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Friday, 17 March, 2023 I 24 Shaban, 1444

Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 258 I 08 Pages I Islamabad Edition

What’s happening at Credit Suisse — Swiss bank that had at least 1,400 Pakistani accounts

China’s eastern province to relocate industries to Pakistan

Despite global downturn, ed-tech sector sees hope with Maqsad’s $2.8m round

NEPRA reserves judgment on govt’s request to raise power surcharge

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PM Shehbaz, IMran droP hInt at talk to ‘end Standoff’ g

imran says ready to talK to anyone For country’s saKe

pm calls For national unity among the political leadership to address challenges

LAHore StAff report

hat is being described as reconciliatory tone in the midst of worst political crisis of the country’s history, former prime minister and pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti) chairman imran Khan on thursday said that he was ready to talk to anyone for the sake of the country, coinciding with pm shehbaz call for national unity among the political leadership to address the country’s challenges. pti chief imran Khan on his social media account on twitter stated that “i can sacrifice anything for the development, interests and democracy of pakistan.” the remarks by the two leaders come a day after pm shehbaz extended an ‘offer’, emphasising that all political forces would have to sit together for dialogue to steer the country out of the ongoing political and economic crises. “i will not refrain from any sacrifice for the sake of pakistan’s uplift, interest and democracy,” imran tweeted today. “in this regard, i am willing to talk to anyone and take every step towards it.” the former premier further

stated, “i am ready to talk to ‘anyone’ for the sake of the country’s development and interest. he expressed heartfelt gratitude to the party supporters and workers for joining his haqeeqi azadi tehreek. imran, who has a number of cases against him, has been resisting arrest and is holed up inside his Zaman park residence surrounded by thousands of supporters, who have fought “pitched battles” with the police and rangers over the past few days. shehbaz calls for unity meanwhile, pm shehbaz called for national unity among the political leadership to address the

country’s challenges. he made the remarks while speaking in the senate during a session to mark its golden jubilee celebration. in his speech in senate, the premier said economic stability could not be achieved without political stability. he said that the coalition government had sacrificed their politics for the country’s sake by taking up the mantle during tough economic times. he told the upper house of parliament that a staff-level agreement with the international monetary Fund (imF) was expected soon. at the same time, he accused the previous government of knowingly aban-

doning the agreements it made with the money lender. “the fact of the matter is that when we took over, our economy was facing very difficult challenges. we had negotiated and signed the agreement with the imF but we did not adhere to it. we didn’t respect the terms and conditions [and] flouted them which damaged pakistan’s image, trust and confidence.” the prime minister said the country was facing serious political and economic challenges but stressed that all parties needed to align their goals for a better pakistan. “let us brighten the future of pakistan. we should strive, not conspire, remove hurdles instead of creating the [and] unite the nation instead of creating division,” the prime minister advised. a day earlier, pm shehbaz had extended an olive branch to him, emphasising that all political forces will have to sit for dialogue to rid the country of the ongoing political and economic crises. “all political forces will have to sit together to take the country forward,” the premier had said while addressing a meeting held with a delegation of the council of pakistan newspaper editors (cpne) at the pm house.

Default watch: Chinese bank may refinance $500m as Dar interrogated in Senate g

Finance minister says materialisation oF commitments made by ‘Friendly countries’ with islamabad remains “only delay” in resumption oF stalled programme Profit rePort ISLAMABAD

Finance minister ishaq dar was made to sweat in a senate session on thursday over the continued delays in the resumption of pakistan’s programme with the international monetary Fund (imF) on the same day that a chinese bank provided assurance that it will provide another refinanced $500 million loan

within the next few days. this brings the total of commercial loans up to $1.7 billion out of the total committed amount of $2 billion. pakistan is currently undergoing a massive liquidity crisis due to a constantly delayed imF programme. the refinancing news comes on the same day that finance minister ishaq dar admitted that the fund was asking for the materialisation of commitments made by ‘friendly

countries’ with islamabad, which remains the “only delay” in resumption of the stalled programme. speaking during the senate’s session today, dar said: “at the time of previous reviews, certain friendly countries made commitments to bilaterally support pakistan. but the imF is now asking that they should actually complete and materialise those commitments.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

LHC bars police from arresting Imran until today LAHore StAff report

the lahore high court (lhc) extended the postponement of the police operation for the arrest of imran Khan until Friday (tomorrow) as teams arrived at mall road neighbourhood in lahore on thursday, less than a five-minute drive from pakistan tehreek-i-insaf (pti) chairman’s Zaman park residence. separately, the court also barred the opposition party from holding a scheduled public rally in lahore on sunday, directing the caretaker government and Khan to resolve the issue through negotiations, according to dunya news. the operation was part of executing non-bailable arrest warrants issued by a sessions court for Khan, who has skipped hearings four times. islamabad police, supported by punjab police and the rangers, have faced resistance from pti workers since tuesday, leading to violent exchanges with petrol bombs and tear gas. subsequently, on wednesday, the police paused the operation during the hbl pakistan super league (psl) session and until 10:00 am thursday after an order by the court. on thursday, pti workers gathered outside Zaman park and blocked the residence with shipping containers and chanted slogans in favour of their party chief. Khan’s supporters also placed rocks along multiple sections of the road leading to his residence. before adjourning the proceedings, the high court ordered authorities to halt the police operation as requested by Fawad chaudhry, senior vice president of pti, who had filed a petition to stop alleged “atrocities” against his party members. the court’s written order said that the injunctive orders issued on the previous day would remain in force until the next hearing on march 17. the containers were placed after party leader musarrat Jamshed cheema, in a series of tweets, issued a warning, saying the pti will continue to defend the leader of the nation and will not let the “future of pakistan be pledged to a few families.”