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Profit PM ShehBaz SetS 72-houR deadlIne FoR aRReSt oF ‘vandalISM and aRSon’ SuSPeCtS Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 314 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
Sunday, 14 May, 2023 I 23 Shawwal, 1444
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CONDEMNS ACTIONS OF IMRAN KHAN, HIS FOLLOWERS, WHO HE BELIEVES ACTED AS ENEMIES OF PAKISTAN
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LAHORE STAFF REPORT
HEHBAZ Sharif ordered the caretaker government of Punjab to arrest those involved in the incidents of “vandalism, attacks, and arson” in Punjab following the arrest on Tuesday of former prime minister Imran Khan. Police in Punjab have arrested hundreds of supporters of Khan for violence after his arrest, and later release, in a land dispute, according to authorities, deepening a political crisis in the country. Mobile data services were restored after being shut for over 48 hours while Twitter, YouTube and Facebook were still disrupted,
as security forces tried to restore order after violent protests killed at least a dozen people. During his visit to Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) on Saturday, the prime minister directed law enforcement agencies to arrest the perpetrators within 72 hours and initiate legal proceedings against them in anti-terrorism courts. He expressed grief over the incidents and condemned the “actions of Khan and his followers”, who he believes acted as enemies of Pakistan. He stressed that those responsible for the “attacks” should be brought to justice in accordance with relevant legal and constitutional provisions. Sharif also desired an increase in the number of anti-terrorism courts in the
Six terrorists killed as operation at Balochistan FC Camp completed: ISPR
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DESIRES INCREASE IN NUMBER OF ATCS TO ENSURE SWIFTE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST SUSPECTS
province to ensure that legal proceedings against the suspects commence swiftly. Dur-
ing a meeting in Islamabad, he had already issued clear directives to deal with those in-
‘Imran responsible for torching of Corps Commander House’
LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that Imran Niazi was responsible for the barbaric act of torching of Corps Commander House in Lahore as he planned and instigated the act of arson. Talking to media during his visit to Jinnah House, the prime minister said the planners, instigators and abettors behind this attack would not be given any relief. He said Jinnah House was the home of Corps Commander Lahore which was tragically and cruelly burnt on May 9. The rioters attacked and set the house on fire, he said, adding that the arsonists did not care that it was a historical building and the army officer and his family were living there. The building was inhabited by the son of the land who was on duty to protect his motherland, he remarked. This was a cruel and anti-state act which never happened before in the 75 years; history of the country. The prime minister said that he was saddened while talking about the incident and said nobody thought that such an incident could happen. STAFF REPORT CONTINUED ON PAGE 03
Weekly inflation stays above 48pc for 2nd consecutive week
RAWALPINDI
STAFF REPORT
The clearance operation at FC Compound Muslim Bagh in Northern Balochistan, which had commenced on the evening of May 12 after repulsing the initial onslaught of terrorists, has been completed in the morning of May 13, the military’s media wing said on Saturday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement informed that all the six terrorists in the compound, who were well equipped, have been sent to hell. Necessary intelligence follow-up will continue to trace their linkages and arrest facilitators and expose their sponsors. “The complex clearance operation involved hostage rescue operation as well to save three families from a residential block. The terrorists had not even spared children of their horrendous approach,” the InterServices Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. While In the process of clearance operation, seven sons of the soil including a civilian embraced Shahadat while another six individuals including a woman have been injured, the statement said. The ISPR said Security Forces, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart all attempts at sabotaging the peace, stability, and progress of Balochistan. Meanwhile, security forces have repulsed a terrorist attack on a check post in Hoshab – Balochistan, InterServices Public Relations (ISPR) on Friday. Terrorists attacked a security check post in the general area of Hoshab – Balochistan. The security forces successfully repulsed the distant fire raid. The escaping terrorists were pursued into the nearby mountains of Balore, using aerial surveillance means, the ISPR said. During the skirmish, five terrorists were killed and a cache of arms and ammunition was recovered. The operation, however, continues to track a few fleeing terrorists into adjoining areas, it concluded.
ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
The weekly inflation, measured by Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed an increase of 0.27 pc to jump to 48.02pc on a year-on-year basis for the week ending on May 11, official data showed. The short-term inflation rose by an all-time high of 48.35pc for the period that ended on May 4. Out of the 51 monitored items, the average price of 23 items increased, 7 items decreased whereas 21 items registered no change during the week. During the week under review, the items whose prices increased the most over the same week a year ago were: potatoes (112.80pc), gas charges for Q1 (108.38pc), tea Lipton (106.09pc), wheat flour (101.20pc), gents sponge chapal (100.33pc), diesel (99.39pc), bananas (98.22pc), rice basmati broken (90.76pc), eggs (89.40pc), petrol (87.81pc), rice irri-6/9 (83.47pc), pulse moong (66.91pc), bread (62.83pc) and pulse mash (58.79pc). A decrease was observed in the prices of onions (9.40%), chicken (2.25%), LPG (1.51%), garlic (1.39%), bananas (0.68%), pulse gram (0.13%), and mustard oil (0.05%). The SPI has steadily been on the rise since the start of Ramazan due to continued rupee devaluation, costly petrol prices, increase in sales tax and higher electricity charges. Of the 51 items in the SPI basket, prices of 23
goods soared, seven dropped and 21 remained unchanged compared to the previous week. On a week-on-week basis, the biggest rise was observed in the prices of tomatoes (6.32pc), gur (3.41pc), wheat flour (2.76pc), tea prepared (2.66pc), potatoes (2.14pc), cooked beef (2.12pc), cooked daal (1.98pc), powdered milk (1.91pc), eggs (1.83pc), rice basmati broken (1.42pc), pulse masoor (1.19pc), beef (1.18pc) and washing soap (1.04pc). According to a finance ministry report, the lower-income segment of society is already feeling the brunt of high inflation, which has become unrelenting on the back of political instability, financial mismanagement and delay in an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. Slow recovery from the flood-led damages had caused the supply of essential crops to remain short of domestic requirements, consequently intensifying inflation, the report added. On the other hand, the State Bank of Pakistan was enacting a contractionary monetary policy, “but inflationary expectations are not settling down”, the report noted. The government has been taking harsh measures — hikes in fuel and power tariffs, withdrawal of subsidies, market-based exchange rate and higher taxation — under the IMF programme to generate revenue for bridging the fiscal deficit, which may result in slow economic growth and higher inflation in coming months.
COAS vows to bring to justice all planners, instigators, executors of vandalism on May 9 RAWALPINDI
STAFF REPORT
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir Saturday vowed to bring to justice all the planners, abetters, instigators and executors of vandalism on the Black Day of 9th May. “The Armed Forces will not tolerate any further attempt of violating the sanctity and security of its installations or vandalism and resolved to bring to justice all the planners, abetters, instigators and executors of vandal-
ism on the Black Day of 9th May,” said the COAS while addressing the officers of Peshawar Corps during his visit to the Corps Headquarter. The COAS was given a detailed briefing on the prevailing security situation and ongoing counter-terrorism efforts. He appreciated the professional competence, performance and achievements of Law Enforcement Agencies in the ongoing fight against terrorism. The COAS while briefing the officers of the Corps emphasised on the evolving
volved in the attacks with an iron hand. The prime minister regretted the destruction of the Corps Commander’s House in Lahore. He noted that the armed forces and law enforcement personnel had always been ready to sacrifice their lives to protect the country from the enemies, and those responsible for the recent attacks should be dealt with strictly to prevent such incidents in the future. The prime minister also criticised the previous government’s “criminal negligence”, which he claimed allowed the PSCA cameras to lie dysfunctional. He stressed that about Rs12 billion had been spent on PSCA, making it the biggest institution in South Asia. On his Twitter account, the prime minister reiterated his commitment to bringing the perpetrators of the attacks to justice and urged law enforcement agencies to use all available resources, including technological aid and intelligence, to achieve this goal.
threats to national security. “We shall continue with our endeavors of peace and stability and there will be no room for spoilers of the process”. The COAS also sensitised about challenges of information warfare and efforts to create misperceptions. He highlighted that a concerted effort is being made maliciously by inimical elements to target the Armed Forces. He pledged that such nefarious attempts will be foiled through the support of people of Pakistan. Earlier on arrival, COAS was received by Corps Commander Peshawar.
India’s illegal, unilateral actions of 2019 vitiated atmosphere for dialogue, says FM ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has categorically stated that India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August, 2019 had vitiated the atmosphere and shut the door for dialogue. He was talking to a 10-member delegation of the Azad Kashmir chapter of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) led by APHC Convener Mehmood Ahmed Saghar here Saturday. The minister said India would have to go back to the drawing board of August 4, 2019 for any meaningful bilateral engagement. The meeting with APHC’s AJK chapter took place at a time when the entire pro-freedom leadership in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) remained incarcerated. The delegation briefed the Foreign Minister on the situation in the occupied territory with particular reference to the ongoing human rights violations, efforts for demographic change and attempts at political engineering. The delegation expressed great appreciation for the Foreign Minister’s unequivocal stance on Jammu and Kashmir during his recent visit to India. Terming them an effort to further consolidate India’s control over the territory, the delegation rejected the plans to hold different G-20 meetings in IIOJK, under India’s ongoing presidency of the grouping. The Foreign Minister informed the delegation that his recent visit to India took place in the context of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as Pakistan attached great importance to that regional organization. However, in the run up to the visit, Pakistan had made it clear that no bilateral meeting was on cards, he added. Recalling that Pakistan’s official position on Jammu and Kashmir dispute had been consistent over decades, the Foreign Minister assured the delegation that the government would leave no stone unturned to support the Kashmir cause. Saluting the sacrifices and courage of the Kashmiri people, the minister stressed that their fundamental rights and freedoms, including their inalienable right to selfdetermination, must be granted. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s continued moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people’s just struggle. He also stressed that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute must be resolved in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people.