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12 COPS MARTYRED IN ‘SUICIDE BLASTS’ AT KABAL CTD POLICE STATION Tuesday, 25 April, 2023 I 4 Shawwal, 1444
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EMERGENCY DECLARED IN SAIDU SHARIF AND OTHER NEARBY HOSPITALS
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SWAT
PM, PRESIDENT AND KP-CM CONDEMN BLASTS, SYMPATHIZE WITH BEREAVED FAMILIES
STAFF REPORT
T least 12 policemen were martyred and 43 others sustained injuries Monday evening in two “suspected suicide blasts” in the building of Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station in Kabal area of Swat district. Swat DPO Shafiullah Gandapur confirmed to the media the number of casualties and said that it will be determined whether or not it was “suicide attack”. However, spokespersons for the district police confirmed that 12 policemen were martyred in the blasts and around 43 got injured. Another police official informed that initial information showed the attack occurred around 8:20pm inside the police station premises which also housed the Counter-Terrorism Department and a mosque. He said that all three buildings “collapsed” due to the blast, adding that a fire also erupted soon after. According to police, unidentified assailants started firing during which a suicide bombing took place and a second massive explosion occurred within seconds as a result of which houses were damaged up to an area of two km. The building of the police station has been completely destroyed due to the blasts, the police added. Police said an emergency has been declared in Saidu Sharif Hospital where injured were being shifted. Meanwhile, an emergency was declared at all nearby hospitals. Rescue 1122 officials said operation is being carried out to rescue the people
trapped under the debris of the building. The rescuers informed that electricity supply to the area was also disrupted after the blasts. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan condemned the blasts and offered his heartfelt condolences to the families of the martyrs. He also directed the authorities concerned to immediately start relief operation and provide timely medical aid to
the injured. He termed the incident “highly condemnable and a brutal act”. According to initial reports, several cops lost their lives and others sustained injuries in two bomb blasts in the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station in Kabal town Swat district. Heavy contingents of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) rushed to the scene and cordoned off the entire area. Different teams of forensic and other
LAKKI MARWAT: Two alleged terrorists were killed and two policemen injured during a shootout occurred in the limit of Lakki City Police here on Monday. According to police, the officials of the Counter-Terrorism Department raided the house of an alleged terrorist namely Zubair following a tip-off about his presence along with other outlaws. Upon seeing the police party, the outlaws started firing on the policemen, which they retaliated. During the exchange of firing, two alleged terrorists iden-
tified as: Tehsinullah and Numan were killed while police Inspector Javed Khan and Hawaldar Irfan sustained bullets wounds. It may be recalled that a retired colonel Muqarab Khan was also martyred in armed attack by unknown attackers at his hujra in the limit of same police station on the night between Sunday and Monday at Lakki Marwat. Police cordoned off the area and shifted the injured to hospital. STAFF REPORT
ARAB COUNTRIES SHOW GREEN LIGHT, BUT IS IT ENOUGH? ISLAMABAD
MOMINA ASHRAF
Finance minister Ishaq Dar on Monday confirmed that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) informed the IMF about their commitments to provide $3 billion to Pakistan. Abu Dhabi has promised $1 billion funds and Riyadh is expected to release $2 billion in the next few days, elaborated Dar to Geo News. The stalled IMF program sought an external financing assurance of around $6 billion from Pakistan which is necessary to bridge Pakistan’s external financing needs. With the last dollar in-
jection from the UAE, all eyes are on the Washington-based moneylender to release the $1.1 billion tranche. In a presser, Dar elaborated that Riyadh will provide $2 billion while Abu Dhabi has promised $1 billion to Pakistan. “Pakistan is hopeful that the IMF will soon sign the Staff Level Agreement (SLA) and get it approved by its Executive Board,” he added. These funds, which were expected to be confirmed in January, saw a delay when the crown prince of UAE postponed his visit to Islamabad at the last minute. In recent weeks neighboring China also rolled over $2 billion and refinanced another $1.3 billion
in recent weeks. The country also expects to receive an estimated amount of $600 million from the world bank and other multilateral flood-relief commitments. It seems like the financing gap won’t be an issue for the IMF, previously the macroeconomic state institutions swallowed bitter pills to appease the fund. This included jacking up its key policy rate to an all-time high of 21%, a marketbased exchange rate, arranging for external financing, and raising more than Rs 170 billion ($613 million) in new taxes. The fiscal adjustments have already fueled Pakistan’s highest inflation ever, which climbed in March to more than 35% on the year.
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wings of police started collection of circumstantial evidence. INTERIOR MINISTER VOWS TO CURB MENACE OF TERRORISM: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan on Monday strongly condemned the blast in Kabal CTD police station Swat. In a statement, the minister regretted over the loss of precious lives in the explosion. He also expressed his sympathy to the families of martyrs and prayed for them to bear this irreparable loss. “We will never forget the sacrifices of the martyrs for the security of the country and the nation”, he stated. The scourge of terrorism will be uprooted soon, he said adding that the Home Minister has been asked for a report on the incident. He also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. PM, PRESIDENT STRONGLY CONDEMN KABAL BLAST: Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday strongly condemned the twin blast in Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Police Station Kabal, Swat and reiterated that security and police forces would completely eliminate the curse of terrorism.
Two terrorists killed, two cops injured in Lakki shootout
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Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 295 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
NO POLICY FRAMEWORK TO COVER ENTIRE SOES PORTFOLIO AT PRESENT ISLAMABAD
SHAHZAD PARACHA
On the instructions of multilateral organisations, the federal government is expected to submit the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) bill in Parliament, for a better management of loss making entities. The ‘State-Owned Enterprises Triage: Reforms & Way Forward’ report, prepared by ministry of Finance, states that the government of Pakistan agreed to complete two structural benchmarks by the end of September 2020 pertaining to SOEs portfolio. These benchmarks address the considerations in the backdrop of the discussion and finalization of Extended Fund Facility (EFF) 2019-22 with the IMF. The current report primarily addresses the longoverdue need of a comprehensive review of SOEs for their continued ownership and control by the government through a well-defined ownership rationale. Concurrently, the Finance Division has been working closely with IMF and ADB to draft an SOE Bill and an SOE Ownership and Management Policy to fill the gaps in the existing SOEs governance structure and help the government in well-informed performance evaluation and oversight of SOEs.
The original report states that the finance division shall shortly submit an SOEs bill in Parliament for better management of loss making entities. Through this proposed enactment, the boards of directors of the SOEs shall be given more autonomy in terms of decision-making in addition to ensuring the separation of the office of chairman from the CEO in all SOEs including entities established through special enactments. Moreover, the role of the line ministries/divisions shall be streamlined for operational autonomy of the SOEs. So far, no policy framework exists in Pakistan which covers the entire SOEs portfolio. To address the current policy gap, and the diversity of sectors and legal and institutional frameworks in which the SOEs operate, the Government of Pakistan intends to develop a policy to manage these SOEs through a coherent and institutionalized arrangement. The clarity on the ownership rationale of SOEs; the role of the Federal Government as shareholder and the manner of the exercise of the ownership function; the respective roles and responsibilities of the federal government, line ministries and the boards of SOEs; frameworks of competitive neutrality and public sector obligation; and necessary reporting and decision-making processes shall be important components of the proposed policy.
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Govt using talks as ‘poly to flee’ polls, says Imran LAHORE
MONITORING REPORT
Former prime minister Imran Khan said the Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition government was employing negotiations with his Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf (PTI) party as a ‘ploy’ to defer elections. In an interview for ARY News TV on Sunday, Khan revealed his party had not yet been approached by the government for dialogue, suggesting a lack of genuine interest in reaching a resolution. The Supreme Court, which recently heard a case regarding the simultaneous holding of provincial and national parliament elections, had given all major political parties a week to agree on a date. However, the ruling coalition refused to comply with the court’s order, citing their reluctance to engage in talks under the court’s watch. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazl ur-Rehman had dubbed the talks between PDM and PTI, as directed by the court, as “talks at gunpoint.” The two are currently in a deadlock over elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with the former insisting on holding provincial legislature polls while the government demands simultaneous elections nationwide. During the interview, Khan told anchorperson Maria Memon that the deputy chairman of the party, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, had been given the mandate to negotiate with the government. Khan also asserted his party’s determination to hold elections in Punjab, citing the April 4 order of the Supreme Court directing the government to hold polls in the province on May 14.
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