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Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 230 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition Imran demands swift
NEPRA notifies Rs2.32/unit cut in power tariff
Khalid Siraj Textile Mills announces temporary closure of operations
inquiry against Gen Bajwa for violating ‘oath of office repeatedly’
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FIA To AcT AgAInsT ElAhI ovEr ‘AudIo lEAks on sc judgE’: sAnAullAh g
says he censored audio cliPs as g says will request chief he did not want to reveal justice of Pakistan to identity of suPerior court judge take notice of this ISLAMABAD news desk
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nterior Minister rana sanaullah has said that he has directed the federal investigation agency (fia) to proceed against former Punjab chief minister chaudhry Pervaiz elahi over latest audio leaks purportedly involving an apex court judge. “this audio leak is very embarrassing in which a new ‘minion’ of imran khan is involved,” he said at a press conference in islamabad on thursday while referring to latest audio leaks purportedly featuring conversation between elahi and an unidentified person. during the presser, the interior minister played the censored leaked audio clip in which the PMl-q leader can be purportedly heard discussing about the cases being heard in the supreme court which also included the one involving former ccPo lahore ghulam Mehmood dogar. referring to the audio leaks, sanaullah said he censored the leaked audio clips as he did not want to reveal the identity of the superior court judge before forensic analysis. “how courageously he [Pervaiz elahi] was managing the country’s top court… i will request the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of this,” he remarked. sanaullah said he has directed the fia to conduct forensic analysis of the audio clips and then arrest elahi for interrogation after registering a case against him. “i have directed the fia to examine this and take legal opinion on this matter.” speaking about lhc’s verdict to reject Pti chief imran khan’s bail plea, sanaullah said in his view the former premier should be arrested after he failed to appear before the court. the lahore high court (lhc) on thursday dismissed a bail plea filed by former prime minister and Pti chief imran khan in a case pertaining to protests outside the election commission of Pakistan (ecP).
the court had earlier adjourned the hearing multiple times as imran’s legal team sought more time for consultations. as the court resumed proceedings for the third time, counsel azhar siddique requested the court to withdraw the protective bail arguing that the islamabad high court had awarded relief to the Pti chair-
man in the case. he also contended that another protective bail plea has been filed in the high court in a separate case and “we are waiting for it to be fixed before a judge”. justice tariq saleem sheikh then questioned why a contempt notice should not be issued to the counsel and the petitioner as the signatures differ on the petition, affidavit and paper of attorney. advocate azhar replied he will “look into it”. “it is tantamount to committing fraud with the court which cannot be tolerated,” replied the judge. the counsel further argued that imran’s doctor, faisal sultan, is in the courtroom to assist the court, to which justice tariq said the doctor is not a party to the case. “seems like they [Pti] are trying to influence the courts… his refusal to appear before the court despite several summons is tantamount to making mockery of superior court,” sanaullah said while referrigng to the lhc proceedings. the interior minister said investigation team probing a case against imran should proceed as per the law.
Govt wants to entangle opponents in fake cases: Elahi lahoRE: reacting to interior Minister rana sanaullah’s statement on alleged audio leak, former Punjab chief minister Pervaiz elahi said that the government wanted to jail its opponents in fake cases, saying “there is nothing wrong in the audio conversation.” he asserted that his conversation with the lawyer about Muhammad khan Bhatti’s case was being twisted. “Punjab assembly secretary Muhammad khan Bhatti has been missing for 10 days and his wife has appealed to the supreme court (sc) for his recovery”, he said, and slammed rana sanaullah saying that the government is trying to declare people guilty for approaching the court via lawyers. the former cM alleged that the ruling PMl-n was running an organised campaign to malign the judiciary. “we have always respected the judiciary and the courts are currently the centre of hope for the nation.” the PMl-q leader said that the government was using all tactics of political vengeance and trying to jail its opponents in fake cases. Meanwhile, naB has summoned (PMl-q leader Moonis elahi on february 20. staff report CONTINUED ON PAGE 03
PM meets President Erdogan; condoles over losses in deadly quake ANKARA staff report
Prime Minister shehbaz sharif was received by President recep tayyip erdogan here at the Presidential complex on thursday. during their tete-a-tete as well as during the delegation level talks, the prime minister extended heartfelt condolences to President erdogan and the turkish nation on the tragic loss of thousands of precious lives and massive damage to the infrastructure as a result of the devastating earthquakes that hit turkiye on february 6. recalling the fraternal relations between Pakistan and turkiye, Prime Minister shehbaz sharif said the people of Pakistan felt the same pain and anguish as their turkish brothers and sisters, according to a press release issued by the PM office Media wing. he added that the people of Pakistan would not rest until the last person in the earthquake-affected areas had been fully rehabilitated. President erdogan thanked the prime minister for Pakistan’s strong and steadfast support to turkiye in the aftermath of the devastating
earthquake. he reaffirmed that the resolute turkish nation would emerge from the natural calamity with greater strength and determination than ever. the prime minister is visiting turkiye as a special gesture to express Pakistan’s solidarity and support to turkiye in the wake of the massive earthquake. he will also visit the earthquakeaffected areas and interact with Pakistani rescue and recovery teams on the ground. the prime minister was accompanied by federal Minister for information and Broadcasting Ms. Marriyum aurangzeb, special assistant to the PM tariq fatemi, and national disaster Management authority (ndMa) chairman lt gen inam haider Malik. the prime minister, in a tweet after the meeting, said in a meeting with his brother President erdogan, he expressed profound condolences to him on behalf of the people and the government of Pakistan. “i assured him of our steadfast support to turkiye. i am confident that under President’s leadership, turkiye will emerge from this catastrophe stronger,” he added.
Pakistan’s total debt liabilities surge to Rs63.868tr g
external deBt liaBilities droP to $126.34B due to teMPorary staleMate over iMf PrograMMe ISLAMABAD
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shahzad paracha
he senate standing committee on finance and revenue has approved the finance (supplementary) Bill 2023, worth rs170 billion, with a simple majority on thursday. the committee, under the chair of senator saleem Mandviwala, deliberated and discussed the recommendations on the money bill, which aimed to amend laws relating to taxes and duties. the supplementary bill brings about an increase in general sales tax from 17 to 18%, besides increasing the federal excise duty (fed) on sugary items, tobacco, airline tickets, marriage halls and cement. while briefing about the tax measures suggested in the bill, chairman fBr asim ahmed informed the committee that the government has in-
creased sales tax on luxury imported items, including the ones that were banned last year. committee member senator Mohsin aziz suggested that the government should impose a ban on luxury imported items rather than increasing taxes as this tax will only encourage smuggling of these items. replying to a query by senator Mohsin aziz, state Minister for finance and revenue dr. aisha ghaus Pasha commented that the ministry intended to put a ban on the import of luxury items but could not do so because of wto restrictions. as far as smuggling is concerned, the fBr is in collaboration with frontier corps and other agencies to curb the smuggling of said items along the western border. he also informed the committee that the government has also increased sales tax from 17 to 18 %, on
the import of mobile phones where the value of the phone exceeds $ 200 but stays under $350. the same taxation increase was also enacted upon the other category of phones, the value of which is between $350-$500. he added that sales tax on mobile phones worth more than $500 has been enhanced from 17 to 25 percent under the finance supplementary bill 2023, in line with the luxury nature of expensive variants. chairman fBr said that mobile phones costing more than $500 are classified as luxury items and are subject to a flat 25% sales tax. Besides this, makeup, cosmetics, imported vehicles, imported water, sanitary fittings, home appliances, crockery, footwear, imported furniture, chocolate, perfume, cornflakes, and bathroom accessories are also included in the luxury category. senator Mohsin aziz, a member of Pakistan tehreek-e-insaf, expressed his
concern about the imposition of rs 170 billion additional taxation measures, questioning whether it was just taxes or in fact a rs 520 billion mini-budget. he argued that the government should explain why it took so long for the bailout deal and make public how many taxes were imposed due to pressure from the iMf. senator Mohsin aziz also questioned the law, under which the fBr issued sros with regards to the increase in general sales tax, and fed on cigarettes. in response, the state Minister for finance dr aysha ghous Pasha told the committee that the country has set a trend of giving subsidies but no one wants to pay taxes. the government has no other option but to impose taxes to deal with the prevailing difficult economic conditions, she added. while referring to the talks with the
iMf, she said that it was advised to Pakistani authorities to either run the country or run the power sector because the losses of the sector have been reached at an unbearable level. it is pertinent to mention here that the circular debt of the energy sector has been crossed to rs 4200 billion which is almost equal to the defence budget of the last two and half years, and public sectors development programs of almost six years. dr Pasha said that the government will completely abolish the tax on daily essential items as the iMf has objections on certain taxes. chairman fBr also replied to senator Mohsin aziz that fBr has issued sros to levy taxes after cabinet approval as in the third schedule, the federal cabinet is empowered to increase the sales tax.
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