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PTI READY TO CONTINUE TALKS ON FRAMEWORK OF POLLS: FAWAD CH Sunday, 30 April, 2023 I 9 Shawwal, 1444
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SAYS PARTY LEADERSHIP REJECTED ATTEMPTS TO SABOTAGE ONGOING NEGOTIATIONS
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ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
AKISTAN Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President said that the PTI leadership rejected the attempts to sabotage the talks and decided to continue the negotiations with the government on the framework of the elections within the ambit of the Constitution. PTI Senior Vice President, in a statement on Saturday said that keeping in mind the orders of the Supreme Court (SC), PTI decided to continue the talks with the government and the final agenda would be discussed in next round of talks scheduled for Tuesday. Lashing out at the imported government, Fawad strongly condemned the raid on PTI President Parvez Elahi’s house and the continued detention of PTI Senior leader Ali Amin Gandapur despite being granted bail. Fawad stated that the arrests of workers were making the negotiation process meaningless if the government negotiation team cannot play any role in maintaining the atmosphere after the assurance, how will they make big decisions? Meanwhile, Fawad expressed serious reservations over the highly controversial and full of faults census results, which would result in reducing seven national assembly seats of Punjab and one of Karachi. He said that the results of the new census were devastating because the whole process was highly controversial and unbelievable. Fawad Chaudhry said that the process was full of mistakes adopted only to stop the elections, as a result of which the country would suffer immensely. GOVT-PTI TALKS: Hours before the raid, efforts to find common ground through dialogue between the
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SAYS FINAL AGENDA TO BE DISCUSSED IN NEXT ROUND OF TALKS ON TUESDAY
leaders of the ruling alliance and the PTI continued as the talks remained on track, and the leaders on both sides had, so far, refused to let their differences come in the way of forging a consensus on general elections. On the second day of talks, the government and the PTI teams once again entered a room in the Parliament House, shut the door and emerged after a couple of hours, agreeing that the third – possibly final – round
would take place on coming Tuesday after which a decision would be announced. Though the leaders emerged sounding hopeful about the future prospects, the second round of talks between the PTI and the ruling coalition to break the ongoing political and constitutional impasse in the country ended with both sides agreeing to take input from their leadership and continue negotiations next week.
Dar tells Qureshi Centre not involved in raid on Elahi’s residence ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Saturday denied involvement of the federal government in the last night’s raid on the residence of former Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi — a key ally of deposed prime minister Imran Khan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Central President. A team of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), Punjab, and the Lahore police conducted the raid to arrest the PTI leader. The raiding teams remained on the premises of the former CM’s residence for more than three hours during which they took around nine people into custody, but were unable to find Elahi. The ACE team, led by Additional Director Waqas Hassan, along with heavy contingents of the Anti-Riot Force (ARF), raided the residence of the former Punjab chief minister in a case reportedly registered at the ACE Gujranwala. According to a statement issued today, Dar con-
tacted senior PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi and denied any involvement of the Centre in the police action, saying that it was instead carried out by the caretaker Punjab government. Dar expressed sorrow over the raid and the violation of the sanctity of the “veil and the four walls”. Qureshi informed Dar about the emotions of Elahi’s family as well as the sentiments within the party. “We will inform our leadership about the emotions of the PTI,” Dar assured Qureshi, adding that his party will soon contact the opposition party again in this regard. Earlier in the day, Punjab police booked Elahi on terror charges. The case has been registered against 50 individuals including the former chief minister in Lahore’s Ghalib Market police station. The FIR invokes Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 and has 13 other charges included pertaining to attempted murder, rioting and assault on government officials.
COAS says nothing more sacred than safety of Pakistanis ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
The army chief on Saturday reaffirmed his institution’s unwavering commitment to the nation’s security, emphasising that nothing is more sacred than the safety of the people of Pakistan. Gen. Syed Asim Munir, delivered these remarks during the passing out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy
(PMA) in Kakul village of Abbottabad, in his first speech as the military chief. During his address, Gen. Munir stressed the people of Pakistan are at the heart of the state’s unity, and loyalty to Pakistan is paramount. He said the institution of the army upholds the vision of Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and does not discriminate based on caste, colour, creed, gender, or geography. The general also expressed Pak-
istan’s commitment to peaceful coexistence with all nations, particularly its neighbours. He welcomed recent regional engagement and peace initiatives and expressed hope they would bring a positive impact on peace in the region. He stressed the importance of safeguarding Pakistan’s territorial integrity, saying that Islamabad was well aware of the means to protect its sovereignty. He further assured the people that the military was al-
ways ready to render any sacrifice necessary for the defense of the motherland.
SC to resume hearing on pleas against bill seeking end to CJP’s suo motu powers on May 2 ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
The Supreme Court (SC) will resume hearing on identical petitions challenging a bill seeking to ‘clip’ suo motu powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) on May 2 (Tuesday). According to the roster issued on Saturday, the eightmember larger bench will comprise: CJP Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Sayyad Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Waheed. The SC bench will conduct hearing on three petitions filed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution by Advocate Muhammad Shafay Munir, Raja Amer Khan, Chaudhry Ghulam Hussain and others against the bill. Article 184(3) of the Constitution sets out the SC’s original jurisdiction, and enables it to assume jurisdiction in matters involving a question of “public importance” with reference to the “enforcement of any of the fundamental rights” of Pakistan’s citizens. The bill, titled the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, is aimed at curtailing the suo motu powers of the office of the CJP of powers in an individual capacity. It was initially passed by both houses of parliament and sent to the president for his assent. However, the president had sent it back, saying that the proposed law travelled “beyond the competence of parliament”. The bill was subsequently adopted by a joint session of parliament — albeit with some amendments. However, while hearing the set of three petitions challenging the bill, the eight-member apex court bench on April 13 ruled that after the bill received either the president’s assent or it was deemed to have been given, the act that “comes into being shall not have, take or be given any effect nor be acted upon in any manner” — halting the law’s implementation when the bill came into effect. The ruling coalition government was swift to reject the apex court’s ruling. President Dr Arif Alvi again refused to give his assent to the bill on April 19 and sent it back to parliament, following which it technically became an act of parliament on April 21. THE PETITIONS: The three petitions argued that the concept, preparation, endorsement and passing of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 is an act tainted with mala fide. Therefore, they urge the SC to strike it down after declaring it to be without lawful authority and of no legal effect.
Inflation levels to plateau in coming months, say finance ministry
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BALANCE OF PAYMENT FOR MARCH REVEALS TRADE DEFICIT IN GOODS, SERVICES DECLINED BY 9.1% ON A MOM AND 54% ON YOY BASIS PROFIT
ISLAMABAD
The monthly economic outlook report of April 2023 reveals that inflation is expected to remain at elevated levels in coming months. The report indicates that food and energy prices are major drivers for this hike. Currency depreciation and raising administered prices have also contributed majorly to jack up overall price levels. The trend in MEI during the first nine
months of the current fiscal year remained volatile on account of high inflation, high-interest rates, fiscal consolidation, and lack of confidence in economic agents. However, slight improvement has been observed in the month of March due to some growth in exports on a month-on-month (MoM) basis and uptick in CLI of Pakistan’s main export markets. The balance of payment (BoP) for the month of March reveals that the trade deficit in goods and services declined by 9.1% on a MoM basis and 54% on year-on-
year (YoY) basis. Other positive developments includes an increase in exports of goods and services by 9.6%, whereas imports of goods and services increased by only 2.3%. High growth in exports has offset the impact of increase in imports as the trade deficit remains contained. Remittances increased by 27% on MoM basis to $2.5 billion in March 2023 as compared to $1.99 billion in February 2023. This is due to improved situation after exchange rate adjustments, Ramzan and Eid
that played an instrumental role in attracting higher proceeds. All above favorable factors have been translated into the current account which turned to surplus of 6864 million in the month of March, a level observed after November 2020. For the month of April, it is expected that imports will increase somewhat at a higher level as compared to March due to the government decision for some relaxation in pro-growth imports, to stimulate domestic economic activities. However, remittances
will remain at the same level as observed in March. Accordingly, all these factors will contribute in curtailing the overall current account deficit. Amidst unprecedented challenges due to domestic and global economic situations, fiscal consolidation efforts are on track. The objective is not only to create much-needed fiscal buffers but also to restore macroeconomic stability. The effective implementation of consolidation measures contributed to a sharp increase in revenues from both tax and non-tax collection while containing overall spending growth due to a large drop in nonmarkup expenditures.
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