An alternate to petrol motorcycles

With petroleum prices increasing to Rs277 per litre, the fuel cost burden for a motorcycle owner will significantly increase. Pakistan needs to move fast towards electric motorcycle adoption to provide relief to these lower-middle and middle-class households. This requires enabling market-driven approaches with the government playing a facilitator role.

Assuming an average of one-litre consumption per day, motorcycle users will be spending Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 per month in fuel expenses with the new petroleum price.

This translates into about $5 billion of refined petroleum imports per year, based on the current ex-refinery price of Rs205.58 per litre and 20 litre/month average consumption for each of these 26 million motorcycles on the road. In addition, these motorcycles are contributing to about 16 per cent of Pakistan’s total CO2 emissions and impacting the environment in large cities.

Electric motorcycles/scooters can reduce this monthly fuel expense by Rs4,600-8,500 with battery charging at Rs15-25 per KWh home charging rate. In addition, if the average travel by petrol-based motorcycle is 12,000km per year, emitting 50g/km of CO2, each electric motorcycle replacing a petrol one reduces 600kg of CO2 annually.

However, electric motorcycles cost significantly more than petrol-based ones, making them unaffordable and limiting their fast adoption in the market. This is primarily due to lithium based battery, which constitute about 30-40pc of the total cost of electric motorcycles and scooters. For a used motorcycle, there is an additional cost of a conversion kit besides the battery.

While the government is actively considering various subsidies options to reduce the upfront cost burden to consumers, these options suffer from two major drawbacks: the high cost of subsidy (up to Rs90,000 per motorcycle) and total planned production of 175,000 in three years (just 0.7pc of the total market).

A successful policy drives mass adoption by enabling the market, such as the net metering policy adopted in 2015, which is one of the main reasons for the rooftop solar success story. For faster mass adoption of electric motorcycles, the policy focus should be shifted from high subsidies and very low penetration to creating market demand and letting private businesses take care of the rest.

The government can initiate a three- to five-year term loan program to facilitate this fast conversion. These loans should only cover the added cost of the battery for a new motorcycle or battery plus conversion kit for a used motorcycle conversion.

Assuming a person in the market for a new motorcycle typically purchases it using their own funding or financing, the government loan should not cover the cost of the new bike itself. Import duty exemptions on electric motors and LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery packs would also help to bring the cost down for consumers.

Following is one scenario of how this can be implemented to drive the market.

First, target at least 2m initial adoptions of electric motorcycles in two years to provide relief to 2m households and make an appreciable impact on the import bill. This can be done effectively by considering both new productions (20pc) and retrofitting existing motorcycles (80pc) with conversion kits. This will result in import bill savings of at least Rs130bn ($500m).

Second, provide three-year term loans for a 1.0–2.0Kwh (30-60km daily use) battery for a new motorcycle and a five-year term for a retrofit plus battery. With the current LFP battery and conversion kit prices, the monthly loan payment will range from Rs2,500 (1KWh battery) to Rs5,500 (retrofit+2KWh battery).

After including the charging cost, this will still save 30-40pc in monthly transportation cost compared to the current expenses on fuel & maintenance of a petrol motorcycle, irrespective of daily distance travelled.

Third, as retrofits are needed to drive market penetration, the government may contribute up to Rs1,000 per month towards loan payments to compensate for the cost of retrofits and a high-interest rate of 19pc, with a cap of Rs10bn outlay per year. This contribution can be discontinued or reduced once the interest rate falls below 13pc.

Fourth, for consumer protection and to drive quality, the Engineering Development Board (EDB) should prepare specifications and a list of approved suppliers for motors, controllers, and LFP batteries with a minimum one-year warranty on the motor and a three-year warranty on the battery.

These specifications should be the same for new or retrofits to avoid low-quality conversion kits. The government loan should also be tied to approved motors, controllers and batteries.

Successful implementation will minimise the need for government subsidies and will drive faster consumer adoption. This will create a market demand for private businesses to provide high-quality conversion kits and batteries and an impetus for motorcycle manufacturers to increase the capacity for their electric versions.

These market-driven mechanisms can lead to 50pc adoption (15m motorcycles) in five years, saving more than $2.5bn per year in the petroleum import bill and a significant reduction of CO2 emission. The government also saves money by providing minimum subsidies.

The writer is an engineering executive in the US tech industry.

He can be reached at arsyed@cox.net

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2023

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/AyzG2PZ
via IFTTT

Granaz recalls family tortured in private jail, kept in separate cells

QUETTA: The Marri woman who last week was rescued from captivity along with her children after spending years in a private jail in Barkhan town narrated her ordeal on Sunday, recalling that the family was subjected to torture, kept separately in small rooms and weren’t allowed to meet with each other.

“It was a horrible experience that we can’t forget,” Granaz Bibi, wife of Khan Muhammad Marri, said in a recorded video message released on Sunday. Her two teenage sons also narrated what happened to them while in captivity.

The woman recalled that she and her three children, including a daughter, had been recovered by the police and Levies officials from the Duki area of Balochistan a few days ago after Marri tribe members and other people protested in Quetta and demanded the government recover the family.

Granaz, 50, and her seven children had been languishing in a private jail for years. Two of her sons were killed and their bodies were found along with a woman’s body earlier this month in a well in the Haji Kot area of Barkhan. Granaz and her five children were later rescued in separate raids and reunited with Mr Marri.

Granaz claimed that she was put in the private jail of Communication Works Minister Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran, who was arrested last week and is on a 10-day physical remand.

Rescued Barkhan woman, two sons narrate ordeal while years in captivity

“We were tortured badly and kept separately in small rooms,” she said. “My six sons were not allowed to meet me.”

Mr Marri had also been saying for the last two years that his wife and children were illegally detained, sexually abused and tortured by Mr Khetran and his men in the private jail in Barkhan since 2019.

Their 15-year-old son said in the video, “We spent most of the time in Barkhan. Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran brought us to Quetta in tight security and kept us in his house.”

He said the minister handed over some family members to a man who took them to Duki and kept them in a hideout. However, just before security officials raided the place and recovered them, the man who was keeping an eye on the family disappeared and left them alone.

Mr Marri’s other son, an 11-year-old, also narrated his story, recalling that they were forced to work for the minister and subjected to torture. “The brothers were kept in different rooms and were not allowed to meet our mother,” he said.

Police surgeon Ayesha Faiz, who conducted a medical examination of Granaz and her five children, has also confirmed that the family was subjected to torture in prison. She also said in her report that Granaz’s daughter was sexually abused.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2023

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/AMCuS5X
via IFTTT

Lights ‘to remain on’ for PSL matches in Lahore

LAHORE: The row over the cost of security lights that might have dampened the glitz of Pakistan Super League (PSL) is ‘apparently’ settled as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that all nine matches at Gaddafi Stadium will go on as scheduled.

A standoff persisted between the caretaker Punjab government and the PCB for the past couple of days after the former demanded Rs250 million in security costs. The PCB offered to contribute only Rs100m, emphasising that security was solely the government’s responsibility.

PCB Management Commi­ttee’s Chairman Najam Sethi on Sunday said the caretaker chief minister had agreed to share the cost of lighting the routes during the PSL matches in Lahore.

“Good news: CM Punjab Mohsin Naqvi Saheb has been kind enough to agree to share the cost of lighting the routes during PSL matches in Lahore. HBL PSL8 matches in Lahore and Pindi shall continue as scheduled,” Mr Sethi tweeted.

PCB, Punjab govt ‘appear’ to have reached agreement

However, Mr Sethi’s tweet has been disputed by the Punjab government.

According to sources, the tweet was “misleading” as the government had not retreated from its position and the PCB would still have to bear the Rs250m procurement cost of security lights.

When contacted, the Punjab government’s focal person on the issue, Ibrahim Hassan Murad, asserted the PCB would bear the cost whether it comes at Rs250m or Rs300m, as per the government’s decision.

On Sunday, Mr Sethi had reportedly contacted the prime minister, who is also the board’s patron, to discuss the issue.

Ambiguity

The matter appeared to have been resolved, at least for the time being, as the route taken by the teams — Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi — to reach the Gaddafi Stadium for their match on Sunday was illuminated with security lights at dark spots.

Mr Murad said security lights have been installed on the dark spots and the government would ensure the players’ security for all nine matches to be played in Lahore.

However, the matter of who would pay the cost of security lights is still shrouded in ambiguity.

Although Punjab Chief

Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman said there was no dispute as the PCB and the government were “on the same page,” he added the issue of funds “would be sorted out in due course”.

“At present, the PSL is more important for Lahore,” he told Dawn.“

Earlier, the Punjab government claimed that the standoff “has been resolved” after it was decided that the PCB will purchase security lights. The government will bear all the costs besides the cost of security lights, it asserted.

According to the interim government, the previous government had spent Rs600m on security lights in 2022 and this year too, the cost was estimated to be over Rs500m.

However, sources in the PCB with knowledge of negotiations, said the board will contribute Rs100m with the government bearing the remaining cost on a one-off basis.

A PCB news release quoting Mr Sethi thanked the interim Punjab CM for agreeing to share the cost of lighting.

“[T]he nine matches at the headquarters of cricket in Pakistan [Gaddafi Stadium], including the four play-offs, will now proceed as per the previously announced schedule,” the press release added.

“I am also thankful to the franchise owners for their overwhelming and unconditional support of the PCB throughout this process. We remain committed to working with the local governments and sharing with them ideas and suggestions on how they can utilise the HBL PSL more strategically to generate revenues, like any other major sport extravaganza,” Mr Sethi added.

The dispute

The disagreement between the two parties persisted after the government demanded Rs450m for the security lights which would illuminate the route between the hotel and the stadium to ensure adequate security for the teams.

While the government slashed its demand to Rs250m, the unflinching PCB claimed it was the obligation of the government to provide security as per the agreements signed in 2014 for the restoration of international cricket in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2023

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/wbdMW4E
via IFTTT

Hong Kong police arrest three after model found dismembered in fridge

Hong Kong police said on Sunday they had arrested three people in connection with the murder of 28-year old model Abby Choi, whose legs were found in a refrigerator in a house on the city’s outskirts, along with tools used in dismembering bodies.

Police found Choi’s body on Friday but have yet to locate her head, torso and hands. They also found a meat slicer and an electric saw at the scene in the financial hub’s rural Tai Po district.

The gruesome murder of local influencer Choi, who appeared on the digital cover of L’Officiel Monaco fashion magazine last week, has gripped local tabloids as authorities search for the remaining parts of her body, including with drones and an abseiling team.

Police said they have charged two men, aged 31 and 65, jointly with one count of murder, and a 63-year-old woman with one count of perverting the course of justice. They are set to appear in a local court on Monday.

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/iJe8WBT
via IFTTT

Palestinian home to be razed showing Israeli punishment policy

The home of a Palestinian man behind a fatal attack on Israelis is to be demolished by Israeli authorities, even though it was built with compensation paid to them after one of their relatives was killed by an Israeli.

The entrances to the east Jerusalem home of Fatima Alqam, her husband Moussa and four children were sealed within days after her 21-year-old son killed seven people outside a synagogue in the settlement of Neve Yaacov.

Khayri Alqam was shot dead in the January 27 attack and his family later received a demolition order for their apartment, under a long-standing policy to punish the families of Palestinians who kill Israelis.

“We hope that it won’t be torn down. A lawyer has been appointed and we are waiting for the appeals process”, said one of the assailant’s relatives who requested anonymity, fearing reprisals.

Khayri Alqam shared the name of his grandfather, who was killed in 1998, allegedly by an Israeli extremist.

An Israeli man was arrested in 2010 for that attack and a series of other murders of Palestinians, although he was later released and ultimately no one was convicted over the killing.

“Who do we complain to?” asked the relative. “He must be punished. We were wronged in 1998 and wronged today.”

The accused Israeli in that case won the vocal support of Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has risen from extreme-right agitator to his current position as Israel’s national security minister.

An adviser to the politician, whose portfolio includes policing, did not respond to a request from AFP to comment on Ben-Gvir’s relationship with the accused.

At the time of the killing, the Alqam family said they were visited by then-Israeli president Ezer Weizman, and received compensation from the state over the murder.

They used some of the money to build their home in the al-Tur neighbourhood of annexed east Jerusalem and were living on the second floor of the small apartment block, with the other floors taken by relatives.

‘Military checkpoint’ at home

Nadia Daqqa, a lawyer with the Israeli rights group HaMoked, said that whether the state paid for part of the construction makes no difference to officials.

“For them, the house was where a Palestinian terrorist lived,” she said.

When Israeli forces demolish one apartment within a block, they knock down the walls to make it uninhabitable.

While successive governments have implemented the demolition policy, there has usually been a period after such an order is issued to allow residents to appeal.

That changed with the Alqam home, which under the administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sealed within 48 hours of the January 27 attack.

“These changes began with the new right-wing government,” said Daqqa, who represents clients facing demolition orders.

“And the demolition policy was expanded to include cases in which there were no deaths, or operations (attacks) carried out by children,” she added.

Last month the cabinet announced that the family home of a 13-year-old boy who shot and wounded two Israelis in the Silwan neighbourhood of east Jerusalem would also be sealed.

In al-Tur, Fatima and Moussa Alqam have now moved in with his mother in the same building as their sealed apartment, along with their children, aged six to 16.

The four-storey building was like a “military checkpoint” according to Moussa Alqam, with Israeli forces stationed at the property for more than two weeks.

‘Collective punishment’

A day after the deadly January attack, Israel’s security cabinet announced a slew of retaliatory measures.

This included revoking the rights to social security of “the families of terrorists that support terrorism”, although the Alqam family has yet to lose such benefits.

Fatima Alqam said her son had no ownership of their home and his grandmother held the property deed.

But under Israeli legislation, a demolition order can be issued to a relative of an attacker and amounts to a form of “collective punishment”, Daqqa said.

This approach sparked confusion this month after Netanyahu’s office announced plans to “seal and demolish the home” of a 31-year-old Palestinian who killed three Israelis in east Jerusalem before being shot dead.

When authorities discovered that Hussein Qaraqe was renting an apartment not owned by a relative, they went in search of an alternative home to raze. They settled upon his parents’ house and sealed it ahead of the expected demolition, Daqqa said.

But in the confusion, his sister’s home was also sealed off by Israeli forces for a few days, before being reopened.

The error was emblematic of the “chaos and current crazy period”, Daqqa said, as the Israeli government seeks to ramp up retaliatory measures.

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/1pGJC6l
via IFTTT

Under pressure

THE instability that has wreaked havoc on the legislature and executive for the greater part of the past year now threatens to consume the judiciary as well. One of the ugliest political feuds of our modern history has seen the Constitution twisted and manipulated by both government and opposition to suit their competing claims on power.

Now, within a year after passing two momentous judgements — one that overturned the PTI deputy speaker’s ruling on the vote of no-confidence, and another that seemingly ‘rewrote’ Article 63-A of the Constitution — the Supreme Court is once again the centre of attention over its suo motu proceedings on the question of whether elections for dissolved assemblies can be put off for more than 90 days.

However, many believe it is time for the Supreme Court to look farther beyond. The court is being asked to set matters straight by reviewing its past judgements that have paved the path to the current political crisis. These include the Panamagate ruling, the disqualification of lawmakers like PTI’s Jahangir Tareen on weak pretexts, and so on.

The demands come as patience on both sides of the political divide has run out. The PTI has threatened to trigger social upheaval if the question of elections is not resolved, while the PML-N is publicly attacking the integrity of sitting judges and accusing them of prejudice. Recently leaked audios allegedly involving one of the sitting Supreme Court justices are being used by various public figures to impeach the apex court’s integrity in the court of public opinion. It is in this context that the composition of the nine-member bench of the apex court-appointed to hear the suo motu case has been challenged by the PDM and the Pakistan Bar Council.

There is weight to the question of why certain senior judges — including the senior puisne judge — have been excluded from a bench which is deciding on a matter of such grave national import.

There is also the question of judicial propriety: should a judge allegedly involved in a political scandal be sitting on the bench? These are questions that the chief justice must address with great urgency. He must also contemplate why several key stakeholders are so unhappy with the judiciary, and what he may do within his powers to put to rest their concerns.

There is a very real danger that the judiciary may continue to be dragged deeper into controversy, given the stakes for the political parties. At the same time, this could be an opportunity for the judiciary to extricate itself from the many crises that have been plaguing the country. A judicial debate, involving the full court, over the major judgements passed in the past five years may open the doors for some reconciliation and closure.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2023

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/ARGx4j5
via IFTTT

World’s largest ice rink stays shut for first time due to mild Canada winter

Canada’s renowned Rideau Canal Skateway, the world’s largest natural ice skating rink, will not open this season for the first time due to a lack of ice, its operator said on Friday, blaming the closure on climate change.

The 7.8 km (4.9 mile) Rideau Canal Skateway, first opened over 50 years ago, is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Canada’s capital city Ottawa that is a top attraction for skating enthusiasts seeking outdoor thrills during Canada’s usually biting cold winters.

The National Capital Commission (NCC), which maintains and operates the Skateway, said that although they have been assessing and preparing for the impacts of climate change, their efforts to open the rink this season have “come to an end.”

“This year taught us a great deal about the effects of milder winters on the Skateway,” the commission said in a statement on Friday.

The NCC has previously said it can only open when the ice is at least 12 inches (30 cm) thick, for which there must be 10 to 14 consecutive days of temperatures between -20 Celsius and -10 Celsius (-4 and 14 degrees Fahrenheit).

In Ottawa the mean temperature in January was -5.9 Celsius (21.4 Fahrenheit), according to the Weather Network, well above the -10.3C average.

Temperatures this year are being driven by the La Nia weather phenomenon, while climate change has made mild winters more likely than they were a few decades ago, said Doug Gillham, manager of the Weather Network’s forecast centre.

The NCC and the Standards Council of Canada have commissioned a climate change risk assessment to understand the impact of climate change on the Skateway.

Under the scenario of moderate emissions, “the NCC should prepare for seasons with less than 40 days of skating approximately 50% of the time,” it says.

The average season has been 50 days — and went up to 95 days in the early 1970s, according to the NCC website.

“Even the cold of the last 24 hours couldn’t make up for this winter’s higher-than-average temperatures, snow and rain, which contributed to a thin and porous ice surface,” the NCC said on Twitter.

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/ZThHalG
via IFTTT

Asad Umar’s wife petitions LHC for his liberty as PTI’s ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ enters 3rd day

PTI Secretary General Asad Umar’s wife on Friday filed a habeas corpus petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) for her husband’s recovery from “improper, illegal and unlawful” custody of the Lahore police.

Umar had courted arrest, along with other senior PTI leaders, in Lahore on Wednesday as part of the party’s ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ (court arrest drive), which according to ex-premier Imran Khan is aimed at countering the “attack” on the party’s fundamental rights and the economic “meltdown”.

Umar was then shifted to Lahore’s Central Jail.

The habeas corpus petition by Umar’s wife was filed through Barrister Umair Niazi, Advocate Waqar Mushtaq Toor and Advocate Haider Majeed under Articles 4 and 9 of the Constitution and mentioned Lahore Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rafia Haider, Lahore Capital City Police Officer Bilal Siddique Kamyana, Punjab Inspector General of Police (Prison) Malik Mubashar Ahmed Khan and Central Jail’s superintendent as respondents.

The petition said that Umar was in the “illegal and improper custody” of the respondents and was not being provided with food and necessary medicine by the superintendent.

Umar’s wife said she had found out that the Lahore DC had issued an “illegal and unlawful” 30-day detention order for her husband and the police had declined to give her any information about him when she approached them.

She said she had tried her best to Umar so she could notice his health and life quality but was denied by the authorities from meeting him.

The petition said that Umar was detained without any allegation and was “not involved in any anti-social activities”. It added that his life was at stake at the hands of the respondents and could suffer “irreparable loss and injury”, along with her too.

She requested the court to accept her petition, set aside Umar’s detention order as being “unlawful and illegal” and pass a direction for his release and production before the court to set him free.

The petition was fixed for hearing on Feb 27 (Monday).

LHC summons govt response on whereabouts of detained PTI leaders

Meanwhile, Justice Chaudhry Shehram Sarwar presided over a similar habeas corpus petition by PTI Senator Ejaz Chaudhry challenging the arrests of its nine senior leaders.

Chaudhry, the steering head of the ‘court-arrest movement’, had filed the petition a day ago alleging that the police illegally detained party leaders, including vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Umar, Senator Waleed Iqbal, former governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Senator Azam Swati, Murad Raas, Muhammad Khan Madni, Azam Khan Niazi and Ahsaan Dogar.

Justice Sarwar rejected a request from the PTI lawyer to summon an answer from the government today about the whereabouts of the party’s leaders and issued a notice to the public prosecutor to appear with instructions and a response from the government on Monday.

Chaudhry’s counsel argued that party leaders were being illegally detained by the police, adding that over 100 leaders and workers were arrested.

The court observed that the police were not arresting them and PTI workers had entered and seated themselves in prison vans, eliciting laughter in the courtroom.

The LHC observed that the PTI was now burdening the courts with the issue. Justice Sarwar questioned how and when the arrests were made to which the PTI counsel said the arrests were made during the “movement for protection and restoration of law”.

“Where is it written [in the law] that ‘please arrest me’?” the judge questioned to which the PTI counsel said they were “symbolic arrests”.

The judge then questioned Zain Qureshi whether his father Shah Mahmood Qureshi was arrested as well to which he responded in the affirmative and requested that he be permitted to meet him.

“If you want to meet him then go to Charing Cross,” the judge remarked, to which Zain replied that he went there but was not arrested.

The judge said that Zain had indeed gone to present himself for arrest but did not enter and sit in the prison van by himself. “You are anguished by this that you were taken out of Lahore,” the judge said.

“You should ask the home secretary to put you under house arrest where all facilities are available,” the judge remarked.

Talking to the media outside the LHC, Zain said he did not know where his father was held and said human rights were being “openly violated”.

He said prisoners also had certain rights and they were not being provided to the PTI detainees. Zain said that according to the law, detainees were supposed to be presented within 24 hours but 72 hours had now passed and there was still no contact.

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/r2y5aiV
via IFTTT

US says robust trade relationship important to bolster Pakistan’s economic stability

A “robust trade relationship” between the United States and Pakistan is important to bolster the latter’s economic stability, especially after last year’s devastating floods, and expose American businesses to new markets, the US State Department has said.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price made the remarks in response to a query at a weekly press briefing on Thursday.

“We believe that a robust trade relationship between the United States and Pakistan is more important than ever to bolster Pakistan’s economic stability as it recovers from devastating floods, while at the same time also providing an opportunity to Americans and to American businesses in this country, exposing them to new markets — Pakistani markets in this case,” he said.

The comments come at a time when Pakistan is looking for breakthroughs in talks on the US-Pakistan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

The two sides on Thursday held their first ministerial-level meeting of a Pak-US trade and investment body in seven years, where Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar sought greater cooperation in the IT sector.

Speaking to the press today, Price referred to the meeting and reiterated the US commitment to “deepening our economic and commercial ties with Pakistan”, adding the trade relationship has “helped both Pakistani industries and consumers”.

“We have long been Pakistan’s largest export market, with potential for even further growth. And we believe there is great potential to expand bilateral trade with Pakistan further, particularly in energy, agricultural equipment and products, franchising, retail trade, information and communications technology products and services,” he said.

Furthermore, Price pointed out that the US was a leading investor in Pakistan for the past two decades, with investments increasing to 50 per cent in the past year.

“US investment in Pakistan is the highest it’s been in over a decade, and US corporations have announced more than $1.5 billion in investment plans in Pakistan since 2019.

“US companies and their local affiliates, moreover, are among Pakistan’s largest employers, with roughly 80 US companies directly employing more than 120,000 Pakistanis,” the spokesperson added.

‘Afghan Taliban should live up to their commitments’

In response to a question on the rise in terror incidents in the region, Price said that the US and Pakistan “have a shared interest in ensuring the [Afghan] Taliban live up to the commitments that they have made”.

“That terrorist groups that may be active in Afghanistan […] are no longer able to threaten regional stability.

“Our engagement on this subject is rooted in the fact that terrorism is a threat that has taken many Pakistani, Afghan, and other innocent lives over the course of far too many years now,” the spokesperson added.

On Wednesday, a high-ranking Pakistani delegation met Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Beradar Akhund, Defence Minister Mawlavi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in a one-day visit to Kabul.

The delegation among others included ISI Chief Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, Foreign Secretary Asad Majid, Special Envoy on Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq and Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Afghanistan Obaid Nizamani.

During the meeting, the two sides agreed to collaborate to effectively address the threat of terrorism.

Over the past few months, terrorism has been rearing its head again in the country, especially in KP and Balochistan. There has been a rise in terrorist attacks believed to have been planned and directed by Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) leaders based in Afghanistan.

The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban, executed more than 100 attacks last year, most of which happened after August when the group’s peace talks with the Pakistan government began to falter. The ceasefire was formally ended last year on Nov 28 by the TTP.

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/0WNtuKo
via IFTTT

In fiery Sargodha speech, Maryam goes after senior SC judges for ‘conspiring against Nawaz’

PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz, in a fiery speech on Thursday, came down hard on a “cabal of five”, among which were former and serving members of the judiciary, whom she accused of “conspiring” against PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.

Addressing a workers’ convention in Sargodha, Maryam — who is currently on a reorganisation tour to shape her party’s narrative — said: “Ever since this watch thief left the government, our ears are tired of hearing ‘there was a conspiracy, there was a conspiracy’.”

View this post on Instagram

Her watch-related jibe was aimed at PTI chief Imran Khan, who has acknowledged that he sold a wristwatch he had procured from the state treasury during his time as the prime minister.

“Today, I will tell the nation that the real conspiracy took place against Nawaz Sharif,” Maryam roared.

On the PML-N leader’s cue, a video screen showed a combo picture of the five people she held responsible, saying: “The people of Sargodha should also see the ones behind the conspiracy”.

The pictures included ex-Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed, former chief justices Asif Khosa and Saqib Nisar, and two sitting Supreme Court judges, who are currently part of a top court bench hearing a suo motu case to determine who has the constitutional responsibility and authority to announce the date for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Pakistan Bar Council has called on one of the judges to “voluntarily recuse to remain as part of the bench”.

It is pertinent to mention that over the past week audio clips have also surfaced on social media wherein ex-Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi — who has now joined the PTI — is purportedly heard giving directives for fixing cases before one of the two judges Maryam named.

“What can you see on the screen? Can you see the cabal of five? Those visible on the screen are responsible for Pakistan’s crisis,” she said, alleging that the ex-ISI chief, who had “appointed himself the chief of army staff”, was their head.

“Because he wanted to be [the] chief and he needed pawns. He needed a political face. Nawaz Sharif could never be that pawn […] so who did he choose? Imran Khan the watch thief.”

She alleged that a leader of a political party, who is also a part of the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), told her that when Gen (retd) Hameed was asked why he was doing wrong by Nawaz, the ex-spymaster replied that the PML-N supremo needed to be “cut to size”.

One of the two serving judges shown on the screen, Maryam said, was part of the bench that disqualified Nawaz in the Panama Papers case. “He is dreaming of becoming the chief justice […] It has been five to six years since Nawaz was disqualified but he is still sitting as a judge in every case against Nawaz.”

The PML-N leader claimed that when Imran’s 2014 sit-in failed, ex-CJP Khosa told the PTI chief to bring the Panama case before him so that Nawaz could be disqualified.

“In those days, every verdict was against Nawaz […] PML-N leaders were singled out and disqualified. Today, when the establishment has tossed aside the basket of trash named Imran, these two three judges have carried it.”

She said that at a time when the PTI’s long march had failed and when Imran had dissolved the two provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the two judges had taken it upon themselves to bring him back into power. She accused the judges of trying to “give [a new lease of] life to Imran’s impending political death”.

She alleged that ex-ISI chief Gen (retd) Hameed was “still sitting somewhere and operating”. She said that the former spymaster was not making these moves out of his “love for Imran”, but was doing it in fear of the crimes he had committed during the last five years. “He knows he made billions and then sent those billions to Dubai and other Gulf countries.”

Maryam also played the audio purportedly featuring former Punjab chief minister Elahi and one of the top court judges.

“Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial sahab, the people of Sargodha know that bench fixing is taking place, why are you unaware bench fixing is taking place?”

Maryam further said that the two top court judges had taken notice of the transfer of the Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO) and “brought back Imran’s man”.

“And then, while hearing the case, they suddenly landed on [the topic of] elections. It’s a good thing. The PML-N is not scared of elections […] they reached [the topic of elections] and a nine-member bench was constituted which again includes these two judges.”

She further said: “Instead of holding these two judges accountable, they were included in the nine-member bench. Two senior most judges whose integrity has never been questioned were left out of the nine-member bench but these two were included.”

Addressing the top court, Maryam said: “You have sat down to ponder the responsibility of the electoral watchdog. You have sat down to ponder the responsibility of the government. You have sat down to ponder the responsibility of the governor. Sure, go for it but did you ever pay attention to your basic responsibility? Your responsibility is to make non-controversial benches. Are you fulfilling that responsibility?”

The PML-N leader said that even the country’s bar councils had protested against the inclusion of the two judges in the bench hearing the suo motu case regarding the Punjab and KP elections.

“Where will Pakistan go if Imran is rescued by a few SC judges?” she asked, adding that the PTI chief was merely a “front man”.

On Sunday, Maryam, in light of the leaked audio clip purportedly featuring Elahi and one of the Sup­reme Court judges, had asked for accountability in the judiciary and said Pakistan needed “honest jud­ges” instead of the ones who allegedly favoured Imran.

Addressing a workers’ convention in Rawalpindi, the PML-N senior vice president said that judges named in the audio leak should have “moral courage” to resign from their post.

She said the entire judiciary was not lopsided but there were only some judges in the judiciary who were allegedly biased. “Imran Khan is looking to get support from the judiciary to come back to power after failing to get support from the establishment,” she alleged.

She claimed there were some followers of former spymaster Gen (retd) Hameed in the judiciary and they needed to be held “accountable”.

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/SdqwhN6
via IFTTT

Carbon trading prospects

THE world is losing the Race to Zero. Many governments and large companies that had committed to net zero are faltering. Since carbon trading is the central plank of emission-reduction policies of the EU, America, China and many other countries, carbon markets at the sub-national, national and international levels have grown phenomenally.

The agreement and approval of Art­icle 6 of the Paris Agreement at Sharm El-Sheikh at the climate summit in November 2022 has renewed optimism of making carbon markets in developing countries like Pakistan robust and credible. The UAE, the host of the next climate summit in November, has taken it upon itself to proactively shape the global carbon market.

Carbon markets are trading systems in which carbon credits are bought and sold. They can be used to finance the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) or encourage investments in climate-mitigation projects such as regenerating forests and mangroves. Carbon credits are generally transacted in the Carbon Compliance Market (CCM) or the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM).

The offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). They aim to deliver additional benefits such as biodiversity conservation, food security and more income to communities as well as socioeconomic benefits, including education, health and livelihood options. It involves investing in projects that reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions, such as land restoration or planting trees.

While the VCM has grown immensely in recent years, CCMs, sometimes also known as the compliance market, has gained universal acceptance. A key difference between the two is that VCM is a decentralised market where private actors voluntarily buy and sell carbon credits that represent certified emissions reductions, while the CCM is regulated by mandatory carbon reduction regimes.

Voluntary reductions can also be verified under independent certification standards, often endorsed by the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance. Finally, emissions reductions in VCM are not formally counted towards NDC targets.

Building upon the experience of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol that enabled trading under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the main international carbon market scheme today is the Paris Agreement. Article 6 of the agreement enables countries to use market mechanisms.

The VCM is typically self-regulated as it helps companies and individuals voluntarily purchase carbon offsets. It plays a critical role even if not legally enforced or added to NDC targets. For instance, buyers of Pakistan’s carbon credits from its Delta Blue Carbon Project that covers 350,000 hectares of degraded mangroves in Sindh included Trafigura, Climate Impact X, Respira International DBS Bank, Singapore Exchange known as the SGX Group, Microsoft and Standard Chartered Bank.

The reliance on market instruments to reduce carbon emissions will continue to grow.

The global carbon trading market has grown rapidly. Presently, it is estimated to have crossed $260 billion, representing 10.3 gigatonnes CO2e traded on compliance markets, covering both voluntary and compliance carbon markets.

The VCM is projected to increase by at least five times by 2030. This growth will be driven by more governmental policy measures such as coal phase-outs, renewable energy targets and efficiency standards with a value of $2.4 trillion in 2027. This lure has also attracted ‘Carbon Cowboys’ who are locking developing countries in long-term, uneven contracts. They are tarnishing the reputation of legitimate carbon projects.

The reliance on market instruments to reduce carbon emissions will continue to grow and will touch all sectors and geographies. Pakistan’s readiness will need to be fast-tracked to first develop the requisite ecosystem of policy instruments and guidelines at the national and provincial levels. Granting concessions in the provinces without national policy and regulatory frameworks will further weaken transparency and accountability.

Already, Pakistan has missed the benefits of CDM. Of the over 13,000 projects that were approved by the CDM Board, Pakistan secured less than one per cent of the total, compared to almost 70pc by India and China who developed dozens of projects dealing with forestry, renewable energy, urban transportation, waste-to-energy, solid waste management, methane gas capture in landfills, energy-efficient stoves, and other such activities that reduce GHG emissions. Pakistan undertook such projects mostly under loans, while China and India utilised the CDM financing window.

To benefit from carbon trading, Pakistan will now need to develop market-based climate policy instruments, including emissions trading schemes to tap into low-cost abatement opportunities and leverage low-carbon investments. Three steps are essential if we want to take advantage of the evolving carbon markets: a) draw lessons from the failure to benefit from CDM, b) encourage the private sector that is already in pursuit of carbon credits, and c) minimise the role of the bureaucracy by establishing policy and legislative cover.

The net-zero emissions debate has thus far been limited to the largest polluters, ie, the US, China, EU and India and some secondary polluters. It seems to have now reached the world’s largest oil producers and exporters in the Middle East who are committing themselves to achieving carbon neutrality and also seeking to offset their emissions.

The UAE as the host of COP28 in November has begun with some initial steps that will deeply impact the global carbon trading market and create partnership opportunities with other developing countries. It has, for example, announced the world’s first fully regulated voluntary trading exchange and clearing house.

Called the Abu Dhabi Global Market, it will allow companies to trade and finance carbon credits just like conventional financial assets. AirCarbon Exchange claims to offer customers regulated and transparent price discovery mechanisms as well as efficient trading plans in order to regulate carbon credits and offsets as emission instruments.

Finally, the UAE is proposing a framework to recognise carbon as an investment-grade commodities emissions instrument. This regulated spot and commodity derivative will promote the use of carbon offsets for businesses looking to reduce their environmental impact.

The UAE is forging long-term partnerships with several developing countries to help them trade their brown (pollution), green (forestry) and blue (mangroves) resources. Partnership opportunities in carbon trading await both the UAE and Pakistan in the run-up to COP28.

The writer is an expert on climate change and development.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2023

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/uGi5v4D
via IFTTT

Balochistan minister Khetran arrested on suspicion of killing 3 people: police

Balochistan Minister for Communication and Works Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran was arrested on Wednesday on “suspicion of killing three people” in the province’s Barkhan district, police said.

The arrest comes after bullet-riddled bodies of a woman and her two sons were found from a well near the minister’s residence in the Barkhan area late on Monday night.

Khan Muhammad Marri, a citizen, has alleged that the bodies were of his wife and two sons. “These are the bodies of my wife and two sons who were kept in a private jail in Haji Kot for the last four years,” he said, identifying them as his 40-year-old wife Granaz, and sons Muhammad Anwar (22) and Abdul Qadir (15).

Marri alleged that his wife and sons were being held in Khetran’s private jail, adding that five more of his children, including his 13-year-old daughter, were still languishing there.

It is pertinent to mention that the minister has denied the allegation and termed the entire incident as “propaganda created to tarnish his political repute”.

In the statement released today, a spokesperson for the Balochistan police said: “Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran has been arrested on suspicion of killing three people in Barkhan.”

The statement said that a special investigation team had begun interrogating the minister, adding that raids were also being conducted to recover the “hostages” without elaborating further.

The police spokesperson said further arrests were expected to take place.

Protest in Quetta continues for second straight day

Meanwhile, Marri tribesmen continued their sit-in outside the Red Zone in Quetta for the second consecutive day on Wednesday. Protesters staged a sit-in in Quetta along with the bodies and told Dawn.com that the demonstration would continue until a first information report (FIR) was registered against Khetran.

The demonstrators also announced that they would not call off their demonstration or bury the bodies until Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid them a visit.

Separately, while talking to Dawn.com, Marri said that there was a threat to him and his children. “My family is receiving death threats”.

He demanded that protection be provided to him so that he could visit his deceased family members.

In a tweet today, former prime minister Imran Khan also demanded immediate action against the “law of the jungle”.

Home minister writes to law enforcement agencies

On Wednesday morning, Balochistan Minister for Home Affairs Mir Ziaullah Langove wrote a letter to the law enforcement agencies seeking the “safe recovery” of Marri’s family members.

The letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was addressed to the additional chief secretary of Balochistan, inspector general of police, joint director of the Intelligence Bureau, The Headquarter Inter-Services Intelligence and Headquarter Military Intelligence.

It stated with “grave concern” that some of Muhammad Khan Marri’s family were still “missing”, which “generates a bad impact on law and order as well as on the image of law enforcement agencies”.

“It is the responsibility of all law enforcement agencies to protect the life of the public,” the letter pointed out.

“Keeping in view of the above, it is stated that immediate steps be taken for the safe recovery of all remaining family members and a report therefore may be submitted in the office of the undersigned within 24 hours, positively,” it added.

Yesterday, Langove had said that a five-member JIT has been constituted headed by DIG Loralai, which would submit its report within 30 days.

Discovery of bodies

Locals had informed the authorities about the presence of the three bodies in the well, after which levies personnel and other security officials rushed to the site and recovered the bodies.

Police said that unknown people had thrown the bodies in a deep well after killing the mother and her two sons. The bodies had bullet wounds in their skulls and bore marks of torture, which pointed to their cause of death, hospital officials in Kohlu said after examining the bodies.

Their hands and feet were tied with ropes, while the woman’s face was crushed, they said.

They were identified by Abdul Qayoom Bijrani Marri, whom the police described as an heir. The bodies were handed over to him after the completion of legal requirements, the police added.

Khetran denies allegations

Khetran has denied the allegation and termed it a conspiracy. It was an attempt to defame and remove him as the tribal head of the Khetran tribe, the minister said.

He said that the bodies were recovered one-and-a-half kilometres away from his native village while he was not in Barkhan and had been in Quetta for more than a week.

“I have not kept anyone in pri­son and such allegations are al­ways levelled whenever elections are near,” Sardar Khetran said, accusing one of his own sons, Inam Shah, of opposing him.

However, Inam Shah denied his father’s allegations and confirmed that the three people whose bodies were recovered from the well had been kept in his father’s “private jail”.

Khetran and private jails

In January 2014, the police and ATF had conducted a raid at Khetran’s private jail.

The police had said seven people, including two women and three children, were recovered from the private jail. Six proclaimed absconders were also picked up by ATF and police. Police recovered arms and ammunition from their possession.

Khetran had at the time surrendered to police in the aftermath of the registration of the kidnapping case against him at Barkhan Police Station. Police had registered cases against Khetran, his son and eight others for kidnapping three policemen and snatching weapons from them.

Before that in November 2006, the Supreme Court had ordered the Balochistan police to arrest and produce Khetran within a week for his alleged involvement in the forced marriages of two minor girls and abduction of their five relatives, besides running a private jail in his area.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising then-chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi and Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, while hearing an application of Issa Khan, had also directed the provincial police to recover the five kidnapped relatives of the minor girls from his private jail.

The bench was told that Khetran had ordered the forced marriage of two minors, which the relatives of the minors declined to accept. Consequently, he had abducted five male members of the family and allegedly subjected them to torture in his private jail.

---

Additional reporting by Ismail Sasoli.

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/la6R7pG
via IFTTT

US judge rules 9/11 victims cannot seize Afghan central bank funds

The families of victims of the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks cannot seize $3.5 billion in funds belonging to Afghanistan’s central bank, a New York federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

The assets, held in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, were frozen on August 15, 2021 — the day the Taliban entered Kabul and toppled the US-backed Afghan government. US President Joe Biden later said the money could be made available to the families of 9/11 victims.

A group of families — who years earlier sued the Taliban for their losses and won — has since moved to seize the funds to pay off the judgment debt.

But Judge George Daniels of the Southern District of New York said Tuesday that the federal courts lack the jurisdiction to seize the funds from Afghanistan’s central bank.

“The Judgment Creditors are entitled to collect on their default judgments and be made whole for the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history, but they cannot do so with the funds of the central bank of Afghanistan,” Daniels explained in a 30-page opinion.

“The Taliban — not the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan or the Afghan people — must pay for the Taliban’s liability in the 9/11 Attacks.”

Daniels also said he was “constitutionally restrained” from awarding the assets to the families because it would effectively mean recognising the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

Since the group’s takeover in 2021, no nation has recognised the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government — including the United States.

“The fundamental conclusion… is that neither the Taliban nor the Judgment Creditors are entitled to raid the coffers of the state of Afghanistan to pay the Taliban’s debts.”

Daniels’ ruling, which aligns with a recommendation by another judge last year, deals a blow to the families of the victims of 9/11 as well as insurance companies that made payments because of the attacks.

More than 2,900 people died when four hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, DC and a field in Pennsylvania.

Then-president George W Bush launched an invasion of Afghanistan in response, resulting in two decades of war between the US-backed government and the Taliban.

With the withdrawal of US and Nato troops in August 2021, the Taliban retook power and reimposed their hardline version of Islamic law.

The country was almost entirely dependent on aid and has seen its economy teetering on the brink of collapse when Washington froze $7bn in Afghan assets.

Biden revealed a plan in February 2022 to split the cash with half directed as aid to Afghanistan and half going to families of victims of the 9/11 attacks.

But it remains unclear what will happen to the latter $3.5bn set aside for the families if their appeals fail.

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/fWloUm0
via IFTTT

Cartoon: 22 February, 2023

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/hVyTuxf
via IFTTT

National Assembly passes finance bill to meet IMF conditions

The National Assembly (NA) on Monday passed the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2023, aimed to amend certain laws relating to taxes and duties to raise an additional Rs170 billion in the next four and half months to meet the last prior actions agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The government is in a race against time to implement the tax measures and reach an agreement with the IMF as the country’s reserves have depleted to a critically low level of $2.9bn, which experts believe is enough for only 16 or 17 days of imports. The agreement with the IMF on the completion of the ninth review of a $7bn loan programme would not only lead to a disbursement of $1.2bn but also unlock inflows from friendly countries.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar introduced the bill in the NA on February 15, and the formal debate started on it after moving a motion by Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar on Feb 17.

In his concluding speech in today’s NA session, Dar said that the bill proposed to impose new taxes of Rs 170bn to minimise the fiscal deficit.

He said that his economic team had a “hectic routine” during the last 10 days and it held talks with the IMF to revive the programme, during which it agreed to take some “tough decisions” for streamlining the deteriorating condition of the economy.

Dar said the new revenue measures would not affect the poor segments of society as most of the new taxes were being imposed on luxury items not used by them. In order to help the poor cope with the rising inflation, he said the government had also proposed a Rs40bn increase in the budget of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

He said the Senate Standing Committee on Finance had proposed some amendments related to federal excise duty on air tickets to different countries which were adopted.

Dar expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and hoped that the revenue collection target set for the year 2022-23 would be achieved “easily”.

He said the IMF was also concerned over huge losses, such as the power sector facing losses of around Rs1,450bn per year. He said that a total amount of Rs3,000bn is being spent to generate electricity while the government collects only Rs1,550bn.

Dar said that due to power theft, line loss and non-payment of electricity bills, the government was facing almost a Rs1,450bn deficit.

The finance minister said that both houses of parliament had talked about reducing expenses and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would give a comprehensive road map in the coming days for austerity measures.

Dar also criticised the economic policies of the previous government and said that “poor management and lack of fiscal discipline damaged the economy”.

He said that the PTI government did not fulfil commitments with the IMF and “sabotaged the economy” before its ouster. Dar added that it was the state’s obligation to honour the agreement signed with the IMF so the present government was implementing the points agreed upon by the PTI government.

The finance minister said that due to the reforms being taken by the incumbent government, the economy would “first get stabilised and then witness rapid growth in the coming years”.

The minister also thanked the members from both houses of parliament for their recommendations on the bill. He said their feedback has been reviewed and it would be incorporated into the upcoming budget.

Finance bill

Two measures — raising the federal excise duty (FED) on cigarettes and increasing the general sales tax (GST) rate from 17 per cent to 18pc — have already been implemented through Statutory Regulatory Orders. The FBR expects to generate Rs115bn from these two measures.

---

The finance bill proposes the following:

• GST to be increased from 17pc to 18pc; GST on luxury items to increase to 25pc
• On first class and business class air tickets, federal excise duty of 20pc of the airfare or Rs50,000, whichever is higher
• 10pc withholding adjustable advance tax on the bills of wedding halls
• Increase in FED on cigarettes, and aerated and sugary drinks
• Increase in FED on cement from Rs1.5 to Rs2 per kg
• Benazir Income Support Programme budget increased to Rs400bn from Rs360bn

---

The finance bill also proposes increasing GST from 17 per cent to 25pc on 33 categories of goods covering 860 tariff lines — including high-end mobile phones, imported food, decoration items, and other luxury goods. However, this raise will be notified through another notification.

Through the finance bill, the excise duty on cement has been raised from Rs1.5 to Rs2 per kilogram, a measure estimated to fetch another Rs6bn.

The excise duty on carbonated/aerated drinks has been raised to 20pc from 13pc to raise an additional Rs10bn for the government.

A new excise tax of 10pc was proposed on non-aerated drinks like juices — mango, orange, etc. — to raise an additional tax of Rs4bn.

The increase in excise duty on business-, first- and club-class air tickets will raise an additional Rs10bn for the government. A tax rate of 20pc (or Rs50,000, whichever is higher) has been proposed on the value of air tickets.

The government has also proposed a 10pc withholding tax on functions and gatherings held in marriage halls, marquees, hotels, restaurants, commercial lawns, clubs, community places, or other places. The FBR expects to raise Rs1bn to Rs2bn from this tax.

These measures proposed through the finance bill are in addition to earlier steps agreed upon with the IMF, including increasing electricity and gas rates and allowing a free-floating exchange rate.

To offset the inflationary impact of the budget, the government proposed that handouts under the BISP welfare scheme be increased to a total of Rs400bn from Rs360bn.

The IMF has given a deadline of March 1 for the implementation of all these measures.

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/IlSfdXZ
via IFTTT

Indian politician promises employment, security to men who ‘trap 10 Muslim girls for each Hindu girl’

Indian politician Pramod Muthalik has urged young Hindu men to lure “10 Muslim girls if we lose one Hindu girl” through what he called “love jihad” and promised to provide them security and employment.

According to The Indian Express, Muthalik, the chief of the Hindu nationalist party Sri Ram Sena, while speaking at a public event in Karnataka’s Bagalkote on Feb 19, alleged that thousands of Hindu girls were being “exploited in the name of love jihad”, the belief that Muslims are seeking to deceive Hindu women through marriage and convert them to Islam.

“We are aware of the situation. I would like to invite the youth here. If we lose one Hindu girl, we should trap 10 Muslim girls. If you do so, Sri Ram Sena will take responsibility for you and provide every kind of security and employment,” the report quoted Muthalik as saying.

“Our girls are exploited in love jihad. Across the country, thousands of girls are cheated in the name of love. We should warn them,” the politician further said.

The report also stated that in a conversation with The Indian Express, Muthalik had said that he had made similar statements more than 10 times and would continue to do so to “protect Hindu women”.

“I am not saying this because elections are around the corner. My statements have always been in the interest of Hindus,” the report quoted him as saying.

The report added that Muthalik’s comments have been widely criticised, with “love jihad” considered to be a baseless conspiracy theory that courts have rejected.

Call for action against Muthalik

The Indian politician’s remarks were condemned by a number of civil society members in the country.

Journalist Mohammed Zubair — who was arrested for allegedly insulting Hindu religious leaders on Twitter — asked why the Karnataka police was not taking action against Muthalik.

Author and activist Rahul Easwar tweeted that “in our Arsha Bharatha Sanskriti, we consider woman as devatas [goddesses]”.

“It’s up to every Patriot to serve & protect all women from all traps this way or that way,” he added.

In another tweet, he said: “Can we pls spare our Hindu and Muslim sisters out of this?? And we males fight/debate these topics without ‘trapping/dragging in Indian woman’.”

Indian director Mansoor Hussain Khan said that Muthalik’s “bigoted and sexist hate speech” had brought shame to the people of Karnataka. He also called on the police to take strict action against the politician.

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/eN8d7fa
via IFTTT

The power of community solar

Due to the high cost of electricity and petroleum, an average middle-class household with an income of Rs35,000 per month, using 400 units (KWh) of electricity and a motorcycle as the primary mode of transportation, is spending half of its monthly income on electricity and fuel expenses, not leaving much for food, rent, and children’s education.

The situation will further exacerbate for these households and export-based industries with the forthcoming elimination of electricity and petroleum subsidies based on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) requirements.

This can turn into a blessing, though, if the government uses this as an opportunity to accelerate the implementation of technological solutions offered by solar, electric motorcycles, and lithium-based batteries, eliminating the need for subsidies permanently.

These solutions offer multiple benefits, including alleviating the burden on the middle class, reducing the oil import bill, creating a cleaner environment, and an opportunity for an economic turnaround by establishing local manufacturing for internal consumption and exports.

Consumers can significantly bring down their electricity bills by renting a small portion of a large solar farm

For lower-cost electricity, the expansion of rooftop solar and community solar subscription, a recent innovation for large-scale solar farms, needs to be considered.

Rooftop solar installations have been a success story for the past few years because of the 10x reduction in solar panel prices during the last decade, steep escalation in electricity tariffs, and net metering.

This has made solar installation one of the best investments, with a payback of fewer than four years, while providing an excellent hedge against inflation and tariff escalation. Advanced LFP (Lithium Ferrous Phosphate) batteries, with 15 plus years life, are also becoming financially feasible for peak hours use with imminent peak rate hike.

As per the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) annual reports, more than 20,000 net metering licenses were issued by the end of 2021-22, adding 450MW to the system. While it’s a good start, it is still a low number, and there is much room to grow.

There are 610,000 households in Pakistan using 700 plus units and 16.8 million households consuming 300-700 units on average per month. The country can easily achieve at least 10,000MW of rooftop solar installations on just 5 per cent of these houses during the next five years by continuing with the current net metering and export rate incentives.

For households using 500–700 units per month, rooftop installations can be accelerated by providing incentives such as reinstating low-cost loans, removing current limitations on net metering, and eliminating 17pc general sales tax on solar equipment for 10KW or smaller installations.

Rooftop solar, however, is not a practical option for lower-income households (300–500 units per month consumption) because of higher cost per kilowatt for a smaller system, financial constraints, roof space availability, rental housing, and apartment living.

Community solar, a recent innovation gaining momentum in various countries for large solar farms, along with virtual net metering (VNM) provides a practical and lower cost solution for these households and industrial facilities.

In the community solar subscription model, consumers either purchase or rent a small portion of a large solar farm operated by the utility or a private developer. For example, for a 100MW solar farm located near an industrial zone — multiple industrial facilities can purchase 20pc of this farm’s capacity (20MW), providing equity investment, while the remaining 80pc (80MW) can be subscribed (rented) by 80,000 low usage household (300-500 units) customers with a limit of 1KW for each.

Because of economies of scale, the per kilowatt cost of these solar farms is 15-20pc lower than a rooftop system, thus reducing the purchase or rental cost. Also, since the industry will be providing equity investment, there won’t be a need to find large investors for these solar farms. The government, however, should consider offering a 15-20pc tax credit to further incentivise the industry for this investment.

With the community solar model, the industry will receive almost free electricity (nominal charges for operations, maintenance, insurance and distribution) for their purchased portion as the return of equity and will only pay Rs10 per unit (based on the current tariff by Nepra for large scale solar without return on equity component) for additional electricity need during the day, 70pc below the unsubsidised rate of Rs32 per unit after tariff adjustments to meet IMF requirements.

As the subscription rate for household consumers will also be Rs10 per unit, they will pay Rs1,500 monthly for 150 units generated from their 1KW subscription. Still, they will receive a credit of Rs3,800 (current K-Electric rate of Rs25.53/unit for 300-400 units tier) using virtually net metering, effectively reducing the bill by 20pc (400 units per month consumption: Rs12,127 without solar subscription vs Rs9,800 with solar subscription and VNM). The savings will be even more with increasing electricity tariff.

Pakistan can achieve up to 20GW solar installations in the next five years through rooftop and large solar farms, significantly reducing the impact of costly and pollutant fossil fuel-based energy generation.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, February 20th, 2023

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/knsQLB6
via IFTTT

Cry for help from a hero’s daughter

IN 2013, my father, the late Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, established the Dr A.Q. Khan Hospital Trust to provide free healthcare to the poor and needy of Lahore. Before his death in 2021, in his capacity as the lifetime chairman of the said trust, he named me as his successor.

Unfortunately, seeing an opportunity, some unscrupulous individuals having nothing to do with the trust, have been promoting themselves as trustees and administrators of the hospital. With the help of certain officials, they have created a totally fake and bogus trust deed, and are using it to scam the public into making donations.

It has now been 16 months since my father’s demise, and I am still fighting to somehow stop this illegal activity.

The culprits have forcibly and illegally occupied the hospital as well as the trust offices, and have stolen donations worth billions of rupees from the bank accounts.

Before his death, my father had legally instructed all the relevant banks to freeze the accounts till further notice, but some unscrupulous bankers have given the corrupt people access, and have handed over the deposits to them. My father had also recorded a video while he was in hospital. In it, he clearly states that he has removed certain people from the trust and they are not to be given any access, assistance or authority. This video has been posted on social media and is available to the public.

Yet, despite my efforts, these deceitful persons continue their illegal activities, using my father’s name to loot the donors and to promote themselves on social and conventional media platforms. I have repeatedly tried to get help from multiple quarters both in Islamabad and Lahore, but all have been in vain.

Instead, I am being harassed by the police, hearing of my court cases keeps getting adjourned, my requests for help from various government departments are being ignored, and false accusations are being levelled against me.

My father gave this country security and freedom, and even in the last days of his life he was trying to help the people of Pakistan. This is how he is being repaid.

I ask the relevant authorities to step in and resolve this matter once and for all. I urge them to help me restore my rightful control of the trust so I may continue my father’s work, and force these fake trustees to stop their activities and repay all the funds that they have already stolen. The people at large should not donate at all till sanity prevails.

Dr Dina Khan
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2023

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/EdIRDN3
via IFTTT

SMOKERS’ CORNER: PUNJAB'S BLASPHEMY PROBLEM

On February 11, 2023, a man was lynched in Nankana Sahib by a violent mob over allegations of blasphemy. The frequency of mob attacks and killings has been steadily increasing in Pakistan — especially in Punjab. 

According to a 2022 study by the Centre for Research & Security Studies, between 1947 and 2021, 89 people were killed for allegedly committing blasphemy. There were roughly 1,500 accusations and cases during this period. More than 70 percent of these were in Punjab.

Incidents of blasphemy accusations and killings in other provinces are far lower. Sindh comes a distant second with 173 accusations and nine killings, followed by Islamabad with 55 accusations and two killings. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has recorded 33 accusations and six killings. Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan have the lowest numbers. There have been no killings in the latter two regions and just one in Balochistan.

From 1948 till 1985, just 11 cases of blasphemy were recorded in the country and three killings. This was when the blasphemy laws of the country did not carry the death sentence. From the period when the death sentence was added in 1986, the number of cases went up by 1,300 percent. 

The rhetoric leading up to Partition, the violence which followed and the subsequent exploitation of religious sentiments has led to Punjab becoming the epicentre of blasphemy-related violence in Pakistan

But why has Punjab been the hotbed of blasphemy-related cases, violence and deaths? Even during the period when the blasphemy laws were much lighter, there were two killings here. Both the victims belonged to the Ahmadiyya community.

Punjab has become the epicentre of blasphemy-related violence. Political scientists Dr Muhammad Waseem and Christophe Jaffrelot have pondered whether this is in any way linked to the lingering impact of the vicious ‘communal violence’ which erupted in Punjab during the partition of India in 1947. The region was the scene of widespread riots and clashes between Muslims on the one side and Hindus and Sikhs on the other. Thousands were killed.

Many prominent radical Hindu nationalist and Islamist organisations were headquartered in Punjab. Apart from being involved in violence against each other, these outfits were also brawling with mainstream political parties such as Jawaharlal Nehru’s Indian National Congress and Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s All India Muslim League (AIML).

The Hindu nationalists wanted a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ (Hindu State) which they believed the ‘secular’ Congress was unwilling to create. The radical Islamists, on the other hand, attacked the AIML as being a ‘secular’ party, incapable of creating an Islamic State. Islamist organisations in the Punjab, such as the Majlis-i-Ahrar, also accused the League of having ‘deviant Muslims’ (ie Shia and the Ahmadiyya) in its ranks.

To address the accusations aimed at it by the Islamists in Punjab, the League was compelled to alter its message. In other Muslim-majority regions of India, such as East Bengal and Sindh, and in regions where the Muslims were in a minority, the League posited a Muslim nationalism that was territorial. The party highlighted this nationalism’s economic and political benefits. But in Punjab, despite the fact that 51 percent of the population was Muslim, the League’s message was failing to gain much traction. 

So, during the 1946 provincial elections in British India, the League had to engage with certain powerful land-owning pirs (spiritual guides) and ulema in Punjab. To rouse the Muslims of the province, especially in the rural areas, the pirs and the ulema were allowed by the party to drift away from the League’s nationalist manifesto and add a radical dimension to its message.

They began to frame the ‘Westernised’ constitutionalist Jinnah as an ideologue who was striving to create a ‘new Madinah’ and/or an Islamic state that would be navigated by pious men and Shariah laws. Nothing of the sort happened, of course, after Jinnah succeeded in creating Pakistan. But a large portion of Punjab’s Muslim population was thoroughly radicalised. 

Partition had triggered unprecedented violence in Punjab. When the western part of the province became part of Pakistan, the Muslims here became an overwhelming majority. The number of Hindus and Sikhs dwindled. With these gone, the residue of communal violence, and the fires lit by lofty Islamist rhetoric in 1946, rebounded directly towards the Ahmadiyya. There is, thus, nothing surprising about the fact that the two violent anti-Ahmadiyya movements (1953 and 1974) were both centred in Punjab. 

After imploding during the two anti-Ahmadiyya movements, the besieged mindset that emerged in Punjab during the Partition violence then diverted itself towards alleged blasphemers, especially after 1986.

The province also has one of the largest populations of Barelvi Sunni Muslims in the country. This Sunni sub-sect felt alienated and threatened when the ‘Islamisation’ policies of the Gen Ziaul Haq dictatorship were perceived to have benefitted the rival Deobandi sub-sect.

As a response, radical Barelvi leaders began to adopt the ‘defence’ of the fortified blasphemy laws as their main calling. There was especially a tenfold spike in incidents of blasphemy-related violence and deaths in Punjab after 2011 — the year when a member of a Barelvi evangelical outfit assassinated the Governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer. The killer had accused him of criticising the blasphemy laws. 

One of the reasons behind the spike was also that the assassin was hailed as a ‘hero’ by many. He was then unabashedly praised by many prominent politicians of Punjab. Taseer was murdered in January 2011; 110 more cases and accusations of blasphemy were recorded during the same year in the province. These increased to 263 in 2014. 2020 witnessed another spike with 231 cases.

So what’s the way out? Some concerned commentators have suggested that, since no state institution or government is willing to undo the 1986 clause in the blasphemy laws, one can at least ‘balance’ the laws by adding equally damning punishments for those concocting false accusations of blasphemy.

But Islamist parties refuse to even discuss this. These laws have continued to normalise blasphemy-related violence. Rampaging mobs actually believe they are doing something that is not only Divinely ordained, but also entirely lawful.

This nature of violence is comparatively quite low in other provinces. So, one can ask, why do Sindh, KP and Balochistan have to be impacted by the fallout from a problem that is largely centred in Punjab? Punjab has to provide the solution. But all it has done so far is further compound the problem.

Published in Dawn, EOS, February 19th, 2023

from The Dawn News - Popular Last 24 hours https://ift.tt/eId1ZAn
via IFTTT