Monday, 30 May, 2022 I 28 Shawwal, 1443 I Rs 40.00 I Vol XII No 330 I 48 Pages I Islamabad Edition
foreign debt burden to stay for years to come: Pm No ban on import of sanitary pads, diapers, says Miftah Ismail MAnseHRA
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sTaff rePorT
RIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday that the burden of foreign debts on Pakistan is such huge that it could not be paid off by generations to come. While addressing a public gathering here in Mansehra, the prime minister said that his government was forced to increase the rates of petroleum products as the previous regime had “emptied” the national exchequer. PM Shehbaz acknowledged the “pain” of the people due to the rising inflation but blamed the PTI-led government for the issue and said his team would work to reduce it. “Former prime minister Imran Khan’s government took such hefty amount of loans that our generations might not be able to pay them,” the prime minister told a public gathering. Lashing out at Khan, the prime minister said he did not deliver on his promise of five million homes during his tenure. “But we, to cushion the inflationary effect on people, have announced a subsidy package.” “If I get a chance, I will turn Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into Punjab,” he vowed, giving an ultimatum to K-P CM Mah-
mood Khan to reduce the price of wheat in the province. The prime minister termed himself as the “servant of Pakistan” and labelled Khan as a “miscreant” — in a reference to this week’s riots in Islamabad and across the country, which saw the deaths of three people, including a policeman. “I will fight till the end for people’s prosperity,” he added. Talking about Balochistan’s local government polls, the premier said they were conducted in a peaceful manner throughout. “The voter turnout was 30%-35%.” PM Shehbaz said the people of Balochistan had now started believing in the province. Earlier, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz addressed the jalsa, where she praised the incumbent government’s recent steps taken for Pakistan’s “prosperity”. The PML-N leader said the prime minister was the “actual servant of the people, who had worked day and night for the development of Punjab, and under him, Pakistan’s fate would change”. She said Khan “wounded” Pakistan but assured that PM Shehbaz and PMLN supremo Nawaz Sharif would heal the wounds. Talking about the “Azadi March”, Maryam said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had
rejected the long march based on “violence and brutality”. She chided Khan for “wasting” the hard-earned money of the KP people in his march. Maryam said the taxpayers’ money could have been used to set up schools and colleges in the province, but the PTI chairman deemed it better to utilise them for his march. The PML-N leader noted that the ousted prime minister used the KP CM’s helicopter for travelling, while some of the cars in the jalsa were of government number plates. She said Khan had promised the people of holding a sit-in, but in the morning — when the march reached Islamabad — he “made a run for it” by calling it off. Maryam berated the PTI chairman for asking the Pakistani youth to lay down their lives for his march, but would not ask his own children to come back from London and partake in the antigovernment campaign. Read more: Maryam Nawaz urges judiciary to maintain distance from Imran Khan’s politics She said revolutions neither come through helicopters nor a parachute” — taking a jibe at the PTI leaders who jumped ships. “People were more tearyeyed because of Imran’s betrayal than the shellings.”
news desk Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Sunday refuted reports about any ban on sanitary pads and diapers or their raw materials, saying that the restrictions under the ban only applied to “some luxury or non-essential items.” Taking to his twitter handle Sunday morning, Miftah Ismail said that there is no ban on “any industrial raw material”. “The ban is only on some luxury or non-essential goods. And there is certainly no ban on sanitary pads or diapers (or their raw materials), which are obviously essential goods.” The minister stated that the government will issue further clarification on the import ban, which has been subject to controversy. The minister’s clarification came after social media users wrote: “One of the two companies producing these pads (that account for 84% of sanitary napkins produced locally) has warned they may eventually have to shut down without the raw materials needed to make the pads.” On May 19, the government imposed a ban on the import of non-essential luxury items under an “emergency economic plan”. The de-
Power shortfall reaches 6,000MW as plants face fuel shortage LAHORe TLTP
Electricity shortfall in the country has reached 6,000 MW after power plants face a supply shortage of oil and gas, resulting in up to 12 hours of loadshedding nationwide. According to a media report, the overall demand for electricity has reached 25,500 MW against the availability of 18,700 MW resulting in a shortfall of 6,000 MW. “The shortfall has resulted in six hours of loadshedding in urban centres and 12 hours of power outages in rural areas,” the report said. They further said that the LESCO is facing a shortfall of 600 MW, causing up to four hours of load-shedding. “DISCOs have not shared any schedule for any power outage,” they said. The sources shared that lack of fuel and gas supply to the power plants have resulted in the shortfall and once it will be overcome, the situation will improve. South Asia has been in the grip of an extreme heatwave since last month, with parts of Pakistan reaching a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius as officials warned of acute water shortages and a health threat. Swathes of Pakistan and India have been smothered by high temperatures since April in extreme weather that the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has warned is consistent with climate change. A day earlier, Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) Registrar Raja Qaisar Ahmed requested Iesco to
cision was announced after the dollar witnessed a meteoric rise against the rupee on account of the country’s rising import bill, growing current account deficit and depleting foreign exchange reserves. Among the more than 30 categories of banned items on the list, some concerns were raised that the raw material used for the production of sanitary napkins were also among the bans. “I don’t know if @PMLNHealthCare and @MaryamNSharif realise this, but the majority of girls/women in this country use pads. One of the 2 biggest suppliers of pads in this country shutting down will be a healthcare AND economic crisis,” she wrote adding that women resorting to the use of rags is unsafe, unsanitary and keeps women at home. Taking notice of the issue, MNA Shaza Fatima Khawaja responded to the claims, “Hey! I’m looking into this.” The MNA allegedly took the matter up with finance minister who clarified that there was no ban on imports of raw materials. The minister furthered, “there is certainly no ban on sanitary pads or diapers (or their raw materials), which are obviously essential goods.”
more inside
‘Imran sought NRO to save himself’: Sharif on leaked Zardari call STORY ON BACK PAGE
Israeli president calls Pakistani expats visit ‘great change’ STORY ON BACK PAGE in today’s issue
exempt the university from loadshedding as it was disturbing its research activities. Raja Qaisar Ahmed in a tweet said: “Quaid-iAzam University has written a letter to Iesco Official, requesting him to exempt the university from loadshedding. The academic, research activity and lab operations of the premier varsity are adversely impacted in the backdrop of ongoing loadshedding.” The QAU director also wrote a letter to Iesco in which he said since QAU was an academic and
research institution and a top ranked university of Pakistan, the loadshedding is disturbing its academic activities. “This distinctive position of the university is due to outstanding achievement and performance in academic and research fields. In achieving this high ranking globally, your [Iesco] departmental support and cooperation in providing smooth electricity has always played an essential role,” read the letter.
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