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TASK FORCE SET UP TO DETERMINE SIZE OF FEDERAL, PROVINCIAL GOVTS: PM KAKAR Monday, 11 September, 2023 i 24 Safar, 1445
Rs 40.00 | Vol XIV No 72 I 40 Pages I Islamabad Edition
Stresses expenditure rationalization, increased govt revenue to create a viable state g Terms SIFC attempt to achieve appropriate governance, address reasons for ill governance g
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ISLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
RIME Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar Sunday said a task force headed by the finance minister would determine the sizes of federal and provincial governments, look at options to better manage pension funds, besides making efforts to rationalize public expenditure and in-
crease revenue. In an interview with a private television, he said, “We are convinced that there is a need to rationalise expenditure and increase the revenue of the government to create a viable state and lessen existential threats due to economic vulnerability.” He said the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) was attempting to help achieve appropriate governance and address the reasons for ill governance in the past. The civil institutions were laxed in their working in the past but now the army leadership with its organizational strength had increased the level of confi-
dence of civil service which had renewed energy to implement policies and achieve goals, he added. The prime minister said the government was optimistic about investment from Saudi Arabia in the backdrop of talks between Crown Province of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman and Pakistan’s chief of army staff. The government was planning for a visit of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, adding the visit would be aimed at fully exploiting economic opportunities in the country. The prime minister informed that a Pakistani consortium of oil companies and Saudi oil company Aramco were in
business talks for setting up an oil refinery in Pakistan. The United Arab Emirates had also shown keen interest in the exploration of minerals in Pakistan, he mentioned. PM Kakar said while citing skewed reasons for lack of industry and agriculture in Balochistan, in the past a lenient approach was adopted towards the issue of smuggling which adversely affected the economy and the goods meant for border areas went to inner parts of the country. Smuggling from border areas affected import policies and the economic management, he remarked.
Pakistan to respond resurgent terrorism from across border befittingly: Bugti 7 terrorists killed in Chitral gunfight: ISPR ISLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
Pakistan on Sunday vowed to respond to resurgent terrorists attacks from across the border in a befitting manner, reiterating the call for Afghan interim government not to let its soil be used against any country. The call comes on the heel of an exchange of fire between the security forces and terrorists in which seven terrorists were killed and six others were critically injured in Chitral district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti urged the Afghanistan government to abide by the Doha Agreement, which ensures that Afghan soil will not be used against any country.
“The terrorists of TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan] entered from Afghanistan,” he said, vowing that Pakistan would respond firmly to terrorism and would defend every inch of the country. Sarfraz Bugti further said that it was their responsibility to defend every inch of the country, adding that Pakistan Army was giving a befitting response to terrorists. The interior minister also lauded the people of Chitral for helping Pakistan Army in this ‘crucial time’, vowing that no one will be allowed to disturb peace by force. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in recent months, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the outlawed Tehreek-iTaliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year.
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RAWALPINDI
Staff RepoRt
At least seven terrorists were killed and six others were critically injured during an exchange of fire with the security forces in Chitral district of KhyberPakhtunkhwa province, the military said in a statement on Sunday. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the intense exchange of fire took place in general area Ursoon of Chitral district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. It said that the sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area. “Locals of the area appreciated the operation by the security forces and expressed their full support to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country,” the statement further said. The fresh incident comes a couple of days after the Pakistan Army repelled a cross-border raid from Afghanistan by a large group of TTP terrorists equipped with modern weapons targeting the two military posts located in the general area of Kalash in the Chitral district.
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US senator denies allegations of ‘political engineering’ in Pakistan ISLAMABAD
MonitoRing RepoRt
US Senator Chris Van Hollen on Sunday stated the US President Joe Biden-led administration has no intentions of interfering in the internal politics of Pakistan and denied all allegations of political engineering. “I have been in contact with the Biden administration for a long time and can confidently say that there was no attempt made to engineer anything related to Pakistani politics,” the senator said while speaking with Pakistan journalists during the annual meeting and gala dinner of the DC, Maryland, Virginia (DMV) chapter of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America. The senator’s statement comes as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan is being investigated regarding a diplomatic cipher that the party chief claimed contained the evidence of alleged US involvement in his ouster from power in April last year through a no-confidence vote. Senator Hollen was the guest of honor at the ceremony, which was also attended by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Masood Khan. The event, meanwhile, became a platform for the American politician to address critical issues related to US-Pakistan relations and the role of the Biden administration in Pakistani politics. He iterated that it is up to the people of Pakistan to decide their leaders and further expressed the need to ensure that the will of the Pakistani people is heard and reflected, advocating for free and fair elections. Highlighting the global importance of transparent elections, the US senator said: “The US, other democracies, and the people of Pakistan have an interest in ensuring that elections are free and fair.” Commenting on bilateral relations between the two countries, the senator affirmed the Biden administration’s desire for a strong partnership with Pakistan. He spoke about the recent assistance provided by the US after the devastating floods in Pakistan as an example of the American government’s commitment towards the calamity-stricken nation. He also praised the US’s role in supporting Pakistan to secure the $3 billion International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) bailout package. The senator underlined the significance of maintaining good relations with Pakistan, stressing that such relations were essential for global stability and security. The cypher controversy first emerged on March 27, 2022, when Khan — just days before his ouster after a no-confidence motion against him — brandished a letter, claiming that it was a cipher from a foreign nation, which mentioned that his government should be removed from power.
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