pm Convenes high-level meeting to disCuss ajK situation todaY In partnership with
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Monday, 13 May, 2024 I |4 Zil-qadah, 1445
SPEAKS TO AJK PM, DIRECTS PML-N REGIONAL OFFICE BEARERS TO ENGAGE WITH PROTESTORS LEADERS
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PRESIDENT ALSO URGE ALL STAKEHOLDERS TO EXERCISE RESTRAINT, RESOLVE ISSUES THROUGH DIALOGUE
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RIME MINISTER Shehbaz Sharif convened a high-level meeting on Monday (tomorrow) to discuss the ongoing situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), urging all parties to adopt a peaceful course of action to resolve the demands. PM Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed deep concern over the ongoing situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and highlighted the importance of a peaceful course of action to resolve problems. A day earlier, clashes broke out between protesters and law enforcement personnel during a protest against the increase in electricity tariffs in Mirpur. A sub-inspector was martyred and 16 police officials including a station house officer (SHO) were injured. He also spoke to the Prime Minister of AJK and directed all PML-N office bearers in the region to engage with the leaders of the action committee to find a peaceful resolution. “Despite the efforts of detractors, the matter is expected to be settled soon,” he said. The prime minister emphasised that while debate, discussion, and peaceful protests were beauties of democracy, there was no tolerance for taking the law into one’s own hands and damaging government properties. “Unfortunately in situations of chaos and dissent, there are always some, who rush in to score political points,” he wrote on his X timeline.
ZARDARI URGES TO RESOLVE ISSUES THROUGH DIALOGUE Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari also urged all the stakeholders to exercise restraint
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and resolve the issues in AJK through dialogue and mutual consultation. According to a press release from the President’s Secretariat, he added that the political parties, state institutions and the people of AJK should act responsibly so that hostile elements could not exploit the situation to their benefit. The president expressed these views during a meeting with a delegation of members of the AJK Legislative Assembly belonging to Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), who called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Sunday. The delegation briefed the president about recent happenings and unfortunate developments in AJK. Talking to members of the AJK Legislative Assembly, Zardari highlighted that the demands of the people of AJK should be addressed as per law. He said that he would take up/discuss the grievances of the people of AJK with PM Shehbaz to find a way out of the current situation. The president emphasised that priority should be accorded to
the socio-economic uplift of AJK, with special focus on the development of health, education, tourism and infrastructure. He underlined the need to bring the far-flung areas at par with other developed areas of the country. The president regretted the current situation and offered condolences over the unfortunate death of the police officer and prayed for swift recovery of all those who were injured in recent clashes.
PML-N DECIDES TO ENGAGE WITH JOINT ACTION COMMITTEE The PML-N AJK also unanimously decided to actively engage with the AJK’s Joint Action Committee, for resolving issues through negotiations. The leadership of PML-N AJK held an urgent meeting, with Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Engineer Amir Muqam in the chair, to thoroughly deliberate on the present situation in AJK. The federal minister stressed the importance of the PML-N and other parties in peace-
MUHAMMAD AURANGZEB DECLARES THERE ARE NO STRATEGIC SOES, EMPHASIZING NEED FOR PRIVATIZATION TO ENHANCE EFFICIENCY AND ATTRACT BOTH LOCAL AND FOREIGN INVESTMENT PROFIT
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During a pre-budget conference in Lahore, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated on Sunday that the concept of strategic state-owned enterprises (SOEs) was baseless, highlighting the necessity for privatization. The announcement comes two days after Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar outlined the government’s plan to retain only essential SOEs, reducing their total number from 40 after careful evaluation. At the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) meeting, which Dar chaired and Aurangzeb attended, it was declared that privatizing loss-incurring SOEs would be a top priority. Currently, 40 SOEs are deemed strategic or essential, but further assessments are to be conducted by the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOE) to finalize this classification. Further elaborating on Friday’s meeting, Aurangzeb remarked, “We are completely aligned in the viewpoint
that there are no strategic SOEs.” He added that an upcoming meeting would push for transferring responsibilities to the private sector, emphasizing public-private partnerships and a hastened privatization agenda. Addressing the concerns about privatizing Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Aurangzeb reassured that the government was considering bids from both local and international investors, not just foreign entities. Additionally, he mentioned discussions on a new, extensive program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aimed at achieving sustained macroeconomic stability and structural reforms. Aurangzeb also highlighted ongoing energy reforms, particularly the efforts to curb losses and theft. Changes are underway in the boards of distribution companies (Discos) to include private sector professionals to ensure better corporate governance, leading toward either privatization or a mix of concessions and privatization, he concluded.
Israel pushes back into northern Gaza, ups military pressure on Rafah RAFAH
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Israel sent tanks into eastern Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip early on Sunday, after a night of heavy aerial and ground bombardments, killing 19 people and wounding dozens of others, health officials said. Jabalia is the biggest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps and is home to more than 100,000 people, most of whom were descendants of Palestinians who were driven from
Calm returns, wheel-jam, shutdown persist in ajK MUZAFFARABAD
No strategic SOEs, says finance minister ahead of major privatization push
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towns and villages in what is now Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that led to the creation the state of Israel. Late on Saturday, the Israeli military said forces operating in Jabalia are preventing Hamas, which controls Gaza, from re-establishing its military capabilities there. “We identified in the past weeks attempts by Hamas to rehabilitate its military capabilities in Jabalia. We are operating there to eliminate those attempts,” said Rear Admiral
Daniel Hagari, Israel’s military spokesperson, during a briefing to reporters. Hagari also said that Israeli forces operating in Gaza City’s Zeitoun district killed about 30 Palestinian militants. “Bombardment from the air and ground hasn’t stopped since yesterday, they were bombing everywhere, including near schools that are housing people who lost their houses,” said Saed, 45, a resident of Jabalia. “War is restarting, this is how it looks in Jabalia,” he told Reuters via a chat app. “The new incursion forces many families to evacuate.” The army sent tanks back into Al-Zeitoun, an eastern suburb of Gaza City, as well as Al-Sabra, where residents also reported heavy bombardments that destroyed several houses, including high-rise residential buildings. The army had claimed to have gained control of most of these areas months ago.
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Peace and calm appear to have returned to Azad Jammu and Kashmir on the third day of demonstrations on Sunday against rising electricity bills, while normal life remains disrupted with businesses shuttered and public transport halted in various cities. On Saturday, turmoil gripped Azad Kashmir, as clashes between protesters and police escalated during the ongoing demonstrations against rising electricity bills. Normalcy could not be restored on the third day of the wheel-jam and shutter-down strike in Kashmir on Sunday, where an additional sub-inspector was martyred and 16 other police personnel injured in firing on Saturday. The situation in Muzaffarabad was tense, with businesses, markets and public transport closed completely in various cities. A couple of hotels and restaurants could be seen opened somewhere in the city. A march, which started from Mirpur, is passing through various cities en route to Muzaffarabad. The participants in the march spent the night at various spots on their way. The protesters are demanding that electricity prices be decreased, flour subsidized, and the privileges of the elite abolished. Meanwhile, 4G broadband internet service also remains suspended in Mirpur, Rawalakot and other cities across Azad Kashmir. The locals have complained about facing severe problems due to the internet shutdown. ful resolving the issue. He affirmed commitment to address the concerns of Kashmiris and vowed to contribute positively in any capacity possible. The meeting also called upon the AJK government to actively participate in resolving the problem. Earlier in the day, the central leadership of the Azad Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (AAC) dissociated from violent incidents between protestors and police in AJK. Members of the committee reiterated their commitment to conducting a peaceful movement and declared that any propaganda against the state of Pakistan on social media is ‘utterly unacceptable’. “The insidious In-
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dian media is fabricating baseless allegations to conceal the atrocities in Occupied Kashmir, which are devoid of any connection with reality” the committee stated. Last week, several of the AAC members were arrested by police in Muzaffarabad and Mirpur divisions. The committee announced a shutter-down and wheel-jam strike on Friday and AJK police blocked the arteries leading to Muzaffarabad and resorted to baton charge and teargas shelling to disperse the protesters on Saturday. As the crackdown against the protesters continued, several people were taken into custody from different parts of the region.