PAKISTAN MINERALS INVESTMENT FORUM OPENS WITH
seeks more time from ECP for argument in intra-par t
S TA F F R E P O R T Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Barrister Gohar on Tuesday sought more time for arguments from the Election commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the intra-party election case A
T Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah emphasized that political negotiations are the only way to resolve the country’s ongoing crisis expressing disappointment over Imran Khan s refusal to engage with opposition parties Sanaullah highlighted that the situation could only improve through dialogue
(PTI) has
NEPRA high-ups boost their pay without cabinet approval; chairman pockets Rs3.24m, members take home Rs2.94m per month
of Nepra officials, asking whether the increases had been approved by the government Although the Cabinet Division initially objected to the increase the government later implicitly endorsed the decision while requesting a formal written explanation Previously, on February 18, Cabinet Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal informed a Senate panel that Nepra had been instructed to provide an explanation for the salary increase which was said to be in vi-
olation of Section 8 of the Nepra Act Afzal emphasized that regulatory bodies like Nepra fall under the jurisdiction of the prime minister or the federal cabinet, and thus must seek cabinet approval for any changes to their emoluments
In his response Dr Chaudhry stated that in addition to their salaries Nepra officials were entitled to medical facilities and gratuity benefits The chairman receives a gratuity equal to one basic pay of Rs772,780 for each year of service, while members are entitled to Rs701,005 The minister explained that the salary increases over the last five years from 2020-
21 to 2024-25 included the yearly Adhoc Relief Allowance announced in the federal budget Prior to the 2018 amendments to the Nepra Act, the federal government determined the salaries of Nepra officials However, since the amendments, Nepra has had the authority to determine the remuneration of its chairman and members subject to approval from the federal government This approval, Dr Chaudhry noted, is based on certain principles and standards, including the specialised nature of Nepra’s work, the need to ensure financial self-sufficiency, and the salaries paid to individuals in equivalent positions in the private sector
the constitutional validity of the CVT Act and not its conflict with FADRA The ATIR s ruling effectively annulled the CVT demand, citing that the judgments of the Lahore and Sindh High Courts did not cover the issue of FADRA’s precedence The decision underscores that foreign assets declared under
sales tax However the final approval is still required from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is expected to make his decision in the coming days The initia-
tive also requires approval from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) If implemented, the tax removal is anticipated to increase
prices by as much as Rs1 000 per maund reduce cotton imports and save significant foreign exchange spent on imports Additionally, it could help curb the rise in undocumented
trade in the domestic market, potentially improving government
Currently imported
yarn and grey cloth are exempt from sales tax under the Export Facilitation Scheme while domestic sales are taxed This discrepancy has led to an economic crisis, with rising cotton imports and a decline in local cultivation Industry stakeholders had called for the sales tax on local cotton products to be removed to restore balance and improve local production
In response to these concerns, Prime Minister Sharif set up a committee consisting of Finance Minister Aurangzeb Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Ahmed along with other relevant officials After holding discussions with stakeholders, including the PCGA, APTMA, and the Pakistan ReadyMade Garments
hart
Block situated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) according to a filing by the energy giant at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday We are pleased to announce the fourth gas and condensate discovery at Spinwam-1 exploratory well in the Lock-
Is the world rever ting to a Pre-Westphalian order?
Sthe international system and unitary actors in the world s political and security landscape Ever since the medieval ages the global States system has undergone significant transformations adapting to the evolving trends in international structure and fulfilling the fundamental needs and aspirations of its citizens
The Peace Treaty of Westphalia, concluded in 1648, is one of the most pivotal moments in world political history that laid the foundation for the modern State Besides marking the end of the Thirty Years War in Europe the Westphalian Peace established the fundamental principles of State s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and exclusive authority to formulate laws, administer justice, and conduct foreign policy
These principles have since been serving as norms of the international structure However with the rise of globalization the increasing importance of non-state actors, and the growing challenges to national sovereignty, some scholars and policymakers have begun to wonder: is the world reverting to a pre-Westphalian order?
In order to reach some logical conclusion it is imperative to make a comparison of the prevailing strategic security environment with that existing before the Westphalian Peace
The pre-Westphalian political structure was characterized by a complex web of overlapping jurisdictions and authorities
Followings were the major political orders in Europe: (1) The Holy Roman Empire– a loose confederation of German states and cities with the Holy Roman Emperor as its head; (2) Habsburg Dynasty– comprising vast territory including Spain, Austria and Hungary; (3) the Catholic Church- with a central role in European life influencing education politics and culture; (4) various monarchs feudal lords and vassals–all exercising power and influence over dif-
ferent territories and populations In Muslim world the Ottoman Empire continued to expand into Eastern Europe posing a threat to European powers
The system was often chaotic and violent, with frequent conflicts and power struggles among various actors The following two major wars impended the peace and stability of the European theatre: (1) the Eighty-Years War (1568-1648) for Dutch independence from Spain; and (2) the devastating ThirtyYears War (1618-1648) involving many European powers Furthermore, the Catholic-Protestant divide had also created a deep split between Catholic and Protestant States The concept of sovereignty as we understand today did not exist and States were not recognized as having supreme authority within their territories In many ways, the world security situation today bears some striking similarities to those of the pre-Westphalian era A few key parallels include the followings: All the political analysts widely accept anarchy as the basic element of the world order which demands individual states to ruthlessly be self-seeking as regards to ensuring their security and survival Anarchy prevailed both in pre-Westphalian and present eras with a difference in “intensity” and not in “nature” The pre-Westphalian anarchy was characterized by overlapping jurisdictions and authorities challenging the concept of national sovereignty Today, globalization, international institutions, and non-state actors (NSAs) are all challenging the traditional notion of national sovereignty Furthermore the possession of deadliest weapons especially the nuclear arsenals the unending arms race amongst states disrespect of international laws especially the humanitarian laws and prevailing turbulence in States external and domestic dynamics, are a few indicators of the anarchic world order
Although there are no more traditional empires and monarchs ruling vast territories and playing central roles in states domestic and international affairs, this role has been assumed by the great powers States myth of independence has become neo-colonial reality today, hence seriously compromising their sovereignty States– especially weak powers– are bound to respond to the dictates of the international system great power politics and stringent conditions imposed by global financial institutions
In the pre-Westphalian era, NSAs such as the Catholic Church and feudal lords played important roles in international relations Today NSAs such as terrorist organizations multinational corporations and NGOs are increasingly influential in global affairs It was a small group of NSAs which conducted 9/1 – severely altering the security dynamics of every State on Earth Similarly, NSAs with military capabilities have compromised the predominance of the States conceptual and practical authority in conducting foreign policy The signs of such collapses of States structures are quite pronounced in the Middle East in the post-Arab Spring scenario and other states like Afghanistan in recent decades
The pre-Westphalian era was marked by complex webs of alliances rivalries and power struggles Today the world is more interconnected than ever before with complex global supply chains, international institutions, and social media networks
There are, however, some significant differences between the two eras The modern international system is characterized by a robust framework of international law institutions and norms which did not exist in the pre-Westphalian era Additionally the world today is more interconnected and interdependent than ever before, which creates both opportunities and challenges
A critical analysis of both eras reveals
What is emerging is a hybrid order: a mix of medieval-like pluralism, transnational loyalties, and modern state structures, shaped by globalization, conflict, and ideology. Whether this trend represents a temporary aberration or a new long-term paradigm remains to be seen.
reject the legitimacy of modern nation-
that during the pre-Westphalian period, the whole of Europe was in turmoil whereas the Islamic world was relatively stable Today, the case is rather opposite where Europe and the Western states are fairly balanced and the Islamic world is witnessing a reversion to this older model amid rising sectarianism transnational ideologies, and weakened sate structures Most modern Muslim-majority states possess colonial legacies and have failed to reflect cohesive ethnic tribal or religious identities in the post-colonial nationbuilding processes This dissonance has produced chronic instability authoritarianism, and, in some cases, state failure Some of the key trends of the Islamic World which emerged during the past few decades include the following: Firstly the onset of the 2011 Uprisings–the Arab Spring– led to the extraordinary proliferation of armed NSAs in Iraq Syria Yemen and Libya Same is the case in Afghanistan which has become the hub of scores of armed factions since: firstly, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979; and, secondly the US adventure and withdrawal in 2001 and 2021 respectively Later these scattered groups evolved themselves into established identities with an extensive regional network, such as Syrian Kurds, al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Jaysh al-Islam in Syria, and Houthis in Yemen In addition, hundreds of small militant groups emerged in Libya and Syria either operating independently or in the shadow of larger identities As a result states like Syria Libya Yemen, and Iraq have experienced severe fragmentation where multiple NSAs are in control of swathes of territory Furthermore, foreign powers interventions with impunity has eroded and undermined the traditional notions of sovereignty
Secondly movements like al-Qaeda ISIS, and various Islamist revivalist groups,
The writer has a PhD in International Relations and can be reached at arshadmahmood74@hotmail com
Francis Fukuyama warns Trump is not a realist
He has managed to insult and offend vir tually ever ybody in the world, both friends and enemies alike
If you look at the people on Januar y 6th that assaulted the Capitol, the vast majority of them had comfor table jobs and middle - class lives
Trump was ac tually quite surprising because I, and I think many other people, had assumed he was an isolationist
Charlie Barnett: You famously wrote in The End of History that liberalism normatively satisfies the most basic human longings and, therefore, can be expected to be more universal and durable than other principles Is this still a fair characterisation of your position today?
Professor Francis Fukuyama: Just to state the obvious, we’re in a very different period than when my original article and book came out Democracy at that point was expanding very rapidly and it s been in retreat over the last I would say almost 20 years now; really since about 2008 I think that this retreat has been accelerating, especially with Donald Trump taking office in the United States I would say, of all the unexpected things that have happened the fact that you could get this much regression and that Americans could vote for a demagogue like Trump is something I really wouldn t have anticipated The concept of the end of history was not mine It was really the philosopher Georg Hegel who articulated it, and it was used then by Karl Marx Both of them believed that history was directional that there was progress and that societies evolved and changed over time The question of the end of history was: To what sort of society were they progressing? Hegel s was basically a liberal society coming out of the French Revolution, and Karl Marx’s answer was a communist utopia My point back in 1989 was that the Marxist version of the end of history did not look like it was going to happen If anything we were going to end up with a liberal state I think there s still a lot to be said for this because you need to step back a little bit from current events Since the Hegelian declaration, we’ve had a lot of things happening in the world but over the past couple of hundred years since the French and American revolutions the fundamental idea that a modern society needs to be based on an equality of recognition has really been accepted by you know, virtually everybody There are very few people that say systematically
with eco-
nomics that liberal societies tend to be the richest societies in the world Even China today which is not a liberal political order has adopted important parts of economic liberalism and that has a lot to do with why they re as rich as they are today And so the question that I was trying to address is whether there’s an alternative form of social organisation that is higher than a liberal democracy connected to a market economy And to this point I haven t seen it
In the Financial Times, you wrote that Trump’s election represents a decisive rejection by American voters of liberalism, and they voted with “full knowledge of who Trump was and what he represented ” If the normative defence of liberalism is in large part what people prefer but they are rejecting liberalism en masse how do we ground its defence?
I don’t think that I said that the American voters were rejecting liberalism as a matter of principle I think that Americans remain deeply liberal They actually don t think about these things in terms of ideas or doctrines I think that they remain fundamentally liberal Nobody wants to abolish the Bill of Rights or have an authoritarian government And, in fact, I believe what I was referring to when I said that they knew what they were voting for was that they wanted a leader that promised them all sorts of good things in the short run
They didn t care that much about his bad character, and they should, therefore, not have been surprised when that bad character became evident once he was elected to a second term But that’s very different from saying, “Yeah we actually don’t like our freedoms
We really wish that we had a dictator running or if not a dictator a Viktor Orban type
Some, like John Gray, have argued that problems like inflation, stagnating wages, and de-industrialization are inherent to the structure of liberalism itself What would you say to a critique like that?
Well you have to decompose it into different elements We didn t have simple economic liberalism over the past 40 to 50 years, we had something that is sometimes labelled neoliberalism, meaning it was an extreme version of market economics It was pushed very strongly by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher back in the 1980s in which the state was demonised a lot was deregulated (especially in financial markets) and that led to both the rise in inequality and a destabilisation of the global financial system, and that is not the same thing as liberalism Fundamental classical liberalism really has to do with things like property rights and freedom of commerce but it doesn t imply this kind of libertarian approach to economic policy The other thing is that the real complaint about lib-
eralism these days which motivated a lot of Trump voters was not about economics fundamentally If you look at the people on January 6th that assaulted the Capitol the vast majority of them had comfortable jobs and middle-class lives They were more upset by a certain kind of social and cultural liberalism that I would put under the banner of woke liberalism in which issues like race gender ethnicity and sexual orientation are prioritised
I want to talk about international relations a little bit more generally Some might say that we are seeing a surge in a realist interpretation of global politics, namely the idea that there’s no higher power in international politics and that great powers behave to protect their own interests rather than adhering to a set of moral or political values You used to be very critical of this school of thought Are you still critical now?
Well, I would make a distinction in the different types of realism There’s a realism of ends and then there s a realism of means And I ve always been a believer in the realism of means That is to say you can pursue non-realist goals, but you need to do that realistically with an appreciation for the importance of power and, occasionally, for the importance of military power The realism of ends is something different like John Mearsheimer asserting that it doesn t matter what kind of regime you have that all countries want to maximise their power And that, I think, is simply empirically wrong, and it s normatively wrong because countries do pursue very different types of foreign policies based on their domestic orders
You outlined your critique of realism in international affairs earlier but you ve also said that Trump’s behaving like an imperialist in many ways, with what he’s saying about Greenland, Canada and Gaza Do you think the future is one where Trump or the US or great powers behave imperialistically and retreat into their spheres of influence?
Russia and China never abandoned the spheres of influence type of thinking, especially Russia Putin has a very 19th-century view of Russia’s mission It is based on territory and physical extent China has had territorial ambitions for the last several decades The militarization that it s undertaken of the South China Sea is not isolationism It s making a huge assertion about the territorial extent of the country So these countries haven t changed over the recent years They simply saw that the balance of power in the world had shifted away from the United States and that they could take advantage of it What is different is the position of the United States and there, Trump was actually quite surprising be-
cause I, and I think many other people, had assumed he was an isolationist He had criticized America’s forever wars, the fact that we’d gotten involved in all these hopeless conflicts in the Middle East and that we weren t going to do that anymore And then all of a sudden he wants to remake Gaza into a luxury resort It s a very old understanding of national interest, and one that we had thought had largely disappeared in the thinking of most people in modern liberal democracies
If Trump withdraws decisively from European security what is the future of Europe?
Well, it depends on choices that the Europeans will have to make I think that the French have been insisting on the need for a separate European defence capacity They’ve never backed that up sufficiently with the kinds of military investments that you would need to make that credible But this is increasingly going to be on the agenda Within NATO, there was a division in recent years between the French and other Western Europeans that thought maybe it would be better to have an independent capability We’re going through a very interesting period right now where a lot of Eastern Europe is now beginning to recognise that that strategy isn t going to work because the United States isn t reliable and that Europe has to take care of itself It certainly has the economic wherewithal to do that So the question is whether you can get the political agreement to reorganise things Both the EU and NATO have very defective decision-making systems where, on a lot of critical issues, you need unanimity between 31 countries or 27 And I think if the Europeans don’t fix some of those decision-making systems they’re also going to suffer from that kind of weakness
As you say many assumed Trump was an isolationist at first, but now his policies don’t always seem to reflect this ideology Could it be that Trump is motivated by a realist frame of thought when it comes to power and that his tariffs and foreign policy are ways of legitimizing that power?
Francis Fukuyama is an American political scientist, political economist, and international relations scholar
Dr arshaD MahMooD
TRUMP, NETANYAHU SAY ISRAEL WORKING ON FRESH GA Z A HOSTAGE DEAL
Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday held a phone conversation with
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urging the two sides to maintain free and open trade
Noting both China and the EU are advocates of economic globalization and trade liberalization and staunch defenders and supporters of the WTO Premier Li said the two sides should strengthen communication and coordination, expand mutual openness, safeguard free and open trade and investment, maintain the stability and smooth flow of the global industrial and supply chains injecting more stability and certainty into both sides and the world economy
The Chinese premier pointed out that recently, the U S , under various pretexts has announced the indiscriminate imposition of tariffs on all trade partners including China and the EU – a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying Li said that China has taken
resolute measures not only to safeguard its own sovereignty, security and development interests, but also to defend the rules of international trade and justice
As this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, Li said China is willing to enhance political mutual trust with the European side expand practical cooperation insist on resolving their respective concerns through dialogue and consultation, and promote the continuous development of ChinaEU relations He called for promoting the holding of a new round of China-EU high-level dialogue in the strategic economic and trade green and digital sectors as soon as possible Li also voiced China s confidence in maintaining the sustained and healthy development of its economy saying China’s macro policies this year have fully taken into account various uncertainties and the country also has sufficient reserve policy tools, which are fully capable of hedging against unfavorable external influences China will continue to
unswervingly expand its opening up, strengthen cooperation with the rest of the world and share development opportunities he added Von der Leyen said that the EU has always attached great importance to its relations with China
It is crucial for Europe and China to maintain continuity and stability amid current situation, she said The EU is looking forward to holding a new round of meetings between European and Chinese leaders at an appropriate time and to jointly celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the EU and China, von der Leyen added She warned that the imposition of additional U S tariffs has seriously impacted international trade sparking serious repercussions on Europe, China and vulnerable countries Von der Leyen called on Europe and China to be committed to safeguarding a fair and free multilateral trading system centered on the WTO and to maintaining the healthy and stable development of global economic and trade relations, which is in the common interest of both sides and the world
PESHAWAR
S TA F F R E P O R T
The Taliban-led interim government of Afghanistan has called on the United Nations and other international organisations to play an active role in ensuring the dignified repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan
The appeal came following a high-level meeting at the Afghan Presidential Palace (Arg) in Kabul chaired by Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund The meeting reviewed the ongoing deportation of Afghan nationals from
Pakistan and expressed concern over the challenges faced by returnees In an official statement the Afghan government urged Pakistani authorities to honour their Islamic and neighbourly obligations, noting the decades-long relationship between citizens of both countries The forum highlighted that religious historical and cultural bonds must be preserved warning that hostile or wrong steps could harm bilateral ties
The statement added that the Afghan High Commission for Refugees had been directed to mobilise all available resources to fa-
cilitate the returnees Authorities were tasked with providing temporary accommodation essential services and facilities to ensure the welfare of repatriated individuals The repatriation of Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders and undocumented immigrants from Pakistan continues under the ongoing government campaign According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home and Tribal Affairs Department, 3,042 undocumented immigrants and 2,355 ACC holders crossed into Afghanistan via the Torkham border on April 7 alone
Aliyev During the meeting both sides PM Shehbaz Sharif while referencing his recent visit to Azerbaijan, stated that Pakistan and Azerbaijan enjoy longstanding brotherly relations based on shared faith, culture, mutual respect, and fraternity Reviewing the progress on the Memorandums of Understanding and bilateral agreements signed during his visit the prime minister invited Azerbaijan to take advantage of the vast investment opportunities available in Pakistan in the fields of oil exploration, mining, renewable energy, and regional infrastructure development PTI calls detention of Khan’s sisters, par t y leaders, workers
‘shameful, intolerable’
ISLAMABAD
S TA F F R E P O R T Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vehemently denounced the government for deliberately denying PTI founding Chairman Imran Khan s sisters a meeting with their unlawfully incarcerated brother blatantly violating Islamabad High Court (IHC) orders The party called the unlawful detention of his sisters, PTI leaders and workers, shameful and intolerable PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas, in a strongly-worded statement on Tuesday condemned the ‘imposed rulers’ for their brazen constitutional violations systematic dismantling of judicial independence and flagrant disregard for the rule of law, warning that such authoritarian actions were rapidly reducing Pakistan to a state of lawlessness He strongly condemned both the use of force against peaceful protesters showing solidarity with Imran Khan’s family and detention of Imran Khan’s sisters Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan and PTI leader Aliya Hamza and the party workers and leaders lawyers and journalists outside Adiala Jail
ISLAMABAD S
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday directed newly-appointed Director-General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Riffat Mukhtar Raja to initiate strict and effective measures against human smuggling and illegal immigration across the country
Presiding over a high-level meeting, Naqvi emphasized the need for coordinated action across all provinces, asserting that individuals involved in human smuggling must be dealt with an “iron hand ” Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhary Federal Interior Secretary Mohammad Khurram Agha, and newly-appointed Director-General of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCA) Waqaruddin Syed were also present at the meeting
The interior minister condemned the exploitative tactics used by human traffickers, saying such
crackdown in all four
Clash erupts between PTI supporters and police near Adiala Jail, multiple arrests made
leader Aliya Hamza They had arrived at Adiala Jail to visit Imran Khan but were prevented from entering the premises PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar condemned the detentions highlighting that a court order explicitly allowed the family to meet Imran Khan He criticized the arrests as illegal and unconstitutional and clarified that PTI had neither instigated stone-throwing nor organized the protest The primary objective was to show solidarity with Imran Khan s family
In a separate incident reports indicated that the police halted the vehicle carrying the detained individuals just short of the jail Authorities assured the group they were not
