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FATE OF POLLS FUND IN LIMBO AS NA REJECTS SUPPLEMENTARY GRANT DEMAND Tuesday, 18 April, 2023 I 27 Ramzan, 1444
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BASED ON NA BODY RECOMMENDATIONS, SC HAD ORDERED SBP TO ‘ALLOCATE, CABINET SENT SUMMARY TO ASSEMBLY RELEASE’ RS21B TO ECP BY APRIL 17
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Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 290 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
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ISLAMABAD
Shahzad paRacha
HE National Assembly on Monday rejected a motion, seeking release of Rs21 billion in supplementary grant for elections to Punjab Assembly, making the fate of the Supreme Court’s deadline for the funds more uncertain. According to details, State minister for Finance and Revenue Ayesha Pasha moved the motion to grant a supplementary sum not exceeding Rs21 billion to the federal government to meet the expenditure during the financial year but the members voted against the motion. Last week, the Supreme Court had directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to “allocate and release” Rs21 billion by April 17 (Monday) for elections in two provinces from the Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF) “lying under its control and management”. The court had also ordered the central bank to send an “appropriate communication” to this effect to the finance ministry in this regard. Earlier in the day, a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue was convened to discuss the apex court order regarding the disbursement of the funds. A press release issued after the meeting stated that the body had unanimously recommended to the Finance Division that the matter of funds release be placed before the NA “in the form of a bill through the federal cabinet” in order to comply with the top court’s orders. Later in the day, a meeting of the federal cabinet was held wherein the government decided that the summary sent by the finance ministry, based on the recommendations made by the NA body, would be referred to back to Parliament. “The federal cabinet has referred a summary by the finance ministry, based on recommendations made by the NA
Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on provision of funds to the election commission for elections in Punjab and KP, to Parliament,” a handout issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said. Earlier, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Finance and Revenue also discussed election fund matters
under the chair of Qaisar Ahmad Sheikh. Acting Governor State Bank Seema Kamil informed the committee that the Supreme Court through its notice had questioned the State Bank about the money in the accounts of the federal government. The SBP in its reply informed the Apex court that “we can only allocate
funds, not release to ECP,” adding that funds will remain in the account after allocation and the Election Commission can use these funds after the approval of the Ministry of Finance. Member of the Assembly Khalid Magsi said that who is the authority to spend the tax money of the people other than the Parliament. Committee member Musa Gilani told the SBP officials that you will be accountable if you spend money without the approval of the parliament. Minister of State for Finance, Ayesha Ghos Pasha in a briefing to the Standing Committee on Finance, said that the State Bank does not have the authority to spend money without the approval of the Parliament and that the issue of the funds release will be placed before the federal cabinet today, from where after the approval, the case will be taken to the national assembly. She said that the decision to present the summary on the issue of releasing funds of Rs21 billion to the federal cabinet on Monday itself.
Fawad Ch urges SC to initiate contempt proceedings against PM, cabinet
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry urged the Supreme Court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and federal cabinet for not releasing funds for elections in Punjab. Taking to Twitter, he said that the PTI stands united on the issue of negotiations, while the government is showing no serious commitment towards it. He emphasised that negotiations can only be held within the limits set by the Constitution and the Supreme Court. The former minister expressed it will be tantamount to sabotaging the constitution if elections are not held in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and negotiations cannot be outside the constitution. Mr Chaudhry went on to say that the State Bank’s failure to release funds after the Supreme Court’s is a violation of the order and the apex court must initiate contempt of court proceedings against the Prime Minister and the Cabinet and disqualify them by the court. In another tweet, he wrote that the parliament doesn’t have the authority to prevent people from voting, adding that such a parliament can lay the foundation of a fascist government. He claimed that any democratic system cannot be associated with such a parliament and its decisions, as the constitution clearly states that the parliament has no prerogative over election expenses. tltp
Pakistan welcomes bridging of differences by Saudi Arabia, Iran: PM ISLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said bridging of differences between Saudi Arabia and Iran was a remarkable achievement and the positive development was seen by Pakistan with happiness and hope. Speaking at an Iftar dinner hosted by him in honour of ambassadors of Islamic countries here, he said, “Because of the blessings of Ramazan, Saudi Arabia and Iran have bridged their differences and this is a remarkable achievement. “We are all happy about this positive development and the follow up has been extremely speedy. It is a great pleasure to witness meetings of foreign ministers, and delegations visiting Riyadh and Tehran. “This development is seen by Pakistan as a message of great happiness and hope. I am sure this progress will multiply in many ways in the future,” he added. Talking about the Palestine issue, he said hundreds of people were killed in Palestine in the last many months in naked aggression. The Prime Minister of Palestine and some of his cabinet members had made statements, saying the violence against the
Palestinians was increasing, he continued. PM Shehbaz Sharif said the world had witnessed a rough period and one could see what happened in global markets. Prices of oil and other items had gone beyond the reach of developing countries including Pakistan and other countries, he noted. He said Pakistan suffered unprecedented floods because of climate change and then there was a massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The PM said the Pakistani government was grateful to Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Malaysia for their very valuable and timely assistance for the flood affectees. Every Muslim country came to help Pakistan at a difficult period and “we will remember your support for all times to come”, he remarked. The prime minister said the occupation forces in Palestine had shown disdain and crossed red lines without any qualm. He said Ramazan was a holy month which emphasised upon restraint, empathy, kindness, self introspection, generosity and effort to bridge differences. ‘World should notice India’s dangerous moves against peace’
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said the revelations by the former Governor of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) about the reality of Pulwama incident, had exposed India’s designs against Pakistan. In a tweet, he said the revelations showed how the Indian government exploited the situation for political gains, which vindicated Pakistan’s position. He urged the international community to take notice of India’s dangerous brinkmanship that could have led to disastrous consequences for the region. The Foreign Office, in a statement, said the disclosures demonstrated how the Indian leadership had habitually used the bogey of terrorism from Pakistan to advance its sham victimhood narrative and the Hindutva agenda, clearly for domestic political gains. “We hope that the international community would take cognizance of the latest revelations and see through India’s propaganda campaign against Pakistan, driven by selfish political considerations and based on lies and deceit,” it said. The FO said it was time India be held accountable for the actions that imperiled regional peace in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack.
fiqah-e-hanfia lahore sehr: 4:06 aM iftar: 6:35 PM
islaMabad sehr: 4:06 aM iftar: 6:44 PM
karachi sehr: 4:49 aM iftar: 6:56 PM
fiqah-e-jafaria lahore sehr: 3:56 aM iftar: 6:45 PM
islaMabad sehr: 3:56 aM iftar: 6:54 PM
karachi sehr: 4:39 aM iftar: 7:06 PM
Imran says government planning another operation at his residence during Eid LAHORE
Staff RepoRt
In a startling revelation, former prime minister Imran Khan Monday informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) that the caretaker government of Mohsin Naqvi had planned to conduct another police operation at his residence in the Zaman Park neighbourhood during the Eid ul-Fitr holidays. Khan made the request to halt any action against his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), during the hearing of a plea filed by him. The plea, filed by the opposition party on Saturday, seeks to halt “coercive government action” against it and to quash more than 100 cases filed against Khan on identical charges. A two-member bench, headed by Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, conducted the hearing into the petition. The plea, which nominates nine authorities and individuals as respondents, including Naqvi, the prime minister, the interior minister, the chief of Punjab police, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), has now been taken up by the court. Khan appeared in court where his counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, observed that new cases were being filed against his client on a daily basis and accused the state of misusing its machinery. Safdar expressed concerns about Khan’s potential arrest, noting that over 140 cases had been filed against him and demanded that the police high-ups appear in court to explain whether the arrest was necessary. Safdar said the police were filing cases against Khan for political point-scoring and emphasised that according to the law, it was necessary to explain the reasons for the arrest. During the hearing, Khan testified that the police had previously damaged his house during an operation and shared that he had received information about an upcoming attack at his residence during the Eid ulFitr holidays, expressing concerns about potential bloodshed. He also accused the government of planning to cause him physical harm and said that they wanted to eliminate him. Khan emphasised the need for the court to intervene and issue strict directions to prevent the government from conducting any further operations. The lawyer for the interim Punjab government, Ghulam Sarwar Nihang, contended that the investigative powers of the police could not be obstructed and urged the court to reject Khan’s plea. The judge inquired if the government’s lawyer could assure that the authorities would refrain from taking action against the petitioner by filing a new FIR in the old case. The lawyer responded that a question would also arise that the petitioner had not turned up before courts when summoned in the past. Khan repeated his claim that he had credible information about the government’s plan to launch another operation and expressed his lack of faith in the system. After hearing arguments, the court referred Khan’s plea to the full bench for further review, noting that similar cases were already being heard there.
Big industry output contracts by 11.59% in February g
LSM OUTPUT DIPS 5.56% YOY DURING JULY-FEBRUARY ISLAMABAD
Ghulam abbaS
Following import restrictions, currency devaluation, and political uncertainty, the output of Pakistan’s Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) decreased by 11.59% in February 2023 compared to February 2022, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Monday. Due to costlier inputs caused by rupee devaluation, high financing costs, and a global slowdown, various industries have either shut down their plants or limited their operational hours to the lowest during the past few months. According to provisional Quantum Index numbers (QIM) of the LSMI, the output of big industries declined by 5.56% during the first eight months (July-February) of the current fiscal year (FY23) compared with the same period last year.
What is the Quantum Index for Large Scale Manufacturing? Quantum Index of Manufacturing (QIM) measures the changes in production of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) overtime, on a monthly as well as cumulative basis. The weights presently used for the QIM were derived from the Census of Manufacturing Industries (CMI) 2005-2006. What has happened to the LSMI in the Current Fiscal Year? It should be noted that the decrease in LSMI output began in July 2022, the first month of this financial year. At that time it was a 1.4% decline after continuously growing for the previous 21 months. Earlier, LSM growth remained negative from September 2019 to October 2020, mostly hampered by Covid-19. Similarly, in August 2022, LSM was reduced by 0.02%, September by 2.7%, October by 7.63%, November by 6.15%, December by
3.51%, January 2023 by 7.9% and now in February 2023, it has shrunk by 11.59%. As per the data, the LSMI Quantum Index Number (QIM) was estimated for July-February 2022-23 at 116.64, while it was estimated for February 2023 at 126.13. The LSM data released by the PBS with the base year 2015-16 showed that the main contributors towards the overall negative growth of 5.56% are food (-0.35), tobacco (0.50), textile (-2.82) garments (3.21), petroleum products (-0.64), cement (-0.77), pharmaceuticals (-1.25), and automobiles (-1.68). For the persistent weakness in LSM, domestic factors, and the global recessionlike situation are to be blamed. Domestically, high energy costs, rupee devaluation, and the government’s monetary and fiscal policy tightening and limiting imports due to a dearth of dollars were major factors for negative growth, which will also affect GDP growth in FY23. The production in July-February 2022-
23, as compared to July-February 2021-22, has increased in wearing apparel, furniture, and other manufacturing (football) while it decreased in food, tobacco, textile, coke & petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, non-metallic mineral products, machinery and equipment, automobiles, and other transport equipment. The sectors showing growth during July-February include wearing apparel (35.53%), leather products (3.85), furniture (58.45%), and other manufacturing (football) (35.81%). The sectors showing decline during the July-February include food (1.95%), beverages (6.14%), tobacco (20.42%), textile (14.03%), wood products (68.65%), paper and board (3.37%), coke and petroleum products (9.43%), chemicals (4.84%), chemical products (0.53% increase), fertilizers (7.77%) and pharmaceuticals (22.41%). The import restrictions not only affected the major industries like textile but
also had a significant impact on the construction industry in Pakistan. Cement production, which is a major component of the construction industry, witnessed a negative growth rate of 11.82% in the first eight months of the fiscal year 2022-23. The production of cement during this period stood at 28.163 million tons, compared to 31.938 million tons in the same period of the previous fiscal year. Moreover, the petroleum industry also felt the brunt of the import restrictions. The production of petroleum products saw a decline of 9.43% during July-February of FY23. The Quantum Index numbers (QIM) of the Large Scale Manufacturing Industries revealed that high-speed diesel experienced a negative growth rate of 10.88%, as its output dropped to 3.213 billion liters in the first eight months of the current fiscal year compared to 3.605 billion liters in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
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