Epaper – April 29-2022 KHI

Friday, 29 April, 2022 I 27 Ramzan, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 301 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

PM Shehbaz arriveS in Saudi arabia on 3-day viSit islamabad

P

staff report

rime minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday arrived in Saudi Arabia on a three-day visit at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince mohammad bin Salman.

Foreign minister Bilawal BhuttoZardari, Defence minister Khawaja Asif, Finance minister miftah ismail, information minister marriyum Aurangzeb, Shahzain Bugti, mohsin Dawar, Khalid maqbool Siddiqi, Chaudhry Salik, and four members of Pm Shehbaz Sharif’s personal staff are accompanying the prime minister on his visit. madinah Governor Faisal Bin Salman Al Saud and high-level Saudi officials received the prime minister after he

touched down in the kingdom.

The prime minister held a brief meeting with the governor, in which both the leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations.

Taking to Twitter before leaving for Saudi Arabia, Pm Shehbaz said that his visit will “renew and reaffirm” ties between the two countries. He added that he will hold wide-ranging discussions with the Saudi leadership.

Briefing on the visit, Foreign Office spokesperson Asim iftikhar, in a statement, had said that the prime minister will be in the kingdom from April 28-30.

During the visit, the prime minister will have bilateral interaction with the Saudi leadership, with a particular focus on advancing economic, trade and investment ties, and creating greater oppor-

tunities for the Pakistani workforce in Saudi Arabia, the spokesperson said.

“The two sides will also exchange views on a range of regional and international issues of mutual interest,” the spokesperson said. iftikhar said Pakistan and KSA are bound by fraternal relationships marked by mutual trust and understanding, close cooperation, and an abiding tradition of supporting each other.

The people of Pakistan hold the custodian of the Two Holy mosques in the highest esteem, the spokesperson added.

“The bilateral relationship is complemented by close mutual collaboration at regional and international fora. Saudi Arabia is a member of the OiC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. iftikhar said Saudi Arabia is home to

Petrol prices to remain unchanged: minister

islamabad staff report

Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected the Oil and Gas regulatory Authority’s (Ogra) summary for increasing the prices of petroleum products, information minister marriyum Aurangzeb shared on Thursday. “[We] cannot punish the people for the previous government’s worst incompetence, incapability and blatant mistakes,” Aurangzeb said in the statement.

The imran Khan-led govern-

ment had agreed to the strict conditions of the international monetary Fund (imF) to raise petrol prices in order to get a loan, she said. “every effort is being made to not increase the burden on the public already troubled by inflation,” she added.

The price of petrol and high speed diesel will remain rs149.86 and rs144.15 per litre, respectively. Kerosene and light diesel oil will also continue to be sold for rs125.56 and rs118.31 per litre, respectively.

This is the second time the

prime minister rejected Ogra’s proposal for a price hike.

The move comes days after the international monetary Fund (imF) said the government had “agreed that prompt action is needed to reverse the unfunded subsidies which have slowed discussions for the 7th review”.

Finance minister miftah ismail returned to Pakistan on monday after negotiating a deal with the imF that may give some space to the new government to make a “people friendly” budget in June.

But an imF statement issued after the talks indicates the deal does not equip the government with the tools it needs to clear, what ismail described as, “the landmines planted” by the PTi government, i.e., facing the consequences of withdrawing fuel subsidies given by his predecessors.

The previous PTi government had announced a four-month freeze (until June 30) on petrol and electricity prices on February 28 as part of a series of measures to bring relief to the public.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05 Govt to try president, imran under Article 6 for ‘violating Constitution’: report islamabad staff report

The PmL-N-led coalition government has decided to file a high treason case against President Arif Alvi, former prime minister imran Khan, National Assembly ex-deputy speaker Qasim Suri and Punjab Governor Umar Sarfraz Cheema for allegedly violating the Constitution.

As per a report surfaced on Thursday, interior and law ministries are preparing a reference under Article 6 of the Constitution against the key members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTi).

The federal government has accused President Avli and the former deputy speaker of abrogating the Constitution at the behest of ex-Pm imran during the proceedings of the no-trust motion earlier this month. in a landmark unanimous

ruling, the Supreme Court on April 7 set aside the NA deputy speaker ruling to dismiss the notrust resolution against then Premier imran and the subsequent dissolution of the lower house of parliament by President Arif Alvi on the premier’s advice.

“The ruling of the deputy speaker of the National Assem-

bly in relation to the resolution for a vote of no-confidence against the prime minister under Article 95 of the Constitution is declared to be contrary to the Constitution and the law and of no legal effect, and the same are hereby set aside,” the top court said in its short order.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

more than two million Pakistanis, contributing to the progress, prosperity and economic development of the two brotherly countries.

The spokesperson further noted that regular high-level visits are a key feature of this special relationship.

iftikhar added that the prime minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia would impart a strong impetus to deepening bilateral cooperation in diverse fields and further reinforce the growing partnership between the two countries.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 05

02

Friday, 29 April, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

PUNjAb AssEmbLy sEssIoN AdjoUrNEd wIThoUT voTINg oN No-TrUsT moTIoN AgAINsT dEPUTy sPEAkEr LAHORE

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Staff report

PEAKER Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi adjourned until May 16 a crucial session of the Punjab Assembly without holding any proceedings on Thursday.

A notification issued to this effect was also issued by his office.

“In exercise of the powers vested in me under rule 25(b) of the Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, 1997, I, Parvez Elahi, Speaker, Provincial Assembly of Punjab, hereby order that the next sitting of the 40th Session of Punjab

Assembly will now be held on Monday, 16th May 2022 at 11:30 am in Assembly Chambers, Lahore, instead of Thursday, 28th April 2022 at 11:30 am,” the notification read.

This is the second time Elahi has postponed the session.

The session with a motion of noconfidence in Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari — filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) lawmakers — on the agenda will now be held at 11:30 am on May 16.

The voting was to be held through a secret ballot amid strict security

arrangements. No lawmaker had been allowed to bring their mobile phone on the premises.

Women lawmakers had been barred from carrying their handbags on the floor, and guests had also not been allowed to witness the session.

ASSEMBLY SECRETARY ARRESTED: In a related development, the police arrested Punjab Assembly Secretary (Coordination) Inayat Ullah Lak while he was leaving to attend the court ahead of the session.

Lak was arrested from outside the Governor House and later shifted to Garhi Shahu police station.

CPNE office-bearers meet Imran Khan NEws DEsk

Zardari reaches UAE after name removed from ECL NEws DEsk Former president Asif Ali Zardari reportedly reached Dubai on Thursday after his name was struck off the Exit Control List (ECL). The PPP cochairman left Islamabad for Dubai last night in a private aircraft. In 2018, the names of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari were placed on the ECL after the then PTI-led government announced that the names of the 172 accused in the fake accounts case would be added to the list. The list also included the names of Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, former Sindh CM Qaim Ali Shah, Omni Group’s Anwar Majeed, Abdul Ghani Majeed, former chairman Pakistan Stock Exchange Hussain Lawai, former president National Bank of Pakistan Syed Ali Raza and others. On April 24, the Ministry of Interior removed the names of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Nusrat Shahbaz, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Abdullah Khaqan and Finance Minister Miftah Ismail from the no-fly list under the ECL Amendment Rules. The interior ministry started issuing notifications for removal of those names from the ECL that had been on it for 120 days without any compelling reason. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had said that the names were put on the ECL for political revenge. There are names of 4,863 people on ECL, blacklist, 30,000 people in PNIL. “Yes, the ECL rules have been amended which will directly benefit 3,500 people.”

NA speaker seeks record of ‘illegal’ recruitments by predecessor IsLAMABAD Staff report

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Thursday sought details of allegedly illegal recruitments made by his predecessor Asad Qaiser from the assembly secretariat. “Who came to which department? Who came on deputation? Who was promoted illegally?” Ashraf said, while ordering a thorough inquiry into the matter. “The NA speaker will take an action against all those officials recruited illegally after the completion of a thorough inquiry against them,” said a source.

The office-holders of the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors (CPNE) held a meeting with former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan at his residence in Bani Gala on Thursday.

According to a press release, the meeting discussed in detail the issue of fake news in the media.

The former PM was informed that during his government, the CPNE had submitted a note to the information ministry regarding the interpretation of fake news and proposal to determine a specific time period for defamation cases. The note has now also been submitted to the current information minister.

Imran said that fake news is a big issue and journalists have a key role to play in curbing fake news. He said his government was removed under a plan, adding that a full-fledged campaign will be launched after Eidul Fitr and the government will be pressurised to hold

elections.

CPNE President Kazim Khan said

that fake news and freedom of expression are two different things,

IHC orders forming commission to probe harassment, disappearances of Baloch students NEws DEsk The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed authorities to form a commission to investigate the racial profiling and disappearances of Baloch students in the country.

The directions came during a hearing into the case of harassment, filed by students of the Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court Athar Minallah said that the courts could not turn a blind eye to the human rights violations in Pakistan.

He ordered that a commission be formed to probe the harassment and disappearances of Baloch students. The chief justice also asked for suggestions on who could head the commission, for which lawyer Hina Jilani and politician Afrasiab Khattak’s names were proposed, amongst others.

During the proceedings, the lawyer of the students, Imaan Mazari, told the Court that the Baloch students had met the president twice and both times the president had

assured the students to look into their issues.

Still, Mazari said that a Baloch student was picked up from Karachi recently and one from Lahore yesterday.

Seems like the government is not taking the concerns of the students seriously, the lawyer told the court. She further suggested that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) should send notices to all universities in Pakistan instructing them to stop the harassment of Baloch students.

Justice Minallah noted that this was a real issue in the country, but governments and political leaders ignored it.

He then asked who was responsible for this, to which Mazari replied that the responsibility lies with the chief executive and the relevant agencies.

The chief justice observed that if the racial profiling of Baloch students continues then the government should shut down the ministry of human rights.

“Don’t say that the state is weak,” he added.

The deputy attorney general, who was also present in the court, argued that there is a new government in office and he will have to take directions from them on the issue. He explained that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also recently visited Balochistan.

To which the chief justice asked if the cabinet did not know what was happening in the country?

“If there is a law and order situation, why are children being affected by it?”

Justice Minallah inquired The chief justice further directed the secretary of the interior to visit the Baloch students and set up a mechanism to deal with their complaints.

adding that it is necessary to correct mistakes instead of blaming the media.

Top Iran, Pakistan diplomats discuss bilateral ties

TEHRAN Monitoring report

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein AmirAbdollahian and his Pakistan counterpart Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari called for a boost in ties between the two neighbours, Iran’s Foreign Ministry website reported on Thursday. Zardari was sworn in on Wednesday as the foreign minister after a recent reshuffle of the government. “I hope during your tenure in the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan, we will witness expansion of ties between the two nations more than ever before”, said Amir-Abdollahian in a telephone conversation with Zardari. Lauding cultural and historical commonalities between Iran and Pakistan, the Iranian diplomat called on both countries to boost cooperation and relations in “all areas.” For his part, Zardari also referred to good and friendly ties between Pakistan and Iran, drawing upon popular, historical, and cultural ties between the two countries. He said that Islamabad is determined to further expand bilateral relations with Tehran, expressing hope that Pakistan’s economic ties with Iran will deepen with the removal of the existing obstacles. Amir-Abdollahian invited his counterpart to visit Iran.

Friday, 29 April, 2022 | KARACHI

ECP TAkEs NoTICE oF ImrAN’s CrITICIsm oF ToP ELECTIoN oFFICIAL IsLAMABAD

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Staff report

HE Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday took notice of a speech by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan wherein the former prime minister criticised Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, calling him a “planted agent” of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

The commission has sought the record of the speech at the PTI workers’ convention in Peshawar from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra).

Since his appointment to the office in January 2020, Raja — who happens to be the son-in-law of Saeed Mehdi, former principal secretary to Khan’s disgraced predecessor Nawaz Sharif — has been at the helm of a series of decisions against the PTI, the party insists.

On Saturday, in his first press conference after leaving office, Khan

said his party did not trust Raja because all his decisions were against the PTI and called for his resignation.

Responding to the presser, Raja said he had “no intention of tendering my resignation,” before adding that there was no valid reason to “think like that”.

“I am working in the best interest of the country and shall continue to do so.”

During his latest speech on April 26, Khan called Raja a “planted agent” of the PML-N. “Raja has lost all his credibility and he should immediately resign,” he said.

The PTI chairman had also urged his supporters to start a campaign to collect signatures on an online petition against the chief election commissioner.

He had said that when the result of the foreign funding case would be announced there would be just one party that would emerge with legal funding and it would be PTI. Interestingly, in an informal conversation with journalists last week, Khan said that Raja’s name for the office was proposed by the military

establishment following a deadlock between the then government and the opposition.

Before Khan, Azam Swati, a senior PTI leader, too had suggested Khan’s government had to swallow a “bitter pill” on Raja’s appointment.

In his last week’s conversation with

journalists, the former prime minister had also said the PTI would file a reference against Raja as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had displayed “incompetence” by not completing the delimitation of constituencies on time thereby delaying early elections.

Pakistan, China to cooperate on hunting down terrorists: Beijing BEIJING

NAb orders inquiry against Farah khan IsLAMABAD Monitoring report

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday authorised an inquiry against Farhat Shahzadi, a friend of former first lady Bushra Maneka and better known as Farah Khan, on the allegations of accumulation of assets beyond declared sources of income and money laundering.

“The NAB has authorised an inquiry against Farhat Shahzadi alias Farah Khan and others on the allegations of accumulation of illegal assets beyond known sources of income, money laundering and maintaining various accounts in the name of different businesses,” a notification issued by the anti-graft agency read. In this regard, the agency’s Lahore director general has been directed to conduct an inquiry into the matter as per law. A turnover of Rs847 million was reported in accounts suspected to be owned by Khan during the last three years which does not commensurate with her account profile. These credits were received in her personal account and withdrawn immediately after credit within a short time period.

According to a NAB spokesman, media reports were found where Khan was alleged to be involved in accumulating assets beyond means.

Monitoring report

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson described Tuesday’s terrorist attack in Karachi as very vile, adding that China will work with Pakistan to hunt down the perpetrators, bring them to justice and make them pay a heavy price.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a regular news briefing in response to the terrorist attack on a van of the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi.

“We once again extend deep condolences to the victims of the two countries and sincere sympathies to the injured and the bereaved families,” Wang said.

He described the incident as a premeditated suicide terrorist attack against Chinese citizens. The terrorists directly targeted teachers, the inheritors of human civilisation and promoters of cultural exchanges, making the attack a very vile and a heinous act, said Wang, adding that the Chinese side expresses strong condemnation and indignation at it.

The Chinese government always attaches great importance to the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions overseas, Wang said, pointing out that following the incident, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions in Pakistan immediately activated the emergency response mechanism and sent staff to the scene.

Officials of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions in Pakistan have urged the Pakistani side to do its best to treat the injured, properly handle the follow-up matters of those killed, conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the attack,

arrest the perpetrators and severely punish them according to law, he said.

At the same time, stronger measures should be taken to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in Pakistan so that such incidents will never happen again, he added.

The Chinese diplomatic missions in Pakistan also reminded Chinese institutions and personnel in Pakistan to strengthen security awareness and enhance the security level to ensure their own safety.

“Yesterday, the Chinese Consul General in Karachi went to the hospital to visit the injured Chinese teacher, who is receiving proper treatment and recovering,” the spokesperson said.

Wang noted that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad on Tuesday evening to express his condolences, stressing that Islamabad is using all its resources to conduct an indepth probe into the incident, and will spare no effort to hunt down the perpetrators and make an example of the perpetrators in punishing them.

Wang added that the Pakistani side pledged to take further measures to strengthen the security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan in an allround way. Sharif said his government will never allow any force to undermine Pakistan-China friendship and cooperation. The blood of the Chinese people should not be shed in vain, Wang said, adding that China firmly supports Pakistan’s anti-terrorism efforts and will work with Pakistan to hunt down the perpetrators, bring them to justice and make them pay a heavy price.

“We once again remind Chinese citizens in Pakistan to pay close attention to the local security situation and prevent security risks,” he added.

FSC asks govt to implement Riba-free system by 2027 NEws DEsk The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) on Thursday ruled that the elimination of interest (riba) is a legal obligation as per Islamic injunction as it ordered the government to eradicate the interestbased banking system by the end of 2027.

The decision was made on petitions against riba after the Supreme Court referred the case back to the court in 2002 following the appeals against the decision of the FSC. In its order after hearing the case for at least 17 years, the federal court said interest-free banking was possible all over the world and it disagreed with the government’s argument which had cited negative impacts of the interest-free banking model.

It said the elimination of interest was a religious and legal obligation as parliament had already agreed to make sharia-compliant laws. The ruling read out by FSC Justice Syed Mohammad Anwar said the amount received by the

banks that exceeded the actual loan fell under the category of interest. “Every kind of interest of banks is called riba,” it added.

The ruling said that the Islamic banking system was “risk-free and against exploitation” and added that eradication of riba from society was one of the basic Islamic injunctions. The

court also banned the payment of interest over late payment of bank loans.

“The government should immediately remove the word ‘interest’ from all laws,” the decision said The court further directed the government to take internal and external loans under an interest-free system and added that an interest-free system would

be more beneficial.

It declared the West Pakistan Money Laundering Act and the Interest Act 1839 against Shariah. “All laws and regulations that facilitate interest are considered illegal,” the court said, adding that such laws should be abolished from June 1, 2022.

The Shariat Court said it was understood that the transition towards an Islamic system would take time but the bank’s deposit “could be cleared of riba immediately”. The court also said it could not understand why the government needed more time to eliminate the riba system since the case had been pending for 17 years.

In its arguments, the federal government had argued that the interestbased could not be eradicated as it would damage the already fragile economy. It had supported a parallel interest-free banking system already functioning in Pakistan. It had also urged the court to leave this matter to parliament as it had far-reaching consequences.

NEWS

03

Pakistan women fight gender norms to build online health business kARACHI reuterS

After surviving a car crash that left her hospital-bound and unable to walk for months, Saira Siddique embarked on a mission: making health care accessible to Pakistanis. The 45-year-old left her high-profile job in government health to pitch her app linking doctors and patients by video to investors. Months later, with Covid-19 hurting businesses across Pakistan, Siddique’s firm, MedIQ, burst on to the scene as the country’s first “virtual hospital”. “(The pandemic) really gave a boost to my company,” said Siddique. With face-to-face doctors’ appointments restricted due to contagion risks, Siddique’s company, connecting patients across Pakistan with doctors and pharmacies, was suddenly in demand. MedIQ served 16,000 patients in its first six months. Almost two years on, the number has increased by nearly 20 times. Siddique is one of a growing number of women in Pakistan who are defying conservative gender norms by jumping into the health tech industry. “Running a startup business is like riding a bull,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from the capital Islamabad. “You never know which way or how hard it’s going to buck.”

Siddique’s company raised $1.8 million in an early stage of financing last week after receiving mentoring in the World Bank-backed WeRaise programme, which helps women-led ventures in Pakistan raise capital.

‘DOCTOR BRIDES’: Others are blazing a similar path. Two entrepreneurs in Karachi wanted to use the untapped potential of tens of thousands of so-called “doctor brides” – women doctors who quit their medical practise after marriage in a country where millions have no access to medical care. Iffat Zafar Aga and Sara Saeed Khurram’s platform allows female medics to provide e-consultations from their homes to patients in mostly rural communities. In the country of some 210 million the doctor-patient ratio stands at just a little over one for every 1,000 patients, according to the World Bank. Countries such as the United States, Japan and Brazil have more than two doctors for every 1,000 patients, while Britain has nearly four. The pair has set up dozens of ‘e-health clinics’ in low-income communities where, for as little as Rs80, a patient visits a nurse who uses the online platform to reach a doctor.

Khurram said they provided free consultations during Covid-19 after the government sought their help — a task made possible by their team of 7,000 doctors, many of whom are former doctor brides. The phenomenon of doctor brides remains pervasive with many families encouraging their daughters to study medicine not for a career, but to bolster marriage prospects. More than 70 percent of the country’s doctors are women, but only half will ever practise, according to the Pakistan Medical Commission.

‘LATE-NIGHT DEALS’: From domestic violence to anxiety over job losses and grief of losing family members to Covid-19, requests for virtual appointments on ReliveNow, an online mental health care platform, surged during lockdowns. Amna Asif, its founder and CEO, said most of the clients were women, including single mothers, struggling to juggle children while working from home. “This put us on the radar, and helped increase our sales,” said Asif by phone. Founded in 2018, ReliveNow has clients — 80 percent of whom are women — in dozens of countries including Pakistan, Britain, Canada and Australia.

Friday, 29 April, 2022 | KARACHI

04 NEWS

Heatwave will disrupt public HealtH, agriculture sector, says minister IsLAMABAD

m

APP

INISTER for Climate Change Sherry Rehman on Thursday said her ministry had issued a heatwave alert to all provinces as a sudden rise in temperature would also jeopardise public health and agriculture.

In a statement, the minister criticised the previous government for not taking adequate measures despite prior warnings issued by various international environ-

mental watchdogs at the onset of the ongoing year.

Sherry said: “The former government should have taken precautionary measures to deal with the heatwave as international organizations had warned of a severe and prolonged heatwave in the region”.

The minister said South Asia, as the rest of the world, was facing a severe heatwave this year. “The temperature in the border areas of Pakistan and India is expected to go up to 49 to 50 degrees,” Rehman added.

“Extreme heatwaves are a sign of climate change and global warming. Pakistan has been facing an unexpected heatwave since March,” she mentioned.

Rehman further said that the temperatures in Pakistan were likely to rise by 6 to 8 degrees Celsius which was more than usual this year. “According to the Meteorological Department, this year was the hottest month since March 1961.”

While enunciating the global warming impacts recorded this year, Rehman said the rainfall in March alone was 62 percent less than normal. In 2018, Nawabshah became the hottest city in the world in April when mercury went above 50 degrees, she underscored.

Rehman urged the people to take precautionary measures to avoid extreme heat.

86 attacks against journalists recorded in one year: report News Desk At least 86 cases of attacks and violations against media and its practitioners, including journalists, took place in Pakistan over the course of one year – between May 2021 and April 2022, a report revealed.

While the overall number of documented violations in the preceding year has gone down several notches, there is a continuing trend of targeting journalists working for digital media, according to a research and analysis report by the Freedom Network, an

award-winning Pakistan-based media rights watchdog that tracks violations against journalists and attacks on freedom of expression on an ongoing basis.

The report, released in Pakistan in 2022 to mark the World Press Freedom Day marked globally on May 3 every year, reveals that the state actors continue to be the largest threat source for journalists in Pakistan in a period marked by a dramatic escalation of coercion by the erstwhile Imran Khan government resulting in murders, legal cases, assaults, abductions, detentions and threats.

“As the digital media landscape is the new horizon over Pakistan, the government is more than anxious to crack down on online freedom and digital journalists are systematic target of harassment, abuses and legal threats. We must protect our borderless Internet freedom,” Iqbal Khattak, the Executive Director of Freedom Network, said. The data shows that no place in the four Pakistani provinces, federal capital Islamabad or even Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir is safe – attacks against journalists are taking place everywhere.

ScALE Of vIOLAtIONS AgAINSt mEDIA AND tHEIR fREquENcy IN PAkIStAN: At least 86 cases of attacks and violations against journalists and media practitioners were documented in Pakistan in the one year between May 3, 2021 and April 10, 2021 across all territories of Pakistan, including the four provinces, Islamabad, GilgitBaltistan and Azad Kashmir. This is an average of over seven cases of violations a month – one every fifth day. The top three categories of violations against the journalists in Pakistan in the period under review included

(a) 13 legal cases filed against them (15%) and 13 cases of offline harassment (15%), (b) 11 instances of illegal detention by the authorities (13%), and (C) nine cases of attempt to murder (11%) and nine cases of verbal threats (11%). “These six categories of violations – legal cases, offline harassment, illegal detention, attempt to murder and verbal threats – constituted 65% of the 83 categories of violations against media in Pakistan in the period,” it added. mOSt DANgEROuS REgIONS fOR jOuRNALIStS: Overall, Islamabad emerged as the riskiest and most dangerous place to practise journalism in Pakistan with 37% of the violations (32 out of total 86 cases) recorded in the federal capital.

KU suicide bomber’s husband claims she was ‘mentally ill’: Bushra Rind News Desk Balochistan’s Parliamentary Secretary for Information Bushra Rind on Thursday said the detained husband of the alleged Karachi University suicide bomber claims his wife was “mentally ill”.

At least four people, including three Chinese nationals, were killed while four others were injured in a suicide attack outside the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute two days ago.

CCTV footage of the attack showed a burqaclad woman standing outside the entrance of the Confucius Institute. The woman detonated herself just as the van neared the institute’s entrance.

The banned Baloch Liberation Army had later claimed responsibility for the attack. Investigators identified the bomber as Shari Baloch, a married mother of two. On Wednesday, CTD official Raja Umar Khattab said that her husband, who he identified as Dr Haibatan, was missing and that raids were being carried out to find him and other facilitators.

Addressing a press

conference in Quetta today, Rind confirmed that the husband had been arrested by law enforcement and that he made the revelation of his wife’s mental state in the course of interrogation.

She quoted the husband as saying his wife was receiving medications for her mental illness.

Rind said “external forces” were attempting to involve Baloch nations in anti-national activities in a “cowardly attempt” to discredit and portray the community in a bad light. “The Baloch nation won’t be affected by such hostile conspiracies,” she vowed. She said the suicide blast was a “tragic incident” targeting Chinese teachers and strongly condemned the attack. A day ago, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, in a video message, had said targeting Chinese teachers outside Karachi University was “highly reprehensible” and against Baloch tradition. “This is the first time we have seen such an event,” he added. Bizenjo said the nation would emerge victorious in its fight against terrorism.

Record-breaking early heatwave hits Pakistan, India

PID (I) 7647/21

CMYK

LAHORE/NEW DELHI: India is getting too hot too early, raising the risk of fires, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned on Wednesday, as a heatwave gripped much of the country and a landfill site burned on the capital’s outskirts. “Temperatures are rising rapidly in the country, and rising much earlier than usual,” Modi told heads of India’s state governments in an online conference. The extreme heat has swept across large areas of Pakistan and India this week and follows the hottest March since the India Meteorological Department (IMD) began keeping records 122 years ago. More than a billion people are at risk of heat-related health impacts, scientists said. In the capital New Delhi, temperatures have soared past 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for several days and are forecast to linger around 44C until Sunday, with peak summer heat still to come before cooling monsoon rains arrive in June. ReuteRs

Friday, 29 April, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

Petrol prices to remain unchanged: minister continued from page 01 The PMl-N led coalition government had severely criticised the previous Imran-led government for first failing to control fuel prices in the country and later for “derailing” the IMF programme through fuel subsidies.

Earlier this month, Ismail, during his Washington visit, told US think tank atlantic Council that the government will have to increase the price of petroleum products to get Pakistan’s economy back on track and to revive the stalled bailout programme with the IMF. The IMF in 2019 approved a $6 billion loan over three years for Pakistan but disbursement has been slowed by concerns about the pace of reforms.

“They (IMF) have talked about removing the subsidy on fuel. I agree with them,” Ismail, himself a former IMF economist, had said at the atlantic Council. “We can’t afford to do the subsidies that we’re doing. So we’re going to have to curtail this.”

Officials of the IMF [will visit][5] Pakistan in May to discuss issues regarding the subsidies being given by the government on petrol and electricity, according to a press release issued by the Finance Division on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, the information minister issued two statements within a short span of time creating confusion about petroleum prices.

Initially, aurangzeb stated that the prime minister had rejected the summary to increase fuel prices as he did not want to “punish” the public for the previous government’s “incompetence, incapability and mistakes”.

The prime minister cannot increase the burden on a public already troubled by inflation, she added.

However, shortly afterwards, the information minister issued another statement, saying, “The statement regarding petrol prices is withdrawn.

It’s being updated and will be issued later.”

Subsequently, she issued a third statement saying the premier had rejected the summary and elaborating on the reasons.

Govt to try president, Imran under Article 6 for ‘violating Constitution’: report continued from page 01 The apex court ruled that President alvi’s decision to dissolve the National assembly was also “contrary to the Constitution and the law and of no legal effect”. It noted that the prime minister could not have advised the president to dissolve the assembly as he continued to remain under the bar imposed under Clause (1) of article 58 of the Constitution. likewise, Governor Cheema, who has refused to endorse election of Punjab Chief Minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz, is also accused of subverting the constitutional process in the provincial legislator.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government has maintained that President alvi subverted the Constitution on the orders of PTI Chairman Imran “which is a clear violation of the Supreme Court and the High Court orders”.

The authorities are obtaining statements of the accused and records of national and provincial assemblies, the insiders said.

The sources also said that relevant court orders and judicial precedents will be attached with the reference to be filed in the Supreme Court.

The reference will write a new chapter in the political and judicial history of Pakistan, they added.

Under the law, the federal government has the authority to take action under article 6.

PM ShehbAz ArrIveS In SAuDI ArAbIA On 3-DAy vISIt P continued from page 01

aKISTaN has decided to seek an additional package of $3.2 billion from Saudi arabia to jack up the total facility to $7.4 billion from the existing $4.2 billion during the current visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in order to avert further depletion of foreign currency reserves.

“We are going to request the Kingdom of Saudi arabia to increase the amount of the deposit from $3 billion to $5 billion and double the Saudi Oil Facility (SOF) from $1.2 billion to $2.4 billion, so the total package could be increased up to $7.4 billion during the visit of premier Shehbaz Sharif,” an official was quoted as saying in a media report.

When one of the top officials of the Finance Division was contacted and inquired about the proposed package from

Saudi arabia, he replied: “We are requesting for deferred payment facility and enhancing the credit extended for forex support.”

However, the top official showed reluctance to share further information about the exact details to be requested by PM Shehbaz Sharif before the KSa authorities, especially in his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and other top dignitaries.

Pakistan will also make a request to the Kingdom of Saudi arabia for rollover of the existing package of $4.2 billion for one year till June 2023 in order to align it with the IMF programme as Islamabad has already asked the Fund to extend the existing Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for nine months till June 2023 coupled with increasing the size of the programme from $6 billion to $8 billion.

Saudi arabia had already given $3 billion deposits to the State bank of Pak-

istan and an oil facility on deferred payment worth $1.2 billion during the tenure of the last PTI-led regime. The deposits were given in December 2021, while the Saudi Oil Facility (SOF) started in March 2022 and so far, $100 million have been disbursed.

Saudi arabia had placed stringent conditions on the last package amount of $4.2 billion and linked it to the IMF programme.

The IMF programme is expected to be revived by end of June 2022 if all things are settled, as Islamabad requires a breathing space for three months period. according to the estimates calculated

by Dr Hafiz a Pasha, Pakistan requires a $12 billion injection in order to avert the balance of payment crisis and further depletion of the foreign currency reserves.

Pakistan will have to seek a rollover of $4.3 billion from China, including $2.3 billion in commercial loans and the remaining $2 billion in deposits. PM She-

ReuteRs

beijing closed some public spaces and stepped up checks at others on Thursday, as most of the Chinese capital's 22 million residents turned up for more mass COVID-19 testing aimed at averting a Shanghai-like lockdown.

Most people in the commercial hub were one month into stressful home isolation, struggling to meet basic needs. but there was hope on the horizon as the number of new cases declined further and officials said their focus was shifting towards boosting vaccinations among the elderly.

Fears were growing, however, that China would be trapped in a whack-a-mole game in coming months, lifting lockdowns in some places, while imposing others elsewhere, causing severe economic damage

hbaz Sharif is also expected to visit China next month to muster the required support from the friendly country.

Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves held by the State bank of Pakistan depleted rapidly by $5.5 billion in the last six weeks period and stand at $10.8 billion now. any further depletion of the foreign reserves could put the country into a crisis mode, so the government was making all-out efforts to get bridge financing from the friendly country to avoid a decrease in the foreign currency reserves till the time of reviving the stalled IMF programme.

Pakistan and the IMF had already kick-started number-crunching by sharing data and now the IMF review mission was expected to start parleys from the mid of May 2022 to accomplish the pending Seventh Review and release of the next tranche of $960 million.

STZA rejects defamatory campaign iSlamaBad PR

It has come to our attention that a television channel bOl News (owned by bOl Media Group) is running a malicious, abusive, and defamatory campaign against the Special Technology Zones authority (STZa) and its officers. STZa rejects all claims of impropriety

made by bOl News regarding STZa on its numerous platforms including but not limited to, broadcast television, digital and social media. These accusations are entirely false, untrue, and incorrect, and are outrightly denied by STZa. a willful campaign is being run by bOl News with a malafide intent to blackmail and cause damage to STZa and its officers, and to influ-

ence the process of law relating to certain sub-judice matters in the Sindh High Court. STZa reaffirms its commitment to developing the technology sector of Pakistan by enabling inclusive socio-economic development through knowledge and technology-driven growth.

STZa reserves the right to take all necessary legal actions against bOl News.

Khurram Dastagir takes briefing on power projects Islamabad: Federal Minister for Power Engr.

Khurram Dastagir Khan and Minister of state Hashim Notezai had a briefing on power sector here at the Ministry. The Minister was briefed by the Secretary and officials regarding Ministry's wings, entities, ongoing projects and financial challenges.

He questioned the officials in detail about the electricity demand and supply gap and solicited suggestions about eliminating load-shedding immediately. Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan said that he was acting vigorously upon Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's direction to curb load-shedding and to provide electricity to citizens as well as to industry to kindle economic growth. Minister Khan issued directions to all distribution companies for timely redress of public complaints. The Minister emphasized enhancing efficiency of government-owned power plants in order to reduce electricity price. He vowed more openness and transparency in working of the Ministry. PR

Illegal housing societies advised not to advertise on social media ISlaMabaD: Pakistan Telecommunication authority (PTa) has been approached by lahore Development authority (lDa) pursuant to the direction issued by Honorable lahore High Court in a writ petition vide its order of 30th March 2022 with respect to controlling advertisements of illegal housing societies on digital/social media. all such housing societies, operating without proper NOC of the concerned quarters, are advised to refrain from advertising the illegitimate business on social media platforms, else PTa will initiate action as per its mandate under the law. PR

Beijing firms up COVID screening to prevent Shanghai-like chaos BeiJing/SHangHai

05

and exasperating its population. as beijing rolled out three rounds of mass testing this week across most of the city, it locked down a number of residential compounds, offices and a university.

Some schools, entertainment venues and tourist sites were also shut. andrew Ward, 36, a Canadian living in one of beijing's narrow lanes of courtyard houses known as hutongs, was sent to quarantine in a hotel on Thursday even though his test results were negative.

On Wednesday, people in hazmat suits tested Ward at home after he was identified as a close contact of a COVID case.

"I'm a little bit annoyed, because I spent all that money and time stockpiling food for being locked down at home," said Ward, who works at an international school.

Universal Studios in beijing said it would require visitors from Friday to

show negative test results before they could enter the theme park. beijing on Thursday reported 50 new infections for april 27, including some detected among the nearly 20 million samples acquired in the first round of mass testing. That was up from 34 a day earlier.

Since april 22, beijing has found over 160 cases, more than half in Chaoyang, its most populous district known for its night life, malls and embassies.

China's zero COVID tolerance policy has provoked rare public anger in an important year for President Xi Jinping, over measures that seem surreal to much of the outside world that has chosen to live with the virus, even as infections spread.

Xi is expected to seek a third leadership term this fall and authorities would

cmYK

like to avoid a repeat in the capital of the scenes in Shanghai, where some residents leaned out their windows to beat pots and pans in anger as people in protective suits installed fences around their homes.

China's yuan slipped to 18-month lows against the U.S. dollar on Thursday as COVID outbreaks threatened this year's economic growth target of about 5.5%.

Stock markets were off two-year lows, however, in anticipation of more stimulus after Premier li Keqiang vowed to stabilise employment and revive disrupted supply chains.

Nomura analysts estimate 46 cities are currently in full or partial lockdowns, affecting 343 million people.

Societe Generale estimates that provinces experiencing significant mobility restrictions account for 80% of gross domestic product.

OGDCL announces financial results The board of Directors of Oil and Gas Development Company limited (OGDCl) in its meeting held on april 28, 2022 at Islamabad approved the financial results for nine months ended March 31, 2022 of fiscal year 2021-22. The Company’s net sales clocked at Rs 240.267 billion translating to a profit after tax of Rs 112.044 billion and earnings per share of Rs 26.05 for the nine months ended March 31, 2022.

The board of Directors also approved the third interim cash dividend @ Rs 1.0 per share in addition to earlier interim dividends of Rs 3.75 per share. The Company paid Rs 27.092 billion as royalty which will be ultimately be transferred to the Provinces besides Rs 57.906 billion in the form of taxes during the nine month period.

The above entitlement will be paid to the shareholders whose names will appear in the register of members on May 12, 2022. The share transfer books of the company will be closed from May 13, 2022 to May 17, 2022 (both days inclusive).

Transfers received at the CDC share Registrar Services limited, CDC House, 99-b, block “b”, S.M.C.H.S., Main Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karkachi-74400 at the close of business on, May 12, 2022 will be treated in time for the purpose of above entitlement to the transferees.

The Company maintained its profitability despite challenges due to outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

OGDCl continues to be the market leader in the E&P sector and plans to accelerate its exploratory activities in the future as seismic work in newly awarded blocks will be undertaken. PR

FFC releases financial results Fauji Fertilizer Company limited (FFC) has announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 in its board of Directors’ meeting held on april 27, 2022.

The Company achieved net profitability of Rs 6.24 billion translating into an EPS of Rs 4.90 which was 7% higher than the corresponding period of last year.

FFC attained Urea production of 635 thousand tonnes and achieved benchmark sona urea offtake of 631 thousand tonnes for the period. The Company also recorded highest ever income on deposits of Rs 2.20 billion in addition to receiving its maiden dividend of Rs. 1.26 billion from FWEl I & II in a very short period since their acquisition.

The board of Directors of FFC also announced first interim dividend of Rs 3.70 per share for the period. PR

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Friday, 29 April, 2022

06 COMMENT

Living with divisions

The method in the madness Desire to pull down the entire system

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AVING been relieved of the office of Prime Minister, Imran Khan has decided to bring down the entire system.

Punjab is without a chief minister and a cabinet for nearly four weeks now. The newly elected chief minister Hamza shahbaz is not being sworn in despite Lahore High Court reminding both President Arif Alvi and Punjab Governor Umar sarfraz Cheema of their constitutional obligation to facilitate the administration of oath to Hamza or nominate someone else to perform the function to let the government start functioning.

Meanwhile the PTI leaders continue to insist that courts can pass orders to neither the President nor the Governor. But can the courts remain silent if the President and the Governor act in violation of the constitution with the aim of stopping a duly elected PML(N) government from taking control of Punjab, knowing well that this would lead to a disruption of governance in the country’s largest province.

As the establishment turned neutral it was compared to animals by Mr Khan. A vigilant judiciary is being asked in public meetings why it opened the court at midnight. The idea is to try to discredit the supreme Court. As preparations continue to hold local government polls and undertake countrywide preparations for general elections, Mr Khan has turned his guns against the Chief Election Commissioner because he has refused to halt proceedings in PTI’s foreign assets case. Mr Khan has demanded his resignation on the flimsy ground that the PTI has no confidence in him.

It goes to the Chief Election Commissioner’s credit that, instead of yielding to Mr Khan’s illegal pressures, he has decided to callhis bluff. Mr Khan’s demand for the CEC’s resignation is aimed at creating a constitutional crisis because after the PTI MNAs having been forced to resign by Imran Khan, there is presently no credible mechanism for the selection of his successor. There is a need on the part of the government to stand firmly by the Chief Election Commissioner. He also has a responsibility not to be swayed by the PTI’s shenanigans against him, and to maintain a scrupulous fairness in dealing with it.

Can this cabinet work together?

At Penpoint M A NIAZI

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HEHBAz sharif has formed a Cabinet, though it is not finished being sworn in.

Perhaps it is symptomatic that the Cabinet ministers are not as important as the parties to which they belong. While this is clearly the national government of everybody-less-PTI that shehbaz had mentioned before ousting the PTI government, it is probably not the Ministry of All The Talents that has been the will o’the wisp sought by the establishment.

Perhaps it should be remembered that the government has only been formed for the remainder of the present Parliament, which means that it has about 17 months at the most before elections are held. If Imran Khan and the PTI create sufficient pressure for fresh polls, there will be an early dissolution, but because the Election Commission of Pakistan has only now begun the task of delimitation of all constituencies, polls cannot take place before the autumn. It might be even a little later, because once the ECP has completed its task, it is upto the Parliament to pass enabling legislation. This may end up as the most significant of the electoral reforms the erstwhile opposition had promised before it took office.

The government has thus been formed to last at least eight or nine months, and may go the full course before then. If it seems the PTI is likely to win the next election, the whole government will try to prolong its tenure, otherwise, if either the PPP or the PML(N) sees victory, the party which sees defeat will try and drag its feet.

Another issue with the present government is that it is a coalition, perhaps the first true coalitions since Yousaf Reza Gilani’s first Cabinet in 2008 included PML(N) ministers. Their resignation within weeks reflected that the two parties are natural rivals. At that time, elections were distant, so there was not that incentive for splitting apart. However, the PML(N) Ministers did suffer a problem peculiar to ministers in a coalition headed by someone from another party, that of divided loyalty.

When a party wins, and the party leader heads the government formed, there is no such division. Loyalty to the party leader means loyalty to the PM, and vice versa. However, in the present Cabinet, not even

The new Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s arrival will strengthen the team

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ShAZIA ANwer CheeMA

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s a practitioner of semiotics, I follow speeches of national and international leaders and policymakers because their speeches are meant to be well constructed with incrusted meanings. After peeling, knowing all the layers, their policy, future inclinations, and diplomatic twists are worth the effort.

Recently I examined the speech Emmanuel Macron delivered after winning re-elecion for a second term. What is interesting here are the similarities between France and Pakistan in current times such as a highly politically polarized society with visible divisions.

Political experts were not sure that Emmanuel Macron could be re-elected now. When asked why they were not sure, they unanimously point out the divided society even on an ideological basis. The question is how Emmanuel Macron overcame that?

The most applauded theory I find is about his diplomatic norms.

The Ukraine crisis supported Emmanuel Macron in a mysterious way, his attitude toward Russia and not breaking ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin paid him off in the strangest way. He repeatedly said that apart from all European hate for Putin, he must not be treated or dealt with as an individual.

Let’s try talking to him again on a diplomatic level, let’s not cut all the diplomatic ties.

French people on the other hand received harsh

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conspiracy’ claim that left the UsA not knowing what to do. That apart, the PML(N) has selected tried and tested faces, former members of the previous PML(N) Cabinet, and that too in their previous portfolios.

However, the prize Interior portfolio has been given to Rana sanaullah, whose only previous ministerial experience has been as Punjab Law Minister.

He is the person who will have to handle cases, if any, against Imran Khan and any other PTI leaders who may come under the radar.

The PML(N) has kept the Defence portfolio, thus ensuring that at the ministerial level, it has not left foreign relations entirely to the PPP. However, BAP has rertained the defence production portfolio, though zubeida Jalal has now given way to Israrullah Tareen.

Two members of Imran’s cabinet, both nominees of allies, have retained their seats, Tariq Bashir Cheema of the PML(Q) and Aminul Haque of the MQM(P). syed Amin’s transition has been so smooth, that he did not even change portfolio, and the gap between the two Cabinets of about a week was too short to make returning to the Cabinet noticeable to anyone.

The new government is operating on one major constraint: it must do something abot the economy.

Apart from Miftah Ismail, who holds a PhD in Finance, the PML(N) has as Minister of state Dr Ayesh Ghaus Pasha, who has been Punjab Finance Minister. she does have a seat in Parliament, which Miftah does not. He didn’t the last time he was sworn, and though he had six months to find a seat back in 2018, he didn’t, as the government’s term ran out first.

He now has six months again to find a seat. He tried earlier this year in the by-election caused by Faisal Vawda going to the senate, but lost to the PPP’s Qadir Patel, who is in the Cabinet. shehbaz has not only got his hands full, but he might not get much help from his Cabinet. As a matter of fact, that was how it played out in Punjab when he was Chief Minister. His management style does not have him delegating much. some would accuse him of being a micromanager However, shehbaz may find that his ministers do not back him up as indefatigably as he might wish.

The purpose of his government is to return to business as usual. For that, a narrative to counter the PTI’s is needed, and depends virtually entirely on economic performance. Assuming such performance, there will have to be a unified message coming from the ministers. But will shehbaz get that support? Only time will tell.

The writer is a member of staff

Is Le Pen a French version of Imran Khan?

PP Co-Chairman Bilawal Bhuttc zardari’s taking oath as Foreign Minister and being assigned the Forein Affairs portfolio should bring a sense of completion to the coalition Cabinet, first because it puts paid to the rumours of differences within the components, and because it fills an important gap in the shehbaz sharif Cabinet, where repairing ruptured foreign relations is almost as much a priority as getting the economy back on track. Mr Bhutto zardari may be at 33 a little young for the job, but having been an MNA since 2018, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, having gone through the whole no-confidence motion process and been co-Chairman of his party for many years, he is hardly inexcperienced. That he is one of the few in Pakistan to be the third generation to have held ministerial office is not really an argument in his favour, but it cannot be ignored.

The first order of business for the new Minister will be mending fences. PTI Chairman Imran Khan continues to harp on the Us conspiracy with the opposition (including Mr zardari) which ousted him. Mr zardari will have to repair those relations. He will also be responsible for mending fences with China, whose nationals were killed in Karachi the day before he took oath.Then there are prior issues with China, especially the pace of progress on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. There are hurt feelings to be assuaged in the Middle East, where presents to the PM were taken out of Toshakhana and sold on the open market.

Mr Bhutto-zardari is fortunate that he has a minister of state in Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, who has not only proved her competence in the job before, but has been Foreign Minister herself. The expertise of the Foreign Office was at times ignored under the previous incumbent, Mr shah Mehmood Qureshi, who at times seemed more loyal to his party than the country, most notably in the matter of the alleged foreign conspiracy.

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

the PML(N) is free from such a division, even though the President of the party heads the Cabinet, because the real leader of their party, Nawaz sharif, is not just out of the Cabinet and out of Parliament, but out of the country.

While the PML(N) has this problem of its head our of the Cabinet, the PPP is likely to face the same dilemma. Asif Ali zardari, is not joining, for it seems inappropriate for a former President to join a Cabinet headed by someone else. Many would argue that even if the President heads the Cabinet himself, it would remain inappropriate. That also might be the reason why former PM shahid Khaqan Abbassi has not accepted office in the Cabinet.

However, appropriateness is not necessarily a guide. Former speakers Dr Fehmida Mirza and Fakhar Imam both accepted Cabinet slots in the previous government. The speakership is apparently in something of a grey area, with former PPP PM Raja Pervez Ashraf apparently seeing nothing wrong with taking the job.

The Foreign Ministry is the centre of a stepdown, with former Minister Hina Rabbani Khar accepting the Ministry of state, loss less than nine years after having held the full charge. she had got the office when the Foreign Minister, shah Mehmood Qureshi, left the Gilani Cabinet to join the PTI. It remains to be seen how she manages her position now that Bilawal has office as Foreign Minister, but as Minister of state in-charge, she does not seem under much restriction.

Bilawal’s taking office has a certain poignance.

Bilawal’s maternal grandfather, zulfikar Ali Bhutto, held office from June 1963 to August 1966. His mother also held it during her first government, though Iqbal Akhund was PM’s Advisor, making her only technically in-charge as PM. One problem is that of ideology. Politicians like slogans; now the government may not know which ones to raise. The PPP in particular is going to find the going hard. Of course, having abandoned almost every element of its original ideology, it will be able to make the necessary twists and turns to justify whatever course of action is taken.

By retaining the Finance and Planning portfolios, the PML(N) has taken responsibility for the economy.

However, the PPP has got the Commerce, Water Resources, and Industries and Production portfolios. Yet of the three great offices of state, finance, interior and foreign affairs, the PML(N) has given the PPP only foreign affairs.

That will be a key area, as the outgoing PTI had already riled Pakistan’s friends even before the ‘foreign

I

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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statements from opposition leader Marine Le Pen. Her stance toward migration, making France great again, no tolerance for those who differ, and above all stiff foreign diplomacy, is her identity. she is more or less the French Imran Khan, she never finds it useful to have need-based working relationships. Marine Le Pen was also infesting the thoughts of good versus evil and hope for a utopia, of course never seen by anyone. Political experts say her harsh tone, bullying style, and pursuit of ultimate good scared a vast population, even those who are looking for an alternative.

On the other hand, Macron’s open and flexible foreign policy and adhering to strict diplomatic norms while publicly speaking led to his victory, his decent and public speaking without any slur or name-calling paved the way for his apparently tough victory.

French people are politically mature enough because their political journey is far longer than ours, and they sense that at least in these chaotic times sanity must prevail. They understand a self-obsessed self-righteous narcissist will doom their republic. The very essence of democracy is disagreement with decency and an individual who is flouting this norm has less place in matured democracies, even while offering a shiny future. The most valued leadership quality is “Acceptance for all”.

Emmanuel Macron in his first speech after winning summed up all the points who led to his victory, for instance, his attitude “I am the warden of the divisions that have been expressed”, his acknowledgment “that our country is full of divide and division”, his commitment to decency when he stopped the crowd from hooting by saying “no booing tonight”, his sense of responsibility was evident when he said “now I am not a candidate of a party I am president of all”, his inclusion for all policy “those who did not vote for me I will address their silence”, and a practical solution for future course of action “creativity and responsibility”.

No bullying, no abuse, no threats, no NAB, no political victimization, and nothing mentioned related to a bizarre name given to the half of the population who did not vote for him. No umbrella terms for a group of people, no we-will-see them-now stuff.

This all boils down to the fact that he has the pulse of the people and he knows that his population cannot be fooled by fake fairyland promises, by slamming doors on this and that country, by saying absolutely not to this and that, by pretending to be the saviour and the righteous.

For comparison, I take former Prime Minister Imran Khan as an example here who is contesting

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everybody around him by believing that everybody except him is a stooge, corrupt, dishonest with Pakistan, and of no worth. When I analyze his speeches, I find phrases and words like “my Pakistanis”, “when I came to know”, “since my government”, “they pressurized me”, “I have everything in my life”, “I lived in Europe (symbol of pride for many Pakistanis)”, “my 25 years struggle”, “when I entered into politics” etc. His oration revolves around “me, “my” and “I” and evolves from “him”. This is one of the reasons that many academicians now fear he has become a cult leader, who does not care about the result of his preaching. History testifies how such leaders threw their followers and even nation into deep trouble.

The sheer amount of me, I and my is intimidating, unfortunately, we Pakistani are not in habit of following a leader, we tend to follow a hero, so leadership qualities are not a big issue where the hero has to be as pretentious as any Hollywood or Bollywood hero in a particular role. since onscreen and off-screen are two different lives, superheroes saving the earth in a supernatural way may not be able to in real life.

The cultural history of France indicates the acceptability of differences of opinion, adaptability of new thoughts, experimentation of several revolutions, and a stiff fight spreading over two centuries for freedom of speech are strong inputs that grew the social fabric. There is no place for cult-like thoughts by the majority though freedom of speech provides room for extremist thought to survive. I read a theory that it takes 70-plus years to attain social maturity, for countries that lived under foreign rule 100-plus years.

Now we are a 75-year-old country but I fear to believe that our social maturity is in reverse gear when I listen to videos recorded in the early 70s of university students. What a thoughtful discussion you find in these videos where youth is found talking about international movements, philosophy, history, and human rights, and now you can find a majority of our youth express just slur and sarcastic taunts having no connections with global realities. Please let me say that our old Pakistan of the 1970s was much more mature and resilient than today’s Pakistan.

The writer is a Prague-based author, columnist, and foreign affairs expert who writes for national and international media. She is a doctoral student and researcher in semiotics and philosophy of communication at Charles University in Prague. She can be reached at her: Twitter @ShaziaAnwerCh Email: shaziaanwer@yahoo.com

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

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Friday, 29 April, 2022

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

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

Booming real estate

Learning from the Bangladesh model Sri Lanka and Pakistan can learn to avert their economic woes JohN roZArIo

S

RI LANKA and Pakistan can follow the ‘Bangladesh Economic Miracle’ model to avert their economic crises.

As sri Lanka is going through an economic blowout, its south Asian neighbor ‘Bangladesh’ has confirmed as a south Asian Economic Miracle’ As Bangladesh marks its 51th independence anniversary this year, its tremendous economic growth has made it an emerging hub for regional connectivity, attracting more trade and investment opportunities.

According to the World Bank, the country has been among the fastest growing economies globally over the past decade, supported by a demographic dividend, strong ready-made garment (RMG) exports and stable macroeconomic conditions.

Bangladesh is also on track to graduate from the UN’s Least Developed Countries (LDC) list in 2026. Poverty fell from 43.5 percent to 14.3 percent in two decades, while in the last seven years, the country’s garment industry has increased its annual revenue from $19 billion to $34 billion— a 79 percent rise, according to the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF south Asia), Regional Office in New Delhi, India organized an online discussion titled, “Bangladesh: Henry Kissinger’s basket case is an economic success” on April 7.

According to the discussions, in 2021 Bangladesh celebrated its golden jubilee of independence. Labeled as a “basket case” by Henry Kissinger, the Us secretary of state in 1972, this young nation stands today as a template of growth and economic success.

Bangladesh started as a country with a low income per capita along with nations like Chad, Rwanda, Burundi, and Nepal. Today, the country has crossed the per capita income threshold of $2000, with a GDP of about $355 billion, securing itself a position In the top 40 economies of the world in terms of GDP. so, it is worth looking back into the story of growth.

Bangladesh has made progress in various areas, economically, and business wise, while social and health service are in good condition.

From being an extremely poor country in the 1970s, today, Bangladesh is confidently marching towards becoming a middle-income country before the decade is over. It will be graduating from a low-income country and that is quite a huge accomplishment.

While Bangladesh’s journey over the last 50 years is highly admirable, in the coming years and decades, it will have to address challenges to equal or even excel its past performance.

Bangladesh has become an important partner of Germany. Therefore, here should be a further easing of the cooperation and ties between Bangladesh and Germany, as this will be a solution where everyone benefits.

Bangladesh, has fulfilled all the requirements for graduating out of LDC status in 2026.

Now, the question is, how did that happen? The fundamental answer is, of course, it is the toil and sweat of workers, of people, workers, farmers, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and NGOs all put together the effort by this diligent people all around. And the net result of mind efforts of all these various groups of people in the country did produce the result.

If you hear Henry Kissinger’s prediction, one would be extremely disappointed. But here is Bangladesh that surprises people. But it can be said it is not a surprise. It is not a paradox. It is

the result of the efforts, hard toil and sweat of Bangladesh, people who are its main resources, we do not need mineral resources, mineral resources can be a curse, but people are not a curse” The systemic exploitation of the then East Pakistan, followed by a massive destruction of the economy, infrastructure and livelihoods caused by the Liberation War, posed an apparently insurmountable challenge to the government of the day. Millions of people returned home from India to a war-ravaged country and had no food, no shelter, no medical help, and other basic needs. It is at this point that Henry Kissinger called Bangladesh a basket case. If he were making that remark today, we are sure everyone would have edited it. Now after seeing the progress that we have made over the years in the past 50 years, it is in this context that the first generation of Bangladeshi NGOs appeared, primarily focusing on relief and rehabilitation.

It is well known that since the 1980s, Bangladesh has made astonishing progress in a wide variety of development indicators, such as reducing the prevalence of extreme hunger and poverty, increasing primary education, enrollment rates, and reducing child and maternal mortality, among others.

This progress has been mirrored by an impressive record of sustained GDP growth, spending decades, much, if not most, of Bangladesh’s development has happened outside the purview of successive governments. For example, the 2003 four World Bank report showed that 34.1 percent of the foreign aid is distributed to the NGO sector. The vibrant community of NGOs and civil society organizations working across the spectrum of development issues have been the principal drivers of progress. Undoubtedly, things like reducing poverty have been an enormous success. so, these are some of the contributions that NGOs have made to the development of Bangladesh and over the past 50 years and taking the country where it is today.

Apart from showcasing markers of economic and societal growth, Bangladesh has also seen a transition toward digitization, which has effectively given rise to a growing pool of entrepreneurs who are positively impacting lives in both urban and rural societies, such as through greater financial inclusion. Bangladesh is now a role model for other developing countries, owing to the participation of many stakeholders in both the public and private sectors. The online seminar referred to this theme of progress through the lenses of a sustainable economy, poverty reduction, and the impact of information technology in development.

Last year, Bangladesh celebrated its golden jubilee after gaining independence from Pakistan in 1971. Over the years, the image and identity of post-independence Bangladesh have changed in the world arena. It has become a donor country from an aid recipient country. A silent revolution has taken place in the country.

The Coronavirus pandemic has devastated the world economies. The economies of all south Asian countries, including Bangladesh, have been negatively affected. However, in the midst of the pandemic, Bangladesh has surpassed the south Asian countries in terms of

economic development. This success has been achieved in the 50th year of independence mainly through manufacture and export of ready-made garments and remittances from expatriates.

The World Bank, an international lending agency, has given a positive outlook on the south Asian economy overcoming the effects of the pandemic. In a report, titled South Asian Economies Bounce Back But Face Fragile Recovery, the agency said that the average growth of south Asia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the fiscal year 2021 could stand at 7.2 percent.

After that, in the 2022 fiscal year, the average growth may be less than 4.4 percent.

Bangladesh is ahead of its two neighbours, India and Pakistan, in achieving this growth. The government has set a growth target of 6.1 percent for the current fiscal year and 7.2 percent for the next fiscal year.

Although Bangladesh is ahead in per capita GDP, India is one of the largest economies in the world in terms of size. India’s economy is 10 times bigger than Bangladesh’s. The best way to understand how rich a country’s citizens really are is to determine how much purchasing power they have. That is, with the money he earns, what can he buy. This is why the size of GDP is calculated on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) to compare the economies of different countries. According to the IMF, India’s share of the world’s GDP on a PPP basis this year is 7.39 percent, while Bangladesh’s share is only 0.659 percent.

In terms of GDP growth, Bangladesh surpassed India for two consecutive years, but in some social indicators, Bangladesh surpassed the neighbouring country seven years ago. For example, Bangladeshi girls have a higher education rate and female birth rate than Indian girls. In Bangladesh, infant and under-five mortality rates are lower than in India.

India is a very big country. There are states like Bihar and Chhattisgarh, as well as states like Delhi and Punjab. so, on average, the real picture of everyone does not come up. But Bangladesh is undoubtedly doing well. so, with the increase in per capita GDP and income, we have to look at different social indicators.

On the other hand, Bangladesh, which then Us National security Adviser Henry Kissinger acerbically referred to as a “bottomless basket case” in 1972, has in the last 50 years performed better than Pakistan, the nation it separated from, says International Forum for Rights and security (IFFRAs), an international think tank headquartered in Toronto, Canada Bangladesh’s progress is not accidental.

The economies of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan have grown at a much faster rate since 2004. This progress was maintained till 2016.

But the situation started to change in 2017.

Bangladesh’s growth rate has risen sharply in the coronavirus pandemic.

Bangladesh shows the path. sri Lanka can follow this model to avert its economic melltdown as Bangladesh’s rise is ‘from bottomless basket to economic rise Model’.

Bangladesh, which then US National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger acerbically referred to as a “bottomless basket case” in 1972, has in the last 50 years performed better than Pakistan, the nation it separated from

The writer is based in Karnataka, India, and has completed a master’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University in International Relations. He can be reached at johnrojariojnu@gmail.com

THE real estate sector is a very popular investment opportunity in Pakistan. Anyone who collects or gains some money quickly plans to get a property, as it entails many benefits and seems to be an easier investment. It is the reason that this sector is booming, even on slow market days, fluctuations in the economy, or an increase in inflation.

There are government amnesty schemes and tax relaxations, and it always gets a soft corner as many revenue-generating industries are affiliated with the real estate business. While it offers many beneficial returns, sometimes charlatans, with pelf on the top of their mind, trap naive buyers into complex property selling schemes, most of which are scams or never-ending instalments with no real or substantial asset in hand.

In order to succeed in the real estate market you need to rely on companies that deliver tangible projects, and comprehend perks and benefits, along with an eye on the upheavals and downward slopes of the market. AAA Associates with a competitive edge in the market exceeds clients’ expectations through a creditable value proposition by providing services and investment opportunities that bring change in their lives through innovation and excellence. Intentions are reflected in actions, and in a series of projects that shows how important it is for AAA Associates to keep its action-packed promises, made with the valued clients, it has delivered 8 projects and continuing its development endeavours; which embody commercial and residential property, offering a regal standard of living with stately provisions, from magnanimous pools to executive clubs, lush views in the heart of Bahria Islamabad and beyond. The par excellence of the company lies at the heart of the AAA Builders, which efficiently constructed and delivered projects in only the last few years with expertise, finesse, and luxury.

In the swiftly moving lives with changing needs and the fluctuating environment, we require accelerated returns and increasing incomes with a financial boom. Gone are the days when everything, including our expectations from the world, was slow and steady.

Observe market trends and determine your objectives and invest in up-and-coming neighbourhoods to maximize your investment. The advertisement game of real estate investment companies is strong but you also need to dig deep into ground realities and ask harsh questions about the whereabouts, location, timeline, possession details, taxes and finances, thorough documentation, and upfront incomes that arrive right after your investments are made. The incomes and profits if delayed, or sketchy possession details must be clarified, for that, you need reliable companies to lead you in the right direction and not just maps on the fine quality paper. As a real estate investor, look for a trusted market leader, which has always made progress conscientiously with a sheer sense of responsibility, the one who has ensured a fast pace in delivering the mega projects.

MARYAM NAWAZ KAYANI ISLAMABAD

EOBI pension BACK in January 2020, the federal government allowed an increase in the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) pension from Rs6,500 to Rs8,500 with the promise of further increasing it over the years.

Unfortunately, now, many retired citizens from different semi-government and private organisations are faced with a significant financial strain.

Given the consistent price hikes and rising costs of utilities, it has become impossible for pensioners to afford necessities.

Although the new government announced plans to extend relief to employees working for different organisations, EOBI pensioners have once again been ignored. Most EOBI pensioners cannot seek employment after retirement and do not have alternative means of income or financial support. Given the old age of the pensioners, many do not have the means to raise awareness over the issue and cannot come out to protest or gather the support of others.

The new government has come with the promise of reforming the economy and people’s lives. Therefore, it must consider the agony of EOBI pensioners and grant an increase in the EOBI monthly pension up to Rs20,000 because it has been long overdue. This is unlikely to add a burden to the national treasury because EOBI funds are generated through the contributions of employees and employers. The EOBI pensioners should be relieved of their financial hardships and allowed to live a dignified life without seeking support from others.

KHALID MAHMOOD ISLAMABAD

Does anyone care about people?

THE spring season, which brings flowers and greenery was cut short by the heat setting in early in the country. There seems to be no respite for the people of Pakistan. summer has arrived early with temperatures already hitting the 40s. soaring inflation is making everything from fuel to food out of the reach of the middle and lower-middle classes. To make things worse, circular debt has once again gone out of control of the government if there is one. The power generation companies have reduced their production in wake of non-payment by the government and this has resulted in 8 to 12 hours of load-shedding in many parts of the country. Although we already face severe water shortage for drinking and irrigation, early summer and prolonged droughts may exacerbate the problem in near future. The poor shape of the economy and the mountain of problems are worrisome. However, despite all the grave issues being faced by the country, the politicians are busy playing the ugly game of power. They seem oblivious to the problems of the country and the people of Pakistan. The no-confidence move by the opposition and then allegations by the government that the opposition parties are facilitators of foreign conspiracy are traitors show that our politicians have no empathy for the people of Pakistan. For them, all problems of the country have taken a back seat and the only issue seems who gets the power. Their lust for power and selfishness has now brought the country to a constitutional crisis on top of the severe economic crisis country was already facing. I wonder if they will ever rise above their selves and think about the country.

RAJA SHAFAATULLAH ISLAMABAD

08 WORLD VIEW 29th April 22_Layout 1 4/28/2022 8:44 PM Page 1

Friday, 29 April, 2022

08 WORLD VIEW

Modi’s governMent is using false charges of terrorisM to rePress its oPPonents Jacobin Magazine

P. M. TONY aNd LOTIKa SINGHa

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nDER the rule of narendra Modi, the Indian state has launched a sweeping authoritarian clampdown on political dissent. One of the manifestations of this onslaught has been the jailing of opponents on trumped-up charges of terrorism and conspiracy. The authorities refer to the victims of these judicial frame-ups as “urban naxalites,” in reference to the Maoist revolutionaries who remain active in certain parts of the country.

One of those targeted was the priest and campaigner Father Stan Swamy. On July 5 last year, Swamy passed away after contracting COVID-19 in an overcrowded prison during the disastrous second wave of the pandemic in India. He had spent nine months in prison on fabricated charges of involvement in a supposed plot to “assassinate the prime minister,” along with fifteen other human rights defenders, academics, lawyers, artists, and social activists, known collectively as the Bhima Koregaon 16 or BK-16.

There have been tributes to Swamy from his colleagues, students, and many other people whose lives he touched. Alongside Swamy’s own memoir, I Am not a Silent Spectator (2021), these tributes offer a moving account of his life as one of modern India’s most remarkable citizens in its many different aspects. This article will discuss Swamy’s inspiring record of combing social research and activism through the space he established at Bagaicha in Jharkhand state.

THE BAGAICHA MOVEMENT: The word “bagaicha” refers to a tree-filled space or orchard, in particular the mangroves that form part of the common land where villagers gather under their shade to hold people’s courts and resolve matters of interest to the community.

In 2000, the Indian authorities carved Jharkhand out of the existing state of Bihar in northern India. Swamy and his like-minded Jesuit colleagues established the Bagaicha institute at Ranchi, the new state’s capital. They recognized the necessity of having a “bagaicha” in the heart of the capital where social activists could voice their concerns about issues affecting the lives of the Adivasi people.

The term “Adivasi” in this article refers to the indigenous peoples of mainland India. The Indian state defines most Adivasi communities as “Scheduled Tribes.” These communities made up about one-quarter of Jharkhand’s total population of 33 million at the time of the last census in 2011. The vast majority live in villages. The aim of Swamy and his associates in establishing the Bagaicha institute was to support the preservation of Adivasi lands and ways of life — especially the practices of local self-governance and maintaining common lands.

Jharkhand’s rich mineral resources have made it a prime target for industrialists and mining companies. The opening of the Indian economy to the neoliberal globalization project from 1991 onward ramped up these pressures. The Union government in Delhi may have granted statehood to the Adivasis in Jharkhand, yet it simultaneously started to break its promises. The Adivasis saw their lands handed on a plate to companies interested in mining their natural resources.

The Adivasi people had experienced this before. They were among the first groups in India to resist capitalist takeover by the British colonial state, under the leadership of strong figures such as Birsa Munda (1875–1900) and Komaram Bheem (1900–40). Since then, movement after movement has sprung up in the Jharkhand region to resist the political regimes of the day, all of which have continued to collude with capitalist interests while betraying the assurances given to the Adivasi people that the freedoms won at independence in 1947 would be theirs too, as equal citizens of the world’s largest democracy.

On paper, the Indian state has passed a number of visionary laws to safeguard the rights of Adivasis. However, politicians and bureaucrats at both national and state levels have either blatantly ignored their legal obligations or systematically bypassed the new policies.

A DEMOCRATIC SPACE: Bagaicha thus became a space for people to discuss the structural roots of the Adivasis’ problems and collectively develop solutions for their communities. Swamy was also mindful that Bagaicha’s own processes should reflect its broader aims, for example in terms of gender. Even though Adi-

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n an enough-is-enough reaction, the Supreme Court has pulled up state governments for failing to prevent hate speeches at ‘Dharam Sansads’ and other religious events and warned that it would hold top officials responsible in case of lapses. The court has expressed concern that such speeches are becoming a commonplace despite its guidelines on measures to be taken by the authorities. Hours after the SC directed the Uttarakhand Chief Secretary to give an undertaking that no untoward statement would be uttered at a proposed ‘Hindu Mahapanchayat’ at Dada Jalalpur village in Roorkee, the Haridwar district

RADICAL PRIEST STAN SWAMY WAS ONE OF INDIA’S LEADING SOCIAL ACTIVISTS. MODI’S GOVERNMENT IS TO BLAME FOR HIS DEATH WHILE AWAITING TRIAL ON BOGUS TERROR CHARGES, BUT THE CLAMPDOWN WON’T SNUFF OUT THE INSPIRING LEGACY OF SWAMY’S WORK WITH ADIVASI COMMUNITIES vasi societies have encouraged women’s participation in various ways, a sexual division of labor prevails.

In a 2021 interview, Aloka Kujur, a social activist from Jharkhand, summed up Swamy’s feminist approach: “He was a person who saw women as human beings.”

Kujur recalled how Swamy encouraged women’s voices and writing in the field of struggle and in matters of governance (which have traditionally been male spaces, even in Adivasi societies). He would personally ensure there were inclusive arrangements for women participating in work outside Bagaicha or at resistance sites, such as safe travel, good sanitary facilities, and childcare.

The award-winning activist Dayamani Barla has also shared memories of Swamy’s mentorship of her own activist work and the support he gave her when she stood for election to the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. In Bagaicha today, men are encouraged to take up administrative roles alongside women.

When it comes to labor rights at Bagaicha itself, the service workers are permanent employees and Adivasis are given preference. They receive a gratuity payment at retirement and provision for holidays to go back to their villages during the planting and harvesting seasons. All workers participate in significant events, such as International Indigenous People’s Day and International Women’s Day, in Bagaicha and elsewhere.

Swamy sought to foster broad awareness of the constitutional guarantees and other legislative provisions that were designed to protect what the Adivasis call “jal, jangal, jameen” (water, forests, lands), as well as the culture and language in predominantly Adivasi regions. He gave support to the Pathalgadi movement that developed among Adivasis in Jharkhand in 2018. Along with other activists, journalists, and writers, he urged the government to enter into dialogue with the people instead of repressing the movement by force.

However, the authorities charged Swamy and nineteen others with sedition merely for suggesting in Facebook posts that “the state government might do well to go to the people and have dialogue with them.” These charges were ultimately dropped, showing that the government was trying to intimidate the activists.

There was hardly a forum, demonstration, or dharna (sit-in) organized by Adivasis and other marginalized groups in Jharkhand where Swamy was not present. He also wrote for academic journals, and occasionally for newspapers, on the subject of Adivasi rights, highlighting the land grabs perpetrated by mining corporations with government assistance. Swamy’s commitment to building alliances and communities of practice at the local, national, and global levels made Bagaicha a focal point for researchers from across India, and outside the country too.

CHALLENGING INJUSTICE: At the time of his own arrest in October 2020, Swamy had been working on a public interest litigation (PIL) case he filed after Bagaicha conducted research into prisoners awaiting trial in Jharkhand (known as “undertrials” in the Indian legal system). Undertrials currently account for three-quarters of all those being held behind bars in India. In 2015, after learning about the wrongful arrest of a close associate, Swamy became aware that such spurious cases were increasingly common. He conceived of a research study to investigate the arrests as well as the condition of undertrial prisoners across Jharkhand.

Swamy and his colleagues discovered that it was very difficult to obtain precise information about the demographic makeup of undertrials or their conditions in which they were being held. They were denied entry to jails and their requests to talk with higher officials such as the Inspector General of Prisons went unanswered.

However, they eventually found two informants who helped them contact several prisoners who were on bail and some who were still incarcerated.

One of the informants was a cultural activist known

to Swamy, whose name was the same as that of one of the killers of a politician’s son. The police had used the murder as an opportunity to incriminate the activist based solely on his name. The other was the cofounder of an Adivasi rights organization in Jharkhand, the Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan. The police claimed that he was a supporter of the Maoists, and he was imprisoned for approximately eleven months.

The Bagaicha research on undertrials showed that many of those arrested were socially conscious people who were aware of their rights and had been raising their voices against, for example, exploitation by mining companies. Just 3 percent of the 102 undertrials who took part in the study had any connection to the Communist Party of India (Maoist). While the first information reports (FIRs) filed by the police claimed that they had caught most of the detainees in their “dens” in the forests of Jharkhand after chases, the research team found that many had actually been arrested at their homes, often during the night.

The prisoners were often the main breadwinners in their families. However, it was impossible to obtain bail for those who had been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or Section 17 of the Indian Penal Code, both of which are supposed to deal with subversive or terrorist offenses against the state. The lower courts would invariably deny bail to those accused under these sections and the case had to be taken to the High Court.

However, most family members of those arrested lack knowledge of legal procedures, and many of them were not in a position to approach a lawyer or bear the expense of legal procedures, including lawyers’ fees and bail bonds, which require access to significant financial means and a warrantor. The families faced a choice between selling their meager belongings or leaving their loved one to languish in jail for months or even years.

Swamy was greatly disturbed by the skewed demographics of Jharkhand’s undertrial population, drawn primarily from marginalized communities, and the state’s machinations to put innocent people behind bars. He filed the PIL case in 2017, but it has moved slowly through the courts, and the outcome is still pending. The communities of practice that Swamy helped forge are ensuring that the work goes on.

A MOBILIZING MISSION: The Bagaicha movement sought to foster practices of teamwork, training people to understand the ways in which historical processes and social power structures shape their everyday lives.

Swamy drew on the ideas of action-oriented thinkers in his work with Adivasis. He was greatly influenced by the historical jal, jangal, jameen movements of the Adivasis themselves, led by freedom fighters such as Birsa Munda and Komaram Bheem. The Marxist notion of class struggle and Paulo Freire’s use of cultural idioms and a community’s everyday language to mobilize its members also informed his approach.

Swamy recognized that social analysts who were unfamiliar with local metaphors and the ideological underpinnings of particular communities would be less effective in mobilizing people and providing them with frameworks for understanding their oppression. He worked closely with the organic intellectuals, people who clearly saw the structural bases for their situation of their community and could convey that understanding to others.

In India, the cultural hegemony of the savarna uppercaste groups, the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas, has severely constrained the ability of marginalized peoples to mobilize to end their oppression. Bagaicha’s work has required deep engagement with communities. Its trainers were urged to be mindful of the risk of becoming “brown saviors.” The Bagaicha approach focused on developing social consciousness among its trainees and helping them to understand power relations, rather than simply leading them, so that they could decide for them-

Preventing hate sPeeches ONUS ON OFFICIALS TO TAKE PRE-EMPTIVE ACTION administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC and placed the main organiser under house arrest, beside deploying a large number of police personnel in the area on Wednesday in a bid to prevent recurrence of communal disturbances. A Hanuman Jayanti procession had been pelted with stones in this village on April 16. Timely intervention by the local authorities scuttled the

mahapanchayat organisers’ plans to fan the flames.

Inflammatory remarks have been par for the course at religious conclaves held in Uttarakhand and Delhi over the past several months. The brazenness of the rabble rousers was starkly evident when Yati narsinghanand, the head priest at a Ghaziabad temple, stoked communal emotions recently while out on bail in a case pertaining to an inciteful speech

selves whether to take action to break free of the cycle of oppression and how they should do so.

The Society of Jesus has long provided space for individual Jesuits to follow their own convictions and conscience in their choice of ministry. Swamy took full advantage of this opportunity. Over time, his role in Bagaicha took precedence over his religious duties. He questioned everything: at meetings with students, he criticized the functioning of the Society of Jesus itself, arguing that it was not democratic despite the freedom to think it offered, and that it was not listening to people’s cries of grief.

His approach made many people uncomfortable.

Some were quietly envious, and there were petty complaints over his refusal to follow Jesuit rituals. Yet Swamy stood by his convictions. His sense of social justice made him determined to continue whether or not others were willing to join him.

Swamy and his Bagaicha colleagues conducted induction courses in social analysis for Jharkhand Adivasi novices who were beginning their studies for entering the Jesuit order. These young men, usually between twenty and thirty years of age, were often unaware of how significant the Adivasi or caste (Dalit) element of their identities was. They might also be ignorant of the constitutional rights accorded to Adivasi communities. India’s national education system tends to avoid such matters.

The induction course encouraged the novices to ask questions and introduced them to the Bagaicha movement’s view that Jesuits have a duty as community leaders to promote social change, rather than simply playing the role of spiritual leaders and schoolteachers. The Bagaicha movement has also emphasized the importance of nonviolence and the need to remain committed despite the challenges facing its trainees.

For Swamy, there could be no question of leaving the social conditions experienced by the people around him for others to address. It was part of the mission to which he had devoted his life. Although historically Jesuits understood their “mission” to be a matter of propagating the Christian religion and its practice of charity, Bagaicha’s philosophy is rooted in the democratic ideals stated in the preamble of the Indian Constitution such as secularism, socialism, justice, fraternity, and liberty. It means joining hands with the struggles of people for their constitutional and human rights.

CARRYING ON SWAMY’S WORK: The Bagaicha movement that has emerged from Swamy’s work with Adivasis in Jharkhand is a powerful example of interdisciplinary, action-oriented, and community-based social research. This success carries a price: in the present climate of increasingly fervent right-wing Hindu nationalism, some people are reluctant to associate with Bagaicha, because they fear that it will bring them to the attention of the state’s surveillance machinery.

In Swamy’s own parent community, there was a fear that the Church’s activities might come to a standstill due to state-sanctioned misuse of the law. After Swamy’s death, the huge response both within the country and outside it made many Indian Jesuits more aware of their late colleague’s tremendous social contribution. There appears to be a change taking shape within the order, with some provincial superiors openly supporting Bagaicha’s approach.

Swamy’s colleagues at Bagaicha are determined to continue his work as they recognize that it is more crucial than ever. The Bagaicha research team is carrying on with the undertrial PIL, despite the dysfunctional state of the criminal justice system during the height of the pandemic. Their shock and grief at the loss of Swamy has not stopped them. This is their tribute to his legacy.

As we remember Swamy, the campaign for the release on bail of other undertrials, including the other BK16 prisoners, continues. Many of the prisoners are older people, and several are also at risk due to medical conditions. The Indian authorities must not be allowed to subject them to the same fate as Father Stan Swamy.

P. M. Tony, S. J., is an independent social researcher.

His research interests include local governance systems, processes of democratization, and displacement and deprivation due to mining and industrialization. Lotika Singha is an honorary research fellow at the University of Wolverhampton, UK, whose work focuses on the social injustices of everyday life.

made at a ‘Dharam Sansad’ in December. With the judiciary taking a tough stand, the law enforcement agencies are left with no fig leaf to conceal their laxity or inefficiency. Last week, the apex court told the Delhi Police to file a ‘better’ affidavit, not satisfied with the one which stated that ‘no specific words against any community were uttered’ at an event organised in December.

Pre-emptive action is a must to ensure that religious congregations do not degenerate into platforms for spreading communal hatred.

Empowering the local police to nab troublemakers before they spew venom can help keep the situation under control. It’s not worthwhile to conduct a routine investigation after the damage has been done.

The priority should be to nip the menace in the bud.

Friday, 29 April, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

corporate corner HBL, Finja partner to launch digital financial services HBL, Pakistan’s largest commercial bank in collaboration with Finja, the country’s largest digital SME lending fintech, along with an international technology partner, has applied for a digital banking license, under the Licensing and Regulatory Framework for Digital Banks released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

This collaboration will enable HBL and Finja to co-create digital products and services and rapidly increase financial inclusion in targeted segments. In this regard, grant of a digital banking license by SBP, will allow HBL and Finja to consolidate existing efforts of both organizations under one umbrella to digitize the economy. HBL and Finja have been strategic partners since April 2021, when HBL made its first equity investment in Finja. As a result of this collaboration, a unique digital lending program was launched, targeted at Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and their associated supply chains. Commenting on the opportunity, Sagheer Mufti, Chief Operating Officer – HBL, said, “HBL views this opportunity to apply for a digital banking license as an exciting evolution of the digital eco-system for the benefit of clients, the unbanked and the country. HBL’s partnership with Finja should have a significant impact in its quest for financial inclusion.” Qasif Shahid, Co-Founder and CEO of Finja remarked, “Our partnership with HBL gives us a head start in creating and rolling out digital banking products and services well before other players aspiring to set up digital banks under the new license regime.” He went on to say, “The partnership puts us in a winning position as it ramps up our capability to offer clients digital products.” pr

Gold falls to Rs112,500 per 10gm ISLAMABAD TLTp

Spot gold prices staged some recovery after falling to two-month low on Thursday amid a stronger US dollar and firmer treasury bond yields.

As of 1330 hours GMT, gold in the international market was available at $1,885.80 per ounce, shedding $0.20 (0.01 percent). Out of the $0.20 per ounce decrease, -$12.65 was due to strengthening of the US dollar and +$12.45 was due to predominant buyers, according to Kitco Gold Index.

The price of 10 grams of 24-carat yellow metal in Pakistan, meanwhile, decreased to Rs112,500 after shedding Rs700. Gold price in the local market settled at Rs113,200 on Wednesday last.

Gold price fell to a two-month lows of $1,872 earlier in the day. The dollar index reached a five-year top of 103.28, and a further push above 103.82 would see it to levels not visited since late-2002. A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced gold less attractive for other currency holders.

On the other hand, benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields also firmed, as investors awaited greater clarity on the “restrictive” policy the Federal Reserve plans to pursue next week to combat inflation by curbing economic growth.

According to experts, escalating geopolitical risk and inflation should continue to underpin investment demand.

They said while the yellow metal's prices have remained extremely resilient against an aggressively hawkish Fed, as a protracted war in Ukraine simultaneously raised both geopolitical uncertainty and inflation risks and thereby fuelled demand for havens, we see few participants left with an appetite to buy gold.

From a technical perspective, with the greenback coming under renewed selling pressure after the disappointing first-quarter growth data, gold started to edge higher toward $1,900. The benchmark 10-year US T-bond yield, however, stays in positive territory, limiting gold's upside for the time being.

09

Govt coNStituteS 21-memBeR eAc ISLAMABAD

t

Shahzad paracha

HE Federal government has constituted a high powered 21 member Economic Advisory Council (EAC). The EAC shall be chaired by the Prime Minister, the members included are Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, Miftah Ismail, Saleem Mandviwalla, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Dr Ayesha Ghous Pasha, Mussadiq Malik, Tariq Pasha, Mian Muhammad Mansha, Mohammad Ali Tabba, Arif Habib, Asim Hussain, Atif Bajwa, Faisal Farid, Aurangzeb, Waqar Ahmad Malik, MD/CEO Fauji Foundation, Salman Ahmed, Shahzad Salim, Rahman Naseem, Musadaq Zulqarnain and Dr.ljaz Nabi.

Document states that EAC is being established to review and formulate economic policies in a more holistic manner.

The EAC will advise on short term macro-economic stabilization as well as structural reforms for stable and sustained economic progress and it will be convened on weekly basis on the issues of national economic importance.

In addition, EAC will also review the overall economic condition of the country and propose possible corrective measures considering available resources of the country.

The EAC will also analyze the effectiveness of subsidies, protection and other financial support by the government to the State Owned Enterprises (SoEs) and other vital sectors of the economy in context of overall cost and benefit analysis of such subsidies and protection.

It will also review the existing market imperfections in the various important sectors of the economy in order to promote competition by correcting the market distortions and to advise the government ministries, organizations, bodies and various project implementing agencies in formulating evidencebased policies.

The forum will also help in finding the techni-

cal expertise and human resource that may be required to carry out the requisite financial and economic analysis.

Document states that EAC will meet once a week (virtually/ in-person) and specific sub-committees will be formed for focused work with the timelines and defined scope. The EAC may co-opt any other member as per requirement.

KP govt approves Rs490mn for TMAs in tourist areas No fresh borrowings from SBP, clarifies finance ministry

ISLAMABAD aziz Buneri

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government approved a plan of Rs490 million for enhancing the capacity of 11 Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs) in tourist destinations of the province.

Official sources said that KP government has sanctioned the fund to make

TMAs of tourist destinations fully functional and procure machinery to provide a clean environment to local and foreign tourists. The TMAs include Balakot, Alpuri, Besham, Batgram, Chitral and Matta.

According to KP Local Government department sources, 11 tractors with front back hoe, six medium sized excavators, three mechanical

sweepers, 34 mini dumpers, 10 tractor trolleys, 205 containers and 1100 bins will be procured under the project.

According to sources, Rs20 million has been allocated for the project this year. The procurement process will be started this year while the remaining amount will be released in next two years. The LG department will implement the project.

The Ministry of Finance here on Thursday clarified that there had been no fresh borrowings by the government from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

“In fact the government has been retiring its previous stock of debt with the SBP on its maturity,” the ministry said in a statement while responding to news circulating on social media whereby an impression was being created that government had borrowed from the central bank.

The statement termed it grossly incorrect which depicted the limited understanding of the monetary variables.

It said, as reported in the monetary tables (M2), the government’s borrowing from the SBP for budgetary purposes was calculated as the difference between the government’s stock of borrowing from the SBP and its deposits with the central bank.

Therefore, net borrowing number may change due to fluctuation in cash balance with SBP and other accounting conventions, it said adding this change was not fresh budgetary borrowing by the government from SBP but just a change in government’s cash balance with the SBP. The ministry said, the government remained committed to complying with its obligations under the amended SBP Act and IMF program conditions. app

Italy to give Pakistan access to its labour market: ambassador ISLAMABAD Shahzad paracha

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Italy, Jauhar Saleem has revealed that Italy will give Pakistan a comprehensive market access to its labour market.

While talking to media through Zoom, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Italy, Jauhar Saleem said that Pakistan and Italy are working on a labour agreement that will give Pakistan a comprehensive market access to Italian labour market.

He informed that Pakistan has shared the draft agreement with Italian authorities and formal negotiations will be started soon.

He stated that Pakistan has been included in the Italian seasonal work visa for 2022 also, which would offer many opportunities for Pakistani workers in agriculture and services sector to work in Italy.

Italy is expected to allow 69,700 seasonal workers from selected countries in 2022 to come to Italy for work. He also elaborated upon various initiatives for promoting welfare of Pakistani diaspora in Italy.

Jauhar Saleem also shared that Pakistan has posted a trade surplus of $372 million during the financial year 2021-22 (JulyMarch), which is 65 per cent higher than the previous year.

Despite the difficult conditions propelled by the pandemic, Pakistan has registered an impressive growth of 41 per cent in FY 2021-22 (July-March) as compared to corresponding period.

The Ambassador informed that Pakistan’s exports to Italy reached an all-time high of $805 million during the first 9 months of this financial year. The value added sectors were the main drivers of this growth which produced a trade surplus of $372 million.

Italy is expected to be one billion export market for Pakistan in FY 2021-22.

While responding to a question, the Ambassador stated that despite the false and fabricated Indian claim over Basmati`s exclusive Geographical Indication (GI) rights in the EU and Italian market, Pakistan maintained its position as market leader in rice export to Italy with 38 per cent share, whereas India supplied only 12 per cent of

the total imported rice in Italy.

He also shared that following the Brexit, Italy is now home to the largest Pakistani diaspora in the European Union (EU).

In FY 2021-22 (July-March), workers remittances from Italy reached $639 million, which marks a 48 per cent increase over the last year, and is an all-time high figure, making Italy Pakistan`s biggest source of remittances in the EU and the 7th largest in the world. He expected the growth streak to continue in the last quarter of this financial year to take workers remittances from Italy around one billion dollar. In the area of investment, industrial and technological cooperation, Ambassador Saleem mentioned that various Italian firms were keen to invest in the fields of energy, food processing, leather, textile, construction and furnishing.

He added that the embassy was promoting JV mode for increased Italian investment in Pakistan that will help in technology and skills transfer to our businesses. He also highlighted the initiatives in tourism, especially in terms of capacity building of Pakistan`s tourism sector through Italian experts.

Friday, 29 April, 2022 | KARACHI

10 FOREIGN NEWS

Russia steps up assault on east ukRaine, putin thReatens countRies that inteRvene

R

AgENcIES

USSIa stepped up its assaults on eastern and southern Ukraine, Kyiv said on Thursday, and President Vladimir Putin threatened “lightningfast” retaliation against any Western countries that intervene on Ukraine’s behalf.

More than two months into an invasion that has flattened cities but failed to capture the capital Kyiv, Russia has mounted a push to seize two eastern provinces in a battle the West views as a decisive turning point in the war.

“The enemy is increasing the pace of the offensive operation. The Russian occupiers are exerting intense fire in almost all directions,” Ukraine’s military command said of the situation on the main front in the east.

It said Russia’s main attack was near the towns of Slobozhanske and Donets, along a strategic frontline highway linking Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv with the Russian-occupied city of Izyum. The Kharkiv regional governor said Russian forces were intensifying attacks from Izyum, but Ukrainian troops were holding their ground. although Russian forces were pushed out of northern Ukraine last month, they are heavily entrenched in the east and also still hold a swathe of the south that they seized in March.

Ukraine said there were strong explosions overnight in the southern city of Kherson, the only regional capital Russia has captured since the invasion. Russian troops there used tear gas and stun grenades on Wednesday to suppress pro-Ukrainian demonstrations, and were now shelling the entire surrounding region and attacking towards Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih, President Vladimir Ze-

lenskiy’s southern home city, Ukraine said.

Kyiv accuses Moscow of planning to stage a fake independence referendum in the occupied south.

Russian state media quoted an official from a selfstyled pro-Russian “military-civilian commission” in

Kherson on Thursday as saying the area would start using Russia’s rouble currency from May 1.

Western countries have ramped up weapons deliveries to Ukraine in recent days as the fighting in the east has intensified. More than 40 countries met this week at a US air base in Germany and pledged to send heavy arms such as artillery for what is expected to be a vast battle of opposing armies along a heavily fortified front line.

Washington now says it hopes Ukrainian forces can not only repel Russia’s assault on the east, but weaken its military so that it can no longer threaten neighbours. Russia says that amounts to Nato waging “proxy war” against it.

“If someone intends to intervene in the ongoing events from the outside, and create strategic threats for Russia that are unacceptable to us, they should know that our retaliatory strikes will be lightning-fast,” Putin told lawmakers in St Petersburg.

“We have all the tools for this, things no one else can boast of having now. and we will not boast, we will use them if necessary. and I want everyone to know that.” ‘cancerous groWth’: British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Putin’s remarks were a sign of “almost desperation, trying to broaden this either with threats or indeed, with potential false flags or attacks”.

“Having failed in nearly all his objectives,” Putin was now seeking to consolidate control of occupied territory, Wallace said. “Just be a sort of cancerous growth within the country in Ukraine and make it very hard for people to move them out of those fortified positions.”

Ukrainian troops are still holed up in a giant steel works in Mariupol, the ruined southeastern port where

thousands of people have died under two months of Russian siege and bombardment. Putin claimed victory in the city last week, ordering the steel works blockaded.

Kyiv has pleaded for a ceasefire to let civilians and wounded soldiers escape. “as long as we’re here and holding the defence … the city is not theirs,” Captain Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of Ukraine’s azov Regiment, told Reuters in video link from an undisclosed location beneath the huge factory.

“The tactic (now) is like a medieval siege. We’re encircled, they are no longer throwing lots of forces to break our defensive line. They’re conducting air strikes.”

More than five million refugees have fled abroad since Russia launched its “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb 24. Moscow says its aim is to disarm its neighbour and defeat nationalists there. The West calls that a bogus pretext for a war of aggression.

US President Joe Biden is expected to deliver remarks on Thursday in support of Ukrainians, the White House said.

While Russia presses its military assault in eastern and southern Ukraine, its economic battle with the West threatens gas supplies to Europe and is battering the Russian economy.

On Wednesday, Moscow halted gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria for refusing to pay for supplies in roubles, its first big retaliatory strike against sanctions.

The president of the European Commission called the move “blackmail”.

“The sooner everyone in Europe recognises that they cannot depend on Russia for trade, the sooner it will be possible to guarantee stability in European markets,” Zelenskiy said in an overnight address.

Judge rejects Musk bid to free tweets from oversight NEW YORK AFP

Twitter’s new buyer Elon Musk still must have his tweets about his electric car company Tesla pre-approved after a US judge on Wednesday rejected an appeal to free him from oversight.

Musk last month filed a motion to overturn Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) restrictions imposed following his 2018 tweet, in which he said he had acquired funding to take Tesla private, but did not provide proof or file paperwork with the securities regulator.

The tweet, which caused share prices to fluctuate wildly, was ruled to be “false and misleading” and shareholders have accused Tesla of securities fraud.

The SEC also charged Musk with fraud

and ordered him to step down as chair of Tesla’s board of directors, pay a $20 million fine and, after another unfortunate tweet in early 2019, demanded his tweets directly related to the business of the company be pre-approved by a competent lawyer.

Musk said he was forced to agree to the deal, and denies lying to shareholders.

However, “Musk’s claim that he was the victim of economic duress is wholly unpersuasive,” Judge Lewis Liman wrote in his ruling.

The judge said Musk’s argument that the SEC has used the agreement “to harass him” and investigate his speech is “meritless” and “particularly ironic,” since free speech rights do not allow him to make statements that are “considered fraudulent” or violate securities laws.

“Musk cannot now seek to retract the agreement he knowingly and willingly entered by simply bemoaning that he felt like he had to agree to it at the time but now — once the spectre of the litigation is a distant memory and his company has become, in his estimation, all but invincible — wishes that he had not.”

The judge also rejected Musk’s request to quash part of the SEC’s demand for documents about his November 6, 2021 tweet calling for followers to vote on whether he should sell 10 percent of his Tesla stock.

The tweet sent the company’s share price lower, and the SEC wants to know if it was approved as required. The agency also is investigating possible insider trading after Musk’s brother — a Tesla board member — sold $108 million in the carmaker’s stock a day before the poll.

Videoconferencing hinders creativity, study finds PARIS AFP

taiwan faces largest coviD-19 outbreak yet AgENcIES Taiwan, which had been living mostly free of COVID19, is now facing its worst outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic with over 11,000 new cases reported Thursday. Cases have been on the upswing since late March. In april, the island’s central authorities announced that they would no longer maintain a “zeroCOVID” policy like the Chinese governments in which they would centrally quarantine positive cases. Instead, the government is asking people to quarantine at home if they test positive, unless they show moderate to severe symptoms. Chen Shih-chung, the island’s health minister, announced Thursday they had found 11,353 new cases, along with two deaths. During the daily press briefing held by the Central Epidemic Command Center, he said 99.7% of the cases in the current outbreak either had no symptoms or had mild symptoms.

People are worse at coming up with creative ideas during a video call compared to meeting in person, a study said Wednesday, suggesting that workplaces should prioritise brainstorming sessions for the office.

The pandemic has changed the nature of office work, propelling a massive rise in videoconferencing that looks unlikely to abate as home working becomes more entrenched across the world.

Seeking to find out how this huge change affects creativity, US researchers studied nearly 1,500 employees of a telecommunications company in Finland, Hungary, India, Israel and Portugal.

In pairs, either in person or on a Zoom call, the employees came up with as many creative ideas as they could for the company’s products, then picked the best one.

The pairs who spoke in person came up with around 15 percent more, according to the study published in the Nature journal.

The researchers found similar results in an experiment involving more than 600 university students, who were also paired off and told to come up with creative ideas for either a frisbee or bubble wrap.

The in-person pairs came up with 14 percent more ideas.

However, it was not all bad news for Zoom, Skype and the other videoconferencing apps.

Both sets of results found that video calls were just as effective for selecting the best idea, a decision which requires “cognitive focus and analytical reasoning”, the study said.

‘We’re most creative When unfocused’: To understand the difference, the researchers tracked the gaze of the participants.

“In the virtual condition people are looking sig-

nificantly more at their partner — almost double — at the expense of their broader environment,” the study’s co-author Melanie Brucks, an assistant marketing professor at Columbia University, said in a Nature video.

The study said that “videoconferencing hampers idea generation because it focuses communicators on a screen, which prompts a narrower cognitive focus”.

That kind of focus might help select the best idea — but hinder coming up with one in the first place.

“We’re most creative when we’re unfocused and free,” Brucks said.

“I always suggest turning off the camera during idea generation, so you can walk around, you can

look around.”

These results could inform how companies plan remote working, said the study — particularly in hybrid home-office set-ups where “it might make sense to prioritise creative idea generation during in-person meetings”.

The researchers added that they had had to exclude results from a telecommunications company’s engineers in Poland who, unlike the other groups, met in a hotel conference room.

“Perhaps, for this reason, participants exhibited rampant non-compliance, including a notable preoccupation with the hotel catering’s coffee and cookie station,” the study said.

Friday, 29 April, 2022 | KARACHI

SPORTS 11

Shaheen proud to be part of pakiStan’S engliSh county contingent LONDON

p

AFP

ACEMAN Shaheen Shah Afridi hopes Pakistan will reap the benefits of their players’ involvement in English county cricket as he prepares for his home debut with Middlesex.

The young bowler is one of 10 Pakistani cricketers who have signed as overseas players for at least part of the 2022 season.

The high-profile contingent also includes fellow internationals Mohammad Abbas, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali and Mohammad Rizwan.

“I think, this year, I saw like nine or 10 players here and that’s good for Pakistan cricket,” Afridi said on the eve of Middlesex’s County Championship match against Leicestershire at Lord’s.

Since the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales, Pakistan have been frequent visitors to England despite the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2020 they lost a three-match Test series 1-0 and drew a Twenty20 campaign 1-1, while last year Pakistan were beaten 3-0 in a one-day international campaign and went down 2-1 in a T20 contest.

Left-arm fast bowler Afridi, 22, said the team had under-performed.

“We did not play good cricket here as a team, so now I think the top guys are all there,” he said. “So maybe it will be good for us (to get to know) the conditions and the pitches. Maybe this will help the national team as well.”

Pakistan players have long been famil-

iar to fans of English domestic cricket.

Asif Iqbal (Kent), batting great Zaheer Abbas (Gloucestershire) and star allrounder Imran Khan (Sussex) all became familiar figures on the county scene from the 1960s onwards. alterNative to iPl: But the expansion of the international programme in recent decades, allied to the growth of franchise T20 cricket, means top overseas cricketers are increasingly unlikely to spend an entire English season at a club.

Pakistan players, however, are effectively banned from participating in the Indian Premier League, the world’s most high-profile Twenty20 competition, on political grounds.

And that has made county cricket an increasingly attractive option.

Afridi took four wickets on his Middlesex debut in an innings victory away to Glamorgan last week, twice dismissing Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne, the world’s top-ranked Test batter.

Masood has started the season in breathtaking form, with 611 runs under his belt for Derbyshire so far this season, including two double centuries.

Hasan Ali has impressed with the ball for Lancashire and Rauf has been among the wickets for Yorkshire.

“I just caught up with Haris and Naseem (Shah, at Gloucestershire),” said Afridi, who is one of the rising stars of the world game.

“We met together and took some time together.

“Actually, that’s a good sign for Pakistan cricket — the top cricketers are here. They perform really well, Hasan and Shan, and everyone performs really well — Haris —

so it’s good for Pakistan cricket as well.”

Afridi’s captain at second-division Middlesex is Peter Handscomb and the Aus-

tralian batter is in no doubt about the benefits of prolonged exposure to a foreign environment.

“I think playing anywhere in the world and playing in different conditions always improves your game,” he said.

Ben Stokes named as England Test captain

LONDON AFP

Star all-rounder Ben Stokes was named as England’s new Test captain on Thursday, replacing Joe Root, who stood down earlier this month after a string of defeats.

The 30-year-old, who served as Root’s deputy, was the overwhelming favourite to take charge of a struggling team that has won just one of their past

17 matches.

Stokes, whose career is peppered with staggering performances with bat and ball, has been a loyal lieutenant to Root and made a point of praising his friend and predecessor in a short statement.

“I am honoured to be given the chance to lead the England Test team,” he said. “This is a real privilege and I’m excited about getting started this summer.

“I want to thank Joe for everything he has done for English cricket and for always being a great ambassador for the sport all across the world. He has been a massive part of my development as a leader in the dressing room and he will continue to be a key ally for me in this role.”

Root resigned after five years in charge following a 1-0 series loss in the Caribbean, which came hot on the heels of a humiliating 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia.

New managing director of England men’s cricket Rob Key said: “I had no hesitation in offering the role of Test captain to Ben. He epitomises the mentality and approach we want to take this team forward into the next era of redball cricket.

“I am delighted that he has accepted, and he is ready for the added responsibility and the honour. He thoroughly deserves the opportunity.”

Stokes already has a formidable workload as an all-format, pace-bowling all-rounder and only last year took a mental health break from cricket.

He has scored more than 5,000 Test runs and taken 174 wickets in 79 matches and is also one of the stars of

England’s white-ball teams.

New ZealaNd challeNge: Stokes’s first match as the permanent England captain will come against New Zealand, the country of his birth, at the start of a three-Test series at Lord’s on June 2.

He previously captained the Test side in a four-wicket defeat by the West Indies in Southampton two years ago when Root was on paternity leave — his only first-class match in charge.

But he has long been regarded as a leading figure in the England dressing room and was praised for the way he led an inexperienced side in a 3-0 oneday international series win at home to Pakistan last year after a coronavirus outbreak ruled out the first-choice squad.

His promotion to the captaincy completes a remarkable turnaround for the player, whose career was in the balance when he was charged with affray following an incident outside a Bristol nightclub in 2017 before being found not guilty following a court case.

Key is still looking to appoint a permanent head coach, although he has said he will split the job into separate red and white-ball roles.

Chelsea’s recruitment plans behind schedule, says Tuchel LONDON ReuteRs

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said their recruitment plans for next season are running behind schedule due to the uncertainty over the club’s ownership, but added that the squad would require only “cosmetic surgery”.

Chelsea were put up for sale by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

Sanctions imposed by the British government on Abramovich mean Chelsea are unable to sign new players or renew existing contracts.

Tuchel confirmed at the weekend that Antonio Rudiger would leave after his contract expires, with Andreas Christensen also looking likely to depart.

“You’re never fully sure, but we would have some targets and we would for sure have contacted some players and found out about their situations,” Tuchel told reporters ahead of their trip to Manchester United later on Thursday.

“Now our hands are tied, we can still have the talks inside the building but we cannot act. The situation is not ideal. It would be challenging enough with a stable situation. We don’t have that so everyone is doing it for the first time.”

While United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick said last week that his club needed an “open heart operation” to fix their issues Tuchel gave a more positive outlook for Chelsea.

“Cosmetic surgery,” he responded when asked if Chelsea needed the same. “I would be less concerned if we still had the same ownership, if we

could rely on our structure.

“As this is also in question we are, not concerned, but aware of the danger that the situation is maybe a bit more

complex.”

Chelsea are third in the Premier League on 65 points, while United are sixth on 54 points.

australia cricket great Slater’s charges dropped over mental health SYDNEY AFP

The former Australia Test batsman Michael Slater has had domestic stalking and intimidation charges against him dropped under mental health laws. A Sydney magistrate dismissed the charges against the 52-year-old at a hearing on Wednesday, putting Slater into the care of a doctor for mental health treatment instead, according to court documents Thursday.

Slater, who played Test cricket for Australia from 1993-2001 scoring 5,312 runs, faced charges of stalking or intimidation, breaching a restraining order, and using a carriage service — such as a phone, email or social media — to menace, harass or offend. On the eve of Slater’s Wednesday hearing at Sydney’s Waverley Local Court, police said they were called to an apartment in the city’s Manly district following a report of domestic violence. On arrival Tuesday evening, police were told that a 52-year-old man had allegedly assaulted a 35-year-old woman, a New South Wales police spokesman said. The man, widely reported to be Slater but not formally named by police, was taken to the Northern Beaches Hospital for assessment under mental health legislation, the police spokesman said. Slater’s admission to the hospital was noted by the police prosecutor during the court hearing, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald. Magistrate Ross Hudson said there appeared to have been an “unravelling” of Slater’s mental health, the paper reported. Opening batsman Slater played 74 Tests for Australia, scoring 14 centuries and a best of 219 against Sri Lanka at Perth in 1995.

Friday, 29 April, 2022

prayer timings

news

FAJR SUNRISE

ZUHR

ASR MAGHRIB ISHA

4:38

12:30

3:58

5:59

7:00

8:22

PTI challenges lhc verdIcT orderIng admInIsTraTIon of oaTh To hamza LAHORE

a

staff report

day after Lahore High Court (LHC) directed Punjab Governor Omer Sarfraz Cheema to either administer the oath of office to chief minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz or appoint a representative to complete the process by Thursday (today), 17 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers filed an intra-court appeal against the decision.

Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti announced the verdict, a short order, on a petition moved by Shehbaz requesting the high court to direct the Senate chairman or another suitable official to administer the oath instead of Governor Cheema.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president was elected as Punjab’s new chief minister on April 16, after a chaotic session of the Punjab Assembly where legislators of the Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim LeagueQuaid (PML-Q) scuffled with one another.

Shehbaz polled 197 votes — including from 24 PTI dissidents, two independents and the lone Rah-i-Haq Party lawmaker — while his opponent, Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, failed to secure a single vote from the assembly.

PTI and PML-Q lawmakers had boycotted the voting process after the ruckus.

Now, despite the passage of almost two weeks, Shehbaz has yet to be sworn into office because the governor and President Arif Alvi have delayed the proceedings, observing the election was in contrast with “all democratic norms and constitutional provisions.”

The governor has sought to claim the election was “unconstitutional,” while the president has thus far resisted calls to nominate the Senate chairman to administer the oath.

The court order read: “It is, therefore,

concluded that all the enabling provisions/Articles of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, suggest the prompt formation of Governments, i.e.

Provincial and Federal.

“For that matter, expeditious administration of oath either by President or by Governor or their nominee, as the case may be, is mandatory; as all expected reasons/options causing delay are excluded/procured by suggesting/providing an alternate mechanism and I do not find any vacuum or space in the Constitution for causing any delay in the ad-

ministration of oath required under Constitution.” The judge added that the province is being operated without a regular government for the last 25 days, since the acceptance of the resignation of the then-chief minister Usman Buzdar. In the appeal moved Thursday, the lawmakers nominated Shehbaz, his father and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif through his principal secretary, Secretary to President Alvi, and Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani as respondents.

The petition contended that the high court ignored the chaos that occurred in the

assembly on election day and proceeded to conduct judicial proceedings “with utterance comprising rude remarks against the constitutional officers such as the Governor of Punjab and the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan”.

“The haste and the procedure manifest an absence of justice, particularly, in a matter which must be heard by a larger bench comprising not less than 7 judges of this honourable court, hence, this instant appeal,” the appeal read.

The petition argued that the president

could act at his discretion with respect to any matter that has been empowered to him by the Constitution.

The MPAs contended that Article 133 of the Constitution also said that “the Governor may ask the Chief Minister to continue to hold office until his successor enters upon the office of the Chief Minister”.

“Article 248 of the Constitution provides protection to the President, Governor, the Prime Minister, a Federal Minister, a Minister of State, the Chief Minister and a Provincial Minister shall not be answerable to any court for the exercise of powers and performance of functions of their respective offices or for any act done or purported to be done in the exercise of those powers and performance of those functions.”

Subsequently, the lawmakers demanded that the order passed by hgh court be “set aside being illegal, unlawful, whimsical as well as beyond the facts of the case and a clear violation of Articles 48, 133, 248 and 255 of the Constitution in the interest of justice, equity and fairplay”.

DELAYED PROCESS: Hours before the petition was moved, it emerged that Governor Cheema had decided against administering the oath of office to Shehbaz.

According to reports citing sources privy to the matter, the governor was briefed by legal experts on options available to him against the court’s decision.

During the meeting, it was decided that all options would be utilised to keep Shehbaz from assuming office.

“If needed, the high court’s decision will also be challenged before the Supreme Court,” the participants decided after legal experts briefed that the court could not exceed its constitutional limits and issue directives to the president and governor.

The sources further shared that the matter would also be conveyed to the president.

RAWALPINDI: The office-holders of the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors held a meeting with Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Major General Babar Iftikhar at ISPR Headquarters.

Response sought from dissident PTI MPs on reference seeking disqualification ISLAMABAD staff report

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) directed some 20 dissident MPs from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to submit their written responses on references seeking their disqualification under Article 63-A of the Constitution over defection from their party.

Article 63-A, the law on floor-crossing, provides that MPs who defect could lose their seats if they then vote against their party.

Article 63-A reads that an MP can be disqualified on grounds of defection if they “vote or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the parliamentary

party to which he belongs, in relation to the election of the prime minister or chief minister; or a vote of confidence or a vote of noconfidence; or a money bill (budget) or a Constitution (amendment) bill”.

Last month, over a dozen of PTI lawmakers withdrew their support for Khan ahead of the no-confidence vote against him which saw him joining a lengthening list of elected prime ministers who have failed to see out their full terms; none has done so since independence in 1947.

The top election agency also reserved its ruling on an objection raised by the counsel of Noor Alam Khan, a dissident PTI MP, who said that the commission could not hear the references at present as it was incomplete

since two of its members had retired.

However, Faisal Chaudhry, the counsel for the PTI, countered the objection raised by Khan’s counsel, he said that the agency had complete authority to make a decision on the references.

“Election commission is not responsible for the commission being incomplete,” he argued.

Chaudhry also underlined that the ECP was supposed to decide on the references within 30 days.

During the hearing, while presenting his arguments, the lawyer contended that his client had not violated Article 63-A as he did not vote on the no-trust motion.

Subsequently, the commission adjourned the hearing until May 6.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 66-C, 1st Floor, 21st Commercial Street, Phase-II (Extension), DHA Karachi and printed at Ibn-e-Hassan Printing Press, Hockey Stadium, Karachi, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 021-35381208-9. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk