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Tuesday, 21 June, 2022 | LAHORe
news
Sri LANkAN TOP OFFiCiAL deBuNkS ‘ChiNeSe deBT TrAP’ PrOPAGANdA IsLAMABAD
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ORMER Sri Lankan naval commander, Jayanath Colombage on Monday debunked the so-called ‘debt-trap’ theory surrounding China’s Belt and Road Initiative, saying that Sri Lanka owes less than 10% of its foreign debt to China. Speaking at an international webinar comprising experts from China, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Commander Jayanath Colombage said that 10% debt is actually highly advantageous to Sri Lanka because it has
produced enormous economic prospects for the country’s citizens. The webinar was organized by the Pakistan-China institute under its flagship ‘Friends of Silk Road’ series, titled “Big Power competition in the post-pandemic World Order and the Belt and Road Initiative”, with speakers from Pakistan, China, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, UK, and the US. Former Foreign Secretary, Ms Tehmina Janjua, chaired the Webinar while Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman of the Senate Defence Committee and the PakistanChina Institute, made a keynote speech. Furthermore, Sri Lankan commander
PM forms task force to oversee measures for minorities’ rights protection News Desk Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Monday approved the establishment of a task force to oversee the implementation of measures for protection of minorities’ rights. “Our non-Muslim citizens are part and parcel of our national fabric. I have approved the establishment of a task force on the rights of minorities,” the prime minister said on Twitter. He said the said task force, besides overseeing the implementation of measures about the rights of minorities, would also present quarterly report to him.
Former Wapda Chairman Gen Muzammil appears before NAB LAHORe Staff RepoRt
Former Chairman WAPDA lieutenant general (retd) Muzammil Hussain on Monday appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) where he would be grilled over the delay in the Tarbela Fourth Hydropower project that caused losses of millions of dollars to the national exchequer. A single-member team of the NAB will grill the former WAPDA chairman after the accountability watchdog received multiple complaints regarding corruption and delay in mega projects that resulted in losses to the national exchequer. The NAB case against lieutenant general (retd) Muzammil Hussain stated that during his three-year tenure, WAPDA suffered losses due to a delay in projects. “Corrupt practices of USD 753 million have been identified in Tarbela Fourth Hydropower project,” it said and added that contractors were made illegal payments. Former Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Chairman Muzammil Hussain had skipped the NAB’s previous hearing into a hydropower project scam. The accountability watchdog has summoned the ex-chairman of Wapda, Lt. Gen. (retd) Muzammil Hussain again for a hearing on June 20 with the record. The 1410 megawatts Tarbela Hydropower Project IV has been nearing completion but it has highest per unit construction cost in the country. Former Wapda chairman Muzammil Hussain had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the first week of May. In August 2021, the Ministry of Water Resources extended his term of office and notified Muzammil Hussain as the chairman Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) for a second consecutive term of five years.
urged aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with China’s domestic economic conditions so that both nations can secure high-quality BRI project development. In her opening remarks, Ambassador Tehmina Janjua, former Pakistani Foreign Secretary, remarked that China had done miracles by uplifting 800 million people out of poverty. She described the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as an opportunity to leverage the economic potential of the global South in the post-pandemic period. The belief in US policy circles that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has strategic rather than economic grounds has harmed
China’s aspirations to build a prosperous community. She described the US and its allies’ efforts to limit China on all fronts as ‘unfortunate,’ because they will have major ramifications not just for the global South, but also for the US and its allies, because such development impacts everyone, not just the one being targeted. In his Keynote, Senator Mushahid Hussain said Pakistan was in a strategic location where huge transformations and transitions were taking place, including the retrenchment of American power, the peaceful rise of China, and Pakistan endeavoring to be the hub of regional connectivity through CPEC, by making a
transition from geopolitics to geoeconomics. He said after 42 years of war in Afghanistan, which affected Pakistan directly, the country cannot be a party to any new conflict, confrontation, or a Cold War, as connectivity and cooperation are the need of the hour. Similarly, he called for an end to the war in Ukraine, adding it is raising new tensions and has had unexpected consequences like food and fuel shortages. Senator Mushahid Hussain underlined the need for proactively promoting CPEC, which is the flagship of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which he termed the most significant diplomatic and developmental initiative in the 21st Century. He hoped all Asian countries would stay away from any Cold War. He said while the US was still clinging to a militarycentric approach, as evident through the QUAD, AUKUS, and seeking a global NATO, conversely, China sought an economic-driven vision through connectivity and regional cooperation, particularly BRI which now has 145 countries and 32 international organisations in its fold.
Pakistan needs to brace for heavy monsoons: MoCC News Desk The Ministry of Climate Change has sent out a warning for the upcoming monsoon season and urged the national and provincial disaster management authorities and relevant local authorities to take all-out precautionary measures to cope with possible disastrous impacts of the expected monsoon rains. “Pakistan will experience monsoon rains until at least August 2022, during which the rainfall is expected to be above normal in Punjab and Sindh,” Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman said in a statement issued here on Monday. She warned, “the country will be a part of a global La Niña weather pattern which refers to the
large-scale cooling of the ocean surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The early onset of monsoons after a debilitating heat wave across South Asia has already wreaked havoc in parts of India and Bangladesh. All forecasts predict that there will be an overall tendency for above-normal rains over the country during the forecast period.” “Geographically, above-normal rainfall is most likely along the foothills of the Himalayas, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, and central parts of the Punjab region,” she added. At the same time there is a high possibility of riverine floods in the major rivers so all precautions need to be taken. Urban areas will also likely face a cascade
of threats from torrential rains. There is a clear risk of urban flooding across major cities including Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, and Islamabad. Over the last two years in fact, there has been a rising pattern of urban flooding in these cities and therefore provinces should be on high alert for serious damage to lives and livelihoods of the people as well as public infrastructure.” Urging upon the provincial governments, management authorities, and individuals to take caution during the rainy season, she said “provinces must exercise vigilance and preparedness for the upcoming monsoon to brace for low to high-intensity floods. There is also some prediction that Pakistan could even experience a similar
AC reserves verdict on PM Shehbaz’s plea for permanent exemption from appearance LAHORe Staff RepoRt
An accountability court (AC) in Lahore on Monday reserved its verdict on the petition filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for permanent exemption from court appearance in the Ramzan Sugar Mills’ reference. Earlier, giving arguments in the court in the favour of his plea, the prime minister said that he had never skipped the hearing of any corruption reference against him and always appeared in the court whenever he was summoned.
He said he wanted to emphasize the point that he had a busy schedule. “The purpose of filing the petition is that as prime minister of the country I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders,” he said, adding, “There are times when I have to travel abroad, meet with the officials of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and foreign dignitaries.” In Ramzan Sugar Mills’ reference, he said had he wanted to benefit the mills that actually belonged to his sons, he could have done it long ago. “The nullah in question was built following approval by the then Punjab cabinet,” he added. Later the court allowed the prime minister to go.
Pakistan witnesses surge in Covid-19 cases News Desk Pakistan has once again witnessed an increase in daily Covid-19 cases as 171 people were found infected during the last 24 hours, according to data shared by NIH on Monday. The National Institute of Health (NIH) said that the new infections were detected after 11,212 coronavirus diagnostic tests performed across the country, which placed Pakistan’s positivity ratio at 1.53% and the overall case count at 1,532,153. Pakistan’s active cases stand at 3,148, the NIH said. However, no Covid-19-related death was reported in the country during the past 24 hours. The overall death toll count stands at 30,383, it added. The forum further shared that the cases count has increased across the country, particularly in Hyderabad and Karachi, where the positivity ratio was recorded at 16.67per cent and 10.08pc respectively. Covid-19 positivity rate in major cities Hyderabad: 16.67pc, Karachi: 10.08pc, Mirpur: 5.26, Mardan: 3.39, Muzaffarabad: 2.27pc Lahore 1pc, Islamabad: 2.27pc. Previously, in May, Prime Minister Shehbaz
Sharif restored National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), an umbrella body that led Pakistan’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The step was taken after emergence of a new sub-variant of Omicron strain of coronavirus, in the country. Pakistan on May 9 reported the country’s first case of Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1. The NCOC had ceased to function on March 31 this year and all its functions and responsibilities were officially handed over to National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad.
scale of floods that occurred in 2010 when one-fifth of the country was inundated. Timely advisories have been issued to provincial governments on waste collection, cleaning, and management of storm drains amid early warnings for flash floods across vulnerable locations”. She recommended the district-wise contingency plane with mobilization of staff and resources for immediate flood response. The Federal Minister said, at the citizen safety level, individuals can take personal safety measures like, driving slowly to react better to road conditions, avoiding flooded areas, and remaining abreast with the weather situation, staying away from accumulated water around electrical installations.
Over 0.6mn youth to get employment opportunities in Qatar: Bugti Minister for Narcotics Control Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti on Monday said more than 0.6 million people would be provided employment opportunities in Qatar in different fields of services sector. He said this during his meeting with Ambassador of Qatar Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Faisal Al-Thani, said a news release issued here. Bugti said the youth of Balochistan were serving in various fields in Qatar especially in the security forces and over a half million Pakistanis would avail employment opportunities in Qatar. The minister said Pakistan valued its relations with Qatar and the latter’s efforts for the development of different parts of Balochistan was commendable. The minister discussed various issues related to the prevention of drug trafficking in the meeting whereas both the dignitaries also discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries in various fields and also the best use of Pakistani manpower in Qatar. The Minister also lauded Qatar’s cooperation in drug prevention and other legal matters and termed the assistance as commendable. app
Punjab ministers get eight new Toyota cars Punjab government ministers got eight new Toyota vehicles on Monday as per the policy of new vehicles. All the old new vehicles from these ministers are being withdrawn and now being given to various provincial departments. In the second phase, 28 new cars will be provided to the ministers. Earlier, the Punjab government ordered 46 new cars. Punjab govt buying 46 new cars for ministers In January this year, the Punjab government issued formal order for buying new cars for provincial ministers and made an advance payment to a car manufacturer for purchasing 46 vehicles. NewS DeSk
CPEC to help address food security challenge of Pakistan APP The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will help address the looming food security challenge of Pakistan by introducing modern farming to enhance the country’s yield through agricultural cooperation, a government official has said. Pakistan has realized that food security is an important component
of national security, and agribusiness is being promoted through more investments in the agriculture sector, which will be further enhanced under the CPEC framework, Syed Zafar Ali Shah, a top official of ministry of planning, development and special initiative, told Xinhua in a recent interview. “As a part of improving food security, this year we are investing
more in the water sector and the agriculture sector to increase our yield, all these sectors are strengths of China, which has shown great performance and productivity,” he added. Talking about the potential of his country’s agriculture sector, the official said that it is a big producer of milk, vegetables and fruits, but a huge chunk of it goes wasted due to the unavailability of processing units and
the supply chain. Chinese investors can tap the potential of the sector as they invested in other sectors, he said. The secretary said that his country is committed to CPEC, and no matter which political party is in power, there is a joint consensus that the project is important for the economic development of Pakistan. CPEC is a multifaceted program that catered to the needs of Pakistan,
including the most urgent and pressing demand to meet the electricity needs of the country that was facing up to 18 hours of load shedding when CPEC was introduced, he said. Shah noted that CPEC invoked a new life to the economic development of Pakistan by bringing large foreign direct investment (FDI) through different projects. Talking about CPEC’s role
in the overall development of Pakistan, he said that it started off with infrastructure, followed by a new phase of industrialization which is going to be started in the special economic zones (SEZs) under the framework of CPEC. “FDI in SEZs has played a great role in the countries which were short of capital … China being one of the largest investors in the world is our close friend, so we are hopeful that the Chinese investment will contribute a lot to the economic development of Pakistan,” Shah said.
