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SENATE PASSES AMENDS TO ARMY ACT TO PUNISH ‘UNAUTHORISED DISCLOSURE’ OF INFORMATION Friday, 28 July, 2023 I 9 Muharram, 1445
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ANYONE DISCLOSES INFORMATION ABOUT INTEREST OF PAKISTAN OR ARMED FORCES SHALL BE PUNISHED WITH FIVE YEARS TERM
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ISLAMABAD
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BILL FORBIDS ARMY PERSONNEL FROM ENGAGING IN ANY KIND OF POLITICAL ACTIVITY FOR TWO YEARS FROM DATE OF ‘RETIREMENT, RESIGNATION, OR DISMISSAL FROM SERVICE’
STAFF REPORT
HE Senate on Thursday passed a bill to amend the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 which proposes up to five years in jail for anyone discloses sensitive information pertaining to the security of the country or the Pakistan Army. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif introduced the bill, titled: “Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act, 2023.” The bill proposes adding Section 26A (unauthorised disclosure) to the act, under which “anyone who discloses or causes to be disclosed any information, acquired in official capacity, which is or may be prejudicial to the security and interest of Pakistan or the armed forces of Pakistan, shall be […] punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years”. However, if someone does so “after seeking prior approval from the chief of army staff (COAS), or any officer duly empowered by him, in the manner prescribed” then it shall not be deemed as an “unauthorised disclosure”. It also states that such a case will be dealt with according to Section 59 (civil offences) of the Army Act read with the Official Secrets Act 1923. The bill also proposes introducing Section 26-B, which forbids any person subject to the Army Act from engaging in any kind of political activity for two years from the date of their “retirement,
release, resignation, discharge, removal or dismissal from the service”. It further says that those who have “remained posted, employed, seconded, tasked or otherwise attached on sensitive duties” are forbidden from taking part in “political activity of any kind, during a period of five years from the date of his retirement, release, resignation, discharge, removal or dismissal from the service”. It states that anyone who violates the aforementioned conditions, upon their conviction by the court constituted under the Army Act, will be punished with “rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years”. The bill also proposes introducing Sections 55-A (conflict of interest), 55-B
Pakistan, KSA to work together on $10b green refinery project at Gwadar ISLAMABAD
AHMAD AHMADANI
Four Pakistani state-owned oil and gas companies on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) amid advance level negotiation with Saudi Arabia to execute a $10 billion green refinery project at the strategic Gwadar Port in Pakistan. The project, expected to attract significant foreign investment from world-class oil and gas giants through equity participation, will be a joint venture between Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Government Holdings Private Limited (GHPL). The signing ceremony was witnessed by Minister for State Musadiq Malik, and Secretary Petroleum, Capt (r) Muhammad Mahmood, who were present as chief guests. In his address, Mussadiq Malik revealed that the Saudi Arabian oil firm has shown keen interest in injecting the entire equity into the multibillion-dollar refinery project. In response, the Pakistani government decided to form a joint venture with key state-owned companies in the country. Under the proposed plan, PSO, OGDCL, PPL, and GHPL will collectively contribute 70 percent of the equity, while Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil company, will initially inject 30 to 50 percent equity into the project. State Minister Mussadiq Malik emphasized that the establishment of the Greenfield Refinery will play a pivotal role in reducing the country’s trade deficit. He highlighted the government’s achievements over the past year, including the addition of 138 Million Cubic Feet of natural gas worth $570 million to the gas system, with an additional $500 million of indigenous gas production to be integrated soon. Furthermore, the minister mentioned that the benefits of the agreement signed with Russia for crude oil will soon be realized by the masses. He also informed the audience that negotiations are underway with friendly countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, to import affordable oil and gas to Pakistan.
Rs 15.00 | Vol XIV No 28 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
(electronic crimes) and 55-C (defamation). Section 55-A forbids any persons subject to the Army Act in the past five years from “directly or indirectly enter[ing] into employment, consultation or other engagement with an entity having conflict of interest” with the activities of the Pakistan Army or its affiliates. However, the law does not apply to those who seek prior approval from the COAS for the above. A person guilty of the said offence can be imprisoned for up to “two years with fine not exceeding Rs500,000 or with both”, the bill states. Section 55-B states that any person, who is or has been subjected to the Army Act, and commits an offence under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), 2016 “with the malafide intention
to undermine, ridicule, or scandalize the armed forces of Pakistan,” shall be punished in the manner prescribed in the Peca law. Section 55-C stated that a person subject to the Army Act, who “ridicules, scandalises, brings into hatred or otherwise attempts to lower the armed forces of Pakistan or any part thereof in the estimation of others shall […] be punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years or fine or with both.” The bill also proposes introducing of Section 176-AA (power to issue instructions) which states that the COAS may “from time to time, make and issue instructions for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder, provided that all such instructions already made and issued shall always be deemed to have been validly made and issued under this act”. A clause introduced to Section 176-C proposes that the COAS “may delegate any of his powers and functions conferred by, or delegated under this act, to any officer or authority subordinate to him”. Meanwhile, the addition of Section 176-E (overriding effect) proposes that the laws under the act “shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent contained in any other law, rules or regulations for the time being in force”, adding that any such inconsistent law shall, “to the extent of any inconsistency, cease to have effect”.
Gwadar port to be developed as one of best in world: PM
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China rolls over $2.4b loan to Pakistan g
PAKISTAN IS ALSO EXEMPTED FROM PAYING ADDITIONAL INTEREST ON LOAN PROFIT
STAFF REPORT
EXIM Bank of China has rolled over its loan of $2.4 billion with Pakistan for two years to strengthen Islamabad’s foreign reserves. The announcement was made by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on his Twitter handle. Dar in his tweet said that Chinese EXIM Bank has rolled over the loan of US$ 2.4 billion for two years including US$1.2 billion due in FY2023-24 and US$1.2 billion in FY2024-25: US$ 1.2 billion. Dar said Pakistan will make interest payments only in both years. On Wednesday, sources claimed that China has deferred the $2 billion debt payment to Pakistan for two years. China Eximbank officially wrote to Pakistan about the delay in the recovery of debt. Sources said that the federal government has revised the terms and conditions for the debt rollover. Pakistan is also exempted from paying additional interest on the loan, sources added.
Weekly inflation rises by 3.73%; Annual rate touches 29.21%
GWADAR
STAFF REPORT
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday reiterated the government’s resolve to develop the Gwadar Sea Port as one of the best in the world and promised that the “fruit of development” in Balochistan would be directed towards the people of the province. The premier passed these remarks during a visit to Gwadar, where he inaugurated several development projects along with Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir. Addressing a ceremony at the China-Pakistan Expo Centre, PM Shehbaz said the fate of the people of Balochistan, especially those of Gwadar, would be changed through the ongoing development operation across the province. He recalled that during the tenure of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, projects in power, infrastructure and other sectors were launched in Gwadar. However, he claimed that all these projects had been abandoned by the PTI government. “But in the last 15 challenging months, the coalition government managed to lay the foundation of development and prosperity in the country, especially in Balochistan,” PM Shehbaz said. Balochistan, he highlighted, was rich in minerals and other natural resources that needed to be explored. He promised that the fruits of development in the province would be directed towards the locals in the form of clean drinking water, health, education and employment. PM Shehbaz went on to say
the draft of the Gwadar port was one of the deepest among the world’s top ports but regretted that dredging of the port — which was a continuous process to prevent accumulating silt — was not ensured by the previous government. Now, we have initiated the dredging process which would be completed by February next year, he said. The prime minister also announced that the laptop quota for Balochistan had been increased to 14 per cent against the 6pc population share of the province and directed authorities to further increase the quota to 18pc for the next fiscal year. Referring to the rollover of the $2.4 billion loan from China today, PM Shehbaz said the default risk for Pakistan had been averted due to support from brotherly countries such as China, Saudi Arabia and UAE. He clarified that all the support from the friendly countries was completely “unconditional”. The premier further directed relevant authorities to put the security of foreigners in the province on top priority.
Earlier, addressing a laptop and cheques’ distribution ceremony here, he said when Nawaz Sharif was elected prime minister for the third time in 2013, he planned and launched multiple projects in power, infrastructure and other sectors in Gwadar. However, he deplored that when he visited as prime minster last year here, he was shocked to note that, the previous government had abandoned work on all ongoing projects in the city. The local people must enjoy all the basic facilities in all sectors including health and education. The prime minister announced that the laptop quota for Balochistan had now been increased to 14% against the 6% population share of the province. He also directed the relevant authorities to further increase the laptop quota to 18% for next fiscal year. Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Faisal Sabzwari said the under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, numerous welfare and development projects were being launched for uplift of the people of the province.
ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
Inflation in the last week surged by 3.73% brining the annual rate to a record high of 29.21%, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday, highlighting the severity of the current economic situation in the country. The PBS report stated that within the last week, the prices of 20 key items, including eggs, tomatoes, chilli, garlic, potatoes, onions, jaggery, electricity and LPG had seen a significant hike. For instance, the price of sugar ranged from Rs135 to Rs160 per kilo in various cities, while live broiler chicken’s cost escalated from Rs368 to Rs580 per kilogramme (kg). The statistics showed that specific items experienced substantial price jumps. Tomatoes’ prices increased by 19.71%, red chilli by 28.98%, and eggs by 4.77%. The LPG prices rose by 4.12%, garlic by 3.09%, onions 2.58% and jaggery 2.18%. Further, potatoes and wheat flour became dearer by 2.09% and 132%, respectively, on an annual basis. The data indicated soaring prices for other items over the last year. Tea prices rose by 98%, rice by 79%, sugar 63%, potatoes 62%, tomatoes 60% and jaggery 57%. Chicken and red chilli experienced a substantial increase of up to 55%. In addition to essential goods, other sectors also witnessed significant price hikes. Gas charges surged by 108% compared to the previous year, further exacerbating the economic challenges faced by the citizens.
What will HBL’s new agri-focused subsidiary do? CONTINUED ON PAGE 03
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HBL ZARAI SERVICES WILL OPERATE AS A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY MEANT TO INCREASE CAPACITY IN COUNTRY’S VASTLY UNDERSERVED AGRICULTURAL SECTOR PROFIT
ABDULLAH NIAZI
A week after announcing their intentions to create a special subsidiary company focused on the agricultural sector, HBL’s Board of Directors has formally announced the incorporation of “HBL Zarai Services” in a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). Agri lending in Pakistan The launch of the subsidiary would mark an important milestone for the country’s agricultural sector which has remained largely unserved by the formal banking sector. Agricultural financing in Pakistan has long been considered high-risk and has mostly been a collateral base. However, farmers with smaller land holdings have not
been able to access formal banking channels because they do not have much to put up as collateral, and also because bank repayment timelines are rarely catered to crop cycles. As a result, lending to farmers remains low. In 2022 for example, according to a PWC study, allocation of loans to priority segments, namely Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Agriculture, has been relatively low, accounting for less than 8% of the total loans. Specifically, SME loans constitute 4.2% of the portfolio, while Agriculture loans account for 3.6%. Moreover, these penetration levels have been witnessing a decline over the past several years. This declining trend highlights the need for attention and support to bolster lending in these crucial sectors to foster their growth
and development. What will HBL Zarai do? During an event hosted by HBL last week for the launch of their 2022 Impact and Sustainability report, the bank’s CEO and President Muhammad Aurangzeb said the bank received permission from the SBP two weeks ago to establish a special subsidiary called “Zarai” (agriculture), which will help small and medium-sized farmers improve their agricultural output. For a long time, the biggest problem had been that banks have not understood agriculture, crop cycles, and the needs of farmers. A subsidiary only focused on agriculture should help this process along and shed light on a vastly untapped n response to a question posed by Profit, Mr Aurangzeb agreed that
there was a need for better understanding. “We are going into this with a lot of clarity and detail about why we’re doing HBL Zarai. And we wall appreciate if other institutions also go towards this direction,” he said. “As you’ve said, even HBL has been missing a trick up until this point. Why weren’t we in dairy and livestock farming? And by the way the repayment capacity is okay. There isn’t a higher risk of default or anything. It is about understanding better,” he added. The initiative aims to offer farmers a variety of facilities and services, including storage space, farming equipment, crop production inputs, including seed and fertiliser, and agronomic advice, according to HBL president. The subsidiary, however, will not stop
HBL from lending to the agriculture sector. Instead, HBL Zarai will will supply the nonfinancial services, while the farm finance will be managed on the HBL balance sheet, according to the bank’s CEO. The timing The decision comes at a time when a realisation is starting to take hold in Pakistan that many unbanked sectors require attention. Last year the agriculture sector saw a 27.5% growth in agri loans, after the agriculture lending financial institutions disbursed Rs 1.222 trillion on account of agricultural financing during the first nine months (July-March) of this fiscal year. As explained by Mr Aurangzeb, the bank’s top priority is agricultural financing, which is why the portfolio in 2022 hit an all-time high of Rs50.6 billion. HBL has contributed over Rs4 billion – spread over a decade – to the social uplift of Pakistan. In 2022 alone, the bank contributed over Rs580 million.