Saturday, 3 September, 2022 I 6 Safar, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 65 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
PM Shehbaz PledgeS all-out govt SuPPort to gb flood victiMS islAmAbAd
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RIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday visited the flood-affected areas of Gilgit Baltistan and assured the floodstricken people that the government would not leave them alone until all of the families were rehabilitated. In an interaction with the flood-affected people of Bobar village in Ghizar, Shehbaz Sharif expressed condolences over the loss of lives and properties in the floods. The prime minister was also briefed about the situation after devastating floods in Gilgit Baltistan, during which Shehbaz Sharif was told that the floods had killed 17 people and damaged 249 houses in the village. Moreover, 794 animals and several orchards were also washed away during the calamity. The prime minister assured the victims of the government’s all-out support for their relief and rehabilitation. He said the government was making all-out efforts to ease the difficulties being faced by the people in flood-ravaged areas. During the visit, the prime minister also distributed cheques among the flood-affected people of Shisper Glacier of Hunza at a ceremony held at Gilgit Airport. He handed over
Risks to Pakistan’s economic outlook remain high: IMF islAmAbAd stAff RepoRt
cheques of Rs0.8 million each among nine people whose houses were completely destroyed during the floods and Rs0.5 million each among six people whose houses were partially damaged.
Advisor to PM on Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira, Special Assistant Fahad Hussain and Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority Lt General Akhtar Nawaz accompanied the prime minister.
Relief operations underway as Sindh braces for more flooding islAmAbAd stAff RepoRt
Rescue and relief operations by the Pakistan Army continued across the country on Friday as Sindh braced for yet more flooding. A surge of water flowed down the Indus river on Thursday, threatening further devastation in a country already a third inundated, in a growing disaster blamed on climate change. However, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Friday that 200 helicopters sorties have been flying in various areas of Pakistan to evacuate stranded people and also transport rations and medicines. According to the military’s media wing, “1,991 stranded individuals have been evacuated and 162.6 tonnes of relief items have been delivered to flood-affected people during the last 24 hours.” “So far, more than 50,000 individuals have been shifted to safer locations from the calamity-hit areas, whereas 147 relief camps are functional round the clock in flood-affected areas of Sindh,
Southern Punjab, Balochistan,= and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for flood affectees,” it added. The ISPR furthered that more than 60,000 patients have been treated and provided with free medicine for three to five days. It maintained that 221 collection points of the flood relief items have been established across the country, where more than 1,350 tonnes of food, medicines and other sustenance items were collected.
The army has also established relief camps in different areas of Karachi for collection of donations and essential commodities to be supplied to the people of the flood-hit areas. Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had discussed with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lt Gen Akhtar Nawaz the flood situation, rescue, relief and rehabilitation operations
in the affected areas. During the telephonic conversation, the premier and the army chief talked about the situation of flood victims and relief and rehabilitation operations in the flood-hit areas. On Thursday, the Indus was in high flood with a flow of 531,000 cusecs water at Guddu; 529,000 cusecs at Sukkur and 408,000 cusecs at Kotri. According to the Indus River System Authority (Irsa), so far, 16.7 million acre-feet of water had been released into the sea. Meanwhile, flood torrents, after devastating Larkana, were raging in the Dadu district. After inundating the Khairpur Nathan Shah taluka of the Dadu district and Sujawal Junejo taluka of Kambar-Shahdadkot district, the Mehar taluka of Dadu came under serious threat of flooding. The flood is now gushing towards Shahdadkot town. To prevent the flooding, three cuts were made in Kambar-Larkana road and two in Garhi Khairo road to lessen the water pressure but it severed the road link between Shahdadkot and Balochistan.
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released it’s country report on Thursday according to which risks to Pakistan’s economic outlook and implementation of the programme remained “high and tilted to the downside” because of what it termed a “very complex” domestic and external environment. Pakistan’s economy has been under adverse external conditions, due to spillovers from the war in Ukraine, and domestic challenges, including from accommodative policies that resulted in uneven and unbalanced growth. Steadfast implementation of corrective policies and reforms remain essential to regain macroeconomic stability, address imbalances and lay the foundation for inclusive and sustainable growth. According to the report Pakistan plans to achieve a small primary surplus in FY2023 which is a welcome step to reduce fiscal and external pressures and build confidence. Containing current spending and mobilizing tax revenues are critical to create space for much-needed social protection and strengthen public debt sustainability. Efforts to strengthen the viability of the energy sector and reduce unsustainable losses, including by adhering to the scheduled increases in fuel levies and energy tariffs, are also essential. Further efforts to reduce poverty and protect the most vulnerable by enhancing targeted transfers are important, especially in the current high inflation environment. The tightening of monetary conditions through higher policy rates was a necessary step to contain inflation. Going forward, continued tight monetary policy would help to reduce inflation and help address external imbalances. Maintaining proactive and datadriven monetary policy would support these objectives. As per IMF report close oversight of the banking system and decisive action to address undercapitalized financial institutions would help to support financial stability. Preserving a market-determined exchange rate remains crucial to absorb external shocks, maintain competitiveness, and rebuild international reserves. IMF believes that accelerating structural reforms to strengthen governance, including of state-owned enterprises, and improve the business environment would support sustainable growth. Reforms that create a fair-andlevel playing field for business, investment, and trade are necessary for job creation and the development of a strong private sector.
Imran threatens to march on Islamabad if ‘political victimisation’ continues GUJRAT Agencies
Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has warned the incumbent government that his “freedom movement” will march towards Islamabad if political victimisation against his party continues. “I am warning you [PML-N-led coalition government] today, our justice movement will come to Islamabad if you continue to do this [political victimisation] and you will have nowhere to hide,” he said while addressing a public gathering in Gujrat on Friday. He lashed out at the government for its alleged use of force on PTI leader Shahbaz Gill, saying that he was stripped naked and tortured. “They also tortured [journalist] Jameel
Farooqui. Stripped him naked and humiliate him as well. Haleem Adil also has many cases against him. He is also being tortured in prison,” he lamented. Imran, while addressing the youth, said that together they need to work to make the judicial system of the country better. “You all have to come with me for that.” “When I started my journey 26 years ago, we said the judiciary should be independent so it will protect the rights of the people. I was the only political leader who was put behind bars during the judicial movement. We boycotted 2008 elections for the judiciary.” He condemned the PML-N for asking the judiciary to take action against him, saying that the same party, on the instructions of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, attacked the Supreme Court with clubs. “They should be
ashamed of themselves while making this demand. The PML-N should never say anything about my contempt case,” he added. The PTI chief said that former chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah was removed after money was used by the PML-N. “If the judiciary is not strong, who will protect rights of the people,” he questioned. He said that the “imported government” was imposed upon the nation via a foreign conspiracy. “They did not want Imran Khan because he was saying “absolutely not”. He was making a foreign policy for the people of Pakistan,” he added. He said that if Russia was giving his government oil at 30 to 40 per cent cheaper rates, why should he not buy it as it is better for the people? “India also taking oil from Russia on 40 per cent cheap rates… why can’t we,” he raised
a question. The ousted premier said that a military dictator participated in the US
war and sacrificed 80,000 Pakistanis.
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