ISLAMABAD: /DNA/ – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Secretary Information Farrukh Habib made it clear that PTI Chairman Imran Khan had no enmity with any country but he would never compromise on prestige of the country and wanted relations based on mutual respect.
He said that Imran Khan always safeguarded and promoted the interest of Pakistan unlike the gang of thieves who held meetings with the American diplomats to hurt the country by toppling the well-performing PTI government through foreign collaborators.
Farrukh Habib in a statement issued from PTI Central Media Department (CMD) here on Tuesday said that PTI Chairman worked tirelessly to restore the image and prestige of the country at the international level.
However, he said that the self-centered, greedy and crooked ruling junta were making all-out efforts to implicate Imran Khan in various cases because the foreign imposed cabal of crooks could not defeat him politically.
However, he stated that Imran Khan was not afraid of baseless, fabricated and fake cases, as he always spoke about the rule of law.
Farrukh Habib went on to say that the group imposed through foreign conspiracy has become a source of nuisance for the people, as they compounded the miseries of the masses manifolds.
He said that Imran Khan’s popularity was scaring the corrupt gangs; hence they were looking various options to delay the polls because they were well-aware of the fact that they would face humiliating defeat whenever polls were held, adding that the root of all the problems currently facing the country was the bunch of these thieves who seized the power through foreign backed conspiracy.
Farrukh lashed out at the imported Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb and said that the maid had lost her senses in ego, selfishness and lust for throne.
He said that the nation knew these looters who forgave corruption cases of whooping Rs. 1100 billion by giving themselves NRO-2, as their ringleader fled the country by lying before the courts while his notorious coteries became the guards of the institutions.
He stated that the election commissioner worked as a pawn of PDM, who hurt the country due to his dishonesty.
Farrukh Habib stated that Imran Khan was the only national leader, whose life and death was in Pakistan and he would leave no stone unturned to flush the country of these termites with the power of public revolution and truth.
Imran Khan has enmity with none but wants ties with mutual respect: Farrukh
BISP distributes over 24 billion rupees among 965,248 flood affected families
DNA
Islamabad, Sep 13: The financial assistance of flood affected families through Benazir Income Support Programme is conitnue across the country. According to the latest figures Benazir Income Support Programme has so far disbursed Rs. 24,131,200,000 among 965,248 flood affected families.
An amount of Rs. 25,000 per family under Flood Relief Cash Assistance is being provided to flood affected families of Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. As of Tuesday evening 120,215 affected families have received Rs.3,005,375,000 in Balochistan; 576,682 families have received Rs.14,417,000,000 in Sindh; 118,940 families have received Rs.2,973,500,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 149,413 families have received Rs.3,735,325,000 in Punjab.
Today 18,051 flood affected families received cash assistance from different campsites established in flood hit areas of Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. A control room has been established at Benazir Income Support Pogramme headquarters to ensure smooth payments.
Rotary Club Islamabad donates relief goods for flood victims
DNA
ISLAMABAD: Rotary Club of Islamabad (Metropolitan) donated two truck load of quilts, beddings, floor mats, clothes, shoes, Medicines worth half a million for flood victims. Goods handed over to the Station Commander Nowshera KPK.
President of the Rotary Club of Islamabad Imran Ghaznavi along former Ambassador Fauzia Nasreen, Mian Shaukat, Advocate Tayyaba and Omar Nishtar along other members lead the delegation.
Station Commander appreciated the efforts of Rotarians and their service above self for the people in need of help.
President Imran Ghaznavi commended and highly appreciated the commitment of Station Commander, his team including Executive Officer, Vice President of Nowshera Cantt Board and district management for their untiring efforts in providing relief activities to flood victims.
Pakistan lacking ‘effectiveness’ on four FATF-linked goals
ISLAMABAD: The Asia-Pacific Group (APG) on Money Laundering has rated Pakistan’s level of effectiveness as ‘low’ on 10 out of 11 international goals on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terror (AML/CFT), even though the country is now compliant on 38 out of 40 technical recommendations.
The Sydney-based regional affiliate of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released an update, as of Sept 2, on the rating of its regional members suggesting that Pakistan had a ‘moderate level of effectiveness’ on only one out of 11 outcomes.
Under this ‘immediate outcome’, Pakistan extends international cooperation on appropriate information, financial intelligence, and evidence, and facilitates action against criminals and their assets.
A 15-member joint delegation of FATF and APG paid an onsite visit to Pakistan from Aug 29 to Sept 2 to verify the country’s compliance with a 34-point action plan committed with FATF at the highest level in June 2018.
ISLAMABAD HAS MADE MODERATE PROGRESS ON ONE OUT OF 11 IMMEDIATE OUTCOMES
The task force had found Pakistan compliant or largely compliant on all the 34 points in February this year and had decided to field an onsite mission to verify it on the ground before formally announcing the country’s exit from the grey list.
Under the FATF-APG assessment mechanism, effective ratings on “Immediate Outcomes” reflect the extent to which a country’s measures are effective. The assessment is conducted on the basis of 11 immediate outcomes, which represent key goals that an effective AML/CFT system should achieve.
However, this has no direct bearing on an expected exit of Pakistan from FATF’s grey list during its Oct 18-22 plenary in Paris.
Last month, the APG had described Pakistan as ‘compliant’ or ‘largely compliant’ on 38 out of 40 technical recommendations of the FATF on anti-money laundering and combating financing of terror. It had, however, retained Islamabad on ‘Enhanced Follow-up’ until further progress was made on the two remaining recommendations.
This means that Pakistan has made major progress on FATF’s technical recommendations to qualify to be moved out of ‘grey list’, but it is still far behind FATF’s immediate outcomes on effectiveness.
Indonesia’s G 20 chairmanship: Balancing on a diplomatic tightrope
Indonesia’s geopolitical plate is piling up as the archipelago state prepares to host the Group of 20 (G20) summit and associated gatherings in November, including the Religion 20 (R20), a high-level meeting of religious leaders, the first under the G20’s auspices.
The challenges and opportunities for Indonesia are multiple and often unique.
In June, Indonesian President Joko Widodo persuaded the leaders of the Group of 7, which brings together Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union, to join the summit in Bali of the G20, made up of the world’s largest economies, even if it is attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The G7 leaders had threatened to boycott the summit if Mr. Putin were invited in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Even so, much can derail Mr. Widodo’s achievement in the months leading up to the summit, although he has, for now, prevented a fracturing of the G 20 even before the leaders convene.
Pulling the G20 back from what could have constituted a devastating fiasco is just one of the pitfalls, Indonesia has been seeking to maneuver. With two months to go until the Bali summit and a world mired in conflict, bifurcation, and economic crisis, Indonesia’s G-20 presidency is hardly out of the woods.
Insisting that Mr. Putin should attend the summit helps Mr. Widodo maneuver Indonesia through the minefields of a world increasingly polarized by the rise of civilizationalist leaders who think in civilizational rather than national terms, and the power struggle to shape the world order in the 21st century.
Yet, in a potential preview of the summit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walked out of a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Bali in July when Russia came under fire for its war in Ukraine.
The gathering ended without the traditional joint communique, chairperson’s statement and/or group photograph. It underscored the fact that Indonesia may have to walk a diplomatic tightrope to prevent the November summit from fracturing the G 20 beyond repair.
Mr. Lavrov’s walk-out underscored the risks stemming from the power struggle and the expansionist ambitions of civilizationalist leaders such as Mr. Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
They threaten to put a dent in Indonesia’s successful track record of being inspired by the principles of a 1955 conference in the Indonesian city of Bandung that gave birth to the non-aligned movement.
That has not stopped Indonesia from rejecting Chinese claims to territory in the South China Sea, refusing China’s offer to negotiate maritime boundaries, and at times conducting military exercises just beyond Chinese-claimed waters while maintaining substantial economic relations with the People’s Republic.
However, increasingly, Indonesia may find that non-alignment no longer is its best option, even if that would not necessarily mean that it would pick sides in the US-China divide.
What it does mean is that the G20 is the opportunity for Indonesia to showcase itself, on the back of its diplomatic acumen, as an attractive target for badly needed foreign investment and a regional power that has long flown under the radar.
To do so, Indonesia. one the world’s biggest coal exporters and carbon emitters, will have to clarify its stance on a host of issues, including climate change; perceived threats posed not only by China but also by Aukus, the trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States that is allowing Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines; and the mushrooming food and energy crisis that raises the specter of a global recession.
One way, Indonesia hopes to make its mark is a summit of religious leaders that is scheduled to precede the meeting of heads of government and state. The religious summit is expected to refashion the G-20’s erstwhile Interfaith 20 track or IF20 as the Religion 20.
But even that is not without its pitfalls.
Organised by Nahdlatul Ulama, the world’s largest Muslim civil society movement in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country and the Islamic world’s foremost democracy, in cooperation with the Indonesian government, the R 20 constitutes at first glance a significant shift away from the approach of the IF 20.
In contrast to the IF 20 that was dominated by scholars and activists, the R 20 intends to bring together religious leaders to globally position religion as a source of solutions rather than problems. It is a call that resonates coming from the world’s most populous Muslim majority country and democracy.
Some 200 religious leaders and politicians, including Nahdlatul Ulama general chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf, World Evangelical Alliance secretary general Bishop Thomas Schirrmacher and former US ambassador to the Vatican Mary Ann Glendon are expected to attend the summit.
On the surface of it, the R 20 constitutes an opportunity to energize the world’s major faith groups to rally around shared civilizational values that would empower religion as a force for good that goes beyond lofty statements that are not worth more than the paper they are written on.
That is a tall order given the role that religious and identity groups play in perpetuating rather than resolving conflicts based on international law, justice, and equity.
Think of the Russian Orthodox church as a driver of extreme Russian nationalism and the definition of Russia as a civilizational rather than a national state, resulting in the invasion of Ukraine and the potential threat to other former Soviet republics.
Or the uncritical support by Christian and Jewish groups of Israeli policies that violate international law, deny Palestinian rights, and long-term put at risk Israel’s existence as a democratic Jewish state.
The R20’s organizers appear to have opted, at least for now, to co-organize the summit with the Muslim World League rather than representative non-Muslim faith groups less beholden to a government.
The League is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vehicle to garner religious soft power, help polish the kingdom’s tarnished image, and propagate a socially liberal but autocratic interpretation of Islam that preaches absolute obedience to the ruler.
An R20 press release quoted the League’s secretary general, Mohammed al-Issa, as saying that “working alongside Nahdlatul Ulama…will strengthen our mission. This partnership with Nahdlatul Ulama will serve as an excellent platform for dialogue that will amplify and extend the Muslim World League’s noble mission.”
Even so, the R 20 could undergird Mr. Widodo’s vision of applying the principles of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to the G 20.
Indonesian officials argue that the nature of ASEAN has allowed its ten members, despite their different political and economic systems, to prevent the once war-torn region from confronting another abyss and finding ways to peacefully manage or resolve disputes and tackle common problems.
Like with the religious summit, Indonesia faces a tall order in attempting to pull back from the brink a world consumed by the war in Ukraine as it seeks to maneuver the pitfalls of mounting tensions between the United States and China over issues like Taiwan that, like Eastern Europe, could spark a war with a global fallout.
Dr. James M. Dorsey is an award-winning journalist and scholar, an Adjunct Senior Fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, and the author of the syndicated column and blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer.
Sindh’s decision to double wheat support price criticised
Islamabad, SEP 13: Former President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt on Tuesday criticised decision of the Sindh Cabinet to double the wheat support price terming it against the interests of masses reeling under inflation.
The decision should be reversed as it that will affect the whole country and the poor reeling under record inflation will die of hunger, he said.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that the decision should be withdrawn otherwise the price of flour will increase to Rs150 per kg which the majority cannot afford.
He informed that last year, the support price of 40kg of wheat was Rs2200 which has now been increased to Rs4000 which has started price in the market and triggered hoarding by the profiteers who are benefitting from the development.
The move will result in a record hike in the price of wheat flour and it will become impossible for millions to manage food. He observed.
It is feared that wheat from other provinces will start reaching Sindh which will lead to a nationwide crisis as a bag of flour which was available for Rs1100 to Rs1200 in January is now being sold at more than Rs2000 and any further increase in it will be unbearable for the people.
Now, one hundred kilos of wheat will be bought from the farmer for ten thousand rupees, the price of which after storage, transportation and packing will be Rs12000 minimum which will be the worst exploitation of the people.
He said that the rice crop in Sindh has been destroyed, so the poor farmers who used to eat rice are now eating roti made of wheat flour, which is increasing pressure on the existing stock.
India has banned the export of rice to ensure food security due to which its price has increased by five percent in the global market therefore the export of rice from Pakistan should be banned immediately.
He suggested that if the Sindh government wants to give relief to the flood-affected farmers, instead of doubling the relief price, they should give them a direct subsidy.
Italy eyes €6 billion bilateral trade potential with Pakistan
Islamabad, SEP 13 /DNA/ – Roberto Neccia, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of Italy said that the bilateral trade of €1.5 billion between Italy and Pakistan was much below the actual potential of both countries and both should work for improving their two way trade to at least €5-6 billion per annum as they have the potential to achieve this target. He said this while addressing the business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Dr. Roberto Neccia said that a trade section was being opened in the Italian Embassy and hoped that it would give a jump to bilateral ties between the two countries. He said that the Iran-Italy Chamber of Commerce and Industry contributed positively for trade and floated the idea of a Pakistan-Italy Chamber of Commerce & Industry to strengthen networking and business linkages between the private sectors of both countries. He said that Italy has 5 million family owned SMEs and close cooperation between the SMEs two countries would be helpful in sharing experiences and promoting bilateral business relations. He lauded the contribution of the Pakistani community in Italy and said that they could act as a bridge for improving trade ties. He said that Italy would support Pakistan for renewal of the EU’s GSP plus concession. He said that Pakistan should send sector-specific trade missions to Italy to explore untapped areas of mutual cooperation and assured that his embassy would provide all possible facilitation to the Pakistani business community in promoting business relations with Italy.
Speaking at the occasion, Muhammad Shakeel Munir, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that Pakistan considers Italy an important country for trade and economic relations as both countries have good potential to cooperate with each other in many areas. He said that Italy has advanced technology & machinery, therefore, close cooperation with Italy is beneficial for Pakistan to improve its economy. He said that Pakistan has a lot of reserves of marble & granite and import of latest marble machinery from Italy can help us to produce value-added marble products and increase their exports. He said that Pakistan can import industrial & agricultural machinery from Italy while Italy can import many products from Pakistan including raw materials, textiles, surgical instruments, marble products, pharmaceuticals, leather products, sports goods and more. He stressed that both countries should encourage regular exchange of trade delegations to explore all potential areas of bilateral trade promotion.
Jamshaid Akhtar Sheikh Senior Vice President and Muhammad Faheem Khan Vice President ICCI said that ICCI is planning a trade delegation for Italy and hoped that it would help in exploring new areas of business collaborations with Italian counterparts.
Engr. Azhar ul Islam, Ch. Muhammad Ali, Javed Iqbal, Saeed Khan, Raja Hassan Akhtar, Ch. Ashraf Farzand, Ch. Javed Iqbal, Hamayun Kabir, Shahbaz Majeed, Faseeh ullah Khan, Khalid Mehmood, Raja Imtiaz, Ms. Parveen Khan and others also spoke at the occasion and gave useful suggestions to improve trade and economic ties between Pakistan and Italy.
PTCL, Akhuwat collaborate to provide food assistance to affected families in Balochistan
DNA
Lahore, Sep 13: PTCL Group and Akhuwat Foundation collaborated to provide food assistance to flood affected families in five districts of Balochistan, including Qilla Saifullah, Loralai, Sibi, Lasbela and Lasbela (Uthal). President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf presented a cheque to Dr. Amjad Saqib, Founder and Chairman Akhuwat Foundation in Lahore.
President calls for documentation of businesses for levying just and fair taxes
DNA
Islamabad; Sep 13: President Arif Alvi has called upon the chambers of commerce and industry to motivate and convince their members to fully document their businesses for bringing transparency in the business inputs and outputs which would lead to levying of just and fair taxes. This, he said, would increase the tax base and tax collection, minimize incidents of corruption and corrupt practices and would eventually lead to reduced taxation on the businesses. He said that non-documentation and lack of transparency in the business processes and resultant low tax collection compelled the government to resort to indirect taxation which equally hurt the poor and the rich and therefore direct taxation needed to be enhanced with the help of the business community.
The President expressed these views while addressing the Achievement Awards Ceremony organized by the Sargodha Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), at Aiwan-e-Sadr, today. President SCCI, Chaudhary Shoaib Ahmed Basra, also addressed the occasion.
The President said that Pakistan was the fifth largest country in terms of population and, therefore, it should also be the fifth most important country in terms of socio-economic growth. He added that it was possible provided the businesses encourage their female family members to enter into businesses and industry on key posts to lead the way for better participation of women.
He said that our youth bulge should be provided with high-quality skills, especially in the IT sector, our businesses need to create close linkages with the research and development institutions and Universities for brining qualitative and quantitative improvement into their goods and services and expanding their reach in the existing export markets, and exploring new export markets.
The President urged the business community to voluntarily pay due taxes which, he said, would provide liquidity to the government for improving roads, utilities and other services for the business community, thus helping the business community to further improve their business processes and become price competitive in the local and international markets. He also urged the business community and the industrialists to keep social welfare at the forefront of their business policies and to play their role in uplifting the socio-economic conditions of the people of their respective areas.
The President said that the Small and Medium Scale industries were the backbone of the country’s economy and the government should further improve the policy, the licensing and regulatory regime, and levy of just and fair taxation in close coordination and consultation with all the stakeholders to further improve ease of doing business to help promote this vital sector of the country on a fast-track basis. He also stressed the need to strengthen border control to curb inward and outward smuggling of goods to protect the local industry.
The President said that industries and businesses played a key role in the progress and development of the country and the prosperity of its people. He appreciated the industrialists and businessmen of Pakistan for achieving the highest ever export growth of 30% and achieving the export target of USD 32 billion last year.
The President commended the country’s chambers of commerce, especially the SCCI, for providing much-needed leadership to the business community of their area, and added that the chambers of commerce were important institutions, which provided vision and leadership to the business community by providing the industrial and business sectors with effective forums for sharing their ideas, making experiments, bringing new and high-value technology and finding foreign markets for their products and services.
President SCCI, Chaudhary Shoaib Ahmed Basra, thanked the President for his constant patronage and support to the business community, especially SCCI, and for encouraging the top performing businesses of the country through the achievement awards.
Designated Ambassador of Switzerland to Pakistan presents his credentials
DNA
ISLAMABAD: The designated Ambassador of Switzerland to Pakistan, Georg Steiner, presented a copy of his credentials to the Chief of Protocol, Ali Haider Altaf, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.-DNA
