sunday, 17 April, 2022 i 15 ramzan, 1443 i rs 15.00 i Vol Xii No 289 i 12 Pages i Lahore edition
Hamza elected cm Punjab amid ruckus in Pa
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staff report
AKISTAN Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz has been elected as new chief minister of Punjab with 197 votes on Saturday after police managed to take control of the house amid scuffle between treasury and opposition benches. His opponent Pakistan Muslim LeagueQ’s Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi could only manage to bag one vote. Victory sPeech: Taking the floor after winning the election, CM-elect Hamza accused the previous provincial government led by PTI of bad governance and corruption. He said his predecessor did not build any mega development project during its nearly four years in power. The CM-elect said the PTI regime hatched conspiracy against the province by appointing an “incompetent chief minister” to run the country’s largest province.
He also vowed to restore the local bodies system in the province, saying that devolution of power is necessary for the development of the province. Referring to today’s violence in the provincial assembly, Hamza lashed out at the PTI and PML-Q for “violating” the Constitution and attacking the deputy speaker. “We will not take revenge from anyone and only work for the betterment of the people.” He also appreciated the police for bringing the situation under the control and Deputy Speaker Mazari for fulfilling his constitutional duties. Responding to PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s allegations of US-backed regime change conspiracy, CM-elect Hamza questioned “was it also a part of conspiracy to hide details of gifts received by foreign governments”. “You [Imran Khan] have been caught red-handed in the foreign funding case,” he added. He said his government will not indulge
Pakistan ‘looking into reports’ of strike into Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Saturday said it was “looking into” reports of alleged action by Pakistani forces in the eastern Afghan provinces of Kunar and Khost.
province near the border with Pakistan. The official, on condition of anonymity, alleged that “Pakistani helicopters bombarded four villages” in Khost, adding that “there were casualties”.
islamabad
An Afghan tribal elder from Khost, Gul Markhan, also spoke to the AFP regarding the incident in Khost. Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, has so far not responded to queries about allegations from the Afghan side and the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has not yet issued a statement in this regard. Also today, an Afghan Foreign Ministry statement said Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Deputy Defence Minister Mullah Shirin Akhund met with the Pakistani ambassador and “condemned the recent attacks on Khost and Kunar provinces, stressing prevention of such acts”. “Minister Muttaqi said all military violations, including that in Khost and Kunar must be prevented as such acts deterio-
staff report
The FO’s response was to claims made by an Afghan government official and a resident in Kunar province that Pakistani forces fired rockets early today, leaving six people dead. “Five children and a woman were killed and a man wounded,” provincial director of information Najibullah Hassan Abdaal alleged. Ehsanullah, a resident of Shelton district where the alleged attack reportedly took place, said it was carried out by Pakistani military aircraft. Ehsanullah goes by one name as many Afghans do. Another Afghan government official alleged that a pre-dawn bombardment was carried out in Afghanistan’s Khost
in political victimisation but those who plundered the nation’s wealth will be held accountable and law will take its own course. Earlier, the Punjab police had to intervene to take control of the house hours after lawmakers belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) and PML-Q roughed up the acting speaker, Dost Muhammad Mazari, forcing him to retire to his chambers. The government lawmakers, who resorted to violence, had warned that they would not allow Mazari to chair the session for the election of the chief minister of Punjab. The PML-Q had also formulated a strategy to force stop the proceedings of the assembly, resulting in the intervention of the police to smoothen the process. As the police tried to enter the assembly hall, lawmakers scuffled with the law enforcers and managed to push the police officials out of the hall. However, in their second attempt, after facing considerable resistance, a large contingent of the police managed to enter the assembly and take control of the situation. As police retained control of the house, they escorted PA Speaker Pervaiz Elahi out of the assembly hall. The PTI and PML-Q, however, resisted the police as they tried to stop them from forcibly removing Elahi from the assembly hall. A scuffle also broke out between the PML-N and treasury MPAs as the former supported the police’s move to remove Elahi from the house while the latter intervened to stop it. Earlier in the day, PTI and PML-Q lawmakers attacked Punjab Assembly acting speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari as he arrived in the house to preside over the PA session being held to elect the chief minister. The PTI lawmakers carrying lotas (round water containers) roughed up Mazari before the security staff of the assembly escorted him back to his chamber in protective custody. Mazari was reported to have received minor injuries as a result of the PTI MPAs’ assault.
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rate relations between the two countries, allowing antagonists to misuse the situation leading to undesired consequences,” the statement said. It added the Pakistani envoy was given a strong demarche. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also condemned the alleged attacks. “IEA (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) calls on the Pakistani side not to test the patience of Afghans on such issues.” He added: “Problems between the two countries must be resolved through political means.” MNA Mohsin Dawar also raised the issue in today’s National Assembly session, terming the reported incident as a “highly tragic one”. He claimed that the alleged victims were internally displaced persons from North Waziristan who had crossed into Afghanistan before the start of Zarb-i-Azab. “Yesterday night, Pakistan Army and air force’s planes carried out bombardments across the Afghan border and over 40 people were martyred in that,” the MNA said. Earlier, at least 30 people were killed in a Pakistan Army airstrike in Kunar and Khust provinces of Afghanistan, TOLO news reported on Saturday. Afghan Taliban haven’t yet responded. A tweet citing sources indicated there have been at least three air strikes inside Afghan territory in Khost and Kunar, targeting hideouts of the Dera Ismail Khan chapter and Hafiz Gul Bahadur group of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Both were held responsible for carrying out attacks in D.I. Khan division and North Waziristan. There has been no official confirmation of the incident from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
if Lettergate conspiracy succeeds, Pakistan won't ever be able to stand up to Us diktats: PM Khan KaRaCHi Mian abrar
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan warned Pakistanis that if the Lettergate conspiracy succeeded, no Prime Minister would ever be able to stand up to the US diktats. Addressing a mammoth public gathering of charged party workers here, Imran Khan said that Pakistan faces threat to its sovereignty. He urged the entire nation to fight the international conspiracy which had been hatched to enslave Pakistan. He said he visited Russia which had promised to provide petroleum and wheat 30 percent cheaper than international market. He said that he was neither anti-India, nor anti-America or anti-Europe. He said that he was a humanist and was not against any nation. He said that he wanted friendly ties with every nation but would oppose any bid to enslave Pakistanis. He said that under the conspiracy, a traitor had been imposed to rule Pakistan. He said he was informed that he was facing life threats but he said that his life
was not much important but Pakistan’s sovereignty was. He said that the US diplomats started meeting opposition leaders and PTI dissidents and even journalists were being lured under the plan. He said that Pakistan’s Ambassador met US official Donald Lu who even before filing of no confidence motion told that if no trust motion would fail, Pakistan would have to face consequences. If the motion was carried, Pakistan would be pardoned. He said argued who was being threatened? He argued what crime did he commit that the courts were opened at the midnight? He deplored that he was sent behind bars just to carry on struggle for freedom of judiciary. He said that he knew that match had been fixed to oust him from power but never had been hurt due to judiciary. He argued why Supreme Court did not investigate the Lettergate while the country’s top executive was being threatened.
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Sunday, 17 April, 2022 | LAHORE
NEWS
IndIA hAs bECoME A FAsCIst And sAFFronIzEd stAtE undEr ModI IsLAMABAD
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agencieS
ARENDRA Modi-led fascist Indian government is aggressively pursuing the agenda of extremist Hindu organization, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, of saffronizing
India – making the country a Hindu Rashtra. India under Modi has become a fascist and saffronized state and since he became the prime minister of the country, saffronization has hit India’s all institutions including its judiciary as well as armed forces, said a report released, today, by Kashmir Media Service.
IFC appoints new director for Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan Press reLeAse International Finance Corporation (IFC) has named Khawaja Aftab Ahmed as the Regional Director for the Middle East, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Ahmed will lead the institution’s efforts to help increase private sector participation in the economy to create jobs, address the climate crisis, close the infrastructure gap, foster financial inclusion, and support fragile and conflict-affected situations. “I am excited to work closely with Aftab to build up IFC’s operations and impact in this very important, diverse, and promising region,” said Hela Cheikhrouhou, IFC’s Regional Vice President for the Middle East, Central Asia, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. “His in-depth knowledge of the region, combined with his expertise across different sectors and products, will be a tremendous asset as IFC ramps up its business in the Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan.” Ahmed, a Pakistani national, has 33 years of development banking experience. At IFC, he has held several managerial positions, most recently serving as Global Director of Investment and Credit Risk. Before that, he led IFC’s work with financial institutions and private equity funds in the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, where he managed a $6 billion portfolio spread across 45 countries. He has deep experience in frontier markets, where he helped to promote innovative financial instruments and Islamic financing tools. Ahmed holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Pakistan’s NED University of Engineering and Technology and an MBA in Finance from the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi. He steps into a region whose economy is still recovering from the effects of COVID-19. In the Middle East, the economy grew by an estimated 3.1 percent in 2021 after contracting 3.6 percent in 2020. Pakistan’s economy has also been affected by the pandemic while political instability has pushed Afghanistan into an economic and humanitarian crisis. As regional director, Ahmed’s priorities will include supporting private sector development in fragile and conflictaffected situations, helping countries counter and adapt to climate change, and creating economic opportunities for women, youth, and other underserved groups. “The public sector can no longer be the main provider of jobs in the region, especially today, given the deep fiscal constraints facing most governments in the wake of COVID-19,” said Ahmed. “I am excited to lead IFC’s efforts to support private sector clients, spur innovation, and create positive, lasting impact in such a critical region.” In the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, IFC supports the growth of the private sector through a combination of investments and advisory services.
It pointed out that the Indian judiciary has given priority to Hindutva ideology while announcing verdict in Babri Masjid demolition case. Hindutva ideology is the main driving force behind India’s saffronization which is aimed at establishing hegemony of Hindus and Hindu way of life.
“There is no space for others but Hindus in the world’s so-called largest democracy,” it said. The report maintained that all minorities in India are persistently living under constant fear and insecurity. It said, properties, lives, honour and religious freedoms of Indian minorities are at the mercy of Hindu extremists.
The report said, illegal and unilateral revocation of special status of Indian illegally occupied Kashmir has testified that India is a fascist state. Saffronization of India will have devastating consequences not only for India but for the whole world, it said, adding that the world must wake up to stop India becoming a fascist and saffronized state.
Pakistan condemns extra-judicial killing of four more Kashmiri youth in IOJK IsLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
Pakistan strongly condemns Indian occupation forces’ relentless killing spree resulting in the martyrdom of four more Kashmiri youth during this week in staged ‘cordon and search’ operation in Shopian district of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson in a press statement said that more than 576 innocent Kashmiris have, so far, been martyred by the Indian occupation forces since India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019. Notably, Kashmiri youth has been a specific target of the 900,000 strong Indian military force and thousands of Kashmiri youth are living in a perpetual environment of terror, harassment and intimidation. Indian forces continue to perpetrate egregious
violations of human rights in the occupied territory with shameless impunity under draconian laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA) and Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA), the statement said. The pattern of ongoing atrocities in the IIOJK, which has been intensified during the holy month of Ramzan, reflects India’s despicable policy of terrorizing the population in a bid to perpetuate its systemic persecution of the Kashmiris. The valiant Kashmiri youth is, however, resolutely committed to their just cause and no amount of brutalities can dampen their unbreakable resolve, the statement added. Pakistan reiterates its call for investigation of extra-judicial killings in IIOJK by the Commission of Inquiry as recommended by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in its Kashmir reports of 2018 and 2019. Pakistan also calls upon the international
community to play its due role for a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson statement added.
Govt losing Rs2,500m daily due to PTI’s economic minefield: Miftah News Desk Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Miftah Ismail on Saturday said that the government is losing around Rs2,500 million daily due to the economic ‘minefield’ left by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government. “At the moment the government is losing Rs21 per litre on petrol and Rs52 per litre on diesel. That’s a loss of Rs3600 crore in 2 weeks or a loss of Rs250 crore per day. This expense is more than the cost of running the entire civilian federal government plus the entire BISP/Ehsaas programme. We simply cannot afford to walk in the minefield PTI has left for us,” Miftah said in a series of tweets. He added that the decision announced by the government not to change the prices of petroleum products was a tough one and would have to be revisited.
“PTI has tied our hands by actually committing in writing that not only will they recover the full cost of fuels but also impose Rs30 per litre levy and 17 per cent sales tax on those fuels. According to PTI commitments, the price of petrol should be Rs236 [per litre] and diesel should be Rs264 [per litre],” he further said. He added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in no mood to impose such prices and high taxes on the people, but at the same time, we [the government] cannot let our “fiscal and external financial position deteriorate further” and have our development partners walkout. “Tough choices need to be made,” he warned. “Note also that the fuel price subsidy is coming from increasing govt expenses and raising debt. Unlike BISP, where poor people are being helped, here the average (low income) Pakistani is subsidising middle to high income Pakistani.”
Govt urged to take businessmen on board in policy making TLTP Diverse business team at meeting, discussing marketing strategy and working on gadgets, top view Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has urged the government to engage the private sector in the consultation process and make policies after getting their input to steer the economy out of current challenges. ICCI President Muhammad Shakeel Munir in a statement also assured the prime minister that the business community would fully support the government in its endeavors for making Pakistan a progressive and prosperous country. Munir also congratulated Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif on being elected as Prime Minister and expressed best wishes for him. He said that Shahbaz Sharif is an
accomplished businessman and is well aware of the key issues of the business community that needed urgent remedial measures to improve the economy. He urged the new government to initiate the reforms process on a priority basis to revive the economy. He said that there is a great need to further promote the ease of doing business to boost industrialization and exports. He highlighted many challenges being faced by the economy including depreciation of rupee, rising debt burden, high interest rates, surging inflation, falling foreign exchange, high energy cost and rising circular debt that needed priority attention of the government to address them. He urged the government to take strong measures to facilitate the private sector so that it could grow fast and play a more effective role in the economic development of the country.
Foolproof security requested for CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja News Desk The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has requested the interior ministry for ‘foolproof security’ arrangements for Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja. In a letter written to the interior ministry on April 8, the ECP said: “In the light of the present polarized situation, foolproof security arrangements for the Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan at the Election Commission Secretariat, Islamabad, his residential apartment in Sector G-5, Islamabad and during his travel outside Islamabad may be made on an immediate basis.” It further said: “It shall not be out of place to mention here that unnecessary and suspicious movement had been observed around him [CEC] for the last few days. In view of the above, it is requested that the matter may be assigned top priority and required measures may be put in place under intimation to this office.”
Two-day trial run of Metro bus service commences IsLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
In line with the directions of the prime minister, the two-day trial run of Metro bus service from Peshawar Mor to New Islamabad Airport commenced on Saturday. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would formally inaugurate the service, said a news release issued by the Capital Development Authority (CDA). Officials of the CDA, National Highway Authority (NHA), Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration and other relevant departments inspected the docking, scheduling, loading and offloading of passengers from the buses, besides other operational details. Some 30 modern buses will ply on the route after every five minutes during peak hours. The service has a 25.6 kilometre long track, seven stations, and one platform near the Islamabad Airport. Initially, the CDA under the PM’s directions made arrangements with the Punjab Mass Transport Authority for 15 buses painted with orange colour. It is estimated that some 25,000 to 26,000 passengers will commute daily on the service. As per the prime minister’s directive, no fare would be charged from the passengers during the holy month of Ramazan.
Sunday, 17 April, 2022 | LAHORE
bIlAwAl sEEks ProPosAls rEgArdIng ForthCoMIng lg ElECtIons IsLAMABAD
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Staff RepoRt
AKISTAN Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has invited Party ticket holders, CEC members and divisional Presidents of Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab to submit their suggestions regarding forthcoming Local Government (LG) polls in these provinces to the Party secretariat in
Islamabad. A statement issued by the Party’s Media office in Islamabad on Saturday said that Party tickets in LB polls are awarded by provincial party chapters and there is no change in the policy. The provincial chapters will continue to award party tickets and a formal communication has also been addressed to the Election Commission of Pakistan in this regard. However, for a broader and deeper engagement of Party cadres, Chairman
nAb to continue to function with a changed name: sanaullah
Bilawal has decided to also invite ticket holders of National and Provincial assemblies, CEC members and divisional presidents of the province to submit their suggestions in respect of various aspects of polls to the Party’s central secretariat in Islamabad, it said. The process of LB polls in Balochistan has already commenced. The schedule for first phases of LB polls in 17 districts in Punjab on May 29 has already been announced.
Likewise the schedule for the first phase of LB polls in four divisions of Sukkur, Larkana, Benazirabad and Mirpurkhas of Sindh has also been announced. Elections of both phases of LB polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have recently been completed. The suggestions addressed to the Chairman will be sent to the Secretary General Nayyer Hussain Bukhari in the Party Secretariat Street 85, G-6/4, Islamabad, it said.
KP hydropower projects face delay due to lack of funds
News Desk
AzIz BuNerI
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah has hinted at changing the name of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), saying that the anti-graft watchdog will continue to function. Talking to the media outside the parliament on Saturday, the PML-N leader said that the institution was founded to take revenge, however, the PML-N will never take revenge on someone. “Accountability is something which is very important for the society. The NAB will not be dissolved, however, we will change its name,” added Sanaullah. Talking about the resignation of National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, the PML-N leader said that he should not have resigned as almost 70 per cent of the PTI members did not want to resign. Earlier, PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had said that the newlyelected government — led by Shehbaz Sharif — needs to get rid of NAB. He had said that there are institutions in Pakistan to hold people accountable for their wrongdoings. “It has been 23 years since NAB’s establishment, but it has not been able to convict any of the politicians for their crimes,” he had added.
Several Important hydropower project of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Power and Energy department face delay due to lack of funding. The power projects are part of the current annual development program. The KP government had allocated Rs15.17 billion for various power projects of which only Rs4.332 billion could be used so far. Ongoing power and energy projects will be funded by the Asian Development Bank and the Hydraulic Development Fund but the pace of work is too slow due unavailability of funds. According to the finance department documents, the Energy and Power department has been able to utilise all the funds released for the project of solarization of mosques across the province, while for other major projects including the Rs5 billion Balakot Hydropower project, the finance department has not released any funds. For this project 80 per cent of funds will be provided by Asian Development Bank while 20 per cent would be provided from hydraulic development funds. According to documents, out of the allocated Rs911 million for 88 megawatt project in Gabral and Rs255 million for
Madin Hydro project, not even a single penny has been released so far. Thus, Rs455 million were allocated for planning management support for the development of energy sector and institutional strengthening with the assistance of the World Bank but the allocated funds are yet to be released. Similarly, so far no funds has been released for the Rs400 million worth Institute of Petroleum Technology in Karak district. According to sources in the finance department, funds were delayed as the federal government has failed to provide the net hydel profit to the province. Due to non-receipt of net profit of electricity from the federation, not only the projects started to increase power generation have been delayed while other development projects are also facing shortage of funds. Despite the PTI government in the center and in the province, in the past three years, the federal government has not been able to pay the net profit of Rs500 billion to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The chances of such funding has further decreased after the change of government in the center. According to Finance department documents, the Energy and Power Department has also included more than twenty such projects in its annual development program.
NEWS
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Chairman boI Azfar Ahsan resigns IsLAMABAD ghulam abbaS
Following the change of government in the center Chairman Board of Investment (BOI) Muhammad Azfar Ahsan has resigned from his post. Through a letter sent to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Azfar tendered his resignation as head of BoI after serving at the position for five months. In the letter he has thanked former prime minister Imran Khan for giving him the important responsibility which he tried to fulfill. He has also mentioned the 125 reforms under Asan Karobar Program launched by BoI recently. In November 2021, the federal cabinet had approved the appointment of Muhammad Azfar Ahsan as the new Chairman BOI. Azfar Ahsan is the fourth person to have been appointed to the post. He had replaced Atif Bokhari who resigned in June due to “personal reasons”. It may be added here that the newly-appointed chairman is the founder of Corporate Pakistan Group (CPG), which represents the elite of Pakistan’s national intelligentsia, including corporate and business leaders, ministers, senators, governors, federal secretaries, politicians, distinguished academicians, energy experts, tech entrepreneurs, defence personnel, police officers, foreign policy experts, media practitioners, and the movers and shakers of civil society.
PMd forecasts rain in different parts of country News Desk The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Saturday forecast rain across different parts of the country from Sunday onwards. According to the PMD, winds are expected to enter the western parts of the country from Sunday. The met department predicted strong winds and thundershowers in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Meanwhile, chances of rain with thunderstorms are also expected in some areas of Punjab and Gilgit Baltistan. The PMD said that the temperature is likely to drop by 3˚C to 5˚C after the expected rains, adding that there is also a risk of landslide in Gilgit Baltistan from April 19 to 21.
Govt likely to present next fiscal year’s budget in May 2022 shAhzAD PArAchA The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz government is likely to present the next fiscal year’s budget in May. Sources said that the economic team of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif will present the fiscal year budget 2022-23 in the last week of May. Presently, the Finance Ministry is working on the budget as per the notified budget calendar for 2022-23. Sources said that there is an immediate need to start negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to put the EFF back on track for ensuring inflows from other multilateral such as ADB and WB.
They added that these inflows are very important to support the foreign exchange reserves therefore the present government strategy is to restart the fund program with the assurance that it would not only undertake new taxation measures such as revising the personal income tax slabs but withdrawing billions of rupee tax exemptions in order to reduce the budget deficit to a reasonable level. This would ensure $2 billion from the IMF program and project lending in the pipeline from other multilateral institutions, sources added. Sources said that the government may request the IMF for combining the seventh and eighth
reviews in June and by that time it would be in a position to fulfill the conditionality of the IMF. Sources said that the present government has to undo the Relief
Seven troops martyred in ambush near Afghanistan border
ISLAMABAD: At least seven Pakistan Army troops were martyred in an ambush by suspected militants near the border with Afghanistan, according to a military statement on Friday. The incident, which ranks as one of the deadliest attacks in recent months, took place in the Isham town of the restless North Waziristan district when a group of heavily armed militants ambushed an army convoy. In an exchange of fire, the statement said, seven soldiers and four terrorists were killed.
“Pakistan Army is determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the statement added. Paying tributes to the killed soldiers, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad would continue fighting terrorism. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. However, security agencies blame the Tehreeki-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of several militant outfits reportedly operating from bordering areas in Afghanistan. North Waziristan — once dubbed the heartland of militancy — is one of seven former semi-autonomous tribal regions in Pakistan where the army has conducted a series of operations since 2014 to eliminate the TTP. Successive operations have pushed the TTP towards neighbouring Afghanistan, and Islamabad believes the terrorist network has now set up bases across the border to attack security forces. In contrast to Islamabad’s hopes for a further decrease in attacks from the bordering areas following the capture of Kabul by the Taliban, the army has still been facing a series of deadly attacks. anadolu agency
Package announced by former PM Imran Khan on February 28, 2022, to cut petrol, and diesel prices by Rs10 and electricity prices by Rs5 per unit for four months as well as
grant tax amnesty for the industrial sector. Sources who are part of the negotiations team in the previous government stated that the discussion on the seventh review of the EFF program remained inconclusive as IMF had raised serious concerns over the amnesty scheme last month. Former Principal Economic Advisor Finance Ministry Ashfaq Hasan said that the government has to increase petrol and electricity prices to start talks with the IMF. The government’s priority would be to complete the remaining reviews of the IMF program before making up its mind “whether it wants to take another IMF program
after September 2022”. He said that the IMF expected to be lenient as the new government’s relations with the US are improving compared to the previous government. The government should also save the dollar by preventing unnecessary imports and restoring the confidence of overseas Pakistanis to increase remittances. The major challenge for the government would be how to gain the trust of overseas Pakistanis because of its perception issue. An increase per unit of Rs4.95 electricity price is an indication to the fund that the government wants to re-start the IMF program, he added.
Sunday, 17 April, 2022 | LAHORE
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NEWS
ECP to hEAr PtI ForEIGN FuNDING CASE oN A DAILy BASIS IsLAmAbAd
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Staff RepoRt
He election Commission of Pakistan (eCP) announced on Friday that it will hear the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) foreign funding case every day, so as to decide it within 30 days as per the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) directives. The eCP’s spokesperson said in a statement that in line with the IHC’s decision, the commission has decided to hear the foreign funding case on a daily basis.
On April 14, a single-judge bench headed by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani issued a judgment upholding the eCP’s decision to give access of the case’s record to the PTI’s founding member Akbar S Babar and not remove him from the proceedings. The PTI had filed petitions on January 25 and 31 on the aforementioned two requests that were rejected by the eCP on March 15. The party had then moved the top court against the eCP decisions. “The claim submitted by the peti-
tioner [PTI] is not maintainable as petitioner itself is not able to demonstrate any of his legitimate rights when [it] itself is in agreement that respondent No 2 [Babar] can participate in the proceedings to the extent of information which he has provided to the scrutiny committee or the eCP,” the order read. “Therefore, this petition is not based upon bona fide, rather filed with specific motive, just to stop respondent No 2 Akbar Sher Babar to participate in the proceedings, which has already been settled by this court in the previous proceed-
ings,” it added. On March 2, the PTI lawyer completed arguments in the foreign funding case, while the bench directed the counsel for the petitioner Akbar S Babar to conclude his arguments on the next hearing of the case. During the hearing, the PTI lawyer, Anwar Mansoor, requested the bench to dismiss the complaint of Babar, saying that once the scrutiny was done, the matter would be between the eCP and the political party and that no third party could be a party to the case.
Sharif resolves to deepen ties with Qatar IsLAmAbAd Staff RepoRt
Sindh Mental Health Authority, Charter for Compassion Pakistan launch helpline for mental health issues KARACHI Staff RepoRteR
The mental health and wellbeing are of the sustainable development goals set to achieve in 2030. Mental health problems in Pakistan, have seen an alarming increase in the incidence of mental illness due to a persistent wave of COVID-19, and frequent changes in social factors. Therefore, Sindh Mental Health Authority (SMHA) and Charter for Compassion Pakistan are proud to announce the implementation of mental health activities in the province of Sindh. The two entities are to join hands with Thar Foundation for the initiation of mental health activities in the province and have signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The ceremony highlighted the coalition between Sindh Mental Health Authority, Jinnah Post Graduate Medical College, Civil Hospital, Sir Cowasjee Institute of Psychiatry, Thar Foundation, and Charter for Compassion.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday reiterated to further strengthen the fraternal ties between Pakistan and Qatar. The prime minister was reciprocating a felicitation message from Prime Minister Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani of Qatar who congratulated him on taking oath of the office of the prime minister, Sharif’s office said in a press statement. The prime minister said the two countries enjoyed closer ties based on deep and historic friendship, trust and cooperation, adding such a friendship had been a precious asset for them. IMMEDIATE COMPLETION OF FLYOVER: Meanwhile, Sharif also directed for early completion of the Rawal Dam Chowk flyover without compromising over its quality of work. Accompanied by concerned authorities, he reached the construction site where he was given a briefing. He ordered the completion of the project by September and observed that the project was almost stalled for months and ordered an inquiry. He also directed for audit of the project by a third party. Sharif, on the occasion, said that public interest projects should be completed within a stipulated pe-
Supreme Foam – the leading mattress and foam company in Pakistan – launches yet another revolutionary product in its portfolio. For the first time in Pakistan, Supreme Foam has launched a mattress in a box. This mattress is packed in a box and can be easily carried in a car, motor cycle, or by hand. The box can be easily unpacked at your home, and upon opening the wrapping, the mattress will take its full original shape. With this new product, the company hopes to bring ease of shopping and transport to the consumers, and making it easy for consumers to buy and transport mattresses. The Supreme Mattress in a box – bringing the luxury, comfort and quality of an ace Supreme product in an easy to manage box packaging. Supreme Foam has always kept customer insight and innovation at the forefront of its product offering. For customers, to move around mattresses or carry it to their spaces was the biggest challenge. By introducing the Supreme Mattress in A Box, the company is transforming the packaging and storing of mattresses, which would be a revolution in the industry. The new product was unveiled to Supreme dealers in an auspicious ceremony at a local hotel in Karachi. When customers order a mattress, no more struggling to take it up a long flight of stairs or in an elevator. Just simply pick up the box and move it anywhere you want. Mattress in a Box is now available in store and online, across the country. pReSS ReleaSe
Shahzad Saleem appointed as NAB Lahore DG IsLAmAbAd Staff RepoRt
riod of time. A project like this should be completed within six months, he said, adding the delay in its construction was adding to public woes. The prime minister expressed his dissatisfaction over the slow pace of work, saying that lethargy and complacency were the apparent reasons behind the delayed project. He said that even mega projects in the country had been accomplished within a period of two years, but why this minor project was hitting the snags! Sharif said it was the central neighbourhood and the closure of work on the project had been causing a public nuisance. The project was initiated in 2020 and its completion period was two years.
Sharif govt withdraws all investigations against Cheema LAHORE Staff RepoRt
The government of Shehbaz Sharif Saturday withdrew the charge sheet against civil servant and former Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general Ahad Cheema. A government notification announced that all pending inquiries against Cheema have been dismissed. In April last, Cheema was released from jail after pre-conviction incarceration spanning over three years in connection with separate references of corruption and abuse of authority filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). It merits a mention here that Cheema was the first high-profile person to be arrested in Punjab by the dirty money watchdog before the general elections of 2018. A BPS-19 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), Cheema was heading the LDA during the previous PML-N government in Punjab. Also, in recognition of his services in constructing the Lahore Metrobus service, Cheema was conferred the award of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.
CmYK
Supreme Foam launches “Mattress in a Box”
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officer Shahzad Saleem has been appointed as the anti-graft watchdog’s director-general for Lahore, a notification said Friday. The notification from the anti-corruption watchdog said that since Saleem has been posted to the office, ex-DG NAB Lahore Jamil Ahmed has been asked to report to NAB Headquarters. The role of the DG NAB Lahore is not new to Saleem as he was posted here from 2017 to 2021, and during his four years in office, according to sources, he made record recoveries. In NAB Lahore’s four-year performance report, according to sources, Saleem made direct recoveries worth Rs7billion and Rs77billion indirectly, while under him, NAB Lahore filed recovery references worth Rs60 billion. In 2021, when Saleem was transferred to the NAB HQ, he was posted as the director awareness and prevention division.
Sunday, 17 April, 2022 | LAHORE
NEWS
PTI govt made wrong decisions on prices of petroleum products: Shahid Khaqan ISLAMABAD staff report
Criticising the PTI-led government for keeping the prices of petroleum products low artificially, PML-N senior leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the past government made wrong decisions to garner cheap publicity. Addressing a press conference, Shahid Khaqan said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had rejected the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (OGRA) summary to increase petroleum prices as the government did not want to shift the burden to the masses during the holy month of Ramadan. “The past government took wrong decisions for cheap popularity. It also intentionally created ambiguity about petroleum prices,” he added. OGRA recommended to increase the price of high-speed diesel by Rs51, which would have taken the new price to Rs196 per litre, he said, adding that it recommended to increase petrol price from Rs150 to Rs171 per litre. The former prime minister said that prices had been notified at the existing petroleum levy [which stands at zero] and GST [also at 0%]. But if taxes are included then the prices of high-speed diesel will have seen an increase of Rs120 per litre to jump to Rs265 per litre. Similarly, the petrol price would have soared to over Rs231, he added. He said Imran Khan’s individual decisions had put the country in trouble. “Petroleum prices are soaring globally but this has also been happening in the past. The real reason behind the hike in petrol and diesel prices in Pakistan is the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee,” he added. Khaqan said the previous government’s wrong policies had a negative impact on the country’s economy and the agreements which were signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would be brought before the masses.
PA Ruckus: Fawad warns against ‘civil unrest’ LAHORE staff report
As violence broke out in Punjab Assembly between opposition and treasury benches on Saturday, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry warned that the country was heading towards civil unrest. Amid chaotic scenes, the Punjab police entered provincial assembly as lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) roughed up the acting speaker, Dost Muhammad Mazari, forcing him to retire to his chamber. “We are inches away from full fledge Civil unrest, Imran Khan has exercised utmost restraint very soon even he won’t be able to stop this very angry mob and we will see country plunging into a civil unrest,” said Fawad while referring to the situation in the PA. Calling his opponents ‘imported leaders’, Fawad said they will not be able to leave the country. In another tweet, the former information minister said the ongoing political turmoil in the country is linked to Supreme Court’s “failure” to decide the case regarding the fate of rebel lawmakers. ElEction of Hamza Has no lEgal status: Punjab govErnor: Punjab Governor Omer Sarfraz Cheema has said that after boycott by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the election of Prime Minister has no status. It is a betrayal to the nation to place a person on the chair of Prime Minister who is on bail and billions of rupees of corruption cases are pending against him in the courts.
IF LeTTeRgATe conSPIRAcy SucceedS, PAKISTAn won'T eveR be AbLe To STAnd uP To uS dIKTATS: PM KhAn cOntInuED fROM pAgE 01
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HeN there was an open purchase of lawmakers was going on .. why judiciary did not take suo-motu action as it was a violation of the Constitution?” He urged the nation not to pardon these turncoats ever in life. He said everyone knew the plot and who would replace him. He said that Pakistani Americans was a strong community in the US and was contributing for Pakistan’s cause. Imran Khan said that he was happy to see Pakistani flags waving in across Karachi as Pakistan faced a challenging times. He said that Shehbaz Sharif was facing corruption cases of Rs 40 billion who was on bail had been imposed to rule Pakistan. earlier, the former prime minister has arrived at the site of the gathering. Currently, the PTI’s nationallevel leadership is taking turns delivering their speeches before Khan takes the stage. QurEsHi DEmanDs juDicial inQuiry into lEttErgatE scanDal: Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has demanded a judicial commission to probe the issue of ‘threat letter’ “if anyone was in any doubt about its legitimacy”. “Maryam and Bilawal say the document is fake but the people [coming to the public gathering] have proven that it is not fake and legitimate… if you are in any doubt then you can form a judicial commission and the truth will come out,” he added. Shah Mahmood Qureshi criticised Premier Shehbaz Sharif for lack of response on the Israeli forces attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque, reminding the public that Imran Khan had ordered raising the matter at UN last year and got a ceasefire. He also came down hard over the PML-N led government for hike in sugar, cooking oil and power tariff. Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid, who is a key ally of the PTI, saluted “Karachi’s passion”, claiming that the city has “broken the record of Fatima Jinnah’s gathering” for Khan. He predicted that Khan would end the incumbent government before May 30 before he took aim at PPP Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, calling him a “bandit”. In the end, he had a message for the military. “I want to talk to the Pakistan Army. We are with you,” he said as he told the crowd to “wave Pakistan’s flag so it can be seen that Karachi is with Pakistan’s flag and Imran Khan”.
Former Sindh governor Imran Ismail said that the entire city of Karachi was willing to take to the streets on Khan’s call. He claimed that his party can shut down the entire city whenever it wants. “We retain the power to shut down the city on half an hour’s notice,” he said. “We have done it in the past … and we are restless to do it again. All we need is the go-ahead from you Khan sahab. We will take to the streets and teach them a lesson.” Former minister Ali Zaidi was also critical of Zardari, questioning: “What have you done with our city and people of our province? “The people will never forgive you. When elections take place, there will be a PTI government in Sindh,” he warned Pti’s local lEaDErsHiP warns mQmP of Political Extinction: Prior to Khan’s arrival at the venue, various PTI leaders from Sindh, including Faisal Vawda, Aslam khan, Khurram Sher Zaman, Haleem Adil Sheikh and Firdous Shamim Naqvi addressed the crowd. The party’s local leadership, during their speeches, criticised in particular their former regional ally Muttahidda Qaumi Movement-Pakistan. Sindh MPA Khurram Sher Zaman branded the MQM-P “traitors”, possibly referring to their severing of ties with the PTI at a crucial time that cost them their government. PTI leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi termed the MQM-P a party that “destroyed the city” and predicted that its seats would be reduced to “zero” in the next elections. MPA Shahzad Qureshi said that the stage — set up in the shadow of the Quaid’s mausoleum — “has been built using 100 containers”, adding that “we have never seen such a huge stage for any rally in Karachi.” A day ago, Khan requested his supporters to carry the Pakistani flag to tonight’s gathering, adding that the “fight now was for the country’s sovereignty and real democracy”. PTI leader Imran Ismail claimed the power show would be the “biggest in Pakistan’s history” and said Khan was expected to speak by 9pm. PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said it didn’t matter whether the PTI was censored, banned or its coverage blocked, the people would still come out for an independent and sovereign Pakistan. Meanwhile, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry claimed the “entire country” would come out to
Afghan media blames Pakistan for carrying out airstrike killing 30 TTP terrorists in Afghanistan islamabaD: At least 30 people were killed in a Pakistan Army airstrike in Kunar and Khust provinces of Afghanistan, TOLO news reported on Saturday. Afghan Taliban haven’t yet responded. A tweet citing sources indicated there have been at least three air strikes inside Afghan territory in Khost and Kunar, targeting hideouts of the Dera Ismail Khan chapter and Hafiz Gul Bahadur group of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Both were held responsible for carrying out attacks in D.I. Khan division and North Waziristan. There has been no official confirmation of the incident from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). staff report
Hamza elected CM Punjab amid ruckus in PA cOntInuED fROM pAgE 01 The PTI lawmakers warned that they would not let Mazari chair the PA session and would resort to strong protests if the deputy speaker tried to preside over the session. ElaHi blamEs PolicE: After the scuffle that left the acting speaker reportedly injured, elahi met members of local and international media at his chamber in the Punjab Assembly to clear his stance on the issue. He blamed the scuffle on the police force accompanying Mazari for creating a ruckus in the house by allegedly assaulting the members of the government. The women lawmakers went to the dais of Mazari to “convince” him but they were assaulted by the police force deployed with the acting speaker, elahi claimed. elahi also claimed that he was injured in an alleged attack on him by PML-N lawmakers. He further said the PML-Q and PTI did not accept Mazari as the acting speaker despite the court orders. The Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision to appoint Mazari as the acting speaker “usurped my powers”, the PA speaker said as he expressed reservations over the decision. elahi said the house will also bring a privilege motion — that carries a
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maximum sentence of three months — against the Punjab Police chief over the alleged assault on the women MPAs by the police officials. mazari vows transParEncy: Hours ahead of the election for the Punjab chief minister post, Mazari had assured that the election for the CM post will be held at all costs and no one would be allowed to derail the voting. “I am a man who does not take the pressure,” said Mazari, adding, “The election will be held today and the meaning of today is today.” In a response to comments made by PML-Q’s Pervaiz elahi, the acting speaker said he did not want to go into the details but he had taken an oath to ensure a fair election and he would stand by it. “Those who wanted to disturb the process will not be allowed to derail the process at any cost,” Mazari added. “If I am biased then why did I invite the media and international observers to monitor the voting for the CM election,” Mazari asked. earlier, elahi, who is contesting the CM election against PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz, expressed apprehensions over the fairness of the CM election. “The circumstances surrounding the election do not look good,” said elahi, adding that the day will prove how unfair Mazari would turn out to be. Meanwhile, ex-chief minister Usman
Buzdar said the PTI will win the election for the CMship. ‘rEmovE jammErs’: In a statement, PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the jammers have been installed in the press gallery of the Punjab Assembly to stop the media from reporting on the CM election. She demanded immediate removal of these jammers, saying such petty tricks should be put an end to. Marriyum said the purpose of putting up these jammers was to conceal “whatever they intended to do” in the Punjab Assembly. She said during the previous session to elect the CM, the media was barred from the assembly and this time as well, the jammers were being installed to prevent media from reporting on the election. The PML-N leader said just like the PTI government was sent packing from the National Assembly, the Punjab government will be sent home as well. mPas arrivE at Pa: The lawmakers belonging to the PML-N and the dissident MPAs of the PTI have arrived at the Punjab Assembly in buses led by PML-N Punjab President Hamza Shehbaz. PML-N leader Ata Tarrar claimed that the PML-N had the support of 198 lawmakers, including Kh Salman Rafique whose production order is yet to be issued. It seems the session will not be a quiet
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one as some PTI lawmakers arriving at the PA to attend the session to elect the CM could be seen holding placards as well. cm ElEction: The Punjab Assembly is all set to conduct the provincial chief minister’s election today after the Lahore High Court (LHC) dismissed an intra-court appeal of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid leader Chaudhry Pervaiz elahi, seeking a member of the panel of chairpersons to preside over the election instead of Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari. A division bench, headed by Justice Shujaat Ali Khan and comprising Justice Jawad Hassan, upheld LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti’s order allowing Mazari to conduct the election for the chief minister scheduled today. It was the second time that Punjab Assembly Speaker elahi and the assembly secretariat lost a legal battle against Deputy Speaker Mazari. earlier, Chief Justice Bhatti had ordered Mazari to preside over the session for the CM’s election under sub-article (3) of Article 130 of the Constitution. The order was passed on Mazari’s petition against Speaker elahi, who according to him, had withdrawn his powers as an acting speaker. As CJ Bhatti’s order came, Speaker elahi and the assembly secretariat challenged the decision. This time, the LHC division bench heard the matter in detail.
protest and every city would present scenes similar to Karachi — the “heart” of the campaign. “The ones to black out this movement will themselves get blacked out,” he said. On Wednesday, Chaudhry along with PTI leader Hammad Azhar had called for protests across the country every Saturday to “reclaim the freedom lost to the United States of America”. The Karachi police made detailed security arrangements and as admitted by the PTI leadership, the party extended every possible help for the security. However, the party itself has a pool of over a thousand volunteers for all arrangements, including security, seating and movement of shuttle service from the designated points to bring families to Baghi-Jinnah. “We have devised a plan. For families, we have asked to take a route that would lead them to Society traffic intersection from where they can enter Baghi-Jinnah through Shahrah-i-Quaideen,” Shahzad Qureshi said. “Those coming from Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar or through University Road can park their vehicles at the VIP gate of Mazar-i-Quaid. “Similarly, parking arrangements have been made at Nishtar Park, KGA Ground and China Ground from where a shuttle service would bring the families to the venue.” The PTI rally is being held less than a week after a storm of people thronged the Millennium Mall traffic intersection from all over the city on the call of the PTI chairman for agitation against his removal from the government via a no-confidence vote. even PTI critics and political pundits had no doubt that the PTI through its Saturday rally was going to “prove its Karachi power again”. The party claimed that the show had already begun and it would not be a “less than a million people crowd” which would roar with its leader at Bagh-i-Jinnah against the “selected government”.
Sunday, 17 April, 2022
06 COMMENT
Judicial overreach
Verdict from Punjab Need to take opposition along
The separation of powers must be maintained
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T was a sad day for democracy as the PTI-PML(Q) ruling alliance blatantly resorted to force in Punjab Assembly to stop the elections for the slot of the Chief Minister. They turned the house into a battlefield. Control over Punjab had become crucial for Imran Khan as his relations with the establishment soured. In a bid to retain control over the province Khan sacrificed Buzdar to accommodate Ch Pervez elahi. Winning the support of the majority in Punjab Assembly became a dire necessity for elahi as on this depended his political career. After the fall of Imran Khan’s government at the center, it became increasingly difficult to win over the dissidents that now also included the Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Assembly. Being short of numbers elahi tried to postpone elections. After two turbulent weeks and legal wrangling, LHC ordered the Chief Minister’s elections to be held on April 16 under Deputy Speaker Dost Mohamad Mazari. The PTI-PML(Q) alliance found there was no other way to stop the elections which they were bound to lose except through resort to violence. It was a pre-planned attempt to disturb the proceedings ordered by the LHC. The alliance’s women legislators brought ‘lotas’ which they hurled at the Deputy Speaker and then put some on his dais. Mazari was mobbed, slapped, beaten and pulled by the hairs as he came to conduct the elections. He had to be escorted to the security of his chamber. It took hours before Mazari could restart the proceedings duly guarded by plainclothesmen from his official box. As the voting started, there was another bout of scuffles initiated by the ruling alliance which led to Pervaiz elahi also getting injured. This was used as an excuse by the ruling alliance to boycott the elections which had to be conducted on Saturday as ordered by LHC. Hamza Shahbaz has been declared elected with 197 votes. Deputy Speaker Mazari said he had forgiven the opponents. One hopes the new government would encourage those who boycotted the voting to return to the Assembly to perform their duties on the opposition benches. A government cannot be run successfully in the absence of a watchful opposition.
mian Rauf
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He judiciary though independent, is an equal co-ordinate branch of the government and is charged with the duty and power to interpret, construe and apply the Constitution and law, but in exercise of this power, the judiciary claims no supremacy over other organs of the government, suchas the legislature, but acts only as an administrator of the public will. Judicial encroachment or overreach is when the judiciary starts interfering with the proper functioning of the legislative or executive organs of the government. The Supreme Court’s verdict in Suo Moto Case No.1 of 2022 has come under some scathing criticism in a section of political circles. The short order in that case has declared the ruling of the Deputy Speaker on the no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan as unconstitutional and of no legal effect. Many constitutional lawyers see the order of the August Court as running counter to the principle of trichotomy of powers and sovereignty of Parliament as contained in the Constitution of Pakistan. The last paragraph of order which read as “Any order of the Prime Minister and the President shall be subject to the order of this Court” finds no constitutional legitimacy and it amounts to constitutional impropriety. Our codified constitutional texts spell out the powers of the legislature, executive and judiciary explicitly. When the judiciary encroaches upon the other branches of the government and assumes the
Dirty politics Targeting politicians’ wives and children should be a no-go area
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Two cheers for democracy
AKISTAN is facing a political crisis of proportions perhaps never witnessed before in its history. Political rivalries have reached a point where there is literally no space for compromise through dialogue. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, apart from when it suits him and his party, has always given preference to a confrontational style of politics rather than conventional parliamentary democracy. As a result of consistently and unapologetically expressing a personal level of disdain for the former opposition, he has created a severely polarized society and this reality has expectedly started to hit home. A protest outside former PM Imran Khan’s ex-wife’s London home targeting her children has been arranged by the PML-N for today. That her residential address has been mentioned on online advertisements is highly condemnable and dangerous. Not only has she remained relatively apolitical since her divorce from Imran Khan, she has managed to successfully shield her children from the worst of what their father’s political life would surely bring upon them. This is also perhaps why neither of the sons is on social media. Similar protests and demonstrations that have at times led to violent fights have been witnessed outside the residence of Mian Nawaz Sharif’s London residence over the years, arranged and led by PTI’s UK chapter. PML-N leader Abid Sher Ali, who is arranging the protest for today and has been in self-exile in London for over two years, was the target of obscene abuse by a PTI worker at a restaurant last year where the former was present with his family. There will be no letup in incidents of ugly, abusive and at times violent demonstrations of hate against political rivals at their personal residences unless both sides agree to draw some lines that are not meant to be crossed. Unfortunately, such a peaceful, logical and mature outcome is very unlikely as politics in Pakistan has, over the past 5-odd years, boiled down to which side can go lower, leading to families and children being dragged into the mix. It is a reprehensible reality that whichever side blinks first, calling off its protests and social media trolls, will be the loser. This is the new reality of discourse in the country where civility and basic decency has no place.
The Speaker and Deputy Speaker were not impartial
Zaeem mumtaZ Bhatti
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speaker in a parliamentary system of governance is one of the most significant figures. No doubt before being elected as a speaker, a member of an assembly has certain political views and enjoys his affiliation to one political party or another. Nevertheless, it is thought that the moment a speaker takes oath of office, he is to abide by the Constitution and parliamentary rules and his political affiliation will not stand in the way. Rising above all partiality and partisanship, he is to play his role as a bridge. He is to set his interests aside, leave his political connections behind and be an unprejudiced presiding officer. A difficult job, indeed. Naturally, human beings tend to have preconceived notions and prejudices, and their judgments are clouded by them. Impartiality is not to be carried out, but it is seen to be done by the speaker's conduct. Without it, a speaker can't do justice between the Treasury and Opposition benches. A speaker reduces himself to a mere mouthpiece of a party if he plays a partisan hand. Democracy dies in darkness when it's foundational pillar, the parliament, is held hostage by a speaker. The speaker's role is to preside and supervise and not to impose his will over that of the people, who elect their representatives in the Assembly. Deep down a speaker may be a democracy-loving person or an anti-democratic one. That's where the Constitution, read with parliamentary rules and procedure, comes in to circumscribe his powers and authority in certain matters. It goes without saying that parliamen-
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Supreme Court of Pakistan has upheld the principle of parliamentary privilege in its number of judgments, but the present case is a deviation from its earlier rulings. Whenever the Supreme Court drags itself in political matters and decides political questions where function of judicial legislation or judicial policymak- there are no judicially discoverable and manageable ing, it ruptures the fine line of separation of power standards for resolving them, it shakes the public trust and weakens the public trust reposed in the judiciary. reposed in judicial institutions. Therefore, certain alNot to speak of the ruling of the Speaker and its con- legations of unconstitutional government conduct stitutionality, the Supreme Court’s interference with should not be ruled on by the courts and should be left the proceedings of the Parliament is not only unwar- to the politically accountable branches of the governranted by the Constitution but also violates the prin- ment, the executive and Parliament. The constituciple of parliamentary privilege. Under which tional propriety demands that some matters are to be provision of the Constitution the August Court binds resolved in the political process. The encroachment the Speaker National Assembly to summon and hold on the executive’s and Parliament’s domains by the a sitting of the Assembly on a day specified by it and judiciary lower the image of the judiciary in public. On this basis, Justice Frankfurter, of the US not to prorogue the assembly unless the resolution on vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister Supreme Court, argued that the court should not have is disposed of? Giving a timetable for how the Na- decided whether malapportionment violates the Contional Assembly session should proceed and dictat- stitution, and the federal courts should not review iming the speaker to act in a particular manner peachment proceedings conducted by Congress amounted to interfering in the affairs of the Lower because any ruling would jeopardize the court's credibility and prestige. The House and violating the ConSupreme Court of Pakistan stitution. has held that any question In the 1973 Constitution being a political question there are some ouster It is advisable for the would not deter the court clauses. An ouster clause is a from determining it on the judges of the apex provision in a parliamentary touchstone of the Constitustatute which excludes cerjudiciary that they should tion, but while construing a tain actions and decisions constitutional provision, the from judicial review in the not adjudicate upon the approach of the court should interests of the smooth admatter involving a political be dynamic, progressive and ministration of justice. Artiit should not violate the doccle 69 of the Constitution of question and let it be trine of separation of powers. Pakistan deserves a special Justice Mansoor Ali resolved through a mention here which reads as Shah, one of the leading Jus“the validity of any proceedpolitical process tices of the Supreme Court of ings in the Parliament shall Pakistan, has ruled in The not be called in question on Mall Road Traders Associathe ground of any irregularity tion case that when judges of procedure”. Recently, in the case of Yousaf Raza Gillani vs commit "judicial overreach" they violate their oath. Federation of Pakistan, Islamabad High Court dis- He further states that judicial overreach is transgresmissed a petition by the former Prime minister chal- sive as it transforms the judicial role of adjudication lenging the results of the Senate Chairman election. and interpretation of law into that of judicial legislaIt ruled that the proceedings of the Parliament are tion or judicial policy making, thus encroaching upon immune from the interference of the high court and the other branches of the Government. Therefore, it CHief Justice Athar Minallah wrote further that the is advisable for the judges of the apex judiciary that language used by the framers of the Constitution they should not adjudicate upon the matter involving was unambiguous and effective in order to prevent a political question and let it be resolved through a a court from encroaching upon the independence of political process. the Parliament. Any attempt to interfere in parliaThe writer is a columnist and legal practitioner. mentary proceedings would undermine the dignity, prestige and independence of Parliament. The He holds an LLM from Punjab University.
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tary rules and procedures developed over the centuries and have now ripened into law. The former Deputy Speaker, Qasim Suri as well as the Speaker, Asad Qaiser acted as if they were mere puppets in the hands of their political master, who was all along pulling the strings from behind the scenes to achieve certain political goals. It was entirely unbecoming of them to stoop so low so as to prove their loyalties to Imran Khan. Under the parliamentary norms, they were not in any circumstances accountable to him. Nor were they subservient to him. He might be the head of the political party they were connected to, but they couldn't trifle with the constitution and parliamentary rules at any cost. In paying obeisance to Imran Khan's dictates, they made a mockery of their roles as presiding officers. Under the aegis of Asad Qaiser, deliberate filibustering and dilatory tactics were brought into play for the whole day in the National Assembly to keep Imran Khan out of troubled waters. There was a method in his madness. Pakistan's democracy was hanging by a thread. Pakistanis were glued to their TVs and mobiles screens to await the denouement of the political soap opera that partook of suspense and surprise. Asad Qaiser was visibly tormented and under tremendous pressure when he came for the last time to chair the National Assembly. In his frustration, he hurled abuses at a journalist, who asked him a question. Not to become a contemner who flagrantly disrespected the Supreme Court's order, and not to attract Article 6 of the Constitution, he offered his sacrifice as a scapegoat. He tendered his resignation just 15 minutes before the hands of the clock were to meet at 12 a.m. Perplexingly, upon taking on the mantle of the acting speaker, Ayaz Sadiq sang praises of him, instead of coming down hard on him for throwing a monkey wrench in the whole proceedings just to curry favour with Imran Khan.
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When confronted about his ruling that kicked the hornets' nest and its being struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, Qasim Suri didn't show any signs of remorse and continued defending the indefensible. Deplorably, on the day of voting for the new Prime Minister, Qasim Suri made an impassioned speech, giving vent to his grievance. His voice was shaking with emotions. He was brandishing the same letter that created a political earthquake in Pakistan to justify not going ahead with a no-confidence motion. His rage knew no bounds. He thundered. To him, his leader was above all board and accountability. Getting off the chair, he asked Ayaz Sadiq to come and assume the role of the speaker. Those leaders who encourage blind following in their ranks lead their followers to believe in extraordinary things. The diehard followers find themselves in such a frame of mind that they couldn't tell right from wrong and distinguish between falsehoods, half-truths, and truth. To them, their leader is infallible, who couldn't come up with a conspiracy theory to justify his hold on to power. In other words, with their eyes shut, the followers believe, without questioning the rationality underlying the decisions made by their leader. When they climb up the ladder to reach the upper echelons of their party to occupy offices of crucial significance, they are ready to go to any extent to hold allegiance to their party leader. Whatever might be the commitment of Asad Qaiser and Qasim Suri to Imran Khan, the fact remains that they brazenly transgressed upon their authority, thereby violating their oath to the Constitution. Posterity will not forgive them. Their controversial roles in letting the country slide down the hill will be judged by historians. While Molvi Tamuzeedin is remembered for his commitment to democracy, parliamentary sovereignty and supremacy of the Constitution, Qasim Suri and Asad Qaiser's names will be associated with those who make no bones about trampling upon the Constitution to be in their political masters' good books.
Whatever might be the commitment of Asad Qaiser and Qasim Suri to Imran Khan, the fact remains that they brazenly transgressed upon their authority, thereby violating their oath to the Constitution. Posterity will not forgive them. Their controversial roles in letting the country slide down the hill will be judged by historians
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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk
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The writer is a practising lawyer based in Lahore. He tweets @zaeem8825. He can be contacted at zaeem.bhatti89@gmail.com
Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk
Sunday, 17 April, 2022
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
Language centres
“Regime Change” or “Change of Regime”? A dangerous line to take
ShaZia anweR Cheema
S
OMeTIMeS a lull is important for a writer when everybody is following hashtags and trends and nothing serious can get the reader’s attention. What is going on in Pakistan is very interesting but not so significant for the european population. Yes, for diplomatic circles of european capitals like Prague, news of a “change of regime” in Islamabad got a little attention but nobody talks about “regime change” which is the buzzword in South Asia nowadays. There is a huge difference between “regime change” and “change of regime” but unfortunately every change of regime in Pakistan is taken as “regime change”. As a student of communication, I follow the diction that is being used before, during, and after regime changes and change of regimes and always get interesting results. What is going on in Pakistan can surely be a subject for academic theses but I refrain from indulging in it because the scene is still under theatrical smoke. However, I desire to see how the phrase “regime change” became popular in Pakistan during the last month. Pakistan People’s Party and its leader, the late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, raised the issue of “regime change” in 1977, blaming the USA for ousting Bhutto. There is a popular theory that regimes were changed in Pakistan around two years before any major change took place in the region. The 1969 Yahya Khan Martial Law was followed by Fall of Dhaka, the 1977 Martial Law was followed by the Afghan War, and the 1999 Martial Law was followed by 9/11. This is just a conspiracy theory, therefore, no need to go into details. After Bhutto, nobody used the diction of regime change except former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was thrice removed but he had no idea he could be a victim of regime change. Benazir Bhutto also avoided uttering this phrase although a vote of No-Confidence also came against her that she survived, but then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan sacked her government and sent her home. There is no doubt thoughtless US-sponsored regime changes provide ample opportunities for politicians of the developing world to claim they are victims of regime changes. Now former PM Khan is educating Pakistanis about what is regime change and how it happened with his change of regime. He is collecting funds for fighting against his regime change and would
continue evening classes at public meetings to tell the history and formulas of regime change. He is indicating that everybody, literally everybody, was involved in his regime change. He is a good crowd puller and represents a social media user class that is over 60 million in Pakistan so he can be lethal for those who, according to him, conspired against him. He is also popular among families of the civil and military bureaucracy because he is the only politician in the history of Pakistan who categorically makes fun of politicians, Parliament, and the Constitution, all three words that are extremely unpopular, rather get a hateful response, from these classes. Therefore, Khan is the hero of these classes who believe he would provide them a system where there would be no politicians, Parliament, or 1973 Constitution. PTI circles indicate that Khan had planned to go for a referendum after budget session 2022 asking people to replace the parliamentary system and constitution with a presidential form of government, but he was voted out before he could announce this. Anyhow one should accept the reality that he is a populist leader and populists are very daring when they decide to spread anarchy. Honestly, he has every right to do whatever he wishes to along with his followers but my only concern is he should forgive Pakistan’s foreign relations. Unluckily, his entire paradigm is based on Pakistan’s foreign relations and he would go to every extent to get his results, forgetting the possible damage Pakistan can face. As a Pakistani living abroad, I was wretched to see videos in which PTI followers were burning Pakistani passports. Pakistani passports are our recognition and our identity. If they think that the USA and eU had hatched a conspiracy against their leader, then they should have left foreign countries and should go to Pakistan to join protests instead of defaming their country abroad. I believe that the Pakistani missions abroad must not provide new passports to these people who made a mockery of their country abroad. It looks heroic to stand against the West and the USA, and the most popular slogan in the political history of Pakistan had been “Amrika ka jo Yaar hai— Ghadaar Hai Ghadaar Hai” (whosoever is a friend of America is a traitor).
So Imran Khan has also the right to use this slogan but one should remember the economic conditions we have been going through due to the economic meltdown during the last three years. I am not saying IK is responsible for this meltdown but the meltdown took place during that period. Our payments are due to China and Saudi Arabia and debt servicing is touching historic highs. IMF support release is also at a halt and the government is selling fuel cheaper than it buys and that is an extra burden. Financial experts believe that Pakistan needs a minimum of $10 billion to avoid economic collapse. Imran Khan was voted out by the National Assembly after creating huge problems with the eU and the USA. Together they are buyers of 85 percent of Pakistani goods indirectly or directly. Our exports are linked with europe and North America. Damage is already done and now Pakistan will have to work extra hard to reclaim a good relationship with the eU and America. My contacts in diplomatic circles believe that the “regime change” narrative of Imran Khan would not stop in the near future and any attack on US interests in Pakistan by followers of Khan cannot be ruled out and if it would happen, then things would become more grave. We will see what happens but I believe that the new government in Pakistan must look at different options to enhance its trade with other countries and Pakistan will have to balance within the Middle east. Countries like UAe, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are getting closer and this is a big opportunity for Pakistan. One suggestion for the new government is that, instead of trying to behave as the leader of the Muslim world, should work with resourceful Muslim countries in the Middle east. Pakistan has to revamp, review and revisit its economy and foreign policy after tremendous damage done by Khan who is running his political campaign based on hatred against the West.
Countries like UAE, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are getting closer and this is a big opportunity for Pakistan. One suggestion for the new government is that, instead of trying to behave as the leader of the Muslim world, should work with resourceful Muslim countries in the Middle East. Pakistan has to revamp, review and revisit its economy and foreign policy after tremendous damage done by Khan who is running his political campaign based on hatred against the West
Writer Shazia Anwer Cheema is a Prague-based author, columnist, and foreign affairs expert who writes for national and international media. She is a doctoral student and researcher in semiotics and philosophy of communication at Charles University in Prague. She can be reached at her: Twitter @ShaziaAnwerCh Email: shaziaanwer@yahoo.com
TURBAT, a city in the Kech district is the epicentre for learning the english language in the district. Turbat city has lots of productive english language institutes. These institutes have levelled up an impacting interest of students in english. Indirectly, the skill of english in students is flourishing in their educational careers. In the system of Pakistan, english has a huge significance. All of the academic subjects except Urdu are taught in the english language in schools, colleges and universities. The examination system is almost in written in any institute. As a reason, students with proficient english can perform better than others. If there is a doubt over this point of anybody, he can observe and examine. There are lots of other factors which are simultaneous, solved after learning english in one’s educational life. Certain other engrossing factors are interlinked with the english language, it is a great help for students who appear in competitive examinations. Another, praiseworthy trend which is writing letters, articles, stories, blogs etc to the newspaper is maintained by the language centres. This act has ameliorated the writing skills of numerous students. To mention the current achievement of Kech district, stating that the immense contribution of english language institutes in the city is a cause for Kech district being on the top of the list in terms of literacy rate in Balochistan, will not wrong. Factually, schools have a great and appreciable part in this achievement but keeping the language institutes aside and stating it may be part one side of the coin. I hope the struggle of the institutes sustain with the same zeal and be producing competitive output. JAHANGIR JAMEEL BALOCHISTAN
Another Prime Minister gone AFTeR a tumultuous period of about three weeks, the “No Confidence Motion” in the National Assembly against Prime Minister Imran Khan has succeeded by 174 votes. Goodbye, Premier Imran Khan. I would have liked you to have completed your stipulated five-year term in office; unfortunately, however, your adamant nature turned out to be the biggest stumbling block towards this accolade. I pray that our next leader, Shahbaz Sharif, may prove to be a better leader, who will work very hard to heal this bitterly divided nation and restore the wounded pride of the Pakistani people. ABBAS R. SIDDIQI LAHORE
Unstable politics in Pakistan AS we celebrate March 23, it is time to ponder and reflect. What happened on 18 March, when about three scores of hooligans led by two parliamentarians, attacked Sindh House in Islamabad, was waiting to happen, given the narcissism and blindness of those at the helm. A country created through a political struggle, had its political process strangulated, instead of evolving a democratic system suitable for a sovereign independent country to function and deliver to citizens the fruits of a modern democratic welfare state that Quaid had envisioned. Any system of governance, be it a free-market democracy or socialism must cater to the welfare of the most deprived sections of society, otherwise, it cannot function and be acceptable to citizens of that country. When the Rule of Law is replaced by abuse of power, then chaos and anarchy daunt such a state. Whatever the system of governance, it is the moral and constitutional responsibility of the State to provide subsidized education, health, public transportation, clean drinking water, security of life etc. Unfortunately, what we have in Pakistan is neither democracy in its true essence, nor socialism, but a system that is a remnant of the British Raj. Political intrigues and gerrymandering by men, neither trained nor capable to understand the dynamics of political science, have brought disorder and eroded ethics so vital for any political system to function and deliver. MALIK TARIQ ALI LAHORE
Technology conundrum We as active people on social media must know how crimes can be done on cellphones or online ways. Undoubtedly, Technology is everywhere on this globe. However, it has even taken us back instead of taking us forward. Nowadays, people don’t help as they record on cameras. It has created laziness among youngsters. It became an additional tool that is used the most. People would rather use their mobiles instead of reading and discussing. On the other hand, it has taken us back from the stone age. Nowadays, using cell phones and access to computers and many others have made people indulge in crime. It is alarming. In many cases, technical is used for interconnecting people together. However, few fake links about free laptops and scholarships are being sent to the public on social media. If one clicks such links, they reach a fake website. Simple and uneducated citizens share their personal information which leads unaware masses to blameful procedures. Recently, I cleared my matriculation so I was planning to attend computer classes. I was in search of a laptop. My friend showed me a link of a free laptop scheme. I just clicked and shared my all information in order to get a laptop but I have not received any laptop yet. The government needs to show efforts to stop it otherwise it will become a great threat. Federal investigation Agency (FIA) should immediately ban such links and share awareness among the public for knowing right or wrong. Additionally, citizens need to escape registering and forwarding such links on social media before clicking one must prove whether it is fake or fact. A. BALOCH BALOCHISTAN
Sunday, 17 April, 2022
08 WORLD VIEW
AmerICA should lAugh WIth sAudI ArAbIA, not sCoWl IT SHOWS HOW THIN SKINNED AMERICAN MEDIA IS, NOTWITHSTANDING HOW THAT MEDIA HAS TREATED OUR LEADERSHIP, OUR PEOPLE AND OUR FAITH. THE PORTRAYAL OF ARABS AND MUSLIMS IN COMEDY, DRAMA, ADVENTURE AND FANTASY FICTION GOES BEYOND INSULTS AND DENIGRATION
ARAB News
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prinCe TUrki al-Faisal
E learned many lessons during the COVID-19 pandemic, the most important of which is that life is precious and every second of it should be prized and not wasted on idleness. We also learned that humanity’s fragility should not be assumed — that as human beings we can survive adversity and marshal our ingenuity to combat the threats that challenge us. The Kingdom’s leadership did just that during the pandemic, so now we can afford to say, with pride and pleasure, that we are in the post-corona era. It was a collective effort by the leadership, government officials, medical staff, academics, the business community, police officers, and — most important — the citizens who disciplined themselves to follow the medical advice given to them and stick to it. Kudos to each one. While many challenges face us in the post-corona
era, I am amused by the brouhaha in the US media about a Saudi TV comedy sketch that took the mickey out of President Joe Biden. Commentators and pundits have taken umbrage, saying it was insulting, that it showed the Kingdom was not a friend of the US, that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was getting back at Biden for the president’s refusal to meet him and his release of the CIA document about the Khashoggi killing, that it was an insult to the American people, and so on; truly an amazing reaction. It shows how thin skinned American media is, notwithstanding how that media has treated our leadership, our people and our faith. The portrayal of Arabs and Muslims in comedy, drama, adventure and fantasy fiction goes beyond insults and denigration. The caricatures are reminiscent of how Jews are shown in antisemitic material. An Arab-Muslim character usually elicits derision and disgust, with an evil sneer on his face, a dagger around his waist, an unkempt white robe, a straggly beard and piercing eyes with a dark shadow around them. There’s usually a spouting oil well near him, harem girls at his feet, and a camel or two behind him. I remember an episode of a popular American TV series a few years back in which a female US secretary of state browbeats the presumed Saudi foreign minister into accepting her position on a Saudi infringement of human rights; the “Saudi minister” was just such a caricature, like all the Hollywood films from the 1920s until today. Derogatory references to the Kingdom and its leadership on US
comedy shows are countless, from Saturday Night Live to comedians such as Stephen Colbert. As for the issue of oil production, many US commentators have alleged that the refusal of the Kingdom to expand production clearly indicates that we are using that as a leverage against the US at a time when Biden is in a bind about inflation. These commentators omit to mention that it is the war in Ukraine, Western sanctions on Russia, and Biden’s own energy policy that have contributed to the rise in oil prices. Other recent American comments about the Kingdom and our crown prince by so-called experts and even politicians have been deliberately negative. One such luminary likened the crown prince to Icarus, the character in Greek mythology who perished after flying too close to the sun with wings of feathers and wax. If only this “expert” had taken a dispassionate look at what the crown prince actually said and did, he would not have chosen such a misleading analogy. Equally, the authors of an Atlantic magazine essay on the crown prince misrepresented what he said. Fortunately, the publication of the full transcript of the interview set the record straight. American politicians of all political persuasions shoot arrows at the Kingdom to criticize and demean, even to the extent of calling for a carrot and stick approach to dealing with Saudi Arabia. I tell them that we are not schoolchildren who accept such chastisement or reward. Our friendship with the US stems from our shared interest in finding peace in the Mid-
Sanctions on Russia are screwing up the world ECONOMIC WARFARE IS HITTING THE POOREST THE HARDEST, WITH THE WORST PRICES SPIKE IN DECADES
RT
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Bradley Blankenship
PI data around the world and political crises just this week show how the economic war against Russia is harming the poorest and destabilizing the world. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for March, which is a key inflation metric, showed that year-on-year inflation rose by 8.5%, meaning that, on average, people are paying 8.5% more for the same things than last year. This is the highest spike in prices since December 1981. What’s more, the most impacted commodities are necessities, e.g., things like food, shelter and fuel, while less essential things saw less of a rise. This inevitably means that the poor are most impacted by rising inflation since they put most of their budget toward necessities, according to an analysis by the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. Poorer countries are also extraordinarily impacted by inflation for these same reasons, so much so that it’s causing widespread political instability. The past week alone has seen inflation-induced riots in Peru and the ouster of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, which was influenced by inflation even if the US might have had a hand in that situation. Why is this happening? The mainstream narrative goes that there is pent-up demand from when people were sheltering in place due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic or that the measly stimulus checks issued in 2020 are still causing a surge in demand. But I think the more important point is that the supply side of the economy – not the demand – has been seriously impacted. First, is the pandemic. Covid-19 waves have at various points knocked out entire sectors of the economy since so many people were sick all at once. This is why the US updated its quarantine guidelines during the December Omicron wave because it would have knocked out entire hospital systems at once, and why China, with its lack (until now) of outbreaks, saw a 0.9% CPI rise in the full year of 2021. Second, climate change is a major and probably overlooked factor. I consider myself a serial pessimist, which is why I found a November 2021 piece by London-based consultant Umair Haque so insightful. As he rightly pointed out, everything we produce and
consume comes from nature. There is not one industry on the planet that will not be directly affected by climate change – and many sectors, like semiconductors, lumber, basic food items and much more, were hit by climate events that hurt production last year. While I do not share his entire thesis in this piece, as he argues that our entire global system of consumption is at an end, this is an important point to note. Finally, the major elephant in the room is global conflict – and especially the new battleground of economic warfare. The Russian incursion into Ukraine has hampered global food supplies, causing prices to rise since both countries are indispensable agricultural exporters. But sanctions against Russia, a major fossil fuel exporter and the largest exporter of fertilizer in the world, have been huge inflationary pressures yet to be fully understood but are already impacting the supply-side. The White House has tried to get on top of the narrative by dubbing inflation “Putin’s price hike.” In reality, it was the US and its allies that chose to engage in economic warfare against Russia by imposing unilateral sanctions. Nothing dictated that these policies go into effect – and the Russian ruble’s rebound in recent days proves that these policies don’t even work, to cite myself here. Furthermore, price hikes were already in effect on things like fertilizers before the inflation. The US had already imposed tariffs on US imports of phosphate fertilizers from places like Russia and Morocco, which were major inflationary pressures. As well, as the Wall Street Journal noted in January, another point of inflationary pressure was the US sanctions on Belarus – which controls about 20% of the global potash market, a major ingredient for fertilizer. With the hot war in Ukraine and the US attempt to wholly isolate Russia from global markets in full effect, these pressures will get worse – and it will impact the poorest people in America and around the world. As noted before, this is already causing economic hardship and political turmoil, which the likes of CNN can even note, albeit with different wording, in the context of Peru and its dismal 9.54% March CPI. We can take whatever moral stance we like on Ukraine, but it does not change the fact that attempts to isolate Russia economically are already harming the poorest to the point of triggering street riots. This may be an example of “unintended consequences,” however, the wealthy are not only insulated from inflation but the ultra-wealthy are profiting from it. Perhaps not so unintended. B radley Blankenship is anAmerican journalist, columnist and political commentator. He has a syndicatedcolumnatCGTNandisafreelancereporter for international news agencies including Xinhua NewsAgency.
dle East, combating terrorism, and challenging Iran’s aggression and its declared animosity to both of us. This is in spite of Biden’s relentless pursuit of a nuclear deal that will not only be temporary in preventing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but will also buttress the perpetual Iranian subversion of Arab countries and the launch of Iranian missiles and armed drones targeting the Kingdom. We also share mutual benefits from the business exchanges and development projects in the Kingdom, ties that have grown over the years and will continue to grow in the years to come. Our shared human relationships stem from the continued presence of an American community in the Kingdom numbering thousands, and the presence of thousands of Saudi students in US universities. All in all, I say to American media and other socalled experts: Laugh at the humor. For so long, we have withstood jibes at us from American media and politicians; it is only fair that you withstand our comedic jibes at you. Let us laugh together, not scowl at each other. PrinceTurkiAl-FaisalwaschiefoftheGeneralIntelligenceDirectorate,SaudiArabia’smainforeignintelligence service, from 1977 to 2001. He was Saudi ambassadortotheUKfrom2002untilJuly2005,and thereafterambassadortotheUSuntil2007.Heisthe founderandtrusteeoftheKingFaisalFoundationand chairmanoftheKingFaisalCenterforResearchandIslamicStudies.
Why people get away with hate speech in India BBC
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sharanya hrishikesh
S it really easy to get away with hate speech in India? A spate of recent incidents in the days leading up to the Hindu festival of Ram Navami on 10 April would suggest so. The festival was marked by incidents of hate speech and even violence in some states. In the southern city of Hyderabad, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker - who was banned by Facebook in 2020 for hate speech - sang a song with lyrics that said anyone who didn't chant Hindu deity Ram's name would be forced to leave India soon. Days before that, a viral video showed a Hindu priest allegedly threatening to kidnap and rape Muslim women in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Police registered a case only after a week when the video of the speech generated outrage - and he was arrested on Wednesday. Around the same time, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati - another Hindu priest who is out on bail in a hate speech case - made another speech in the national capital, Delhi, asking Hindus to take up arms to fight for their existence. The speech - at an event for which the Delhi police said the organisers didn't have permission - violated one of Mr Narsinghanand's bail conditions but no action has been taken against him yet. Hate speech has been a problem in India for decades. In 1990, some mosques in Indian Occupied Kashmir broadcast inflammatory speeches to whip up hate against Hindus, triggering their exodus from the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley. The same year, BJP leader LK Advani spearheaded a movement to construct a temple in the northern town of Ayodhya - leading to Hindu mobs razing the centuries-old Babri mosque and sparking deadly communal riots. But the scale of the problem has accelerated in recent years, with Indians being regularly bombarded with hateful speech and polarising content. With social media and TV channels amplifying remarks and tweets even by minor politicians - many of whom find it the easiest way to make headlines - the hateful rhetoric seems "pervasive" and "non-stop", as political scientist Neelanjan Sircar puts it. "Earlier, hate speech would usually rise in the run-up to elections. But now, with our changed media landscape, politicians have realised that something offensive said in one state could be magnified for direct political benefit in another state immediately," he says. News channel NDTV, which in 2009 started tracking "VIP hate speech" - offensive statements made by major Indian politicians including ministers and lawmakers - reported in January that such comments had risen manifold since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government came to power in 2014. Several BJP leaders - including a federal minister - have been accused of getting away with hate speech. Some opposition politicians, such as parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi and his brother Akbaruddin Owaisi, have also been accused of giving hate speeches. Both deny the accusation and Akbaruddin Owaisi was acquitted in two hate speech cases from 2012 on Wednesday. India has enough laws in place to check hate speech, experts say. "But they require the executive to enforce them. And most of the time, they don't want to act," says Anjana Prakash, a senior advocate
"UNLESS YOU PUNISH A PERSON WHO MAKES INFLAMMATORY SPEECHES, HOW CAN THE LAW ACT AS A DETERRENT?" who had filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking action against some Hindu religious leaders who called for violence against Muslims at a December event in Uttarakhand state. India doesn't have a legal definition for hate speech. But a number of provisions across laws prohibit certain forms of speech, writing and actions as exceptions to free speech. This includes criminalisation of acts that could promote "enmity between different groups on grounds of religion" and "deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs". The issue of hate speech has often come up before India's courts. But the judiciary has mostly been wary of imposing restrictions on free speech. In 2014, while hearing a petition which asked the Supreme Court to issue guidelines to curb hate speeches made by political and religious leaders, the court recognised the adverse impact these could have on people but refused to go beyond the scope of existing laws. "It is desirable to put reasonable prohibition on unwarranted actions but there may arise difficulty in confining the prohibition to some manageable standard," the court said. Instead, it asked the Law Commission - an independent body of legal experts which advises the government - to examine the issue. In its report submitted to the government in 2017, the commission recommended adding separate provisions to the Indian Penal Code to specifically criminalise hate speech. But many legal experts have expressed concern over the proposed amendments. "The benefit of a law to specifically identify or broaden the definition of hate speech may be marginal when what would qualify as hate speech is already criminalised," says Aditya Verma, a Supreme Court lawyer. The bigger concern, he says, is institutional autonomy. He cites the example of the UK, where police have fined top government officials including Prime Minister Boris Johnson - for attending parties that broke Covid rules. In India, however, it is not unusual for state institutions such as the police to be reluctant to do their duty because of political pressure. "There may be legal grey areas, but what is more important here is the black-letter law that is not being implemented," Mr Verma says. This "dereliction of duty", as Ms Prakash describes it, has serious consequences. "Unless you punish a person who makes inflammatory speeches, how can the law act as a deterrent?" she asks. There is also a larger, more painful cost to be paid when hateful rhetoric is normalised. "When the environment becomes that unpleasant, people start getting so intimidated and scared that they think twice before engaging even in normal social and economic activities," Mr Sircar says. "That is the real cost here."
Sunday, 17 April, 2022 | LAHORE
NEWS
corporate corner itP constitutes special squads to check noise pollution ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) has constituted special squads to check noise pollution which would be authorized to take action against installation of pressure horn in vehicles and impose heavy fines on those using them. According to the police spokesman, Senior Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Mazhar Iqbal has constituted special Enforcement squads to make the capital noise-free. During the ongoing year, pressure horns from several vehicles/bikes were removed by the police teams and fine tickets were issued to their drivers. The SSP (Traffic) said that ITP had launched a campaign as the noise pollution affects the nerves and injurious to human health, therefore, strict action would be taken against those installing pressure horns. Special squads of ITP has been constituted to conduct regular checking and fining vehicles involved in creating noise pollution or other environmental pollution in the city. The purpose of this whole practice was to end noise pollution in the city, the SSP maintained. The SSP appealed the citizens to contact ITP’s helpline 1915 or 051-9261992, 3 to lodge complaints against those using pressure horns. PR
NiCvd now sets up its 24th Chest Pain Unit at shikarpur
Govt tasks ahad ChEEMa to ProbE iNto dELay of MEtro ProjECt islAmAbAD
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shahzad PaRacha
HE Federal government has appointed Ahad Khan Cheema as inquiry officer for ascertaining the reasons for the delay of the Islamabad metro project starting from Peshawar Mor to the Airport. Sources said that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on April 14, 2022, ordered an inquiry into the delay in the launch of the Islamabad metro project subsequently PM Sharif tasked Ahad Cheema to probe the matter. The Establishment Division has recently exonerated Ahad Khan Cheema from the charges/allegations levelled against him in the Charge Sheet/Statement of Allegations. “Consequent upon finalization of the disciplinary proceedings initiated in terms of Rule 9 of the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules,
2020 vide Order of Inquiry of even number dated 24.09.2021. The Secretary Establishment Division, as Authority in terms of Rob 2 (1) (c) of the Rules ibid read with Rob 6 of Civil Servants (Appointment, Promotion and Transfer) Rules, 1973, has been pleased to exonerate Ahad Khan Cheema from the charges/allegations levelled against him in Charge Sheet/Statement of Allegations of even number dated 24.09.2021 in terms of Rule 16 (5) of the Rules ibid”, the document stated. “Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif visited Peshawar Mor Metro bus station at 7:00 am to review the on-ground progress. The project initiated by PML-N in 2017 was planned to be completed in 2018 but delays occurred. The PM has ordered an inquiry into the delays”, he tweeted. It is pertinent to mention here that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) while approving the metro project from
Peshawar Mor to Islamabad airport in 2017, directed the National highway authority to complete the construction work and according to the spokesperson of NHA that the department completed the construction of track within given time in 2019. On the other hand, Sources said that CDA has written three to four letters to project director IMBS for the construction of Infrastructure and allied works for the metro bus service from Peshawar Morr to New Islamabad airport. according to details, CDA requested for the fourth time to ensure completion of the remaining works including the removal of all design and execution defects highlighted to you from time to time adding that the delay in the protection has already caused citizens inconvenience and people including students studying in universities located along the corridor are desperately waiting for the metro bus
Robbers strike at 16 places in Lahore
KARACHI: Provincial Minister of Sindh for Energy, Mr. Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh on Saturday formally inaugurated the 24th Chest Pain Unit (CPU) of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) at RBUT Civil Hospital Shikarpur. Terming NICVD as an example of good governance by the PPP-led Sindh government, Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh said the government of Sindh is serving the masses with establishment of state-of-the-art health facilities. “After establishment of NICVD CPU in Shikarpur, now we are be able to serve the people of the city more efficiently,” he said and added that the NICVD is the flagship programme of the Sindh government, through which top of the line healthcare facilities are being extended to the entire province. Felicitating team NICVD and his entire team, Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh maintained that PPP-led provincial government did not focus only on one city like past governments and established world class health facilities in entire province where people from all over the country and availing free of charge quality treatment. On the occasion, Doctors of NICVD said that if a patient comes to our CPUs, he or she becomes our responsibility. If the patient needs any intervention including angiography or angioplasty, he or she is immediately rushed to the main NICVD. They further said the NICVD’s Chest Pain Unit network had examined over 741,113 patients during the last 6 years, of whom 270,624 were cardiac patients and 16,123 were having heart attacks, whose lives were saved by timely interventions at these chest pain units. The doctors maintained and added that NICVD in collaboration with the Government of Sindh is providing quality healthcare facilities to the nation totally free of cost; which are evident from establishment of Satellite Centers and Chest Pain Units in the province. PR
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lAHORE staff RePoRt
Robbers, burglar and thieves stole, snatched cash, valuables including jewelry, three vehicles and three motorcycles in different localities of Lahore on Saturday. According to details, armed robbers snatched Rs300,000 cash from Zahid and his family in Hanjarwal. Two citizens Ali and Zaheer were deprived of Rs50,000 and Rs90,000 cash by armed robbers in Sundar
and Hanjarwala localities. Two armed robbers barged into shop of Shafique in Sue Asil, took the employees hostage at gun point and took away Rs3,22,000 cash and other valuable items. In Shafiqabad and Gulberg areas, robbers looted Rs2,70,000 cash from Naveed, his family and Rs1,98,000 from Tanveer. Robbers snatched Rs60,000 from Asim in Gujjarpura, looted Rs500,000 cash from house of Nawaz in Nasirabad, Rs400,000 cash
and jewelry from Abid in Hanjarwal. Car lifters deprived Shahzad, Rizwan and Selman of their vehicles in Tabbi City, Shalimar and Civil Lines areas. Motorcycles of Shakeel, Asif, Imran and Tanveer were from stolen from Gujjarpura, Shafiqabad, Shad Bagh and Lorry Adda localities. The police after registering separate cases in all incidents at concerned police stations have started investigations.
service to be launched. Responsibility for this financialcum-human resource waste as a result of poor planning and execution on part of the Consultant may be affixed at the earliest and CDA be intimated accordingly NHA is therefore once again requested to ensure completion of the remaining works including removal of defective works with next few days positively to ensure the early start of Metro Bus Service. It is worth mentioning here that the CDA on March 10, 2022, in a press statement, said that the third-party pre-shipment inspection of buses for the metro project has been completed in China and buses will be reached Pakistan in twenty days adding that it stated that the trial run of this project would be in the first week of April this month. Sources said that the PM will inaugurate this project on Monday as he ordered the CDA to complete all the pending work by Saturday, April 16, 2022.
Naveena Group Launches 50MW Wind Energy Project Naveena Group is one of the leading business conglomerates in Pakistan with incredible sales of 300 million dollars dedicated to the business of progress and sustainability. The Group now has a diversified portfolio excelling in Textile, Steel, Construction, and notably growing in Energy. The Group has been exporting its textile products to top international brands across the globe for 35 years and takes pride to have played a significant role in the economy of Pakistan by making major contributions to the foreign reserve. The Group has been making incredible business via all the industries it is associated with. In line with its values on sustainable development, Naveena Group invested in a 50MW renewable energy project worth 65 Million dollars located at Jhimpir. Naveena Group will supply clean wind energy at 4.7 cents per unit which is the cheapest cost of renewable energy, supplied in the country. The project has started its commercial operations on the 13th of April 2022. Naveena group is making incredible business in the textile and steel sector. Its subsidiary Naveena steel aims to redefine quality standards and fulfill the infrastructural requirements of the country by producing international quality steel rebars with a capacity of 300,000 TPA. Another subsidiary of Naveena Group is Naveena Developers which is all set to make its mark in the construction industry across the country. PR
Covid-19 daily update: 76 new cases islAmAbAD staff RePoRt
Pakistan confirmed 76 new Covid-19 cases and no more death from the pandemic during the past 24 hours, the ministry of health said on Saturday. According to data released by the ministry, the total tally of Covid-19 cases has risen to
1,527,151, including 1,490,947 recoveries. Currently, there are 5,841 active cases recorded in the country, including 211 patients who are in critical condition. Sindh is the most affected region in terms of the number of cases, with 576,517 infections in total, followed by Punjab which has reported 505,614 cases so far.
Photo Shows Ghazanfar Azzam, President & CEO MMBL and Naima Ansari, President IWCCI signing an MoU to strengthen access to Digital Financial Solutions (DFS) for women borrowers and micro-entrepreneurs. Sardar Mohammad Abubakr, Chief Finance and Digital Officer, MMBL (standing), and other officials from both organizations also attended the ceremony. PR
Gwadar University key human resource generating institution for the CPEC: Chief Secretary Balochistan GWADAR staff RePoRt
Chief Secretary Balochistan Mather Niaz Rana has said that China, Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a major economic project and Gwadar University is an important human resource generating institution for the CPEC. The Chief Secretary expressed these views while addressing the participants of Laptop Distribution Ceremony held here at the University of Gwadar. On the occasion, Chief Secretary Balochistan distributes 300 laptops to university students under CM's Balochistan laptop scheme. The Laptop Distribution Ceremony was organized by the University of Gwadar. The event was attended by Vice Chancellor University of Gwadar Prof. Dr Abdul Razzaq Sabir, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 44 Special Security Division, MajGen Inayat Hussain, Capt. (Retd) Jameel
Ahmed Baloch, Deputy Commissioner Gwadar, Brigadier Fahad Mansoor, officers of Armed Forces, District demonstrative Officer heads of different departments, faculty members, admin staff and students of UoG. Recipients of laptops include students of the Department of Management Sciences, Commerce, Education and Computer Science, Gwadar University. Speaking on the occasion Chief Secretary Balochistan Mr. Mather Niaz Rana congratulated all the students who received laptops. In his address, he said that the Balochistan government strives to provide higher education and best facilities to the students of Balochistan. He further said that the first priority of all students should be to serve the country and the province. In his welcome speech Vice Chancellor University of Gwadar Prof Dr Abdul Razzaq Sabir thanked the Government Balochistan and especially Chief Secretary Balochistan
Mr. Mather Niaz Rana, for taking keen interest in flourishing University of Gwadar and extending unending support to set an environment for promotion of quality higher education in this far-flung part of country. Major General Inayat Hussain GOC 44 SSD in his address said that no nation can develop without education and promotion of quality education in Gwadar is one of his top priorities. In this age of technology and innovation, it is commendable to provide such facilities to students to promote research culture in higher education institutions. Deputy Commissioner Capt. (Retd) Jamil Ahmed Baloch and Brigadier Fahad Mansoor Commander 440 Brigade besides district administration officers, university students and teachers also attended the function. University of Gwadar Vice Chancellor Prof. Abdul Razzaq Sabir presented a commemorative shield of the university to the guests at the end of the ceremony and wore a Balochi shawl.
Sunday, 17 April, 2022 | LAHORE
10 FOREIGN NEWS
ChINeSe AStroNAUtS retUrN SAfely to eArth After reCorD SIx moNthS IN orbIt
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MIAN AbrAr
HE Shenzhou-13 crew have safely returned to Earth after their epic six-month orbital trip, which nearly doubled the previous record of China’s longest single-flight space mission of 92 days set by the Shenzhou-12, some eight hours after the manned spacecraft’s detachment from the Tianhe core module. The Shenzhou-13 return capsule conduced successful touchdown at 9:56 am Saturday in the Dongfeng landing site in Gobi Desert, North China’s Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region. Medical team confirmed that the crew of three taikonauts are in good health, marking the full success of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceflight mission, Global Times learned from the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Saturday. The ground controlling team ordered the return by 9:06 am, and the return capsule separated with the Shenzhou-13 with success. After that, at 9:30 am, the return capsule detached from the propelling part, according to the CMSA. Ground rescue and recovery team
In US, every dog has its… DNA test WASHINGTON AFP
The routine is now a familiar one: Open the kit, swirl a swab around, put it in solution and wait impatiently for the results. Except, this time it’s not a test for Covid — it’s a DNA test for dogs. The kits, which are used foremost to learn a dog’s breeds, first appeared some 15 years ago and their popularity has since exploded in the United States, where nearly 40 percent of all families have at least one canine companion. “Having a dog and integrating them as a member of your family, you want to know where they’re from,” said Mila Bartos, a Washington lawyer. One of the most popular test brands, Embark Vet, told AFP it experienced 235 percent growth between 2019 and 2020 alone. And the pandemic has only amplified the trend. At around $100 to $200 a pop, the tests are not cheap. But in a country where dogs are king, the price hasn’t been a major deterrent for many pet owners. In 2020 alone, Americans spent nearly $104 billion on their animal companions, according to the American Pet Products Association — a sum that is the equivalent of the GDP of Slovakia. ‘You want to know’: The tests are simple: a saliva sample is taken from inside a dog’s jowl and sent by mail, with results coming back generally two weeks to a month later. Sometimes, when a new pup parent has adopted a purebred dog, the test is meant to verify that there has been no error in the dog’s one-breed lineage. But for the owners of shelter pets, the burning question is — what IS my dog? Bartos, 51, adopted three dogs — Natty, Maisie and Mabel — and did a DNA test for each. Natty, she discovered, is a mix of a pit bull, beagle, chow-chow and German shepherd. Results showed she even had a cousin living nearby in Baltimore. With a luxuriously glossy brown coat, Maisie meanwhile turned out to be a descendant of a long line of show dogs. Levi Novey, a 42-year-old consultant in the state of Virginia, said that getting a test allowed him to make more sense of his tiny dog Summer’s behaviour. “For instance, her athleticism, prey drive, interest in retrieving balls, and selective choice in people she wants to be cuddly and sweet with became easier to understand given her ancestry,” he said of the little black pup, who weighs only 13 pounds (six kilograms).
arrived at the landing point immediately and medics opened the hatch and confirmed the crew are in good health condition. All three taikonauts exit return capsule by 11:05 am and they are adapting to the gravity, CMSA updated. The Shenzhou-13 crew exited the return capsule one hour and 10 minutes after their touchdown, faster than that for Shenzhou-12 crew which took one hour and 40 minutes. Shenzhou-13 mission commander Zhai Zhigang got out of return capsule first, reporting “feeling good”. Following him, “Star-picking mom is home,” said Shenzhou-13 crew member Wang Yaping, the first spacewalking Chinese woman, waving to her daughter with a big smile after exiting return capsule. And Ye Guangfu, the youngest member of the three soon joined them with good spirits. Astronaut Wang Yaping is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on April 16, 2022.Photo:Xinhua Astronaut Wang Yaping is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Au-
tonomous Region on April 16, 2022. Sichuan sausages, yogurt, eggs … the crew will have a great variety of food options for their first meal back on Earth with some 20 dishes, CCTV reported. The crew arrived in Beijing in the afternoon, followed by a brief welcome ceremony at the airport. The three taikonauts will undergo three to four weeks of routine quarantine, rest and rehabilitation. They are expected to resume regular training after about six months, according to CCTV report. Apart from the long-term stay in space, the mission has set many records and firsts in the country’s manned space history. The Shenzhou spacecraft developer, China Academy of Spacecraft Technology (CAST), disclosed in a statement sent to the Global Times that the Shenzhou-13 mission also explored emergency mission mechanisms for the first time, with the Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft and Long March-2F Y14 rocket in standby position right after the launch of the Shenzhou-13 and Long March-2F Y13. This enabled a potential space rescue of the Shenzhou-13 taikonauts in case of any malfunction preventing the spacecraft from returning to Earth.
India receives Russian S-400 training equipment
hindu hardliner openly calls for muslim genocide in India AGENcIES As the Narendra Modi government continues to turn a blind eye towards the increasing calls for Muslim genocide in India, Hindu zealots have found yet more courage to launch a fresh threat to target the community. In a similar attack, a hardline Hindu leader can be heard hurling threats at Muslims and warning them of dire consequences for reason not known. The video, posted online by Ashok Swain, a professor of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University, captioned, “A Hindu Right religious leader in India openly calling for genocide of Muslims! India on a dangerous path and the world has gone into silence”. “Well we have begun a dharam yudh (battle based on faith) and we will not spare you,” the man clad in traditional saffron robe can be heard saying in the video. “It will be them (Muslims) who will start it but it will be us who will end it,” he added, pointing at the intensions of the hardliners towards the minority community. Towards the end of the video, another man can be heard saying that there is no “dead nation” more than the Hindi nation, in an apparent gesture to provoke the community against others. The video validated the stance of those who urge PM Modi to take timely action amidst rising calls for genocide. Earlier this momth, Hindu zealots belonging to BJP-RSS dispensation vandalised and burning of more than 40 houses of Muslims in the Karauli area of Rajasthan with the connivance of local security authorities. The incident drew strong condemnation from the foreign office, saying, “equally alarming is the apathy of state machinery which wantonly looked the other way and failed in its basic duty of protecting the lives and properties of its citizens.”
twitter board adopts ‘poison pill’ to fight elon musk buyout bid cALIFOrNIA
NEW DELHI
AFP
Agencies
Amid the ongoing RussiaUkraine war, India has received defence equipment for the training squadron of the Russia-made S-400 Triumf advanced surface-to-air missile defence system, local media reported on Friday. In December, India announced that Russia had begun deliveries of the S-400 long-range defense systems to India. Local news agency Asian News International (ANI) reported that the country received simulators and other equipment from Moscow. The report said that despite the war in Ukraine, “defense supplies from Moscow are continuing.” The latest supplies from Russia also included “overhauled fighter aircraft engines and spares for an aircraft fleet.” “It does not include missiles or launchers,” the agency quoted defense sources as saying, adding that India also received the final parts of the S-400 system from Russia whose first squadron was “operational to take care of threats” from neighboring countries. India, a long-time ally of Russia, has in recent times been growing closer to Washington. Since Russia launched a war on Ukraine in February, India has called for a peaceful solution but refrained from openly criticising Moscow. Specter of uS SanctionS: In 2018, India and Russia signed a $5.5 billion contract for the S400 system, putting India at risk of US sanctions. The US has long tried to deter countries from buying military equipment from Russia, threatening
them with punitive measures under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). Despite Washington’s warnings, New Delhi moved forward with the purchase, arguing that it has strategic connections with both Russia and the US. Turkiye, another country that has gone forward with its own S-400 purchase, has dismissed the US sanctions threat and said the missiles are a matter of national security. US President Joe Biden’s Coordinator for Sanctions Policy James O’Brien told lawmakers in the House of Representatives last week that the US does not want India to buy the S-400 system from Russia, according to media reports. He also said Washington has to consider important geostrategic circumstances in response to growing demand from Biden to exempt India from CAATSA.
Twitter moved Friday to defend itself against Elon Musk’s $43 billion hostile takeover bid, announcing a plan that would allow shareholders to purchase additional stock. Musk’s proposal faces uncertainty on multiple fronts, including possible rejection and the challenge of assembling the cash, but could have wide-reaching impacts on the social media service if consummated. Twitter’s board has unanimously adopted a so-called shareholder rights plan, also known as a “poison pill,” as the struggle for control of the social media platform intensified. “The Rights Plan will reduce the likelihood that any entity, person or group gains control of Twitter through open market accumulation without paying all shareholders an appropriate control premium,” Twitter said in a statement. Musk sent shockwaves through the tech world on Thursday with an unsolicited bid to buy the company, stating the promotion of freedom of speech on Twitter as a key reason for what he called his “best and final offer.” The world’s richest person offered $54.20 a share, which values the social media firm at some $43 billion, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission made public on Thursday. Musk told a conference in Canada that he was “not sure” he would succeed and acknowledged a “plan B” but refused to elaborate, though in the filing he noted a rejection would make him consider selling his shares. Musk last week disclosed a purchase of 73.5 million shares — or 9.2 percent — of Twitter’s common stock, an announcement that sent its shares soaring more than 25 percent. The board’s “rights plan” kicks in if a buyer takes 15 percent or more of Twitter’s outstanding common stock in a transaction not approved by the board. Musk said he “could technically afford” the buyout while offering no information on financing, though he would likely need to borrow money or part with some of his mountain of Tesla or SpaceX shares. Despite saying he wanted to take the company private, he said the firm would keep up to 2,000 investors — the maximum allowed. Some investors have already spoken against the proposal, including businessman and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
PLA drills around Taiwan targeted at US lawmakers’ visit bEIJING Agencies
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command on Friday organized multi-services and arms, dispatching forces including destroyers, frigates, bombers and fighters, and conducted joint combat alert patrols and drills including maritime assault, in the forefront of the East China Sea and in waters and aerial areas around the island of Taiwan, when a group of US lawmakers were visiting the island. Chinese mainland experts said the pointed military operation not only serves as a warning to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who could still visit Taiwan after “postponing” her travel due to COVID-19 infection, but also goes beyond deterrence by preparing for potential, real actions that would resolve the Taiwan question once and for all when necessary. The operation targets the US’ recent wrong signals on the Taiwan question, as the US’ wicked tactics are to-
tally useless and dangerous, Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, said on Friday in a press release. “Those who play with fire will burn themselves. The command troops always maintain high alert and will firmly safeguard national sovereignty and security and regional peace and stability,” Shi said. Six PLA aircraft – four J-16 fighter jets and two J11 fighter jets – entered Taiwan’s self-proclaimed southwest air defense identification zone on Friday, the island’s defense authority said. Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson of China’s Ministry of National Defense, said in a press release on Friday that US congressmen visited the island of Taiwan in a deliberate provocation disregarding China’s strong opposition. The visit severely violated the one-China principle and the regulations of the Three Joint Communiqués between China and the US, seriously harmed the political foundation of China-US ties, and caused a further escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Straits.
The PLA Eastern Theater Command’s joint combat alert patrols and pointed drills are necessary actions taken based on the current security situation in the Taiwan Straits and the needs to safeguard national sovereignty, Wu said. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said clearly that Friday’s military operation was targeted at the US congressional delegation’s visit to Taiwan island. The PLA is ready for battle and will take any necessary measure to resolutely crush attempts of interference by external forces and secessionist moves of “Taiwan independence” forces, in order to resolutely safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Wu said. The remarks by the spokespersons came after a delegation composed of six US congressmen arrived in Taiwan for a stopover that analysts said targets the Chinese mainland with the “Taiwan card” and aims for more military sales to the island by hyping “mainland threats.” Veteran anti-China politicians like Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, and
Republican member of the Senate budget committee Lindsey Graham were the two notable names in the delegation. They met with the island’s regional leader Tsai Ing-wen on Friday. BeYond deterrence: Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Friday that the PLA’s operation is a largescale joint combat exercise organized by the Eastern Theater Command and participated by not only the Navy and Air Force, but also likely other military arms and branches.
Sunday, 17 April, 2022 | LAHORE
Milan beat Genoa to hold Serie a SuMMit MILaN
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StAFF RePoRt
C Milan will stay top of Serie A this weekend thanks to Friday’s 20 win over struggling Genoa after Inter Milan struck first with a 3-1 victory at Spezia. Milan, who are reportedly to be sold to Bahrain based investment firm Investcorp, reclaimed the summit after briefly being bumped down to second before kick-off in front of over 70,000 fans at the San Siro. But Leao’s cushioned 11th-minute volley from Pierre Kalulu’s cross and a Junior Messias strike with three minutes remaining were enough for Stefano Pioli’s side to maintain their two-point lead over local rivals Inter.
Attention will now turn to third-placed Napoli who face in-form Roma on Monday
evening hoping to move level on 69 points with Inter, while Juventus sit nine points off the pace ahead of their home fixture with Bologna on Saturday. “The more games we play, the more important each match becomes,” said Messias. “We knew today wouldn’t be easy but we were good and we got the three points that make us want to keep fighting.” Portugal forward Leao’s sumptious finish was the highlight of an otherwise uninspiring display which showed why Milan have struggled to put away Serie A’s lesser lights since the turn of the year. Milan kept their seventh straight clean sheet in all competitions – having lost rightback Davide Calabria to a stomach bug shortly before kick off – but it was a night of
few chances for the seven-time European champions. Olivier Giroud’s miscued overhead kick in the 57th minute was the first truly good opportunity after Leao’s opener. Leao then went close to doubling the hosts’ lead when he forced a good save from Salvatore Sirigu, but Messias put the home crowd into party mood when he smashed in the second after being denied by the Italy international in the Genoa goal. “We have to make the pressure feel like nothing more than positive energy, because we are challenging for something that when we started working together was unthinkable,” said Pioli to DAZN. Milan now face Inter in the second leg of their Italian Cup semi-final on Tuesday before travelling to Rome to face Lazio next
SPORTS 11 weekend as takeover talk hots up. Neither Milan nor Investcorp would comment to AFP over reports that the club was set to be sold by American investment fund Elliott for around one billion euros ($1.08 billion). Elliott took control of the club in 2018 when previous owner Li Yonghong defaulted on a loan taken out to finance the 740 million-euro purchase of Milan from former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. A third straight win for Simone Inzaghi’s Inter confirmed their revival after a tricky February and March and kept them on Milan’s coattails. “Today it was really important to win. We’re very happy but we need to carry on like this,” Inter midfielder Marcel Brozovic told DAZN.
Disable former Test cricketer criticises PCB for lack of support
Staff RepORt Former Pakistan Test cricketer Ehteshamuddin – who
Guardiola says ‘no excuses’ as bruised Man City brace for moment of truth LONDON AFP
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola told his players there will be “no excuses” if his bruised team comes up short in their triple trophy pursuit. City face rivals Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on Saturday, just three days after their stormy Champions League mission against Atletico Madrid. The match is the fourth in a 12-day stretch in which City also played the first leg of their quarter-final tie against Atletico and a dramatic 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League. “I said to the players, I don’t want any excuses,” Guardiola said Friday. “Semi-finals of the FA Cup are always hard against this side, even with the top players fit and rested. “I’ve learned as a manager when you arrive in the latter stages in all competitions you adapt to the schedule. If you want to complain (for a safety) net, you make a mistake. It is what it is.” He added: “We have fought every season like this and we go through, and we are going to perform well.” Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker are major doubts for Saturday. The pair were both substituted after suffering injuries in Wednesday’s fractious Champions League clash in the Spanish capital. That game ended 0-0 but City progressed to the semi-finals with a 1-0 win on aggregate. Neither player was able to participate as City held a training session at Millwall’s ground on Friday having travelled straight to London from Spain. Guardiola confirmed playmaker De Bruyne had required stitches in a foot wound while Walker had suffered a twisted ankle. “They didn’t train today. We’ll see tomorrow but apparently it’d be so close after what happened on Wednesday,” said Guardiola. The ill-tempered affair with Atletico ended with a melee involving several players from both sides in injury time and further scuffles broke out in the tunnel afterwards. Guardiola did not want to comment immediately after the match and was still in no mood to do so after two days’ reflection. “It’s the past,” he said. “I’m not talking about it. We have an important game tomorrow.” One player who was able to train on Friday was defender Ruben Dias, who was an unused substitute in midweek having been out since the start of March with a thigh injury. Guardiola said: “He did train today. It was his third session with us.”
is unable to walk since last year – has criticised PCB and chairman Ramiz Raja for not increasing his pension.
Ehteshamuddin represented Pakistan in five Test matches from 1979 to 1982. Speaking to Express, Ehteshamuddin said that there is too much inflation. “It has been a long while but the last time they [PCB] increased my pension by 20% but it is not enough to combat the rise in inflation which is going up day by day,” he said. The former Test cricketer said that there has been no contact between the cricketing board and the former players who have voiced their concerns regarding the pension. “We tried contacting Ramiz Raja a lot but there was no development on that front. Former players like Zakir Khan along with others are also unable to reach him,” he said. Despite the problem, Ehteshamuddin said he is still grateful for paying his medical bills. “Although I am grateful for the PCB for paying my medical bills, if the pension would increase then things would be much better for us,” he appealed. Having played alongside the legendary Imran Khan, Ehteshamuddin lost the ability to walk after having an epileptic seizure and since then he has been resigned to the bed.
Shan Masood hits maiden double century in County Championship LONDON AFP
Opening batsman Shan Masood hit a maiden double century on Thursday playing for Derbyshire in the English county championship. The stylish 32-year-old left-hander was 201 not out in a total of 327-2 at stumps on the first day of the match against Sussex at Derby. His runs came off 271 balls with 22 boundaries. Masood, who has played 25 Tests for Pakistan with a career best of 156, has been in a rich vein of form in the English tournament. In Derbyshire’s opening match against Middlesex last week, he made 91 and 62. Masood also shared a record third-wicket stand against Sussex of 236 with Wayne Madsen, who was 88 not out at the close. With the exception of Steven Finn, the Sussex bowling lacked the consistency to apply any sustained pressure and Masood took advantage to reach 50 from only 60 balls. At lunch, the star was undefeated on 74 from 88 balls and after the interval, he moved to his century with a succession of imperious strokes on both sides of the wicket. Runs kept flowing in the final session with Masood
reaching 150 from 191 balls. The Sussex team featured Masood’s international teammate Mohammad Rizwan and India’s Cheteshwar Pujara — a rare example of Pakistan and Indian cricketers turning out for the same side. India cut bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan after attacks in Mumbai in 2008 that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad and the teams now only play each other in multi-nation events. The rivals have not faced each other in a bilateral series since Pakistan toured India in 2012-13 for a set of one-day internationals and T20 matches during a brief thaw in relations. Pakistan’s stars also do not play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s most high-profile T20 competition, which is currently taking place in India. Sussex signed Pujara as a replacement for Travis Head last month after the Australian asked to be released from his contract due to increased international commitments. The 34-year-old Indian batsman has scored 6,713 Test runs in 95 Tests at an average of nearly 44. Rizwan, 29, averages nearly 43 in Test cricket and an eye-catching 50 in the T20 format.
Babar Azam picks Shaheen Afridi as best bowler in world cricket Staff RepORt Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam has named Shaheen Afridi as his pick for the best bowler in the world right now. Babar, who is ranked number one in ODIs and T20Is, said that Shaheen deserves to be in the top-ten list in every format. “The way he [Shaheen] works and performs, he has to go further ahead [in his career],” Babar said. Shaheen has remained a menacing threat for the batsmen in every format. Babar, while talking to a presser in Lahore, said that he is lucky to have such a hardworking and talented bowler at his disposal. “Shaheen is the number one bowler for me. He will also stand first in the rankings,” he added. In addition to Shaheen’s praise, Babar Azam also touched upon the importance of the recently concluded series against Australia and said that it will convince other teams to tour Pakistan as well. “The crowd was fantastic throughout the series and seeing big stars on home soil is always a positive. This tour [of Australia] will play an important role for other teams to come to Pakistan.” Babar said.
Sri Lanka’s cricket stars go into bat for protesters COLOMBO AFP
Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga and fellow ex-skipper Sanath Jayasuriya have joined street protests demanding the president step down over the country’s economic crisis. Cricket is avidly followed in the Indian Ocean island nation and the pair called on other former players to support attempts to oust President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The island nation is in the grip of its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, with severe shortages of essential goods and regular blackouts causing widespread misery. “Cricket is driven by spectators,” Ranatunga said outside Rajapaksa’s office in Colombo on Friday, surrounded by demonstrators who have been protesting daily for the president’s removal since last week. “Our fans are on the streets today because they no longer can bear the hardships. We must be with our fans when they need us most. Sports stars must physically join the protests.” Hours later, his fellow former captain Sanath Jayasuriya, known as “Master Blaster”, climbed the barricades in front of Rajapaksa’s colonial-era office and pledged solidarity. “Your message is loud and clear,” he told the tens of thousands of protesters. “I hope the authorities will listen and ensure a brighter future for all of us.” Crowds have been chanting “Gota go home, go home Gota.” The pair are the first former captains to join the street protests in person, but other stars have previously voiced their support. Former captain Mahela Jayawardena has strongly backed the demonstrations on social media and urged Rajapaksa to go while ex-captain Kumar Sangakkara has issued more guarded statements. Former Test player and International Cricket Council match referee, Roshan Mahanama, who has supported the anti-Rajapaksa campaign from its inception, compared the country’s plight to Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. Fuel rationing: Police tightened security around Rajapaksa’s office on Saturday as demonstrations demanding his resignation entered a second week. More than a dozen trucks were seen parked near the building at the Galle Face Promenade, which is being protected by commandos and anti-riot police. Official sources said authorities feared protest numbers could swell next week, when more marches are scheduled.
Sunday, 17 April, 2022
prayer timings
NEWS
I DoN’t thINK PPP wIll BEcomE PArt oF FEDErAl cABINEt: ZArDArI ISLAMABAD
F
staff report
ORMER president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday that he does not think his party is going to join the federal cabinet, which is yet to be decided since Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s election on April 11. Speaking to the media, Zardari said his first priority would be to get his ‘friends’ adjusted in
the cabinet. Earlier, the PPP leadership had also conveyed to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and other allied parties that they are not interested in joining the federal cabinet. Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari sought suggestions from party’s senior members on upcoming local body elections in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. Bilawal invited party ticket holders and Central Executive Committee (CEC) members to give sug-
gestions about the elections. PPP leader Farhatullah Babar said that party tickets for the local body elections will be given through the party’s provincial leadership and the party has also formally contacted the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). He said: “Punjab will hold local body polls in 17 districts on May 29. Similarly, the first phase of local bodies elections will be held in four divisions of Sindh – Larkana, Sukkur, Benazirabad and Mirpurkhas.
FAJR SUNRISE
ZUHR
ASR MAGHRIB ISHA
4:14
12:04
3:40
5:38
6:29
7:54
fiqah-e-hanfia lahore sehr: 4:09 am iftar: 6:32 Pm
islamabad sehr: 4:09 am iftar: 6:39 Pm
karachi sehr: 4:50 am iftar: 6:55 Pm
fiqah-e-jafaria lahore sehr: 3:19 am iftar: 6:42 Pm
islamabad sehr: 4:19 am iftar: 6:49 Pm
karachi sehr: 5:00 am iftar: 7:05 Pm
NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri resigns ahead of no-trust vote ISLAMABAD staff report
Pervaiz Elahi injured in Punjab Assembly commotion
PM Shehbaz, Saudi crown prince vow to enhance bilateral ties
LAHORE
ISLAMABAD
staff report
inp
Leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Saturday sustained injuries during a commotion in the Punjab Assembly. According to sources, Chief Ministerial candidate Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was injured during a scuffle and altercation in the Punjab Assembly session. Meanwhile, the PML-Q leader has been provided with medical aid by the rescue personnel. Earlier, PML-N members chanted slogans and Chaudhry Parvez Elahi went to his chamber afterwards. In retaliation, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was also tortured and pushed out from the Punjab Assembly.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud Saturday agreed to work together to further augment and diversify their bilateral ties in all spheres, in particular trade, investment and employment generation opportunities. Shehbaz received a telephone call from the Saudi crown prince, who warmly congratulated Shehbaz on his election as the prime minister of Pakistan. The prime minister thanked the crown prince for the felicita-
President accepts Farman’s resignation as KP governor President Dr Arif Alvi has accepted the resignation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Shah Farman, a news outlet reported on Saturday. Farman had earlier announced that he would step down from his office if PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif is elected as the country’s prime minister. The governors of KP and Sindh had announced their decision to resign from their posts soon after Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan. According to the report, Farman’s family has vacated the official residence. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani has now become acting governor of the province whereas Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan is now the speaker of the KP assembly. staff report
tions and expressed his resolve to work closely with Saudi Arabia to enhance and further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. While recalling the fraternal and historic bonds between the two countries that had been the hallmark of the strategic relationship over the past seven decades, the prime minister reaffirmed his government’s and his own commitment to further advance these relations to new heights. Shehbaz also thanked Saudi Arabia for its historic and continued support and cooperation, both bilaterally as well as at international forums, while also assuring the crown prince that Pakistan
would stand by the Kingdom at all times. During the course of their conversation, the prime minister paid rich tributes to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammad Bin Salman for achieving remarkable progress and development in KSA under their visionary leadership. The Saudi crown prince extended his cordial invitation to the prime minister to pay an official visit to the Kingdom at an early date. Thanking the crown prince for his gracious invitation, the prime minister also extended an invitation to the crown prince to undertake a state visit to Pakistan.
Police arrest five PTI MPAs in crackdown inside Punjab Assembly LAHORE inp
Minutes after Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari wrote a letter to Inspector General of Police (IGP), Police launched an operation inside the provincial assembly and apprehended five members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). A chaos ensued in Punjab Assembly after the Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) lawmakers threw “lotas” at Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari as he arrived to chair the session for the election of the Chief Minister. The PTI lawmakers set off a ruckus in the Assembly as they brought “lotas” to the House and started chanting “lota, lota (turncoats)”, lashing out at dissident PTI members, who parted ways with the party and decided to support the Opposition. The lawmakers of the ruling party also threw “lotas” at Mazari and then attacked him despite the presence of security guards. Mazari was also slapped by PTI members, following which, he was escorted by Sergeant-At-Arms. Those arrested include Wasiq Abbasi, Nadeem Qureshi, Ijaz Khan, taimur Ahmed and Umer Tanveer. Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari writes letter to IGP, Chief Secretary. Earlier, Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari had written the letter to Chief Secretary Punjab and Inspector General Punjab (IG) Punjab to ensure
the peace while conducting the CM Punjab voting today, and he has also demanded to deploy police personnel in civil uniform in Punjab Assembly. It may be recalled that Members of Punjab Assembly belonging to Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) had slapped and pulled hairs of Dost Muhammad Mazari ahead of election of Chief Minister of Punjab. According to text of the letter Mazari wrote, “Today’s meeting should be held in any case and police personnel should be deployed in civil uniform to counter any misconduct. I was tortured by PTI’s lawmakers including Umar Butt, Wasiq Abbasi, Nadeem Qureshi and Shujah Nawaz. I held the Punjab assembly session in accordance to the LHC’s orders.” Mazari wrote in letter, he had been tortured today to sabotage the assembly session and action should be taken against those members according to the law. “I will fulfill my constitutional and legal duty […] the attack against me was orchestrated, it was not abrupt,” the deputy speaker said.
An hour before the voting on no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri was to be held in National Assembly Saturday, he tendered his resignation. Following the footsteps of former speaker Asad Qaiser, Deputy Speaker Suri, too, resigned from his post ahead of voting on no-trust motion in Saturday’s sitting of the assembly. Earlier, the session of National Assembly was convened at 12 noon to hold voting on the no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri. However, after Suri’s resignation, there was no need to conduct voting on the motion. The deputy speaker submitted his resignation to the speaker of the National Assembly’s office stating that the DG ISPR’s press briefing on April 14 had proved to him that there has been “a blatant foreign interference/involvement in the internal affairs of Pakistan.” Suri furthered that his actions symbolise his party’s vision and “commitment to democracy, never to compromise on the sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan…and safeguarding the interest and independence of our country.” As the acting speaker, Suri claimed that he had been privy to the classified letter and its contents were indicative of foreign intervention. However, the response of state institutions to the letter was “shocking and completely unacceptable for any sovereign nation with self-respect, dignity, and pride.” The former deputy speaker, said that Imran Khan had been targeted due to his stance on Islamophobia and independent foreign policy due to which he “blatantly refused to provide military bases” for action against Afghanistan. Suri regretted that there had been a “failure to stand up to the foreign intervention and aggression” and he found it “unconscionable to continue” in his duties. “Our great country and its people deserve better,” he wrote, adding that no “reasonable” government, institution or patriot should knowingly and deliberately inflict the dire consequences of such a destructive move”, thereby risking the prospect of damaging the country’s independence, interests, and sovereignty. The deputy speaker urged the Supreme Court to take notice of the matter and form a judicial commission to unearth the conspiracy, saying he believed it to be a great failure of politics in leaving millions of people destitute. “Our politics need urgent and radical reform,” he wrote, “local Mir Jafars have sold their souls and conscience for monetary gains and worldly benefits.” Qasim Suri’s resignation stated, “against this backdrop, I am constrained to, hereby, tender my resignation with the sanguine hope that it may be accepted. And that the Honourable Supreme Court will unearth this conspiracy as it is now a fight for Pakistan’s sovereignty and real democracy against the US instigated regime change.”
Bilquis Edhi laid to rest KARACHI: Social worker and philanthropist Bilquis Bano Edhi was laid to rest here at the Mewa Shah graveyard on Saturday. She had passed away due to multiple ailments at a local hospital at the age of 74 on Friday. Bilquis Edhi was the wife of humanitarian and philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi. Her funeral prayers were offered at New Memon Mosque on MA Jinnah Road, which were also attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and his cabinet members. Paying rich tribute to the philanthropist, the chief minister said that her services to humanity would be “written in golden words on the annals of history”. She was a motherly figure for orphaned children and shelterless women, a statement issued by the CM Office quoted him as saying. The Sindh government had issued an official obituary for Bilquis on Friday and announced a day of mourning on Saturday. The chief minister had also visited Edhi Centre after her body was shifted and offered his condolences to her son, Faisal Edhi. staff report
Closure of LNG, oil-powered plants behind power glitches: Sharif ISLAMABAD staff report
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Saturday said that country had the capacity of 35,000 megawatts of power generation, but due to the closure of different power-producing plants, run on gas and oil, different parts of the country were facing load shedding for the last few days. Speaking in the National Assembly, the prime minister said that about 6,000 megawatts of hydel power could be generated which was linked to the melting of glaciers and the availability of water.
But unfortunately, the CPEC coal-based plants and the new LNG plants that could produce about 5,000 megawatts of power, including the one set up during 2019, with a capacity to generate 1250 megawatts, had been closed for the last four years. It could not produce the power during the previous government. The new plants could not generate power due to the unavailability of gas or expensive oil. The ministries concerned apprised him that they could not finalise the import of LNG as no one in the previous government was ready to supervise such projects. He said the prices of LNG import had
surged manifold and now, they stood around 30-35 dollars per unit. During 2015-16, the previous government of PML-N had reached an agreement with Qatar for the import of LNG and if it had not been done, what would have happened now! The prime minister also appreciated Amir of Qatar’s personal intervention to provide LNG at a discounted price. The prime minister, however, assured that they have been trying to resolve the serious issues on a priority basis. He informed that he had held a number of meetings with the ministries concerned.
Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk