• Ishaq Dar assures the matter will reach its “logical conclusion”.
• Law does not allow release of army chief or anyone else’s tax returns without a court order.
• If “illegal work” is allowed or a blind eye is turned towards it then a person will not be fulfilling their duty.

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar shared on Tuesday that he has received the interim report related to the leak of Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s income tax records, adding that they have traced some people involved in the act.

In an interview during Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, Dar repeated that leaking army chief’s income tax returns was “illegal”.

“I have seen the interim report. I hope to receive the final report today,” Dar told the host. He added that the government has found a few people behind the leak and the issue will reach its logical conclusion.

The finance czar shared that one person involved in the leak is from Lahore and another from Rawalpindi.

However, he added that there is a possibility that some of the individuals involved may have the authorisation to look at the income tax records as there a “circle” in Rawalpindi where assessments take place.

“These people are authorised to access [data] for their assessment,” said Dar.

The finance minister was of the view that if “illegal work” is allowed or a blind eye is turned towards it then a person will not be fulfilling their duty.

“The law does not allow the release of army chief or anyone else’s income tax returns without a court order,” said the finance minister.

Dar orders probe into ‘illegal, unwarranted’ leak of COAS Bajwa’s family tax records

A day earlier, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar took notice of the “illegal and unwarranted” leakage of tax information of Gen Bajwa’s family members.

“This is clearly a violation of the complete confidentiality of tax information that the law provides,” a statement from the Finance Division read. An immediate investigation into the violation of tax law and breach of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) data will be carried out, said the statement.

In view of this serious lapse on the part of to-date unknown functionaries, Dar had directed Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Revenue Tariq Mehmood Pasha to personally lead the probe, affix responsibility, and submit a report within 24 hours, it added.

KARACHI, NOV 22 (DNA) — Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has said that the only solution to the issues facing the country is free and transparent election and the government that comes with the majority should establish the rule of law.

Addressing a seminar in Karachi through video link on Tuesday, he said that the country’s situation was not good when his party came into power and the biggest his government faced was current account deficit.

He said no government in the past has focused on increasing exports and the situation would have worsened had the Saudi Arabia, China and United Arab Emirates did not help.

“Coronavirus was the biggest crisis during PTI government’s tenure and I was facing alot of pressure to impose lockdown,” Imran Khan said adding that he was criticized for not imposing lockdown but the people would have died of hunger, if his government had imposed a lockdown.

He went on to say that no one knows where we would be standing in a month but according to the Gallup survey, 88 percent of Pakistan s direction is not correct, adding that the country will not be stable unless elections are held.

On Monday, In an interview with a British newspaper The Telegraph, former PM and PTI chairman Imran Khan said that he would try to establish strong ties with neighbouring India, Afghanistan, Iran, China and the US if he is again elected as the prime minister.

He said that good relations are impossible in India as long as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) remains in power, but I want better relations with News Delhi.

Khan said that the potential economic benefits that establishing trade between the two arch rivals would bring but said these would never be realised until Delhi changes its stance on the disputed region of Indian-administered Kashmir.

“The benefits would be enormous. But, we are stuck on this issue and we need a strong roadmap to resolve it. I think it’s possible but the BJP government is so hardline, they have a nationalistic stance on issues,” he said.

The former prime minister said that the benefits from trade would be huge but Indian stand on Occupied Kashmir is the main obstacle because the attitude of the Indian ruling party is hardline, the BJP incites nationalist sentiments, causing the situation to spiral out of control.

“We want to solve the problem of Kashmir, for which there should be a road map,” he said and added we do not accept that Kashmiris are not given rights. When India ended the special status of Occupied Kashmir, the relations between the two countries became cold.

The PTI chairman said, “We really need a relationship with both countries. What I do not want is another Cold War situation when we are in blocks, like in the last Cold War we were allied with the United States.”

He said: “The whole of Central Asia, Afghanistan, became out of our orbit. My main concern for Pakistan is how to lift 120 million out of poverty and the best way to do that is if we can have a relationship with everyone, to trade with everyone, so we can help our population.” =DNA

DNA

ISLAMABAD, NOV 22: Pakistan Navy Ship TABUK visits Doha, Qatar for maritime security during FIFA World Cup 2022. Upon arrival at Doha, PNS TABUK was warmly received by officials from Qatari Emiri Navy and Pakistan Embassy at Qatar.

During the port visit, Commander Qatar Emiri Navy Maj Gen Abdullah Hassan Al Sulaiti visited aboard PNS TABUK. During the meeting with Commanding officer PNS TABUK, matters of mutual interest and cooperation in maritime domain were discussed.

Cdr Qatar Emeri Navy appreciated the efforts of Pakistan Navy in promoting peace and security in the region. On the occasion Commanding Officer of PN ship conveyed well wishes from Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi for the people of Qatar in general and Qatar Emeri Navy in particular for safe and successful conduct of FIFA World Cup 22.

Visit of PNS TABUK provided an opportunity to further enhance the existing close diplomatic ties and cordial relations with Qatar.

ISLAMABAD, Nov 22 (APP): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday announced holding local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions on January 15, 2023.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja announced the verdict which was reserved on November 15. ECP directed the Sindh and federal governments to complete the security arrangements in this regard. ECP directed Sindh government, Inspector General police, Chief Secretary, Interior ministry, to ensure security arrangements for holding free, fair and impartial elections.

The federal government through Secretary, Ministry of Interior is directed to provide a sufficient number of security personnel from other law enforcement agencies.

The LG polls in Karachi were postponed in July due to the flash floods. The Sindh government had repeatedly sought the rescheduling of dates for the elections.

The elections were initially scheduled for July 24, but they were delayed due to “bad weather and rains”. Then, polling was set to take place on August 28 and October 24, but the provincial government refused to provide security.

In its judgment on the pleas of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamat-e-Islami, the Sindh High Court directed the commission to announce a new schedule for the local body polls in both cities.

Quetta, NOV 22: /DNA/ – Today is the 1st day of the 36th AGM and Conference of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists (PSDE) on “Unleashing Tomorrow: Investment, Productivity, and Employability,” hosted by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), in collaboration with the Baluchistan University of Information Technology, Engineering, and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta.

Very refreshing and invigorating welcome remarks by the Chief Guest at today’s inaugural session of the Conference. Acting Governor Baluchistan, Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali, talked about the need for Baluchistan to have access to power and resources but limited institutions and thought on utilizing those most effectively to make Baluchistan a key province of Pakistan. Guidance from the rest of the country and from experts is needed to assist Balochistani institutes in policy making. 

The Honorable Acting Governor acknowledged the focus on provinces after the 18th Amendment but put forward the question of whether provinces have the capacity to carry out this responsibility?

Considering all this, Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali said it is essential that all policy think tanks and intellectuals come together to guide and help the provinces, including Balochistan, in formulating their policy.

Earlier, Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed, former head of the PIDE School of Public Policy and currently serving as the secretary of PSDE, delivered the address and said that the AGM was the most prestigious and important gathering of economists and public policy researchers in the country. He shed light on the theme of the Conference while acknowledging the crucial economic crisis and political polarization the country was going through. 

The secretary thanked the sponsors of the 36thg AGM, which is one of the biggest and most prestigious events where economists, academicians, and researchers from across the country and abroad meet and discuss ideas. Research paper presentations, panel discussions, and guest lectures from Nobel laureates and esteemed academics further ornament the Conference. The PSDE has been organizing it since 1982, and currently, the 36th AGM is underway in collaboration with BUITEMS Baluchistan.

It is my first time in Quetta and Baluchistan province since I arrived here in Pakistan at the end of June. Therefore, I could not think of a better occasion than this Conference, which is coming at a challenging time for Pakistan, expressed Her Excellency Riina Kionka, Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan as a guest of honor of the opening session of the Conference. 

She stated that these are challenging times. The world is continuing to cope with the consequences of COVID-19 and high energy prices, inflation and the onslaught of climate change. Climate is changing faster than we can adapt. Pakistan has witnessed a damaging impact in recent floods. In this context, Team Europe has also put in action the assistance of 138 million euros for Pakistan to alleviate immediate problems emanating from flooded areas, including Sindh and Balochistan.

You all must have been closely watching the developments of the COP27 Conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, HE Kionka asked the audience. Pakistan and its negotiators have played a critical role in harnessing a convergence point where a loss and damage fund for climate change mitigation has been agreed upon. You should be proud of it, as this is a historic moment. EU is also doing its part. It is responsible for 9% of global emissions but contributes 30% of global public financing for the climate.

She further said that Pakistan and the European Union are celebrating 60 years of bilateral relations this year. Both countries engage in political and economic issues – particularly on trade and migration, climate change, development cooperation, etc. So, all these things make up what we call a partnership of strategic nature.