Thursday, 18 August, 2022 I 19 Muharram, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 49 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
CPEC laying foundation for sustainEd EConomiC modErnisation: Pm g
SAyS SIno-PAK TIeS IMPoRTAnT fACToR foR PeACe, STABILITy In ReGIon
islamabad
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staff report
RIMe Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that the ChinaPakistan economic Corridor (CPeC) is laying the foundation for sustained indigenous economic modernisation. In an interview with the Global Times, he
said over the past 10 years, the construction of CPeC projects has helped Pakistan reduce the bottlenecks caused by past power shortages and weak infrastructure. PM Shehbaz said the government will continue to work closely with China to enhance the momentum of cooperation between the two countries. Regarding Pak-China friendship, he said the all-weather strategic partnership be-
tween Pakistan and China is deeply rooted in people’s hearts, covering all areas of bilateral cooperation. PM Shehbaz further said that the two countries support each other on the issue of mutual core interests. Pakistan has always firmly supported the one China Policy and believes that Taiwan is its inalienable part, he added. Moreover, the premier stated that Pakistan-China relations are an important factor for peace and stability in the region and the world. He went on to say that the development strategy of the coalition government depends on how to repair the economic fundamentals that constrain us from realizing our existing potential. furthermore, PM Shehbaz said in order to stabilize the economy, we urgently need to lay the foundation for the long-delayed structural reforms, adding that the government also needs to deepen economic and trade relations with friendly countries. In his concluding remarks, the prime minister said that public policy transformation from geopolitics to geo-economics represents a consensus that we should realise the potential of to accelerate Pakistan’s development. He added that the core of our development strategy remains to safeguard the wellbeing of the Pakistani people and make Pakistan a self-reliant state.
Pakistan, UK sign ‘landmark’ pact on repatriation of convicted criminals islamabad staff report
Pakistan and the United Kingdom on Wednesday signed the landmark agreement for repatriation of convicted criminals and immigration offenders from the UK to Pakistan. “I’m proud to have signed a new landmark agreement with our Pakistani friends to return foreign criminals and immigration offenders from the UK to Pakistan,” British Home Secretary Priti Patel announced in a tweet. “This deal shows our #new-
PlanforImmigration in action, as we deliver for the British people,”
she further wrote on her official Twitter handle.
The deal will allow Pakistan and the UK to repatriate their convicted criminals. However, it will only allow the repatriation of citizens sentenced by relevant courts. The first round of negotiations on a criminal extradition treaty took place in october 2019. Later in April 2021, the then interior minister, Sheikh Rashid met British High Commission Christian Turner and discussed the repatriation of former prime minister nawaz Sharif, who is in London after his release from prison on medical grounds.
UAE president awards Gen Bajwa Order of Union medal RaWalPiNdi staff report
United Arab emirates (UAe) President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al nahyan has conferred the order of the Union medal on Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa “in recognition of his significant contributions to the promotion of bilateral ties”, ISPR, the military’s media affairs wing said on Wednesday. The medal is the second highest honour awarded by the UAe to senior officials of friendly countries. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR),
the army chief, who is on a visit to the UAe, called on the emirati president and discussed with him matters of mutual interest, bilateral defence and security cooperation and the regional security situation in the Middle east. “The leaders agreed that Pakistan and the UAe share a great history of cordial relations and a deep-rooted spirit of brotherhood, which is transforming into an enduring partnership,” the ISPR said. According to the ISPR statement, other recipients of order of Union include former Lebanese president emile Lahoud, Bahrain Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Britain’s Prince Philip, Dutch King Prince Willem-
Alexander, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Russian foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. As for Gen Bajwa, he has previously been awarded the Medal of excellence by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Bahrain order (first class) award by Prime Minister of Bahrain Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Jordan’s order of Military Merit by King Abdullah II, Medal for the Common Wealth in Rescue and Letter of Commendation of Russian Mountaineering federation by a Russian envoy during his visit to Pakistan in December 2018 and Turkish Legion of Merit during a visit to Turkey in 2017, the ISPR said.
Campaign against Pak army ‘joint project’ of PTI, India: Kh Asif islamabad staff report
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday alleged that a “negative” social media campaign targeting the tragic incident of an army helicopter crash amid flood relief operations in Balochistan earlier this month was a “joint project” of the PTI and India against the Pakistan Army. After the chopper crash in Lasbela, a section of social media activists and certain political zealots launched an abhorrent and unacceptable online campaign to advance their personal and political malice, which drew a strong reaction from people belonging to all walks of life, political leadership and the state institutions. The ruling coalition blames the PTI’s social media team for launching the smear campaign at the behest of PTI Chairman Imran Khan. Addressing the issue at a press conference in Islamabad today, Asif said 18 Indian accounts were found to be involved in the social media campaign. “Their channels say, ‘the work Imran Khan is doing for us, even if we had spent billions of dollars we would not have been able to create the kind of network to safeguard and advance India’s interests in Pakistan as how the PTI and its leader is doing,’” the defence minister said. Asif claimed that while the nation was mourning the Lasbela helicopter tragedy, the PTI’s social media accounts, with the help of Indian and other offshore social media accounts, were running a “smear campaign” against the country and the army. Referring to reports run in the media a day ago, Asif said an investigation into the campaign had found that 529 Pakistani accounts, 18 Indian accounts and 33 accounts from other countries were involved. “This investigation is reaching its conclusion,” he said, adding that action would be taken on the results in accordance with the law and the Constitution. He said the matter had shamed the entire nation before the martyrs’ families that “there are such people found among us who can fall so low for their political motives.” Asif said the data was “confirmed and verified” and more revelations would be forthcoming. The defence minister termed the PTI’s alleged campaign, party leader Shahbaz Gill’s comments regarding the army and subsequent claims of him being tortured in police custody as “diversion” tactics to remove attention from the verdict in the foreign funding case. Asif said that Imran had subsequently distanced himself from Gill’s comments when he saw that the move had ended up hurting the PTI instead of accruing any dividend or political benefit. The defence minister called for this process of diversionary tactics to be “stopped immediately”.