Issuu

Sunday, 26 June, 2022 I 26 Dhul-Qadah, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 357 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Pakistan’s desire for Peace shouldn’t be construed as weakness: PM shehbaz

KARACHI

saleem Jadoon

rIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that Pakistan believed in peaceful co-existence and wanted to promote friendly relations as it did not harbour any designs against anyone. Addressing the passing out parade of 117th Midshipman and 25th Short Service Commission course at Pakistan Naval Academy, the prime minister said Pakistan’s desire for peace must not be taken as weakness. He said the entire nation was proud of its armed forces for their continuous vigil to foil enemies’ designs and rendering huge sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. He observed that Pakistan

navy had been effectively playing its part to the overall deterrence and national security with the available resources. Lauding the contribution of Pakistan Navy, the prime minister said that it had a legacy of valour and professionalism and expressed the confidence that the newly commissioned cadets would further strengthen that legacy. He underscored that the maritime domain was continuously shifting, mainly due to technological advancement and power re-shuffle globally. Only those navies would prevail and prove effective that would align with ever evolving geo-strategic spectrum and modern trends of warfare, he added. He said that the three Serv-

ices had proved their mettle against all threats at the borders. The whole nation paid tributes to all shuhada and their families, who had secured the country against all threats with their ultimate sacrifices, he said, adding the nation saluted them all. Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi and Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah also attended the passing out parade. The prime minister said Pakistan was blessed with large coastline which held vast potentials which could be utilized by further strengthening of the defence capabilities and boosting of the maritime economy. “Pakistan’s economic future hinges upon success of CPEC,” he said, adding the Gwadar port was its major project. He underscored that Pakistan Navy had even more important role to play in the present age of ever growing blue economy, marine security and strategic defence. Congratulating the newly commissioned cadets and midshipmen, he said that it was an auspicious occasion in the lives of these young men to start their wonderful naval career with a sense of great achievement and pride. Extending felicitations, the prime minister advised the young officers to lead by their conduct, character, knowledge and foresight. The prime minister said that it

COAS Gen Bajwa, his spouse visit ailing Musharraf in Dubai

KARACHI staff report

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and his wife have recently visited the ailing former president and army chief Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf in Dubai. According to media reports quoting sources close to the former military ruler’s family, “Gen Qamar and his wife were accompanied by top physicians of Pakistan Army.” “Gen Musharraf and his family greeted the COAS and his wife with great delight,” added the source, who was also present in the meeting. According to the sources, the visitors spent some time with Gen Musharraf and his family at their apartment while the army doctors examined the 78-yearold former military ruler, who was diagnosed with the life-threatening health condition, called Amyloidosis, in 2018 in the UAE.

Amyloidosis is a group of rare, serious conditions that is caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein, called amyloid, in organs and tissues throughout the body, says the UK’s National Health Service. If left untreated, these protein deposits can lead to organ failure. The family of Musharraf – who has been living in self-exile in Dubai since 2016 – has yet not made their mind to fly him back to Pakistan. Earlier this week, the family ruled out the possibility citing lack of proper treatment in Pakistan. “An uninterrupted supply and administration of experimental drug Daratumumab needed alongside associated treatment of Amyloidosis that are currently not available in Pakistan,” the family wrote on Musharraf’s Twitter handle on June 21. “It’s not easy to take a call on Musharraf’s return from Dubai where he is undergoing

treatment.” The family also revealed that they had been assured that the Pakistani government and the military establishment would facilitate the septuagenarian general’s smooth return. The development came on the heels of a Twitter statement from the family in which they said Musharraf’s “recovery is not possible”. “He has been hospitalised for the last three weeks due to a complication of his ailment (Amyloidosis). Going through a difficult stage where recovery is not possible and organs are malfunctioning. Pray for ease in his daily living,” the family wrote in a Twitter post. The developments triggered a media guessing game on the military’s possible reaction, which came through quickly. The chief military spokesperson said the “military brass believes Musharraf should be brought back to Pakistan”. “General Pervez Musharraf’s health is very bad. In such a situation, the leadership of the institution is of the view that he should be brought back to Pakistan. But this decision will be made by his family and doctors,” Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said in a TV interview on June 14. “Musharraf’s family has been contacted for this purpose,” he added. “If the family gives its consent, then arrangements would be made to bring him back.”

was matter of great satisfaction for him that females cadets also formed the part of today’s parade, that signified their innate strength and confidence. They would serve as role model for the Pakistani girls and inspire them to pursue their dreams and acquire success in their chosen fields, he added. The prime minister said Pakistan was also extending quality cadet training to the brotherly countries including Bahrain, Palestine and Qatar. The prime minister also congratulated officers from friendly countries on being commissioned in Forces of their respec-

tive countries. He advised the young officers as future leaders to lead by their conduct, character, professional acumen and foresight. He urged the newly commissioned officers to put up their best to live up the glorious tradition of their services and pride of nation. The commissioning contingent comprised of 23 Midshipmen including 4 from Pakistan, 14 from Bahrain Defence Forces, 3 from State of Palestine, 2 from Qatar along with 19 officers from SSC Course. Earlier, the prime minister reviewed the guard of honour. Later, the prime minister gave

away awards to the distinction holders. The prestigious Quaid-iAzam Gold Medal was awarded to Lt Syed Irtaza Haider Naqvi for his Overall Best Performance. Midshipman Adnan M Ebrahim Jasim Bader (Bahrain) clinched the Academy’s Dirk. Officer Cadet Naufil Malik was awarded Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gold Medal, while Commandant Gold Medal was awarded to Officer Cadet Sumayya Sajjad from Short Service Commission Course. The Proficiency Banner was awarded to Quarter Deck Squadron.

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Sunday, 26 June, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

PM PleDgeS to equiP youth with MoDern eDucAtion, SKillS ISLAMABAD

NewS DeSk

RIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif Saturday expressed the resolve to take all such measures that could help in increasing the digital transformation and promote literacy and skills of the Pakistani youth in all forms of education and learning. In a virtual address at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) being held in Kigali, Rwanda, the prime minister said that about

more than sixty percent of the total population of the Commonwealth countries comprised of the youth who held the future of their countries in their hands. “Further with increased role of technology and use of digital medium, we have come to realize that digital transformation is a key to achieve innovative, inclusive and sustainable growth,” he added. About the CHOGM, the prime minister said that it gave him immense pleasure that they had gathered to think about their nations. He appreciated the impacts of such

Australia to provide 6,000 visas to Pakistani students: Ms Khar ISLAMABAD NewS DeSk

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar called on UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and discussed with them affairs of mutual interests. During her meeting with the PM Johnson, Ms Khar emphasized the need for enhancing trade and economic ties with the United Kingdom. She also exchanged views with him on Afghanistan and other issues of common concern. In her tweet, Ms Khar said that both Pakistan and UK had agreed to deepen their trade and economic partnership. The state minister for foreign affairs met British PM Johnson in Kigali, Rwanda on the side-lines of the 26th Heads of Government Meeting. AUSTRALIAN TO PROVIDE 6,000 VISAS: On the occasion, Ms Khar also called on Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and exchanged views on matters of mutual interests. She also discussed visa problems for Pakistani students in Australia. She requested the Australian deputy premier to solve the visa problems for those Pakistani students who were studying in Australia but came back home during Covid 19 pandemic. Australian Deputy PM Marles agreed to issue visas to 6,000 Pakistani students. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khar also called on New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. Both the leaders agreed to deepen Pakistan, New Zealand cooperation in agriculture, fisheries & clean energy and were looking forward to see the Kiwis play world class cricket in Pakistan once again.

Set up medical board to ascertain Dua’s age, court orders

KARACHI

a multilateral forum which could create on their shared goals, values, and principles as per Commonwealth charter. He also reiterated that Pakistan was ready to contribute to the collective endeavours for the development of Commonwealth youth. The prime minister also announced that Pakistan would host 10th Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting in Islamabad in January next year and invited the Commonwealth youth ministers to visit Pakistan and explore the beauty and diversity of this beautiful country.

Conference to ‘turnaround economy’ on June 28 APP The Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives is all set to host Turn Around Conference (TAC) with an objective of gathering the nation together to find solutions to the country’s current socio- economic issues. These solutions would be aimed at short term results; if substantial these due deliverance compact ideas can be extended on to mid and long term objectives. The conference will be held on June 28 at Convention Center which will be graced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as the Chief Guest, according to a press release issued on Saturday by the Planning Ministry. The prime objective of the conference is to engage all the relevant stakeholders which hold the development sector together from across the nation. “The aim is to take input, understand and resolve hurdles in Economic Growth in order to place country’s economy back on track”, said

the Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal. Currently, Pakistan is facing many external and internal challenges which are further compounded by the existing commodity super- cycle and geo-political situation.

As the economic growth does not offer enough opportunities for national progress, short-term measures can act as a catalyst for speeding up the growth. Current Socio-economic landscape of Pakistan calls for tactical solutions to address Economic problems.

Hence, a quick round of wider and inclusive consultations of experts belong from diversified fields can be helpful in providing solutions to come out of this economic quagmire. The government has already taken necessary short-term actions to stabilize the economy and deal with the looming balance of payments crisis. However, the government’s focus is to ferret out the medium to long-term solutions to optimize country’s economy to tap its full potential in line with Vision 2025. Moreover, participation of stakeholders from all walks of life is ensured including representatives of political parties, federal ministries, provincial governments, National and International Private Sector Entrepreneurs, International Development and Financial Institutions, Academia, Think Tanks, Independent Experts, NGOs and other parts of Civil society of the country to produce result oriented and focused solutions for bringing a turnaround in the economy of Pakistan.

Massive reshuﬄe: Punjab transfers, posts 45 ACs LAHORE Staff RepoRt

In another wave of transfers in provincial bureaucracy, the Punjab government on Saturday reshuffled 45 assistant commissioners. According to the notification, AC Toba Tek Singh Zoha Shakir has been posted as AC Bhalwal while Zahoor Ahmad Awan, awaiting appointment, has been posted as AC Toba Tek Singh. AC Hazrat Zohaib Ahmed Anjum has been directed to report to the Services and General Administration Department, Punjab. Deputy Director Anti-Corruption Muhammad Waqas Aslam has been posted as AC Hazru tehsil of Attock. AC Kamoke Usman Sikandar has been directed to report to the Services and General Administration Department, Punjab. Bakhtiar Ismail, awaiting appointment, has been posted as AC Kamoke. AC Wazirabad Rana Amjad Mahmood has been directed to report to the Services and General Administration Department, Punjab. Muhammad Ibrahim Arbab, awaiting appointment,

has been posted as Assistant Commissioner, Wazirabad. AC Pindigheb Kamran Saghir has been directed to report to the Services and General Administration Department, Punjab. AC Pir Mahal Ijaz Abdul Karim was given charge of AC Pindigheb. AC Sangla Hill Mubarak Ali Raza has been directed to report to the Services and General Administration Department, Punjab. AC Lava Kanwal Sabir has been posted as AC Sangla Hill while AC Vehari has been directed to report to the Services and General Administration Department, Punjab. Awaiting posting, Noman Mahmood has been posted as AC Vehari. AC Jhelum Maria Javed has been posted as AC Shakargarh. AC Attock Raja Muhammad Saleem has been directed to report to the Services and General Administration Department, Punjab. Saman Abbas, who was awaiting an appointment, was posted to AC Attock while AC Paplan Rizwan Ashraf has been directed to report to S&GA. Awaiting an appointment, Sajid Munir has been posted as AC Piplan while AC Hassan Abdal Ishtiaqullah Khan has been directed to report to S&GA.

Awaiting appointment, officer Fazil Mudassir has now been transferred and posted as Assistant Commissioner (AC) Hassan Abdal. AC Renala Khurd Qamar Mahmood Manj has been directed to report to S&GA Department. AC Attock Razmen Wazir has been appointed as AC Rawalpindi, and AC Gujranwala Aziz Ali Khan has been appointed as AC Mianwali. Jhelum AC Mahim Mushtaq has been appointed as AC Shahkot. AC Faisalabad has been transferred and made AC Sohawa. Nadeem Baloch has been transferred as AC Talagang. AC Sargodha Abdul Basit Saddique has been transferred as AC Burewala. Sialkot Assistant Commissioner Faisal Ahmed has been transferred as AC Mailsi while AC Rawalpindi Farwa Batool has been appointed as AC Nowshera. Kot Radha Kishan AC Maheen Fatima, AC Noshehra Imran Safdar, AC Talagang Aitezaz Aslam Marth, AC Shahkot Rana Aurenzaib, AC Raiwind Asif Hussain, AC Revenue Rawalpindi Khalid Masoof, and Section Officer of Higher Education Department Zia Ullah have been directed to report to the S&GA Department.

Pakistan strongly rejects Indian proposal to hold G20 event in IIOJK

NewS DeSk

A judicial magistrate here in Karachi on Saturday ordered the formation of a medical board to ascertain the age of free-will marriage girl Dua Zehra. During the hearing of the case, the petitioner’s lawyer said that as per her husband, Zaheer, she had been in contact with him for the past three years and gone to him herself. The court said that the health secretary should be written a letter seeking the formation of a medical board to determine her age. “Bring the girl here [to Karachi] or have her medical conducted there [Lahore]; that is the prosecution’s concern,” the judge added. The investigation officer apprised the court that the police conducted its investigation as per the law. The judge said the court only wanted to determine the age of the girl and that it was not a “C-class” case. IO Shaukat Shahani said the police cannot book Zaheer for kidnapping after statement made by Dua. “We investigated the case from all angles and the girl married him out of her free will,” DSP Shahani informed. The police will further proceed after going through the copy of the Supreme Court’s order, he added. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court had disposed of a petition of Dua’s father, challenging the ruling of the Sindh High Court (SHC) which said that Dua was free to decide who she wanted to live with.

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Pakistan on Saturday strongly rejected and opposed the Indian government’s reported plan to hold a G20 event in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) next year. According to a report published in India media on Friday, India has decided to host the meetings of the G20 in the disputed region next year and formed a five-member committee to coordinate the event. An official order issued by IIOJK’s housing and urban development department on Thursday revealed that the committee was formed in response to a June 4 communication from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. In a statement issued by the Foreign Office today, Pakistan condemned the neighbouring country’s plans, stressing that occupied Kashmir was an internationally recognised “disputed” territory between Pakistan and India. The territory has been under forcible

and illegal occupation of India since 1947 and this dispute has remained on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for over seven decades. The FO observed that India was responsible for “widespread atrocities and egregious human rights violations” in the region. “Since its illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, Indian occupation forces have killed 639 innocent Kashmiris in extra-judicial murders. “Numerous reports of the UN, including the two commissioned by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in 2018 and 2019, have re-confirmed ongoing Indian atrocities against the Kashmiri people,” the statement highlighted. It continued that contemplating the holding of any G20-related meeting/event in occupied Kashmir was in utter “disregard of the globally acknowledged disputed status of the territory” and was a “travesty” that the international community could not accept under any circumstances.

“It is expected that in case of any such controversial proposal from India, which would be designed to seek international legitimacy for an illegal and tyrannical occupation continuing for over 7 decades, the G20 members will be fully cognisant of the imperatives of law and justice and would reject it outright.” Pakistan also strongly urged the international community to call upon India to end its gross and systematic

violations of human rights in IIOJK, revoke its illegal and unilateral actions, and free all political prisoners including the true Kashmiri leaders. “The only way to lasting peace in South Asia is by granting the people of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir their inalienable right to selfdetermination as pledged to them in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” the FO added.

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Sunday, 26 June, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

illegAl wAter hyDrAntS MAKing hey AS SuMMer hitS PinDiiteS hArD RAWALPINDI

Staff RepoRt

ith summer season hitting the residents of twin cities hard and underground water level going further down, the illegal water hydrants business is making strides. Though the residents of Rawalpindi had not heard of illegal water hydrants only a few years back, the poor performance of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) and Rawalpindi District Administration has encouraged the emergence of private water hydrants who are making hey with the the malfunctioning of WASA. Sources in the district administration told Pakistan Today that officials were involved with the private hydrants business which has, of late, seen a mushroom growth and no action has been taken against the illegal business. The official said that it is unfortunate to note that poor people already hit by rising inflation and price

hike have no option but to purchase water from private hydrants who are providing a small water tanks at hefty amount of Rs 2,500 per tanker. “This is a mafia rising in Rawalpindi but no one cares. It seems we are living in a jungle. We used to hear such stories about Karachi but now its all happening in our own city right under the nose of the Prime Minister and nobody cares about it. Senior management of WASA and RDA is involved with this dirty business and they are seeking commissions out of this filthy business,” said Mohammad Rehan, a resident of Sattelite Town Rawalpindi while talking to Pakistan Today. He said that WASA tankers are not available whenever applied and therefore the people have left with no option but to contact illegal water hydrants working privately. Another resident of Rawalpindi, Hasnat Khan, told this scribe that the tubewell of his area was not working since many days and water provided by WASA was not available. Hence, he said that they had to call for private water

tankers who are costing them heavily. Another citizen, Umar Rehman, told that water supply to his house had been abandoned for so many months due to some issues with the pipeline and he had to buy water for daily usage. He said he was a poor man and could not afford purchasing water. He requested WASA authorities to help people who couldn’t afford private water tankers. ADmIN LAUNchES OPERATION AgAINST ILLEgAL hyDRANTS; SEALS 15: Meanwhile, the authorities concerned on the directives of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rawalpindi Tahir Farooq on Saturday launched an operation against illegal hydrants and sealed 15 in different areas. According to a WASA spokesman, Assistant Commissioner (AC), Saddar, Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Rawalpindi and Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR) jointly launched an operation against illegal hydrants and conducted raids in Adiala Road, Dahgal and Gorakhpur areas. More than 15 illegal hydrants were sealed while their

motors and pumps were also confiscated. He informed that the water supply to thousands of inmates in Adiala Jail was also affected due to illegal hydrants. The operation was led by AC, Saddar, Abdul Rehman, while Deputy Director WASA, Rana Shams-urRehman, Chaudhry Akmal and Town Officer of MCR, Rafaqat Gondal took part in the operation and the illegal hydrants were sealed with the help of police. The illegal hydrants were not only selling polluted water to the citizens at exorbitant prices, but they did not even get any registration from the authorities concerned, he added. The AC informed that the illegal hydrants were causing shortage of ground water in these areas and creating problems for the residents. The illegal hydrants were also selling water on exorbitant rates, he added. The owners of such illegal water hydrants would not be allowed to exploit the situation and supply water to the citizens at exorbitant rates. The owners have also been directed to get registered their hydrants immediately, he added.

President accepts resignation of GB governor ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

President Dr Arif Alvi on Saturday accepted the resignation of Gilgit-Baltistan Governor Raja Jalal Hussain Maqpoon. In a tweet uploaded on Saturday, President Arif Alvi said that he has accepted the

resignation of Gilgit-Baltistan Governor Raja Jalal Hussain Maqpoon. The President also nominated Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Speaker Syed Amjad Ali as the acting governor till the appointment of the new governor. The post of GB governor GB fell vacant on April 19, 2022 after Raja Jalal

uK pledges up to £130m for girls’ education in Pakistan

Hussain Maqpoon had resigned from the office. Since his resignation the region is functioning without a governor. Raja Jalal Hussain Maqpoon had been appointed governor Gilgit-Baltistan on September 27 2018. Maqpoon was the Gilgit-Baltistan chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The senior PTI leader from G-B will become the sixth governor of the northern administrative territory. The post was vacated after Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan had resigned as GB governor earlier in September, following a controversy triggered by an alleged leaked video.

By-poll today: PTI, ANP neck and neck in race for PK-7 Swat

ISLAMABAD

SWAT

Staff RepoRt

SyeD ShahabuDDiN

The United Kingdom (UK) on Saturday announced a bilateral programme worth up to £130 million to support girls’ education in Pakistan that will impact nearly 17 million children. Launched in May this year, the Prime Minister’s Girls’ Education Action Plan sets out practical steps to deliver the UK’s global objectives on girls’ education, said a press release issued by the British High Education Commission Islamabad. The programme, ‘Girls and Out of School’: Action for Learning (GOAL), will support the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) governments to improve outcomes for girls and the most marginalized. GOAL focuses on two main priorities: Punjab and KPK’s least developed districts will directly support around 250,000 marginalised children enrolling and staying in school. It will also support an additional 150,000 girls to read by age 10. UK High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner, speaking about this significant financial support to enhance the girls’ education system in Pakistan, said, “No nation can reach its full potential without 50% of its population. Getting girls into school is a key driver of growth. We want to give girls awaaz and marzi, voice and choice and unleash the potential of the next generation.”

All set for by-election to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly’s constituency PK-7 Swat on Sunday (today). The PK-7 constituency, which fell vacant after the death of ANP MPA Waqar Ahmed Khan death, has a total 1,83,308 registered voters, including 1,020,88 male and 81,220 female voters. According to the Election Commission, a total 124 polling stations have been established – 30 for male, 28 for female and 66 combined. A close contest is expected among two candidates, including Fazal Maula of PTI and Husain Ahmed alias Khan Nawab of ANP, while Dawlat Khan of Tehreek-eInqilab Political Movement and independent candidate of PTI are also contesting the by-election. The PML-N, JUI-F and PPP have withdrawn their candidates from the contest and have announced support for ANP candidate Hussain Ahmad Khan. The ANP candidate also has the support of Jamaat-e-Islami and

Qaumi Watan Party. “All arrangements have been made for smooth conduct of the byelection,” informed Swat Election Commissioner Faridullah Khattak. It is to be recalled that PTI’s Provincial Minister Dr Amjad Ali had won this seat in the July, 2018 general elections but he had to vacate this seat after winning two seats. Later, in the by-elections, ANP’s Waqar Ahmad Khan won the seat by a thin margin of 228 votes with the support of opposition parties. During the current by-election, the ANP is being supported all the political parties. However, being

the home constituency of former federal minister Murad Saeed and the home district of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, PTI candidate Fazal Maula is being seen the most favorite candidate. Political analysts, however, are of the view that if the workers of opposition parties mange to bring out their voters, it will be difficult for the PTI to win this seat. On the other hand, one of the PTI worker Muhammad Ali Shah is also in the field as an independent candidate in the constituency who can divide the party’s vote, which will ultimately benefit the ANP candidate.

NEWS

All set for first phase of lB polls in Sindh today KARACHI NewS DeSk

Comprehensive security arrangements have been made while the distribution of polling material is completed as voting in the first phase of local bodies’ (LB) elections in Sindh will be held Sunday (today). People will cast votes in Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad, Larkana and Mirpurkhas divisions. As many as 149 candidates have already been elected unopposed on 1, 631 seats in Khairpur, Sukkur and Ghotki. Similarly, 255 candidates in Shaheed Benazirabad division, 437 in Larkana division and 160 in Mirpurkhas division have been elected unopposed. Strict security measures have been put in place at 464 polling stations in Sukkur which the ECP has declared ‘extremely sensitive’. After setting up of control room at the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) office in Islamabad, a monitoring cell has also been established at the office of Sindh election commissioner in Karachi in order to ensure strict surveillance of the polling process. On Friday, the Sindh High Court while rejecting the petitions filed by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) had decreed that local bodies’ (LBs) elections would be held in Sindh on June 26. A two-member bench of the SHC, headed by Justice Junaid Ghaffar, heard the petitions. During the hearing, Justice Ghaffar asked as to why the LB polls had not been held within 120 days as ordered by the Supreme Court (SC). “Polls have already been held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan,” he remarked. Counsel for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) replied that demarcations of the constituencies had resulted in the delay.

Security forces kill four terrorists in north waziristan: iSPr RAWALPINDI Staff RepoRt

As many as four terrorists were killed by the security forces on Saturday during an Intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted in area Dossali, North Waziristan District. According to the military’s media affairs wing (ISPR) news release, the terrorists were killed during fire exchange, whereas weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists. The killed terrorists remained “actively involved in terrorist activities against the security forces,” it further added.

two injured in firing at Pti leader’s vehicle in Faisalabad FAISALABAD iNp

Two people sustained injuries after unknown assailants fired on the vehicle of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) candidate contesting in Punjab by-elections. According to police sources, unknown assailants opened fire on the vehicle of PTI candidate Ali Afzal Sahi in PP-97, Faisalabad. As a result, two people were injured. However, the police said, the PTI candidate was not present in the car. Meanwhile, the unidentified gunmen managed to escape after the incident. Upon receiving information, the police and rescue officials reached the spot and shifted the injured persons to Allied Hospital for medical treatment.

Study finds high prevalence of hereditary breast cancer in Pakistan KARACHI NewS DeSk

A study published in BMC, Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice journal, has found a high prevalence of hereditary breast cancer (HBC) in Pakistan. Conducted by researchers from the Aga Khan University, Karachi and partnering hospitals, the study data is based on patients who visited the HBC clinics at AKU over a three-year period and proceeded with multigene panel testing. Out of all patients who met the criteria for genetic testing, 22 per cent had a positive test result. This is comparable with data from other countries, where the range was between 9.4 to 29.8 per cent. This means that almost a quarter of all

those referred for genetic testing had HBC. Most breast cancers are sporadic, i.e., they occur without a known inherited/genetic or preventable cause. Thus, in majority of cases there is no risk of the cancer being passed on to children. HBC or genetic breast cancer is less common, but still makes up 10-30 per cent of all breast cancers. People have breast cancer genes that protect them from getting breast cancer. It is when these breast cancer genes become abnormal or mutated, that they are predisposed to breast cancer. Such inherited breast cancers may be passed down within a family from a parent, mother or father, to the children. “Our study is the first to report the spectrum of genes beyond BRCA1 and 2

found in breast cancer patients from Pakistan,” said Fizza Akbar, Genetic Counsellor at the Aga Khan University Hospital and the lead author of the study. “A striking finding was that of all the patients with abnormal results, almost half had a mutation in a gene other than BRCA1 and 2. This highlights the importance of doing multigene testing involving all known breast cancer predisposition genes rather than just testing for BRCA1 and 2 alone.” The study also found that patients diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age were more likely to have HBC compared to older women and that 25 per cent had no family history, but had other factors that warranted genetic testing, thus emphasizing that sometimes it is advisable to get testing

done even in the absence of a family history. “Our study results endorse international criteria for genetic testing as recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network to improve outcomes for patients and their family members,” stressed Dr Abida K. Sattar, one of the authors and the Head of Breast Surgery and Director of the Comprehensive Breast Surgery Programme at AKU. These criteria recommend that genetic testing be offered to all women aged 45 years or younger with breast cancer even without a family history, women older than 45 years who either have a family history of breast or related cancers, recurrence of breast cancer or on both sides, or certain tumour characteristics, and all men with breast cancer. “If you are a breast cancer patient or if

you are healthy but have a family history of breast and other cancers, it is good to discuss with your doctor about the suitability of a genetic test and a referral to a genetics specialist,” recommended Dr Azmina Valimohammed, Consultant Medical Oncologist at AKUH and one of the authors. Dr Salman Kirmani, Consultant Medical Geneticist, Chair of the Division of Women and Child Health at AKU and the senior author, highlighted a clear message to the public: “Finding out that you have a genetic predisposition to breast or related cancers can improve the long-term outcomes both for patients and their family members, as well as provide opportunities to prevent the disease from being transmitted to future generations.”

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Sunday, 26 June, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

04 NEWS

Pakistani scholar’s book on allama iqbal’s Poetry launched in danish Parliament COPENHAGEN

APP

he translation of Pakistani scholar Khurram ellahi in Danish language on the poetry of renowned national poet Allama Dr Muhammad Iqbal was launched at Danish (Denmark) parliament. Khurram ellahi’s book titled “Mankind encountering Angels in Poetry of Iqbal’ was translated by Dr huma Khan, a Copenhagen-based scholar of Pakistani origin. Government of Denmark, embassy of Pakistan in Denmark jointly held the event while diplomats from Iran and Germany especially spoke on the

british council organizes film screen event ‘Pakistan stories’ ISLAMABAD

work of Dr Allama Iqbal. “Iqbal proposes solutions for the dilemmas of the modern man,” said Khurram ellahi while addressing the audiences. Mr. Sikandar Siddique, MP and Political Leader of Independent Green & Member of the Danish Parliament, welcomed a huge audience belonging from varying diasporas. Mr. Jamshid Fatahline Jad and Mr. Reza Sohbati, the Cultural Counselor of the Iranian embassy in Denmark, demonstrated the devotion of Iran towards Iqbal and that their people hold Iqbal very close to their hearts. Mr. Lasse Rodwald, Cultural Counselor of the German embassy in Denmark, said that the relation-

losophy and Iqbal so she could introduce the mighty Iqbal to the Danish audience, despite being an accomplished doctor. Khurram ellahi, the author of the translated book ‘Mankind encountering Angels in Poetry of Iqbal’, shed light on how Iqbal has presented the thesis of man in front of the world in comparison with angels and how Man being the vicegerent of God is created to do wonders and miracles. Mr. Ahmad Farooq, Ambassador of Pakistan in Denmark, in his note of tanks, expressed gratitude to the guests and urged for joint efforts as such efforts bridge the gap between east and the west.

Conflict reporting conference begins at CEJ-IBA KARACHI NewS DeSk

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The British Council in collaboration with Patakha Pictures and the Scottish Documentary Institute organized a film screening event “Pakistan Stories” here the other day. “Pakistan Stories” sought to support a new generation of female Pakistani documentary filmmakers to enable them create engaging films that reflect on their society, and Pakistan’s 75 years of independence. The event celebrated the journey of the ten selected filmmakers through the programme who worked in pairs over a period of eight weeks and were mentored by experts in Pakistan and Scotland to develop and finance their creative skills, said a news release on Saturday. Themes of the documentaries were early and forced marriages, the rights of transgenders, women and disability, women in education and the feminist movement in Pakistan. On the occasion, British high Commissioner to Pakistan Dr Christian Turner said, on this event, film was a brilliant vehicle for telling stories and giving women voice. “Two-time Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and the combining UK and Pakistan expertise could unleash the potential of the next generation of female filmmakers and women and girls across Pakistan”, he said. Renowned film maker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy said: “During the past week, I witnessed the growth of these ten filmmakers and I knew that we laid the seeds of a movement that would ensure that young women across Pakistan would be empowered to finally to tell their own stories in their own words.”

ship between Iqbal and Germans is inseparable. Iqbal devoted his research years in Germany and lauded the marvelous works of Goethe and Nietzsche which is also shown in his poetry, he added. Professor Niels Christian hvidt of Syddansk Universitet later delivered a keynote speech on “Poetry and Spirituality” highlighting Iqbal’s message of why the spiritual interpretation of the universe is so vital in the 21st century for man and how medical science has developed a keen research eye on it. Dr. huma Khan shared her journey of translating the book ‘Mennesket i IQBAL’s Poesi’. She shared why she took a deep dive into phi-

The two-day conference titled: “extreme Reporting: Conflict and Peace in the Digital Age” was started at Centre of excellence in Journalism at the Institute of Business Administration on Saturday. Senior journalist hamid Mir was the keynote speaker at the inaugural session of the conference. Mr Mir discussed how his career started and why it is important to groom young Pakistani journalists and teach them about journalism. IBA’s Dr S Akbar Zaidi and CeJ-IBA’s executive director Amber Rahim Shamsi welcomed the participants and speakers to the event. According to Ms Shamsi, without political satire, without freedom of speech, without quality journalism, the world is a slightly nastier place. “Peace isn’t just the absence of conflict, it’s conditions where justice, equity, and harmony can flourish,” she said. “Besides, why promote harmony when polarization gets the access to the powerful,

the fame, the clicks and ratings? I hope that’s one of the many questions we can find an answer to over the next couple of days, and one of those questions is fundamental – why do we still need journalism when we can’t even assume that people learn about the world through good journalism,” she added. Welcoming the participants to the twoday conference, Dr Zaidi said: “I hope there’s a lot of conflict in your discussion and some resolution too.” The first day kicked off with a powerful session titled: do we need journalism? Moderated by journalist Shahzeb Jillani, the powerhouse panel which included, Lok Sujag’s chief editor Badar Alam, BBC’s Zeeshan haider and Geo’s Benazir Shah. The panel discussed the grim reality of the state of journalism in Pakistan and how important it is for the country now and in the future. Mr haider said that it wasn’t a question about creditability but trust. “A user is now basing news preference on if they like/dislike the person sharing the news (which is essentially their opinion). Verification of news or fact is secondary for them,” he said.

For Geo’s Benazir Shah while journalism is important and needed – the quality of what you read in the newspapers had gone down. “The problem with consuming news on social media is that there will always be doubt — is this accurate and authentic? I get a lot of messages from my friends who will send me a link and ask if this is fake. There is also a misconception between a journalist and reporter. A reporter provides information and a journalist will provide it in context. There are a lot of layers in a media organization, which get eliminated in social media,” she added. According to Mr Alam, journalism does not exist in a vacuum. “Conflict is essential for what we do. The conflict Pakistan is facing right now is not being resolved in a democratic way and so journalism cannot survive in an undemocratic atmosphere. The second session, Foes and Friends: Media Laws and Regulations promised to be an explosive session with former information minister Fawad Chaudhry, State Minister for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik, journalist hamid Mir and lawyer Zainab Janjua.

Moonis Elahi denies links to alleged frontmen in money laundering case LAHORE NewS DeSk

PML-Q leader Moonis elahi, in his response to Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) questionnaire in a money laundering case, has denied any links to Nawaz Bhatti and Mazhar Abbas — the “low-profile individuals” who, according to the FIA, lent elahi their identities to set up the RYK Sugar Mills Ltd from his allegedly ill-gotten funds. The FIA had booked elahi and seven others, including Bhatti and Abbas, on charges of money laundering in a case pertaining to a sugar scam on June 14. In his response submitted on Thursday to the 33 questions asked by the agency, elahi denied knowing Bhatti and Abbas or the fact that

they were government employees. he also answered in the negative to a host of other questions about the duo, such as whether elahi or his family had helped Abbas secure his job; if he knew that the two held shares in Rahim Yar Khan (RYK) /Alliance Sugar Mills; if he had provided any financial assistance to them; and if he knew that Bhatti was a signatory of at least 32 bank accounts with a credit turnover of around Rs24 billion, etc. elahi also denied using the influence of his father — former Punjab chief minister Parvez elahi — to secure a no-objection certificate for setting up RYK Sugar Mills. In response to the question on the facts of the case indicating that an orchestrated scheme of “corporate layering” was employed to disguise the beneficiaries of RYK Sugar

ECP sets up central control room to monitor Sindh LG polls ISLAMABAD StAff RePoRt

election Commission of Pakistan (eCP) has established a Central Control Room in Islamabad for monitoring and registration of complaints related to local government polls being held in 14 districts of Sindh on Sunday (today). According to eCP spokesman, polling related complaints could be lodged round the clock on telephone no 051-9204402; 051-9210838. The complaints could also be faxed to the control Room on 0519204404.A similar provincial control room has also been established in Karachi. Polling related complaints could be lodged by contacting provincial room via telephone numbers 021- 99203369; 021- 99203373-77. While in addition to those control room, some 14 control rooms have also been established in the offices of each returning officer to ensure prompt registration of complaints. The control rooms

would continue working till compilation of results. Comprehensive security arrangements have already been completed to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in all 14 districts of Sindh. The delivery of all polling materials, ballot papers, polling bags and polling staff to the respective polling stations would be completed on Saturday under strict security. All presiding officers would arrive at their respective destinations on Saturday evening and set up polling stations and polling booths. Officers in Karachi and Islamabad were monitoring the delivery of polling materials from the control room on the instructions of the Chief election Commission. The first phase of LG polls were being held in 14 districts of Sindh including Ghotki,Sukkur,Khairpur, Jacobabad,Kashmore, Qambar Shahdadkot, Larkana, Shikarpur, Noshero Feroz, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sanghar, Mirpur Khas, Umerkot and Tharparkar on Sunday (June 26).

Mills, the PML-Q leader said the allegation was “incorrect and misconceived” as all his shares were “duly declared”. he said that he did not have any role in the establishment of the RYK Group. The case: According to the FIA’s first information report, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the case against elahi and the others was registered under Sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention), 109 (punishment for abetment), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using a genuine forged document) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 and Section 4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.

sanaullah granted one-day exemption from appearance in drug case LAHORE StAff RePoRt

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah’s indictment in a drugs case was delayed on Saturday as his plea for one-day exemption from personal appearance was approved by a special court for control of narcotic substances in Lahore. The court, however, now summoned him on July 23. Rana Sanaullah was arrested in the case in July 2019 under the previous government by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) which claimed to have recovered 15kg of heroin from his vehicle. At the last hearing, the court had stated that charges against the interior minister would be framed on June 25. however, Sanauallah did not appear in the court on Saturday, with his lawyers stating that the interior minister was busy with the annual budget session in the National Assembly. The court, therefore, granted one exemption from personal appearance and summoned him at the next hearing to be held on July 23. Other suspects in the case were also present in the court during the hearing.

Sunday, 26 June, 2022 | iSlamabad

neWS Pakistan’s desire for peace shouldn’t be construed as weakness: PM continued from page 01 MQM-P DELEGATION MEETS PM: MQM-P delegation called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at PAF Base Faisal to discuss matters of mutual interest including issues of Sindh. According to details, MQM-P delegation led by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui pressed for early appointment of Sindh governor. It also asked PM Shehbaz for implementation of the agreement signed between MQMP and PML-N. The delegation also discussed delay in amendment of Sindh Local Government Act. PM Shehbaz also held a detailed meeting with Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah to discuss overall political situation of the province as well as ongoing development projects. CONDOLENCE WITH ASIF ZARDARI ON DEMISE OF HIS MOTHER: PM Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday arrived at Zardari House, Shaheed Benazir Abad and expressed his condolence with former president and president PPPP Asif Ali Zardari, on the death of his mother. The prime minister was accompanied by Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani, Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawja Saad Rafique, Minister for Trade Syed Naveed Qamar and PM’s Special Assistant Syed Fahad Hussain. The prime minister along with his delegation offered fateha and prayed for the high ranks of the departed soul. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari received the prime minister at airport. While upon arrival at Zardari House, the prime minister and his delegation was received by Asif Ali Zardari, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, Yousuf Raza Gillani, Shazia Marri, Asifa Bhutto Zardari, Murtaza Wahab and Haji Ali Hassan Zardari.

PM to inaugurate CPR initiative to save lives: Salman Sufi

ChaIRPeRSon heC aSKS unIveRSItIeS to ConduCt SolutIon oRIented ReSeaRCh raWaLpindi

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HE Chairperson Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Shaista Sohail on Saturday asked the universities to conduct solution oriented research. While talking to media, she said that the universities played a pivotal role in educating and training students. “Every year students after completing their education secure jobs in various industries, enterprises in public and private domains. It is therefore imperative that the universities train them so that they are solution oriented and increase the productivity in every sector that they join”. HEC has been taking various measures to encourage students and faculty to research on issues that confront Pak-

istan and come up with innovative solutions, she added. “The economic situation demands that we do not take business as usual.

Therefore, university leaders have been requested to focus their research on the three main imports which could reduce foreign exchange spending. It

JI begins ‘train march’ against inflation, corruption

APP

Peoples’ Bus Service to hit Karachi roads on Monday KaracHi stAff rePort

The PPP-led Sindh government is all set to launch the Peoples Bus Service in Karachi from June 27 (Monday). This was announced by Sindh Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon. “Alhamdulillah Peoples Bus Service will start operation in Karachi on Monday,” he wrote. Taking to Twitter, Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab further shared that a total of 240 buses have been procured by Sindh government for Karachi in the first phase. The bus service was originally planned to start service in the port city this week but its inauguration was postponed due to rain forecast by Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD). Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is likely to perform the inauguration of bus service in the port city. Earlier, he launched the same transport service in Larkana this week. Under the Peoples’ Bus Service project, the Sindh government is set to ply 240 buses on seven different routes of the metropolis.

is significant that Pakistan has very few local brands”. “In this context the need for research and commercialization of local oils and drinks so that they can be consumed off the shelf while increasing employment and growth of the local economy,” she said. “Agriculture Universities may come up with ways in which they could enhance local growing of tea and promote local brands of indigenous drinks. Laban is very nicely packaged in Saudi Arabia and Gulf. Similarly, Iran has packaged Lassi smartly in various innovative flavours like strawberry , vanilla”. The Vice Chancellors have also been encouraged to think of other creative ways to explore avenues that would be contributing towards growth of the national economy. As such it was important that all such efforts are recognized and supported, she added.

Experts underscore Pak-China JV for commercial production of tea

iSLamaBad Head of Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit Salman Sufi on Saturday said that the logo of “PM Life Savers Team” under the National Initiative for CPR training had been issued. In a statement, he said CPR training programme would be started across the country to train people to provide emergency resuscitation and save lives. A citizen can become member of life saver team of the prime minister by registering himself with the local health department, 1122 emergency service or a designated hospital. The person after getting training will pledge to train ten people in his neighbourhood. The person who will train maximum number of citizens will be given a commendation certificate by the prime minister, Sufi added. He said the aim of the campaign under the PM, CPR initiative was to make citizens capable of saving precious lives. The prime minister will soon inaugurate this training initiative.

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Pakistan and China can promote tea production on commercial scale through joint ventures. According to a report published in Gwadar Pro on Saturday, experts pointed out that potential suitable sites and land for tea cultivation are located alongside China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), therefore, China has a big role to play in promoting tea on a commercial scale through joint ventures and technical and financial support. China from the beginning has played a crucial role in tea promotion in Pakistan. With the technical and financial assistance of China, at Shinkiari in Mansehra, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) established a tea estate of over 50 acres along with green and black tea processing units, but it is yet to be adopted by the private sector on a sustainable basis. Tea plantation and processing have already proved successful in northern Pakistan. However, its commercialization under the market mechanism needs decision-makers’ attention. The federal government has engaged private sector companies for experimentation and commercialization of tea. However, the pace and quantum of commercialization have been very slow. According to the online data platform Observatory of Economic Complexity, Pakistan imported $646 million worth of tea in the fiscal year 201920, largely from Kenya. This has listed Pakistan as the largest importer

of the commodity in the world. In the 10 months of this fiscal year, tea imports have jumped by 9% to $532.4 million, compared with $580.5 million in the entire FY 2020-2021. In view of the growing population and increasing consumption of tea in Pakistan, the government is working out a plan to commercialize tea cultivation for curtailing the import bill to this effect. Talking to media, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said on Thursday that a huge chunk of foreign exchange is spent every year on importing tea in Pakistan. If local tea production is promoted, the country’s import bill could be significantly reduced. The minister visited National Tea & High Value Crops Research Institute (NTHRI) at Shinkiari, Abbottabad and had a briefing on tea cultivation, its processing and commercialization in Pakistan. He said that Pakistan could not attract foreign direct investment in the tea industry despite huge domestic demand. Neither it is advanced in research & development on tea production. Earlier in his tweet the planning minister mentioned that Pakistan is the largest importer of tea in the world, racking up an import bill of whopping $589.8 million in 2020 alone. Tea has emerged as a major import commodity and is draining huge foreign exchange every year. Local tea production is fast becoming a matter of urgency as domestic consumption of tea will increase by another 10% in the next five years, the experts added.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Sirajul Haq Saturday kicked off a train march from Rahim Yar Khan railway station against inflation, corruption, and the interestbased economy. On the occasion, Sirajul Haq said that Jamaat will never leave Pakistani people alone in difficult times, saying from representing the masses in the Parliament to the streets, his party will raise its voice against oppression. A large number of Jamaat-eIslami workers were gathered at the RYK railways station. Likewise, a good gathering of JI workers was present at the Khanpur railways station to welcome their leader who has been leading from the front against the ever-increasing inflation. Addressing the workers at RYK railways station JI Ameer Sirajul Haq said, “Pakistan is ‘burning’ in the hands of the incumbent rulers, reiterating his resolve that the era of IMF slavery would end soon. “Today Pakistan’s future faces similar challenges like Yemen, Libya, and Sri Lanka.” The JI chief said that both Asian tigers and claimants of the state of Madina (PTI) deceived the masses. And both PDM and PTI have not been giving importance to the people. Sirajul Haq commenting on the electricity and POL products rise by the coalition government, said that amid 18-hours long load shedding, the per-unit electricity reached R32. He said that investors and aristocrats have been violating the rights of labourers and farmers. “No government fulfilled the promise of South Punjab province,” he added. He alleged that all three parties who ruled this country sold Kashmir, violated the oath with the tribal people, and imposed an interest-based economy. JI said despite decades of governments by these parties poverty was still on the rise. He criticized the price hike of POL products per liter, electricity per unit, and gas prices by the incumbent coalition government as part of what they called ‘tough decisions’, in a bid to provide long-lasting relief to the people. JI workers in Ahmedpur Sharqia were also present to welcome the train marchers.

Wasa kicks oﬀ desiltation of 15 nullahs across Pindi raWaLpindi APP

Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Rawalpindi on the directives of Commissioner Rawalpindi Noorul Amin Mengal on Saturday kicked off the cleanliness work of 15 nullahs of Rawalpindi, passing through different areas of the city. According to Managing Director WASA Muhammad Tanveer, they had completed dredging and de-silting work of Nullah Lai and sewerage lines across the city. The Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi

cleans the nullahs of the city every year, but this year, due to delay in cleaning of the drains, there is a danger of urban flooding. The Commissioner Rawalpindi had ordered to immediately start cleaning work of 15 nullahs and Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR) had deposited Rs 35 million to WASA in this regard. WASA Rawalpindi had also requested the Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi to declare an emergency so that immediate action could be taken and the cleanliness work of 15 drains could be started. He further informed that there are 15

small and big nullahs in the city, most of which fall in Nullah Lai. The MD said that WASA started the cleanliness work today utilizing heavy machinery. It has also been decided to start the cleanliness work on all the drains at the same time so that the project could be completed within shortest possible time frame, he added. The cleanliness work in Sadiqabad, Arya Mohalla, Zia Colony, Dhok Matkal and Kohati Bazaar has been started while the work on the remaining drains would be started from Monday.

In view of the forecast of heavy rains in July, day and night work would be done and the project would be completed in one month, he said. Due to shortage of funds, the work would be carried out particularly under the bridges of the nullahs and at specific places so that the obstacles due to garbage in these nullahs could be removed and the flow of water would be restored. However, due to encroachments in some areas on these nullahs, access to heavy machinery is not possible and manual work would be done, the MD said.

The entire process would be overseen by the district administration while a committee comprising representatives of WASA, MCR and Waste Management Company would monitor the cleanliness work. Muhammad Tanveer also urged the citizens not to throw garbage and solid waste in nullahs and dump their waste in waste bins of waste management company. However, instructions have also been issued to the police patrolling parties to take immediate action against those found dumping garbage and solid waste in nullahs, he added.

06-07 Comments - 26th June 2022_Layout 1 6/25/2022 11:15 PM Page 1

Sunday, 26 June, 2022

06 COMMENT

Shehbaz Sharif’s mistimed stroke

Shehbaz Sharif in Gwadar Some problems require deeper thinking

ORMeR Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Gwadar twice during his over three-years-long tenure while PM Shehbaz Sharif made two calls in a month. The PML(N) and its allies consider the ChinaPakistan economic Corridor (CPeC) a game changer project for Pakistan with Gwadar holding a key position in the plan. As Mr Sharif told navy officers in Karachi on Saturday, Pakistan’s economic future was linked to the success of CPeC with Gwadar port as its “main component.” While in Gwadar Mr Sharif complained that the crucial port city had been thoroughly neglected by the PTI government. According to him, then PM Imran Khan’s administration had failed to resolve the longstanding Issues relating to power and water supply without which a city simply cannot function. No dredging was carried out at the seaport, making it difficult for large cargo ships to anchor. Little attention was paid to completion of the international airport either. While in Gwadar Mr Sharif broke the ground for a seawater desalination plant. he emphasized speeding up the work on transmission lines in South Balochistan and ordered its completion in December this year. For the time being, he ordered to provide solar panels to domestic consumers of the port city. To redress the problems of the large fishermen community in Gwadar, Shehbaz announced the provision of 200 acres of land for the establishment of a residential colony for the fishermen besides the distribution of 2,000 motorboat engines to help them earn a livelihood. There was a serious problem for which the PM had no answer though, namely the incidence of terrorism which constitutes a formidable obstacle in the way of investment in Gwadar and in fact the whole of Balochistan. Mr Sharif maintained that there were friendly countries who were keen to invest in agriculture, industry, and energy sectors. Unfortunately their officials, engineers and workers who are helping in developing the country are being targeted. The military solution has created further complications instead of bringing peace in Balochistan. While Shehbaz was still in the port city, the Gwadar Rights Movement led by Maulana hidayat-ur-Rehman, and family members of forcibly disappeared persons, staged protest rallies in the city. There is a need on the part of the ruling alliance to find an unconventional and peaceful solution of the issues of terrorism and forced disappearances.

He should have waited out the budget

DR IMRAN KHALID

veR since the Opposition submitted the noconfidence motion against Imran Khan in the National Assembly secretariat, the political arena has seen daily swirling ups and downs for allplayers, but only person is finding himself continuously whirled into the quagmire of despondency, without any hope of respite soon, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself. every stakeholder has gained something– all the PDM’s parties, except the PML(N), have a relatively bigger share in the federal cabinet. Ironically, Imran Khan too, despite losing the premiership, has emerged as the biggest beneficiary by successfully diverting attention from his extremely dismal performance as PM to the new mantra of “imported Government Na-Manzoor”. When the public resentment was picking up momentum against the astronomical inflation, continuous devaluation of rupee and bad governance, removal from power has actually proven a blessing in disguise for him, and hispopularity is now soaring high because of a very effective campaign playing the sympathy and patriotism cards. In the last days of the PTI government, starting from early February, the rupee was melting fast, loadshedding had suddenly become a daily routine and petrol prices were jacking up almost weekly, Imran was in a deep mess and it was expected that after the 20222023 budget the PTI government would not be able to survive longer. All was set for the “natural political demise” of the PTI government. The Opposition had to just wait a few more months and the PTI would have been out of power under extreme public pressure against the high inflation, fuel prices and eroding rupee. In the absence of good financial managers, courtesy the long list of incompetent and clueless heads of the PTI finance team, from Asad Umar to Shaukat Tareen, the PTI government had actually no concrete plans to salvage the country from impending financial catastrophe. The Opposition, particularly the PML(N) leadership,

By 2028 The Shariat Court wants to abolish interest completely

T’S a maximalist position that the Federal Shariat Court has taken. They’ve specified the 31st of December, 2027 as the deadline for the complete elimination of interest in the banking system. The central bank has, unsurprisingly, moved the Supreme Court against this decision. The justices at the Shariat court may well argue that theirs isn’t, in fact, a maximalist position and that their deadline would have been an 80-year wait since the foundation of the republic. A fruition of what was promised; a logical continuation of Pakistan ka matlab kya… Alas, we live in the real world. Modern banking cannot possibly survive without interest and neither have the ulema nor religious-minded professionals from the world of finance come up with a system that can plausibly compete with the current system. Islamic Banking is an area, yes, but many argue that it is interest-free in name only. The story of Islamic banking has an interesting and meandering history in our country. Needless to say, in private, even some of the muftis employed by the banks admit that the system is anything but interest-free. Some ulema are public about it. But even if Islamic banking did truly qualify what the clergy demand, the rest of the world, even most from rest of the Muslim world, won’t be willing to play ball and would want to trade with us and our banks and financial institutions through conventional routes. Religious beliefs are important to most of Pakistanis and we do take such matters seriously. But it would not be unfair to assume that we are also practical and worldly about these issues. That we need to look before we leap into uncharted territory in such critical spheres.

DR MuHAMMAD AbDuL KAMAL

he PDM coalition government’s budget priorities include fiscal consolidation as well as figuring out ways to strengthen social safety nets and provide relief to the poor and lowermiddle classes. however, in the backdrop of ongoing international geopolitical uncertainty and strict IMF-imposed conditionalities, economists are in view that several of the targets listed in the budget documents are quite over-ambitious and unattainable. The federal government’s budget is neither expansionary nor contractionary, and the targets set are primarily based on expectations and predictions, relying on a decline in global oil and commodity prices. Given the challenges on the energy, external, and fiscal fronts, the projected GDP growth rate of five percent for the upcoming financial year 2022-23 will be a cumbersome task to accomplish. As a piece of evidence, the allocation for the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) has historically been around four percent of GDP during periods of high growth in Pakistan, but it has now been slashed to 1.1 percent

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

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ity to control the unabating financial predicament. he was well aware of the impending financial crunch and its fallout on the PML(N)’s popularity, and there is insider news that Nawaz also opposed a no-confidence motion before the budget session. But both Zardari and Fazal shrewdly exploited Shehbaz’s old, burning desire to become PM and convinced him to strike Imran Khan out of power in April. The overtly over-confident Shehbaz, famous for being a hard taskmaster with a track record of initiating and completing “projects”‘ within tight deadlines, was relying on his traditional style of brinkmanship to control the situation within a few weeks. But the ground reality is that the financial mismanagement of the previous government as well as existing snags of the global economy have created such a mess it will take years to put things back on track. As for today, a common man does not understand, nor wants to understand the technical complications of domestic and global economy; he wants roti, kapra aur makan at affordable prices and continuous supplies of gas and electricity. This is the simple reality. As expected, owing to tough monetary constraints and stringent IMF conditionalities, the coalition’s budget does not offer any tangible relief. Apparently, Shehbaz and his core team have no concrete plan for some respite for the common man immediately. The post-budget months are going to be very tough for Shehbaz: load-shedding alone can engulf his reputation, leave alone other inflation-related pressures on the lower and lower-middle classes. On the other hand, Imran Khan is riding high, courtesy the PTI’s extremely professional social media team, on the wave of his resurgent popularity to create more problems for the government. Unlike his questionable performance as PM, Imran Khan has always proven to be the most formidable person as opposition leader- he will become more khatarnak (dangerous) as he himself said. Shehbaz is now in a fix. he can neither leave the stage at this time, nor has anything tangible in his bag to resolve the common man’s immediate problems. It was his personal choice to get rid of Imran before the budget session. Nawaz was reluctant to listen to Zardari and Fazal, now both hiding from the limelight. The 2022-2023 budget would have politically weakened Imran Khan to the point of costing him his premiership. The situation would have been much more conducive politically for Mian Shehbaz Sharif to take charge.

Shehbaz is now in a fix. He can neither leave the stage at this time, nor has anything tangible in his bag to resolve the common man’s immediate problems. It was his personal choice to get rid of Imran before the budget session.

The writer is a freelance columnist

Realistically unrealistic budget

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

needed a little more patience for a few months to let the erosion of the PTI government take its natural course. But the Opposition – the PDA to be more exact – showed unnecessary haste in getting rid of Imran Khan at the wrong time, though for all the right reasons. Till April, it was clear to everybody, even to the common man, that the country was heading towards a massive financial crunch after the budget session. everyone was expecting that the currency to reach new lows, fuel prices to cross Rs 200, loadshedding to be uncontrolled and the imposition of IMF dictation to make it almost impossible for any national finance to steer the economy out of this vicious circle soon.The wWriting on the wall was very clear in early April; the uncontrollable storm of inflation, loadshedding and unemployment would consume Imran’s political career. But instead of showing some patience, the PML(N) leadership toed the line of PDM stalwarts like Asif Zardari and Maulana Fazalur Rehman. Now what prompted Mian Shehbaz, against Mian Nawaz’s advice, to take such a step, which can at best be described as “utterly rash” at a time when the economy was heading towards massive crisis? Zardari and Maulana Faza had their own venal reasons to persuade the PML(N) leadership to join hands in uprooting Imran and replacing him with a coalition under Mian Shehbaz before the budget session. Obviously, there was also a go-ahead from the powerful quarters to dislodge Imran Khan hastily. Both Zardari and Fazal had nothing to lose. If the noconfidence motion failed, the whole embarrassment would have been the PML(N)’s, and if it succeeded, as it did, the whole credit would be Zardari’s and Fazal’s. This is exactly what happened. Both have a major share in the power structure, both have their sons in the federal Cabinet and both are now keeping a low profile and letting Shehbaz alone take the blame alone for the fuel price hike and sinking rupee. Shehbaz is the only person facing the brunt of the harsh realities of running a government with both hands and pockets tied. The rupee devaluation against dollar has crossed a double century, the petrol prices have also followed the dollar, loadshedding is getting out of control in this blistering summer and commodity prices are skyrocketing. All the right ingredients to make any government highly unpopular. Most financial and technical experts agree that these landmines were planted by the inept and incompetent PTI finance team, which made delayed and faulty financial decisions that dragged the country into this financial imbroglio. But now Shehbaz, not the other coalition partners, is being blamed for his inabil-

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of GDP, which is insufficient to propel the predicted economic growth target for the upcoming fiscal year. Inflation is estimated to remain in the range of 14 percent to 16 percent, and the policy rate, which is presently at 13.75 percent, will be lifted to 15 percent to 17 percent to keep the interest rate positive (adjusted for inflation). An enhancement in the policy rate by 1 percent to 3.25 percent certainly will have an adverse effect on growth. According to Dr. Sajid Amin, Senior Research Fellow at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), a 1 percent rise in the policy rate suppresses economic growth by 0.45 percent, while in the case of a 3.25 percent hike in the discount rate, growth is declined by 1.5 percent. The Finance Minister, Miftah Ismail, claimed in his budget speech that inflation is likely to hover around 11.5 percent, which is an unrealistic number that poses severe doubts about the government’s forecast. Subsidies on POL have recently been abolished, leading its prices to soar. The third large increase in petroleum product prices in less than 20 days — lifted the price of petrol by Rs.84 per liter or 56 percent, and diesel by Rs.144 per liter or 83 percent. The effect of a price hike in POL usually passes on in a period of three to four months, and certainly, this will trigger a fresh wave of inflation in the country. Dr. Sajid further asserted that Rs. 100/- per liter hike in POL prices leads to a 4.5 percent to 5 percent rise in inflation. This estimate has not incorporated the effect of the expected rise in electricity/gas prices in near future. Inflation is expected to stay between 14 and 16 percent in the fiscal year 2022-23, and this is the most conservative projection by economists and analysts. The federal government expects the current account deficit of 2.2 percent of GDP, which appears manageable, but in absolute terms, it is an amount of $8 to 9 billion. To keep the deficit at this level, imports need to be restrained by 5 to 8 percent, while exports must increase by 10 to 12 percent. In such a scenario, the trade deficit will be $39 to 40 billion, with remittances expected to grow to $31 to 32 billion in the forthcoming financial year. however, It might be difficult to restrict the current account deficit to

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the desired level, owing to the fact that remittances already declined by 25.4 percent month-on-month to $2.3 billion in May, and the export target is largely reliant on the continuation of the previous government’s policies, particularly the gas and energy rates available to industries. The government’s tax collection target of Rs. 7004 billion, with a nominal growth rate of 16 percent per year, is another flaw in the proposed budget. even with an expected 12 percent inflation rate and a 4 percent GDP growth rate, which results in 16 percent growth in nominal GDP, and such a target can be materialized with ease. The government should have set a revenue target of Rs. 7500 billion and such a higher target would have demonstrated the government’s commitment to broadening the tax base and also sending a good message to the IMF. Owing to another miscalculation, the IMF may not approve the revised tax slabs for personal income tax since it results in a loss of Rs 47 billion in revenue for the government. In a similar vein, the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) revenue target of Rs 750 billion is ambitious and another flaw in the budget estimates. The PTI-led government set a target of Rs 650 billion but only managed to collect Rs 135 billion under that head. POL usage in the country averages 18 billion litres per year, and a levy of Rs 30 can only fetch a revenue of Rs 540 billion for the government. To accrue the revenue target of Rs 750 billion, the government will have to impose a levy in the range of Rs. 45 to 50 per litre. This will further exacerbate inflation and wreak havoc on the poor segment of society. A budget gap of Rs 800 billion was also discovered, which could be another fault in the budget documents. The target of Rs 800 billion in surpluses from the four federating units does not appear to be achievable, as provincial governments will be tempted to spend their NFC shares to the utmost extent possible due to election considerations. The writer is an assistant professor at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan. He can be reached at kamal@awkum.edu.pk

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Sunday, 26 June, 2022

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

Melting glaciers The rising temperature of the earth is a global issue and scientists are urging that the temperature should not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. But in the northern areas of Pakistan, the temperature has increased by 5 degrees Celsius in the last year. There are more than 2500 lakes on glaciers in Gilgit Baltistan. There have been 370 lakes in the hindu Kush Karakoram region that have erupted and flooded since the mid-19th century. Recently lakes on Shesper glaciers erupted and flooded. hassanabad bridge collapsed due to this flood and the Karakorum highway was also closed for traffic. To address this problem not only the government but also the people should move forward and take immediate steps. vehicles should be shifted to solar. Government and the people collectively must promote ecotourism for tourism. Locals use wood to meet their fuel needs. They should also be transferred to other environmentally friendly fuels such as wood fuel and its smoke is a poisonous killer for glaciers. Government must take steps to promote eco-tourism and legislation is needed. SHERBAZ ALI SKARDU

Social Media Awareness

Military bases and the Abraham Accords Is there going to be an economic tradeoﬀ to recognize Israel NAqI AKbAR

ATION states like Pakistan go by narratives; the elite builds them up for the average person. established orders trying to float any idea usually go through the book. In recent times and in the past; journalists have been the soft projectiles for categorical intentions of the deep state. In 1987, the story of Pakistan being a nuclear state leaked in the face of the Brasstacks exercise conducted by the Indian Army was one such instance when an editor of a renowned daily became the willing fodder for the order of the day. Today, we might have come across many social media debates about Pakistan being asked for military bases. We might have read a thousand times the narration of “absolutely not”. however the truth coming out of the mouth of a renowned journalist; this time; reflects upon the reality that something is in air. It is not propaganda fodder for either side of the political divide. Rather Pakistan is back to its role of front line state; the only credible economy of scale over which it has been able to erect its paradigms of growth and welfare for the few. If the utterances of the seasoned journalist are taken at their face value; then Pakistan might see the turnaround in its economic woes, very much on the pattern of Paris Club adjustments during the War on Terror period, massive doses of foreign assistance during the Cold War days; or in the era of military alliances like SeATO and CeNTO. A casual look into the developing story might suggest similar scenarios seen in the 1960s, 1980s or the new millennium as discussed above. however, we might see a very different package of developments in the coming weeks, months and years. Pakistan’s relation with the western powers has been formalized via Pentagon and for that matter, the armed forces have been found to be the best go-betweens. Though the SeATO and CeNTO agreements were formalized during the dying days of successive Muslim League governments at the centre in 1955 were managed by the armed forces; specifically the PAF; taking part in periodic exercises like Mid Link in 1974; which even drew criticism from the Indian government on the floor of the Lok Sabha by the then Congress government led by Mrs Indira Gandhi. As things are developing now; those days of engagement usually did not go beyond a few harmless or benign exercises or strategy moots hosted by any of the member countries. These things happen even now. however, the Afghan war in 1979 and post 9/11 engagements have changed in content radically. The events in Afghanistan in 1979 prompted the USA to find a way to make the USSR bleed; as much as it sought a withdrawal from that country. For that task Pakistan crossed the red line of a sleeping Cold War partner; doing small jobs

like U-2 flights in the 1960s from Badaber AFB to actually making the USSR bleed in Afghanistan. That role was confirmed through many of the souvenirs’ (captured RUAF and AAF jets and military transports), which adorn the PAF Museum in Karachi. Any military bases option exercised now might not be a benign engagement for Pakistan. In a way, the country would be offering its services openly for all the concerned stakeholders to take note and plan countermeasures for another day. With the Afghan campaign by the Coalition forces almost over; that country handed over to Taliban; the reasons for military bases might have prompted a heated debate in any properly democratic country for that matter. however, what is observed in the case of Pakistan is; not public approval for any such engagement; rather the tone of the established order, the government etc. seems to be like; “for information only” email. Apparently, we are told that with the assortment of groups present in Afghanistan, migrating into the lawless country from other strife-torn places like; lately Syria; might be the cause for the USA to keep its presence in the region in one way or another. however, experiences in Iraq and Syria with reference to fighting these groups has proven that hand-tohand combat has been a more successful strategy than air strikes only. even Pakistani experience with these elements during the last one decade despite the air campaigns having stopped long ago; suggests that on ground combat is still the desired option. Keeping these combat and strategic realities in mind; US insistence, if any, for the bases and approval of the same by senior opinion leaders (read journalists) might not be a single agenda item. Multiple objectives cannot be ruled out. To get a clear picture; in terms of a logical thought process, it is imperative to see the developments taking place in the immediate neighborhood; the Middle east. The US president is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. International media has already started talking about the Joint Air Coordination between the

Arab air arms and the IDF; Israeli Defence Forces. A meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council on the issue is scheduled with Iraq and Jordan as “special invitees”. On the back of it, a visit to Israel is again in the Pakistani news headlines. A person from Karachi is off and on quoted, and well-placed journalists do not mince words to say that it were the governments; the outgoing PTI or the other, who want to open channels. The Democrats under Biden are promoting the Abraham Accords, floated by the Republican Administration under Trump. In other words; the talk of the town between the lines is to dismantle any resistance to the new world order; this time named the Abraham Accords. Obviously, these initiatives do not have a military fallout only. The greater goal is a unipolar world based on domination of the Abraham Accords. To put it more clearly; the spirit of capitalistic domination is to be transferred from the dying body of US domination to that of the Abraham Accords or acceptance of Israel at the international level. Naturally tied to these developments are the economic benefits linked to that. vulnerable economies; whether they are sanctioned or whether they are mismanaged; are at risk of trading off their decades-old stances for Paris Club-like relief or a Marshall Plan without any devastating war; obviously via IMF. For the wise men, the scenario is more than obvious. In an interconnected world, economies and nation states cannot remain disengaged for long. The pressure on compliance to the world order is enough for the weak to comply or surrender; as it suits them. The coming months and even weeks can determine the true nature of engagement for the states of the region. Pakistan has few options at hand to steer its own way exclusively. It remains to be seen how the stakeholders for the best interests of the nation state settle the domestic economic crisis. however, international developments need a close watch on part of the think tanks. Time, for all practical purposes, determines where we stand in changing times.

Vulnerable economies; whether they are sanctioned or whether they are mismanaged; are at risk of trading off their decades-old stances for Paris Club-like relief or a Marshall Plan without any devastating war; obviously via IMF. For the wise men, the scenario is more than obvious. In an interconnected world, economies and nation states cannot remain disengaged for long. The pressure on compliance to the world order is enough for the weak to comply or surrender; as it suits them.

The writer is a freelance columnist

The youngsters these days are truly obsessed with social media. They spend most of their time on it. Due to the high influence of these social media apps on young people, they only believe in the information they receive through them. They don’t go for the authenticity of these pieces of news. The minds are highly inclined toward the intriguing factors that make them move away from moral values and ethics. The propagandas are targeting the youth which is 64% of the population of Pakistan. If false, concocted, manipulative, offensive, wedging, and provocative news can be a part of our newsfeed to be digested, there should be a competing thought of propagating righteous, absolute, ingenious, alluring, merging, and calming factors or ideas that can be conveyed to youth. The authorities should address the interests of these youth on these social media forums. Despite sharing the ads of concerts on the top of the list, better initiatives should be delivered to their phones so that they may come to know the opportunities they can grab. me to know the opportunities they can grab. ARHAMA ISHTIAQ SAMUNDRI

Alarming situation for Sindh The Indus river known for its massive water flow has now made people worried. Continuous shortage in the Indus river has caused an alarming situation for Sindh. As lands are being dry. Areas like Thatta, Badin, Sujawal are the last areas that fall under the Indus Delta. For years, these areas took huge amounts of water from the Indus delta and fertilized their land. These areas are considered as the highest water taking districts. But when coming to the human development index, these districts also fall in the last category. Majority of the population of those districts are farmers, Fishermen, and shepherds. For a long time, Kotri barrage faced a shortage in its flow, due to which daily life of people belonging to these areas was affected. In the majority of Schools in Sindh, there is shortage of clean drinking water. And where in some schools, if water is available but that is not drinkable. According to a report of WhO, in 2015 people had better resources of drinking water as compared to 2022. But today, 1.5 billion people are deprived of clean drinking water. And that polluted water has become the cause of death for millions of people. According to the health experts, different and dangerous diseases are emerging from the polluted water such as hepatitis A, typhoid, Polio, Daria etc. Water is an important ingredient for living. Still Pakistan has not tackled the water crisis. There are many factors which have resulted in the water crisis in Pakistan. Such as Urbanization, Unstructured System of irrigation and Climate change. If this crisis is not tackled, people have to face adverse problems beyond one’s thinking. Today, Pakistan is considered in the category of water shortage countries because availability of water per person is less than 1000 cusecs annually. If it goes down to 500 cusecs per annum, Pakistan will fall under those countries where merely water is available. In Sindh, most districts are consuming the sewerage mixed contaminated water according to a report of the Supreme Court mandated water commission. 80 big cities of Pakistan are deprived of clean water. Most people in those big cities are purchasing the water tankers. In that situation the question arises that if water is not available, how are these tanker mafias getting water? Although the government tried to take action against the tanker mafias but still they have influence and have not been eradicated. Sindh despite having Indus river, is still facing a water crisis. According to the water accord signed in 1991, an agreement was formed between the provinces of Pakistan over the water division. According to that agreement, Sindh will take 42% of water from the Indus river and in that time Sindh had 30 million of population. Now as per the figures of 2017 census, Sindh’s population has doubled. Still there is no review on distribution of water according to the current population and urbanization. Pakistan is an agricultural country and much of its water is used for this purpose. Pakistan’s particularly Sindh’s irrigation system has been worse for 30 years. There is a need to make it better and effective in dry cities of Sindh. Previous year, Pakistan Council of research and Water resources stated that they collected the samples of water from 14 districts of Sindh which shows water is not drinkable. They also mentioned that water available in Karachi is also not clean and it is dangerous to health. Apart from it, water used in hospitals is polluted and dangerous to health. Due to the consumption of polluted water, diseases are increasing. And every year many people die because of it. Shortage and Polluted water has made people worried. In many cities, pipelines of water have been linked to sewerage pipelines. In Pakistan, two big sweet water rivers meet at Sindh, Keenjhar, halaji. Despite this, low water flow in the Indus river has affected the areas on a large scale. As compared to other provinces of Pakistan, Sindh must get the due share of water in order to maintain the water flow in the Indus River. There is a need to work on ground level. It needs an hour to form a master plan for providing water for agriculture purposes and as well for drinking water in every district. Karachi is the most populated city and still there is no system of providing clean water. People have to purchase the water which is also not safe and dangerous to health. MUJEEB-UR-RAHMAN KARACHI

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Sunday, 26 June, 2022

08 WORLD VIEW

DoN’t wrIte oFF the IraN Nuclear Deal just Yet Al moniTor

N the movie Godfather II, mafia boss Michael Corleone says that his rival Hyman Roth “has been dying of the same heart attack for twenty years.” After swearing never to do a Godfather reference in a column, this one came to mind, following the many epitaphs of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), or Iran nuclear deal. the JCPoA, signed in 2015, puts constraints on Iran’s nuclear programs in return for sanctions relief on Iran. It was first killed, or seemingly so, back in May 2018, when then-Us President Donald trump withdrew from the pact. While the other signatories — the EU, UK, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran — stayed in the deal, the JCPoA ceased to function. Us secondary sanctions made trade and business with Iran an ‘us or them’ proposition. Not surprisingly, countries and companies chose the Us over Iran, to avoid Us penalties from sanctions, which Washington piled on after the Us withdrawal from the agreement. Us President Joe Biden made a resumption of the Iran nuclear deal a priority, and a deal seemed close in February, but talks stalled and since March have been on “life support,” says Dan shapiro, former Us Ambassador to Israel, in Al-Monitor’s on the Middle East podcast. But EU Iran coordinator Enrique Mora almost singlehandedly kept it alive, barely, with his shuttle diplomacy. Ali Hashem wrote that during Mora’s visit to tehran in May, Iran presented ‘more than suggestions’ to break the impasse. “the Iranian side handed Mora a proposal with revisited ideas,” an official source in tehran told Hashem. Now EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell is off to Iran on June 24 to meet with Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, after huddling the night before in Brussels over dinner with Mora and Us Iran

ALSO MOTIVATING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS THE RELEASE OF THE FOUR AMERICANS UNJUSTLY DETAINED IN IRAN, AS ELIZABETH HAGEDORN REPORTS, WHICH IS LINKED TO THE JCPOA NEGOTIATIONS Envoy Rob Malley. Borrell even tweeted that Malley “reiterated firm Us commitment to come back to the deal.” Ahead of Mora’s visit, Amir-Abdollahian said on June 23 that Iran hopes “we can reach the final point of the agreement in the near future with realism from the American side,” adding that “the nuclear negotiations train has reached difficult stops as they near the end.” this column has all along contended that Raisi has wanted to close the Iran nuclear deal, but on his terms, while having to anticipate a Plan B if talks failed — not unlike Washington. oil prices over $100 per barrel should be too much to resist. And Borrell’s “surprise visit” to Iran is perhaps no surprise, given that Iran knows it will be high on Biden’s agenda during his visit to Israel and saudi Arabia, July 13-16. A top priority of the trip will be to further integrate Israel and the Gulf into a coalition aimed at deterring Iran’s regional and nuclear ambitions. RECOVERING FROM A NEAR FATAL BLOW: the Borrell mission, if successful, would signal a return from a near-death experience for the JCPoA. In April, after the Vienna talks broke down, Iran announced it was enriching uranium to 60% purity, bringing it closer to the 90% needed for a weapon, and in violation of JCPoA constraints. In late May, Malley told Congress that a return to the JCPoA was “tenuous at best.” In early June, the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which oversees Iran’s compliance with the JCPoA, passed a resolution rebuking Iran for failing

to cooperate with an agency investigation into questions about undeclared nuclear material and past nuclear research. In response, Iran disconnected 27 IAEA surveillance cameras at its nuclear facilities, which Rafael Grossi, the IAEA director general, described as a possible “fatal blow” to the JCPoA, it they were not restored within a month. Meanwhile Us secretary of state Antony Blinken told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the breakout time for Iran to be a nuclear weapons threshold state could drop to “a matter of weeks” if Iran continues to violate the terms of the JCPoA. Iran claims it does not seek a nuclear weapon, and that all these steps are reversible. But the Us has gone ahead with contingency planning nonetheless for a Plan B if the talks fail or, as shapiro points out, even if they succeed. IRAN GETS US MESSAGE ON IRGC: Another sticking point in March was Iran’s demand that the Us delist the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization as a condition for the deal. the trump administration had put the IRGC on the terrorism list in 2019 for just this purpose — to thwart a possible return to the JCPoA by a subsequent president. Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in April that he would not delist the IRGC. two weeks later, the senate passed a non-binding, bipartisan resolution opposing the delisting of the IRGC by a vote of 62-33. Iran seemed to get the message and had to pivot away from the IRGC as a condition,

if it still wanted a deal. An official source told Ali Hashem that during Mora’s visit in May that the IRGC issue “isn’t centric in the new proposal. It’s there, but there are other issues with more priority.” since then, “Iran has downplayed the IRGC issue as an impediment to the deal,” Elizabeth Hagedorn and Ali Hashem report. “Mohammad Marandi, an adviser to Iran’s nuclear-negotiating team, told Al-Monitor that delisting the paramilitary organization isn’t a condition for an agreement. Marandi said there are still gaps in the talks regarding assurances and sanctions but dismissed the Us rhetoric that the window for diplomacy is closing. ‘the Iranian side was never intimidated by Us deadlines. they knew the Us was bluffing,’ he said.” the seeming shift in the Iranian demand on the IRGC comes as Hossein taeb was replaced this week as head of the IRGC intelligence unit. speculation is that taeb may be being held accountable for the recent killings of at least seven Iranians involved in the country’s nuclear and military programs, which Iranian officials have blamed on Israel, as we reported here. the increased tensions have played out with threats to Israelis visiting turkey, as Ben Caspit reports. taeb, one of the most powerful and feared figures in Iran, was also known as an opponent of the JCPoA and in charge of the file dealing with Americans and other dual nationals held in Iran. WHY RAISI STILL WANTS A NUCLEAR DEAL: While chances may still be slim, the Biden Administration continues to make the case that the JCPoA is the best, or

Global economy in peril as rusted oil tanker threatens to blow off Yemen’s west coast YEMEN, SAUDI ARABIA, JORDAN, OTHERS ENDANGERED AS 1.1 MILLION BARRELS CRUDE OIL THREATENS TO SPILL INTO THE RED SEA

BloomBerg BoBBy Ghosh

ost of the limited international diplomatic energy devoted to ending the civil war in Yemen understandably goes to preventing the loss of lives, whether from bloodshed or famine. But now that a two-month truce between the belligerents has been extended, urgent action is required to forestall a different kind of calamity: an oil spill that could rank as one of the world’s worst environmental disasters and disrupt a vital global trade route. the civil war has both created and, for several years now, distracted attention from the fate of the Fso safer, a decrepit oil supertanker, laden with 1.1 million barrels crude oil, which has been rusting in anchorage off the port of Ras Isa in Yemen’s west coast. the Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that started the war in 2014, made some desultory efforts to sell the oil, but buyers were deterred by

the war and international sanctions. the rebels then allowed the tanker to decay, using the prospect of a disastrous leak to blackmail the international community for aid and favorable terms in ceasefire negotiations. Now the Houthis have belatedly agreed to allow the oil to be offloaded from the vessel, but the United Nations and environmental groups like Greenpeace warn that time and money are short — and that the safer is a time bomb about to blow, spilling its toxic cargo into the Red sea. this threatens not only the eight littoral countries — Yemen, saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti — but also international shipping on one of the world’s busiest trade routes. the risk to the global economy needs no exaggeration: Memories are fresh from the last time a single ship choked the waterway. But the damage caused by the safer would be far greater than the economic costs imposed by the Ever Given in March 2021. the UN reckons it would take $20 billion just to clean up the Red sea; the toll on the global economy could be magnitudes higher. Built in 1976, the single-hulled safer is 360 meters long — a fifth again as long as Exxon Valdez, the ship at the center of the infamous 1989 spill in Alaska’s Prince William sound. Previously called Esso Japan, it was converted into a floating oil storage and offloading facility and sold to the Yemeni government in 1988. Its name (pronounced “saffar”) comes from the desert location of the country’s first oil discovery. the vessel was last surveyed eight years ago by the American Bureau of shipping before the civil war prevented any further audit of its seaworthiness. Its hull desperately needs repair, and it is a safe bet that its mechanical and electronic equipment — including, crucially, its fire-fighting gear — are no longer in working order. A spill from a breached hull or an explosion are both clear and present dangers. the UN reckons an emergency operation to of-

fload the oil will cost $80 million. (An additional $64 million will eventually be required for a replacement for the ship.) Donors have been parsimonious, however, and the UN is short by $20 million for the offloading operation. It is resorting to online crowd-funding to plug the gap. time may be a scarcer commodity. It is hard enough to predict when the safer might break or blow, and no less difficult to handicap the Houthis’ interest in maintaining the peace. they have previously used cessations of hostility merely to replenish their arms supplies. Despite the extension of the current truce, the rebels have not shown much interest in a lasting agreement with the Yemeni government in exile and the coalition of Arab nations that support it. Geopolitical factors add to the uncertainty. the truce would not have lasted this long if it didn’t suit Iran to restrain the rebels while it negotiated for a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers. But with prospects of a revival fading, the regime might again unleash the Houthis against their mutual enemies, saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. the resumption of Houthi missile attacks against saudi and Emirati oil installations would end the truce as well as any hopes of saving the safer — and the Red sea. But, with its own shipping limited by economic sanctions, tehran might well regard the prospect of an environmental disaster in international waters as somebody else’s problem. the only way around this is for the international community to back the UN with the cash and diplomatic capital needed to carry out the emergency offloading of the tanker even as it presses the Houthis for a longer truce. the saudis and Emiratis, who stand to lose from the resumption of hostilities and any impediment to shipping in the Red sea, should bear larger shares of the bill. the last thing the global economy needs right now is an environmental calamity on one of its most important shipping lanes.

least bad, option to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon, complemented by a Plan B focused on deterring Iranian actions against Us interests and partners in the region. For Biden and his European counterparts, the global energy crisis resulting from the Ukraine war is added incentive to get Iranian energy resources on the market as soon as possible. Also motivating the Biden Administration is the release of the four Americans unjustly detained in Iran, as Elizabeth Hagedorn reports, which is linked to the JCPoA negotiations. the incentives may be even stronger for Iran, even if the Us cannot guarantee a deal beyond the Biden Administration, as Iran has asked. Regularly characterized as hard line, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who took office in August 2021, never opposed the JCPoA, including during his presidential campaign. In his inaugural address he said, “sanctions against Iran must be lifted, and we will support any diplomatic plan that achieves this goal.” We have argued that the economic incentives, especially now with oil over $100 per barrel, are too much to pass up for Iran’s flagging economy, which has lived under sanctions for decades. And there are political incentives too, despite a stacked principlist (or conservative) parliament. the JCPoA was initially wildly popular in Iran when it was agreed in 2015; and Raisi’s victory as president was marked by voter apathy and the lowest turnout ever for an Iranian presidential election. A revived JCPoA is hardly a done deal. But neither side is closing off negotiations either, and diplomacy got a bump this week with Borrell’s announcement. shapiro, who served as senior advisor to Malley until March, and is skeptical of the prospects for a deal, told Al-Monitor he would also not be shocked if talks pick up again this summer or fall. And summer started on June 21.

New surroGacY rules Before commercial surrogacy was barred by law this year, surrogacy had become a thriving ‘industry’ in India, and Gujarat had become a hub of its commercial exploitation — Anand was called India’s ‘surrogacy capital’ TriBune

IVE months after the surrogacy (Regulation) Act came into force, the Health Ministry has notified the rules governing surrogate pregnancies. Among other things, the rules make it mandatory for couples who wish to become parents to buy three-year health insurance for surrogate mothers. the rules also stipulate that ‘the number of attempts of any surrogacy procedure on the surrogate mother shall not be more than three’, and the mother be allowed abortion during surrogacy in case of a complication. strict rules have been framed to regulate private surrogacy clinics, which must have a team of specialist doctors and counsellors. It’s estimated that up to 15 per cent Indian couples — a total of around three crore couples — are afflicted with infertility, and many of them are seeking treatment. More and more of them are opting for surrogacy, and the strictest, most watertight rules must be framed to protect the rights of all individuals involved — the surrogate mother, the baby and the couple seeking a child. the surrogacy (Regulation) Act bars commercial surrogacy, permitting surrogacy only for altruistic purposes, in the cases of couples suffering from infertility or disease; however, it’s a well-documented fact that vulnerable young women are being used as surrogate mothers across India, often without complete knowledge of the implications of surrogacy. there are complex ethical questions related to surrogacy, and the possibility of breaking or bending the law acquires severe moral implications. Before commercial surrogacy was barred by law this year, surrogacy had become a thriving ‘industry’ in India, and Gujarat had become a hub of its commercial exploitation — Anand was called India’s ‘surrogacy capital’. Activists and opposition parties have made a strong case for the right of surrogate mothers to gain commercially through the ‘service’ they offer, but the new law permits only altruistic surrogacy. though the debate on barring commercial surrogacy has not ended, the law enacted this year and the new rules notified this week are a step in the right direction. the subject is complex and still in development, however, and the authorities must keep pace with the scientific progress and ethical questions around it.

Sunday, 26 June, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

NEWS

corporate corner cdWp approves naVttc project to set up 250 VtIs for skills development & employment of youth ISLAMABAD: A meeting of CDWP under the chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives was held and approved the NAVTTC project for establishing and upgrading 250 Vocational Training Institutes (VTIs) across Pakistan. The Executive Director NAVTTC, Mr. Sajid Baloch, briefed the CDWP that National Vocational and Technical Training Commission project envisages to establish and upgrade 250 Vocational Training Institutes (VTIs) across Pakistan which will provide income generating and in demand skills to youth. The skilled workforce will also earn precious foreign exchange for Pakistan. National Vocational & Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) being an apex TVET agency at federal level will be the lead executing agency. This project will be helpful in establishing state of the art labs in vocational training institutes and equipping youth with latest income generating technical skills such as Artificial Intelligence, e-commerce, robotics, graphic designing, Internet of things, cyber security, besides the conventional trades like electrician, plumber, fashion design, beauty parlour etc. The Government is committed to provide employment to over a million skilled workforce, for local and international job market and uplift socio-economic status of 1.67 Million family members through provision of in demand income generating skills. Many of these new VTIs will also serve as joint testing and certification centers for the NAVTTC – TAKAMOL Saudi Arabia Skill verification Program to test and certify the Pakistani skilled potential emigrants for Saudi Arabia. The public interest initiative will make major contribution towards poverty reduction and socio-economic development of people, through enhanced income & livelihood opportunities and empower them. NAVTTC under the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training has taken numerous steps to organize TVET system of the country on modern lines.NAVTTC is delivering training in accordance with the internationally demanded and recognized requirements. NAVTTC management has so far imparted training to about 1,00,000 youth, mostly in hightech trades, with 71% employment rate. Another batch of 63,000 youth are being given skill trainings through 930 Training partners and reputed universities. 95% youth have expressed satisfaction over the quality of the trainings by NAVTTC. All the Provincial Government senior representatives attending CDWP meeting assured their full support to this project. pr

InternatIonal moot dIScuSSeS paSt, preSent and Future oF SIlk road ISLAMABAD

UST and Ankara Centre of Thought and Research (ADAM-ACTR) joint conference on Economic, Social and Political Relations between Turkey and Pakistan held on June 25, 2022 in NUST, Islamabad. The main themes of the conference based on the History of Turkey-Pakistan relations; Economic, financial, commercial, and international cooperation opportunities; the Role of Islamic Economics and Finance on Development, and the Social and Cultural Relations between Pakistan and Turkey. The Pro Rector (Research, Innovation & Commercialization) NUST Dr Rizwan Riaz welcomed guests and opened the conference with a welcoming speech. He expressed how crucial the relations between the two countries are, by saying “Turkey is our brother country”. Right after Dr Rizwan speech, Prof. MehmatBulut (President of Ankara centre of thought & research)) stated that in recent years Turkey has increased its activity, both in its own geography, but also in the status of countries that are far from region but not developed economically. South-Asia is at the forefront of geographical areas where Turkey has increased its activity outside the region. He added that Pakistan with a serious Muslim population in order to determine the current economic situation in South Asia especially in Pakistan where Turkey's new foreign policy statement corresponds, to take lessons from history and to photograph the future vision with new economic cooperation possibilities. Moreover, Turkish Charge de Affairs in Pakistan Ms Esra Sen highlighted that universities associated with ADAMACTR will have an important pool of resources at

the academic dimension to produce policies that will trigger regional development and growth. He added that forging of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Turkey can be traced back to the time of British India before Pakistan was born but the Pakistan Movement was well underway. The speakers at the conference provided a roadmap to stimulate and disseminate new research on economic cooperation between Turkey and Pakistan. They added that in the last few years, the perceptions and interests of Turkey and Pakistan have started to converge on a number of important issues. For over half century, Turkey and Pakistan remained close friends. Their multidimensional relationship showed the same spirit of brotherhood as prevailed during centuries old ties between Indian Muslims and the Ottoman Empire, later the Republic of Turkey. Ideologically, however, they were

poles apart – Turkey, when it became a Republic, pursued secularism while Pakistan adhered to the Islamic ideology as the centrepiece of its nationhood. But these differences of ideology, with their corresponding reflections on their respective external outlook, never hampered the course of friendly bilateral ties. In future, there is hope that in keeping with the global trends, economic interaction will assume centre-stage in relations between Pakistan and Turkey. They said number of Pakistani students avail the Turkish universities scholarships but the ratio of Turkish students coming to Pakistan educational institutes is very low. There is a need for educational institutions to establish linkages. There is also a need to increase people-to-people contacts by exchange of cultural groups from both sides as well as encouraging the tourism industry to take the initiative in this regard.

Senator Syed Faisal Subzwari pays tribute to seafarer’s community

Six outlaws held; narcotics and weapons recovered ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Capital Territory police have apprehended six outlaws from various areas of the city and recovered hashish, Ice and weapons, a police public relations officer said. He said that, Dig (Operations) Sohail Zafar Chatha had categorically ordered all zonal officers to curb the crime in their respective areas and arrest those involved in looting innocent people. Following the orders, a police team of Koral arrested two accused namely Khizer Hayat and Khateeb Ahmed and recovered one 38 bore pistol and one MP5 gun from their possession. Likewise, Sabzi Mandi police arrested accused Hassan Khan and recovered 1280 gram hashish and 170 gram Ice from his possession. Shams colony police apprehended an accused Abdul Qadeer. Similarly, Noon police team arrested two accused Muhammad Hamza and Sami Ullah and recovered two 30 bore pistols along with ammunition from their possession. Cases were registered against the arrested accused and further investigation is underway. DIG (Operations) directed all zonal officers to intensify the crackdown against the criminals. “The officers with good performance will be rewarded while the officers showing laxity towards their official duties will be dealt with iron hands” he maintained. pr

KARACHI pr

Prime Minister Mian Shehbaz Sharif alongwith Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi in a group photo with Commissioning Team of 117th Midshipmen and 25th SSC Commissioning Parade at Pakistan Naval Academy Manora, Karachi. pr

Federal Minister for Narcotics Control, Nawabzada Shazain Bugti visiting the ANF Police Station in Sukkur on June 25, 2022. pr

Minister for Maritime Affairs emphasized the importance of Seafarer’s Day as it is celebrated to recognize the priceless contribution seafarers make to both national and international trade and economy, often at great cost to themselves and their families. Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs highlighted that the ability of shipping to offer economic and efficient long-distance transport of goods puts it at the center of the world economy and it cannot be done without skilled seafarers. Hence, their importance cannot be ignored as they are the one who runs the global economy. The Minister further paid recognition to the Seafarers of Pakistan and stated that we need to acknowledge the hard work and sacrifices our seafarers make to contribute greatly to the national economy and provide both essential and basic supplies including food, fuel, raw material and manufactured goods to the country. He further stated that their exceptional contributions during global pandemic also cannot be neglected. 'Without seafarers, the country would starve and could not function.’ The Minister apprised that since 2011 the day has been celebrated around the world to highlight the contributions made by seafarers to the entire global community. This year’s theme set by International Maritime Organization (IMO) celebrates Maritime Voyage and Journey.

Removal of Pakistan from FATF gray list By ZAHeeR uD DIn BABAR Pakistan is currently still on the FATF’s gray list, but chances of its removal from that list are bright. The Financial Action Task Force said in their statement that “the country may be removed from the list after on-site visit to verify the implementation of its reforms on countering terror financing mechanisms”. The FAFT has also announced a visit to Pakistan before October this year to make the final announcement. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also acknowledged that Pakistan has complied with all FATF requirements. Moreover, Pakistan has made great strides in prosecution. The Prime Minister of Pakistan has congratulated the entire nation on the FATF’s praise of Pakistan’s performance. He said that all government personalities, concerned

agencies and team deserved congratulations. The Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa also termed the completion of FATF action plans as a great achievement, and that the performance of the cell in GHQ and the collective efforts of the nation were commendable. In fact, it is no secret that the FATF was committed to the policy of keeping Pakistan on the gray list as part of a deliberate strategy. We should also not forget that India is also a member of FATF, which does not miss any opportunity to create problems for Pakistan. It is true that the previous government may have tried to get Pakistan out of the FATF, but the manner in which the coalition government is trying is also certainly commendable. The Minister of State of External Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar categorically recognized the role of the administration of the

previous government in the matter of FATF. Pakistan initially started to work towards its removal from the gray list back in 2017, when Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan started to wane. Therefore, in view of the changing situation, Pakistan contacted the FATF and confirmed that serious steps needed to be taken to meet the demands of the international body. In this regard, Islamabad formed a National Task Force to achieve the objectives laid out by the FATF and sent evidence to the FATF that reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to achieve said objectives. There exists no doubt that Pakistan’s civil and military leadership is working together to meet the demands of the FATF. One proof of this is that DG ISPR stated in an interview in 2019 that there is coordination between no more than 30 ministries and departments to get out of the FATF gray

list. The DG ISPR said that due to this strategy, steps would be taken to effectively control money laundering and terror financing. Efforts to meet the demands of the FATF have yielded positive results, with Pakistan recovering Rs. 58 million. According to experts, Pakistan also overcame shortcomings in fiscal policy and practice. For example, banks were accustomed for the first time that they should identify their customers through biometric and that the law enforcement agencies also held themselves accountable. Pakistan also effectively removed the legal barriers to bring the criminals to justice. The question is, what good would it do for Pakistan if it got out of the FATF gray list? The world has become a global village, with terrorism and extremism being declared a serious threat. In the aftermath of 9/11, no country

was willing to tolerate the existence of Muslim extremist groups. One more thing to note about the FATF is that the body is, by no means, neutral. The pressure exerted by the FATF on Pakistan to punish Hafiz Saeed is an example. The majority of FATF members are from Western countries, so the growing relations between Pakistan and China do not please these countries in any way. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has created many problem for the country and the nation. Even now, his protests and dharnas are creating a climate of political instability in the country. It is now up to Shahbaz Sharif, with all his sincerity and good intentions, to promote mutual cooperation and pursue national interests not only with China and the United States, but also with every other country in the world.

Sunday, 26 June, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

10 FOREIGN NEWS

UN rUshiNg relief sUpplies, sTAff To AfghANisTAN’s qUAke-hiT regioNs

UNITED NATIONS

Agencies

MERGENCy lifesaving supplies continued to flow into quake-hit eastern Afghanistan, as United Nations humanitarians and partners rushed to help the most vulnerable communities, according to the U.N. One of the UN teams on the ground, the refugee

agency UNHCR, transported tons of relief items into the provinces of Khost and Paktika, where several thousand houses were destroyed or damaged by the 5.9 magnitude quake that struck early on Wednesday. The latest tally from Friday indicated that at least 1,036 people have been killed and more than 1,643 injured, in the worst earthquake to hit the country in two decades. “At least 121 of these deaths were children and

67 of those injured were also children,” said Mohamed Ayoya, Representative for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Afghanistan. “The total number of people killed or injured is not yet confirmed. Verification is ongoing and we expect these numbers [to be] going up in the hours and days to come.” Critically needed items arriving from the capital, Kabul, include hundreds of tents, thousands of blankets, jerry cans, buckets, plastic sheets, kitchen sets and solar lamps – enough to help 4,200 survivors in Giyan, Bermal, Zerok, and Nika districts in Paktika province, and Spera district in Khost province. To ensure distribution to the most needy, UNHCR has set up three supply hubs in Giyan, Bermal and Spera districts, so that humanitarian support can be shifted to communities affected by the earthquake. Heavy rains have also swept across the region in recent days, compounding the misery, UNHCR warned. UNICEF has also dispatched life-saving supplies, including 500 first aid kits, along with treatment for acute watery diarrhoea to help prevent the spread of waterborne diseases, the agency said. “Much more support is urgently needed to avert a humanitarian disaster in the affected areas,” said UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, who noted that millions of people in the country face hunger and starvation, after four decades of conflict and instability. “Already some 24 million Afghans are in need of humanitarian assistance due to the hunger and economic crisis, lack of development aid, and the impact of the changeover in government authorities 10 months ago,” Ms. Mantoo told journalists in Geneva. Across Afghanistan, some 3.5 million people have been displaced by conflict and violence, and another 1.57 million have had to leave their homes because of climate shocks, according to the UN data.

Pakistani envoy, ByteDance team discuss ways to promote Pakistani products in China BEIJING AnAdolu Agency

Pakistan Ambassador to China Moinul Haque paid a visit to ByteDance and discussed steps to enhance cooperation and strengthen Pakistan Pavilion on Douyin for promoting Pakistani products in the Chinese market. The ambassador was received by the company’s Department of China Public Affairs and Strategy. He was briefed about the business operation of the company and its various products such as Douyin. ByteDance team acknowledged the active presence of Pakistani Embassy Beijing on its various social media platforms. Later, the ambassador was given a tour of the various facilities of the company. During his interaction, Moin praised the tremendous growth of ByteDance in the short span of a decade and discussed ways and means to expand cultural cooperation and promote Pakistani products in the Chinese markets on Douyin. ByteDance is a technology company with a strong presence in e-commerce and social media.

Embassy’s account on Douyin has over 100,000 followers and the promotional content of the Embassy is seen by millions of viewers.

Commercial Counselor Badaruz Zaman, Press and Cultural Attache Syda Saira Raza and other officials of the embassy were also present.

China to offer $7.5 million humanitarian aid to quake-hit Afghanistan BEIJING APP

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin confirmed on Saturday that the Beijing would provide 50 million yuan ($ 7.5 million) in emergency humanitarian aid including tents, sheets, convertible beds to quake-hit Afghanistan. The first shipment of aid to be transported to the country on Monday by charter flight. China will also work closely with the Afghan interim government to ensure that aid reaches those affected in time and helps local people to overcome their current difficulties, Wang said. Wang noted with the concerted efforts of the Afghan interim government and all walks of life, with the help from the international community, we have faith that local victims will soon overcome these difficulties, rebuild their homes and return to their normal lives. The Chinese Foreign Ministry already said on Friday that China will send additional emergency humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan with cash, tents, quilts and other supplies being prepared, after the 5.9-magnitude earthquake that jolted parts of Afghanistan including the capital city Kabul on last Wednesday and resulted in at least 1,500 deaths, according to Global Times. China expressed sympathy to Afghanistan immediately after the earthquake and expressed readiness to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. The food support promised by China has arrived in Afghanistan and is being distributed quickly, and China is also ready to strengthen cooperation with Afghanistan on disaster prevention and reduction, especially disaster monitoring and forecasting, Wang said. Haibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban-run administration, has sought assistance from the international community. Countries like China, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey have pledged humanitarian assistance to quake-affected areas. “We believe that with the concerted efforts of the Afghan interim government and all sectors of society and the help of the international community, the people in the quake-hit areas will overcome difficulties and return to normal life and work at an early date,” he added.

Taliban pledge no interference with quake aid, but many await relief Gayan district, Afghanistan: Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers pledged on Saturday they would not interfere with international efforts to distribute aid to tens of thousands of people affected by this week’s deadly earthquake. Even before Wednesday’s quake the country was in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, with aid flows and financial assistance severely curtailed since the Taliban’s return to power. The 5.9-magnitude quake struck hardest in the rugged east along the border with Pakistan, as people slept, killing over 1,000 and leaving thousands more homeless. Aid organisations have complained in the past that Taliban authorities have tried to divert aid to areas and people that supported their hardline insurgency — or even seized goods to distribute themselves and claim the credit. But Khan Mohammad Ahmad, a senior official in hard-hit Paktika province, said international organisations helping relief efforts would not be interfered with. “Whether it is WFP, UNICEF or any other organisation… the international community or the United Nations… they will do the distribution by themselves,” said Khan. “The responsible people from the Islamic Emirate are here… our members will be always with them (to help),” he added, referring to the Taliban’s new name for Afghanistan. Agencies

China’s development philosophy can help promote global prosperity: Xi BEIJING Agencies

As the world is faced with stiff challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, regional conflicts, and backlash against globalization, the international community is striving for maintaining development while tackling deficits in global peace and governance. “This is an age rife with challenges, but it is also an age full of hope.” Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out as he hosted the High-level Dialogue on Global Development on Friday in virtual format. Xi noted some countries have politicized and marginalized the development issue, built “a small yard with high fences,” imposed maximum sanctions, and stoked division and confrontation. And he urged international community to recognize the prevailing trend of the world, firm up confidence, and act in unison and with great motivation to promote global development and foster a development paradigm featuring benefits for all, balance, coordination, inclusiveness, win-win cooperation and common prosperity. Realizing people’s dReam foR a betteR life: Xi recounted the story and his experience of being a farmer

on the Loess Plateau in the late 1960s when speaking at the event. He said that after visiting cities, towns and villages across China and many countries in the world throughout the years, one deep impression he got is that only through continuous development can the people’s dream for a better life and social stability be realized. Stressing placing development at the center of international agenda, Xi called for implementing the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and building a political consensus that development is valued by all people and cooperation is jointly pursued by all countries. puRsuing common development: Under Xi’s guidance, China has been committed to building a world of common prosperity. On Friday, Xi made four proposals for promoting common development. He called for jointly building international consensus on promoting development. “Only when people all over the world live better lives can prosperity be sustained, security safeguarded and human rights solidly grounded.” He said the international community should work together to create an enabling international environment for development featured with open world economy and a just and equitable global governance system.

Protectionist moves will boomerang; anyone attempting to form exclusive blocs will end up isolating himself, Xi noted, adding maximum sanctions serve nobody’s interest, and practices of decoupling and supply disruption are neither feasible nor sustainable. The Chinese president also highlighted the necessity of fostering new drivers for development, saying efforts should be made to step up scientific and technological innovation as well as institutional innovation, advance modern industries, bridge the digital gap, and speed up low-carbon transition. In terms of development, no country or individual should be left behind, Xi stressed, calling for forging a global development partnership. “Developed countries should fulfill their obligations, developing countries should deepen cooperation, and the South and the North should meet each other halfway,” said Xi. china’s solid pRomise: Bearing in mind the well-being of the entire humanity, Xi proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the General Debate of the 76th United Nations General Assembly in September 2021 in steering global development

toward a new stage of balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth, which has been warmly received and strongly supported by more than 100 countries. On Friday, Xi announced China’s further pragmatic steps to give continued support to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and promote global prosperity. He said China will upgrade the SouthSouth Cooperation Assistance Fund to a Global Development and South-South Co-

operation Fund, adding $1 billion to the fund on top of the $3 billion already committed as well as increase input to the UN Peace and Development Trust Fund. China is willing to work with all sides to advance cooperation in poverty reduction and eradication, food production and supply, green development, vaccines’ innovation, research and development as well as enhancing industrialization and connectivity, Xi noted.

11 Sports 26 JUNE_Layout 1 6/26/2022 12:14 AM Page 1

Sunday, 26 June, 2022 | ISLAMABAD

SPORTS 11

Brilliant BairstoW and Unlikely hero overton resCUe england first innings LEEDS, UniTED KingDOm

Agencies

NGLAND centurion Johnny Bairstow and debutant Jamie Overton blazed a thrilling unbeaten seventh wicket stand of 209 in 223 balls to guide their teetering side to 264 for six at the close of the second day of the third Test with New Zealand on Friday. The imperious Bairstow has now blasted back-to-back centuries as he finished unbeaten on 130 from 126 balls, while number eight Overton showed his genuine all-round qualities with an equally eye-catching 89 not out from only 106 deliveries. England trail the tourists’ first innings score of 329 by 65 runs at

Headingley, but will be delighted with their fightback after they slipped to 55 for six in their reply. It is the highest seventh-wicket partnership for England against New Zealand and Overton’s score is the most by an England player on debut batting at number eight or lower. The pair did it in some style too, with a mix of aggressive hitting and deft stroke-making as New Zealand were simply unable to slow the flow of runs. The momentum in the test is now back with England but in the middle session of the day they were floundering. After Daryl Mitchell’s third century of the series helped New Zealand to 329 just after lunch, seamer Trent Boult clean bowled England’s opening three batsman as

shahid afridi & rashid khan join hands to help afghanistan earthquake victims WEb DESK Former Pakistan captain and T20 World Cup winner, Shahid Afridi has announced his commitment to helping Afghan victims who were impacted due to a horrid earthquake on June 22. Shahid Afridi came forward on the call of Afghanistan’s star leg-spinner Rashid Khan to donate to the families of the victims. Afridi shared a video on his Twitter to back Khan’s initiative to support his people in testing times. “I’m supporting Rashid Khan’s campaign to provide relief to earthquake victims in Afghanistan. I have donated on www.backevenstronger.com and I urge all of my fans to donate there,” he said. “I nominate Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar to donate and make videos to spread the message,” he added.

Brig nasrullah returns from Us open golf

the hosts’ top order wilted. HORROR SHOW: England captain Ben Stokes said before the test that his side were in the “entertainment business”, but their innings was initially a horror show as Boult (3-73) ripped through their top order. Alex Lees (4) fell to an unplayable Boult thunderbolt that clipped the top of his off stump after pitching on middle. Ollie Pope made five before having his off stump flattened as he played across the line and Zack Crawley (6) then had his middle stump rocked back by a Boult inswinger. Tim Southee got in on the act to have Joe Root (5) caught behind after he nicked an angled delivery to leave England 21-4. Stokes and Bairstow fought fire

news Desk

Former Mailsi Station Commander and Rawalpindi Golf Club Senior Golfer Brigadier Nasrullah Khan Warraich attended US Open, the World’s Largest Golf Tournament 2022. A total of 156 selected golfers from around the world competed in this international tournament, which held from June 16 to 19. Matthew Fitzpatrick, 27, of England won the tournament in the first position. Brigadier Nasrullah Khan was awarded the 122nd US Open Golf Shield by the US Golf Association. Though Brig Nasrullah did not make a place in the first ten players, he brought a laurel to the country by participating in such a big international tournament. His participation will go a long way in the promotion of golf and motivation of youngsters to opt for golf in Pakistan. During the tournament, Brig Nasrullah met with the world’s top golfers and exchanged views with them on promotion of golf in Pakistan.

put on exactly 100 runs before lunch with Mitchell once again a thorn in England’s side. He lost his partner Tom Blundell (55) with whom he shared yet another century partnership but reached three figures with a straight six off spinner Jack Leach.

Fall from garce: Once an elite umpire, now owner of a shop in Landa Bazaar WEb DESK Former elite umpire Asad Rauf was once considered to be the best in the business alongside Aleem Dar. However, things have drastically changed since then for him. In an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Asad Rauf revealed his transition from being a worldrenowned umpire once to selling clothes and shoes in Landa Bazaar, Lahore. “I have always done those things which haven’t been done before in my family. No one in my family ever played cricket and I played First-Class cricket for more than 17 years. I spent 10 years in England playing professional league cricket. Similarly, no one ever did umpiring and I did it on the highest level. No one has even done this Landa business and I have been doing this for the past 30 years.,” Asad revealed.

The 66-year-old lost interest in match umpiring since his name was involved during the 2013 IPL match-fixing controversy. Following that, he went back to running his businesses which were already in place long before. “This work [Landa bazaar shop] is an old business of mine and had I not pursued becoming an umpire, I would have been doing this exact thing. Along with this, I also have an iron and metal business. I started all these things long before I decided to pursue umpiring,” revealed Asad. The former umpire claimed that he often sees people pitying him for doing this business but said that it couldn’t be further from the truth. “I often hear people talking about me and my Landa Bazaar business but I do this for myself. I am not greedy, thanks to Allah Almighty, I live in DHA Lahore and I am happy with what I have. People are not used

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has asserted his authority as the best batter in world cricket at the moment that even commentators discuss about his dominance during international matches in which he is not even playing. The 27-year-old is the No.1 ranked batter in both white-ball formats while holds the fourth position in Test cricket. During ongoing third England and New Zealand Test, former Blackcaps player Simon Doull highly praised Babar Azam while talking about the famous ‘Fab Four’ which includes Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith and Joe Root. The 52-year-old emphasised there is nothing to debate upon that the Pakistan captain is the best player in the world currently and he is the ‘Big One’. “Not many could argue that Babar Azam is the best player in the

world at the moment. As far as batting in that top order is concerned, he is unbelievable. Joe Root’s got an ar-

Mitchell, the first New Zealand batsman to score centuries in three successive tests against England, was out to the last ball before lunch. England are seeking to win every match of a home series with at least three tests for the first time since a 4-0 rout of India in 2011.

to putting in effort on their own which is why they judge others,” Asad slammed his critics. Rauf was accused of taking expensive gifts from the bookies in form of bribes and placing bets on IPL matches in 2013. However, Asad categorically denied all claims and said that he has a judge’s verdict as proof that finds him innocent. “The supposed incident occurred in 2013 and BCCI were asleep for three years. They opened up an inquiry in 2016 and it was a forced inquiry because there was no truth to it. They failed to present any substantial proof against me and I still have the judge’s verdict which states that any proof or evidence against Asad’s case is missing in charge,” Asad revealed. Rauf revealed that he had already notified ICC regarding his retirement in 2012 and has received no formal letter regarding his alleged bribing case from the ICC to this day. “I told ICC that I will be handing in my resignation after 2013. I am answerable to ICC and not to the BCCI; if the BCCI wanted to lodge a one-side case against me in India then that’s on them. Because as far as I am concerned, the ICC never took charge of the situation because there was no truth to these allegations to begin with,” he clarified.

Babar Azam wins praises during Eng-NZL test AgEnciES

mAiLSi

with fire, blazing away to briefly halt New Zealand’s momentum but Stokes, who looked to recklessly attack every delivery, threw his wicket away, chipping a Neil Wagner delivery to Kane Williamson at mid-off having scored 18 from 13 balls. In the same over Wagner then trapped Ben Foakes for a duck to leave England six wickets down after 11.5 overs — the quickest they had ever lost their first six wickets in a home test. But Overton and Bairstow, whose 136 in 92 balls at Trent Bridge in the second test won the game for England, took up the mantle and scored runs at pace as they grasped the initiative back. Earlier, on an overcast morning, New Zealand resumed on 225-5 and

gument for that too. They talk about the big four, at the moment, he’s the big one,” Doull said.

Joseph hails ‘good start’ to World Cup prep as Japan thrash Uruguay TOKYO Agencies

Japan rugby union head coach Jamie Joseph hailed his team’s “good start” to their preparations for next year’s World Cup, after they thrashed Uruguay 43-7 on Saturday. Japan reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time when they hosted the tournament in 2019 and Joseph is looking for a repeat performance at next year’s showpiece event in France. The New Zealander was taking charge of his team for the first time this year. He said it was an “exciting time”, as Japan prepares to face England, Argentina, Samoa and a qualifier from the Americas at the World Cup. “This game was a starting point for us,” he said. “We’re trying to create a team in a very short period of time. When I look at that as the circumstance under which we played the match, I thought we had a very good start today.”

Hikmatyar, Ammad win U17, U19 KP National Junior Squash titles

PESHAWAR APP

National Champion and international player Muhammad Ammad and Hikmatyar clinched the trophies

of the U19 and U17 categories of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa All Pakistan National Junior Squash Championship played here at Qamar Zaman Squash Complex on Saturday.

Secretary Sports Tahir Khan Orakzai was the chief guest on this occasion who also witnessed the two finals of the U17 and U19 categories. Former British Open Champion Qamar Zaman, Director Blue Tone Squash Academy Wazir Gul, former Nazim Nawa Khali Sajjad Khan, former World No. 2 Mohibullah Khan, Chief Referee Munawar Zaman, Senior Vice President KP Squash Association Ehsan Khan, officials and coaches were also present. Hikmatyar of Punjab defeated

Huraira Khan of KP by 3-2 in a thrilling battle that lasted for 49 minutes. Both Hikmatyar of Punjab and Huraira Khan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa played well and gave each other a tough fight with some fine shorts were also witnessed. Hikmatyar failed to take the first set won by Huraira Khan at 9-11 but he staged a strong comeback and raced up to victory in the second set 11-9 to tie the sets tally 1-1. It was the third set in which Huraira played well and marched into victory at 7-11 but in the

fourth and fifth sets Hikmatyar did not look behind and raced up to victory at 11-7 and 11-7. Thus Hikmatyar won the final at 3-2 after a tough fight at the hands of Huraira, a promising player. In the U19 category final Muhammad Ammad of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded victory against Mutahir Ali Shah of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 48 minute, the score was 8-11, 12-10, 11-4, and 11-8. Muhammad Ammad played well and despite conceding the first set, he managed his position

according to the situation and marched up into victory at 3-1. At the end, Secretary Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tahir Khan Orakzai gave away trophies and cash prizes to the winners and runners-up teams. Muhammad Tahir Khan Orakzai appreciated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Squash Association for holding tournaments on regular basis in different age groups that is why through competitive exposure players of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are coming up at national and international levels.

Sunday, 26 June, 2022

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Imran Khan announces antI-govt rallIes In all major cItIes on july 2 islamabad

staff report

ORMER prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Saturday challenged the recent amendments made into the NAB

Law. Addressing a press conference here at his residence, Khan also came down hard over the PDM government, saying that the 10 percent super tax imposed by the coalition government on 13 largescale industries will bring a storm of inflation and price hike in the country. Khan also announced holding antigovernment public gatherings in all major cities across the country on July 2 with him addressing the main event at Islamabad’s Parade Ground. He said he has issued directives to all party workers in all major cities to hold the rallies the same day. The PTI chief told his supporters that he would address the gathering for Rawalpindi and Islamabad residents, while the supporters should increasingly participate in the rallies organised in their respective cities, terming it necessary for the “future generations.” Commenting on the “super tax” introduced by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led coalition government, Imran said it would add to already rising inflation in the country. He added that the tax had caused several industries to close while many have already laid off their employees. The former premier further stated

that the super tax would hike the corporate tax to 40 per cent, which is at 25 per cent in India and Bangladesh at present. He predicted that the incumbent government would continue to increase the prices of petroleum products, adding that such steps following the budget would only burden the common man. Imran further commented that the tax was perturbing the salaried class, saying the wise thing to do was to instead broaden the tax net. He said with the imposition of 10 percent super tax, the tax on 13 major large-scale industries, will reach 40 percent that would lead to the shutting down of many factories. The former PM said that the industries have started laying off employees after the imposition of super tax. He said that the increase in diesel

price would affect farmers, adding that the incompetent government has also increased tax on salaried class. The salaried class was earlier given a tax exemption on an income of Rs100,000 but the incumbent government has decreased the slab to Rs 50,000, he said. Imran Khan said that his government collected record tax revenue during its tenure, adding that his government didn’t burden those who were paying taxes, while 43 million non-paying households were added in the tax net. PTI cHALLEngEs nAB LAw In sc: Meanwhile, Former prime minister and PTI chairman Imran Khan on Saturday approached the Supreme Court to challenge the coalition government’s recent amendments to the National Accountability (NAB) Ordinance, contending that they will “virtually eliminate

any white-collar crime committed by a public office holder”. The changes were criticised by Imran Khan, with the PTI chairman saying the move would destroy the country. The ruling coalition, however, contended that graft cases against the PML-N leadership would continue, with Shahid Khaqan Abbasi saying it was not intended to end corruption cases against them. The bill, along with the one on election reforms, was passed by the National Assembly and Senate last month. After its approval from both houses, the president’s assent was required for it to become law. However, Alvi sent back the bills, following which the government convened a joint sitting of the NA and Senate, which approved them. Alvi again refused to sign them, terming them “regressive”, and sent them back. But procedurally, 10 days after a joint sitting passes a bill, it is considered law even if the president refuses assent. In the petition filed today, the ex-premier named the Federation of Pakistan through its secretary Law and Justice Division and the NAB through its chairman as respondents in the case. In his petition, Imran requested the court to adjudicate upon questions of “great public importance” with reference to the enforcement of fundamental rights of citizens under articles 9 (security of a person), 14 (inviolability of dignity of a man, etc), 19A (right to information), 24 (protection of property rights) and 25 (equality of citizens) of the Constitution.

Increase in taxation through consultations, says Miftah news desk

‘repugnant’: ch shujaat responds to brother Wajahat’s allegations LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has rejected the allegations made by his younger brother Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain against him and his sons, terming them ‘repugnant’. Taking to Twitter, the PML-Q president pointed out that his younger brother talking to “some people” in Gujrat, had made allegations against his sons that they had taken dollars from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari. “If he had made such allegations then they were repugnant. I have not raised my kids like this, my children are quiet because I told them. I have taught them to always speak the truth and keep their promises,” he added. In another tweet, Chaudhry Shujaat dismissed the threat by his younger brother of forming a new party, saying that there are already hundreds of them in the country and a new one will make “no difference”. The PML-Q leader also said that his sons had backed Shehbaz Sharif during the elections for the prime minister at his request, adding that the party did not ask for any ministry from anyone. A day earlier, former federal minister Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain claimed that the sons of PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain have sought dollars from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) cochairman Asif Ali Zardari. staff report

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Saturday said the government was in the process of bringing “millions of shops into the tax net” as he vowed to expand the tax base further over the next few months through “consultations” with stakeholders. The PML-N leader made these remarks on Twitter in re-

sponse to a tweet wherein a user had called out the government for letting the retailers off the hook with a “small fixed tax” and going after salaried individuals instead to generate more revenue. In response, Miftah said he had brought jewelers into the tax net and will bring designers, lawyers, and doctors into the tax net. He added that the government

was also in talks to bring small shopkeepers and into the tax-paying category. According to Miftah, he would bring real estate brokers, builders, housing society developers, car dealers, restaurants, salons etc into the tax net. “But nothing forced. With consultation,” Miftah said as he revealed the government’s approach to increasing the country’s tax base.

CCoP directs ministries to remove bottlenecks for revival of PSM islamabad staff report

The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) has directed the ministries of Industries & Production to work with the Privatization Commission to remove all bottlenecks expeditiously for the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSMC). The Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail chaired the inaugural meeting of the CCoP. Chairman Privatisation Commission (PC) presented the roadmap for the current privatisation programme for reaffirmation by the newly constituted CCoP. He presented the government’s plans for the re-

vival of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSMC). The plan focuses on revival through significant foreign direct investment and technology transfer generating significant employment opportunities for qualified workers. The committee was apprised of a recent successful due diligence visit by a team of BaoSteel, the world’s largest steel producer. BaoSteel manufacturers 180 million tons of steel per annum and is one of four interested parties and plans to increase the capacity of PSMC. CCoP unanimously welcomed the prospect of PSMC revival, entailing commercial leasing of 1229 acres of land and jetty, and directed ministries of Industries & Production, Energy and Maritime to work with PC to remove all bottlenecks expeditiously.

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marriyum chairs consultative meeting on tackling fake news islamabad staff report

An important consultative meeting between Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb and representatives of journalistic organizations was held here on Saturday. Redressal of two components of fake news, ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’ was being discussed in the meeting. The meeting was taking place in the light of the agreement between the Joint Action Committee of Journalist Organizations and the government on legislation to curb fake news. The meeting, chaired by Marriyum Aurangzeb, was being attended by Secretary Information and Broadcasting Shahera Shahid and senior officials of the Ministry of Information and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). Representatives of the Joint Action Committee participating in the meeting via video link.

govt losing revenue due to mis-declaration of prime steel as scrap islamabad shahzad paracha

Large scale mis-declaration of prime steel as re-roll able scrap is resulting in a revenue loss of billions of rupees annually to the nation’s exchequer. This has been disclosed by the secretary-general Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers in a letter to the Special Secretary Ministry of Commerce. It is mentioned in the letter that large-scale misdeclaration of prime steel/brand new steel as re-roll able scrap is resulting in a revenue loss of billions and billions of rupees annually to the nation’s exchequer. Unfortunately, this activity Is happening for many years in an organized manner. He claimed that this has been happening due to loopholes in the Import Policy Order. The menace could be addressed very easily by making corrections in the IPO. The letter stated that during the last 8 years or so, evidence-based data from the exporting countries shows the export of brand new steel is to the tune of 500,000 to one million tons annually to Pakistan. However, interestingly, the Pakistani authorities (Customs) allow the import of the same brand-new steel as re-roll able scrap and levy duties on re-roll able scrap. Our Association has been pursuing this issue with MOC as well as FBR for a long and in the Budget FY 2021/22, the issue was partially resolved by FBR through an amendment a 27A of the customs Act,1969. The practice of allowing mutilation of goods was disallowed after the filing of the GDs, after this amendment, roll able material that was previously mutilated at ports, now it is being brought after cutting off the prime steel in equal lengths of 2.5 meters in length. The MOC can stop this practice and could save revenue for the Government to the tune of billions of rupees annually by making a small amendment to the relevant rule of the IPO. The Scrap has a width not exceeding 1000 mm with a thickness of 6mm and above and a minimum length of 1 meter and not exceeding 1.5 meters. Consisting of mill rejects and crop ends of ingots, billets, slabs, blooms and including cuttings of sheets and plates, pipes and bats whether in pieces or in rolled strips, cuttings of ship plates, used and pitted rails and girders, whereas in case of girders and pipes length shall be 1.5 meter, For this, we are submitting our past communications and a copy of the research report on the subject that explains how large scale mis-declaration of prime/brand new steel as scrap has been hitting the national exchequer destroying the documented steel manufacturers.

AJK govt presents Rs163.7b budget for FY 2022-23 Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Saturday presented its Budget for fiscal Year 2022/23 with a total volume of Rs163.7 billion out of which Rs28.5 billion have been allocated for annual development program (ADP). Minister for finance Abdul Majid Khan presented the budget for coming fiscal year and revised estimates for current fiscal year in the legislative Assembly in the absence of opposition members who boycotted the session and protested in front of building

against government’s policies. The estimates for recurring expenditures for next fiscal year have been shown Rs135.2 billion compared to Rs112. 9 billion revised estimates of current fiscal year while Rs28.5 billion has been allocated for development expenditures compared to revised estimates of Rs22.8 billion for current fiscal year. Total income from revenue for the next fiscal year has been estimated Rs36.5 billion including Rs25.89 billion from income tax and Rs10.61 billion in the head

of other taxes. The government will receive Rs74.32 billion in the head of variable grants, Rs25.13 billion in the head of state revenue, Rs700 million in the head of water use charges and Rs700 million as capital receipts (loan and advances). The minister while elaborating the salient features of the next fiscal year budget said that 62 percent funds in ADP had been allocated for 389 running development schemes while 38 percent

was allocated for 263 new projects in the next fiscal year budget and 107 running projects would be completed during the coming fiscal year. He told the house that 19 percent fund in ADP in the coming fiscal budget had been allocated for social sector, 12 percent for production sector and 69 percent for infrastructure development. The minister announced 15 percent disparity allowance and 15 percent adhoc allowance on new pay scales of 2022 for

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk

government employees and 15 percent rise in pensions of retired government employees. In ADP for next fiscal year, preference had been given to communication department with highest allocation of Rs12 billion while Rs3.3 billion has been allocated for housing and physical planning. The minister said Rs2.17 billion had been allocated in ADP for next fiscal year for education department and Rs1.8 billion for health department. app