Issuu

Sunday, 5 June, 2022 I 5 Dhul-Qadah, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 336 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

PM orders to reduce outages to two hours g

Shehbaz Sharif claimS imran’S government ‘miSerably failed’ gwadar ISLAMABAD

stAff report

rime minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed the power authorities to limit loadshedding across the country to two hours, warning that he wanted results not explanations over the matter. chairing a meeting to address the issue of hours-long unannounced loadshedding in the country, Shehbaz Sharif asked the power division officials and federal ministers to do whatever was necessary to minimise the loadshedding to two hours in a day. Shehbaz Sharif while rejecting explanations over the loadshedding duration said that the officials should minimize the miseries of the masses rather than giving explanations.

“i only wanted to provide relief to the masses and will not accept the ongoing situation of loadshedding,” a defiant Pm said and added that he would not compromise on it and will not let any minister and official rest until the situation improves. he directed the officials to work day and night to restore power supply to businesses. the prime minister also directed the finance minister to arrange all necessary resources for dealing with the issue. meanwhile, Pm Shehbaz Sharif claimed that despite “wasting” billions of rupees, the government of the Pakistan tehreek-i-insaf (Pti) party could not complete any project for the resolution of water and electricity crises for the people of gwadar who rendered great sacrifices for the port city. in a series of tweets, the prime min-

ister, while referring to his friday’s visit to gwadar, wrote he was convinced more than ever before that development of Pakistan was linked to peace, stability and progress of balochistan. he said the government of the Pakistan democratic movement (Pdm) parties was determined to assist balochistan by working with its government and tribal leaders to chart the way forward. the prime minister, during his visit to the city, also issued a number of directions for the completion of different projects. “during my visit to gwadar, i witnessed how the Pti government miserably failed [sic] the people of gwadar. despite wasting billions of rupees and precious time, it could not complete any project for resolution of water and electricity issues for the locals who gave great sacrifices for gwadar port,” he tweeted.

President returns NAB, Election amendsment bills for ‘further consideration’ ISLAMABAD stAff report

President dr arif alvi Saturday returned back to the Prime minister the bills seeking his nod to the constitutional amendments in the nab and election laws, insisting that he was not informed about the legislative proposal under article 46 before they were tabled in Parliament. the national assembly had last week passed bills to abolish the Pti government’s election reforms giving overseas Pakistanis the right to vote through i-voting and electronic voting machines (evms), as well as the nab laws. meanwhile, a press release issued by the president’s office said that dr alvi returned the national accountability (amendment) bill, 2022 and elections (amendment) bill, 2022 for “reconsideration and detailed deliberation” to Parliament and its committees under clause (1) (b) of article 75.

the president has contested that article 46 was violated as he was not informed about the legislative proposals before they were brought before the Parliament. article 46 states that “the prime minister shall keep the president informed……. on all legislative proposals the federal government intends to bring before majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)”. dr alvi also noted that the bills were passed “in haste and without due diligence”. he noted that both the bills have

“far-reaching impact on society” and should have been discussed in detail. on nab laws, President alvi noted that the amendment shifts the burden of proof on the persecution and would make the accountability watch dog’s laws similar to the code of criminal procedure. “this will make it impossible for the prosecution to prove cases of corruption and misuse of official authority by the state persons and will bury the process of accountability in Pakistan,” claimed dr alvi. he also noted that the amendment is “against the spirit of islamic jurisprudence”. “this amendment would make the tracing money trail for the acquisition of illegal assets almost impossible especially when the records of the property/assets/wealth are neither digitised nor can be traced especially in benami properties by the investigators,” said the president.

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Federal cabinet gives nod to US$2.4 billion loan from China ISLAMABAD AhmAd AhmAdAni

federal cabinet has granted its necessary approval for obtaining a loan facility worth two billion forty crore dollars from china at one percent margin for the period of next three years. according to sources, the federal cabinet has granted its important approval through a circulation of summary to obtain the loan facility at one percent margin from china for a three years period under an agreement signed by the outgoing Pti government in year 2019. “[the] cabinet has approved the finance ministry’s summary to get a two billion and forty crore dollar worth loan from china,” said the sources. they added that the Prime minister has approved the placement of the summary before the cabinet through circulation under rule 17 (1) (b) of the rules of business 1973 in view of the urgency to relieve the current pressures on the exchange rate. according to available document titled as rmb 15 billion syndicate loan facility from china development bank, industrial and commercial bank of china and bank of china, china development bank in capacity of agent bank to the

syndicated loan facility from consortium of chinese banks i.e. china development bank, industrial and commercial bank of china and bank of china has granted to extend rmb 15 billion facility (US$2,4000.00 million) for a three years period at six month Shibor+1.50 percent margin. this facility was earlier extended in march 2019 which matured on march 24, 2022. the chinese side has reduced the margin by one percent as compared with the previous facility. the draft facility agreement shared by china development bank was forwarded to the ministry of law and Justice and the office of the attorney general for Pakistan for vetting and clearance in light of the cabinet decisions dated may 14, 2019. as per the document, the ministry of law and Justice has cleared the draft agreement subject to fulfilment of all codal formalities. the clauses under waiver of immunities in the draft facility agreement are the same as those under facility agreement executed on march 19, 2019. “approval of the cabinet is solicited to the draft facility agreement in terms of rule 16 (1) (d) of the rules of business 1973 as well as in view of the observations of the office of attorney general for Pakistan,” the document added.

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Sunday, 5 June, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

GoverNor To raiSe iSSue of ST oN SeedS wiTh PM, MiNiSTer ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

UNJAB Governor Balighur Rehman on Saturday said that he will take up the matter of withdrawal of 17 percent sale tax on agriculture seeds with Prime Minister and Federal Finance Minister to help boost agriculture production in the province for meeting ever increasing food staple needs of growing population. He held this categorical assurance to a delegation of Pakistan Hi-Tech Hybrid Seed

Association (PHHSA) led by its chairman Shahzad Ali Malik, which called on him here today at governor house. The Governor said that good quality hi tech hybrid seed always play a key role in enhancing the agriculture production manifolds. He said the use of high quality seeds is one of the most important elements in any farming system as well as a cornerstone of any successful agriculture program. He said this element has become more crucial than ever for providing enough food security for the rising number of population in the world which is expected to

N League ministers in Punjab demand bulletproof cars ISLAMABAD: In the midst of record inflation and a severe energy crisis, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members of the cabinet in Punjab have put forward demands for armoured vehicles for official use, reports citing sources said on Saturday. Attaullah Tarar, a spokesperson for the Punjab government, returned his official vehicle with a request to provide him with a bullet-proof car. He claimed he had threats to his life “which is why I’m making the request”. Likewise, Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan, a former Punjab Assembly speaker and a close aide of Cheif Minister Hamza Shehbaz, also refused to accept a slightly used ministerial car. His son wrote a letter to the Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) requesting the department to provide his father with a brand new vehicle. It is pertinent to mention here the department has not purchased the latest vehicles and instead provided used pool cars to the cabinet. Staff RepoRt

Medicines worth millions burnt after fire erupts at Lahore hospital LAHORE: A huge fire broke out at the Children’s Hospital in the Ferozepur Road neighbourhood of Lahore on Saturday. The incident of the massive fire was confirmed by the rescue officials. The fire erupted in the pharmacy storage on the third floor where medicines worth millions of rupees were burnt to ashes. No loss of life has been reported so far in the incident. During the rescue operation, the hospital building has been evacuated. According to the Fire Department, at least seven fire engines have been dispatched to put out the fire. Meanwhile, additional fire engines have been summoned from across the city to help put out the fire. To contain the situation, more than 40 firefighters from the fire department and Rescue 1122 have been deployed at the site. The cause of the fire remains unclear. As per the officials, the cause of the fire will be investigated once the fire has been put out. staff reportChief Minister Hamza Shahbaz directed the health secretary to hold a thorough investigation into the incident and submit a report. He also urged the hospital management to hold an internal inquiry to find out what caused the blaze. Staff RepoRt

Top law officer steps down ISLAMABAD: Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Muhammad Masroof Khan on Saturday resigned from his post. Khan called it a day by sending his resignation to President Dr Arif Alvi. He used to represent the government in the court of Justice Babar Sattar of Islamabad High Court (IHC). Days earlier, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Syed Mohammad Tayyab Shah tendered his resignation. Staff RepoRt

exceed nine billion by year 2050, he added. Muhammad Balighur Rehman who himself has a background as a progressive agriculturist said quality seed is the fundamental element in crop production which not only doubles and triples the yield but also decreases cost of production considerably besides preventing spread of weeds, diseases and pests. Shahzad Ali Malik while briefing the governor said in view of importance of quality seed in agriculture sector the government must withdraw unjustified ST without loss of time to avoid shifting of its

burden on poor people besides fully protecting planned Chinese investment on “China Hybrid Agriculture Model and Transfer of Technology” under phase 11 of CPEC. He said Pakistan is in direct competition with the top agricultural produce exporting countries of the world and levy of ST will result in a sharp decrease in agricultural yields and hit export targets besides at least 20% increase in the prices of all essential crops. Shahzad Ali Malik expressed his gratitude to Governor for sympathetic consideration of their legitimate demand.

Three days on, superstore’s fire yet to be controlled KARACHI Staff RepoRt

A huge fire, erupted in the basement of in a multi-storey superstore located near Jail Chowrangi, still could not be extinguished completely on Saturday despite hectic efforts for the past more than 72 hours (three days). All efforts including the use of over 1.2 million gallons of water have appeared to be failed to douse the fire completely. The blaze that had broken out at the warehouse of the department store in the basement of the multistorey building has left scores of families living in the residential building displaced. On Thursday, the fire brigade had claimed that they had controlled the blaze and only a few burning patches remained to be doused, which would be achieved in a short time. However, that claim proved to be false as the fire

was still could not be completely extinguished with flames continuing to erupt at multiple places in the extremely hot building. Meanwhile, the fire brigade department warned that the cooling process would take at least two more days. As smoke and flames could be seen emanating from the basement, and ground and mezzanine floors of the building as well as its parking area, over a dozen fire tenders, remained busy in the extinguishing work throughout Friday, throwing water inside the building from different directions, breaking the walls and digging the footpath. They also used foam and fire extinguisher balls to put out the flames. Whereas the fire brigade claimed that the intensity of the fire had been controlled, it also expressed the fear that the situation would turn grave in case the blaze engulfed the

first floor. “We have controlled the intensity of the fire and now the cooling process is under way, which may take at least two more days,” said Chief Fire Officer Mobin Ahmed. “Flames are erupting and will continue to erupt until the affected area is cleared completely.” The use of excessive water posed another problem for the authorities. Ahmed said that as the fire brigade has been using water for three days to extinguish the fire, the water level has reached around five to six feet in the basement, creating difficulties for the firefighters in their operations. The chief fire officer added that the building’s foundation had already been damaged due to the fire and now the presence of huge amount of water in the basement could further damage the building. He explained that suction pumps

were being used to pull out water from the basement, due to which Kashmir Road and its surroundings had been inundated. Although a case was registered against the owners of the department store, the police are yet to arrest any of the suspects nominated in the FIR. “No arrest has been made so far,” confirmed Investigations SSP Altaf Hussain. He added that the nominated suspects were trying to obtain protective bail. In response to a question, he clarified that the case was registered on the request of the Sindh Building Control Authority. “Actually, it was the prime responsibility of the SBCA to inspect the building and ensure the implementation of the laws,” the officer remarked. “Officials of the SBCA and other relevant authorities will also be in the radar of the police during the investigations.”

Safdar, PML-N lawmaker indicted in treason case

LAHORE: Rescue 1122 fire-fighters dousing a fire broke out in medicine store on third storey of Children’s Hospital and University on Saturday. photo by zubaiR Mehfooz

LAHORE: Indicting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader retired Captain Safdar Awan and party lawmaker Imran Khalid Butt in a case of treason, a court in Gujranwala on Saturday summoned the witnesses on June 20. Both Awan and Butt appeared in the court of Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Azam Khan. The court also summoned both the accused in the case of interference in official duty on June 29. The court also exempted Awan and another suspect in the case, Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan, from the appearance on the next date of the hearing, while Butt and a former mayor of Gujranwala were asked to appear. The Gujranwala police had booked Awan in a treason case on October 5, 2020, for using hate language against the state institutions in his address to the PML-N’s consultative meeting at the house of Butt on October 2. Butt was also booked in the case. Staff RepoRt

President strongly condemns martyrdom of ten Kashmiri youth by Indian forces ISLAMABAD iNp

President Dr Arif Alvi has strongly condemned the martyrdom of Kashmiri youth in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) by the Indian occupying forces. The President in a statement, said that the Indian occupation forces had been targeting the innocent

Kashmiri youth on the pretext of carrying out socalled search operations. He called upon the international community to take notice of the gross human rights violations in the IIOJK and demanded of the Indian government to immediately stop its grave human rights violations of extra-judicial killing of the Kashmiri youth. The President said a peaceful resolution of the IIOJK issue in accordance with the United Nations

resolutions guaranteed regional peace. He observed that India could not suppress Kashmiri struggle for their right to self-determination with such atrocious tactics. This indigenous movement for freedom against the Indian illegal occupation and aggression could not be linked with terrorism, he added. The President further said these inhuman acts of terror in the IIOJK had exposed the extremist face of Hindutva.

Long March heroics: Dr Yasmin gets coveted slot of PTI’s Central Punjab President ISLAMABAD MiaN abRaR

In a major party shakeup for Punjab Province, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Saturday appointed new presidents of the party’s chapters of Central, Northern and Southern Punjab. The move comes on heels of reports that Imran Khan was unhappy over the performance of the party’s leadership of Punjab for failing to mobilise the party workers for the recently held Long March and the party leaders have been penalised and removed from their offices. During the recent Long March, Dr Yasmin Rashid rose among the party ranks for showing unmatched bravery and

courage despite being subjected to worst police torture. Dr Yasmin not only braved the police baton charge but also managed to break shackles and overcome barriers to arrive federal Capital despite her car came under brutal police attack. Hammad Azhar also had shown his mettle by braving the police torture and reaching the federal capital against all odds. Both Dr Yasmin and Hammaz Azhar got injured but the brute police torture failed to stop them from entering the federal capital and join the Long March. According to the party notification issued by PTI Secretary General Asad Umar following the approval of chairman Imran Khan, former health minister Punjab Dr Yasmin Rashid has been

appointed as President PTI central Punjab to help revive the party in across central Punjab. Hammad Azhar would assist her as Party Secretary. Aamer Mehmood Kiani has been appointed as the president of the PTI Northern Punjab chapter while Senator Aon Abbas Bappi has been appointed as President of PTI South Punjab chapter. With this order, Imran Khan has removed Shafqat Mahmood as President PTI Central Punjab, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar as president South Punjab and Sadaqat Abbasi as President PTI Northern Punjab. According to the party sources, following his lack of interest in the party affairs, Imran Khan asked Shafqat Mehmood to step down from the party’s

Punjab president post. In his resignation, Mr Mahmood thanked the party chairman for the trust he had reposed in him while appointing him to the party office. He stated that he could not continue to discharge his duties as PTI Punjab president, but will keep serving the party after regaining health. Mehmood, also a former senator in the PPP era in the mid-90s, got elected as an MNA in 2013 and 2018. In 2013, he was the only PTI MNA who managed to secure a seat from Lahore. Nevertheless, there have been questions about his connectivity with party stalwarts and office-bearers. Khusro Bakhtiar also remained inactive and was reportedly abroad while the party was preparing for the May 25

Azadi March. While Khusro did not mobilise the party cadres, no party leader worked for the arty cause despite PTI being the single-largest party of South Punjab. Even Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi remained with Imran Khan in Peshawar while his son also did not visit Multan to mobilise the party workers. Party’s leaders from other parts of South Punjab also were not visible including Syed Fakhar Imam, Hussain Jahania Gardezi, Malik Amir Dogar, Ibrahim Khan and others while rest of the leaders had defected to Tareen group or the PPP. It is noteworthy that the PTI also has a real test ahead in which it would have to fight the PML-N for 20 vacant seats of the Punjab Assembly.

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Sunday, 5 June, 2022 | KARACHI

uS, iSraeL, iNdia BrouGhT ShehBaz iNTo Power To weaKeN PaKiSTaN: iMraN UPPER DIR

ageNcieS

AKISTAN Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan Saturday reiterated his claim that the a combo of international powers, the United States, Israel and India, had conspired together to bring “boot-polishing” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to power. “Shehbaz was bought into power not because he is intelligent, but because he would obey all of their orders, the first of which was a price hike in petrol as ordained by the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” the former premier stated while addressing a rally in the Upper Dir region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Imran maintained that a Rs7 increase in petrol and diesel was “inhumane”, adding that the PTI government did not succumb to IMF’s pressure when they ordered the former government to increase petrol and electricity prices. “My life and death is Pakistan, and I refuse to bow down before anyone but God,” Imran said. He stated that the PTI regime had decreased petrol prices by Rs10 when the IMF had asked them to increase petrol and electricity prices. “We wanted to save our people from global price hikes and aimed to get money from elsewhere to offer respite from inflation,” he said, adding that the price of all commodities increased when petrol and electricity were more expensive. Imran further claimed that his

government wanted to increase the wealth of the country and that the average income increased from Rs16,180 to Rs26,300 under his threeyear tenure. “We tried to increase the country’s wealth and subsequently increase tax to reduce the burden of inflation,” the former premier added. He declared that the only way to free Pakistan from economic ruin and enslavement was an election where the people could decide which government they wanted in power. Imran Khan further alleged that Shehbaz Sharif only came into power to obtain relief from his ongoing corruption cases which he was going to

be “punished for”. The PTI chief claimed that there were cases concerning frauds of Rs16 billion in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Rs8 billion in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against Shehbaz and his family. “The day he [Shehbaz] was sworn in as prime minister, he and his son were both to be indicted under the FIA case. Their entire reason to come into power was to escape punishment,” he said. Former prime minister Imran Khan has said the PTI government increased the average income of the people of Pakistan while being in power despite crunch economic conditions.

Imran Khan said the PTI government was working hard to control increasing inflation and rejected the demands of IMF to increase fuel and electricity prices. Sadly the ‘imported govt’ has bowed down before the IMF and increased fuel, electricity and gas prices on its demand. Prices of everything have gone up and touched sky-high during the tenure of Shehbaz Sharif government, he added. He censured the incumbent government for hiking the petrol and diesel prices up to Rs60 in just one week. He added that celebratory moments were witnessed in Indian electronic media and newspapers after the ouster of the PTI government in Pakistan. The former prime minister also expressed suspicions that the current rulers are going to dissolve their corruption cases by shutting down the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). He asked Buner people to be prepared for his call to fight for real independence in the country. Imran Khan alleged that the money of the Sharif and Zardari families is abroad and they are not worried about increasing inflation in the country. “I have always given the examples of the Soviet Union and the United States (US) having the strongest military powers. The Soviet Union had fallen just after the economic collapse.” He said that country is passing through critical time in history and said that there is only one solution to the problems of the country and that in fair and transparent election.

Budget: FBR likely to increase advance tax on green leaf threshing processing units ISLAMABAD Shahzad paRacha

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is considering to increase advance tax on green leaf threshing processing (GLTP) units in next year budget 2022-23. sources said that FBR is considering the Tobacco Industry recommendations with regard to increase advance tax from Rs10per KG to Rs300 per kg on GLTP units. The industry representatives told that Imran khan government had increased the advance withholding tax from Rs10/kg to Rs300/kg in the fiscal year 2018-19 through supplementary budget but the decision was reversed after the lobbying of local influential Tobacco players in budget 2019-20 citing the reason that this tax had been imposed on tobacco farmers. On the other hand, the multi national Tobacco companies have point of view that this withholding tax was in adjustable mode and was slapped on manufacturers, which had nothing to do with farmers. Presently, there are 11 GLTP units located in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the imposition of Rs300/kg advance

withholding tax could make illicit business unviable, Pakistan Tobacco Company representative told. We can confirm that if the government imposed an advance tax of Rs300/kg on GLTP units in the upcoming budget, the share of illicit cigarettes will drastically slash down from 40 percent, equivalent to Rs70 billion, to just 20 percent with no time. Oxford Economics, PWV, IPSOS, and Institute for Public Opinion Research (IPOR) estimated that the share of illicit cigarettes in Pakistan ranged between 37.6 percent and 40

percent. It demonstrated that over 180 brands violated minimum tax and minimum price, causing Rs80 billion annual loss to the national exchequer, he added. The industry could evaluate FBR’s proposal to collect federal excise duty (FED) at the stage of GLTP processing in order to discourage illicit cigarettes adding that Shopkeepers in major markets of cities and towns across Pakistan openly sold illegal cigarette packs. More than 200 local illicit cigarette brands sold between Rs20 and Rs40,

whereas the mandated minimum price was Rs62.76, inclusive of a minimum tax per pack of Rs42.12. He also revealed that the government in 2021 promulgated a law regarding brand licensing that binds cigarette manufacturers to register their brand before launching that into the market. Only 16 cigarette brands have applied for registration so far and on the other hand, more than 150 unregistered brands belonging to local tobacco manufacturers openly sold products in the market due to weak enforcement measures of FBR. He also said that PTC is going to pay over Rs150 billion tax in the national exchequer during the outgoing fiscal year 2021-22 against Rs134 billion taxes paid in 2020-21 and Rs117 billion in 2019-20. The PTC representative also said that Only three companies so far were in the process of implementing the Track and Trace system including PTC while local players is still hesitant to implement the system so they continue to dent the economy by flouting laws to evade taxes.

NEWS

four candidates in run for by-election to PK-7 Swat PESHAWAR app

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued the list of candidates in by-election on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly constituency PK-7 Swat-VI and their respective election symbols. According to ECP, four candidates including Hussain Ahmad Khan of the ANP, Fazal Moula of the PTI, Daulat Khan of Tehreek-e-Inqilab Political Movement and Mohammad Ali Shah – an independent candidate – are in the run for the constituency by-polls. The election commission has issued party symbols to the ticket holders of political parties and independent candidates. The constituency fell vacant due to the death of Waqar Ahmad Khan of ANP. Polling in the constituency will be held on June 26, 2022.

Plea filed against NaB chief’s appointment sans CJP’s approval ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

A petition has been filed before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the appointment of the chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) without consultation with the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP). The petition has been filed by Advocate Nadeem Sarwar who made the federal government, NAB and President Arif Alvi respondents in the case. The plea stated that after an apex court order, it is necessary to consult the chief justice before the appointment and the president is bound to take approval from the chief justice before the appointment. It further asked the court to bar the government from making the appointment and take prior approval from the chief justice. It is pertinent to mention here that Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal’s tenure as chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has come to an end after the expiry of the recently promulgated ordinance that allowed him to hold the office until a new chief is being appointed

SC decides 1182 cases during last four months ISLAMABAD NewS deSk

The backlog of cases in Supreme Court of Pakistan had reduced by 1182 cases during the last four months. According to the statistics issued by the Apex Court’s Public Relation Officer (PRO) on Friday, the backlog of cases stood at 53,964 on 31st January, 2022 which had been reduced to 52,796 during the last four months. A total of 6509 cases were instituted, in this Court, during the period from 1st February, 2022 to 31st May, 2022 while 7691 cases were disposed of during the same period. Corresponding numbers for the same period for the year 2021 stood at 7603 and 3730 respectively showing an increase of 3873 cases in pendency. The current strength of Judges, in Supreme Court, is 14, against sanctioned strength of 17, compared to 16 during the same period last year. The Average disposal of cases per day was 96 against an Average Institution of 67 cases per day while the corresponding numbers for the previous year, during the same period, were 54 and 81 respectively. Despite working at a strength of 14 judges, the average disposal per judge, during the period of four months, was 549 compared to 233 for the same period in the previous year. From 31st December, 2013 onwards, the backlog/pending cases in this Court have increased from 20,517 to 53,560 on 31st December, 2021. The Annual increase in pendency ranged between 1087 in the year 2014 to 7,203 in the year 2021. The last four months have seen a decline in pending cases for the first time since 31st December, 2013.

Pakistan fails to attend key international moot on large dams ISLAMABAD ahMad ahMadaNi

Owing to alleged ignorance of the federal government, not a single Pakistani concerned official has participated in a week-long important conference of the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) held in Marseille, France. Sources privy to the development informed Pakistan Today that not a single official from Ministry of Water Resources and its attached departments has attend the 27th Congress of the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) which was held in Marseille, France from 27th May to June 3rd, 2022, with a participation of over 1400 experts from

across the globe including 87 experts from the neighbouring country of India. “Former Chairman Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Lt. General (R) Muzammil Hussain has participated in personal capacity on a special invite in recognition of his work on 10 mega water projects in the country,” said sources. The sources said that the recommendations of ICLOD most often play key role in ensuring the foreign financing for the construction of large dams projects across the globe. As per sources, the Ministry of Water Resources and Prime Minister (PM) Office remained engaged in correspondence while no official from WAPDA attended this precious event to present the case of Pakistan in this important conference. They said that

Pakistan National Committee on Large Dams made special arrangements for Pakistani delegations. But all arrangements remained in vain as the seats for Pakistani delegations remained vacant throughout this week-long conference. They said acting Chairman WAPDA Naveed Asghar Chaudhary along with some WAPDA officials was expected to attend the conference. But they could not participate in the event due to absence of approval from the Prime Minister, said sources. ICOLD is an organization dedicated to the sharing of professional information, knowledge & standards of the design, construction, maintenance, and impact of large dams. With a present total of 104 member countries, ICOLD leads the profession in

ensuring that dams are built and operated safely, efficiently, economically, and with a minimum environmental impact. ICOLD leads the profession in setting standards and guidelines to ensure that dams are built and operated safely, efficiently, economically, and are environmentally sustainable and socially equitable. ICOLD technical guidelines on all aspects of dam design and safety are based on state-of-the-art knowledge and our Projects are being designed and constructed by following the ICOLD guidelines and standards. As per sources, former Chairman WAPDA, Lt. General (R) Muzammil Hussain, was invited to give the keynote address at the closing session of the 27th Congress of the International Commission on Large Dams

(ICOLD). The week-long conference was held from May 27th to June 3rd, 2022, in Marseille, France with a participation of over 1400 experts from across the globe. And, former Chairman WAPDA Lt. General (R) Muzammil Hussain was granted this honour in recognition of his significant contribution towards the development of large dams in Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion, former Chairman WAPDA, Lt. General (R) Muzammil Hussain, apprised the ICOLD Congress on water and hydropower sector development in Pakistan through mega projects by WAPDA. He said that WAPDA is implementing a multipronged strategy for unprecedented hydropower and water storage development in Pakistan under the vision of “Decade of Dams”, through an innovative financial strategy.

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04 NEWS

AJK GOvT TO Revive PANchAyAT, JiRGA sysTeM MIRPUR

StAff RePoRt

ZAD Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan on Saturday said the government has all set to revive the Panchayat, Jirga system and age-old Chokidari (watchman) system in the region. The prime minister disclosed this while addressing oath taking ceremony of the newly elected office bearers of District Press club Jhelum valley town of AJK. Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Dewan Ali Khan Chughtai, Parliamentary Secretary Prof Taqdis Gilani, former PTI candidate Syed Zeeshan Haider, PPP leader Sahibzada Ashfaq Zafar, Major Gulzaman and other journalists were pres-

ent on the occasion. Lauding the role of the journalist community, the PM said that journalism has an important role to play in the communication between the people and the government. He said the government was well aware of the problems being faced by the the journalist community. The government, he said, would take all possible measures to solve their problems. On this occasion, the prime minister announced a grant of Rs one million for the Jhelum Valley press club and an additional amount of Rs 8 million for the welfare, healthcare and medical treatment of journalists. The prime minister said that whoever writes the best book on Sirat-ul-Nabawi (SAW) will be rewarded up to Rs 10 million. Stressing the need for promoting Islamic values and traditions, the PM said that besides

teaching science there was a dire need to get the new generation acquainted with the great teachings of the Prophet (PBUH). Hailing the scenic beauty of Jhelum Valley, the prime minister said the government has called-out a comprehensive strategy to build infrastructure to promote tourism in the area. “Special plans are being brought for the development of small-scale industries in the region,” he said, adding that promotion of small scale industries in the region was imperative for creating employment opportunities and boosting the local economy. He said the protection of the natural environment and good-treatment of tourists was key to attracting visitors. In order to ensure good-governance, the PM said that ministries have been given a three-month target to show their performance. “The one who fails to do so would be shown the door,” he added.

The prime minister said the Jhelum valley has produced many towering personalities like Raja Haider Khan, Sahibzada Muhammad Ishaq Zafar, Munshi Ali Gohar and Pir Sikandar Shah Sahib. He announced to name the Jamia Kashmir Jhelum Valley Campus after former Minister for Political and Social Affairs Ali Khan Chughtai. He said that institutions or roads would also be named after Raja Haider Khan, Sahibzada Ishaq Zafar, KH Khurshid and Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas. Addressing the function, Minister for Government Diwan Ali Khan Chughtai while welcoming the prime minister said that Jhelum Valley was the gateway to Kashmir. The day, he said, was not far when Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) will be free and we will be able to visit Srinagar. Chughtai appreci-

ated Prime Minister for his vision and said that the PM has started working for the development and prosperity of the people in the region in line with the vision of Party chairman Imran Khan. The Parliamentary Secretary Prof. Taqdees Gilani, former PTI candidate Syed Zeeshan Haider, Sahibzada Ashfaq Zafar and others also addressed the ceremony.

LGH appoints 100 new medical house oﬃcers LAHORE StAff RePoRt

As many as 100 new medical house officers (MHOs) have been appointed in the Lahore General Hospital in different departments. According to the LGH sources on Saturday, as per the policy of the Punjab government the new house officers will be paid more than Rs45,000 per month stipend and they would serve till May 31, 2023. Talking to the media, Post Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI) Principal Professor Dr Sardar Muhammad Al-freed Zafar said it was an honour for the medical college Ameeruddin Medical Col-

Need stressed for sensitizing public to FTO’s role PESHAWAR

lege (AMC) to have MBBS students working in a historical and the best standard institution like LGH. He stated the team of doctors of the LGH would be further strengthened with the help of these 100 house officers and they would also be able to provide better medical treatment to patients. Dr Zafar while congratulating the new house officers expressed the hope that they would use their professional dedication and spirit of service for treatment of patients. On this occasion, the newly-appointed house officers thanked the principal and assured him that they would discharge their duties diligently, efficiently and honestly.

StAff RePoRt

Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Asif Mehmood Jah has directed all the regional offices to spread awareness about working of Ombudsman office so that masses could avail benefits from its services. This was said by Incharge Adviser Regional Tax Office, Ziauddin Wazir while speaking at a delegation called on him at his office. The delegation was led by President Frontier Custom Agents Association KP and Honorary Member Federal Tax Advisory Committee, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi. The delegation members were office bearers of Frontier Custom Agent Association including SVP Shezada Khalid, VP Imtiaz Ahmad Ali, GS Mian Waheed Bacha and others. Adviser said FTO is responsible for redressal of complaints regarding mismanagement in the working of all subordinate offices of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) so that the problems being faced by general masses and business community are removed at the earliest. The complainant can lodge their complaint by writing it on a simple paper, or through email or whatsapp message, he informed delegation members. Speaking on the occasion, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi said FTO office was established around 22 years ago and it has benefited thousands of complainants by providing them free of cost justice. The appeal to the decision of FTO can only be made to President of Pakistan and people will be surprised to know that the percent of appeal is only one person, Zia added. Out of total number of appeals made to President of Pakistan, the decision FTO is withheld in around 95 percent of cases, he said. On this occasion, Adviser Regional Tax Office said seminar should be held in different parts of the country for information of general public to benefit from the office of FTO.

Govt taking tough decisions national interest: Rana Mashhood

Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Ameer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman visits residence of Shah Alam for condolence over the death of his mother. PR

LAHORE: Pakistan Mulslim League Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Rana Mashood on Saturday said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shahbaz, every possible step was being taken to facilitate the people despite difficult circumstances. Addressing a press conference along with Ashraf Ansari and Younas Ansari here, he said the government was taking tough decisions in larger interest of the people and the country. The previous PTI government ruined the economy through its bad governance, he added. He said the PML-N government would again put the country on road to progress and prosperity. He welcomed Ansari brothers on joining the PML-N. Younas Ansari talking on the occasion said that they used to raise voice over corruption and wrong policies in the PTI government but nobody took any notice including PTI chief Imran Khan. He said that the PTI trapped the people on hollow slogans but did not fulfil any of their promises made with the people. Expressing his confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz, he said the PML-N leadership would take the country towards development. Speaking on the occasion, Ashraf Ansari said that the PTI leadership rather taking action, joined hands with corrupt elements. He said that unity of the nation was need of the hour for bringing real positive change in the country. APP

OPP launched as major platform for Pakistani students ISLAMABAD NewS DeSk

Oxford Pakistan Programme (OPP) – a major new platform for academic access and public diplomacy for Pakistani students – was launched at the Lady Margaret Hall (LMH), part of the University of Oxford, where both former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai studied for their undergraduate degrees. According to a press release, the launch was attended by around 200 distinguished guests, including Malala, High Commissioner for Pakistan Moazzam Ali Khan, MP Naz Shah, MP Yasmin Qureshi and Pakistani American entrepreneur Sohaib Abbasi. Senior academics and administrators from within the University of Oxford were also in attendance, including Principal of LMH Professor Christine Gerrard, Principal of Mansfield College Helen Mountfield QC, Academic Registrar Dr Saira Sheikh, Director of Undergraduate Admissions Dr Samina Khan, Director of Graduate Admissions Dr Nadia Pollini and Chief Development Offi-

cer Liesl Elder. The Oxford Pakistan Programme, the statement said, is the first initiative of its kind through which a concerted effort is being made to address the underrepresentation of Pakistani and British Pakistani students at Oxford; to raise the academic profile of Pakistan, and to promote academic exchange between Oxford University and Pakistan. It is led by Oxford academics and alumni, including Professor Adeel Malik, Dr Talha J. Pirzada, Haroon Zaman, and Minahil Saqib. Co-founder of OPP Dr Adeel Malik highlighted the need to broaden academic conversations on Pakistan beyond the traditional emphasis on security. He explained how Pakistan can act as a useful laboratory for some of the central questions of social science ranging from climate change, social justice to tax reform. Dr Malik launched the Allama Muhammad Iqbal lecture series, named after poet, philosopher and lawyer Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Supported by the Dadabhoy Foundation, the inaugural Iqbal lecture was held on

Thursday, May 19, 2022, at which Professor Wael B. Hallaq of Columbia University spoke on the topic of “The Ethics of Empire and Wealth: Ibn Khaldun and the Modern State”. The lecture was livestreamed to 20 universities across Pakistan. Co-founder of OPP Dr Talha J. Pirzada revealed that the initiative has secured commitments of around £1 million over the next five years to fund various initiatives as part of the OPP, including a scholarship programme for graduate students at Oxford of Pakistani origin. He explained that over 20 students from Pakistan each year are unable to take up graduate offers to study at Oxford due to a lack of funding, despite over 60 per cent of Pakistan’s population of 220 million people being under the age of 30. The OPP would be offering up to three scholarships, with the first set of OPP graduate scholars commencing study at LMH in October 2022, allowing these students to take advantage of Oxford’s world class academic facilities. Haroon Zaman, another OPP co-

founder, highlighted how British Pakistanis are the most underrepresented group at Oxford University, despite being the UK’s second largest ethnic minority community. Zaman announced the launch of the OPP’s bursary programme, which provides supplementary financial support to existing Pakistani origin graduate students at Oxford. He also launched the OPP’s access programme, a pioneering initiative that will facilitate school visits by Oxford students and recent alumni, to speak with prospective Oxbridge applicants in schools in the UK located in areas with high numbers of British Pakistani students, as well as virtual engagements with schools in Pakistan. Minahil Saqib, the OPP’s Outreach Lead, launched the OPP’s internship programme through which the OPP will partner with venture for Pakistan to provide internship opportunities for graduates from Oxford and Pakistani universities. The programme would allow participants to experience Pakistan’s booming start-up ecosystem. On this occasion, the Country Director for Pakistan at the World Bank Dr Najy Ben-

hassine announced a new internship programme with OPP that will enable four students from Oxford University and four from a public sector university in Pakistan to intern at the World Bank Office in Islamabad every year. Malala Yousafzai, the youngest person ever to be awarded a Nobel Prize, announced the establishment of a graduate scholarship for Pakistani women at Oxford as part of the OPP and wished that the OPP becomes a long-lasting project at the University. Minister of Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari termed the OPP a pioneering effort to advance academic access and engagement. He expressed great personal pride at the OPP being supported by LMH, the college where his beloved mother, Benazir Bhutto, studied. Syed Babar Ali, founder of LUMS, termed this initiative as a historic effort that has huge transformative potential. Dr Elizabeth Kiss, the Warden of Rhodes House and CEO of the Rhodes Trust, announced the Rhodes Trust’s campaign for a second Rhodes Scholarship for Pakistan, supported by the OPP. A group of Pakistani Rhodes scholars, led by Mohammed Khaishgi, CEO of TRG Global, have already raised $60,000 towards this goal.

Sunday, 5 June, 2022 | karachi

nEwS

PreSIdeNT ALVI reTUrNS NAB, eLeCTIoN AMeNdMeNT BILLS for ‘fUrTHer CoNSIderATIoN’ ContInueD fRom pAGe 01

NH&MC conducts first ever robotic surgeries LAHoRe staff report

For first-time in medical history of Punjab, National Hospital & Medical Centre (NH&MC), Lahore carried out robotic surgeries, achieving another milestone in its quest for introducing and provision of modern healthcare facilities in the country. The National Hospital & Medical Centre, Lahore, an extensive multidisciplinary facility of healthcare services, conducted 13 robotic surgeries including five urology surgeries and four each gynecology and general surgeries. A team of well-trained surgeons carried out the surgeries under the supervision of renowned surgeons including former Services Hospital Dean Prof Dr Mahmood Ayyaz and Prof Dr Muhammad Waris Farooka. Prof Dr Farooka is renowned Laparoscopic/General surgeon and is a Professor of Surgery at SIMS. The National Hospital & Medical Centre has established five special operations theatres for robotic surgeries with a huge cost of Rs250 million. Both Prof Dr Mahmood Ayyaz and Prof Dr Muhammad Waris Farooka have expressed their hope that the commencement of robotic surgeries will help people avail world-class medical facilities at local level.

US group urges PTV to hire back reporter fired for Israel visit ISLAmABAD the associated press

A US-based non-government organisation devoted to promoting Muslim-Jewish relations has urged state-run Pakistan Television to hire back one of its anchors who was fired over visiting Israel with an interfaith group last month. The plea from the Mukhayriq Initiative, which has both Muslim and Jewish members living in the United States and around the world, comes days after Ahmed Quraishi was taken off the air and fired following his visit to Jerusalem, where he met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Quraishi was part of a 15-member delegation of mostly Pakistan-national expatriates living in America that travelled to Israel. The visit came under severe criticism in Pakistan. On Monday, the state-run TV tweeted that it laid off Qureshi who visited Israel in a “personal capacity.” Among those who assailed the visit was former prime minister Imran Khan who claimed the visit to Jerusalem meant to pave the way for Pakistan’s eventual recognition of Israel — something the delegation denied. The government has also said there are no plans to establish ties with Israel. The head of the delegation, Anila Ali, a Pakistan-born US citizen living in Washington, defended the visit, telling The Associated Press earlier this week that they only sought to reconcile Muslims and Jews. The Mukhayriq Initiative’s managing director, Ellie Cohanim, said Friday that Quraishi became “the target of a political agenda for doing nothing more than his job as a journalist.” She told the AP that after criticism from Khan, “Quraishi began to receive threats to his life” — even though he was only doing the “job of any good journalist, (which is) to seek information on the ground, and to understand issues firsthand.” Later Friday, Quraishi reiterated in a message sent to the AP that his visit was one “by private individuals, with no direct links to Pakistan and its policies, and covered by me as an independent journalist that works in Pakistan and the region.” “For any political party to politicise this for temporary political benefit is unfortunate,” he added.

R Alvi is of the view that if the amendments are enacted then the “ongoing mega corruption cases” in courts will become “infructuous”. “Therefore, the proposed amendment which should have strengthened the accountability mechanism to eliminate corruption and political engineering to ensure good governance in the country has been rendered a toothless entity,” concluded the president. On the election amendment bill, Dr Alvi noted that overseas Pakistanis have been deprived of voting rights despite commitments made to them by different prime ministers and presidents during their overseas

trips since the 1990s. “As a result of constant pursuance by them, the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2018 upheld its earlier decision of 2014 on the voting rights of overseas Pakistanis and reiterated that with improving technology, efforts should be made to allow them to vote from outside of Pakistan,” said the president. The president also shared that the Supreme Court had expressed its regret about the system not being used despite its judgment in 2014. “Objections on the possibility of hacking the I-voting have no ground as the amount of digital financial transactions taking place are to the tune of approximately $5 trillion daily which has been increasing to almost $8.5 trillion every day. The probability of a plane crash is thou-

sands of times higher than the probability of hacking of a digital transaction today,” said the president. The president stated that the process used to ensure secure digital payments can “ensure anonymity and security of the vote and can also be subjected to complete audit on the truth-match of the vote cast”. “The EVM to be adopted by Pakistan is unique and combines a paper system of votes as we already practice, together with an electronic counting to keep a permanent supportive safety record. The legislature can always make laws that in case of discrepancy or dispute, the paper count rather than the electronic count will take priority or vice versa. There is no risk involved,” he said. “In Pakistan, the stigma of rigging

Gwadar’s Eastbay Expressway opened for traﬃc GWADAR Monitoring report

The inauguration ceremony of the China-aided Eastbay Expressway of Gwadar was held on Friday in the port city of Balochistan. As an important early harvest project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the 19.49-km six-lane expressway was started in 2017 by the China Communications Construction Company, with an aim to meet the urgent need of the locals in Gwadar and promote the sustainable development of the area. Addressing the ceremony, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif thanked China for the grant and said that China has built a very high-quality expressway which links the port to the coastal highway ahead. It will enhance connectivity and help the transportation of goods from the port all the way to the country’s southern port city of Karachi in the future, said the prime minister. “Pakistan is determined to speed up the development of Gwadar,” Sharif said, adding that China has donated solar panels to thousands of families in Gwadar, aided the construction of a hospital and other livelihood infrastructures, and will fund a desalination plant. On the same occasion, Pang Chunxue, charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy to Pakistan, said China attaches great importance to people’s

livelihood in Gwadar, and is willing to continue promoting the development of Gwadar’s healthcare, education, vocational and technical personnel training and other livelihood fields. Pang said the construction of the expressway aims to benefit the local people, and the concerns of local fishermen were fully considered in the design and construction. China will strive to continue to help solve local people’s problems such as shortage of electricity and fresh water, and promote the construction of a smart, green and modern Gwadar Port, so that local people can share the high-quality development of the CPEC, Pang said. “It is our joint efforts that ensured the successful delivery of this CPEC project in Gwadar.” “When the New Gwadar International Airport is completed in the future, it will work with the Eastbay Expressway to promote Gwadar as a regional transportation hub and create a better life for the local people,” Pang added.

SHC orders police to register cases of forced disappearances KARACHI staff report

The Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered the police to register cases of enforced disappearances of people as it sought a report in this regard from the provincial home department and police chief. During the proceedings of a case linked to enforced disappearances, Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro ordered the police to lodge cases of people purportedly abducted by state agencies and start an investigation to locate their whereabouts. He ordered the authorities to take immediate steps for the recovery of disappeared people. The court also directed the home department and police chief to submit a report on August 25. Enforced disappearances have long been doc-

umented by local and international rights groups in Pakistan, and in 2011, the government formed a commission of inquiry to document and investigate cases of the disappeared, known as “missing persons”. Since 2011, the commission has received complaints in at least 8,154 cases, of which 2,274 remain unresolved, according to the commission’s report for September 2021. The military and security agencies under it have repeatedly denied committing abuses, blaming the killings on an array of militant groups active in the resource-rich province that borders both Afghanistan and Iran. But human rights groups have gathered some evidence from relatives of the disappeared that raises serious questions over the conduct of the security establishment.

is attached to every election resulting in that every government has to bear an allegation of non-representation, reducing its credibility in some segment of the population within the country thus weakening it, and also with implications internationally. Billions are lost in litigation and confrontation”, the President added. He observed that the new amendments in this form are like taking one step forward, and then panicking and taking two steps backwards. Changing them back is tantamount to unnecessarily delaying these technical processes for the advancement and transparency of elections in Pakistan. He recommended that Parliament should not regress on these laws, in fact only improve them with set timelines to ensure implementation.

PM orders to reduce outages to two hours ContInueD fRom pAGe 01 “The same holds true for Gwadar seaport and construction of Gwadar airport. No dredging was carried out at the seaport and thus no large cargo ship can be anchored. Have ordered quick completion of Gwadar University, airport and installation of a desalination plant for clean drinking water. “I am convinced more than ever before that development of Pakistan is linked with peace, stability & progress of Balochistan. The coalition govt aims to assist Balochistan by working with the provincial govt & local elders to chart the way forward,” Sharif said in an attached tweet. However, contrary to Sharif’s claims of lack of interest and launch of development work on part of Imran Khan, the former prime minister launched a number of development and infrastructure projects — including an expo centre, agriculture industrial park and three factories — in July last year. Similarly, in October 2018, barely a month after assuming office, Khan’s administration announced the building of a $10 billion oil refinery near the deep-water port of Gwadar to reduce petroleum product imports. Khan’s government wanted to turn Gwadar into “an oil city” to reduce dependence on imported refined fuel, Khusro Bakhtyar, thenminister for planning and development, told reporters. However, Saudi Arabia, which was funding the project, later decided to shift the proposed refinery to Karachi from the centre stage of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Body set up to probe Lahore hospital fire incident LAHORE: The Punjab government on Saturday formed a committee to investigate the fire that erupted on the third floor of Lahore Children Hospital. According to a notification issued by Punjab Health Department, a six-member committee has been formed to probe into the fire incident at Lahore hospital. The committee will be headed by the special security of the health department. The committee would ascertain the cause of the fire; the firefighting system at the hospital, and the elements involved behind the fire incident. The investigation team has been directed to submit its report in three days. Meanwhile, Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique also visited the hospital and reviewed the rescue operation. Talking to the media, Kh Salman said that patients and staff of the hospital were safe and an inquiry committee had been constituted to know the cause of fire. An intense fire broke out at Lahore’s Children Hospital pharmacy storage in the wee hours of Saturday. Around 22 fire tenders took part in the operation to douse the fire that erupted at the medical store of the hospital. staff report

Green CPEC to play vital role in Pakistan’s efforts against climate change ISLAmABAD Xinhua

As the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) further advances, it can play an important role in the country’s effort to mitigate climate change effects, said experts. During a two-day event “Green China Pakistan Economic Corridor Alliance” and a workshop to mobilise renewable energy investments for sustainable development held by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Pakistan-China Institute, experts and officials discussed the CPEC and green development in Pakistan.

Senator Seemi Ezdi, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, said Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable country to climate change, and the country’s dependence on imported gas is making the situation worse. She added that the CPEC is playing an important role in introducing renewable energy in the country, which will help the country in its efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change besides meeting its energy demands. Hina Aslam, head of the China Study Center at the SDPI, said that the CPEC helps Pakistan through job creation, income

growth, infrastructure upgrading, skill development, education and more. “China is leading a transition in clean energy. The concept of eco-civilisation is one of the major drivers of this transition that could be brought into the CPEC. And if the CPEC can go green, it can bring an enormous positive showcase for the other BRI countries as well,” she added. The experts recalled the time when the country was facing up to 10 hours of power outages a day due to a lack of electricity, and the CPEC addressed the problem through coal-fired power plants which helped the country facilitate its industrial production.

CmYK

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Sunday, 5 June, 2022

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The Lost Kingdom of Atlantis

Shehbaz Sharif defines his goals

As the pictures get murkier…

Easier to judge government’s performance

He PML(N)-led coalition faces tough challenges ahead. The people are on edge because of rising prices of commodities and prolonged load shedding. After a major hike in petrol prices NePrA has raised power tariff by rs7.91 per unit while Ogra has notified a 45 percent hike in gas prices from July. The government has no option other than further increasing the prices of petroleum products in days to come because the subsidy on petroleum products has only been partially reduced. in case the government decides to raise the levy and sales tax also, petroleum prices would go up further. The ruling coalition hopes to be in power for about 15 months. in the next elections its future will depend on its performance. The PM maintains that he has formulated a short-term strategy concentrated on bringing down inflation and reducing poverty. Both the aims are highly desirable. The common people have already gone through enough pain and suffering that they were told was the price for a better future. They have been given a meagre rs 2000 per family in return.. While millions were pushed below the poverty line during the pandemic the elite emerged richer due to the exemptions and incentives provided by the government. Will the PM proceed beyond empty exhortations to the super rich to help the poor and instead expand the tax net to the powerful groups of the elite and review the exemptions and incentives provided to them? The en chasm between the richest and the poorest bodes ill for the country. Among other bad things it provides opportunity to those with extremist views a chance to use the situation to divide society. Pakistan is to repay $23 billion in foreign debt in the next fiscal year. The dollar has against bounced back against rupee. Tough decisions need to be taken to avoid bankruptcy and revive the economy. The government too needs to cut its expenses to the barest minimum. The PM has to come clean on the charge of squandering money on newspaper advertisements for “self-promotion”. The sindh and KP governments took the initiative to cut thepetrol quota of ministers and government officials, showing the way to a slow-moving federal government.

Adil MurtAzA

he internet in Pakistan has become a contested terrain, used by left, right and centre to peddle their own political interests , more so in the past couple of months. The holy month of ramzan has been no exception. The supercharged political scene has been in the final overs, the digital battlespace has since been breaking the internet daily. The marchers are ready to charge on the capital, to gain what was rightfully theirs. The new tenants of the holy fort, are daggers drawn, and the bows pulled back like a chaudry’s moustache. The constitution and its avenue could be in grave danger with swords of Damocles hanging over it. As the climax is yet to arrive in our sensational political film, it is an opportune time to reflect on household emerging technologies whose boundaries have coalesced into the realm of politics. This is the era of the fourth industrial revolution, so the ‘war of independence’ couldn’t be fought with bare hands, feet or mangonels. The contemporary tools of the rightly guided ones and the raj are the Artifical intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data and the like. The old raj sahebs and Khan Bahadurs have resorted to deploying modern technologies to manipulate information consumed by the poor public. Dissent is monitored, communications are censured and the mutineers are put behind bars to ‘boot’ softwares. Gone are the days when corner meetings would be held over grand courtyard lunch-

Screening by the spooks

eons to galvanize support. The appetite has evolved, was completely alien to him. He couldn’t help but so has the food, but the behaviour of the consumers pull off his space-X, learning that the Kingdom of space belongs to another race, leaving him behind is still the same. After laying siege to the forts of Lahore, Karachi only with his boring company. Back in the square one lies the aggressive atmosand Jhallianwala, sher singh is out in the ‘space’ to take on the Dwyers for crushing the soul of his wit. phere. The hostility in the digital colosseum is at an all-time high, taking the troll Taking them to cleaners on the nation’s ethics and after taking them to courts morals which gives great but Atkinson is in no mood pains to the Mir Bakhshi. of showing any remorse. Trolls are on the roll, our naGlobal Twitterspace records are being smashed and eThe final round of the battle tional sport to disparage the nobles and aalims offline. chowks are crowded in the is going to get tougher, The horses, the archers are country’s cyberspace. Like all set to go, Hoofing, pantthe public squares and pansince logic, reason and facts ing and chanting online. ‘Tis chayats of the fore, these were the first ones to the season of the digital spaces are the virtual dJutts, the Pomis, the Gullus chowks of the democratic embrace martyrdom. Trolling and the DJ Butts, dancing order. The Grand Vizier, however, is not so conmight not be the problem of and singing to the tunes of sult’ns. The BTs and Kvinced though. To Vizier the sultanate anymore, since the pop are trending no more. these are the BOTs in the The sovereign, the sultans guise of humans offering no the looming threat of are out of wits, the viceroy, real threat to the mighty deepfakes are hanging more the rajas still travel to brits. Lion kingdom. BOTs are The final round of the the loyal subjects of only and more. The powerful, the battle is going to get ‘His’ excellency for all anymighty, the learned and the tougher, since logic, reason one cares, employing softand facts were the first ware scripts to multiply and belligerent. Striking terror in ones to embrace martyrextrapolate. Haters gonna the ranks of the Maharaj, dom. Trolling might not be hate but potatoes will potate. the problem of the sulNonetheless, the Army Bahadurs and the tanate anymore, since the of trolls has approached the looming threat of deepenemy gates, cheering and sycophants alike fakes are hanging more sloganeering, to whip up and more. The powerful, the sentiments and rally the mighty, the learned and round the flag. Biggles are the belligerent. striking being blown, the gladiators of the podcast are inspecting the guards, hoping for terror in the ranks of the Maharaj, Bahadurs and the emperor to have a great fall. The Youtubers and the sycophants alike. These synthetic media tools could be fraudulent, the loggers are indulging in messianic oration. The hashtags are echoing millions of times in the corri- but in this Mad-Max fury, mutual destruction is quite dors of power. The princess wonders why the rev- assured. The looters and enemies are hiding behind olutionaries won’t eat cake and take a hike the fith column, sharpening their axes and lances to somewhere. Uncle sam is helpless, emir-ul-Mulk disrupt the state’s affairs. Herein lies the graveyard is hopeless, Khazanchi is clueless, Unionist is cyn- of empires, therefore, while using the technology, ical, Qazi is silent and the coffers dried. All the user discretion is strictly advised. king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Adil Murtaza is a technology enthusiast who people together again. Far away from this Panipat, in a foreign land, works as head of operations in the country's premier elon Musk lodged himself on the throne of the Acan- technology Park. He can be reached at adil.murthis. Only to learn that he lingua franca in vogue there taza@hotmail.com

Impact of anti-people decisions

Ceding yet more space

it is very unfortunate that on the one hand the government is dropping inflation bomb on the people and on the other hand the information Minister debut the hopes of the people have been fulfilled before fending the government says that the Prime Minister or will not be fulfilled in the future, because the pri- is trying to provide relief to the people as much as ority of every incoming government has been its own possible. What relief it is to know that the people are interests instead of the people. Therefore, the coali- getting rid of all their worries? The relief of the coalition government has also considered it necessary to tion government has shown the stars to the people in amend the electoral and NAB laws instead of giving a matter of days. There is a limit to the bad goverrelief to the people. nance of the government that there is no one to quesUndoubtedly, the present government is commit- tion the rising prices. ted to the pursuit of personal agenda rather than pubDefending the rising petrol prices in the country, lic agenda. The government knows well that it has proponent ministers may be unaware that the effects less time and its interests are wide more, so all atten- of rising prices on these products among other things tion is focused on the pursuit of personal interests due have a devastating effect on the public. But the job to which the government leadership has not even of the ministers is only to defend the government. avoided dropping petrol bombs on the people to save What is left for them to do is to increase the price of itself and this makes the situation look very dire. something which is a burden on the people. everywhere in the country, there is a flood of inThere is no denying that the government is preflation and resulting prices senting to the public hostile of everything are skyrockdecisions as big decisions to eting as if the genie of instay in power, while the govflation is out of control and ernment’s performance is is challenging the innocent such that on the one hand the If the government can’t deliver people. commodity prices country’s economy is on the in the general market are anything and keesp dropping verge of collapse and on the skyrocketing while relief other hand rising inflation has also been abolished for inflation bombs at the behest of the and the torment of load shedthe common man at utility IMF, then how will it go in front of ding has made life difficult stores. The government and for the people. As soon as the the rulers make loud claims the people? It is a matter of great government has come, it is that they have come to focusing on amending the serve the people, but the concern to the people wandering in laws in its own interest and statements and claims of the corridors of power that their putting the opposition against the rulers have always the wall. if the coalition govproved to be useless and anti-people decisions will only lead ernment had focused as much mere political statements. on improving the situation, to their drowning criticism of the previthe situation would have been ous government regarding completely different today. it the PML(N) leadership’s was supposed to happen, but approach to the iMF is not the government is afraid of hidden from anyone, but its departure and the return of imran Khan, so the when it came to power, it not only went to the iMF next elections may take place at any time, while the to ask for money but also did not hesitate to kneel be- government’s day-to-day performance has made the fore it. The government, following the iMF’s terms, Avoices of the people rise. has just dropped a petrol bomb on the people. After if the government can’t deliver anything and that, many anti-people measures are yet to be taken. keesp dropping inflation bombs at the behest of the The government is more interested in prolonging its iMF, then how will it go in front of the people? it is power tenure than in the national economy and anti- a matter of great concern to the people wandering in people sentiments. Finance Minister Miftah ismail the corridors of power that their anti-people decisions has made it clear that the iMF will not lend money will only lead to their drowning. unless the price of petrol is increased, so it has become inevitable to impose some burden on the people The writer tweets @AttiyaMunawer by increasing the prices of petroleum products.

Why bother to change the government?

HOUGH the intention might have been to subtly slip the changes in, the proposed greenlighting to the isi to start screening civil servants wasn’t going to go by unnoticed. Overnight, the government, which had styled itself as the torchbearers of civilian supremacy not too long ago, became the target of criticism from their supporters and other political analysts. And rightly so; not only is it terrible optics, it is also just the wrong step. Bloated intelligence agencies usually don’t get to do their jobs. The British were mindful of this; they had specific protocols for increase in the numbers of the intelligence Bureau, as well the police’s special Branch. it was a delicate balance: too few, and they won’t be able to have situational awareness; too many, and…let’s just say idle spooks with time on their hands usually don’t bode too well for the populace. The isi might have ballooned out of its initial, intended size. But there are serious geopolitical threats that the agency needs to stay on top of, the other side may counter. On that front, the agency certainly does have its hands full. But with so many lapses of late, perhaps that is what they should be stuck with. And let the FiA and the iB continue with whatever screening is required for the induction and promotion of civil servants. The elected civil governments of this country have ceded much space to the military during the course of our history. it has been small granular increments that have led to wherever we are today. There should be vigilance on the part of the political class to be mindful of this, now that there seems to have emerged a consensus on the issue, across the political divide.

AttiyA MunAwer

rices of petroleum products have reached the highest level in Pakistan’s history. People were already crying over rising inflation and the government has immediately increased the price of petroleum products by rs. 30, and then another rs 30 that the trembling and tremors will be felt for a while. Petroleum is considered the fuel for the national economy. Making petrol more expensive not only makes it overpriced but also indirectly makes everything more expensive. People are already fed up with rising prices and the government is dropping petrol bombs instead of giving relief to the people. The process of dropping petrol price hike bombs on the people will cost the government heavily and can have very bitter consequences for those in power in the next election. it is clear that the ruling coalition had been criticizing the former rulers for rising inflation and prices of petroleum products. it had been implied that if the coalition government came, the people would not be burdened with inflation and taxes. The necessities of life would not be allowed to rise in price, the people will be relieved of inflation and justice will be ensured. Our public is so naïve that we continue to challenge the same people in power again and get caught in such a trap that once again the hopes are pinned,

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

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COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

Significance of nationalism YesTerDAY, i held a candid discussion on our country’s sinking position with my cousin; his one remark really shook me. He said in the present time of crisis, our businessmen, our “seths”, our entrepreneurs are keeping some of their assets and wealth in Pakistan and, perhaps, a whole lot more overseas; more so, sale of foreign currency and flight of our wealth overseas may be continuing unabated. Whereas in india, it’s the reverse or seems to be the reverse; the big tycoons such Tatas, Ambanis, Birlas, and scores of others (predominantly) hold / manage their assets & wealth in india in some form or another; in this way, india keeps shining bright, india’s economic prowess does not diminish, and india’s currency and its stock exchange index do not come under pressure a bit. shouldn’t our businessmen and entrepreneurs touch their hearts and begin to relocate their foreign wealth/assets to Pakistan when this country needs every cent and penny? surely, this is the time for patriotism; i.e. everyone should step up their performance in defence of our one and only true asset, Pakistan. ABBAS R SIDDIQI LAHORE

home-based workers

PLAyIng by The eSTAbLIShed order The PTI is trying to bring revolution by relying on the existing order nAqi AkbAr

He PTi chairperson’s decision to tie the second long march with the supreme court decision for assurance of safety to the marchers makes the drive for the change; not more than a planned religious congregation of any social group’s bid for street power. The vanguard party, claims to be leading a revolution; and so much dependence on the established order seems more like a joke. However a closer look suggests something more serious to consider; for the party well-wishers and voters. if the party stalwart’s belief is to be taken on its face value; it might be called a unique case of a political party willing to play by the rules of the established order; to the point that it is leaving no stone unturned to even afford a change of system on the back of the very established order. True to the extent that the joining of the rebellion by the organs of the ancient regime is a prerequisite for the new rulers to take charge. The breakup of the old order takes place gradually and usually the old order resists its disintegration. The revolutionary leadership is never observed going religiously by the rules or seeking refuge with the help of the order it seeks to overthrow. such scenarios involve last-minute negotiations as well as takeover of the system. in 1971, when the Yahya government was discredited in the aftermath of the emergence of Bangladesh, the rebels who called for Bhutto to be brought back and handed over power did not file a petition with the supreme court for that purpose, nor had they requested the defeated president to allow them to rebel. similarly, the takeovers in russia in 1917, or in iran in 1979, did not witness Lenin or Khomeini sending legal experts for control of the streets. in fact the Bolsheviks in Moscow and defiant crowds in Tehran both broke the law with confidence and heralded a new era. imran Khan's sudden loss of confidence is very much evident in the way he is not willing to return to his own dwelling in Bani Gala as whatwell as in his refusal to take a confident decision about his political moves. His overall dependence upon what he thinks is the supreme court’s soft corner actually exposes him to the feeling that the last bid for the capital had many insights for the Khan; but not the insights; which he claimed in his utterances on the media. To begin with, the voter and activist is fine with an end of the day rally with a bit of fun and adventure. These attendances do not take much time and everyone is happy, the government, the party and the participants. On the other hand, the Long March or a bid for revolution means taking a week out of the schedule, facige government

THe cOUNTrY’s informal sector employs more than 20 million homebased workers, including 12 million women. These workers can boost Pakistan’s crippling, debt-ridden economy if provided with the right incentives. it is unfortunate that most home-based workers are illiterate, poor and belong to the lower-middle class. There should be training centres to teach them and get them ready to meet the ever-increasing challenges of the modern job market. Ultimately, when these home-based businesses and workers are documented, it will give a much-needed boost to the GDP growth and generate hundreds of billions in additional tax revenue. The government should address the common challenges faced by home-based workers because a welfare state aims at prioritising good governance, and formulating and implementing policies for the betterment of the masses. i cannot stress enough that Pakistan is in dire need of mainstreaming home-based workers and giving them equal opportunities, skills, training and social protection if we really want to progress as a nation. There will be consequences if we don’t do that. SYEDA HADIA BAKHTAWAR NANKANA SAHIB

biological diversity

crackdown, leaving one’s place for the other city and planning for finances if the stay has to be prolonged; as can be the case in Pakistan. Did the party have any plans for these aspects of the March or revolution? i fear not. it was superficially presumed that the same crowd who happily came to the rally would be equally happy to toil through the exceptionally hot weather in Punjab, reach islamabad and then sit on the scorngchi metalled roads of islamabad. Here it seems that the down-to-earth attitude of the ruling coalition ministers in dealing with agitation was on a higher tactical plane during the first Dharna and the so-called tactical planning of the revolutionaries. While the established order had the intel and ruthlessness to unleash terror, the party for change was, it seems, not prepared to lead the willing revolutionaries. The party leadership was more interested in attendancesheet presence in front of Khan than any willingness to confront the government in a street battle. it seems that the assessment made in these paragraphs might have been precisely the going in islamabad. The party; though unwilling to accept its weakness and measured defeat, has realized that it needs to have someone from the organs of the state to implement its revolution. its first bid for revolution was shadowed by the supreme established order in 2018. After being booted out in a vote of no-confidence, initially the party thought that it had graduated as a revolutionary vanguard when people thronged to its protest rallies. This regretfully was not the case. The general impression about the party seems to have strengthened, first in the turnaround in the first Dharna and the complete dependence upon judiciary for the second Dharna. Generally, the party distractors call it a Burger Party, which unfortunately is the

Negotiations and talks pave the way for even armed movements to succeed. Pakistan of today seems a unique case of politics where the established order has to draw lines and circles for even the revolution. It is an immature political movement to say the least

case. Their parallels can be found in other countries too; the iranian reform movement and the 2009 election candidate Mir Husain Mosavi, who despite his impressive credentials failed to dislodge the iranian established order; precisely because his cadre could not visualize beyond a certain stage. They were happy to Tweet, but not comfortable to dig in. Wednesday morning iman Mazari-Hazir’s statement was carried in BBc Urdu, stating that she was not inciting rebellion in the army, rather what she said was in the fit of anger, shows that the party was not even ready to defend its own stances in the court of law. While the supreme court response is awaited and if it consents to give the required tactical coverage to the party for holding a Dharna in islamabad, it would look ridiculous for a party finding support within the system to dislodge that very system. it is a matter of common sense that no system of government will itself invite its distractors. it can at most allow people to express their views. electoral systems around the world are now recognized as the credible form of regime or system change. Protracted agitation and public pressure on its own feet is the other form of regime change. Armed rebellion is seldom entertained by the established orders. Taliban insurgency in Pakistan was fought tooth and nail, so was the quasi-Jihadist insurgency in syria. Another way out is conspiratorial management; the way free officers of the 1950s and 1960s succeeded; in the case of North Africa, syria and iraq in the late 1960s; but that is out of fashion now. Negotiations and talks pave the way for even armed movements to succeed. Pakistan of today seems a unique case of politics where the established order has to draw lines and circles for even the revolution. it is an immature political movement to say the least. invariably, instead of looking for quickset solutions; the party for change needs to dig in; flush out bad mouths from its cadre and make a case for itself in the society to love them; likes of Jamat in Pakistan, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the BJP in india pre-2014 and the Turkish pre-erdogan islamists or the ikhwan in Arab societies, are test cases to learn from. There is a world beyond DJs, the party of change has to mature… The writer is a freelance columnist

OUr mission should be to transfer planet earth to posterity at least in the same condition as we have got it. if we do not put an ear to climatic changes in time, we will never be in the good books of our posterity. climate changes with their drastic effects will change the whole world especially 2.6 billion of the poorest people of the world. it will also eliminate other living creatures. During the last 40 years, animals and plants have dropped down to 50%. According to the icUcN report, 20 to 30 per cent of plants and animals are in danger and are likely to extinct soon due to climatic changes. Oceans are the best source of absorbing heat, but they have also become victims of climatic changes. since 1969, 700 meters of oceans have been getting warmer with an estimated temperature of 0.4 degrees. NAsA statistics show that from 1993 to 2016 the average melting rate of ice has been recorded 280 billion tons, while in Antarctica during the same period 127 billion tons per annum melting of ice has been recorded. Antarctica has recorded a 3% melting ratio during the last decade. Melting glaciers, boiling oceans, dying marines and wildlife and increasing heat are the harbingers of climatic changes. We are fully responsible for inflicting it. Temperature is consistently increasing due to greenhouse gasses. Juliet Georgia, UsA, has the largest coil plant daily consuming 34000 coil and is annually adding 25 million tons of co2. Deforestation has been started in Amazon forests for acquiring agricultural land. scientists have been warning about the havoc of climatic changes since 1824 and later on in 1895. Fluctuating history of greenhouse gases is continuously increasing now. World temperature has been increasing for the last 150 years at an alarming rate. Volcano eruption, solar winds and other factors which cause climatic changes are contributing less than the human share. Volcano eruption causes only a 2% effect on climate change. co2 has increased 3% since the industrial revolution. The changes which used to occur after centuries are happening in decades. Average temperature of the planet has booted up nine degrees higher than the ice Age. There will be an estimated increase of 1 to 2.3 ft in oceans due to rapid melting of ice with 4% higher than before which can cause a Tsunami. severe weather conditions may further lead to devastating floods, drought, infertility and many more. Decrease in agricultural productivity level and water scarcity hazards are anticipated. The year 2020 is the worst year in human history in regard to co2 increase in the atmosphere. As per NAsA statistics, the world temperature in 2019 was 1.8 degrees which has jumped to more than expected during 2020. The five warmest years in human history from 1880 to 2019 are from 2015 to 2020. We are highly responsible by adding up 11% of greenhouse gases to the climatic changes as compared to 6% of total added up by the rest of other factors. it is also ironic that only 3% of total allocated funds to control climate change are used on natural solutions. We have to invest more in natural solutions to get rid of the monster. We have to plant and replant. Through plantation, we cannot only push the climate monster back to its din but we can also create more jobs than the oil and gas industry. if the temperature continues increasing with its present ratio, there is apprehension of a 1.5% temperature increase from 2030 to 2052. During the previous century, 08 islands were swallowed up by Oceans. According to the Zoology society of London, wildlife has dropped to 40% during the past 40 years and from 1970 to 2014 fish, birds, reptiles and some other species have declined to 60%. co2 is the biggest hazard in this regard, the amount of co2 which is estimated to be present until 1750, a total of it has been added up in the air during the last 40 years. We are also consuming natural resources more than their production. The most fatal and perilous weather conditions of human history have occurred 3% more in the last two decades. Heavy rain spell has increased to 4%, heatstroke 43%, drought 17% floods up to 16%. in 2018, 120,000 sqkm Tropical forests were cut down which resulted in 11% co2 in the world climate. We are going to add up one billion ton of plastic in the coming 20 years which will further intensify the situation. PROF. ABDUL SHAKOOR SHAH LAHORE

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08 WORLD VIEW

EighT yEaRS of Modi SaRkaR GLOBALLY INDIA HAS SLIPPED DOWN ON DIFFERENT INDICES: DEMOCRACY, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, FREEDOM OF PRESS, HUNGER AND HAPPINESS TO NAME THE FEW

CounTerCurrenTs

Dr raM Puniyani

S Narendra Modi completed his eight years’ tenure (May 30 2022), there are claims and counter claims about the performance of his regime. Modi acolytes are very happy that during this period India has made great leaps in all areas of development. Various leaders from Amit Shah and others have praised the achievements of last eight years. Many other have also written to highlight the schemes for housing, vaccination, women taking the wheel (Smiriti Irani), Ujwala Gas Yojana, the Jan Dhan bank accounts etc. While the opponents of the Government highlight that there have been massive setbacks due to demonetization, the sudden Covid lockdown led to mass migrations under adverse situations and the

lockdown also revealed the inadequacy of health services. There is a record rise in unemployment, the farmer’s plight has worsened and we see the rising prices of commodities. The rupee is falling. The claim is that there were no incidents of communal violence, but reality shows not only the increasing acts of violence peaking in the Delhi violence of 2020, but also the growing discord between two major religious communities. While overall the spiral of violence is on the rise, there is a qualitative worsening of the same. “Communal incidents in UP had increased 47% from 133 in 2014 to 195 in 2017. According to another 2017 huffington Post report, India was ranked fourth in the world in 2015–after Syria, Nigeria and Iraq–for the highest social hostilities involving religion.” This trend continued in following years. The ‘hate other’ (read Muslims and Christians) has become the new normal. The achievements are being shown in the form of building of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Kashi Corridor and revival of issues like Mathura, Taj Mahal, Jama Masjid and Baba Budan Giri in Karnataka. Globally India has slipped down on different indices: democracy, freedom of religion, freedom of press, hunger and happiness to name the few. In this context Modi’s claim that he is working in the ‘bid to build India of Gandhi and Sardra Patel’s dream’ needs serious questioning.

Sardar Patel was an ardent follower of Gandhi and told Nehru that they both have learned politics sitting at the feet of their mentor, Gandhi. One of Gandhi’s dictum was that in making of the policies what should be paramount is keep in mind the needs and betterment of last man in the line. What we are witnessing is that those standing in the front rows are growing abysmally with most social resources under their belt, while those in the last lines are suffering the pangs of deprivation. There are many aspects of the decline in the freedoms, freedom of expression being one of these. Many an intellectuals and activists are being incarcerated while those making hate speeches (Yati Narsinghanand, Suresh Chavanhke and company is roaming with big baggage of hate, confident of the fact that they are safe and secure despite giving the call of murdering, launching genocide against the hapless minority. The interesting part of the whole phenomenon is that a ‘social construct’ is being made where the victim community is being projected as the culprits. The central theme of Gandhi in his marathon efforts was hindu Muslim unity. This became a serious matter of concern in later period of his life. Starting from association with Khilafat movement to his travails in Bengal, particularly Noakhali and later in Delhi this was the central direction

of his commitment to build an India based on its diversity and pluralism, hindu-Muslim unity being the core of his concern. It was this which underlined his fast unto death in Delhi where he put the unity aspect as the major demand of his. In contrast to what he envisioned the gulf between the two communities has been made wide and deep. Though this process became prominent with Ram Temple agitation the policies during last eight years has deepened the gulf to intolerable limits. Gandhi reprimanded the communal elements in both the communities and sought commitment to amity and non-violence. What is happening today is a process contrary to this. Religion is mixed with the state policies, while Gandhi an ardent sanatani hindu wanted to keep state away from dictates of religion. “In India, for whose fashioning I have worked all my life, every man enjoys equality of status, whatever his religion is. The state is bound to be wholly secular”, and, “religion is not the test of nationality but is a personal matter between man and God, and,” religion is a personal affair of each individual, it must not be mixed up with politics or national affairs” (harijan August 31, 1947) As far as Sardar Patel, whose name Mr. Modi is invoking; he was very concerned about rising ‘hate in the society’ and this is what led him to ban the RSS in the aftermath of murder of Gandhi. Indian

Why today’s debates over aurangzeb, Shivaji, Rana Pratap or Prithviraj Chauhan are not about good or bad history, but tussles over memory IT'S NOT ABOUT REWRITING MARXIST OR NEHRUVIAN HISTORY BUT PUTTING FACTS AT THE SERVICE OF CREATING KINSHIP AND FINDING ENEMIES

indian express

PrataP Bhanu Mehta

am writing this on Maharana Pratap Jayanti and puzzling through the history wars of the moment. In the common sense of the historical world that we grew up in, and that now seems to have all but disappeared, history was immense fun. It opened up the imagination to an incredible variety. Its purpose was never easy moral or political judgement or the search for comfortable narratives or simplistic explanations. It was not a world where the function of history was, to find, as is often said, a common delusion about kinship and a common platform for the hatred of the other. In the world of this history, one never had to choose sides. If you wanted a moral framing at all, you could be a votary of both Akbar and Pratap, trying to imaginatively see a certain kind of integrity in both their projects. There was no hesitation in acknowledging Aurangzeb’s bigotry. But one did it in a slightly sotto voce voice, not for political correctness, but because of the realisation that the magnificence of the two historical cultures that I inhabited, Jaipur and Jodhpur, were often facilitated by deep collaboration with Aurangzeb. What would exorcising him even mean? hunting down every collaborator who was at the frontlines of his army or provided him finance? Would Man Singh and Jaswant Singh also have to disappear as names? even the moral debates were wider. The battle over motives in history is one, that for the life of us, we could not understand. Was the desecration

of temples, whether by Mahmud of Ghazni or Aurangzeb, driven by the motives of asserting political power or economic gain as secular historians want to assert or was it an act of religious bigotry? how does one even ascertain this? Would it make a difference? Would it make a moral difference if we said the demolition of Babari Masjid was politically motivated, not religiously motivated? Or as one of our history teachers used to say, he would be even more morally offended by temple desecration if it turned out it was done for mere opportunism rather than out of genuine conviction. It was a way of challenging the unexamined assumption that somehow a deed done under the sign of earthly functionality (power or riches) made it a less loathsome act than if it were done out of piety. At least the fanatic is not destroying lightly. he may be deluded, but he has not destroyed you for a trivial reason. The point is not to settle these questions. It is to remember a context where they could be discussed without violence, censorship or community pride hovering in the background. In retrospect, what made that possible was a degree of detachment. One of the things we had to do in school was what used to be known as Socially Useful Productive Work. We read and recorded cassettes, and wrote exams for visually impaired university students, a practice we continued into the summers of our college days. In retrospect, this was an unexpected gift. It meant reading hundreds of hours of textbooks in hindi and english. And two things stand out. I am genuinely puzzled by the idea floating around that dynasties like Cholas or Rahtrakutas were sidelined in North Indian schools and colleges. Often these textbooks were terrible introductions to the craft of history. They were compendiums of arguments. The good answer had to know what both Irfan habib and Jadunath Sarkar or R C Majumdar and Romila Thapar had to say. The methodological premises were capacious. If I am recalling correctly, one popular set of textbooks, written by the widely read V D Mahajan would, in explaining the victory of Ghazni, invoke everything from their more agile military mobility to their discipline on account of the fact that Islam prohibited drink. But their very prosaically put together lists of arguments often up unexpected conjunctures and argumentative possibilities. It is said we are entering new history wars, where the old shibboleths of Nehruvian and Marxist histories

are being set aside. There is great non-academic but serious history being written. Academic historiography in India has a lot to answer for. It was often limited in the questions it asked, the methods it deployed, and the political ends it sought to sometimes serve. It was just not linguistically deep enough to explore the vast ocean of Indian history. Whole fields were sidelined — intellectual history, the history of science or just even political history. But this was not some vast conspiracy to sideline “hindu” history or heroes, it was a limitation of the methods and training and cabal-like character of many academic disciplines. Though equally, it has to be asked, why so many of our well-endowed centres of traditional learning outside the academy, which had all the languages and manuscripts, did not also broaden their fields and horizons. But the contemporary fire and brimstone over history is unlikely to lead to a deeper understanding. This is because we are confusing wars of history with the wars of memory. The distinction between history and memory can be overdrawn. But it is an important distinction. As Pierre Nora put it, memory looks for facts that suit the veneration of the main object of recollection, the task of history is always complication, analysis and criticism. Memory has an affective dimension, it is supposed to move you, and constitute your identity. It draws the boundaries of communities. history is more detached, and the facts will always complicate both identity and community. history is not a morality tale as much as a very difficult form of hard-won knowledge, always aware of its selectivity. Memory is easiest to hold onto as a morality tale. history, even if written from the present is about the past; Memory is a kind of eternal truth, to hold onto, and carry forward. So when the next public discussion of Rana Pratap or Prithviraj or Aurangzeb or Shivaji takes place now, it will not be a battle of bad versus good historians (that is a good battle to have). It will be between forms of memory. The facts are at best props for the dramas of creating kinship and finding enemies. We can truly have true history wars only when we have a sense of wry detachment and equanimity about the past. Otherwise what we have are wars of memory, which are sometimes necessary. But they often devour both the present and the past in violent furies. The writer is contributing editor, The Indian Express.

express Madras edition on 5th February 1948 reported ‘RSS has been declared unlawful throughout India, Move for rooting out hate and violence’. Sardar wrote “All their speeches were full of communal poison … As a final result of that poison; the country had to suffer the sacrifice of Gandhiji.” Currently hate spreading is becoming worse by the day. Modi himself leads the pack by giving the dog whistles of hate, ‘if there was Aurangzeb, Shivaji also emerged’. Those down below and around his ideology-politics do take it further through Dharam Sansads and social media. They enjoy a sort of impunity. The three day Dharam Sansad held in haridwar in December 2021 was just one example. In this event the speeches peaked with a call for genocide in presence of prominent BJP leaders. To cap it all Modi kept a total silence on this. It is no wonder that with such an atmosphere of insecurity among minorities; on one side the Muslim communal elements get a boost but majority of them writhe in pain and insecurity. Gregory Stenton the President of Genocide Watch says that India is already on 8th spot, in the scale of ten, of genocide. What would have been the response of Gandhi and Sardar Patel on this scenario? Just using their names as a shield cannot hide the painful realities of the society.

RSS chief's conciliatory note DISPUTES RELATED TO MATTERS OF FAITH WILL KEEP EMERGING, BUT IT TAKES A DOMINANT FORCE TO FAN THE FIRE OR SNUFF IT OUT

Tribune

he RSS chief has struck a conciliatory note by questioning the need to ‘look for a Shivling in every mosque’, that would hopefully defuse the tension sparked by the polarising claims and counter-claims which is showing signs of turning into street mobilisation, in a distressing re-run of the Babri Masjid episode. Mohan Bhagwat’s call for an amicable settlement between hindus and Muslims on the Gyanvapi dispute, or acceptance of the court verdict, came with an assurance that the RSS was not in favour of launching any other movement on such issues, Ayodhya having been an exception. Taking that as the final word or a marker for an end to any temple reclamation in future would be difficult, seeing the momentum generated by the right-wing groups and the pattern being followed. Cynicism and distrust would accompany even the most unlikely scenario of all Sangh Parivar constituents resolving to not dig into the fractured and complex layers of history anymore. That said, Bhagwat has infused a whiff of calmness and pragmatism in the surcharged atmosphere with his message that it made no sense to escalate fights centred on incidents linked to the history of a place of worship, and start a dispute every day. ‘There is history which we cannot change. We didn’t write that history, neither the hindus nor the Muslims of the present. It happened in the past’ — though coming quite late in the day, the words do lend sanity to the noisy debate that threatens to escalate into a communal frenzy. The obsession with the project to reverse historical ‘wrongs’ is an endless pursuit that only leads to committing new ones. The speech needs to be viewed as a direct appeal to tone down the rhetoric. If the RSS belief system holds any meaning for the BJP, it should take the lead and ask its rank and file to step back. Disputes related to matters of faith will keep emerging, but it takes a dominant force to fan the fire or snuff it out.

Sunday, 5 June, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

ExPErTs DIscUss rE POTENTIal aT wOrkshOP ON GrEEN FINaNcING GUIDElINEs ON cPEc

corporate corner

ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s leading pharmaceutical company Martin Dow Group Chairman Ali Akhai co-hosted the Pakistan breakfast at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday. He emphasized on the importance of working together and restoring trust in post-pandemic world. The breakfast was attended by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, global leaders, businessmen and policymakers. pr

PITB, Faysal Bank sign MoU to facilitate freelancers across Pakistan

Mian abrar

HINA’s potential in renewable energy generation can potentially drive a massive shift in Pakistan’s energy sector. It could also serve as a viable solution for Pakistan’s energy crisis which has been deepening over the years. The experts from energy and development sector, said this during a Capacity Building Workshop on the ‘Green Financing Guidelines for CPEC Energy Projects,’ organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). Managing Director Private Power and Infrastructure Board, Mr Shahjahan Mirza, highlighted that Currently 400 MW electricity is being generated in Pakistan through rooftop solar panels. Soon, 9 off grid districts in Balochistan will be solarized through public private partnerships. He informed the participants that AEBD is also working on capitalizing the wind corridors in Pakistan,” he said while adding further that a 1000 MW solar park is under construction in Cholistan. Dr Hasan Daud Butt, CEO, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment & Trade (KPBOIT) was of view that CPEC can provide stimulus

to Pakistan’s economic growth. This could be done through infrastructure development, improving intranational connectivity and by creating opportunities for investment and employment. However, the youth of the country face low skill development and low productivity challenge which reduces their job prospects in the CPEC projects, he highlighted. Dr Vaqar Ahmed, Joint Executive Director, SDPI, termed the green financing guidelines extremely critical to design a pathway for achieving Nationally Determined Contributions targets of Pakistan. “There is a need to design a predictable and certain fiscal policy for increased international investments, particularly under CPEC,” Dr Ahmed said and suggested that private banks need to introduce innovative financing models and rating mechanisms to ensure loaning for greener initiatives. Dr. Sajid Amin, Deputy Executive Director SDPI suggested that environmental closures should be strengthened through green reporting and dialogue and active engagement of the private sector the minimize the risks around green financing of CPEC. Dr Christoph Nedophil Wang, representing Fudan university, China, informed the participants that regulatory and business sector in China is mandated to uphold the national commitment of green financing

Pakistan proactively focusing on measures to protect environment: Naval Chief

Karachi: In a special ceremony held at Arfa Technology Park on June 01, Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and Faysal Bank Limited (FBL) signed an MoU to facilitate freelancers across Pakistan. The MoU was signed by PITB DG e-Governance Sajid Latif and FBL Head CIBG Ali Waqar on behalf of their respective organizations. Senior officials from both organizations including PITB’s JD Freelancing Wing Ahmed Islam, State Bank of Pakistan’s Senior Officer Ali Atta and Payoneer’s Country Manager Mohsin Muzaffar and Partnerships Manager Affaf Noor were also present. According to the MoU, PITB and Faysal Bank would collaborate to support endeavors and activities of mutual interest for the facilitation of freelancers by offering them a “Digital Freelancer Account”. In particular, FBL would provide the Digital Freelancer Account to existing and to-be PITB graduates as well as sponsor different events organized by PITB related to digital technology, youth empowerment and freelancing ecosystem. Besides many other benefits, FBL would also give laptops to the top performer and mobile phones to the second and third top performers of each batch as an appreciation of emerging freelancers. Furthermore, FBL would market and give partner privilege to PITB owing to the organization’s large freelancers’ base across Pakistan (alumni and trainees). PITB is committed to providing work opportunities and imparting digital skills to freelancers across Punjab through various initiatives. Over the last year, PITB has extended its support nationwide through endeavors for aspiring entrepreneurs and freelancers hailing from diverse social background. PITB’s freelancing initiatives are catering both men and women alike training them to be economically empowered. pr

BY RAMISh SuLtAn Climate change is arguably the biggest threat the world is facing right now and its effects are all around us. The melting of glaciers and the warming of seawater have pushed global sea levels up by an average of 8 to 9 inches since 1880. Nearly 70% of this increase has occurred in the last three decades, indicating the impact of anthropomorphic activities. The rapidly shifting weather patterns are hurting agriculture everywhere while crop yields are facing growing threats from floods, reduction in water supplies, and pests. Meanwhile, the increase in pollution is affecting everyone’s health. Pakistan has been hit particularly hard by these factors. Not only are we facing extreme weather conditions in every corner of the country, the alarming decline in air quality and the emergence of smog in urban centres have also made life difficult for the residents. In sev-

‘World Environment Day' observed on 5th of June each year, calls for protecting our natural surroundings. The Day celebrated under the ambit of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) marks an occasion to raise awareness on the challenges facing our environment such as; pollution, illegal wildlife trade, sustainable consumption, sea level increase and food security. It aims to reinforce environmental measures for improving quality of life, especially for our future generations, in accordance with UN Sustainable Development Goals. This year's theme for the World Environment Day is 'Only One Earth', which calls for transformative changes to policies and choices to enable cleaner, greener and sustainable living, in harmony with the nature. This year, UNEP is also celebrating its Golden Jubilee and pertinently, the first ever theme

of World Environment Day, 'Only One Earth' which was adopted in 1974, has been re-selected. Although five decades have elapsed, the theme is as significant as ever and emphasizes on all of us that this planet is our only home and humanity must safeguard its finite resources. Setting the priorities right, Pakistan has been proactively focusing on measures to protect the environment so as to reduce destruction caused by a myriad of

anthropogenic activities. Pakistan Navy celebrates World Environment Day to underscore the significance of environment and undertakes numerous protection measures, particularly focusing on the marine environment. PN has launched various initiatives, such as Trees & Mangroves Plantation Campaigns, banned the use of polythene bags in naval premises, collection of solid waste in harbours and installation of Reed Bed Reverse Osmosis Plants for Sewerage Water Treatment in residential areas. It is also planned to introduce the 'Three Bin System'; to segregate trash for landfills, recyclables for reuse and compost the organic material to enrich soil and help plants grow and keep methane gas from polluting our air. A number of activities have been planned by Pakistan Navy's Field Commands to inculcate sense of responsibility among all personnel to preserve our precious environment. pr

OPPO Pakistan launches Mega OPPO F21 Pro 5G in Pakistani market ISLAMABAD: OPPO launches the F21 Pro 5G in Pakistan, enthralling the consumer with its industry-first Dual Orbit Lights, a 6nm 5G chipset, Bokeh Flare Portrait and much more! Consumers can now make pre-orders at stores nationwide and at ‘Daraz’. But that’s not all, there is also an exciting offer for the consumers on every pre-order of OPPO F21 Pro 5G, the buyer will get a gift box on OPPO Band Style and if ordering from Daraz official store the buyer will get a car flash charger for free. OPPO F21 Pro 5G is one of the first devices to be powered by Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 695 5G Mobile Platform built on a 6nm process. F21 Pro 5G also features a large 4,500mAh battery and 33W SUPERVOOC™ flash charging that enables the device to be 100% charged in 63 minutes, or make three hours of calls on a charge of just five minutes. F21 Pro 5G comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB ROM as standard. When used with OPPO’s RAM Expansion technology, the smartphone’s original 8GB of RAM can be supplemented with a massive 5GB by temporarily allocating ROM, enabling multiple memory-heavy apps to be run simultaneously with less lag. pr

through the CPEC project. Dr Hina Aslam from SDPI earlier explained that SDPI in partnership with Pakistan China Initiative is aiming to build capacity through dialogues and deliberations with various stakeholders. Ms Najia Ubaid, Additional Director, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) highlighted that SECP provides green bonds for any project with an environmental cause including sanitation, waste management and renewable energy and any asset can be fractionalized to finance such projects. Dr Sajid Amin, Deputy Executive Director, SDPI, emphasized that SECP could play a critical role in supporting this shift to sustainable green finance through green bonds and green shares. Mr Muhammad Irfan, representing the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pointed out that so far 1500 projects have been funded by the SBP under its Renewable Energy Scheme and discussions are already underway for the extension of this scheme. Ali Hasan, Head of Sustainable Initiatives JS Bank, Dr Liaqat Ali Shah, Executive Director for Centre of Excellence for China Pakistan Economic Corridor, Mr Anees Khawaja, CEO, Mahmood Group Apparels, and Ms Nisma from SDPI also shared their views on the diverse aspects of the topic during the workshop. Dr Hina Aslam of SDPI conducted the workshop at local hotel toady.

NBP starts facilitating farmers through electronic warehouse receipt financing ISLAMABAD pr

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) is now facilitating farmers in acquiring loans through Electronic Warehouse Receipt Financing (EWRF). The simple process will allow farmers to open their account, provide collateral and receive the loan up to 70% of the collateral’s price. EWRF system aims to make farmers’ journey easy and profitable from crop cultivation till sale. The loan facility can be obtained for a period of up to 6 months by securing electronic warehouse receipt as collateral. To open an account in the electronic warehouse receipt the farmers can contact the warehouse operator of Naymat Collateral Company Management with their CNIC and photo. After account opening, Farmers can store their products in the relevant warehouse, where after confirming the quality and quantity, the warehouse receipt will be issued. Farmers can use this receipt to obtain the loan from the bank where required support will be extended to complete documentation process to avail loan facility as per needs. EWRF also facilitate the applicant to pay back the dues when the farmers have fair price for crops, thus giving them the advantage to have return on their harvest after paying warehouse rent and Naymat collateral fee.

PhD scholar to defend dissertation on June 10 Ph. D. Public Defense of Ph.D. Scholar, Ms. Iram Batool, Registration No.123861, Department of Business Administration, Iqra University, Islamabad Campus, Sector H-9, titled: “CORPORATE GOVERNANCE BUNDLES AND CORPORATE TAX AVOIDANCE: A TEST OF BUNDLING HYPOTHESIS” is scheduled on Friday, 10 June, 2022 at 03:00 pm. Ms. Iram Batool completed her Ph.D. dissertation under supervision of Dr. S.M. Younus Jafri. pr

CONSERVING NATURE — INSPIRING LIVES eral cities, including Karachi and Lahore, the Air Quality Index (AQI) reading, released by the global environmental forum IQAir, persistently stays above the unhealthy range. The good thing, however, is that the PTIled government has recognized the seriousness of this issue and has taken various steps to tackle climate change. The government first launched the Billion Tree Tsunami program in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2014 at the provincial level and later, in 2019, the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami project was launched. On the policy front, the government has also taken various initiatives, such as updating the nation’s climate action plan - Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) – which now aims to reduce the country’s emissions by 50% by 2030 (15% unconditional cuts in emissions and 35% con-

ditional on the availability of resources). Although the government is leading the way, the private sector, particularly the leading corporations, will also have to play its part. There are various benefits of engaging the private sector to tackle climate change. First and foremost, this can significantly increase financial resources earmarked for protecting and preserving the environment. In Pakistan, Cnergyico Pk Limited is one of the few energy companies that has been actively participating in environmental initiatives. Mr. Azfar Saeed Baig, Cnergyico’s Vice President of Information, said that by working together, “the private and public enterprises can do a better job of mobilizing the civil society and develop innovative solutions to fight climate change.”

Cnergyico carries out various kinds of activities under the banner of Corporate Social Responsibility, ranging from preserving marine life to supporting COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. The company has long been a proponent of improving access to clean drinking water, which is in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (Goal number 6: Clean Water and Sanitation). “Polluted and contaminated water is one of the biggest sources of diseases, like diarrhoea and hepatitis A,” Mr. Azfar Saeed Baig explained, “but by providing clean drinking water, we can prevent diseases and improve quality of life in our local communities.” However, “our focus has been on planting trees to aid the government’s large scale restoration initiatives and substantially in-

creasing the country’s forest cover.” The country’s forest cover is just around 5%. However, Mr. Azfar Saeed Baig believes that “by planting thousands of trees and working together with the government agencies and civil society, we can play our part in increasing the nation’s forest cover to more than the global average of 31%.” Cnergyico was the first major company in Pakistan to start planting trees using the novel Miyawaki Method of afforestation. In 2018, the company sponsored the first Urban Forest Park in Clifton, Karachi, and since then, it has planted thousands of trees in the city as well as near its refinery in Balochistan. The private sector is responding to the government’s call and the policymakers should further increase their engagement. Climate change is quickly emerging as an existential threat to everyone. But through effective public-private partnerships, we can mitigate the impact of climate change and prepare a better world for tomorrow.

Sunday, 5 June, 2022 | KARACHI

10 FOREIGN NEWS

CHineSe envoy blaMeS US, UK for ‘plotting anotHer inveStigation’ trip to Xinjiang

HINESE envoy to the United Nations has sternly refuted the allegations of “genocide” made by the US and the UK over human rights situation in China’s Xinjiang region, after the two countries took a Security Council meeting on international law and maintaining peace and security as a chance to attack China on Xinjiang-related issues. They have also called on another “investigative” trip to Xinjiang on Thursday after they found that the UN human rights chief’s recent visit to Xinjiang had failed to support their “genocide” fallacies about the region. Dai Bing, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, refuted the US’ “lies of the century” during his speech at the UN Security Council open debate in connection with “strengthening accountability and justice for serious violations of international law” on Thursday. As a saying goes – “to hide one lie, a thousand lies are needed,” Dai said, pointing out that the US and the UK, while fearing that their lies of “genocide” and “forced labor” might be seen through by the international community, have been telling more and more lies to slander China and mislead the world. No amount of such lies of the US can negate the fact that Xinjiang enjoys stability and prosperity and the people live in peace and happiness. And anyone who has ever visited China’s Xinjiang region would flat out disagree with the US allegations, which would further expose the nature of the West of politicizing human rights issues and their political agenda of using Xinjiang-related issues to

contain China, Dai said. The Chinese envoy to the UN also wondered whether individuals and countries like the US and the UK that openly tell lies, spread misleading information and smear other countries should be held accountable. At Thursday’s open debate, Uzro Zeya, Under-Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights of the US, claimed it must not lose sight of atrocities in other countries around the world, including Syria and China. James Kariuki from the UK claimed that Chinese authorities did not provide full and unfettered access of Xinjiang to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. However, Bachelet herself did not bring up related talks during her video interviews at the Thursday event. The High Commissioner had just con-

cluded her trip to Xinjiang, during which she visited Kashi prison and a vocational education and training center which had been closed after all the trainees graduated, and spoke to former trainees there. She also interacted with civil society organizations, academics, and community and religious leaders. It was the US and the anti-China forces in the country that had enthusiastically pushed for Bachelet’s visit to China’s Xinjiang region. However, after the High Commissioner’s trip to China finally took place at the end of May and she found nothing similar to the US’ allegations of “genocide” and “forced labor,” the US and the UK abandoned her and started to question the validity of the High Commissioner’s work. Furthermore, they continued their pressure campaign on international organizations and have

since called for other “investigation” trips to China on a “presumption of guilt” basis. Also on Thursday, at a meeting of the International Labor Organization, the US, the UK and some of their followers called on the ILO to set up a mission for another trip to Xinjiang to probe the alleged “labor abuses,” Reuters reported. US ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Sheba Crocker, called for China to accept the mission to investigate what she described as “systemic violations of labor and human rights,” while the UK’s envoy asked for the trip to be conducted before the next major ILO conference in 2023. Chinese observers see the push for an ILO investigation in Xinjiang as another trap set by the US and the UK. Jia Chunyang, an expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Friday that the US and the UK intended to keep on hyping Xinjiang issues after Bachelet’s Xinjiang visit, especially after results from the UN High Commissioner’s visit were a disappointment to them. Jia noted that China welcomes friendly visits to the region and has received diplomats and scholars from all over the world. However, China will not welcome an “investigation” based on the presumption of guilt. If China refuses a visit, the US and other anti-China forces are likely to find new excuses to hype the issue, and if China were to accept it, they would continue to make unreasonable demands and manipulate the investigation results, which further cement their smears against China, Jia warned. Agencies

Russian forces pushed back in east, claims Ukraine KYIV, UKRAINE sAleem JAdoon

Ukraine said Saturday its forces were managing to push back against Russian troops in fierce fighting in Severodonetsk despite Russia “throwing all its power” into capturing the strategic eastern city. Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in an interview posted on his official social media that the invading forces had captured most of the city “but now our military have moved them”. “The Russian army, as we understand, is throwing all its power, all its reserves in this direction,” said Gaiday, who on Friday claimed that Ukrainian troops had won back a fifth of the city. Severodonetsk is the largest city still in Ukrainian hands in the Lugansk region, where Russian forces have been making gradual advances in recent weeks. Thousands of people have been killed, millions sent fleeing and towns turned into rubble since President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine 101 days ago. The advance of Russian forces has been slowed by stiff Ukrainian resistance, repelling them from around the capital Kyiv and forcing Moscow to focus on capturing the east. The press service of Ukraine’s presidential office on Saturday said Russian attacks killed four civilians in the Lugansk region as a whole. The situation in Lysychansk — Severodonetsk’s twin city, which sits just across a river — looked increasingly dire.

Saudia receive first foreign Haj pilgrims since pandemic RIYADH Afp

Saudi Arabia on Saturday welcomed its first batch of Haj pilgrims since before the coronavirus pandemic, which prompted authorities to sharply restrict the annual ritual. The group from Indonesia landed in the city of Medina and was set to travel south to the holy city of Mecca in the coming weeks to prepare for the Haj next month, state media reported. “Today we received the first group of this year’s pilgrims from Indonesia, and the flights will continue from Malaysia and India,” Mohammed al-Bijawi of the country’s Haj Ministry told the state-run Al-Ekhbariya channel. “Today we are happy to receive the guests of God from outside the kingdom, after a two-year interruption due to the pandemic,” he added, describing Saudi Arabia as “fully prepared” to accommodate them. One of the five pillars of Islam, the Haj must be undertaken by all Muslims who have the means at least once in their lives. Usually one of the world’s largest religious gatherings, about 2.5 million people participated in 2019. But after the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Saudi authorities announced they would only let 1,000 pilgrims take part. The following year, they increased the total to 60,000 fully vaccinated Saudi citizens and residents chosen through a lottery. Barring overseas pilgrims caused deep disappointment among Muslims worldwide, who typically save for years to take part. In April, the kingdom announced it would permit one million Muslims from inside and outside the country to participate in this year’s Haj, which will take place in July. The Haj consists of a series of religious rites that are completed over five days in Islam’s holiest city, Mecca, and surrounding areas of western Saudi Arabia. Hosting the Haj is a matter of prestige for Saudi rulers, as the custodianship of Islam’s holiest sites is the most powerful source of their political legitimacy. Before the pandemic, Muslim pilgrimages were major revenue earners for the kingdom, bringing in about $12 billion annually. This year’s pilgrimage will be limited to vaccinated Muslims under age 65, the Haj ministry has said. Those coming from outside Saudi Arabia, who must apply for Haj visas, are required to submit a negative Covid-19 PCR result from a test taken within 72 hours of travel.

Magnitude 5 earthquake strikes Kuwaitl KUWAIT CITY ReuteRs

About 60 percent of infrastructure and housing had been destroyed, while internet, mobile networks and gas services had been knocked out, said its mayor Oleksandr Zaika. In the city of Sloviansk, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Severodonetsk, the mayor has urged residents to evacuate in the face of intense bombardment, with water and electricity cut off. Ukraine also reported two victims from a missile

strike on the port of Odessa in the southwest, without specifying if they were dead or injured. Russia’s defence ministry said it had struck a “deployment point for foreign mercenaries” in the village of Dachne in the Odessa region. It also claimed a missile strike in the northeastern Sumy region in a place where it said Ukrainian soldiers were receiving training from foreign instructors on using howitzers.

An earthquake of magnitude 5 struck Kuwait, the ministry of information tweeted on Saturday. The ministry said: “The Kuwait National Seismic Network recorded an earthquake measuring 5 … southwest of alAhmadi, and it occurred at exactly 04:28:02 am Kuwait time (0128 GMT), at a depth of 5 km (3 miles)”. Kuwait’s Fire Force also said that there was no damage as a result of the earthquake.

China unveils details of Shenzhou-14 crewed space mission BEIJING Agencies

The Shenzhou-14 manned mission is slated to be launched at 10:44 on Sunday morning from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China’s Gansu Province, authorities announced on Saturday. The three crew members are Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, with Chen as the mission commander. During the crew’s 6-month stay at China’s Tiangong space station, they will receive a number of “visitors” – the two lab modules, the Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou-15 manned mission. They are scheduled to return to Earth in December, China Manned Space Agency said at Saturday’s pre-launch press conference. Senior Colonel Chen Dong, 44, is a veteran taikonaut who visited space in China’s

Shenzhou-11 manned space mission in 2016 and set the previous record for the longest stay in space by a Chinese astronaut at 33 days (in the Tiangong-2 space lab). The record was broken by Shenzhou-13 taikonaut Wang Yaping in 2022, and Chen would be able to further surpass that with another 180 days of stay in space in the Shenzhou-14 run. Senior Colonel Liu Yang, the female crew member of the Shenzhou-14, also 44, went to space in 2012 in the Shenzhou-9 mission, and is in fact the first Chinese woman to do so. At a press conference on Sunday, she said that for the upcoming 6month stay, she and her teammates are looking forward to celebrating for the first time the birthday of their motherland as well as the Mid-Autumn Festival, a holiday for the reunion and gathering of the Chinese people.

Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe, 46, will be making his space debut during the upcoming mission. “For this day, I have prepared 12 years. I feel honored and proud to have this chance to go into space for my country,” he said. The Shenzhou-14 crew are, together, the second batch of taikonauts China has trained. The mission would mark the first crewed spaceflight to Tianhe at the in-orbit assembly stage. They are tasked with completing the construction of the space station by assisting the docking of Wentian and Mengtian lab modules, equipment assembly and testing in and outside the cabins, and carrying out space science experiments. The basic structure of the space station, consisting of the Tianhe core cabin and the two lab modules, will be completed during this mission, thus establishing a national

space laboratory. Like the previous missions, the Shenzhou-14 crew will also give Tiangong classes to youngsters on the ground, and will for the first time use the airlock cabin in the Wentian module to exit the station for extravehicular activities. These activities will be arranged two to three times in the following six months. The Long March-2F Y14 carrier rocket tasked for launching the spacecraft will soon begin fueling propellant. Once the craft arrives at the space station, it is expected to conduct a fast and autonomic rendezvous and docking with the radial port of Tianhe. The Wentian lab module will be launched in July and Mengtian in October, Hao Chun, director of China Manned Space Agency, said in April. The Wentian lab module is equipped

with the same taikonaut living facilities as the Tianhe core module, including three sleeping areas, a toilet and a kitchen. Wentian and Tianhe can support six taikonauts living in space during the rotations of two spacecraft crews. The three-member Shenzhou-15 mission will meet the Shenzhou-14 crew in space for rotation prior to their return to Earth, and spend about one week in space together. Wentian has an airlock through which taikonauts can exit, and a small robotic arm which can be used alone or combined with the large mechanical arm of the space station. The other lab module, the Mengtian, also has a cargo airlock. The small robotic arm on the lab module can grab payload via the airlock and install them onto the experiment platform outside the cabin.

11 Sports 5 JUNE_Layout 1 6/4/2022 11:49 PM Page 1

Sunday, 5 June, 2022 | KARACHI

SPORTS 11

Denmark recover From Benzema strIke to Beat France In natIons League PARIS

AgencieS

UBSTITUTE Andreas Cornelius scored twice as Denmark recovered from conceding to a brilliant Karim Benzema goal to beat France 2-1 on Friday in the UEFA Nations League at the Stade de France, the first match at the venue since the chaos that marred last weekend’s Champions League final. Benzema’s stunning strike put World Cup holders France in front six minutes after half-time, only for Trabzonspor striker Cornelius to turn in Denmark’s equaliser midway through the second half and then smash in an 88th-minute winner. That meant it was a disappointing night for France who saw both Kylian Mbappe and Raphael Varane come off with knocks. There was a near-full house of 75,833 inside the Stade de France, including 1,400 Danish supporters, but the atmosphere outside the ground ahead of kick-off was calm. That was in stark contrast to the scenes six days earlier, when serious organisational problems led to fans being unable to get into the stadium while many peaceful supporters were tear-gassed ahead of Real Madrid’s 10 win over Liverpool. European football’s governing body UEFA on Friday issued an apology to those

spectators for what it admitted was a “frightening and distressing” experience for those involved. Because of the pandemic, Friday’s match was the first France national football team game at the stadium without crowd restrictions since November 2019. Home supporters were hoping to see Les Bleus start with a victory as they defend the Nations League title they won last year by beating Spain in the final. This was the first of four matches they will play this month in League A, Group 1 before their players can depart on holiday, and the game did not really come to life in the first half. France, whose coach Didier Deschamps was absent following the death of his father, were dealt a blow when Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe pulled up with a knee knock just before the interval. He did not reappear after the break, with Christopher Nkunku taking his place, and the RB Leipzig forward played a part in the opening goal in the 51st minute. Benzema, on the same ground where he won the Champions League last weekend, collected the ball on the right, played a onetwo with Nkunku and left the Danish defence for dead before slotting in on the occasion of his 95th cap. Manchester United centre-back Varane then also hobbled off, with William Saliba replacing him, and Denmark capi-

talised as they turned the match on its head. Cornelius had not long been on the field when he appeared completely unmarked in

the area to apply a first-time finish to PierreEmile Hojberg’s floated assist. Hugo Lloris kept out Andreas Skov Olsen’s rasping drive

shortly after, before N’Golo Kante crashed an effort off the woodwork at the other end. Eriksen then squandered a great chance to put the away side in front in the 86th minute as Lloris denied him from pointblank range. However, the Danes did win it moments later as Cornelius beat the offside trap before running through and holding off Saliba to fire past Lloris from a tight angle. “France is probably the best team when you look at the names and quality of their players,” admitted Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand. “I have heard a lot of people back home in Denmark are out on the streets celebrating and that is just great. I am very happy for Danish football tonight.” The result is a warning for France, who will be in the same group as Denmark at the World Cup later this year. The sides will be in Nations League action again on Monday with France away to Croatia and Denmark in Austria. Croatia suffered a shock 3-0 home defeat by Austria on Friday with Marko Arnautovic, Michael Gregoritsch and Marcel Sabitzer all scoring. Meanwhile, the Netherlands romped to a 4-1 win over neighbours Belgium in Brussels in League A, Group 4. Steven Bergwijn gave the Dutch the lead before Memphis Depay netted a second-half brace either side of a Denzel Dumfries goal. Michy Batshuayi pulled one back late on for Belgium.

Shamozai village wins Makha contest in K-P Traditional Games PESHAWAR StAFF RePoRt

Pakistan stun Poland 4-2 in FIH Hockey5s ISLAMABAD APP

A pair of goals in the first two quarters each led Pakistan to a convincing 4-2 win against Poland in their opening match of the first edition of the FIH Hockey5s in Lausanne, Switzerland on Saturday. According to information made available here by Pakistan Hockey Federation (FIH), Pakistan scored quickly when in the third minute Murtaza Muhammad netted a spectacular field goal. But two minutes later Poland’s Rutkowski Wojciech scored the first goal for his team to level the game. A flurry of goals by Abuzar in the sixth, 12th, and 14th minutes stretched the difference between the two sides. However, Pawlak Robert scored the second goal for Poland to decrease the deficit to 42. Pakistan are scheduled to play their second match against India later tonight.

Shamozai Village clinched the trophy after defeating Babuzai Village in the final of the Makha contests part of the ongoing Traditional Games concluded at Sports Complex Mardan. In the final, Shamozai Makha Club defeated Babuzai Makha Club and won the title. Mardan Regional Sports Officer Niamat Ullah Marwat was the chief guest on the occasion. Deputy Director Sports Jamshed Baloch, District Sports Officer Mardan Afzar Muhammad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Makha Association President Amjad Hussain Yousafzai and journalist Arshad Yousafzai were also present on the occasion. Prominent journalist Rahimullah Yousafzai was honored at the event for his services for the promotion of the Makha in the Yousafzai belt. It was said that the services of the late Rahim Ullah Yousafzai were matchless for the development of the area and for the promotion of the Makha will always be remembered.

Regional Sports Officer Niamat Ullah Marwat announced the creation of a separate field for the Makha in Shamozai Katlang and said that the provincial Makha competitions would be held in Shamozai Katlang very soon. He congratulated both the teams for presenting excellent sportsmanship and enthusiastically partici-

pated. He said Directorate General Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took initiative for holding traditional games in order to get the younger generation of the traditional and indigenous sports so that it could be kept alive in their rank. He said the Directorate of Sports was playing its role in reviving traditional sports which would give a chance to the youth and new generations to be connected with culture and traditional sports. Amjad Hussain Yousafzai, President of Makha Association, lauded the efforts made by the Directorate General Sports for the promotion of Makha. At the end of the Makha contests, Niamat Ullah Marwat, Regional Sports Officer (RSO), Mardan, gave away trophies and cash prizes to the position holders of the Traditional Makha Games. Makha’s equipment consists of a long arrow (gashash in pashto) and a longbow (leenda). The tip of the arrow is not sharp, but has a flat, round piece of metal attached (tubidy). Once, the bow was a weapon of war.

Real Madrid’s Benzema drops appeal over ‘sex tape’ sentence PARIS AFP

Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has dropped an appeal against a one-year suspended sentence for complicity in a bid to blackmail former France teammate Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape, his lawyer said Saturday. Benzema was sentenced in November 2021 and fined 75,000 euros ($82,000) over the 2015 extortion attempt that shocked French football and saw him exiled from the French national team for five-and-a-half years. The Real Madrid star has finally dropped his appeal,

his lawyer Hugues Vigier told AFP, confirming a report on the Actu78 website. The Versailles court of appeal will notify the parties of the withdrawal order on Tuesday. Vigier previously told French sports daily L’Equipe Benzema he did so because he was “exhausted” by the process. “This withdrawal endorses a ruling of condemnation and apparently of guilt. It is a judicial truth. But it is not reality,” he said. Scrapping the appeal makes definitive the November ruling against him. Benzema was one of five people tried over the ultimately unsuccessful attempt to blackmail Valbuena with a sexually explicit video stolen from

his phone. He was not accused of being behind the extortion attempt but rather of conspiring with the suspected blackmailers by putting pressure on Valbuena to pay them off. The 34-year-old footballer had been set to appeal on June 30-July 1 at the court in Versailles, outside Paris. His former lawyer, Antoine Vey, had said Benzema would explain himself in person at the appeal trial. In its November judgment, the Versailles criminal court ruled that Benzema had “implicated himself personally, through subterfuge and lies, to convince his teammate to submit to the blackmail”.

New Zealand sets 277 runs target for England to win Lord’s test LONDON AFP

Stuart Broad sparked a sensational New Zealand collapse after Daryl Mitchell made a hundred to leave England needing 277 to win the first Test at Lord’s on Saturday. World Test champions New Zealand, who had been 251 for four, lost their last six wickets for 34 runs on the third morning — three falling to successive Broad deliveries — as they were dismissed for 285. England, however, face a tough task if they are to go 1-0 up in this three-match series and make a winning start under their new leadership duo of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand skipper. There have been only three successful fourth-innings run chases of more than 200 runs in Lord’s Test history, with England’s best at the ‘Home of Cricket’ the 282 for three they made against New Zealand in 2004. And Alex Lees, who had hit four bound-

aries in his 20, was then bowled leaving a Kyle Jamieson delivery that came back into the left-hander, with England 31 for one at lunch. After rain delayed Saturday’s scheduled start by 30 minutes, New Zealand resumed on 236 for four in their second innings, a lead of 227. After waiting 366 de-

liveries to take the fifth wicket, England astonishingly collected three in three balls for a team hat-trick. Broad, recalled along with James Anderson after England’s two all-time leading Test wicket-takers were controversially left out of a series loss in the Caribbean, was the man to

make things happen. He dismissed Mitchell and Jamieson, either side of Ollie Pope running out Colin de Grandhomme. Mitchell was caught behind for 108 off a Broad delivery that nipped away to end a New Zealand record fifth-wicket partnership against England of 195. Broad’s next ball led to a huge lbw appeal against de Grandhomme, who carelessly left his crease and was run out by Pope’s direct hit from the slip cordon before the seamer bowled Jamieson for a golden duck. Blundell, who had been watching the wickets go down from the other end, took his score to 96. But he fell short of a place on the honours board when Anderson had him plumb lbw before Matthew Potts, who took four wickets for 13 runs in New Zealand’s first innings 132, continued his fine debut by removing Ajaz Patel. Concussion substitute and England debutant Matt Parkinson, summoned after Jack Leach was injured fielding Thursday, ended the innings with his first Test wicket when the leg-spinner had Tim Southee caught at slip. Tom Blundell has insisted thoughts of a

coveted place on the Lord’s honours board will be at the back of his mind after helping to bat New Zealand into a commanding position against England at the ‘Home of Cricket’. Both Daryl Mitchell (97 not out) and Blundell (90 not out) are eyeing hundreds after an unbroken partnership of 180 took New Zealand to a second-innings total of 236 for four, a lead of 227 runs, at stumps on Friday’s second day of the first Test. That stand is already worth more than either side managed in their first innings, with Mitchell and fellow 31-year-old Blundell joining forces when the World Test champions were struggling at 56 for four after the bowlers of both teams had previously held sway. But for all that Blundell would love to score the third Test hundred of his career, the wicketkeeper is aware of the bigger picture given there could be as many as three days left to play in the opening match of a threeTest series. “We’ve got a job to do for the team, then the milestones take care of themselves,” Blundell told reporters.

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APCC OkAYs Rs2184b develOPMenT OuTlAY FOR FY 2022-23 IsLAMABAd

GhulAm AbbAs

HE Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) on Saturday approved the national development outlay at Rs 2184 billion for the upcoming fiscal year 2022-23 against the outlay of Rs 2135 billion set for the outgoing financial year. The important forum has also approved outlay of Rs 800 billion for federal Public Sector Development Program (PSDP). The provincial share in the development outlay would be Rs 1384 billion. As per details, the total development budget of the country for next fiscal year is included Rs 346 billion of foreign funding out of which the provinces would arrange Rs 276 billion from foreign sources and remaining Rs 70 billion would be arranged by the center. At least Rs 373 billion have been allocated for various division and ministries during the next fiscal year while for projects of WAPDA and NHA at least Rs 121 billion have been fixed. For AJK and Gilgit Baltistan Rs 95 billion have been allocated in the total development outlay while Rs 50 billion is fixed for merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

As per the details Rs 585 billion have been allocated for development projects in Punjab whereas Rs 355 billion would be spent on development projects in Sindh during the next fiscal year. Rs 300 billion have been fixed for projects in KP while Rs 143 billion has been allocated for Balochistan. The approved development outlay would now be placed before the National Economic Council (NEC) for approval, which is expected to meet in the next few days. During the meeting of APCC minister for Planning highlighted that the government inherited economy with formidable challenges as this is the first year in the history of the country when zero releases are made in the last quarter of the year because of the paucity of resources. As a statement issued by the ministry, taking cognizance of extremely difficult external and domestic environment, we will optimize resources to enhance the job creating ability of the economy and our government is focusing on optimizing job creation in the economy. The Minister reemphasized that primary focus of our development framework is the social sector, water security, agriculture, climate change,

Taliban willing to send troops to India for training: Mullah Yaqoob news desk Afghanistan’s all-powerful Defence Minister Mullah Yaqub, son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, has expressed willingness to send Afghan army personnel to India for military training, saying they “don’t have any issue with it”. He made these comments in an exclusive interview with India’s News 18 TV channel when asked would Taliban be willing to send their army officers to India for military training. “Yes, we don’t see any issue with it. Afghan-India relations get strengthened and set the ground for this. There will be no issues with it,” he remarked. When asked would current regime in Afghanistan wish to have a close defence ties with India, Mullah Yaqub said first they wanted to establish strong diplomatic relations with all countries including India. “When we will together have cordial political and diplomatic relations, then only we would be ready for defence relations. Neither there will be any problem with it nor do we see any issue with it,” he added. Speaking about country’s ties with other countries, Mullah Yaqub said they want cordial relations with all countries of the world, especially the neighbouring countries including India. “We want good and cordial relations with India and we hope that India would reciprocate and maintain good relations in many aspects with us.” The defence minister also urged India and Pakistan to resolve their issues through dialogue, saying that Taliban administration did not want to intervene in the bilateral matters of arch-rival neighbours.

knowledge economy and regional equalization to harness optimum potential of the economy. We have started our engagement with development partners and investors who are also keen to invest in our key priority areas. Joint Chief Economist-Economic Policy (JCE -EP) also apprised the meeting about developments on economic indicators against targets envisaged in the Annual Plan 2021-22. During 2021-22 aggregate demand pressures remained strong as reflected through sale of durables, higher imports of consumables and credit uptick for the private sector. Credit to private sector reached its highest ever level. This increase in demand was mainly due to good financing terms offered by banks and rising incomes during the period. JCE-EP highlighted that with the likely resumption of IMF program, the economic outlook for the next fiscal year 2022-23 is expected to result in orderly rebalancing between imperatives of economic growth and addressing the external sector vulnerabilities; particularly in the light of extent of global slowdown and the expected abatement of global inflation in commodity prices and the stability of exchange rate movements. Fiscal adjustment efforts, addressing

worsening trade balance, mitigating political and economic uncertainty will result in slowdown in economic growth. Keeping in view external and local uncertain economic environment, GDP growth will slightly taper off and is envisaged at 5 percent for 2022-23. Investment will also be moderated because of fiscal and current account compression. Inflation will stay in double digit as global inflationary pressures will not taper off very quickly. The targeted 5.0 percent growth for 2022-23 is anchored upon ensuring quality growth without triggering fiscal and external sector imbalances. Both the SBP and the Ministry of Finance endorsed this growth outlook. The meeting of APCC was held under chairmanship of Minister/Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission on 4th May 2022. The meeting was attended by officials of provincial governments, SBP and federal ministries. Deputy Chairman elaborated that APCC is the curtain raiser of the budget approval process. Although formal and informal consultations on development framework is a continuous process throughout the year, APCC is the highest forum for consultation on development framework before start of approval process.

FIA seeks court order to arrest Sharif, son in money laundering probe IsLAMABAd stAff report

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) sought a court order to arrest the prime minister and his son and the Punjab chief minister in a money laundering case against Shehbaz Sharif and members of his family. Sharif, his son Hamza Shehbaz and members of their family are facing charges of money laundering of at least Rs16 billion using accounts operated in the name of their businesses and employees, according to the agency. Today, when asked, Farooq Bajwa, a counsel for the agency, told Special Court (Central-I) judge Ijaz Hassan Awan the FIA wanted to take the father-son duo into custody for questioning to determine the extent of their roles in the scandal. He, on the occasion, also presented in the court an updated report on the challan against 16 suspects nominated in the case. Giving his arguments on the bail petition filed by Shehbaz, Amjad Pervaiz, his counsel, said the FIA had been dragging the case on for over 1.5 years but without finding success. “Both Shehbaz and Sharif were twice interrogated in judicial lockup, which was a bad intent on the part of the agency’s officials,” he said, adding that despite the fact that statements of staff of his clients were recorded during the government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the agency failed to get anything substantial out of it. “They even tried to get fake testimony in support of their allegations against father and son, but they got

none,” he claimed. Pervaiz said it was alleged that Sharif had laundered the money through one Mushtaq Cheeni. “But the latter was not nominated in the case. Even his confessional statement was not attached to the challan,” he claimed. The truth of the matter was, he went on, that both my clients were subjected to political victimisation, Pervaiz declared. “All this was done as a part of political engineering,” he alleged. However, Judge Awan allowed both the prime minister and the chief minister to leave the court. After the completion of his arguments, the court reissued the arrest warrants for suspects Salman Shehbaz, Tahir Naqvi and Malik Maqsood. The court adjourned the hearing after extending Sharif and Shehbaz’s interim bail until June 11. The counsels of other suspects are to present their arguments at the next hearing. ‘POLITICALLY MOTIVATED CASES’: Later, talking to the media outside the court, Ataullah Tarar, a spokesman for the Punjab government, said the time and money of the government were wasted on politically motivated cases. He said when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government left power in 2018, the inflation rate stood at just 4 percent. He accused the last PTI government of wasting the state resources indiscriminately. He further said the Punjab government had already reduced the prices of wheat flour, while now it would take steps to ensure the sale of bread to the people at cheaper rates.

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OGRA determines colossal hike in gas prices by upto 45pc for FY 2022-23 IsLAMABAd AhmAd AhmAdAni

Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has okayed significant increase in the gas prices by up to 45 percent in order to address the revenue shortfall of Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) for financial year 2022-23. As per details, OGRA, in its Determination of Estimated Revenue Requirement (DERR) of SNGPL and SSGCL for FY 2022-23, has allowed 45 percent or Rs266.58 per Million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU) and 44pc or Rs308.53/ increase in gas tariff for SNGPL and SSGCL respectively. However, a final decision in this regard will be taken by the federal government. OGRA, in its decision, said through the above said determination, the federal government has been requested for advice on category wise sale price. Any revision, as advised by the federal government, shall be accordingly notified by OGRA. Till such time the existing category-wise natural gas sale prices shall continue to prevail, said OGRA. Earlier, the SNGPL had demanded a 198% hike in gas prices while SSGCL sought a 45% jump in the gas tariff to meet its revenue requirement for FY 2022-23. According to sources, this increase in the gas price will help SNGPL to meet its revenue requirement of Rs260.9 billion while with this determination the SSGC will be able to recover also Rs285 billion from gas consumers in FY 2022-23. OGRA has also made it clear that the financial impact of the previous year’s shortfall of Rs264.8 billion i-e Rs720.20 per Million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU) had been referred to the federal government for an appropriate policy decision and is, therefore, not made part of the instant determination. It is pertinent to mention that following the recent massive surge in the prices of petroleum products and the enormous hike in electricity tariff, this is a big blow to the inflation hit masses during the rule of Shehbaz Sharif led coalition government.

Child among 4 of a family burnt in Shangla wildfire swAT syed shAhAbuddin

Four members of a same family burnt alive in a wildfire broke out on Friday night on a hill in Chakesar area of Shangla District in Swat. According to Rescue 1122 officials, the fire broke out the remote area of Ali Jaan Kaparai in Chakesar tehsil of Shangla district in Swat region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to Assistant Sub-Inspector Masood Khan, the deceased include three women and a child. Footage of the blaze went viral on social media, showing volunteers and rescuers trying to prevent spread of the fire. District disaster management authority spokesperson Inamullah Khan told media that a Rescue 1122 team and revenue department staff have reached the area to douse the fire while more teams are on the way. “Forest, revenue and rescue staffers are making efforts to extinguish the fire,” he said. The spokesperson said the fire had erupted in some bushes and engulfed a larger area subsequently. He added that the bodies of the victims were taken to the basic health unit in Gunangar area of Chakesar. On the other hand, Shangla Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ziaur Rehman told the media that he had directed relevant staff, including Rescue 1122 and forest department staff, to reach the affected area and begin relief efforts. The DC said they had been instructed to control the fire as soon as possible. “The area where the wildfire has erupted is located at a high altitude and is not easily accessible as there is no proper route. People have to walk to reach there and that hinders rescue work and controlling the fire”, he informed.

SVA role for ISI: Politicians of all hues equate move with ‘ceding civilian space’ IsLAMABAd stAff report

Political leaders, from across the divide, have reacted to the government move to notify the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as Special Vetting Agency (SVA) for screening civil servants, describing the move as “surprising” and tantamount to “giving up civilian space.” Leaders of the three main political parties – PML-N, PPP and PTI – said the additional task of screening civil servants would added to the burden of the country’s premier agency negatively, keeping in view of the situation on the eastern and western borders. The reaction came a day after the government notified that the premier spy agency will screen civil servants before induction, appointments and postings, as well as promotions. The otherwise staunch opponents, appeared to be in unison, over the issue and said that the ISI is already fighting a “complicated war” within and outside the country and this

“unwarranted responsibility” will act as a distracter for the world-famed intelligence agency. “The situation in Afghanistan, Kashmir, internal terrorism and related issues… and other developments shaping up around the world warrant a proactive approach and this new role will definitely impact the ISI performance,” they pointed out. It is important to mention here that previously, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was performing the vetting process of civil servants and it had now been replaced by the ISI. PPP stalwart and former Senate chairman Senator Raza Rabbani said the notification allowing the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to screen civil servants was amounted to “ceding civilian space”. He said the notification indicated a lack of confidence in the civilian apparatus of the state, adding that this move will also blur the distinction between the civil and military bureaucracy. The Constitution as well as the Civil Servants Act, 1973, were comprehensive laws and did not require screening of civil ser-

vants, he noted. Another PPP senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar also criticised the government move. “The prime minister is requested to include all the ‘Public Office Holders’ in the proposed notification at once. Why discriminate against politicians? After all, traitors are more common in our ranks!,” he sarcastically remarked in a tweet. Sources revealed that the decision was taken in a recent federal cabinet meeting but was kept hidden, adding that the ISI had already started working and sought data of government officers and their families from the departments concerned. With the special status and powers, they said, the spy agency would keep an eye on the moral and financial affairs of the government officers and would submit details to the promotion boards, especially the high-powered board and Central Selection Board (CSB). On the other hand, leaders of PML-N and PTI — agreed on Saturday that the country’s premier spy agency should be

under civilian control and answerable to the parliament after the PML-N-led coalition government gave the agency legal cover to screen civilian officials. PML-N leader and former information minister Pervaiz Rasheed said on Twitter that if the ISI was being tasked with vetting civilian officials, then the spy agency should be placed under civilian control and be answerable to parliament. Taking to his twitter handle on Saturday, PTI leader Fawad Ch said: “The institution (ISI) has to think about what role it wants to play in Pakistan’s politics.” “A discussion is needed on the new roles of civil institutions and institutions after the media revolution,” he tweeted. “Absolutely correct,” wrote former human rights minister and PTI leader Shireen Mazari in response to Fawad Ch’s Tweet. “This debate is critical for the future of democracy in Pakistan.” The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also expressed concern over

the government’s decision. “Even if this practice was already in place, it goes against democratic norms. The role of the military in civilian affairs needs to recede if Pakistan is to move forward as a democracy,” the HRCP stated. According to the official, notwithstanding the notification, the IB will continue to send its reports as per routine. The official said that since the government has now given legal effect to reports issued by the ISI, and these could henceforth be used in courts as a valid legal document. However, a former Establishment Division secretary disagreed. He noted that though the prime minister has the power to amend or make rules for the bureaucracy, it would have been better if the Establishment Division would have issued a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) to amend the Appointments, Promotions and Transfer (APT) Rules governing the civil bureaucracy if it wanted to give the ISI formal charge of the vetting process.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 66-C, 1st Floor, 21st Commercial Street, Phase-II (Extension), DHA Karachi and printed at Ibn-e-Hassan Printing Press, Hockey Stadium, Karachi, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 021-35381208-9. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk