Epaper_23-03-04 LHR

Profit

Babar Awan warns against another assassination bid on Imran Khan’s

Cement despatches declined by 7 10pc during Feb 2023

P r e s i d e n t a n n o u n c e s a P r i l 3 0

f o r P u n j a b a s s e M b ly e l e c t i o n s

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

WITHIN hours after the Election Commiss on of Pakistan (ECP) wrote a letter to him suggesting possible poll dates Pres dent Dr Arif Alvi announced on Friday that elections n Punjab wil be he d on April 30

The president announced the date [for elect ons in Punjab] after consider ng dates proposed by the E ect on Commission of Pakistan ECP had proposed a pol date between Apri 30 and May 7 2023 for holding general elect ons of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab and had further suggested holding elections preferably on sunday, a statement released by the Pres dent ’s secretariat said Earl er n the day the electoral body had written a letter to the president proposing dates between Apr l 30 and May 7 for the elect ons

The Election Commiss on has sent a etter to the president in light of the dec sion of the supreme Court of Pakistan in which the dates for ho ding the e ections in Punjab have been suggested between April 30 and May 7 2023 ” an ECP press re-

lease said I t s t a t e d t h a t t h e c o m m i s s i o n w a s p r e p a r e d t o f u f i l i t s c o n s t i t ut i o n a l a n d l e g a l d u t y o n c e t h e d a t e f o r e l e c t i o n s w a s s e l e c t e d b y t h e p r e s d e n t The press re ease further said that the ECP has written a letter to the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stating that the electoral body was wait ng for his response regard ng the date for po ls in the province T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t c o m e s t w o d a y s a f t e r t h e s u p r e m e C o u r t r u l e d t h a t t h e e l e c t i o n s t o t h e Pu n j a b a n d K P a s s e m b l i e s s h o u l d b e h e l d w t h i n t h e s t i p u a t e d p e r i o d o f 9 0 d a y s I t h o w e v e r a o w e d t h e E C P t o p r o p o s e a p o l l d a t e t h a t d e v ia t e s f r o m t h e 9 0 - d a y d e a d n e b y t h e b a r e s t m i n i m u m , i n c a s e o f a n y p r a c t i c a d i f f i c u l t y It also he d that President Alvi and the KP governor w ll f x dates for Punjab and KP assemblies respect vely in consultation with the ECP PTI WELCoMES ANNouNCEMENT: In a v deo message on Twitter, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhr y sa d that his party has welcomed the e ectora body s announcement and ca led it a step n the right direction “ We bel eve that the ECP took the

PM affirms fraternal ties with Qatar in diverse fields

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Prime Minister shehbaz sharif on Friday affirmed the fraterna re ations between Pakistan and Qatar in diverse fields based on common values and aspirations for future

The prime minister expressed these views in a meeting with Qatar s ambassador sheikh saoud Bin Abdulrahman bin Faisal A Thani who briefed h m on various activities undertaken to enhance the brother y relations between the two countries shehbaz sharif acknowledged the mutua comm tment of both sides to translate the deep-rooted re ations into mutually reward ng economic ties He thanked Qatar for its humanitarian support to peop e of Pak stan n the aftermath of unprecedented floods in 2022

He stressed the importance of further enhancing bilatera cooperation in all avenues of mutual interest and benefit Qatar Ambassador thanked the prime minister for h s stewardship in furthering the brotherly bilatera relations and assured reciprocity and support from the Qatari side in this regard Qatar hosts around 250 000 Pakistani diaspora playing an important role n the development of both the nations Th s year marks the 50th Anniversar y of the establishment of diplomatic re ations between Pakistan and Qatar Both sides are committed to celebrating this ann versar y in a befitting manner

right step in light of the sC s order he sa d e aborating that the apex court had said in its Wednesday s order that the president and ECP could go beyond the 90-day per od

ECP rejects PML-N s request to remove similar party symbols from ballot paper

D e a r R e a d e r s , o w i n g t o t h e c u r r e n t i m p o r t c u r b s , a n d t h e s u b s e q u e n t s h o r t a g e o f n e w s p r i n t , s p e c i a l l y o u r

B e r l i n e r f o r m a t , P a k i s t a n

of holding polls but it had also used the word bare minimum

We congratulate the public This is a v ctor y for the PTI the nation and the Constitution

Ruling alliance bigwigs meet af ter president announces Punjab polls date

ISL AMABAD: Former pres dent Asif Ali Zardari and chief of Jamiat ulema-eIslam Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday called on Prime Minister shehbaz sharif in Islamabad Accord ng to the PM office the po itica situation n the countr y came under d scussion during the meeting by the b gwigs of the ruling alliance sources revealed that the supreme Court s verdict in the po ls de ay case and elections in Punjab came under discussion durng the meeting This is the second such meeting in less than 10 days by the po it ca leadership of the countr y on Februar y 24 Zardari met shehbaz to d scuss the pol tical situation of the countr y The meeting was held as President Dr Arif Alvi announced April 30 as the date for holding elections in Pun ab hours after the Elect on Commiss on of Pak stan (ECP) sent the president possible pol dates The president announced the date after considering the dates proposed by the ECP The e ectoral body had proposed a poll date between Apr l 30 to May 7 2023 for ho d ng general elections of the provincial assembly of Punjab and had further suggested holding elections preferably on a sunday The nationa poll body swung nto action just a couple of days after the apex court tried to settle the po l controversy and ordered the president and governor K-P to set dates for provincial assemb ies e ections after consulting with ECP S ta f f R e p o R

Dar sticks head in sand

ISLAMABAD S h a h z a d pa R ac h a

The in tial f st-thumping days of Ishaq Dar ’s current reign as finance czar are well and tru y over as the battered accountant turned economic manager tries to run out the clock and on the consequences of h s own actions

At a presser n the federal cap tal on Friday Mr Dar ruled out the imposition of financial emergency in the ongoing situation A number of commentators had pred cted that such measures might be possible because of the mounting debt that needs to be repaid by Pakistan to its nternationa lenders – a task becoming more difficu t with ever y passing day because of the rising rate of the dollar While Friday offered some resp te to Mr Dar as the rupee gained by around Rs 6 there was l ttle to celebrate since it came a day after a historic increase of Rs 19 – leaving the rupee at Rs 13 less than its value two days earlier

Perhaps these g um real ties

are why the finance min ster continued to ignore questions about the accumulated debt in the current government s tenure owing to currency depreciation Mr Dar claimed that the government of Pakistan wil meet the fore gn obligations of $5 b llion nstead of $7 b llion dur ng the current f sca year Ensuring externa financing was not a prior action of the International Monetar y Fund (IMF) said Dar Adding to that the F nance m nister said that Pak stan was expecting $1 3 bill on in financing from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ltd (ICBC) n the coming days

The reliance of China has recently proven to be a temporar y tactic when the Chinese a so he ped beef up Pakistan’s forex reser ves to keep the countr y from defau ting However, cont nued pressure s be ng exerted from the fact that the IMF is stil g ving Pakistan a hard time The government wil a so rece ve $950 m llion in one pro ect soon he said I am confident that by June 30 we wi l take the state Bank s re-

ser ves to $10bn and the nationa reser ves near $16bn

Regarding the Pakistani rupee s depreciation against the do lar and reports of an artificial pr ce cap the Finance minister sa d that We did not release dol ars into the market and there was no question of us inter ven ng or us having any capacity for it cons dering how ow our reser ves were”

The state Bank of Pakistan ndependently decides matters regard ng monetar y policy as we l as exchange rate after t s autonomy law passed by Parliament in the last government s tenure he added

He also revealed that the government was made aware of the illegal movement of $2 bi lion on an annual basis from south to Peshawar in vans and a mechanism was being devised to control it Finance minister also said that We have never defaulted and we won t do it now however we were in a precarious situation and are going through it currently he added

Abdul Wali K ak ar named Baluchistan Governor

ISL AMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday appo nted Malik Abdu Wali Kakar as the governor of Baluchistan The president made the appo ntment on the advice of the prime min ster in accordance with Articles 48(1) and 101 of the Constitut on Mr Kakar belongs to BNP-Menga

After the ouster of former prime minister and Pak stan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) cha rman Imran Khan governors of KPK and Balochistan res gned from the r positions

After a ong 9 months wait the candidates are chosen for the important posit on Earlier Baluchistan Governor Zahoor Ahmed Agha tendered his resignat on from his office S ta f f R e p o R t

To d a y h a s b e e n t e m p o r a r i l y s h i f t e d t o a n e i g h t - p a g e b r o a d s h e e t f o r m a t

T h e q u a l i t y o f o u r c o v e r a g e , h o w e v e r, w i l l r e m a i n w h a t i t a l w a y s h a s b e e n

Germany warns of consequences for Pakistan’s GsP+ status over blocked impor ts

LAHORE da n ya l a h m a d

In a etter to Pak stan s Federal M nister for Econom c Affairs sardar Ayaz sadiq Ambassador

Alfred Grannas of the Federal Republic of Germany expressed his concern that Pakistan s

Generalised system of Preferences Plus (GsP+) status is at risk He states that the risk ar ses due to the state Bank of Pakistan (sBP) continuing to block the mport of electr c veh cles from German companies Mercedes-Benz BMW and Audi

What is the GSP+ Programme?

The GsP+ programme provides tariff preferences for imports to the European union from deve oping countries facing vulnerab lities to support poverty eradication, sustainable deve opment and global economic partic pat on whi e reinforc ng good governance

Eligible countr es such as Pakistan can export goods to the Eu market without tariffs on 66% of tariff lines contingent on demonstrating tangib e progress in implementing 27 nternat onal conventions related to human and labour rights environmenta protection climate change and good governance The current 10-year GsP+ scheme which Pak stan benefits from is set to expire on December 31 of this year

The Letter ’s Contents

Grannas highlights in the letter that the sBP s act ons have sparked outrage from Germany which is Pak stan s largest trading partner in the Eu by both volume and value He states that the sBP s actions are in direct contradict on to Pak stan s commitment to boosting mutual trade and to the GsP+ status wh ch provides preferential tariffs to Pakistan for its exports to the European un on in exchange for the countr y s commitment to implement ng 27 international conventions on human rights labour rights and env ronmental protection Germany has been one of the leading countries in financial assistance for Pakistan, provid ng aid to those affected by f oods last summer The state Bank s refusa to open letters of Cred t (lCs) for German compan es electric vehicle imports risks damaging the friendly relations between the two countries jeopardising Pak stan s GsP+ status and Germany s long-standing trade partnership w th the countr y Ambassador Grannas ca led for urgent action to reso ve the situation and prevent further damage to bilatera relat ons and Pakistan s GsP+ status He urged the Federal Minister for Economic Affa rs to inter vene and ensure that German companies mports of electric vehicles are no longer obstructed thereby upholding Pakistan s commitment to boost ng mutual trade and protecting the env ronment An Escalator y Ta e

The etter from Grannas to sadiq is the latest in a series of letters penned on behalf of the German automotive companies regarding their discontent with the import restrictions that the sBP has had in place s nce summer 2022

Imran Khan seeks cour t mar tial of General (r) Bajwa

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

Former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Friday sparked controversy by calling for trial of former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa for violat ng the government s foreign po icy and del ver ng an ant -Russia speech ast year speaking to journalists n lahore on Friday Imran also accused the countr y s establishment of having no understanding of politics and cla med that Bajwa had “stabbed ” h m in the back by condemning Russ a s invasion of ukra ne

The former PM was referr ng to a speech del vered by Bajwa at the Is amabad security Dialogue in November of

last year In his speech Bajwa had critcised Russ a s actions stating that its invasion of ukra ne must be stopped immediately ”

“Despite legitimate secur ty concerns of Russia its aggression against a smaller countr y cannot be condoned, Ba wa had remarked

The former pr me minister has been h ghly critical of former m litar y chief Gen Bajwa ever since he was ousted from power last year accusing him of being responsible for the countr y s current pred cament Imran has claimed that Gen (retd) Bajwa used to call the shots while he as the prime minister was at the receiving end of all the crit cism He was a super king He was above ever yone He was controlling NAB [Nationa Accountabil ty

Bureau (NAB)] and no one could be he d accountable without Bajwa s nod

I was the punching bag whi e they [the establishment] had the absolute power Bajwa took credit of all good things whi e we were blamed for ever ything that went wrong, he sa d “ The money aundering case against [Prime Min ster] shehbaz sharif could not proceed because Bajwa did not want it to he said Referring to a recent article based on the former army chief s inter view Imran had said ever yone already knew that the former army ch ef had toppled his government but I d d not expect that he wou d have admitted to this ‘READy

NEW ARMy ChIEf ’ Imran dur ng the med a nteraction

a so stated that he was ready to ta k w th the current army chief General syed Asim Mun r, for the betterment of the countr y but on y if some offic als be removed However Khan added that it seemed that Munir considered him an enemy I have no rifts with the estab shment If someone thinks that I will kneel down then it will not happen No one s w lling to talk so what should I do? he was quoted as say ng speaking about slew of cases aga nst him Imran dared the government to prove a single corrupt on charge aga nst him and his wife Bushra Bibi Imran said that the general elections should be held across the countr y s multaneously to cut po ls expenditure He a so vowed to win all elections

despite PDM ump res and added that overseas Pakistanis are also supporting the PTI Reiterat ng h s claim of life threats to his life the former prem er said that he has recorded a video message regarding the threats to his l fe which is present in a foreign countr y Imran also revea ed that he dec ded against travell ng to Islamabad by plane for court hearings as he was informed that the government wanted to arrest h m from the airport and take him to Ba ochistan I am facing threat from those who are supposed to protect me ” he alleged The ex-PM also disc osed that he is still in touch with saudi Crown

President for greater Pak-U.s. link ages in edUcation, it and agricUltUre

meeting with a visiting delegation of California’s State Assembly led by Chris Holden here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr

The president said that Pakistan and US enjoyed a long-standing and broad-based relationship which needed to be further expanded for the mutual benefit of the two countries

He appreciated the signing of the SisterState resolution between Punjab and California on January 9, 2023 He said that

these remarks in a

germany warns of consequences for Pakistan’s gsP+ status over blocked impor ts

CONtINUED fROM PAgE 01

The companies originally had a letter written by the German Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) in August where they not only highlighted their grievances regarding import restrictions by the SBP but first made the threat of the import restrictions being a matter of contention regarding Pakistan s GSP+ status

A follow-up letter was written earlier this year in February again by the GPCCI Here the onus was on the SBP to combat what the GPCCI alleged as propaganda against German automotive companies in Pakistan which suggested that they had been given import leniency It was here again that the GPCCI highlighted their main demand: Import restrictions

They suggested that the ‘propaganda’ had encumbered German automotive companies from accessing LCs, and once again brought up the import issue The GPCCI this time not only brought up the threat of Pakistan losing its GSP+ status again but also about the aid that Germany had given to Pakistan in response to the 2022 floods If the previous two were veiled threats then this is an unadulterated threat by the German automotive companies in Pakistan via the German foreign office itself

imran khan’s arrest to add fuel to the fire, warns sheikh rashid

RAWALPINDI

S ta f f R e p o R t

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh rashid Ahmed warned on Friday that an attempt to arrest or disqualify PTI Chairman Imran Khan would further worsen the political situation in the country Earlier this week, a court in Islamabad issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Mr Khan over no show up in the Toshakhana case while the ministers have expressed intent to detain the PTI chief In a series of tweets, the former interior minister said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had started preparations for general elections adding that defiance of the orders of the Supreme Court would land the violators in trouble He also claimed the ruling coalition PDM was facing internal conflict Sharing his two cents on the IMF deal he predicted that it would trigger inflation and prices of electricity and petroleum products in the country He said the inflation, petrol prices and interest rate had broken all previous records However, the appreciated China for providing assistance to the cash-strapped Pakistan Sheikh rashid said the apex court would hear a case regarding vote right to overseas Pakistanis today

another Pti activist arrested in Jhelum in sedition case

JHELUM

S ta f f R e p o R t

Police on Friday arrested a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf activist for distributing hate pamphlets against Pakistan Army and government in Jhelum Police arrested PTI former finance secretary Saleem Bhatti for distributing pamphlets against Pak Army and government

According to police, Bhatti was distributing hate material in a Jhelum bazar They further said that the accused also shared hateful posts on social media to incite people against the state institutions The sedition case was registered in the City Police station on the complaint of ASI riaz

Pakistan repor ts uptick in covid cases

Punjab had great potential to attract the U S investment and businesses that would help amplify the trade between the two countries

He expressed the hope that the visit of the delegation would further broaden ties between Punjab and California as well as e n c o u r a g e o t h e r A s s e m b l y m e m b e r s t o visit Pakistan The president underlined the need for exploring opportunities to enhance cooperation between the universities of the two countries and promote more student

exchanges Highlighting the importance of cooperation in the education sector, the President suggested that the US universities could provide live lectures to Pakistani students He also highlighted the measures taken for the social and economic empowerment of women

He apprised the delegation about the efforts of Begum Samina Alvi who had been playing a significant role in raising awareness about breast cancer in Pakistan

The delegation emphasized the need to increase cooperation in the agriculture sector, including the transfer of technology related to the field of agriculture

It also called for students and faculty exchange programmes to further boost cooperation in the education sector The delegation also urged the need to make combined efforts for addressing the challenges of climate change

It also informed that there was a large diaspora from Punjab in California which had been playing a significant role in transport and agriculture sectors

LHC orders release of PTI’s Q ureshi, Umar, others held in ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek ’

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered the release of PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and other leaders and workers after they were detained during the party’s ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek‘ (court arrest movement) Qureshi and Umar had presented themselves for arrest last week and the LHC was informed on Monday that they were being held in various jails across the Punjab province for 30 days The movement was called off on Wednesday by PTI chief Imran Khan after the

Supreme Court ordered that provincial elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be held within 90 days

Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh suspended the detention orders during an open court hearing today on a petition moved the same day by PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry

The written order said the respondents were directed to release the people mentioned in the list attached with Chaudhry’s petition “forthwith if they are not required in any criminal case”

The petition requested that the respondents be ordered to release all political workers who courted arrest as

Dar sticks head in sand

CONtINUED fROM PAgE 01

The government of Pakistan has paid every liability to global financial institutions in time he added

Ishaq Dar said the current government made a principled decision to save the state instead ot its own politics around the time of last year s vote of no confidence against Imran

The state s interest was prioritised over political interests at the time, and it was the right decision to make, he added Finance minister also said that the state will be affected if we do not conduct the matters with conscience While the current crisis is a direct result of the actions Mr Dar took since taking over from Miftah Ismail, he pointed his criticisms towards his political opponents “I am unable to understand whether Imran Khan has a problem in his leg or his brain ” he said

Instead of protecting the national interest PTI s leadership tried to sabotage the IMF deal

They keep going on and on about default but their ministers are the ones who called their provincial finance ministers to sabotage the matters with the IMF Dar added

The finance minister also attributed a majority s of the country s issues to the financial losses inculcated from last year s catastrophic floods As per him, over $30 billion loss was suffered

What must be remembered is that these losses are being calculated in terms of infrastructure not money spent on relief The direct impact of the flooding is less

part of the PTI campaign and that any preventive measure or order issued should be declared illegal and quashed

During the hearing the judge asked what was illegal about the detention of the PTI workers and leaders, adding that the party had started the court arrest movement itself He questioned Chaudhry’s lawyer, Advocate Sikandar Zulqarnain, about the admissibility of the petition “They are all political prisoners

It is clearly explained in the rules about political prisoners Zulqarnain said adding that the court arrest movement had started as a protest and the PTI leaders had

on the macroeconomy and has more importantly hit farmers and rural communities by displacing them and putting them out of business The destruction of crops has also played a role in increased inflation

On top of this, subsidies like the Kissan Package have been scrapped to try and appease the IMF

“Our requirement for the next three to four years is $16bn or rs4 000 billion ” He also said that the international donors will give project-linked loans for mitigating the suffering of flood effects

According to him it is the global inflationary pressure that is majorly responsible for the rising inflation in the country

The finance minister said the government had a roadmap and policies for taking the country out of the current quagmire However, the policies could not be made public regarding the progress of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout programme, Dar said all prior actions demanded by the Fund were fulfilled

On the question of his resignation, he replied that, “Why should I tender resignation? The Prime Minister and Cabinet fully trust me and institutions are also supporting us One other question with regards to failing to take timely decisions on economic matters the Finance Minister said that no one can blame me for inaction as I have taken all the decisions timely

Earlier on Thursday in one interview Former finance minister Miftah Ismail stated that the risk of Pakistan defaulting would not be lessened even if an

PML-N ministers making contradic tor y statements on Punjab, KP elec tions

Amid the ongoing debate on the Supreme Court verdict for holding general elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces and the PML-N leaders are making contradictory statements on the polls issue Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqba said on Friday that if general elections would be held according to old census then new polls would have to be held after four months

Talking to media at Narowal he said that it would be better if waited for a while adding that Imran Khan himself had said that general elections should be held under new census

He further said that now country could not afford political instability Ahsan Iqbal said that PML-N was not escaping from polls adding that it would be better if elections held at once He said Holding of elections again and again puts burden on national kitty

He further said that PML-N had started preparation for elections

Election under fragile economic condition to further weaken country: Javed Latif

Meanwhile, Federal Minister Mian Javed Latif on Friday said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) was ready to participate in the elections but the country could not afford to go to polls under the current fragile economic situation

Talking to a private news channel Javed Latif said the PML(N) had sacrificed everything for the

supremacy of the Constitution & law and would continue to work for the betterment of the country

On the question of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif s return he said that Nawaz faced political victimization while serving the country with sincerity Nawaz Sharif will come back and get Pakistan out of this turmoil situation he added I m r a n ’ s p o l I c I e s c a u s e d ‘ e c o n o m I c I n s ta b I l I t y ’: Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Danyal Chaudhry has slammed Imran Khan, saying the PTI chief was responsible to push the country into the mess of high inflation, unemployment and economic instability’

Talking to a private news channel, Danyal said that to ensure the country’s survival Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) ousted the PTI from power through a no-confidence motion

In response to a question about today s worst economic situation he replied: We took a bitter sip to rescue the sinking boat for the sake of serving the nation and we will not let Imran play with the country s integrity again

presented themselves for arrest

Meanwhile the public prosecutor argued that there was no proof attached to the petition that PTI workers were in custody and said he would get instructions from the authorities concerned Justice Sheikh directed him to inform the court after taking instructions

The government counsel said that the PTI’s leaders and workers had entered custody willingly reconvening after a break the judge suspended their detention orders and issued notices to the respondents for March 7

i n c i d e n t c o m e s l e s s t h a n a w e e k a f t e r s h u t t e r i n g o f f l y o v e r c a m e a p a r t l e a v i n g t w o

agreement with the IMF is reached He believed, however, that the agreement would be signed by next week because necessary steps had been taken

The ex-minister stated that certain political moves have to be taken, including the ones on the prime minister ’s level, as the global money lender had spoken directly to the premier previously He added that talks must also be held with “friendly nations”

Miftah said that there was a “trust deficit” between the IMF and the finance ministry which could be bridged by the prime minister having a dialogue with other nations

He maintained that the IMF agreement was the first step According to Miftah the government took certain structural decisions due to which the deficit could not be controlled He maintained that even if rs 20,000 billion were collected, the country s budget deficit could not be fulfilled The figure was a mere 25% of Pakistan’s GDP

He continued that circular debt was increasing for the past 20 years, and all governments had failed to decrease it despite their promises

Miftah added that the government was trying to privatise the small and medium enterprise banks for the past 15 years but failed In comparison he gave the example of Dubai for erecting half a city in 15 years and China for laying down extensive gas pipelines

The government is ineffective unless and until we change – and I believe this involves empowering local governments or we are nowhere

Buzdar joins naB inquir y into assets beyond means case

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t F o r m e r P u n j a b c h i e f m i n i s t e r U s m a n B u z d a r o n F r i d a y a p p e a r e d b e f o r e t h e N a t i o n a l A c c o u n t a b i l i t y B u r e a u ( N A B ) i n a n a s s e t s b e y o n d m e a n s c a s e i n L a h o r e T h e f o r m e r c h i e f m i n i s t e r h a s g o t h i s p r e - a r r e s t b a i l f r o m a n a c c o u n t a b i l i t y c o u r t E a r l i e r, B u z d a r h a d f a i l e d t o a p p e a r b e f o r e t h e N A B o n i t s c a l l - u p n o t i c e s i s s u e d t o h i m f o r F e b 2 2 a n d F e b 1 6 T h e b u r e a u ’s L a h o r e o ff i c e h a d i s s u e d n o t i c e s t o B u z d a r t o s h o w u p a l o n g w i t h d e t a i l s o f i n c o m e t a x a n d p r o p e r t y t a x S e p a r a t e l y a n a c c o u n t a b i l i t y c o u r t i n L a h o r e r e l e a s e d t h e w r i t t e n i n t e r i m o r d e r o f t h e i n t e r i m b a i l o f U s m a n B u z d a r T h e o r d e r w a s r e l e a s e d b y J u d g e S h e i k h S a j j a d A h m a d T h e N A B p r o s e c u t o r w h o o p p o s e d t h e b a i l p l e a s u b m i t t e d h i s r e p l y t o t h e c o u r t T h e p r o s e c u t o r i n f o r m e d t h e c o u r t t h a t B u z d a r h a d n o t j o i n e d t h e N A B i n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f a r T h e c o u r t , h o w e v e r, d i r e c t e d t h e f o r m e r c h i e f m i n i s t e r t o j o i n t h e b u r e a u s i n v e s t i g a t i o n a n d a s k e d t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o ff i c e r t o c o m p l e t e t h e i n q u i r y a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e T h e c o u r t a l s o o r d e r e d t h e l a w y e r s o f b o t h t h e p a r t i e s t o p r e s e n t t h e i r a rg u m e n t s o n t h e c a s e b y M a r c h 7 B u z d a r h a s a l r e a d y g o t i n t e r i m b a i l t o a v o i d a r r e s t i n t h e c a s e T h e a n t i - g r a f t w a t c h d o g h a s s t a r t e d a n i n q u i r y a g a i n s t t h e e x - C M o n t h e c h a rg e s o f a c c u m u l a t i n g i l l e g a l w e a l t h

H o w e v e r, n o i n j u r i e s o r c a s u a l t i e s h a d b e e n reported in the incident Ta k i n g t o Tw i t

sc seeks Progress rePort from ecP on exPats voting right

in 2017 , adding that Section 94 of the act regarding the right to vote of overseas Pakistanis is clear He further remarked in 2018, the Supreme Court had declared Section 94 as constitutional ”

“In the year 2021, the law was further improved, in 2022 Parliament was brought back to the old level,”, Justice Muneeb Akhtar added saying “How can the top court now declare the law to be unconstitutional which was declared constitutional in the past ?

A three-member bench led by Justice Ijazul Ahsan resumed hearing of the pleas that Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Muslim League (AML) founder Sheikh rashid had filed invoking jurisdiction in the matter During adjudication of the case the top court questioned on what grounds an amendment of law of the right to vote of overseas Pakistanis not constitutionally valid?

A member of the bench Justice Muneeb Akhtar observed saying the “Parliament enacted the Election Act

Advocate Arif Chaudhry counsel for AML chief submitted that according to NADrA if the ECP signs an agreement they can create an I-voting system within a year He further submitted that during the past NADrA had sought a year s time but in response to the court directives, the system was built in six months

No objection was raised on the pilot project in 2017, added Chaudhary Sheikh rashid s counsel apprised the bench that the electoral watchdog has halted work on the issue of overseas Pakistanis’ right to vote

If the ECP takes steps to give the right to vote to overseas Pakistanis, there is no obstacle, he added Justice Akhtar then questioned if the amendment of the Election Act has affected basic human rights, adding that “if the Parliament is amending the law, why should the court interfere?” He also noted that “every enactment of Parliament

COMSATS states to jointly promote ST&I for regional development

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

The Special Advisor to the President of Ghana on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Liaison for COMSATS affairs Dr Eugene Owusu and Executive Director COMSATS Ambassador Dr M Nafees Zakaria exchanged views on Science Technology and Innovation (ST&I) led regional development

The republic of Ghana holds the Chair of COMSATS and the incumbent President of Ghana, Hon Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is the incumbent Chairperson of COMSATS’ Commission Being his first one-to-one interaction with the recently

appointed Executive Director, Ambassador Zakaria, the Special Advisor congratulated him Ambassador Nafees briefed Dr Owusu on various ideas and initiatives that he has earmarked to chart future course of action He apprised the Advisor on the

outcome of the 24th meeting of COMSATS Coordinating Council (comprising heads of International Centres of Excellence affiliated with COMSATS Network) at Karachi Pakistan Both underlined that the expertise of the Centres of Excellence needs to be fully exploited They agreed that r&D fund was essential to support the talent in the Member States Dr Owusu appreciated the ideas shared by the Executive Director and considered them spot on for leveraging the overall operations of COMSATS as intergovernmental organization focused at ST&I led sustainable progress

They agreed that the Executive Director may visit Ghana, in particular, and other Member States, to brief on his plans to the Members of the Commission

is a constitutional concept no matter what the courts observations are The petition filed for violation of fundamental rights should be clear, remarked Justice Akhtar Justice Mazahar Ali Naqvi then directed the petitioners’ counsel to submit an amended application and also directed the electoral watchdog to submit a progress report on voting rights of overseas Pakistanis

It is pertinent to mention that during last year the federal cabinet approved an election amendment bill aiming to reverse the PTI-era legislation which had granted voting rights to overseas Pakistanis and made it compulsory to hold elections through electronic voting machines (EVMs) deciding that pilot projects should determine the fate of both the proposals

The cabinet termed the overseas Pakistanis as a valuable asset of the country saying it was important to include them in the election process In this regard, it said that the previous government enacted legislation without taking the ECP into confidence

ceo rUda follows up with international investors in Uae

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

CEO ravi Urban Development Authority (rUDA)

S

herr y

Rehman for creating mass awareness about wildlife conser vation, protec tion

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry rehman on Friday said that on this World Wildlife Day, it was very important to create awareness among the public and all stakeholders about the importance of wildlife conservation and take steps to protect them

In her message on World Wildlife Day, the federal minister said that public awareness and stakeholder engagement were a must in order to ensure the survival of these valuable resources and assets for future generations Senator Sherry rehman said World Wildlife Day was being celebrated all over the world including Pakistan The purpose of the day was to spread awareness about wildlife conservation and their rights she added The conservation of nature and wild areas and wildlife was the duty of every person living on earth she added The Minister underlined that World Wildlife Day was very important for Pakistan Pakistan is home to wildlife that includes rare snow leopards, Indus dolphins, deer, birds and countless other species, Sherry rehman added

ECP writes letters to KP Governor for provincial assembly elec tion date

PESHAWAR

a p p

The Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday wrote a letter to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Ghulam Ali for the announcement of a date for the holding of the general election of the KP Assembly in the light of the Supreme Court's verdict The Commission, in the letter available with this agency, said it was awaiting the governor s response for holding consultation and the subsequent announcement of the date of the assembly election The letter referring to the Supreme Court s order dated March 1 said the apex court required that the governor of KP province must after consultation with the Election Commission forthwith appoint a date for the holding of the general elections to the KP Assembly and the preceding clause (a) shall mutatis mutandis apply in relation thereto

PML-N’s Central General Council to meet on March 10

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Secretary General Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Ahsan Iqbal has summoned the party’s Central General Council to meet on Friday (March 10) at 2 pm in Convention Centre Islamabad The main agenda of the meeting would be the election of the party s central office bearers Members from various regions of Pakistan as well as party committees and senators would be in attendance

S hehroze embarks on ‘world record ’ journey to sc ale all 14 8k peaks

LAHORE

S ta f f R e p o R t

Shehroze Kashif, a 20-year-old Pakistani mountaineer who became the youngest person to summit the world’s second-highest mountain, K2, has now left for Nepal aiming to set a new world record by scaling all 14 peaks above 8 000 metres

Given farewell by his parents along with other supporters and family members Shehroze has announced his ambitious goal of becoming the world s youngest climber to summit all 14 peaks above 8 000 metres He has already summited 10x8000m above peaks and is the youngest climber of the world to do so

He left for Nepal as he is going to attempt Annapurna 8,091m and Dhaulagiri 8,167m After successful summit he will be left with only two peaks (Shishipangma and Choyou) to become the youngest climber to summit all 14 x 8000m Kashif Salman, Shehroze’s father who is his staunch supporter said “I always say Shehroze is a gifted human and Allah has blessed him with powers so he can do extraordinary things

Shehroze s mother who was also present at the airport to see him off and was visibly emotional said that when I asked during his K2 Summit to come back and asked you don t miss home? He used to show me the mountains and would say this is my home mom She wished the best to her son and said he will make Pakistan proud

The 14 peaks, also known as the eightthousanders, are a collection of mountains rising above 8,000 metres (26,247 feet) These mountains are regarded as the most difficult and dangerous in the world, with only a few climbers having

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The import of russian wheat through Gwadar Port begins as the first bulk carrier “MV Lila Chennai” loaded with 50 000 metric tons of wheat has berthed at Gwadar Port Gwadar Port will handle and process 4 50 000 metric tons import of russian w h e a t u n d e r a n o ff i c i a l a g r e e m e n t i n k e d b e t w e e n t h e Tr a d i n g

C o r p o r a t i o n o f P a k i s t a n ( T C P ) a n d G w a d a r I n t e r n a t i o n a l Te r m i n a l L i m i t e d ( G I T L ) GPA official told Gwadar Pro that the National F o o d S e c u r i t y a n d r e s e a r c h M i n i s t r y s u b m i t t e d a s u m m a r y o n Aw a r d o f t h e 7 t h I n t e r n a t i o n a l W h e a t Te n d e r 2 0 2 2 o p e n e d o n 3 0 t h N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 2

Keeping in view the results of 7th international t e n d e r a n d G 2 G o ff e r, E C C a p p r o v e d t h e l o w e s t b i d f r o m M / s P r o d i n t o rg r u s s i a o n G 2 G b a s i s a t $ 3 7 2 / M T f o r a s u p p l y o f 4 5 0 0 0 0 M T a t G w a d a r

Port for the shipment period from 2nd March 2023 t o 3 1 s t M a r c h 2 0 2 3

successfully summited all of them

Shehroze s perseverance passion and skill have made him an inspiration to young mountaineers all over the world He believes that anyone no matter how big or small, can achieve their dreams with hard work and dedication Shehroze stated about his upcoming challenge, I am determined to achieve this goal and bring honour to my country I want to inspire young people to pursue their dreams and passions, no matter how difficult they may appear ” S h e h r o z e ’s w o r l d - r e c o r d a s c e n t w i l l n o t o n l y b r i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l a t t e n t i o n t o P a k i s t a n b u t w i l l a l s o h i g h l i g h t t h e c o u n t r y ’s n a t u r a l b e a u t y a n d d i v e r s e l a n d s c a p e s H i s a c c o m p l i s h m e n t w i l l i n s p i r e a n e w g e n e r a t i o n o f m o u n t a i n e e r s a n d a d v e n t u r e r s t o c l i m b t h e w o r l d s t a l l e s t p e a k s

Shehroze is also doing a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe for his expedition

Imran Amin visited United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week to follow up with international investors after the successful participation of rUDA at the Dubai International Property Show (IPS) in February During the three-day IPS event in Dubai, rUDA represented Pakistan, attracting interested international investors, expatriate Pakistanis, and visitors from various business backgrounds having a good impact by creating a number of leads rUDA signed seven Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) at the event and four of the investors visited Pakistan for a site visit and to mature the MoUs After the IPS event CEO Imran Amin had 14-15 meetings with various parties of which eight were successful and productive leading to portfolio management and inventory liquidation with different firms covering avenues like G2G B2B and PPP projects generating the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of $600 million Amin visited Dubai this week to meet with three specific parties i e The Ministry of Finance to explore best practices of G2G and PPP projects, H&S Global which is playing a leading role in servicing development giants like Emaar and Damac and ISHrAQ, a hospitality industry firm with a diversified portfolio of hotel property brands

fawad chaudhr y distances himself from latest audio leak

StAff REPORt

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Friday distanced himself from an audiotape that contains his alleged conversation about judges of the country

Taking to Twitter the PTI leader termed the audiotape fake saying: I have never met LHC chief justice nor asked to help Justice Mazahir Naqvi His reaction comes as an audio leaked online wherein the former information minister can purportedly be heard instructing his brother Faisal Chaudhry to arrange a meeting between the Lahore High Court (LHC) chief justice and the Chief Justice of Pakistan Talking about Supreme Court judge Mazahar Akabar Naqvi, Fawad Chaundry allegedly tells his brother to inform the top court judge that a truck is waiting for him

I t w a s d e c i d e d t h a t a n y a d d i t i o n a l c o s t o n i n l a n d t r a n s p o r t a t i o n f r o m G w a d a r P o r t w i l l b e b o r n e b y PA S S C O to b e r eco v er ed f r o m p r o v in ces a t t h e t i m e o f r e l e a s e o f w h e a t s t o c k This deal is a leapfrog toward the optimization o f G w a d a r p o r t ’s i n n a t e p o t e n t i a l a s a l o g i s t i c h u b i n t h e r e g i o n t h a t w i l l u l t i m a t e l y c o n t r i b u t e $ 1 0 b i l l i o n o f G D P t o t h e e c o n o m y o f P a k i s t a n O n a q u e s t i o n h o w G w a d a r p o r t s u r p a s s e s o t h e r p o r t s i n P a k i s t a n i n t e r m s o f h a n d l i n g a n d p r o c e s s i n g w h e a t c o n s i g n m e n t s A l l G w a d a r Shipping Clearing Agents Association (AGSCAA) m e m b e r s a i d t h a t t h e f a c t s a r e t h a t t h e G w a d a r P o r t i s m o r e e c o n o m i c a l t h a n a n y o t h e r p o r t l i k e K P T a n d Q a s i m P o r t s B o t h p o r t s a r e a l w a y s c o n g e s t e d a n d s h i p s g o t o d e m u r r a g e , a n d t h e s t o r a g e c h a rg e s o f K P T a n d Q a s i m P o r t s a r e v e r y h i g h H o w e v e r, a t t h e G w a d a r P o r t t h e r e a r e n o d e m u r r a g e a n d s t o r a g e c h a rg e s , a l o n g w i t h t h e q u i c k e s t s t e v e d o r i n g s e r v i c e s I t c a n b e c h e c k e d b y t h e p r e v i o u s r e c o r d o f T C P, ” h e a d d e d

Taking to Twitter, the PTI leader termed the audiotape fake, saying: “I have never met LHC chief justice” Last month a controversial audiotape featuring alleged conversation between former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and his lawyer had surfaced

S hip with 50,000 metric tons of Russian wheat ber

Ambassador deepens bilateral par tnership, lauds rich heritage of KP

O n e d o w n , o n e t o g o

th e consultation between President arif alvi and the election Commission of Pakistan has yielded an election date, that of May 9, for the Punjab assembly, and a date for the kP assembly should follow soon the date has come after the supreme Court took suo motu notice of the issue which started because the Punjab Governor did not give an election date, as he had not dissolved the assembly, Now that a date has been given, there has begun a series of challenges for the stakeholders First of all the eCP has to ensure that peaceful and free and fair, polls are held at the moment, it lacks not just money, for which it depends on the federal government, but also security staff, which has already been refused it by the concerned federal ministries as well as returning Officers with the Lahore high Court having already refused to lend its lower judiciary the rOs must be appointed at once, because candidates will have no one to file nominations with the fallback position that of choosing as rOs provincial government officers, may not be acceptable to the political parties, especially the Pakistan tehreek Insaf, which views the Punjab caretaker government with deep suspicion

the main challenge for the parties which will actually contest the election will be to run effective campaigns, and for this they will have to manage proper awards of tickets It has been a perennial complaint with all parties that tickets are not rightly awarded the parties have also got to campaign at least initially in ramazan and in an atmosphere vitiated by terrorism While the parties need pre-poll security to hold rallies and other election gatherings, the caretaker governments also will be responsible for ensuring a smooth campaign as well as a peaceful poll Ll stakeholders also will have to deal with the census just started, with its initial results likely to be available by polling day

the provincial governments and the eCP must also ensure that there is no further slippage from the 90-day limit set by the Constitution In the case of Punjab there has already been a three-week slippage that should not be exceeded any further there are certainly challenges ahead, but the eCP, the provincial governments and the political parties will have to overcome then and that requires cooperation

Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami

Yousaf Nizami Editor

o m o r e o n t h e e c o n o m y

declaration of austerity measures; instead, the IMF is demanding concrete steps taken on the ground to fill the exchequer immediately that is, the IMF is least interested in promises and declarations which the IMF thinks would help Pakistan equivocate the commitments made on restructuring the economy

La s t week, the virtual meeting of Pakistan s economic team and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) failed to deliver in Pakistan’s favour Pakistan urgently requires the tranche of $1 2 billion, which is part of a $6 billion package agreed in 2019

Currently the IMF is unwilling to enter into a staff-level agreement with Pakistan because Pakistan has yet to implement in to the Memorandum of economic and Financial Policies (MeFP) which contains policy suggestions by the IMF

hitherto Pakistan has taken two kinds of steps: first announcements of taking austerity measures to save money; and second, the passing of a mini-budget in the assembly to collect revenue immediately

On February 22, Finance Minister Ishaq dar announced to have secured a loan of $700 million from China’s commercial bank (China development Bank) to weather the ongoing economic crunch the loan is in addition to the loan of $30 billion that Pakistan already owes China and its commercial banks Pakistan is forgetting that China the world’s largest sovereign creditor is disinclined to restructure loans though it prefers to extend new credit

On the one hand the financial help from China is beneficial for raising Pakistan s foreign currency reserves which had slid below $3 billion whereas on the other hand the act may annoy the IMF which is already apprehensive of Pakistan s strategy to seek loan from the IMF to service China s debt It is known that seeking commercial loans is always available for a short period of time but on a high interest rate Unfortunately, the interval in securing the stafflevel agreement with the IMF is plunging Pakistan into the insidious trap of securing commercial loans to recover from the ongoing financial crisis

On February 22 through holding a press conf e r e n c e P r i m e M i n i s t e r s h a h b a z s h a r i f a l s o a n -

nounced austerity measures to save rs 200 billion in a year through taking austerity measures such as curbing the buying and unnecessary usage of government vehicles; reducing expenses of every government department by 15 percent; and serving one dish to guests these measures, however, are insufficient to meet the IMF s MeFP suggestions, which are actually advice the IMF is not demanding the

On the occasion sharif also announced the establishment of a single treasury account for the military audit that is the allocation of all funds would land in a single account of the Ministry of defence which would disburse money to various branches of the military: army, navy and air force the single treasury account would help understand how much money is funnelled into the defence account Further, the practice would close the sundry accounts meant for the flow of funds from the national kitty outside the main (single) defence account this step was long overdue Pakistan has been spending on non-developmental sectors more than it should spend on developmental sectors such as health education and infrastructure the past few years saw the spending of public money on making songs in the name of nationalism and cultivating private teams to dabble in politics in the name of fighting the fifthgeneration hybrid war on social media similar other malpractices have been a waste of public money

T h e I M F i s s t i l l a d a m a n t t o

g e t i t s M E F P i m p l e m e n t e d by Pa k i s t a n T h e I M F r e q u i r e s s t e p s b e t a k e n t o i n c r e a s e a n d s e c u r e r ev e nu e i m m e d i a t e ly b e fo r e i t d e l i v e rs t h e b a i l o u t p a ck ag e O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , Pa k i s t a n i s ov e r ly r e ly i n g o n a u s t e r i t y m e a s u r e s w h i ch o f fe r p ro m i s e s fo r t h e f u t u r e , bu t w h i ch f a i l t o s a t i s f y t h e I M F o n t h e M E F P.

On February 23 as reported in the media Pakistan s Chief of army staff also consented to axe nonoperational expenditures by one-third, besides the expenditures in the domain of utility bills the announced savings would be rs 20 billion a year this was the army version of austerity measures Interestingly, the IMF has permitted Pakistan to increase fund allocation to the Benazir Income support Program (BIsP) by rs 40 billion (from the existing rs 360 billion to rs 400 billion) that is the savings announced by the army would be half the amount that Pakistan intends to increase in the BIsP for the coming financial year here Pakistan is overlooking the fact that the age of affording a huge military has gone In the presence of nuclear assets and missile technology the country needs a trained but trimmed affordable military

On February 26, around 28 Pakistanis died, and some were still missing, after their boat sank in the stormy sea off Italy’s southern Calabria region they were illegal migrants, looking for better prospects in

Javed Akhtar’s statement: An illusion

Pa r ro t i n g t h e B J P l i n e MUHAMMAD

Jav e d a k h ta r s statement at the Faiz festival reminds us of two things

1) the artists should refrain from indulging in politics

2) the Quiad-i-azam was right when he said that the Muslims who are opposing Pakistan would spend the rest of their lives proving their loyalty to India artists should not do politics Javed akhtar had a large fan following in Pakistan before his statement his writings and poetry were adored and acknowledged But he came to Pakistan and gave a disgusting statement that terrorists who attacked Mumbai roam free in Pakistan his remarks are neither factually correct nor have any legal basis and, he has no regret on his statement and even insists that he was talking about peace

We get a couple of lessons from his hatefilled remarks the one talking about peace should be peaceful himself Peace should be reflected in his statements instead of hate and animosity Javed akhtar ’s claim was nothing but a statement of a person suffering from narcissism he s living in an illusion that peace efforts are from India only and not from Pakistan he was here in Pakistan to talk about literature language and art as an Indian ambassador of art but instead he turned out to be an official sportsperson of the BJP-led government of India which is keen to represent Pakistan as a terrorism hub and India as a victim of terrorism the statements of artist Javed akhtar and fascist leader PM Modi, although delivered at different platforms, were meant to inflict the same damage PM Modi tried to prove Pakistan was the mothership of terrorism in one of the BrICs summits and tried to isolate Pakistan Javed akhtar also tried to do the same the common aspect in these two statements is that both of these statements were made at platforms that were meant to be for other purposes the Indian PM failed miserably to buy support for his envious statement against Pakistan and Javed akhtar s statement is also bound to die the same fate in history an artist needs to talk about peace and love there needs to be a difference between an artist’s approach and a politician’s approach a politician may be restricted to official claims only but an artist can express his heart art has no boundaries It has no limit that is the reason

art brings people closer

But by trying to be a politician and going too far in proving his loyalty towards India Javed akhtar crossed all limits Peace is an initiative taken from both sides with equal intensity and goodwill One can not talk about peace by blaming others Javed akhtar visited Lahore, blamed Pakistan, exempted India from all its war-mongering and wrongdoing, and portrayed himself as peaceful and hoped for peace between the two countries It was nothing short of a weakly written and acted movie Peace between Pakistan and India has not been achieved yet and is a distant dream because of the self-proclaimed peace-loving pseudo-intellectuals and artist cum politicians like Javed akhtar George soros an american businessman claimed recently that the downfall of Gautam adani is intertwined with Prime Minister Modi s political career his downfall will bring an end to PM Modi s regime and there will be a democratic revival in the country his remarks did not go well in India and he is now considered the national enemy of India there is an outcry in India over his statement and the hindu nationalists are not taking a step back similarly many Indian writers and their books are banned in India for their support of the kashmiri people and their criticism of the Indian brutal rule in kashmir the above examples indicate that diversity and freedom of expression find no place in Indian society Javed akhtar should at least be appreciative of the fact that despite giving an anti-Pakistan statement in Pakistan he only received love the first peaceful initiative is that all previous history is left behind to start a new chapter

No one is blamed No one is accused of the past so how can Javed akhtar talk about peace by blaming Pakistan and giving a clean chit to India? Javed akhtar accused Pakistan of terrorism but he forgot that kulbhushan Yadav was neither from Norway nor egypt art and sports should be free from politics but India has always done politics on sports and

A r t t r a n s c e n d s b o u n d a r i e s

B u t i n J av e d A k h t a r ’s c a s e , i t i s h a t e t h a t h a s t r a n s c e n d e d b o rd e rs . H e w a s n o t s i t t i n g i n a t h r e a t e n i n g e nv i ro n m e n t . H e w a s s i t t i n g i n f ro n t o f p e a c e f u l p e o p l e w h o w e r e t h e r e t o l i s t e n t o h i m

art even Muslims who form a large chunk of the Indian population are misrepresented in Indian films Indian films have portrayed a cringy image of Muslims the terrorists have a Muslim name or live in a Muslim neighborhood in Indian movies Muslims are portrayed as terrorists Pakistan is presented as a terror-sponsoring state the reason is that India has always used art for political goals similarly, India has always politicized sports It has refused to play cricket with Pakistan time and again and used sports to dominate other nations the recent case of India’s refusal to visit Pakistan for the asia Cup and insistence that Pakistan should come to India to play in the World Cup is one such example Javed akhtar s statement is nothing new It is a part of the process of the politicization of arts and sports he never raised his voice on the above-mentioned issues in India but he came here to teach a lesson to Pakistan and talk about peace a sheer contradiction as the next general elections in India are coming, Javed akhtar tried to follow the footprints of his PM by giving an anti-Pakistan statement We might see Javed akhtar contesting an election shortly Javed akhtar returned home safe and secure even after his statement hurt the sentiments of Pakistanis It shows that the country he was claiming to be a terror sponsor was peaceful enough to love him and respect him as an artist art transcends boundaries But in Javed akhtar s case it is hate that has transcended borders he was not sitting in a threatening environment he was sitting in front of peaceful people who were there to listen to him But he spread hate there he not only inflicted damage to art but also to the use of art to promote love between the two countries art will now be used further to spread hate Given the animosity between the two countries people like Javed akhtar should work as an ambassador of love and peace not hate they should talk about peace and spread goodwill and love his statement might have been a brain fade but his insistence on his remarks indicates that it is an illusion that is showing a distorted image to him and has taken over his rationality

The writer is freelance columnist

europe they must be lesser Pakistani youth who could not be educated in Pakistan to live an honourable life or reach europe as skilled workers Pakistan still fails to answer the reasons for affording a huge network of cadet colleges instead of mainstreaming the public money to deliver education to all Pakistan is still lucky that its citizens tend not to question the unfair distribution of money at the national level the IMF had advised to cut the defence budget to pay the circular debt in the energy sector immediately to generate instant income increasing prices of oil and gas were other measures (as indirect taxes) for which the government has already announced a minibudget to collect rs 170 billion till the end of June this year Pakistan thinks that, after getting the IMF bailout package, loans from certain friendly countries would be available to give a balanced budget in June for the financial year 20232024 however this is hoping against hope the IMF has asked Pakistan to keep the rise in prices of oil and gas permanent the IMF is still adamant to get its MeFP implemented by Pakistan the IMF requires steps be taken to increase and secure revenue immediately before it delivers the bailout package On the other hand, Pakistan is overly relying on austerity measures which offer promises for the future, but which fail to satisfy the IMF on the MeFP Pakistan has yet to initiate privatization to get cash the government’s dilly-dallying is costing its people heavily Presently weekly inflation for core e d i b l e g o o d s ( s u c h a s v e g e t a b l e s a n d g r a i n s ) h a s touched the dreaded 40 percent mark thereby making the life of a common man miserable

The writer can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo com

E d i t o r ’ s m a i l

S e n d y o u r l e t t e r s t o : L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r Pakistan today, 4 - S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h L a h o re P a k i s t a n E - m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d t o Pakistan today e x c l u s i v e l y

Picturesque Dureji

aWaY from the chaotic life of an urban centre dureji a tehsil located in the newly-created district of hub in Balochistan, is a modern town, developed, it seems, as per some master plan It has nice infrastructure as well as natural conservation dureji is a three-hour drive from karachi and the town called by the residents of hub and Bela as the ‘little Paris’ has picturesque sights aplenty

What makes the town more attractive is the stringent policies that bar anyone wanting to hunt down rare species of animals such as Balochistan’s well-known mountain goats known as turkam wild goats that live in the mountains of southwestern range of kirthar Interestingly because of the hunting ban there has been a steep increase in the number of these species including many others rising their number from 2 000 to 20 000 currently this includes the overall number of turkam goats since the southern range of the kirthar mountains lies in sindh where they are called sindhi ibex the tehsil is home to sitting federal and provincial legislators and they have been looking after all the affairs of the area including basic amenities making sure that residents have all the facilities available the area has a library, a functional hospital and schools for children

Many people, including politicians, oppose the development work that has been carried out in dureji, claiming that the two legislators are merely developing their hometown while shrugging their shoulders when it comes to the development of hub, a densely populated city the criticism might have some merit but the politicians who have been expressing negativity towards dureji’s development calling it a narrow policy of ‘develop-yourhome-first’ should ask themselves the very legiti- mate question: why are their home-towns the constituencies not developed?

SYEDA ZAINAB FATIMA LAYYAH

Triple helix model

W e have long been experiencing severe impacts of global warming and climate change the temperature in summers and winters has been increasing with the former getting hotter and the latter getting chillier Not everyone can enjoy or even tolerate these weather conditions there is enough evidence available for us to acknowledge that humans are responsible for global warming and climate change as much as any natural phenomenon the way forward is to adopt the holistic approach of the triple helix model (thM) with the aim of fighting climate change at national and local levels the floods last year caused loss of human lives, infrastructure, livestock and property, leading to a negative impact on Pakistan s gross domestic product (GdP) there was an eruption of infections and diseases in rural areas, and shattered sewage systems in urban areas We are in no position to bear a calamity of such a scale on a routine basis the thM model in its right spirit entails the involvement of the government the academia and the business the government should devise laws and provide the required financing for innovative projects and initiatives that cater to the fight against climate change the academia mostly comprising universities in this context needs to conduct scientific research and provide evidence-based knowledge to the lawmakers and other stakeholders the business community has a critical role to play by being positive in the consumer market Under thM the business community provides regular financing to the pool of larger climate financing Giving back by the business community to society where it operates shows the business community s commitment to ethical business practice It is a step beyond the clichéd corporate social responsibility (Csr) some organisations are doing good work against the impact of climate change, but they need to join hands within the thM paradigm to make a more meaningful, impactful change small and medium enterprises (sMes) need to get involved at the grassroots level FURQAN HYDER SHAIKH

AC C O r d I N G to the Oxfam 2023 report “survival of the richest inequality is increasing in the world the poor are getting poorer and the rich richer according to the report on account of such an increase millions are facing hunger the World Bank states that by 2030 it will not be able to achieve the goal of reducing extreme poverty across the world according to Oxfam, the wealth of rich people is increasing by 6 times and they own 2/3rd of the world s new wealth almost similar or even worse is the case with the area-wise largest province of Pakistan, Balochistan It is estimated that more than 60 percent of its population some 7 4 million people live below the poverty line remember this is the recorded estimate Balochistan is struggling with corruption poverty unemployment illiteracy food insecurity inflation and political turmoil

Fluctuating tax policies corruption and inequality have led to poverty in the province and its impacts on poor people but there is a way forward to overcome the effects of these crises

Balochistan is believed to have vast natural resources of gold, copper, natural gas, chromite, and valuable stones But the resources have not had a trickle-down effect there is a clear financial gap between the elite and the poor the elite of this province live lavish lives whereas the poor in the province are getting poorer by the day similarly inequality is increasing because the poor and rich almost pay equal taxes on goods and services In Pakistan the percentage of direct taxes is 37 2 percent (taxation on income sources corporation tax property tax and capital gains) and the percentage of indirect taxes is 62 8 percent (taxation on consumption like sales tax services tax and customs tax) which has increased in the past years those who earn 100,000 per month have to pay a 2 5% tax on their income however, those who earn less or do not even

W h a t b u s i n e s s

S u r v i v a l o f T h e R i c h e s t

T h e c o u n t r y ’s p o o re s t p ro v i n c e i s a l s o a f f l i c t e d b y i n c o m e i n e q u a l i t y

earn money, have to pay indirect taxes via sales tax on the basic commodities for livelihood this is increasing the inequality gap Balochistan is the least developed region not just in Pakistan but in south asia It is among the lowest ranked for health education and other social indicators for various geographical and historical reasons the literacy rate in the province is less than 43 percent and the unemployment rate is fur percent similarly corruption has broken the backbone of the province s economy Inflation has increased by 42 9 percent in the country Out of its 35 districts, nine districts of the province face severe food insecurity Not only the above factors, but the lack of leadership and continuous political instability, are also among the factors that contribute to the regressive situation of Balochistan recent floods have further worsened the situation for the lower class in the province the tales of corruption did not stop even in the recent floods according to Information Minister Mariyam aurangzeb Pakistan received approximately $8 billion of aid from foreign donors to assist the flood-affected areas but only $35 million was utilized for the flood affected even the donation money and relief packages fell prey to corruption Instead of giving the tents and other basic commodities to the flood affected the items were sold in the market the people were left on their own with no help from government officials or NGOs the poor people of the region affected by floods are becom-

I n a dd i t i o n , a c c o u n t a b i l i t y d e p a r t m e n t s s h o u l d k e e p a ch e ck o n p o l i t i c i a n s , bu r e a u c r a t s , bu s i n e s s e s a n d l a n d l o rd s t o avo i d t a x eva

l e a d e r s c a n l e a r n f r o m

C h a t G P T ’ s r e v o l u t i o n a r y

f i r s t f e w m o n t h s

we’ve made important improvements and updates based on feedback ” rather than investing in beta testers focus groups and other costly strategies before going to market OpenaI created a fast and efficient feedback and iteration loop by the sheer number of users they had from day one they were also never hesitant to learn from this feedback and integrate it into their development strategy to improve the product

ing poorer because of high inflation via indirect taxes like the General sales tax (Gst) on goods and services by the government the province has enough natural resources

But this province s people have never benefited from their natural assets the elite class of this province, due to their financial stability and power status, have access to the benefits of these resources more frequently, leaving the poor class behind Many MPas are multi-millionaires in the most backward province recently the brother of a senator was caught in the corruption case of reko diq

Moreover several big smugglers have benefited from illegal border trade they should be registered and taxed according to their wealth Besides the state s taxation policies are not effective and properly implemented the inconsistency in economic policies and flawed taxation policies like narrow tax base which means inefficient and non-neutral taxation tax evasion political involvement, and trust deficit tax collecting institutions suffer from, lead to high inflation and increase inequality and poverty according to the report, the policies of countries are made in such a way that fulfills the greed of the elite class because they influence the state’s decisions

Many landlords live in Pakistan but taxation on land and property is very low, only percent of the tax they pay is from the profit they generate from the land the land tax

upon such landlords should also be increased to overcome such a crisis the countries specifically Pakistan should tax the rich to decrease the inequality gap; by taxing the rich and subsidizing and poor can uplift the poor class as already suggested by the IMF officials to Pakistan taxing the wealthy is among the most effective weapons to tackle inequality and several crises the solution to the current economic upheaval is to tax businesses and the wealthy more heavily By immediately decreasing the quantity and capital of the superwealthy taxes promote extra-equitable societies and can help stop the rise of strong unchecked and semi-aristocratic powers additionally it lessens harmful societal inequality It has the potential to control inflation and high prices and prevent welfare cuts from being implemented In October 2022 Great Britain taxed the rich bringing a turning point to its economic crisis

In addition accountability departments should keep a check on politicians, bureaucrats, businesses and landlords to avoid tax evasion on their part also, the resources in Balochistan should be utilized for 75 percent of the people who live below the poverty line and to bring them above the poverty line, not only for the few elites

The writer is Assistant Research Fellow at the Balochistan Think Tank Network

enTrepreneur J o H n W I n n e r

Wh e N it first launched publicly in late November, ChatGPt was a novelty app going viral on social media Now just a few months later ChatGPt is officially the fastest-growing app in history with more than 100 million users as of January For context it took tiktok nine months to reach that same figure and Instagram more than two years Microsoft and Google are integrating generative aI into their platforms and promising to transform the way we search for information ChatGPt is here to stay the skyrocketed trajectory of ChatGPt is as much a product of its unique launch strategy as its cutting-edge generative aI technology ChatGPt wasn’t rolled out to corporate partners, aggressively priced or dependent on a massive marketing strategy and sales team rather than investing in these conventional strategies ChatGPt invested in their customers first – and this tactic has undoubtedly paid off Business leaders can look to ChatGPt s first few months as a blueprint for what a revolutionary and lucrative launch model can and should look like

1 CONSIDER THE WOW FACTOR: ChatGPt s rapid growth is largely because of just how fast the app was able to wow its users by producing amazing results instantly Consumers tried and loved it, putting the platform in the center of the aI conversation and creating thousands of glowing testimonials – the kind many companies pay big to get

What started as an aI ripple became a tech world tsunami showing that the best publicity is ultimately a great product ChatGPt’s value and transformative capacity were immediately apparent from the first query In general companies spend time and finances in demos to select stakeholders slowly setting people up for amazement ChatGPt flipped this on its head and came out with the objective to wow the public from the beginning, piquing their interest and leaving them wanting to know more

2 MAKE ROOM FOR CONSUMER FEEDBACK – AND DON’T BE AFRAID TO ITERATE: For OpenaI, we the people, are the testers

By launching the platform for free developers got a ton of extremely valuable feedback and testing directly from users themselves In a statement to CNN the company spoke to the profound benefit of this strategy saying the preview for ChatGPt allowed us to learn from real-world use and

Businesses can look to this as a model this strategy has the added benefit of ensuring that when a business is ready to move from a lossleading launch to a profitable model, it can be sure that its product has been adapted to meet consumer needs

3 PLAY THE LONG GAME: A SHORTTERM LOSS-LEADING STRATEGY

LEADS TO MAJOR GAINS: OpenaI decided to invest a few cents per query in ChatGPt from the start But in doing this they saved themselves from spending tens of thousands or more on a comprehensive marketing Pr and sales campaign In actual marketing and promotion they essentially just published a press release on their website and let the internet do the rest and now that ChatGPt has made such a worldwide splash, OpenaI is valued at $29 billion more than double what it was in 2021 In monetizing their platform, they are more than making up for any short-term spending they invested in their launch

For instance ChatGPt has just launched a Plus option for a $20 subscription fee Microsoft has already invested $10 billion in OpenaI and is integrating it into Bing to revolutionize its search platform Google declared a code red internally and scrambled to develop a ChatGPtstyle search engine of their own and the economy is following suit: today aI stock investments are booming, demonstrating how even business leaders outside of the tech sector are rapidly warming up to the benefits that aI presents to our society and accepting the fact that this technology is the future

Business leaders can see this as a reminder that a bit of patience and confidence in your truly amazing product can go a long way ChatGPt’s success has been lightning-fast but even still it took them a few months to be so profitable they established a good reputation and now the return on investment is following Cutting-edge technology like aI has far-reaching potential beyond just economic gains: these platforms will revolutionize how we work and live Bill Gates said that this technology will change our world

If more business leaders truly want to follow suit, they need to develop amazing platforms and rethink the old ways of doing things ChatGPt gave us a glimpse into the kind of future that is possible Leaders need to look to their launch as an example and apply similar strategies to ensure they too succeed

John Winner is a six-time founder and CEO of Kizen the first no-code enterprise-grade CRM and operations platform Kizen enables businesses of all sizes to build and implement custom software benefit from intelligent automation receive personalized insights and unleash their full potential

Th e classical signals used by economists over the ages are telling us that europe and america are sailing straight into a recessionary iceberg at full throttle these long-term indicators are nearly all pointing to a deep global downturn though China may scramble the picture as it comes out of the Great Lockdown Yet short-term indicators have been telling us the opposite for several weeks they suggest that the atlantic economy is re-accelerating after last year s recession-scare a hard-landing has been averted and we are heading into another leg of economic expansion thanks to irrepressible jobs growth, with inflationary consequences to match this view, fast becoming the new consensus, has led to a violent repricing of the $Us130 trillion ($193 trillion) global bond market egged on by scorched-earth rhetoric from the Us Federal reserve and the european Central Bank Yields on two-year Us treasuries have spiked by 80 basis points since early February and are near 5 per cent which happens to be the peak in mid-2007 just before the international financial system began to unravel so which signals should we listen to? the traditional gauges may have been rendered useless by Covid and supply chain convulsions, but that is a risky assumption the OeCd s composite leading indicator for the G20 has been falling for 17 consecutive months and has not yet begun to stabilise It clocked a new recessionary low of 98 4 in January the index anticipates the real economy by six to nine months the G7 reading is even lower at 98 1 and is already lower than at any time before or during the dotcom recession in the early 2000s Italy is dire - lower than during the eurozone debt crisis a decade ago - and the Uk is worse yet “the big cyclical components of the economy are cycling down pretty darn hard We haven t seen it since the Great recession Lakshman achuthan from the economic Cycle research Institute (eCrI) in New York Capital economics said its global trade monitor had yet to detect any sign that shipments have touched bottom Not only did the fourth quarter see one of the biggest drops in world goods trade since the 1980s, but leading indicators point to further falls ahead, it said the Fed and the eCB are carrying out the most aggressive monetary squeeze of modern times this is colliding with public and private debt ratios that have ballooned to 292 per cent of GdP in rich economies (IMF data) and 247 per cent globallyup by 50 percentage points since the pre-Lehman debt bubble this has not yet set off serious credit defaults in the West though a string of developing states such as egypt Pakistan tunisia el salvador Lebanon sri Lanka and Ghana are in trouble Companies stretched debt maturities when money was cheap giving them a buffer But the effects of last year s ferocious tightening have yet to feed through and there are already signs of an incipient credit crunch in europe s&P Global says Us firms have a weaker credit profile than before the Lehman crisis refinancing pressure is building, it said the standard 30-year mortgage rate in the Us has doubled to 6 5 per cent in a year the Case-shiller National home Price index of Us house prices peaked last June and has since fallen by 4 4 per cent this is only the second time since the 1930s that prices have fallen nationally a new study by the dallas Fed says the price-to-income ratio has hit levels never seen before in modern Us history It

thinks house prices could fall 20 per cent in the Us, with parallel falls in Germany risking a “domino effect” through the global macro-economy every very relevant measure of the Us treasury yield curve is by now steeply inverted the benchmark 10-year/twoyear spread flipped nine months ago and has dropped to minus 88 the lowest for almost half a century recessions typically follow a year or so after the start of sustained inversion that happened nine months ago the money supply is contracting across the atlantic economy the Institute of International Monetary research says that broad money fell at a 2 1 per cent rate (annualised) in the eurozone over the past three months, by 3 9 per cent in the Us, and by 10 3 per cent in the Uk the fall in real terms has been off the charts

Yes, this is still draining the monetary overhang created by central banks during the Qe orgy during the pandemic But at the end of the day monetarists of all stripes agree on one thing: this picture cannot be reconciled with a fresh cycle of economic growth and inflation

It is certainly possible that these traditional indicators are obsolete in the modern electronic economy but there are reasons why the winter rebound might be an illusion

Matt king from Citigroup says central banks have added $Us1 trillion of short-term liquidity over the past three months It s basically as though they have been doing Qe, even as they told us they were doing Qt the longer they keep raising rates into the teeth of monetary contraction, the greater the risk that they will break the global economy in the process “the moment you think of it in these terms it paints a much more negative and fragile picture for the outlook What we’ve seen is quite extraordinary and you shouldn’t be chasing it ” he said the reasons for this bizarre twist are highly technical the Bank of Japan had to splurge on bonds to defend its yield curve control policy the Us treasury has been running down its Fed account to keep spending going until there is a deal in Congress on the debt limit that has neutralised the Fed s asset sales But this is nearing limits and will have to go into reverse at which point it will double the potency of monetary tightening

It was the blockbuster Us jobs report three weeks ago that launched the reflation story Non-farm payrolls soared by 517,000 in January It was so strong, I don t believe it, said Mark Zandi from Moody’s analytics Instant data is always erratic at turning points, and nothing is more erratic than payroll data, a lagging indicator even when correct analysis by the Philadelphia Fed said the series overstated jobs growth by a million in the first half of last year the January report relied on a 2 9 million seasonal adjustment that may be wildly wrong in the discombobulated post-Covid labour market and amid freak Us weather the February report may prove a very cold douche I stick to my unfashionable view that central banks are overtightening and that the Us and europe are heading towards a serious recession, if it has been postponed by a few months

What is clear is that the Fed and the eCB have the bit between their teeth they are trying hard - too hard - to regain lost credibility after letting the inflationary genie out of the bottle and they are relying on the same lagging indicators that got them into trouble in the first place they will certainly break the back of inflation But the longer they keep raising rates into the teeth of monetary contraction the greater the risk that they will break the global economy in the process

T h e f i g h t a g a i n s t i n f l a t i o n c o u l d b r e a k

t h e g l o b a l e c o n o m y

GlobAl enerGy-rel ATed Co2 emISSIonS edGed uP To reCord hIGh In 2022

IeA

GL O B A L energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide hit a record high last year, although more clean technology such as solar power and electric vehicles helped limit the impact of increased coal and oil use, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday

Deep cuts in emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels will be needed over the coming years if targets to limit a global rise in temperatures and prevent runaway climate change are to be met, scientists have said

We still see emissions growing from fossil fuels, hindering efforts to meet the world’s climate targets ” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a release alongside the report The report by the Paris-based watch-

dog comes just weeks after major fossil fuel producers such as Chevron (CVX N) Exxon Mobil (XOM N) and Shell (SHEL L) reported record profits, with BP BP L also rowing back on plans to slash oil and gas output and reduce emissions International and national fossil fuel companies are making record revenues and need to take their share of responsibility, Birol said Global emissions from energy rose

by 0 9% in 2022 to a record 36 8 billion tonnes the IEA analysis showed Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from coal grew by 1 6% last year with many countries turning to the more polluting fuel after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a reduction in Russian gas supply to Europe sparked record high gas prices CO2 emissions from oil rose by 2 5% but remained below pre-pandemic levels the report said

Apple to manufacture iPhones at new plant in India

pr ofit

a F P

Apple will manufacture iPhones at a new plant in India officials said on Friday as the US tech giant seeks to ramp up its India production and diversify away from China

The flagship mobile’s global supply chain is based mainly in China where strict Covid policies last year and ongoing diplomatic tensions with the United States have hurt production

“Apple phones to be built in the state soon ”

Karnataka state chief minister Basavaraj S Bommai tweeted on Friday Apart from creating about 100,000 jobs, it will create a whole lot of opportunities for Karnataka he added Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India s minister of state for information technology, said the proposed factory will be spread over 300 acres in the state home to India s tech hub Bengaluru

The announcement came as Foxconn chairman

Young Liu visited that city on Friday, according to local media following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week

Our discussions covered various topics aimed at enhancing India’s tech and innovation eco-system,” Modi tweeted on Wednesday

Liu signed an agreement on Thursday to set up electronics manufacturing facilities that would employ 100 000 in the neighbouring southern state of Telangana Apple and Foxconn did not respond to AFP requests for comment

Foxconn, the world’s top iPhone assembler, has since 2019 manufactured Apple handsets in India at its plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu

Two other Taiwanese suppliers, Wistron and Pegatron, also manufacture and assemble Apple devices in India Apple said last September it would manufacture its latest iPhone 14 in India, just weeks after launching the flagship model But the country accounts for less than five per cent of Apple s global production according to Bloomberg, lagging behind the United States, China, Japan, and five other countries Apple’s expanding manufacturing in India is a boost to Modi s Make in India strategy under which he has urged foreign businesses to manufacture goods in the South Asian nation

China’s T wo Sessions to set tone for economic development and opening-up

islamabad M a n a b r a r

A key event in China’s political calendar, the annual sessions of China’s national legislature and top political advisory body, known as the Two Sessions, is of special relevance this year as 2023 marks the first year for China to fully implement the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Promoting steady economic growth and advancing opening up were highlighted by Guo Weimin spokesperson for the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), at Friday’s press conference held by the National

corporate corner

Chief of the Naval Staff chairs

49th BoG meeting at Bahria University Islamabad

IsLamabad: Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi NI(M) S Bt in his capacity as Pro-Chancellor/ Chairman BoG, chaired the 49th Board of Governors (BoG) Meeting at Bahria University Head Office Islamabad The session of BOG commenced with a detailed briefing to the Board on various activities undertaken at the University which included development and diversification in academic disciplines, infrastructure and new initiatives in academic and non-academic domains He was further briefed about the austerity measures beingexecuted by Bahria University in the current situation of inflation and crisis Chief of the Naval Staff appreciated the dedicated and extensive efforts of Bahira University in not only imparting quality education to the students but also contributing towards their character and personality building through adopting modern teaching pedagogies S ta f f r E p o rt

PTA & CCP sign MoU for collaboration on areas of mutual interest

I s L a m a b a d: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish cooperation and collaboration in areas of mutual interest The signing ceremony was held at the CCP Headquarters in Islamabad Chairperson CCP, Ms Rahat Kaunain Hassan; Member Finance PTA Mr Muhammad Naveed and senior officers from both organizations were in attendance The collaboration between PTA and CCP will have a significant impact at the national level particularly in areas where common interests exist such as promoting competitive commercial and economic activity in the market p r

PRCS National Headquar ters provides state - of-the -ar t Blood Collec

NOT-BY- PROFIT

Convention at Multan

Wahid said that house projects are built but not settled GF aims to settle societies p r

SSP Security visits HBL PSL teams route

I s l a m a b a d: Following the special directions of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Dr Akbar Nasir Khan, SSP Security Division Masood Ahmed visited the route of the PSL teams and reviewed security arrangements, a police public relations officer said During the visit SSP Security directed the police officials and said that police personnel should be deployed around the under-construction buildings and foolproof security should be ensured during the teams movement p r

Least

DeveLopeD Countries

battLe for attention at uniteD nations summit in Qatar

ISLAMABAD

N E W S D E S K

Le a d e r s from nations trapped in worsening poverty will make a n e w a p p e a l f o r a s s i s t a n c e a t a s u m m i t s t a r t i n g i n d o h a o n s u n d a y c o m p e t i n g f o r g l o b a l a t t e n t i o n a g a i n s t o t h e r d i s a s t e r s W h i l e t h e f a l l o u t f r o m t h e C O V I d - 1 9 p a n d e m i c , t h e U k r a i n e w a r s e ff e c t o n f o o d a n d f u e l s u p p l i e s , a n d t h e e x -

p e n s i v e f i g h t a g a i n s t c l i m a t e c h a n g e a r e d e t r i m e n t a l t o w e a l t h y c o u n t r i e s , t h e y a r e s i g n i f i c a n t l y w o r s e f o r t h e 1 3 b i l l i o n p e o p l e c o n s t i t u t i n g 1 4 % o f t h e w o r l d ’s p o p u l a t i o n l i v i n g i n t h e 4 6 L e a s t d e v e l o p e d C o u n t r i e s ( L d C s ) a g n e s C h i m b i r i - M o l a n d e M a l a w i s a m b a s s a d o r t o t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s a n d s p o k e s p e r s o n f o r L d C s a t t h e U N s t a t e d t h a t t h e m u l t i p l e c r i s e s s w i r l i n g t o d a y h a v e t h e i r m o s t

d a n g e r o u s p o i n t i n t h e L d C s " T h e p r e s i d e n t s a n d g o v e r n m e n t l e a d e r s f r o m t h e 3 3 a f r i c a n n a t i o n s , 1 2 f r o m t h e a s i a - P a c i f i c , a n d H a i t i i n t h e C a r i b b e a n w i l l m e e t f i v e d e c a d e s a f t e r t h e U N c r e a t e d t h e L d C c a t eg o r y i n a n a t t e m p t t o r e d u c e t h e g l o b a l w e a l t h g a p T h e F i f t h U n i t e d N a t i o n s C o n f e re n c e o n t h e L e a s t d e v e l o p e d C o u nt r i e s ( L d C 5 ) w a s p o s t p o n e d t w i c e d u e t o C O V I d - 1 9 a p l a n o f a c t i o n w a s a g r e e d u p o n a t t h e U N G e n e r a l assembly last year and no significant f i n a n c i a l p l e d g e s a r e a n t i c i p a t e d a t t h e Q a t a r m e e t i n g T h e p r e s i d e n t s w i l l b e t h e r e , a l o n g w i t h t h o u s a n d s o f e x p e r t s a n d a c t i v i s t s , t o e n s u r e t h a t p r e v i o u s c o m m i t m e n t s a r e k e p t , a cc o r d i n g t o e x p e r t s M a t t h i a s B o u s s i c h a s , P r o g r a m s M a n a g e r a t t h e F o u n d a t i o n f o r s t u di e s a n d r e s e a r c h o n I n t e r n a t i o n a l d ev e l o p m e n t ( F e r d I ) b a s e d i n F r a n c e

s t a t e d t h a t t h e l e a d e r s a r e g o i n g t o t h e s u m m i t t o p r o v i d e t h e c a m p a i g n w i t h n e w m o m e n t u m H e b e l i e v e s t h a t t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i t y m u s t t a c k l e t h e " s t r u c t u r a l h a n d i c a p s " t o t r a d e a n d g r o w t h t h a t L d C s h a v e b e e n b a tt l i n g f o r d e c a d e s r a t h e r t h a n r e c e n t c r i s e s s i n c e 1 9 7 1 t h e n u m b e r o f L d C s h a s a l m o s t d o u b l e d f r o m t h e o r i g i n a l 2 4 g r a n t e d t r a d e a n d m a r k e t p r i v il e g e s a i d a n d e a s i e r a c c e s s t o f in a n c e H o w e v e r t h e a v e r a g e w a g e i n a f g h a n i s t a n i s m e a s u r e d i n h u n d r e d s o f d o l l a r s p e r y e a r w h i l e i n t h e U n i t e d s t a t e s , i t i s o v e r $ 6 5 , 0 0 0 , a cc o r d i n g t o Wo r l d B a n k d a t a B a r e l y h a l f o f t h e w o r l d ' s p o o r e s t h a v e e l e ctricity, and only one in five can access t h e i n t e r n e t , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e U N M a n y g o v e r n m e n t s a rg u e t h a t t h e L d C l a b e l i s a " s t i g m a " Ti n y B h u t a n i s e x p e c t e d t o b e t h e l a t e s t s t a t e t o b e g i n " g r a d u a t i o n " f r o m L d C t h i s

y e a r B a n g l a d e s h , L a o s , N e p a l , a ng o l a , s a o To m e a n d P r i n c i p e , a n d t h e s o l o m o n I s l a n d s a r e s e t t o f o l l o w s u i t b y 2 0 2 6 T h e y w i l l g r a d u a l l y l o s e t h e i r p r i v i l e g e s a n d w i l l s t i l l r e q u i r e a s s i s t a n c e e v e n a f t e r t h e i r e l e v a t i o n , a c c o r d i n g t o B o u s s i c h a s w h o s e n o np r o f i t i n s t i t u t e a d v i s e s t h e U N a n d g o v e r n m e n t s a b o u t 5 0 0 c o r p o r a t e C e O s f r o m a r o u n d t h e w o r l d a r e e x p e c t e d t o a tt e n d t h e m e e t i n g t o p r o m o t e p r i v a t e i n v e s t m e n t i n p o o r c o u n t r i e s a c c o r di n g t o r a b a b F a t i m a t h e U N h i g h r e p r e s e n t a t i v e f o r t h e L d C s M ic r o s o f t p l e d g e d o n T h u r s d a y t o p r ov i d e i n t e r n e t a c c e s s t o 2 0 m i l l i o n m o r e p e o p l e i n a f r i c a , i n a d d i t i o n t o a p r o m i s e o f 1 0 m i l l i o n l a s t y e a r a s p a r t o f a c a m p a i g n t o c o n n e c t 1 0 0 m i l l i o n p e o p l e i n a f r i c a b y 2 0 2 5 To read the full article visit www brecorder com

GUJRANWALA

PA K I S TA N Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz on Friday declared that Imran Khan was “done and dusted” and her party was ready to participate in the elections, stating that she has already completed visits to half of Punjab

In a fiery speech at a rally in Gujranwala she expressed confidence in PMLN s chances of a thumping victory in the elections and urged equal opportunities for all participants

She urged PTI to get the election symbol of Truck while referring to leaked audio of Fawad Chaudhary and his brother Faisal Chaudhary Taking a jab at Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan Maryam Nawaz called him a mentally retarded person” and criticized his failed initiatives including the Jail Bharo Tehreek

ecP rejects Pml-n’s request to remove similar par t y symbols from ballot paper

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has turned down the request made by the Pakistan Muslim League –Nawaz (PML-N) for removing the election symbols of other parties from the list that are similar to their own party symbol PML-N had requested the ECP to remove symbols of goat, deer, cow, and bear from the voting paper, stating that these symbols resemble their party symbol of lion

The party claimed that voters might face difficulty in identifying their party symbol while casting their vote which could lead to an unfavorable situation for the party

The ECP, however, rejected PML-N’s request, stating that there was no ground for such a demand The commission further added that all parties were given equal opportunity to select their symbols, and therefore, the symbols of goat, deer, cow, and bear could not be removed

terrorist killed in mir ali operation

RAWALPINDI app

The security forces on Friday killed an active terrorist in an exchange of fire during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Mir Ali general area of North Waziristan District According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, the intense fire exchange took place between the army troops and terrorists during the conduct of the operation Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorist The killed terrorist remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces and the killing of innocent citizens ISPR said The locals appreciated the operation and expressed their full support to the security forces in eliminating the menace of terrorism from the area

and long march, etc She accused Imran of filling his own pockets and directing his workers to fill jails Nawaz also called for justice for PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, stating that a proven culprit and thief was roaming free while the hands of PML-N were being tightened She taunted Imran s recent questioning of the increasing dollar-rupee parity ratio stating that a person imposed after the Panama Conspiracy was questioning the destruction of the economy Ms Nawaz urged Imran’s facilitators to desist from reviving him as she believed he had already finished politically She also criticized his (Imran’s) decision to leave the assemblies in April and later implore for the restoration of assembly memberships of his lawmakers calling his decisions that of a “mentally disturbed person

Cement despatches declined by 7.10pc during Feb 2023

ISLAMABAD G h u L a M a b b a S

Due to the deteriorating economic situation, imports constraints and slowed construction activities the cement despatches declined by 7 10% in February 2023 Total cement despatches during this month were 4 040 million tons against 4 348 million tons despatched during the same month of the last fiscal year

According to industry sources, the economic situation in the country is becoming increasingly complicated with each passing day As a result of the economic turmoil, the cement industry is facing serious operational problems

As per the data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) on Friday, local cement shipments by the industry during the month of February 2023 were 3 590 million tons compared to 3 943 million tons in February 2022, showing a decline of 8 96% Exports despatches increased by 10 96% as the volumes increased from 405 489 tons in February 2022 to 449 940 tons in February 2023

In February 2023, north-based cement mills despatched 3 014 million tons of cement, showing a decline of 7 42% against 3 255 million tons dispatched in February 2022 South-based mills despatched 1 025 million tons of cement during February 2023 which was 6 13% less compared to the despatches of 1 093 million tons in February 2022

North-based cement mills despatched 2 949 million tons of cement in domestic markets in February 2023 showing a decline of 8 26% against 3 215 million tons in February 2022

South-based mills despatched 640,645 tons of cement in local markets during February 2023 which was 12 04% less compared to the despatches of 728,302 in February 2022

Exports from north-based mills increased by 58 22% as the quantities increased from 40 902 tons in February 2022 to 64,717 tons in February 2023 Exports from the south also increased by 5 66% to 385 223 tons in February 2023 from 364 587 tons during the same month last year

During the first eight months of the current fiscal year, total cement despatches (domestic and exports) were 29 81 million tons which is 16 65% lower than 35 763 million tons despatched during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year Domestic shipments during this period were 27 207 million tons against 31 416 million tons during the same period last year,

ANP hints at par ting ways from PDM government

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

After reservations from the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Awami National Party (ANP) another ally party of the PDM government on Friday has hinted to part ways with the government over ‘reservations’

Senior ANP leader Senator Umar Farooq in an interview with a private TV Channel said they should not have joined the government after the ouster of Imran Khan s regime The party should come out of the coalition government and the final decision will be taken in a party meeting within a few days

The ANP leader further said that the main agenda of the meeting is to consult

Babar awan warns against another assassination bid on Imran Khan’s life

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Babar Awan said on Friday that there are chances of another attack on former prime minister Imran Khan, claiming that his party had received reports about preparations to assassinate PTI chief Addressing a press conference in Islamabad flanked by other PTI leaders, Babar Awan alleged that a foreign agency is involved in planning to assassinate Imran Khan during his appearance in Islamabad courts Formula of Salman Taseer and Liaquat Bagh (Benazir) being pondered to assassinate Khan,” he claimed Babar stated that registration of “fake” cases against the former premier in Islamabad indicate that the actual plan was to grab and trap Khan in the federal capital and “assassinate him by using a sniper or some other suicidal terror act All CCTV cameras had been closed during Imran Khan s appearance in judicial complex and security officials were removed too,” said Awan and asked government to name those involved in this act Babar Awan recalled how Khan used to tell the nation that he would be attacked and the blame would be shifted to a ‘religious fanatic’ “Attempts are being made to surround Khan in the Islamabad court Then be attacked by a sniper While recalling the murders of Salman Taseer and Benazir Bhutto, Awan said that the assassination plan for Imran Khan has been made in a way similar to these two murders

showing a reduction of 13 39% Export despatches were also 40 15% less as the volumes reduced to 2 602 million tons during the first eight months of the current fiscal year compared to 4 348 million tons exports done during the same period of the last fiscal year

North-based mills dispatched 22 327 million tons of cement domestically during the first eight months of the current fiscal year showing a reduction of 14 42% than cement despatches of 26 089 million tons during July 2021 February 2022

Exports from the north increased by 13 21% percent to 678,006 tons during July 2022 February 2023 compared to 598,897 tons exported during the same period last year Total despatches by north-based mills reduced by 13 80% to 23 005 million tons during the first eight months of the current financial year from 26 688 million tons during the same period of the last financial year

Domestic despatches by south-based mills during July 2022 February 2023 were 4 880 million tons showing a reduction of 8 38% over 5 327 million tons of cement despatched during the same period of the last fiscal year Exports from the south declined by 48 67% to 1 924 million tons during July 2022 February 2023 compared to 3 749 million tons exported during the same period last year Total despatches by southbased Mills reduced by 25 03% to 6 804 million tons during the first eight months of the current financial year from 9 076 million tons during the same period of the last financial year

Meanwhile in a statement a spokesman of the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association said that the industry needed timely supply of spare parts and consumable items to ensure stable operation of the plants “We urge the government to come-up with practically applicable and industry friendly policies in order to enable the industry to come out of this difficult situation ” he added

Phc suspends by-polls on na seats in KP

PESHAWAR t Lt p

While issuing directives in response to PTI MNAs pleas against acceptance of their resignation Peshawar High Court order to postpone by-polls scheduled to be held this month on the National Assembly seats

The court issued a notice to the concerned parties while issuing an order postponing the by-elections that had been scheduled to take place on March 16 and 19 Pleas have been filed against National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf ’s acceptance of the resignations of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members of the assembly, requesting the court to postpone the bypolls The PHC announced its decision to postpone the by-elections on the NA seats and issued an order suspending the election schedule Later the court adjourned the hearing till March 7

It is pertinent to mention that by-elections were to be held on a total of 24 seats in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) A day ago after hearing petitions against the acceptance of the resignations of PTI MNAs, the high court had reserved the verdict in the matter

When Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan inquired as to why the former lawmakers had resigned in the first place if they now want to go back to the assembly, the counsel submitted that the MNAs had resigned in protest of Imran Khan s ouster from the premier s office Expressing dismay, Justice Ejaz Anwar observed that the PTI members “think that this is child’s play

Earlier they used to say the resignations should be accepted They used to go to the speaker in a form of a procession and now they want to return to the NA

During the hearing, the former ruling party’s counsel had requested the court to postpone the by-polls that had been scheduled to take place on March 16 and 19

Moody ’s downgrades ratings of five Pakistani banks

ISLAMABAD

on parting ways with the government The ANP lawmaker of the upper house said he has given an application to sit on the opposition benches in Senate I will not support any bill of the government said the annoyed lawmaker, Farooq said and added that we have not given any relief to the masses after coming into power

Taking on PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz the ANP leader said the daughter of the former prime minister wants to put the burden of failure on the PDM parties Maryam should tell who is PM and which party has major ministries, he maintained Maryam Nawaz is trying to make way for her to become the next prime minister of Pakistan, Umar Farooq said

Moody’s Investors Service on Friday downgraded the long-term deposit ratings of five Pakistani banks from Caa1 to Caa3

These banks include Allied Bank Limited (ABL) Habib Bank Ltd (HBL) MCB Bank Limited (MCB) National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and United Bank Ltd (UBL)

The five banks long-term foreign currency Counterparty Risk Ratings (CRRs) has also been downgraded to Caa3 from Caa1

As part of the same rating action, Moody’s also lowered the five banks’ Baseline Credit Assessments (BCAs) to Caa3 from Caa1 and as a result also downgraded their local currency long-term CRRs to Caa2 from B3 as well as their long-term Counterparty Risk Assessments to Caa2(cr) from B3(cr) The outlook on all banks long-term bank deposit ratings has been changed to stable from negative

The move comes just a few days after Moody s had downgraded Pakistan s credit rating to Caa3 from Caa1, to reflect Moody’s assessment that Pakistan’s increasingly fragile liquidity and external position significantly raises default risks

Why the downgrade?

The downgrade of the long-term ratings of the five Pakistani banks reflects (1) the weakening operating environment, as captured by Moody’s lowering of its Macro Profile for Pakistan to Very Weak from Very Weak+ ; and (2) the high interlinkages between the sovereign’s weakened creditworthiness – as indicated by the downgrade of the sovereign rating to Caa3 from Caa1 – and the banks balance sheets, given the banks significant holdings of sovereign debt securities

The deterioration in Pakistan’s operating environment reflects both the rising government liquidity and external vulnerability risks with foreign exchange reserves declining to critically low levels as well as the high costs of living with headline inflation likely to rise further as energy prices increase in tandem with the removal of energy subsidies According to Moody s the combination of these factors, together with the high interest rates, will dampen consumer confidence and compromise borrowers’ repayment capacity In turn, these factors will pressure banks earnings, asset quality and capital metrics and also potentially jeopardise financial stability These pressures have led to the lowering of the country s Macro Profile to Very Weak from Very Weak+

According to Moody’s the banks’ high sovereign exposure mainly in the form of government debt securities that range between 36%-61% of their total assets, also links their credit profile to that of the government In view of the correlation between

sovereign and bank credit risk these banks’ standalone credit profiles and ratings are effectively constrained by the Caa3 rating of the government The stable outlooks assigned to all the banks long-term deposit ratings are in line with the stable outlook on government of Pakistan The stable outlook further reflects banks’ stable local currency funding and liquidity and resilient earningsgenerating capacity that partly mitigate macro- and sovereign-driven risks

The ratings could be upgraded following a material strengthening of the operating environment and in the government s credit profile and provided that the banks maintain their resilient financial performance Pakistani banks ratings could be downgraded if the sovereign rating is downgraded, given the banks’ sizeable holdings of sovereign debt securities Downward pressure on the BCAs of individual banks could also develop from a deterioration in banks’ financial metrics in particular their asset quality profitability, and capital adequacy

I m r a n K h a n d o n e a n d d u s t e d ; d e c l a r e s m a r ya m n aw a z