CABINET APPROVED PAKISTAN’S PARTICIPATION IN TRUMP-LED BOARD OF PEACE FOR GA Z A: PM
g SIGNING CEREMONY HELD IN DAVOS WITH LEADERS FROM 19 COUNTRIES, INCLUDING
LOW JET FUEL OUTPUT FORCES PAKISTAN TO IMPORT NEARLY
complex taxes, weak oversight
Ministry of Commerce the FBR the State Bank of Pakistan the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and the Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company This fragmented structure, it said, results in conflicting rules on taxation documentation and trade authorisation increasing compliance costs for traders According to the study, key regulations governing the sector include SRO 760(I)/2013 on import and export controls, SRO 924(I)/2020 on anti-money laundering and counterterror financing requirements and SRO 297(I)/2023 introducing differential tax rates The Sales Tax Act 1990 imposes an 18% tax on gold imports, with reduced rates for domestic jewellery manufacturing, while the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 applies withholding and presumptive taxes
SRO 760 has further added to regulatory uncertainty while weak enforcement of hallmarking standards and high compliance costs continue to distort the market in favour of informal trade
Assessment Study on the Gold Market in Pakistan, the CCP said a patchwork of Statutory Regulatory Orders issued by the Federal Board of Revenue has created overlaps and inconsistencies that discourage formal participation and incentivise smuggling and under-invoicing The report noted that regulation of the gold market is spread across multiple institutions, including the
The study also highlighted financial pressures on exporters including a 1% cash margin requirement on imports duplicate taxation on exports and cash withdrawals, and high costs associated with obtaining ATA Carnets through private intermediaries Mandatory random testing of jewellery by customs authorities was also cited as a source of delays and damage to shipments
While the FBR remains the primary fiscal regulator for the gold sector, overseeing taxation, customs enforcement and anti-smuggling efforts the report said its effectiveness is undermined by structural challenges and limited coordination with provincial authorities CCP flags
The CCP said the suspension of
Ttional Pakistan for $2 6 billion A portion of the payment, amounting to about $800 million remains withheld due to disputes over the transfer of PTCL properties specified in the agreement Under the privatisation deal 3 384 PTCL properties were to be transferred to Etisalat
a q q a r e v i s i t e d ; 2 0 1 4 a n d 2 0 2 6
THE January 18 truce between the new Syrian government under the former Jabhat al Nusra outfit leader Abu Mohammad al Sheraa AlJolani (the one who belongs to the occupied Golan Heights region) and the Syrian Democratic Forces or Kurd units from the days of the Syrian Civil war under the watchful eyes of Turkish and US administrations; apparently a peace treaty opens the floodgates for potentially more trouble in the coming days
Apparently, trouble on the count that this allows the Jihadist establishment in Damascus, which is soft ob the IDF and hard on every other entity The sketchy reports filtering out of the rebranded ISIS specially the treatment of the inhabitant Kurds affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces, are indicative of the scheme of things going forward
However, the trouble emanates from the fact based on the previous experiences that the balance of power in the region was precariously compromised; when the ISIS after a bout with the then Baathist establishment in Syria and when it was still fighting on day to day basis with the Syrian Army, Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian units, crossed over from Raqqa to Mosul and practically besieged anything enroute and was just stopped before it could enter the suburbs of the Iraqi capital Baghdad The same imbalance is feared now on
two counts The Iranian regime is much weaker internally on account of domestic opposition; its network is in complete shambles; in terms of the human resource back-up and otherwise in the form of resources Further the IDF after completely crushing the resistance namely Hamas and Hezbollah and precipitating the formal exit of the Baath setup from Syria is in commanding position Given the fact that the instabilities in the Middle Eastern societies, the IDF and Mossad have been never short of the agent provocateurs and compliant allies in the countries The rise of armed Islamic Syrian resistance against an anti-IDF Baath set-up was not possible if there were no frustrated remnants of the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimoon in Syrian society These very individuals rebranded as Jabhat al Nusra and ISIS under the tutelage of the interested intelligence agencies were propped up to create a credible existential threat to the Assad setup there What happened between the 2011 to 2019 period is history well documented about the actions of all sides, human right violations, the stakes of the various states especially the regional states in the Syrian civil war and above all the stances taken by the Pentagon and IDF The period invariably was marked by a dominant role of Tehran in the region which is in complete shambles now after the side wars ignited after the Gaza campaign Likewise, the agent provocateurs or the ‘non-state actor ’ factor was on the run then; a factor which has been manipulated as witnessed in the current ‘staged street battles in the major cities like Tehran or Shiraz to name a few Similarly leisurely ISIS mil-
itants can be again assigned new jobs if the geopolitical players demand that Down to the current scenario there are a few reports of jail break in Raqqa the former ISIS capital, where many Jihadists were kept in the jails after the group was routed by the Syrian Baath military units as well as the Iranian support The immediate danger to the Kurdish community has already been reported though sporadically in the world media These images are indicative of the threats which the people of the region; the Kurds, the Iraqi communities faced when being routed by ISIS in the summer of 2014 The videos released of the ISIS militants capturing the Kurd girls and women is likely to draw reaction from the related groups in the coming days There can be a Kurd reaction to the problem; both through diplomatic means like dialogue with the USA as well as Israel, as both the powers have had stakes in the Kurdish society
since long since the days of the first Gulf war of 1991 when the no-fly zones and the autonomous Kurds were encouraged formally in 2003 after the final fall of the Iraqi Baath establishment However, any analyst can gauge well that for the time being, the line-up of the forces in the aftermath of the Gaza ethnic cleansing is that the rise of the ISIS former commander is a blessing for both the USA and IDF policy paradigm A deeper look confirms that the rise of the ISIS former commander was facilitated by the West combined on the premise that he was a ‘lesser evil’ for the global unipolar world than the Baath in power in Damascus Obviously the West knew well that the rise of such a group and their entry into the decision-making corridors were fraught with risks to regional stability as well as the whole scheme of things Even now, there are dissenting voices in the European capitals about allowing the Syrian President Jolani to attend the Davos summit treating that accommodation as literal recognition of the brutality of the former ISIS commander by what the dissenting groups call the free and civilized world
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n d t h e I D F - c o n t r o l l e d I S I S o r D a e s h u n i t s c a n n o t b e a v o i d e d o r r u l e d o u t H e
If one looks for reactions; Iranians are too busy with keeping their house in order, the Middle East is preparing for ‘post recovery after the expected US strike on Iran the IDF is calm as its plans are in place and the USA is preferring to look the other way The Turkish stance, on the face of it a diplomatic welcoming of the happenings in the neighboring state, is punctuated with an approval of what has been already decided by the leaders of the unipolar world For the geopolitical analysts any disintegration of the Iranian state coupled with similar crumbling as seen in the case of De-
French culture Yet many of these
same users regularly consume kebabs, shawarma and French tacos, foods that are almost always prepared with halal meat These dishes are fully integrated into everyday French life particularly among younger generations They are eaten without controversy and without parliamentary outrage When halal is visible in an American fast-food brand, it becomes a national scandal
WThese remarks are telling not only for their content but for their framing A private company s supply decision is transformed into proof of civilisational threat with Muslims positioned as collective agents behind a corporate choice they did not make This pattern is deeply familiar in France Muslim communities are routinely blamed for decisions taken by institutions corporations or policymakers while the economic logic behind those decisions is ignored CEOs do not care about religion and franchise owners do not manage cultural integration Their primary concern is profit That KFC like Quick before it is responding to market data should surprise no one who understands how capitalism works
The hypocrisy of the outrage becomes especially clear on social media On TikTok, young French users have posted videos announcing boycotts of KFC in the name of
households purchases halal meat, driven by a combination of accessibility, price and perceived quality In many regions halal meat is not only more widely available it is sometimes cheaper due to scale and supply chains This is economics, not theology KFC is not the first chain to make this shift The Belgian fast-food brand Quick which converted many of its restaurants to halal menus in 2021 saw an increase in customers and profit particularly in urban areas Seven Five Guys locations have also gone halal in France, yet this has not triggered the same level of outrage KFC, however, appears to have been the last straw for Islamophobes who frame every visible accommodation as proof that Islam is taking over the country The backlash has spilled into politics On French radio, Louis Sarkozy, the son of former president Nicolas Sarkozy declared that “the real subject is the growing Islamization of our societies” and added that Islam has a place in France but on condition that it bows to the rules of the republic, that it accepts our laws, our history, our culture, and not the other way round ”
This contradiction exposes what the debate is really about Halal food is not perceived as a threat when it is associated with working-class neighbourhoods or informal eateries It becomes a problem when it is seen as normalised, mainstreamed or profitable In that sense the uproar over KFC is not about tradition it is about discomfort with the visibility of Muslim consumers as a significant economic force Claims that halal menus undermine democracy are particularly incoherent Democracy is not weakened when consumers choose what to eat nor when companies adjust to demand
No one is being forced to buy halal food Pork serving KFC locations continue to operate, and no law mandates halal conversion Conflating consumer capitalism with political submission undermines the very concept of democratic governance
What is striking is how quickly the blame is redirected toward Muslims themselves Rather than interrogating corporate decision-making or broader market trends, the discourse slips effortlessly into civilisational panic This is especially cynical given France s own history The country s large Muslim population is not an accident; it is the direct consequence of decades of colonial rule in North Africa, particularly in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia France benefited from colonisation economically and politically and now recoils at the demographic realities that followed KFC s halal decision reveals how France would like their Muslim population to behave: they may participate in the economy, but their preferences should not shape it When they do, it is framed as encroachment rather than inclusion In the end this controversy says far less about fried chicken than it does about France s Islamophobia Oman Alyahyai is a writer and journalist based in Paris
HEN the Fizz was pitched as a slingshot to hit back at the monstrous decision of the IPL that forced the Bangladeshi fast bowler ’s franchise team to release him on security grounds we vaulted our cricket board as David on whom our nationalist pride rested and expected the Indian (and by extension the international) cricket authorities to yield like Goliath As a proud nation, we were angered by the trivialisation of our national hero in a flimsy politically constructed context with racial undertones Our cricket board rightfully asked, If you cannot provide safety for one of our players in your own words, how do you expect our players, staff, media, and fans to be safe during the T20 World Cup?” The grievance was legitimate
The players welfare is one of the central concerns of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and they immediately followed the protocol to initiate a third-party risk assessment A Canadian firm did the survey and found the playing condition suitable Bangladesh s grievance was valid but its diplomatic execution was flawed The cricket council board outvoted our plea 142, with only Pakistan supporting us
The “professional” body had little to say about the strong nationalist albeit populist stance taken by Bangladesh The country s call to boycott India as a game venue due to security concerns has received overwhelming support from locals, as evidenced by their social media outcries But we failed to gain international sympathy Consequently Bangladesh is left to its own devices with the possibility of Scotland, the top performer in the qualifying round, filling in the void created by our non-participation
The outcome signifies that the cricketing world is unimpressed with our diagnostic reasoning regarding the Fizz episode as a real concern We needed to argue that this episode is not a mere sentimental tantrum, as there have been many reported incidents of Bangladeshis or presumed Bangladeshis being attacked in different parts of India In that given context to play in the opening match against the West Indies on February 7 in Kolkata is a difficult proposition Bangladesh
does not seek retaliation but equal and fair treatment We hoped India, above all teams, would share our concerns, as they have created the exclusive option to play against Pakistan in neutral venues Bangladesh s plea is backed by the 18 crore viewers whose national dignity should also be a priority for an international body And realpolitik would have allowed some leeway to de-escalate the tension and provisions for future engagement The problem that Bangladesh cricket is facing now is a backlash from showing its cards even before the game is played Our sports-incharge adviser publicly threatened non-participation as a populist veto, without allowing the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to address the conditional concerns in phases His symbolic resistance contains all the elements needed to make domestic audiences respond to the nationalist tune It has high visibility but little institutional traction ICC displayed its professionalism by smartly shifting the argument from security to logistical disruption Bangladesh s moral logic failed to triumph over the procedural governance issues Why would other countries, sponsors, fans, and communities suffer due to the last-minute request for a venue change? If West Indian fans have already booked their tickets and hotels for Kolkata what right does one have to tell them to rebook their flights and stay in Colombo? This is a no-brainer There are lessons to be learnt from this abortive attempt to turn any sympathy we might have for Fizz s security concerns into professional support at the ICC meeting I don t know whether there was any shuttle diplomacy engaged by BCB to employ its foreign envoys or lobby firms to talk to member countries before the board meeting was held From information available in the public domain I can discern that ICC stuck to its operational logic, highlighting third-party security assessments, broadcast schedules, ticketing, sequencing issues and fear of future late-stage applications While Bangladesh pitched the arguments of dignity and safety the ICC upheld transactional realities, risk factors and institutional reputations ICC could go to the extreme of looking for a replacement without any compromise because Bangladesh showed the thumbnail of non-participation before playing out its full content In an
Europe and India seek closer ties with ‘mother of all deals ’
Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs have brought momentum to the relationship between India and the EU said Praveen Donthi of the International Crisis Group think tank
seek to forge closer ties Facing challenges from China and the United States India and the European Union have been negotiating a massive free trade pact and talks first launched about two decades ago, are nearing the finishing line We are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week Von der Leyen and European Council
President Antonio Costa will attend Republic Day celebrations on Monday before an EU-India summit on Tuesday where they hope to shake hands on the accord Securing a pact described by India s Commerce
Minister Piyush Goyal as the mother of all deals , would be a major win for Brussels and New Delhi as both seek to open up new markets in the face of US tariffs and Chinese export controls But officials have been eager to stress there is more to it than commerce The EU and India are moving closer together at the time when the rules-based international order is under unprecedented pressure through wars coercion and economic fragmentation the EU s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on Wednesday ‘Untapped potential’ Russia’s invasion of
The EU eyes the Indian market and aims to steer a rising power like India away from Russia, while India seeks to diversify its partnerships, doubling down on its strategy of multi-alignment at a time when its relations with the US have taken a downward turn ” he said The summit will offer Brussels the chance to turn the page after a bruising transatlantic crisis over Greenland now seemingly defused
Together, the EU and India account for about a quarter of the world s population and GDP
Bilateral trade in goods reached €120 billion ($139b) in 2024, an increase of nearly 90% over the past decade according to EU figures with a further €60b ($69b) in trade in services
But both parties are eager to do more India still accounts for only around 2 5% of total EU trade in goods, compared with close to 15% for China, an EU official said, adding the figure gave a sense of the “untapped potential” an agreement could unlock EU makers of cars machinery and chemicals have much to gain from India lowering entry barriers said Ignacio Garcia Bercero an
From World’s No 1 NEV Brand, BYD Sealion 7 and Atto 2 Debut in Pakistan
CM MARYAM VOWS TO ELIMINATE DANGLING, UNSAFE ELECTRICIT Y WIRES TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS
S tric t S oPs to be enforced during Basant festival from Feb 6 to 8: A zma Bokhari
Pakistan’s First Banking Industry-wide Cyber Drill Concludes in Karachi
KARACHI
Staff report
As a joint initiative of the Pakistan Banks Association (PBA) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Pakistan s banking sector concluded its first-ever Industry-wide Cyber Drill, a week-long exercise held from 12 to 19 January 2026 in Karachi and Lahore, with a closing ceremony in Karachi Governor SBP Mr Jameel Ahmad who graced the occasion as Chief Guest and Chairman PBA Mr Zafar Masud who served as Host on behalf of the industry attended the closing ceremony Their participation, together with senior leadership from the banking industry, SBP, and partner organisations, underscored the collective commitment to strengthening the financial sector Speaking on the occasion Governor SBP Mr Jameel Ahmad remarked Cyber resilience cannot be achieved in isolation It requires collective preparedness transparent information sharing and trust between regulators and regulated entities In today s environment, cyber resilience is measured not by whether cyber-attacks occur, but by how effectively we respond to them As Pakistan’s banking sector continues its digital transformation maintaining public trust is paramount Initiatives such as
agricultural priorities and opportunities for strengthened collaboration The high-level engagement underscored Pakistan s strategic importance as a key partner and potential hub for investment and innovation Discussions included an exchange on Pakistan’s agricultural landscape, sectoral challenges and opportunities to enhance productivity and long-term sustainability Mr Rowe reaffirmed Syngenta s commitment to supporting Pakistan through technology innovation, and technical expertise, aligned with national priorities for agricultural growth During the meeting, the Finance Minister extended an invitation to Mr Rowe to visit Pakistan during his upcoming regional engagements reflecting the continued importance of private sector participation in strengthening the country s agricultural ecosystem The dialogue further highlighted that Pakistan remains a priority market for Syngenta’s global leadership, with continued engagement across international platforms and forums
SWIFT RELIEF OPERATIONS UNDERWAY AS HEAV Y SNOWFALL PARALYSES NORTHERN AREAS
of 280 people including 180 guests and 100 staff members were safely rescued
Upon receiving information about the fire CM Maryam Nawaz immediately mobilised the provincial administration Acting on her directives, Provincial Minister Faisal Khokhar the Chief Secretary Director General LDA and Deputy Commissioner Lahore rushed to the site
