have been suggestions Fury would attempt to unify the heavyweight division against the winner of a rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.

But the 33-year-old wants to bow out in style with a successful title defence against Whyte. “(I’m a) two-time undisputed champion, 150 million in the bank, nothing to prove to nobody,” said Fury last month when he promised to be “fully retired after the fight”.

Fury is the strong favourite to stretch his unbeaten record to 33 bouts, but the British fighter said his compatriot and former sparring partner deserves respect.

“He’s a good fighter,” said Fury at Wednesday’s prefight press conference. “A good, strong, solid man. He has good punch with good power – he’s knocked out a lot of men.

“He’s definitely a man who needs a lot of respect and that’s what I’ve given him by my training camp. I’ve trained as hard for Dillian as I have for (Deontay) Wilder, (Wladimir) Klitschko or anybody.

“I see the odds and laugh a bit because they’re coming from people who don’t know anything about boxing.

“This is heavyweight boxing. Anyone can win with one punch. If I’m not on my A Game, this guy will knock my head right off my shoulders.”

Fury’s fight week has been dogged by questions over his connections to alleged crime boss Daniel Kinahan.

Fury has previously mentioned Kinahan, who was

recently hit with worldwide financial sanctions by the US government, as a “key advisor”.

Dubai-based Kinahan, who has always denied any wrongdoing, is alleged to be one of the leaders of a cartel the US authorities accuse of smuggling drugs, money laundering and violence.

MTK Global, the boxing company founded by Kinahan, announced this week it is ceasing operations.

“Has it been a distraction? Not really,” said Fury when pressed on his current relationship with Kinahan.

“It’s got nowt to do with me, has it?”

Whyte, who boasts a 28-2 record, has plenty to prove after feeling unfairly passed over by Fury when he fought Wilder three times.

The 34-year-old is also unhappy at the 80-20 split in Fury’s favour of a $41 million (£30 million) purse.

Jamaica-born Whyte moved to the UK with his family when he was 12, fathered the first of his three children a year later and was shot and stabbed after being drawn into London gang culture in his youth.

“If I wasn’t a boxer, I’d probably be dead or in prison,” he told The Guardian in 2020.

Now he believes he can be the man to finally beat Fury. “That’s the great thing about me. I’ll find a way to survive, I’ll find a way to get to where I need to get to,” said Whyte.

“I still believe that anybody I touch to the head or body can get knocked out.”

Bayern seek 10th straight Bundesliga title

BERLIN AFP

Star strikers robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland go head-to-head for what could be the last time in the Bundesliga in Saturday's top-of-the-table clash between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

A home win over second-placed Dortmund at Munich's Allianz Arena will secure a tenth straight Bun-

desliga title for Bayern with three games left.

Lewandowski can also lift the Bundesliga trophy for the tenth time - in each of his eight seasons at Bayern, plus twice with former club Dortmund, whom he left 6 in 2014. Haaland, 21, and Lewandowski, 33, have played key roles in the last six showdowns - all won by Bayern - with Lewandowski netting eight goals compared to Haaland's five.

They are "two absolute world stars who outshine all the others" in the Bundesliga, Dortmund CEO HansJoachim Watzke told Sport Bild, and are "the most popular abroad". The pair appeared recently in a English-language television advert for the Bundesliga playing a dense game of poker.

A different kind of deal is reportedly already in place between Haaland and Manchester City, where the Norwegian star could earn around £500,000 ($652,000) per week next season. It would make him the Premier League's highest earner if City trigger a release clause for 75 million

euros in his contract.

Lewandowski is tied to Bayern until 2023, but with contract extension talks ongoing, there is speculation he could leave.

Barcelona has been touted as one possible destination with transfer rumours further fuelled after his wife Anna posted on Instagram that she is learning Spanish.

Last Sunday, Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn admitted Lewandowski is "thinking about the future" - in other words, considering quitting Bayern where he has won every available title. Losing Lewandowski or Haaland would be bad for business and interest in Germany's top flight.

"Losing stars is a big danger for the Bundesliga," Watzke stressed.

"We have to be careful and try to keep many of the stars we still have," which he admits is "difficult in view of the great financial pressure from England".

Even Bayern - Germany's richest club - can't join the

race to sign Haaland as the massive sums of money needed to sign him are "very far away from what we imagined", Kahn admitted.

Having already seen Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Jadon Sancho and Christian Pulisic leave in recent years to join top English clubs, Dortmund are also braced to lose Haaland. "We will handle it the way we always have," added Watzke.

"We will find someone new again." The Swedish playmaker came off the bench to score a last-gasp winner on Wednesday against Union Berlin which booked Leipzig's place in the German Cup final on May 21 against Freiburg.

Leipzig host Union again in the league on Saturday to tune-up before their Europa League semi-final, first leg against rangers next Thursday. Forsberg has yet to start a Europa League game this season and could play from the first whistle against Union as Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco rotates his squad.

Saturday, 23 April, 2022

PRayER TimingS

NEWS

LHC direCts president to appoint representative to administer oatH to Hamza

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News Desk

HE Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday instructed President Dr Arif Alvi to appoint a representative to administer oath to Punjab Chief Minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz after Governor Omer Sarfaraz Cheema refused to do so.

“A copy of the court order should immediately be sent to the president,” LHC Chief Justice Ameer Bhatti said.

He gave the verbal order after the hearing of a petition filed by Hamza earlier this week. The PML-N leader had contended that he had been elected chief minister on April 16 in a session held on the directions of the LHC but Governor Cheema was refusing to adhere to his constitutional duty by delaying the oath-taking ceremony.

The judge had earlier adjourned the hearing till 2pm. Before that, he had warned Cheema to take a decision regarding the oath-taking ceremony or else “the court will announce its verdict”, asserting that the governor had “no justification” to delay the oath. Punjab Advocate General Ahmed Owais argued that he had met the governor on court orders and the two of them discussed some objections over administering oath to Hamza.

“In the absence of the governor, the speaker of the Punjab Assembly had the responsibility to administer the oath.

“But Hamza hasn’t named the speaker as respondent in his petition,” he argued.

When the judge asked whether the governor had given any reason for not administering the oath, Owais replied that the governor believed the chief minister’s election was against the law and the Constitution. “The governor is not a rubber stamp or post office. The Punjab governor has taken an oath and he has to abide by the Constitution,” the advocate general said.

He said he wanted to submit a detailed written response to the court because of the seriousness of the matter.

Justice Bhatti, however, remarked, “If it was so important, you would have prepared for your arguments. You just come to court to take dates.” The judge then dismissed the advocate general’s request to adjourn the hearing, saying that the governor had to respond.

The LHC chief justice further observed that for the past 21 days, the province had been functioning without a government. “The system has come to a

stop. What is the governor doing?

“If he doesn’t want to administer the oath, tell us. The law will pave its own way forward,” he said, adding that it was the only way to protect the province.

The advocate general informed the court that he had met Cheema recently, who he said was writing a letter to President Dr Arif Alvi about all the reasons for not administering oath to Hamza.

The judge then questioned what the governor had been doing for the past five days. “When will he send the reasons? I have postponed three hearings because of the lack of a government. The Punjab government’s response was needed but there was no government in the province.”

At this point, the advocate general reassured the court that the letter would be sent soon and no one would be allowed to go beyond constitutional limits. “But when? Exactly when?” Justice Bhatti grilled Owais, remarking that the court could “not see the system being destroyed”.

“I can’t give an exact time,” Owais replied. “He will write it either today or tomorrow … as per the Constitution, the governor is not accountable to the court.” Subsequently, the judge remarked that delaying the oath was a violation of the Constitution and adjourned the hearing till 2pm.

At a press conference earlier this week, Cheema

had declined to administer oath to Hamza stating that the Punjab Assembly secretary’s report, the LHC’s instructions and the facts presented to him raised questions on the validity of the chief minister’s election.

“I have written to the Punjab advocate general and the Punjab Assembly speaker to seek their opinion on the assembly secretary’s report, LHC directions and other facts to make up my mind whether to hold the oath-taking ceremony at the Governor House or not,” he had said, adding that he could not endorse anything beyond the ambit of the Constitution.

Following Cheema’s presser, a news item quoting PML-N central spokesperson Maryam Aurangzeb came to light, where she claimed that the governor had been removed from his office by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif using his discretionary powers.

The governor had, however, rejected the claim, saying he held a constitutional office and would continue to hold it. “Only the president of Pakistan has the power to de-notify a governor, which has yet not been done,” he had asserted.

In his three-page report, the Punjab Assembly secretary stated that the deputy speaker had entered the house with his personal guards as well as his Punjab police detail, who manhandled the parliamentarians. Later, he stated, the deputy speaker called the deputy commissioner and DIG Operations summoned a heavy contingent of police. He stated that he explained that no other than the sergeants-at-arms could perform any duty on the floor of the house.

The assembly secretary stated that the deputy speaker conducted the election process from the Officers’ Box with a megaphone, which was contrary to the Assembly Rules and Procedures.

The principal secretary to governor, however, immediately wrote to him that the assembly secretary’s report had been found one-sided, biased and politically motivated and added that he (the secretary) had no power under any provision of the Constitution, the law or the Rules of the Punjab Assembly 1997 to call into question the declaration of the result by the deputy speaker, who was duly authorised by the Lahore High Court to conduct the election for the office of chief minister.

The principal secretary had added that no power was vested in the governor under the Constitution or any law to set aside the election on any grounds whatsoever.

EU to strengthen bilateral relations with Pakistan News Desk President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Friday expressed the European bloc’s desire to further strengthen its bilateral relationship with Pakistan.

She expressed these sentiments during a telephone call with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Ursula congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on assuming the office of the prime minister, according to an official statement.

The premier thanked her for the felicitations and stated that Pakistan greatly valued its relations with the European Union, which were based on shared values and common objectives of peace, prosperity and development.

The prime minister highlighted the importance

of closer trade and investment ties between Pakistan and the EU. He appreciated the GSP Plus arrangement and underlined that, being a mutually beneficial scheme, it had played an important role in expansion of Pakistan-EU trade.

PM Shehbaz lauded Ursula von der Leyen’s stewardship of the EU Commission and underscored his resolve to further deepen mutual engagement. He also extended a cordial invitation to the European Commission president.

The two leaders agreed to stay in contact and work together to expand Pakistan-EU relations, intensify investment and trade cooperation, and enhance mutual cooperation between the two sides in diverse fields.

Last week, the United States had also congratulated Shehbaz on his election win, Secretary of

State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

“The United States views a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan as essential for the interests of both of our countries,” Blinken said.

Soon after his election as prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif reiterated the need for cooperation with the United States.

“The new government wishes to constructively and positively engage with the US to promote shared goals of peace, security and development in the region,” the Prime Minister’s Office had said in response to a White House statement on Mr Sharif taking over as the new prime minister.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had earlier said that a democratic Pakistan was critical to US interests.

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

4:00

12:06

4:49

5:29

6:44

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fiqah-e-hanfia lahore sehr: 3:58 am iftar: 6:38 Pm

islamabad sehr: 3:58 am iftar: 6:46 Pm

karachi sehr: 4:42 am iftar: 6:59 Pm

fiqah-e-jafaria lahore sehr: 3:53 am iftar: 6:43 Pm

islamabad sehr: 3:48 am iftar: 6:56 Pm

karachi sehr: 4:31 am iftar: 7:09 Pm

at least 33 killed in afghanistan mosque blast kABUL REUTERS

A blast tore through a mosque during Friday prayers in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, killing 33 people and wounding dozens more, officials said. Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Taliban administration, in a Tweet confirmed the death toll and said 43 people had also been wounded. "The perpetrators of these incidents are...evil elements and serious efforts are being made to arrest and punish them," he said. It was not clear who was behind the explosion that the local commander said hit the mosque during Friday prayers. Several blasts claimed by Daesh hit the northern cities of Kunduz and Mazar-i-Sharif on Thursday.

One of them, at a mosque and another days earlier at a school in western Kabul, targeted the Shia minority.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers say they have secured the country since taking power in August, but international officials and analysts say the risk of a resurgence in militancy remains. “The sight at the mosque was horrifying. All those who were worshipping inside the mosque were either injured or killed,” Mohammad Esah, a shopkeeper who helped ferry victims to the district hospital, told AFP news agency.“I saw 20 to 30 bodies,” another local resident said.Relatives of victims were arriving at hospital to look for their loved ones.“My son is martyred,” screamed a man while a woman accompanied by her four children searched for her husband.Kunduz police said they were investigating the type of explosion.

Modi to address first public event in occupied Kashmir since clampdown AFP Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday hold his first public event in occupied Jammu and Kashmir since New Delhi imposed a sweeping security clampdown there more than two years ago.

Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government has sought to quell a long-running insurgency in Indian-occupied Kashmir and buttress its hold over the Muslim-majority region.

New Delhi nullified the area’s limited autonomy in 2019, when authorities arrested thousands and imposed the world’s longest internet shutdown, seeking to forestall local opposition to the move.

It is the most militarised part of India,

with more than half a million soldiers and paramilitaries deployed across the region.

High security is being put in place for Modi’s visit, but he can nonetheless expect a rousing welcome in Palli, with tens of thousands expected to welcome him at an event marshalled by his governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The village is in Jammu, the Hindu-majority southern part of the territory, which celebrated New Delhi’s introduction of direct rule as a bulwark against Kashmir’s freedom struggle.

Modi will preside over a ceremony to mark Panchayati Raj — a day that commemorates grassroots democracy, although occupied Kashmir has been without an elected regional government since 2018, when the

BJP left its ruling coalition and the New Delhi-appointed governor stepped in.

Its last chief minister was detained during the clampdown and only released more than a year later.

Sunday’s event will see Modi lead the region “into a new era of development”, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha told reporters.

‘Fearful atmosphere’ Modi’s government says its decision to end the occupied territory’s limited autonomy was aimed at fostering a lasting peace and bringing investment into the troubled region, where tens of thousands of people have been killed over the years.

The result has been a rigid security framework that has rendered public protest

virtually impossible and that critics say has put a stranglehold on civic life.

Around 2,300 people, mostly politicians and activists who have campaigned against Indian rule, have been arrested under vaguely worded legislation that allows authorities to designate anyone as a terrorist and puts the burden of innocence on the accused. International human rights groups have condemned the measures.

Foreign journalists are barred from visiting and local reporters are often summoned by counterinsurgency police and questioned over their work, with three arrested in recent months under preventative detention laws.

“Reporting from Kashmir is now like walking and living on the razor’s edge all the time,” a journalist working for an Indian

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

newspaper told AFP, declining to be identified for fear of government reprisals.

“It’s a very fearful atmosphere.”

Police say that violence has declined since the 2019 overhaul of occupied Kashmir’s status. But almost 1,000 people have been killed in that time — among them soldiers, freedom fighters and civilians.

Most of the violence has taken place in the mostly Muslim Kashmir valley, which according to reports is not on Modi’s weekend itinerary.

Sunday’s event will be his first formal public appearance in the region since the crackdown, although he has made informal visits to celebrate Hindu religious festivals with troops stationed along the Line of Control with Pakistan.