H E Supreme Court s constitutional bench raised critical questions about the trial of civilians involved in the May 9 events specifically the basis for sending certain suspects to military courts while others are being tried in anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) Seven-member constitutional bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, and comprising Justices – Jamal Khan Mandokhail Muhammad Ali Mazhar Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi Musarrat Hilali Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Shahid Bilal Hassan resumed the hearing the intra-
court appeal against the trial of civilians in military courts During the proceedings Ministry of Defence counsel Khawaja Haris argued that the interpretation of Article 233, which pertained to the suspension of fundamental rights during an emergency, was incorrect when the decision to conduct military trials for civilians was made He emphasised that fundamental rights could only be suspended under an emergency, as was the case during the tenure of Gen Pervez Musharraf Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar countered stating that this case does not involve the suspension of fundamental rights He pointed out that during Musharraf s era rights were suspended due to a lack of the right to appeal Justice Aminuddin Khan raised the issue of whether an emergency had been declared in this case prompting Justice Mazhar to clarify that the suspension of fundamental rights required an emergency to be in place Justice Musarrat Hilali also pointed out that in the present case the fundamental rights of the accused were not suspended nor was an emergency declared when the individuals were taken into military custody Justice Musarrat Hilali asked who determined the jurisdiction for trials in military courts and how the differentia
noted that all suspects from the May 9 incidents
t proceed in ATCs and those sent to military courts Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar
FBR star ts human monitoring for Afghan transit cargo
The new contractors have been authorised to install Prime Mover Devices (PMDs) on vehicles which track vehicle movement but do not monitor con-
vehicle tracking, not container monitoring CSD is an expensive device which is not available with any company other than TPL he stated
Corporate sec
tor leads with Rs3tr in
income tax for FY24
and adopt proven strategies from other regions to combat the escalating crisis effectively
04
COMMENT
Staying in with the IMF
PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif used his address during his visit to ring the opening bell of the Pakistan Stock Exchange to say that he thought the interest rate should be round 6 percent, Once upon a time what he thought would have been implemented but ever since the IMF got independence for the State Bank of Pakistan, he too, like the rest of the country, must wait the decision of the SBP’s Monetary Policy Committee However, it is inevitable that the MPC or at least its members will keep this statement at the back of their minds when they next meet to fix the interest rate Mr Sharif might not get the slashing he wants, but there should be another deep cut, which has seen the benchmark interest rate come down from a high of 22 percent to the current 13 percent
Mr Sharif has spoken about a rate cut before the MPC meeting for the first time, though he has expressed jubilation at the cuts it has made afterwards
Perhaps his tongue was loosened by his audience primarily of business people his original constituency Business leaders have already called for a rate cut, but no one has called for as deep a cut Mr Sharif s visit may not have had the effect intended, for the KSE100 index went down nearly 2000 points mainly because of the restriction on income tax return nonfliers trading The market had expected Mr Sharif to remove that return, but he did not, preaching a little homily on the necessity of honoring commitments to the IMF That may be necessary, but it should not be at the cost of meeting the genuine needs of the people For example by shooting down the proposal that the 18 percent sales tax levied on petrol be removed, the IMF has shown it has no real concern with inflation or fitness It should be noted that petrol is subject to sales tax when it is imported so that means the petrol price includes sales tax twice Removing either tax would be fair, but it would also prevent the government from meeting its revenue targets, which the FBR has already missed Mr Sharif must realise that the interest rate will only be cut if inflation remains low That does not depend purely on domestic effort, which Mr Sharif is trying to control, but on such externalities as the price of oil, which is inching upwards internationally Inflation was what Mr Sharif campaigned on he must not lose sight of it
Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor
M A Niazi Editor Pakistan Today Babar Nizami Editor Profit
THE National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has presented a report which shows up the Power Division in a poor light, and illustrates the Division as one of the main obstacles to the heightened power tariffs, as well as its failure to adapt to the coming solarization revolution that is coming its way The failure to adapt to solarization is going to be very expensive for it is part of a trend to scaling down observable in other fields where large enterprises are no longer necessary to provide certain services The most ubiquitous example is that of the personal computer In a simple handheld device, the smartphone, it is possible to perform computations that would have once required a huge computer serviced by trained computer scientists who would use specialised languages The same thing has happened to journalism both print and broadcast Radio, once universal, has now virtually disappeared, though radio stations still operate Again, instead of old-style radios, one receives them on one’s smartphone Newspapers have not entirely disappeared but now their content is available online In place of the old-style reporter professional with the backing of a huge news organization behind him there is now the citizen journalist who is working alone and records sound and sight with unobtrusive recording devices, often enough on that very same smartphone With the miniaturisation and cheapening of recording equipment the large expensive set-ups of the past are not needed One result is the Internet In short all the misinformation out there One problem with citizen journalism is that journalists are concerned with telling an accurate story Citizens are concerned with promoting a message One of the biggest worries of a journalist is about editorializing inadvertently the story told must not only be factually correct but it must also be so told that the facts are not so selected as to force a particular conclusion upon the reader That should be the concern of a logger but very often is not The same thing seems to be happening to solar power It is often lumped with other renewables, and they all seem to have an output of electricity which involves none of the production of greenhouse gases that thermal generation does Thermal generation is the dominant mode of producing power worldwide but involves burning hydrocarbons generating GHG in vast quantities
One of the reasons for having generation and distribution companies is that individual consumers, except for large industries, cannot afford the investment needed even for small generation stations That applies to most renewables too like dams for hydropower nuclear plants for nuclear power large numbers of windmills for wind power installations for geothermal or tidal power Once one accepts that large quantities of electricity can be generated in one place, then comes the problem of distributing it to consumers who only need a fraction of that power This is where solarization makes a breakthrough
Investment coming
especially for domestic consumers, especially in countries with lots of sunshine, because generation comes within the control of the consumer In Pakistan consumers sell all their production to the DISCO and have that amount set against the electricity they consume The NEPRA report calls for the tariff to be cut at which it buys the power sold which would mean a lower differential between the two tariffs making it possible to get the consumer to pay more That would only encourage consumers to obtain electric storage capability, at present expensive, and go off the grid entirely It should be remembered that solarization occurred for purely economic reasons because those who could afford the investment did not want to pay the high tariffs that were being charged That would leave only industrial connections as safe for the DISCOs Even those are under threat from solar power, with an increasing number opting for solarization because the difference between virtually free power and high tariffs is too much Some have set up solarization initiatives where they put up the initial investment and supply power to industrial units at much less than the DISCOs Retail markets have not yet begun solarization, but when that happens, high-end commercial-tariff payers will go off the grid Tubewell connections, another cash-cow for the DISCOs are solarizing Then will come the thousands of government connections True
In short, the First World is merely trying to buy its way out, throwing money at the problem, in a way
the two countries and frequent contact between UAEand Pakistan s top leaders can quite expectedly catalyze transformative developments in energy , technology and agriculture sectors
Upcoming huge UAE investment can also help Pakistan's energy sector by way of investing in the solar wind power and hydropower projects The UAE investors should also be offered the vast investment available in the fast developing Special Economic Zones in different parts of the country Pakistanis are working in varying numbers in many countries around the globe and not only making positive contributions in different sectors of the respective countries but also greatly boosting their own motherland s economy by sending huge home remittances to their families through proper channels and thus enhancing the precious foreign exchange reserves regularly
The UAE itself is home to more than 1 6 million Pakistanis and they can actively play a bridge between the two countries
revitalizing Pakistan s economy in an appreciable positive manner
The UAE was a key investor in Pakistan and the UAE President has already made a most welcome commitment of making a huge investment of US $ 10 billion in various ways thus greatly helping in steadying and stabilizing Pakistan s economy The UAE President s visit was being viewed by the business community here as offering an extraordinary opportunity for further enhancing the economic collaboration between
The visit of UAE president His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan not only helped in strengthening the existing bilateral relations between the two countries but also in enhancing cultural understanding and fostering mutual goodwill and people-to-people contacts
The writer is Lahore-based Freelance Journalist Columnist and retired Deputy Controller (News) Radio Pakistan Islamabad and can be reached at zahidriffat@gmail com
MuhAMMAd ZAhId RIfAT
visit of
president
Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan not
A useful visit
Regional Instabilities in the Middle East
Potential triggers for a Third World War
Urva tUl WUsqa
VER
EThe
Also, outstanding issues of
and
movements for
ideologies, like the
conflict or the
have continued to fuel conflicts Such conflicts not only contribute to putting the Middle East states in a fragile situation but also actively fuel the growth of radical movements, reaffirming insecurity both at the regional and global levels Invasion of foreign powers in the region has also contributed to the instability of the area in a big way Taking into account the United States Russia and the European nations for their strategic interest without considering the stability of the Middle East region for the long run War operations, for instance the US-led Iraq invasion in 2003 NATO participation in Libya 2011 Syria
since 2011, and similarly many more, have regularly left a vacuum that the major terrorist groups including ISIS do not hesitate to fill In addition the region with an economy based on oil exports is in turn vulnerable to fluctuations in the global markets
This economic unstable condition often leads to a politically unstable state, and in turn amplifies the chances of having conflict Compounding these problems is climate change which magnifies competition for such basic necessities of life as water as well as arable land Climate change effects such as high temperatures and scarcity of resources also fuel conflicts within and between countries, which further augurs poorly for the region
The causes of stability and conflict in the Middle East are rooted in a multitude of political and socio-economic factors which are historical The conflict that causes one of the most tensions is religion, including interreligious and intrareligious divisions, mainly between Sunni and Shia Muslims
This division has been instrumental for state and non-state actors to gain a political advantage; with Saudi Arabia and Iran becoming the principal agents of this conflict For this reason, they engage in fights to capture a specific region as a proxy in nations like Yemen Syria and Iraq which make the region more insecure Also outstanding issues of territorial tensions and nationalist ideolo-
gies like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the Kurdish movements for independence have continued to fuel conflicts Such conflicts not only contribute to putting the Middle East states in a fragile situation but also actively fuel the growth of the radical movements reaffirming insecurity both at the regional and global levels China has rapidly increased its presence in the Middle East, and through its Belt and Road project another structural source of conflict with the USA emerges Strains of rivalry between these world s powers may ensue and put the Middle East on the precipice of conflict a situation which is made worse by the breakdown of traditional global governing structures Non-goverment organizations like the UN usually fail to balance the conflicts in this region, and hence decline collective security ambitions Where diplomacy is lacking acting alone the strong powers consequently raise the odds of a war Another possible cause may be an imbroglio coming out of Middle Eastern turmoil in the shape of a large-scale terror attack If an event like 9/11 should occur the great powers will be drawn into several nation conflicts in the region which may lead to a world war Another potential danger is the disputes in the
And that is why the Middle East’s instabilities are the microcosm of the present day problems of world security Of course, these conflicts may develop into a third world war, but there is a way to prevent this scenario The Middle Eastern countries’ tendencies to approach global processes as an instrument for their internecine struggle are latently productive of collision, which can transform, in consideration of a potent internal degradation factor, the region into the focus of a global conflict The negative effects of immobile approach are much more severe and the members of the international society can not turn a blind eye to the situation and let the process in this volatile region progress
T h e t h r e a t f r o m r a d i c a l
I s l a m i s n o w i n s i d e o u r
g a t e s . B i d e n i g n o r e d i t .
T r u m p m u s t a c t
Stopping
Elon Musk is a monster bully on the loose, but he c an only get his way if we let him
No Canadian government of whatever stripe could sur vive if it allows itself to be bullied by Trump
The democratic order has faced down t yrants and megalomaniacs before The name of the game for liberals for 2025 and beyond must be sur vival
radical ideology in an effort to destroy the West Indeed, in New Orleans, a group called New Orleans Musicians for Palestine announced it was planning a "Procession for Palestine" on Jan 6, just days after the attack to "demonstrate (its) continued solidarity with the people of Palestine and make visible (its) vision for a world after war colonialism capitalism and white supremacy None of these things have anything to do with the Palestinian people today Fueled by a progressive ideology that is anti-American and antisemitic, the focus of these protesters has always been on the destruction of the West and the core values that have given rise to the most generous most prosperous civilization in history
These displays are the result of an education system that has misled generations of Americans about the goodness of our country, as well as failed leadership at the very top The Biden administration has failed to address rising antisemitism and radical Islamism in America during its tenure a fact that was most clear in the wake of the horrific October 7 attacks on Israel College campuses became a focal point for spreading radical Islamist goals, while threats to our homeland metastasized further – and the Biden administration did nothing to stop it The incoming Trump administration must take the threat posed by radical Islamism seriously especially because it is now deep inside America s gates No university that receives federal funding should permit calls for intifada, threats to Jewish students, and threats to America to be held on its grounds
The college campus ‘protests’ we saw in the wake of October 7th were in fact violent pro-Hamas mobs threatening and attacking Jewish students by spreading antisemitic hate President Trump should also use his position as president to advocate against the claims of these protesters and make clear that America stands firmly against this bigotry
perpetrated in New Orleans by an assailant claiming allegiance to ISIS, hundreds of demonstrators could be found in Times Square calling for an "intifada revolution " the destruction of Israel and support for the terrorist organization Hamas These protesters knew exactly what they were doing: they took an iconic American space generally reserved for revelry and celebrating the arrival of the new year, and they turned it into a massive platform for radical jihadism This grotesque display, which celebrated the same ideology embraced by the thug who killed 15 innocent Americans should make every American sick
We should drop any remaining misguided thoughts that these groups have a humanitarian mo-
Additionally, President Trump must once again take the fight to radical Islamic organizations abroad After four years of the Biden administration groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS are making a forceful comeback especially in the wake of Biden s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan As these groups expand and prosper overseas, so too does their capability to build effective networks inside America that threaten our people
We cannot simply sit on our hands and expect this threat won’t eventually come home to hurt the American people – we need to go on offense and ensure that groups like ISIS do not have the capacity to threaten the United States or radicalize our citizens For four years in the Trump administration, we kept America safe by doing just that I am confident President Trump can deliver for the American people again Mike Pompeo
their actions Trump, in particular, has always believed in the value of menace and surprise as levers in the transactional politics that are his nature Musk is cruder and more apocalyptic He loathes every restraint on his desire for a human race remade in his own overriding self-interest
a mesmerised media at home and abroad the thrill excites them into fresh provocations Donald Trump knows the US s allies nerves are jangling as his second presidency approaches – and he wants to keep it that way Elon Musk is similarly glorying in his power to provoke and misinform
America First power It will also be a requiem that consigns large parts of the rules-based postwar global settlement to the grave
Welcome to the world of the next four years – and maybe more Except that, if one thing can be said with confidence about the Trump second term it is that at some stage he will surely turn against Musk probably in a dispute over the scale of government spending cuts In the end, there will only be room for one egomaniac at the controls
But there is also something distinctly performative about the taunts that Trump and Musk have been firing off against the continuing supporters of the liberal democratic order in these past few weeks This performative habit is not new Trump, after all, discovered in his first term that promising a wall on the border with Mexico did not mean he actually had to finish building one The threat and what it stood for proved more than enough in domestic political terms It may be the same this time around
This is not to deny that on some important level Trump and Musk believe the things they are saying or to pretend that there is no coherence to
Yet that does not mean that these things will happen, let alone that they are unstoppable Does Trump, for instance really intend to try to subjugate Canada forcing it into an Anschluss so that he can ride in triumph through Ottawa? Does he actually have a plan to annex Greenland, in defiance of international law, transatlantic agreement and, not least, military logic? Donald Trump Jr ’s photo-op day trip there this week is not proof of seriousness in that regard It is easy for liberals in the US and abroad to be outraged by such goading and hostility This is of course why the conservatives do it Nevertheless, liberals in the US and elsewhere should not allow themselves to be blinded to the existing political system s capacity for a certain level of oppositional holdout This is not Nazi Germany Even among US Republicans on Capitol Hill there are important divisions In Congress, all politics is still local, and few members’ interests are exactly the same
The name of the game for liberals in 2025 and beyond is therefore survival It will not be easy and anyone who pretends otherwise is a false friend Nevertheless, we forget at our peril that politics is a subtle, complicated business of peaceful trade-offs and balances not just a zero-sum public slugfest of the kind we are witnessing right now Even under absolute monarchy, a skilled operator such as the Thomas Cromwell depicted in Hilary Mantel’s novels could survive for years, and do remarkable things, before the light went out Today in what is still a democratic age not an absolutist one a bullying ruler s opponents possess more varied weapons of resistance and restraint and their prospects of survival are much greater, in every sense
This is particularly true internationally This is why the task of handling the Trump restoration is such a difficult and fascinating as well as highly unwelcome, challenge for all of the US s traditional allies It is certainly not pretty, but it is equally certainly the challenge facing Keir
Lebanon eLects ‘Us-approved’ army chief as president
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has partnered with Unilever Pakistan & Seed Ventures for 2nd Life Pakistan 2 0, an effort to bring innovation in waste management in Pakistan Building on the success of the first edition the 2nd Life programme extends beyond plastic to address food waste e-waste textiles paper and more By supporting innovation and collaboration, 2nd Life Pakistan 2 0 aims to enable Pakistan s leadership in sustainability efforts, creating a platform that connects innovators entrepreneurs and industry experts
fostering scalable solutions to repurpose waste into valuable resources Applications are now open for the 2025 programme designed for entrepreneurs innovators and students developing solutions to tackle waste management challenges in Pakistan
S 1 . 1 T R : M I N I S T E R L E G H A R I
a three member bench of the commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja ultimately ruled in favor of Senator Abro, dismissing the disqualification reference JHELUM S TA F F R E P O R T
Former federal minister Fawad
Chaudhry on Thursday asserted that whether Pakistan s next general election occurs in eight months or a year, negotiations are already underway regarding the timing
Speaking to a private TV channel Ch emphasized that former Prime Minister Imran Khan is actively pushing for immediate elections, while the incumbent government seeks more time
According to Chaudhry, Khan’s political strength has put the government in a weakened position Imran Khan has the political cards and the government s position has been considerably weakened The government s inability to meet with the founder of the negotiation committee is a clear indicator of their deteriorating situation he said
Chaudhry pointed out that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been calling for new elections for
the past two years yet the political climate has not reached the level of instability seen in neighboring Bangladesh He also noted that despite pressure from various quarters, including the military establishment, Khan has not been sidelined, indicating his enduring political relevance
The pressure that was supposed to come for Imran Khan will be felt by January 20 but the situation will become clearer by February 20, Chaudhry predicted, suggesting that developments related to the elections and the political landscape are expected to unfold soon
Chaudhry further mentioned that negotiations with the government are now being pursued as the only solution to the current political crisis Despite repeated claims from PML-N leaders including Maryam Nawaz Shehbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif that they would meet with the PTI leadership talks have failed to materialize due to Khan s ongoing imprisonment
N
“Imran Khan has not been minus for the last two years and now the government must face the consequences of keeping him in jail for an extended period Chaudhry added T
that while the government wants to delay elections for as long as
clear: the demand for elections is non-negotiable
Chaudhry also highlighted the fragmentation within the ruling PML-N, noting the presence of multiple factions, including those led by Nawaz Sharif Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Despite these divisions he pointed out that there is a lack of consensus over the leadership, which complicates any resolution As the country continues to grapple with political uncertainty all eyes are now on the outcome of the ongoing negotiations with many speculating that a new date for the general elections could emerge in the coming months
The government secured Rs584 5 billion through the auction of Treasury Bills (T-Bills) Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) and Government Islamic Sukuk (GIS) This included Rs434 billion from T-Bills, Rs11 9 billion from PIBs, and Rs138 billion from the GIS auction across all tenors The GIS auction conducted by the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) attracted robust participation, with total bids reaching Rs536 billion more than double the Rs250 billion target, according to Arif Habib Limited (AHL) The government raised Rs138 billion predominantly from the 10-year Variable Rate
Rental (VRR) Sukuk Yields on Fixed Rate Rental (FRR) Sukuk dropped marginally by 1 to 6 basis points compared to the previous auction In the T-Bill auction the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) raised Rs434 billion surpassing its Rs250 billion target Yields for 3-month, 6-month, and 12month T-Bills fell to multi-year lows of 11 7848% 11 7899% and 11 8004% respectively representing declines of 22 to 50 basis points Total bids for TBills amounted to Rs1,552 billion, significantly exceeding the auction target The SBP also raised Rs104 billion as a non-bidding amount totaling the total borrowing to Rs434 15 billion The government raised Rs8 billion through the auction of
Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) against total bids of Rs775 2 billion, maintaining a cautious borrowing approach An additional Rs3 86 billion was secured through non-competitive bidding bringing the total to Rs11 86 billion PIBs and Treasury Bills (TBills) are key tools for government fundraising PIBs are long-term debt instruments with maturities ranging from three to 20 years offering fixed interest rates and catering to investors seeking stable, long-term returns In contrast, T-Bills are shortterm securities with three, six, or 12-month maturities issued at a discount to face value and redeemed at par making them a secure option for quick investments
