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MILITARY TOP BRASS SLAMS ‘POLITICALLY DRIVEN’ CAMPAIGN TO BLUR MAY 9 EVENTS
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Wednesday, 6 March, 2024 I 24 Sha’ban, 1445
CCC SAYS ATTACKERS OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS WOULD ‘CERTAINLY’ BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE
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RAWALPINDI
Rs 20.00 | Vol XIV No 248 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
EXPRESSES DISMAY OVER ‘UNSUBSTANTIATED ALLEGATIONS’ OF INTERFERENCE IN ELECTIONS
STAFF REPORT
HE top military commanders on Tuesday committed that planners, instigators, abettors, perpetrators, and desecrators of martyrs’ monuments and attackers of military installations on May 9, 2023, would certainly be brought to justice under the relevant provisions of the law and Constitution, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. “In this regard, malicious efforts to create distortions, confusion and disinformation are absolutely futile and only part of an organised campaign being launched for narrow political interests, to blur the abhorrent activities that took place,” the statement added. The ISPR statement came after the Corps Commanders’ Conference (CCC) held at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir in the chair. The forum noted with concern organised misinformation and fake news being spread by certain nefarious elements to sow despondency and divisions within the society and urged the proud people of Pakistan to remain positive and united and wholeheartedly participate in the progress and development of the country. The participants affirmed that the Pakistan Army will continue defending and serving the nation in every possible way; in the journey towards enduring stability, prosperity and security. The forum noted that the armed forces of Pakistan at great peril to their primary responsibility, provided a security environment for the conduct of the general election 2024 as per the given mandate, and had nothing to do with the electoral process. However, the forum expressed dismay that some vested small segments of polity and media especially social media have been maligning armed forces with unsubstantiated allegations of interference which is highly deplorable.
ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
“It’s unfortunate that rather than focusing on real issues such as good governance, economic recovery, political stability and public wellbeing, the entire focus of such vested elements is on creating political instability and uncertainty by attempting to scapegoat others for their own failings,” it added. The forum emphasised that due legal processes be followed with evidence and proof rather than resorting to unconstitutional and uncalled-for baseless political rhetoric and emotional outbursts. It noted with satisfaction the smooth democratic transition of power in the Centre and provinces. The forum hoped that the post-election environment would bring in the desired political and economic stability resulting in peace and prosperity for the people of Pakistan. The forum expressed that it strongly believed that democratic consolidation is the way forward for the country. It affirmed that military leadership is cognisant of the full spectrum of the challenges and threats and it re-
mains committed to shoulder its constitutionally mandated responsibilities with the support of the resilient people of Pakistan. The forum reiterated to continue providing full support to the government in combating security threats and uplifting the socio-economic growth in the country including wholehearted assistance in curbing all illegal activities including smuggling, hoarding, electricity theft, implementation of one document regime and respectable and safe repatriation of all illegal foreigners. The military leadership paid rich tribute to the supreme sacrifices of martyrs including officers and men of the armed forces, law enforcement agencies and the citizens who have laid their lives for ensuring peace and stability in the country. The forum resolved that terrorists, their facilitators and abettors, working at the behest of hostile forces to destabilise Pakistan, will be dealt with the full might of the state.
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PM seeks comprehensive proposals to slash government spending, reform economic structure ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday sought thorough recommendations from the relevant authorities to significantly reduce government expenditures and overhaul the country’s economic structure. He also directed to immediately initiate the process of complete digitization and automation of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which he himself would oversee. Chairing a high level meeting at the Prime Minister House soon after his return from Gwadar, PM Shehbaz Sharif directed that the world’s best model should be adopted for the digitization of FBR and in this regard the possibility of immediate access of the best services should also be reviewed to ensure transparency in the FBR system, increase tax collection, halt tax evasion, corruption and smuggling, and also to bring convenience to the general public and the business community through automation system. Through the FBR reforms, the taxpayer heroes and the best performance officers would be encouraged and the black sheep would be brought to justice, the prime minister added.
Dar’s absence from PM’s first meeting raises eyebrows
Chairman FBR Malik Amjed Zubair Tiwana on the occasion briefed the meeting about the steps taken to enhance tax collection, refunds’ payments to the exporters, expanding the tax net, automation process, stop tax evasion, institutional corruption, smuggling, and provision of quality services to the people. The prime minister, expressing dissatisfaction over the briefing, directed to immediately initiate process of complete digitization and automation of FBR as per the international standards, saying that it was a matter of life and death for the country. “We will go ahead by learning lessons
from the past mistakes as nothing could be changed by merely lamenting on the past mistakes,” he said. “We have to take up the challenge and find a way to get rid of the borrowed life.” He said everyone was responsible for the situation faced by the country, while capable and good people are also present everywhere. “If we start our journey now, we will soon reach the destination of prosperity and development”, he said. He also announced to give reward and appreciate the efficient, honest and professional officers. The prime minister also directed that services of efficient people should be uti-
lized on merit in the track and trace system. He said the ministry of interior would work with full force to stop smuggling from the country for which Pakistan Army would also provide its full support. Appreciating former caretaker finance minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Secretary finance Imdad Ullah Bosal and their team, the prime minister said they had taken forward the foundation which his government had laid to save Pakistan from default, with great effort and had shown good progress. Addressing Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, the prime minister said that he was very impressed with her merit policy. The FBR chairman said that during current financial year, target for bringing 1.5 million more taxpayers into the tax net was on track. He said that legislation had been made for digitizing invoicing, which the prime minister directed for immediate implementation. The meeting was also attended by Senator Musadik Malik, Ata Ullah Tarrar, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Rumina Khursheed Alam, Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, Ahad Cheema, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr Jehanzaib, Governor State Bank of Pakistan and other high officials.
Ishaq Dar a close aide of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif was missing when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting of economic team soon after taking oath of his office for a second term. Certainly, it has great significant and implications from several angles, if Ishaq Dar is not the economic czar in the PML-N government led by a Sharif, although he isn’t the elder. It was an important meeting given the current economic mess Pakistan is in and Shehbaz had listed debt burden as the main challenge for the new government in his speech to the House after winning the confidence of 201 members. A statement issued by the PM Office read that the prime minister directed the economic team to begin talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on an Extended Funding Facility (EFF) and expedite the privatisation of lossmaking state-owned enterprises (SOEs) – a process that has never gained momentum given the reluctance on the part of elected government due to the sensitive nature of the issue.
PTI to continue protest in NA till party’s founder release: Kundi TANK
STAFF REPORT
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed Member National Assembly from the constituency NA-43 (Tank-cum-DIK) Engr Dawar Khan Kundi has said that they would continue protest in the National Assembly against the alleged rigging during general till party founder Imran Khan was released and the public mandate was recovered. Talking to media persons at District Press Club Tank on Tuesday, he alleged that the public mandate was stolen during the general elections 2024, and said that they would continue their efforts and protest until the party’s former chairman Imran Khan was released and the public mandate was recovered. Engr Dawar Khan Kundi also applauded the role of the District Press Club Tank for effectively promoting the public voices, and hoped that the incumbent provincial government would leave no stone unturned for the development of the district. Meantime, Petroleum Association of Tank threatened to halt services from the upcoming Friday if the district administration continued ignoring their genuine demand of taking action against the illegal petroleum agencies across the district. Addressing a press conference here at the District Press Club Tank, the General Secretary of the association Javed Bitanai, Kashif Burki and others deplored that the district administration was yet to take any action against the illegal oil agencies that had been operational and selling low quality Iranian oil across the district. They noted that due to low quality and alleged illegal sale of these agencies, the demand of oil from the authorized fuel pumps considerably dropped during the recent months. The association threatened to go on strike and halt all types of services if the administration failed to take action.
ECP allocates reserved seats claimed by SIC to other parties ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday notified the allocation of reserved seats for women and minorities, which were claimed by PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), to other political parties. The move came a day after the electoral watchdog rejected the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) petition, seeking the allocation of reserved seats following a ‘merger’ with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for this specific purpose. The ECP was requested to allot the seats on the basis of the inclusion of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidates in their party. However today, the election commission distributed the reserved seats for women and minorities among other political parties. In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly – according to a notification, the ECP allocated one reserved seat each to Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The ECP – in the Sindh Assembly – allocated reserved seat for women to Muttahida Qaumi MovementPakistan (MQM-P) and PPP. PPP’s Samita Afzal and MQM-P’s Fouzia Hameed elected on reserved seats. Furthermore, PPP’s Sadhu Mal alias Surinder Valasai secured minority seat in
Sindh Assembly. The ECP allocated three reserved seats for minorities to PML-N, PPP and JUI-F – which were claimed by Sunni Ittehad Council. PML-N’s Neelam Meghwar, PPP’s Ramesh Kumar and JUI-F’s James Iqbal were elected on the minority seats. PTI candidates contested the elections as independents after the Supreme Court upheld the election supervisor’s decision, considering its intra-party polls “unconstitutional” and revoked its claim on the electoral symbol of ‘bat’. As per the Constitution, the reserved seats are allocated to the political parties on the basis of the number of their lawmakers elected on the general seats. For their allocation, the ECP had already received the priority list of candidates from the parties before the Feb 8 polls. The situation this year is different from the previous elections as the largest group of lawmakers are independents, who cannot have the reserved seats. There are a total of 346 reserved seats for women – 60 in the NA and 66, 29, 26, and 11 in the provincial legislatures of Punjab, Sindh, K-P, and Balochistan. Similarly, there are 10 reserved seats for minorities in the lower house. Besides, there are eight, nine and three reserved seats for minorities in the Punjab Sindh, and Balochistan assemblies. Sunni Itthead Council, in its letter, stated
that 86 independent candidates of the National Assembly had joined his party, adding
that 107 independents of Punjab Assembly, 90 of K-P Assembly and nine independent
members of Sindh Assembly now garnered the support of the SIC.
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced a nationwide protest against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) scheduled for Sunday, March 10. The protest is a response to the ECP’s decision of depriving Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) – wherein elected PTI lawmakers have taken refuge after being disallowed to contest the general elections on the party’s electoral symbol – of reserved seats and their allocation to PML-N and PPP instead. Addressing the media oustside Adiala Jail where PTI founder Imran Khan is incarcerated on Tuesday, party leaders including Sher Afzal Marwat, Shandana Gulzar, Atif Khan, and Shehryar Afridi announced their dissatisfaction with the ECP’s ruling. They accused the commission of diverting the mandate given to PTI by the voters to rival parties, specifically the PML-N and PPP. The leaders argued that the allocation of reserved seats to other parties contradicted the will of the people who had voted for PTI. They claimed that the ECP’s decision was a blatant misuse of power and announced their intention to hold a nationwide protest against this alleged injustice. The
PTI leaders further criticised the state of Pakistan’s economy, highlighting its dependence on foreign remittances and accusing the Sharif family of sending their wealth abroad. They claimed that with the support of overseas Pakistanis, the country could generate quick revenue, emphasising the need for a change in leadership. In a bold move, the leaders demanded that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conduct an audit of the election process. They also challenged the legitimacy of the Shehbaz Sharif government, suggesting that if it was deemed legitimate, it should be granted loans. Addressing the imprisonment of PTI leader Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, the leaders claimed that she was being kept in solitary confinement. They asserted Imran Khan’s refusal to make any deals and his determination to stay in jail for seven years. Sher Afzal Marwat highlighted the opposition’s unity in protests, promising a historic demonstration against the ECP in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, with himself leading the protest in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Earlier in the day, PTI leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad
Qaiser announced a nationwide movement against the alleged “stealing” of PTI’s mandate in the general elections held on February 8. Qaiser emphasised the party’s commitment to launching a movement within the legal and constitutional framework. The PTI’s move comes after the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) submitted a resolution to the National Assembly Secretariat, seeking the release of PTI’s founding chairman, Imran Khan, and other incarcerated party leaders. The resolution also demanded an end to the alleged abuse of the law and the termination of political and illegal cases against PTI members. Qaiser highlighted that the party “will not back down as our war is not for [the survival] of just our politics but for the nation.” He further emphasised how the PTI did not believe in the “fake government” led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. “Our first demand is that all the institutions should stay within their limits according to the Constitution,” said Qaiser, adding that the judiciary should not come “under pressure but make independent decisions.” STAFF REPORT
PTI announces protest against ECP verdict