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RAWALPINDI: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Aviation was informed that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has not undergone a formal audit for the past decade, raising concerns about its regulatory compliance and safety oversight. Four aircraft accidents happened during this period, underscoring the need for improved operational protocols.

The fourth meeting of the Standing Committee on Aviation was held on Wednesday, chaired by MNA Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmed Khan Babar.

The ministry concerned confirmed that the CAA has not undergone a formal audit for the past decade. The standing committee called for provision of all communications between the CAA and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to the committee regarding the lack of audits and their impact on the safety of passengers.

The committee was informed that the ongoing privatisation of PIA has led to suspension of staff transfers, postings, promotions, and the usual practice of rotating employees every three years.

Furthermore, financial constraints within the CAA have prevented necessary aircraft engine overhauls, reducing the operational fleet to just five aircraft and raising safety concerns.

The committee also expressed grave concern over the non-implementation of a National Assembly resolution passed on October 13, 2022, which called for renaming “Islamabad International Airport” to “Shaheed Benazir Bhutto International Airport”.

Despite the resolution being passed nearly two years ago, no action has been taken to fulfil this directive, prompting widespread criticism from various quarters.

During the discussion of issues related to the Multan Flying Club, including the refund of student fees, resolution of employees’ concerns, and the submission of a report based on the audit and financial details of the club, the committee appointed a sub-committee for the refund of students’ fees from MFC and resolution of employees-related issues and sought a report based on the audit and financial details of the club.

The sub-committee consists of MNAs Dr Ramesh Lal (convener), Dr Darshan Choudhary Iftikhar Nazir and Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto.

The meeting was attended by MNAs Aqeel Malik, Rana Ibadat Sharif Khan, Dr Darshan, Choudhary Iftikhar Nazir, Nauman Islam Shaikh, Ramesh Lal, Munaza Hassan, Muhammad Saad Ullah and Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

MUMBAI: India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday strongly criticised states which were demolishing properties of suspected criminals, a practice critics say targets mostly minority Muslims, and issued guidelines to authorities.

The verdict came in response to many petitions filed after demolitions in states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in recent years.

BJP governments in the states have torn down what they say are illegal houses or shops of people accused of crimes, many of them Muslims, in what has come to be popularly known as “instant, bulldozer justice”.

Rights groups and opposition parties have denounced the practice, saying it targets mostly poor Muslims while circumventing the judicial process.

Verdict comes in response to many petitions filed after demolitions targeting Muslims

BJP governments have rejected the accusations and said such properties were in violation of local laws and the owners had been served notices.

On Wednesday, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the state and its officials cannot take arbitrary action against suspects or convicts without following the due process of law. It also laid down guidelines, including issuing prior notice and taking a video of the demolition process. “It is not a happy sight to see women, children and aged persons dragged to the streets overnight. Heavens would not fall on the authorities if they hold their hands for some period,” the court said. There was no immediate reaction to the verdict from the BJP.

Bulldozer action

Calls for India to enshrine Hindu supremacy in law have rapidly grown louder after Modi government’s success in 2014. Hindu nationalist groups were emboldened in their campaign against Muslim religious structures.

“Bulldozer action”, popularly known as “bulldozer justice”, were actions observed by many practitioners as a campaign against the Muslim minority, bulldozing their homes, mosques and shopfronts.

The practices were mainly observed after Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and a saffron-robed Hindu monk seen as a potential successor to Prime Minister Modi, championed the bulldozer as a symbol of his commitment to law and order and as a potential tool to use against “trouble-makers” in 2017. Since then “bulldozer politics” have spread elsewhere in the country and demolition campaigns have begun quickly following on the heels of outbreaks of religious unrest.

Officials said the spate of demolitions were lawful as they only targeted buildings constructed without legal approval. But victims of the campaign deny that their dwellings are illegal, and say they are not given the legally required notice period to dispute demolition orders.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

ATHENS: Greece’s state intelligence agency on Wednesday said it had declassified a set of archival documents for the first time in its history, covering the period of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

Turkiye invaded the island of Cyprus in 1974 in response to a coup against the government led by a military dictatorship in Athens. Cyprus has since been divided between the Greek-speaking UN-recognised republic in the south and the Turkish Cypriot north, which unilaterally declared independence in 1983.

Evanthis Hatzivassiliou, a professor of postwar history at the National University of Athens, in a statement said the archives cover the period of the invasion from July to August 1974.

One conclusion that can be drawn from the documents is that the intelligence agency EYP was “not informed” of the attempted coup organised by the Greek dictatorship against Archbishop Makarios, the president of Cyprus, Hatzivassiliou said. “The (dictatorship) … informed only those absolutely necessary,” he said.

After the coup, the agency was “quite accurate” in describing Turkish preparations for war, but the warnings were ignored in Athens, he said.

The failure to defend Cyprus led to the fall of the Greek dictatorship in July 1974. A second Turkish invasion followed weeks later in August.

EYP director-general Themistoklis Demiris on Wednesday said that the agency would go on to declassify additional documents referring to “dark” periods of Greek history, without elaborating.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

“It’s been horrible; I’ve been sick on and off for the last 10 days,” said 29-year-old Natasha Sohail, who teaches A-Level students at three private schools in Lahore. She is asthmatic, and last week, her condition worsened with a vertigo attack and fever. “It’s criminal what is happening here,” said an incensed Sohail, referring to the “band-aid measures” taken by the Punjab government.

Lahore also has the distinction of being the world leader in the poor air quality index (AQI), with some neighbourhoods touching over 1,200 on the AQI this month. The AQI measures the level of fine particles (PM2.5), larger particles (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3) in the air. An AQI of 151 to 200 is classified as “unhealthy”, 201 to 300 “very unhealthy” and more than 300 as “hazardous”.

For the past eight years, since Sohail was in college and since smog became an annual phenomenon, Sohail has relied on anti-wheezing drugs and inhalers. At home, there are four air purifiers to help her breathe cleaner air.

She’s not alone.

“The hospitals are crowded with tens of thousands of patients suffering from respiratory and heart diseases being treated at hospitals and clinics over the last few weeks,” said Dr Ashraf Nizami, president of the Pakistan Medical Association’s Lahore chapter. “The psychological toll the poor air is taking on people remains under the radar.”

Punjab’s senior minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb, revealing the government’s anti-smog action plan, informed journalists that Lahore endured 275 days of unhealthy AQI levels over the past year, with temperatures rising by 2.3 degrees.

After Lahore’s AQI exceeded 1,000 last week, authorities closed all primary and secondary schools. Punjab’s Secretary for Environment, Raja Jahangir Anwar, warned the closure could continue if air quality doesn’t improve. “Young children are vulnerable, and we want to avoid an emergency,” he said, adding that online learning, like during the COVID pandemic, can be adopted again.

Living in a world of air purifiers

Aliya Khan, 37, a mother of two boys — aged five and one, with the older one suffering from asthma — had installed four imported air purifiers in her home four years ago, each costing Rs31,000. They bought a fifth this year at Rs60,000. “It cost us a fortune, but that’s not all; the filters must be replaced every year, which costs Rs10,000 per machine,” she said.

The private school her five-year-old attends lacks air purifiers in classrooms, leaving parents with no choice but to pool together and buy one for their child’s classroom.

Khan, a development consultant, says air purifiers work best if the home is packed tightly to keep the air from outside entering. “Our windows and doors are poorly insulated and with elderly parents, domestic help and two kids — the air purifiers struggle to maintain their effectiveness.”

Smog brings business for some

Business picks up for 37-year-old Hassan Zaidi as soon as Lahore is covered in smog. He’s currently fulfilling an order for “hundreds of air purifiers” for a foreign school in Lahore.

A computer engineer with a passion for product design, Zaidi started building air purifiers in 2019 for his family after his baby daughter developed a cough. He purchased an imported air purifier, took it apart, and quickly realised that with the right materials, it was no “rocket science” to build one himself.

He claimed his “work better, look better, and cost just Rs25,000.” These air purifiers restart automatically after power outages, are nearly silent, and are easy to repair. The filter costs Rs2,400 and needs replacing each season. Each unit is good for a 500 square feet room if fully sealed.

Authorities take action

Anwar said the government has introduced several measures to reduce emissions and improve air quality, adopting a whole-of-government approach with all departments working together for the first time.

Authorities have already banned barbecuing food without filters and use of motorised rickshaws.

The government distributed 1,000 subsidised super-seeders to farmers as an alternative to burning rice stubble and took legal action against over 400 farmers who violated the burning ban. “This carrot and stick approach will be very effective,” endorsed Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, the executive director of the Islamabad-based think tank, Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

Anwar said super seeders will convert residue into mulch, improving production and speeding sowing. Penalising a few farmers will deter others from breaking the law.

“But the government’s own figures show agriculture contributes less than 4 per cent to smog,” pointed out Hassan Khan, a farmer in Punjab, and added, “Why waste so much time and expense on it; why not focus on the bigger polluters like the transport industry?”

Another measure the government took involved demolishing over 600 of the 11,000 smoke-emitting brick kilns that hadn’t switched to zigzag technology, including 200 in and around Lahore.

Terming brick kilns the “low hanging fruit,” Dr Parvez Hassan, senior advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and president of the Pakistan Environmental Law Association, who, in 2003 and again in 2018, was appointed the chairperson of the Lahore Clean Air Commission and the Smog Commission by the Lahore High Court to come up with the smog policy, did not approve the “arbitrary decision of dismantling” the kilns. In his view, supporting the kiln owners with “available concessional financing for conversion to zizag technology” would be a more effective way.

He added that it was well known that the transport (oil), cement and textile sectors were the bigger polluters, but they were very influential. “Power in Pakistan has always meant being above the law,” he said, adding that the “general lack of political will and effective capability to monitor compliance” also acted as roadblocks.

“No country in the world has succeeded in good environmental policies unless it has first built a capacity to implement! The journey must begin with capacity building!”

However, Anwar said, action has been taken with visits to 15,000 industrial units, sealing 64 mills, and demolishing 152 factories.

With 43pc of air pollution in the province caused by unfit vehicles, Anwar also held the transporters responsible for the smog. He shared that Lahore has 1.3 million cars and 4.5 million two-wheelers, with 1,800 motorcycles added daily. He also mentioned that the traffic police had been ordered to impound vehicles without fitness certificates. Last month, a fine of Rs16.09 million was imposed on over 24,000 substandard vehicles across the province.

“Getting a vehicle fitness certificate in Pakistan is as easy as a blind person getting a license to drive!” said a petroleum expert who requested anonymity. “We need to clean the fuel, scrap old vehicles, and make vehicle emissions testing mandatory,” he added.

Imran Khalid, a climate governance expert, emphasised that improving fuel quality alone wasn’t enough; vehicles and engines also need upgrades to fully benefit from better fuel. He noted that while Euro 5 fuel is available in Pakistan, it’s not widely accessible, and Euro 6 is the standard in India. “I haven’t seen any survey on how many cars in Pakistan have Euro 5 compliant engines,” he added.

“I think it would be far more effective to invest in mass transit, but there is no talk of this issue; we keep making more motorways, widening roads, and bringing in more vehicles on roads in the cities instead of investing in railways and commuter rails,” said farmer Khan.

The petroleum expert urged the government to approve the refinery upgrade policy, which has been delayed for two years, adding that upgrades will take up to five years.

Despite various actions, people in Lahore remain unconvinced, calling them too little, too late.

“The measures announced by the government should have been operationalised at least six months before the smog season and the 24/7 enforcement of these priorities should be rigorously monitored by a dedicated team with support of the public through awareness campaigns,” pointed out advocate Hassan.

Nizami called for year-round efforts against air pollution, questioning why no one is held accountable for cutting millions of trees for unplanned housing while the focus remains on controlling stubble burning.

The Pakistan Air Quality Experts (PAQx) group, a coalition of 27 professionals from public health, environmental science, law, and economics, has written to the prime minister, suggesting the establishment of a “comprehensive, nationwide real-time air quality monitoring network” for informed decision-making and responsive policymaking.

Anwar defended the smog plan, stating it’d been in progress since April and required public cooperation, including staying indoors and wearing masks. Punjab’s senior minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb, warned that failure to wear masks could lead to a complete city lockdown.

“I don’t see the plan working as the air quality is getting from bad to worse,” said Sohail.

Nizami criticised the government for making a lot of noise but taking little action. “It’s shameful how they’ve shifted health responsibilities to the private sector,” he said.

Sohail suggested cloud seeding for artificial rain, noting its positive impact last year. Nizami also supported using artificial rain to clear the haze.

Anwar explained that cloud seeding required the right clouds and humidity. “But we are quite ready and as soon as the timing is right, we will do it,” he promised.

Climate diplomacy

While 70pc of smog in Lahore is locally generated, nearly 30pc comes from India. Manoj Kumar, a scientist with the Finnish Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, noted that the Indo-Gangetic Plain formed an “interconnected airshed,” affecting air quality, but local sources played a major role in Lahore’s pollution levels.

The chief minister is keen to start talks with her Indian counterpart. “Maryam Nawaz will soon send a letter to the Chief Minister of Indian Punjab, expressing her willingness to visit India and invite him to Pakistan,” said Anwar.

Kumar praised the Punjab chief minister’s initiative, emphasising that long-term, coordinated efforts between both countries could lead to improved air quality through a unified approach. But the efforts should not stop at the Punjab regions alone, as the airshed is shared and goes beyond India.

Anwar said Pakistan is considering hosting a “regional climate conference in Lahore soon.”

Header image: Smog near the Ghanta Ghar (Clock Tower) in Faisalabad, a city about 120km from Lahore and the third most populous city after Karachi and Lahore. Credits: Khalid Mahmood/Wiki & handout.

This article was originally published in Inter Press Service and has been reproduced here with permission.

• Matters include review of Justice Isa’s appointment as BHC CJ, pollution caused by industries in Islamabad
• SCBA says 26th amendment has rendered ‘fundamental rights a mere farce’, executive can’t pick and choose judges

ISLAMABAD: Amidst the backdrop of deteriorating air quality, the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench will take up on Thursday (Nov 14) as many as 18 human rights cases, including one related to air pollution as well as a review petition against the 2018 judgement on the appointment of Justice Qazi Faez Isa as Balochistan High Court chief justice.

Likewise, a six-judge constitutional bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, will resume hearing around 10 cases, including suo motu cases such as lady health workers programme, harassment case of singer Meesha Shafi and similar other harassment case.

Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarat Hilali and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan will be part of the bench.

The six-judge bench was formed in view of unavailability of the seventh judge, Justice Ayesha A Malik, on Nov 14 and Nov 15.

The cause list was issued after a meeting of the three-judge committee constituted as per Article 191A (4) under the chairmanship of Justice Aminuddin Khan to discuss matters related to the composition of the constitutional bench. The committee had resolved that priority should be accorded to the oldest cases.

The SC had constituted a three-judge committee to determine fixation, issuance of court roster, sitting of benches and number of cases to be heard in a week by the constitutional benches, which the top court had formed recently.

On Thursday, the constitutional bench will also resume the 2007 hearing of a public petition against pollution caused by industrial units in Islamabad’s Sectors I-9 and I-10. The petitions were filed by one Nazir Ahmed and other residents of I-9 and I-10 about environmental degradation causing asthma, respiratory infections, allergies and heart ailments since the establishment of industrial units, especially steel furnaces and marble units, in the Federal Capital Industrial Estate.

In 1993, the CDA had developed a negative list of undesirable industrial plants working in the industrial estate. It encouraged them, especially the steel furnaces, to switch to some other trade and offered not to charge the normal fee.

According to earlier reports, 1,500 tonnes of effluents generated by the pharmaceutical industry, flour mills, oil and ghee mills, marble factories and plastic extrusion mills are thrown into the Leh nullah every day, heavily polluting underground water. Around 500 factories in the I-9 and I-10 industrial estates were causing water and air pollution in the area like the steel melting furnaces, re-rolling mills, flour mills, oil and ghee mills, marble cutting and polishing units and metal working and engineering units, GI pipes, soap, chemical, plastic, marble, spices and printing, a report had suggested.

A number of applications by different industrial units in the affected sectors were also pending before the court against the decision to de-seal these steel and casting units. Overall air pollution in the country was also on the table of the constitutional bench.

Some cases concern the restoration of the trial court under the control of narcotic substance act, or appointment of certain officers, though most of the cases have become infructuous.

One of the review petitions relates to the appointment of Justice Isa as BHC chief justice. The review petition was filed by Advocate Riaz Hanif Rahi against the July 7, 2018, SC judgement in which the court, while rejecting the petition, had held that the appointment was done in view of the extraordinary circumstances when all the judges, including the then chief justice, had resigned and the high court had become vacant. As such the initiation of the name of Justice Isa as BHC CJ was made in an exigency and thus not hit by any illegality, former CJP Mian Saqib Nisar had held in a seven-page verdict.

Earlier on April 5, a three-judge SC bench rejected the petition of Advocate Rahi challenging the appointment and later elevation of Justice Isa to the Supreme Court.

The detailed judgement had observed that the appointment of Justice Isa directly as BHC CJ was legal because it was made by the President and the then-Balochistan governor conferred it, thus meeting the requirement of Article 193.

SCBA sees threat to democracy

Meanwhile, in a statement, the recently elected secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Salman Mansoor categorically condemned the 26th Amendment as being against ordinary citizens and a direct threat to democracy and freedom in Pakistan.

The 26th Amendment was in violation of the principle of separation of powers and independence of judiciary, which “now stand altered, repealed and abrogated”, he said, adding those principles were guardians of fundamental rights of ordinary citizens and ensure a free, fair and democratic society and state.

The executive is the strongest adversary of ordinary citizens and their daily opponent in courts, he said, adding that the executive, enjoying majority in parliament, could not be allowed to select judges of its choice in all litigation where challenges are made to constitutional authority of executive and parliament.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

ISLAMABAD: The Priv­atisation Commission’s board on Wednesday rejected a Rs10 billion bid submitted by the sole bidder for the divestment of 60 per cent shares in Pakistan International Airlines Corpo­ration Limited (PIACL), the privatisation ministry said in a statement.

The board decided to refer the issue of PIA’s privatisation to the Cabinet Committee on Privati­sation for further consideration.

Last month, the final bidding process for the privatisation of PIA attracted just one bid of Rs10bn for a 60pc stake in the national flag carrier.

Only real-estate development company Blue World City participated in the bidding process, placing a bid that was below the government-set minimum price of Rs85bn.

PC Board seeks improved offers for state-owned entities

The government had prequalified six groups in June, but only Blue World City participated in the final bidding process. Due to the huge difference between the expected and actual bids, the commission gave the consortium more time to reconsider its bid. However, Blue World City consortium chairman Saad Nazir kept the price unchanged.

On Wednesday, in a meeting chaired by Privatisation Mini­ster Abdul Aleem Khan, the board discussed advancing privatisation efforts for state-owned entities, including PIA and stressed the need to attract stronger bids in future transactions.

Mr Khan directed that the privatisation process should be carried forward without delay and underscored the importance of securing better offers for upcoming bids.

The board explored various options to expedite PIA’s divestment and reviewed the status of other ongoing privatisation transactions.

Mr Khan said that the framework given by the caretaker government for PIA’s privatisation was taken forward, but “now we have to keep in mind the concerns of the institutions involved in the privatisation”. He emphasised that “we have to learn from the privatisation process of PIA and have to be more active in future”.

The board decided to form a three-member committee to participate in the process of privatisation by members of the board. The meeting was briefed on various issues of privatisation and expressed satisfaction with the development so far.

During the meeting, various proposals were presented for PIA and the process of privatisation, and views were expressed on various issues and important decisions were taken. The minister extended the opportunity to all the Privatisation Comm­ission’s board members and heard their suggestions. Impor­tant issues related to the privatisation of other projects were also discussed.

“The privatisation issues will be completed in accordance with the laws and regulations and keeping in view the national interest before us because the final decision on the issues of privatisation of PIA and other institutions has to be taken by the cabinet committee,” Mr Khan said, according to the ministry’s statement.

In his briefing, the secretary of the Privatisation Commission noted that several international airlines, including Turkish Air­lines and Singapore Airlines, had expressed interest in PIA’s privatisation.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

AFTER Pakistan floated the idea of ‘climate diplomacy’ to tackle cross-border pollution in light of smog which has engulfed vast tracts of India and Pakistan, a US official indicated on the sidelines of COP29 that the White House may throw its weight behind any initiative taken in this regard.

Last month, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed her government’s intention to approach India to jointly counter the air pollution, which mostly comes from vehicular and industrial emissions, and is exacerbated in winter due to stubble burning.

Talking to Dawn on the sidelines of COP29 in Baku, Ali Zaidi — national climate adviser to the Biden administration — said the US was “100 per cent supportive” of partnership-based approaches to tackle problems that cannot be solved in isolation.

“In the US, we have this thing called the ‘good neighbour rule’, which governs smog. It actually was developed when we witnessed exactly this phenomenon in the US. So you know when it comes to cross-border pollution and cross-border issues, we are 100pc suportive of partnership-based approaches to tackle problems that cannot be solved on their own,” he said in response to a question about smog, which has made life unbearable for millions in Pakistan.

The White House official said the US was already active in the Hindu Kush — often referred to as ‘The Third Pole’ for housing the most glaciers in the world outside the polar regions — to better coordinate the mitigation response, because environmental impacts from glaciers do not isolate themselves to one jurisdiction.

“I think the regional solutions are a necessary complement to this sort of multilateral dialogue,” he said, referring to the COP summit.

The adviser said regional cooperation among relevant parties to address climate change would have more impact than putting “another ornament on a 1,000-page document (COP)”.

In response to a question about the failure of the world to help Pakistan after the 2022 floods caused damages to the tune of $30 billion, he said the global community needed to reinvent its approach to rebuilding from disasters, particularly by investing in pre-disaster mitigation.

According to the White House official, the US took a really long time to reengineer its thinking domestically in terms of building resilience into the recovery.

He favoured approaches that ran “consistent with the financial position” of states that needed to do rebuilding, saying there was a need to mobilise more countries to move more capital to help with adaptation and mitigation in these vulnerable countries.

In response to a question about the loan-laden climate finance framework, he said, “If you are targeting projects that have very clear cash flow and a strong counterparty then debt works just fine.”

He agreed some concessionary capital did need to come in depending on the technological aspect, the richness of the resources and the maturity of the market, while referring to India’s solar projects.

Vulnerable areas need significant grant-based aid, but there is still a need to figure out how to monetise risk reduction associated with adaptation finance and that’s why it was difficult to do. These places are going to soak up more grant-based finance, he said.

Speaking about the Trump-led US administration all set to take over from the Biden administration, he appeared optimistic, saying the states in the US will figure out how to provide the policy support even if the federal government stopped being part of it. About the US, he said it should remain part of the dialogue and be the author of the roadmap that will govern the contours of climate finance for decades to come.

Produced as part of the 2024 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organised by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Centre for Peace and Security.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

LONDON: Ruing ‘mistakes’ by petty individuals in the past, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that these errors had cost the country and democracy dearly.

Speaking at a workers’ convention at a local hotel, the PML-N chief said that if not for that ‘disturbance’, Pakistan would have been an Asian Tiger by now, or even a member of the G20 group of nations.

Although he did not name anyone in particular, it seemed from his words that he was addressing the judiciary, as he recounted incidents such as his removal from office in the Panamagate case.

“It was done for a personal agenda, not for the nation’s benefits. You know those faces… it’s unfortunate that they did it for their petty interests, for menial personal gains, they put the country on the line and kept sending prime ministers home,” he said.

He also regretted that a man like him was disqualified from politics for life, removed as president of the party and kept out of elections. “What were these decisions? What was the need? Who did this? Was it for the country or on a personal whim,” he asked, rhetorically.

In a series of references to what he termed ‘irregular conduct’ of judges, he recalled how one judge’s son had sought money in exchange for securing election tickets — a veiled reference to a purported audio recording where a voice alleged to belong to Najamus Saqib, the son of former CJP Saqib Nisar, could be heard asking a PTI ticket aspirant for money.

He also referred to a judge who was removed from office — a reference to former SC judge Mazahar Naqvi — saying, “Look at his assets, these are the people who have done this.

“It’s painful when I think of these things, one cannot criticise these actions enough. It is fortunate now that there is optimism in Pakistan, that it is coming out of darkness. One hopes that the country succeeds, the nation prospers. Had we not been thwarted, there would have been employment for everyone, housing for everyone.”

Mr Sharif was flanked by his daughter, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

Maryam’s health

In her remarks, Ms Sharif refuted rumours about her health. “I have been working very hard for the last 8-9 months. I have a thyroid issue, last year I had a surgery. People keep asking why can’t I be treated at a hospital in Pakistan,” she said.

She said that while all her treatment had been carried out in Pakistan, the particular malady she had, which she called “parathyroid”, could only be treated in two countries, in Switzerland or America not even England. “I don’t want to play the victim and talk about my illness,” she said.

The previous day, Ms Sharif had addressed the rumours surrounding her health, saying: “My treatment is underway, but I am fine.”

Khawaja Asif heckled

In a video that went viral on social platforms on Wednesday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif could be seen being heckled on a London train by an unknown man.

The video shows the defence minister being filmed on a train by a man who later abuses him and calls him names, saying that he could be attacked by a knife.

Sources said the incident occurred a few days ago in London on the underground train service Elizabeth Line.

However, Mr Asif did not mention this incident at the workers’ event later on Wednesday night.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

• Hike in petroleum levy, imposition of GST on petroleum products not expected anytime soon
• Govt sees economic activity picking up next month due to stable rupee, lower policy rate
• Senate body points to issues in Islamic banking, fraudulent POS receipts, fake ATM notes
• 10pc levy on transport with Iran has left over 600 trucks stalled

ISLAMABAD: The Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF) is reported to have expressed satisfaction over the increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio by nearly 1.5 percentage points, relieving the authorities from any push for additional tax measures through a mini-budget.

According to sources closely involved in ongoing discussions with the visiting IMF mission, the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) revenue collection target for the current fiscal year will remain unchanged at Rs12.97 trillion. Authorities have ruled out the need for additional taxes or a mini-budget, citing the IMF’s positive response.

Officials said that economic activity is expected to pick up by December in view of a stable exchange rate and a reduction in the State Bank’s policy rate, likely offsetting a tax shortfall of around Rs190 billion recorded in the first four months (July to October) of the fiscal year.

There would neither be any increase in the petroleum levy nor would general sales tax (GST) be imposed on petroleum products, the sources said after a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue presided over by PPP Senator Salim Mandviwalla.

They said the tax-to-GDP ratio had increased from 8.8pc to 10.3pc and the IMF was satisfied with this 1.5 percentage point improvement.

The sources reiterated the commitment given to the IMF that tax collection on agriculture income would start from the next fiscal year. They said that tax reforms were progressing and the draft Tax Laws Amendment Ordinance 2024 had been presented to the prime minister for approval. The ordinance contains a new family income tax return system and abolishes the concepts of non-filers and late filers.

The sources, however, hinted at tinkering with the Tajir Dost Scheme to effectively bring in traders into the tax net and said these were being discussed with the IMF mission during the ongoing meetings.

The IMF has been told that the FBR collected Rs12bn from retailers during the first quarter of 2024-25, although only 500,000 potential retailers were the target out of three million small shopkeepers.

‘Slow progress on Islamic banking’

Earlier, the Senate panel decided to call scholars of the Council of Islamic Ideology to have input on the working of Islamic banking operations in Pakistan, for which a special session would be arranged.

The central bank’s deputy governor told the panel that Riba was the main difference between conventional banking and Islamic banking.

Senator Farooq H. Naek pointed out that full implementation of Islamic banking was committed for 2027, but progress had been very slow. The SBP’s deputy governor emphasised the need for continued deliberation on Islamic banking and assured the committee that several banks were actively working towards compliance.

FBR Chairman Rashid Mehmood Langrial told the panel that FBR’s enforcement would be improved in the coming months after approval of a transformation plan, including enhancing the board’s operational expertise, organisational capacities and anti-smuggling measures.

Key discussions during the meeting included the contentious 10pc levy on transport and businesses between Pakistan and Iran, raised by Senator Manzoor Ahmad Kakar in a Senate session. The committee resolved to report to the house that the issue may be referred to the Standing Committee on Communications, noting that the levy, imposed with the federal government’s approval, did not pertain to the Federal Board of Revenue.

While FBR officials emphasised that this specific tax was not their responsibility, Senator Kakar raised concerns that Pakistani trucks were being unfairly taxed, with over 600 trucks currently parked due to the levy. The committee agreed to forward the matter to the Communications Committee for further deliberation.

The committee also discussed concerns raised by Senator Mohsin Aziz regarding the fee collected by FBR for point of sale (POS) services and its utilisation. The FBR chairman confirmed the introduction of a policy to penalise businesses that are issuing fake POS receipts, imposing fines of Rs500,000 and shutting down shops involved in such practices.

Senator Aziz highlighted weaknesses in enforcement, with some fake receipts circulating in the mar­ket, including a bill in Islamabad marked “tentative”. The FBR chairman acknowledged the issue and assured that enforcement mea­sures would be strengthened soon.

A key briefing by the SBP highlighted the performance of banking branches in smaller provinces, revealing that as of June 30, 2024, there were 3,334 banking branches operating in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, accounting for 20pc of the total nationwide branches. Additionally, 199 branches of microfinance banks were serving these regions, representing 13pc of the country’s total microfinance network.

Another pressing issue discussed was the problem of counterfeit currency dispensed from ATMs. Senator Kakar cited a case where a young man received fake Rs5,000 notes from an ATM. The CEO of a commercial bank assured the committee that security measures were being enhanced to address this issue.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Associate Project Analyst in the Sectors Group. The deadline for submitting applications is on 27-NOV-2024.

Blizzard Entertainment has announced and released Warcraft: Remastered and Warcraft II: Remastered for PC. They are available on Battle.net for $9.99 each.

The Warcraft Remastered Battle Chest is also available on Battle.net for $39.99. It includes Warcraft: Remastered, Warcraft II: Remastered, and Warcraft III: Reforged.

View a trailer below:

Read details on the two remasters below:

Warcraft: Remastered

Relive the original Warcraft tale of Orcs & Humans.

Journey back to the beginning of a 30-year legacy with the first Warcraft story created in 1994, now remastered with vivid, all-new visuals and modernized controls!

Experience the inciting war between Orcs and Humans that shook Azeroth to its core. Defend the realm as the noble Alliance, or seek to conquer it as the bloodthirsty Horde across thrilling faction campaigns or custom skirmish games. Whichever side you take, there has never been a better time to charge into the legendary battles of Azeroth’s greatest heroes in the Warcraft universe.

Rediscover Iconic Sights and Sounds

Toggle between the classic art and the lovingly updated hand-painted artwork. Take in the full view of epic battles with widescreen support and numerous visual updates for the user interface. Enjoy the classic musical themes, now uncompressed and rebalanced.

Classic Gameplay, Modern Controls

Modern improvements, such as health bars, increased unit selection, hotkey indicators, and more have been added to build a seamless experience for a modern audience.

A Preservation Of History

Having excavated original concept art from 1994, Warcraft: Remastered includes a plethora of never-before-seen pieces that heralded the beginnings of the Warcraft legacy! Enjoy the lore and history as it was told in the past.

Warcraft II: Remastered

Master the tides in Warcraft‘s second iconic title.

Captain your own fleet in the second Warcraft title created in 1995, now remastered with vivid, all-new visuals and modernized controls!

War between orc and humans rages on across the seas, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance as the great tacticians of the Horde and the Alliance clash. Only one thing is certain: winning this war will demand unprecedented cunning, courage, and nerves of steel.

The Tides of Darkness Rise Again

After you’ve experienced the campaign for Tides of Darkness, prepare to take your honed skills into the Beyond the Dark Portal campaign, which is also included in this complete Warcraft II: Remastered package.

Rediscover Iconic Sights and Sounds

Toggle between the classic art and the lovingly updated hand-painted artwork. Take in the full view of epic battles with widescreen support and numerous visual updates for the user interface. Enjoy the classic musical themes, now uncompressed and rebalanced.

Join the Frenzy

Integrated with your Battle.Net account, test your friends in multiplayer on classic or custom maps that support up to eight players at once! Connect globally with players around the world by hosting or joining custom game lobbies.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463061/warcraft-1-and-2-remasters-out-now-for-pc/

He started chemotherapy for the Stage 3 cancer.

And both Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya will be there, even if they don’t seem thrilled.

Our best guesses for season 12.

Bananas takes his feud with Michele past the point of no return.

“I think they got chicken.”

Are you not entertained?

There are quite a few bad ones, as well as some head-scratchers.

A recent photo of Williams aboard the ISS sparked rumors about her health, restoring the media's habit of prying into the appearance of women astronauts.

Doctor Who's ramped up production speed is part of why we're getting Double Moff this year.

Democrats who are in a state of shock and grief over Donald Trump's (and his party's) return to power are understandably acting as though the political world has been transformed forever. They've lost the Blue Wall!

President-elect Donald Trump's selection of Fox News host Pete Hegseth as his nominee for defense secretary would place atop the Pentagon a combat veteran and political ally who has assailed the military as ineffective and "woke," mused about firing the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and blasted the top brass as having failed to safeguard American strength.

At 8:30 p.m. on 16 May 1916, John J. Carty banged his gavel at the Engineering Societies Building in New York City to call to order a meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. This was no ordinary gathering. The AIEE had decided to conduct a live national meeting connecting more than 5,000 attendees in eight cities across four time zones. More than a century before Zoom made virtual meetings a pedestrian experience, telephone lines linked auditoriums from coast to coast. AIEE members and guests in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco had telephone receivers at their seats so they could listen in.

The AIEE, a predecessor to the IEEE, orchestrated this event to commemorate recent achievements in communications, transportation, light, and power. The meeting was a triumph of engineering, covered in newspapers in many of the host cities. The Atlanta Constitution heralded it as “a feat never before accomplished in the history of the world.” According to the Philadelphia Evening Ledger, the telephone connections involved traversed about 6,500 kilometers (about 4,000 miles) across 20 states, held up by more than 150,000 poles running through 5,000 switches. It’s worth noting that the first transcontinental phone call had been achieved only a year earlier.

Carty, president of the AIEE, led the meeting from New York, while section chairmen directed the proceedings in the other cities. First up: roll call. Each city read off the number of members and guests in attendance—from 40 in Denver, the newest section of the institute, to 1,100 at AIEE headquarters in New York. In all, more than 5,100 members attended.

Due to limited seating in New York and Philadelphia, members were allowed only a single admission ticket, and ladies were explicitly not invited. (Boo.) In Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago, members received two tickets each, and in San Francisco members received three; women were allowed to attend in all of these cities. (The AIEE didn’t admit its first woman until 1922, and only as an associate member; Edith Clarke was the first woman to publish a paper in an AIEE journal, in 1926.)

These six cities were the only ones officially participating in the meeting. But because the telephone lines ran directly through both Denver and Salt Lake City, AIEE sections in those cities opted to listen in, although they were kept muted; during the meeting, they sent telegrams to headquarters with their attendance and greetings. In a modern-day Zoom call, these notes would have been posted in the chat.

The first virtual meeting had breakout sessions

Once everyone had checked in and confirmed that they all could hear, Carty read a telegram from U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, congratulating the members on this unique meeting: “a most interesting evidence of the inventive genius and engineering ability represented by the Institute.”

Alexander Graham Bell then gave a few words in greeting and remarked that he was glad to see how far the telephone had gone beyond his initial idea. Theodore Vail, first president of AT&T and one of the men who was instrumental in establishing telephone service as a public utility, offered his own congratulations. Charles Le Maistre, a British engineer who happened to be in New York to attend the AIEE Standards Committee, spoke on behalf of his country’s engineering societies. Finally, Thomas Watson, who as Bell’s assistant was the first person to hear words spoken over a telephone, welcomed all of the electrical engineers scattered across the country.

At precisely 9:00 p.m., the telephone portion of the meeting was suspended for 30 minutes so that each city could have its own local address by an invited guest. Let’s call them breakout sessions. These speakers reflected on the work and accomplishments of engineers. Overall, they conveyed an unrelentingly positive attitude toward engineering progress, with a few nuances.

In Boston, Lawrence Lowell, president of Harvard University, said the discovery and harnessing of electricity was the greatest single advancement in human history. However, he admonished engineers for failing to foresee the subordination of the individual to the factory system.

In Philadelphia, Edgar Smith, provost of the University of Pennsylvania, noted that World War I was limiting the availability of certain materials and supplies, and he urged more investment in developing the United States’ natural resources.

Charles Ferris, dean of engineering at the University of Tennessee, praised the development of long-distance power distribution and the positive effects it had on rural life, but worried about the use of fossil fuels. His chief concern was running out of coal, gas, and oil, not their negative impacts on the environment.

More than a century before Zoom made virtual meetings a pedestrian experience, telephone lines linked auditoriums from coast to coast for the AIEE’s national meeting.

On the West Coast, Ray Wilbur, president of Stanford, argued for the value of dissatisfaction, struggle, and unrest on campus as spurs to growth and innovation. I suspect many university presidents then and now would disagree, but student protests remain a force for change.

After the city breakout sessions, everyone reconnected by telephone, and the host cities took turns calling out their greetings, along with some engineering boasts.

“Atlanta, located in the Piedmont section of the southern Appalachians, among their racing rivers and roaring falls, whose energy has been dragged forth and laid at her doors through high-tension transmission and in whose phenomenal development no factor has been more potent than the electrical engineers, sends greetings.”

“Boston sends warmest greetings to her sister cities. The telephone was born here and here it first spoke, but its sound has gone out into all lands and its words unto the ends of the world.”

“San Francisco hails its fellow members of the Institute…. California has by the pioneer spirit of domination created needs which the world has followed—the snow-crowned Sierras opened up the path of gold to the path of energy, which tonight makes it possible for us on the western rim of the continent of peace to be in instant touch with men who have harnessed rivers, bridled precipices, drawn from the ether that silent and unseen energy that has leveled distance and created force to move the world along lines of greater civilization by closer contacts.”

That last sentence, my editor notes, is 86 words long, but we included it for its sheer exuberance.

Maybe all tech meetings should have musical interludes

The meeting then paused for a musical interlude. I find this idea delightfully weird, like the ballet dream sequence in the middle of the Broadway musical Oklahoma! Each city played a song of their choosing on a phonograph, to be transmitted through the telephone. From the south came strains of “Dixie,” countered by “Yankee Doodle” in New England. New York and San Francisco opted for two variations on the patriotic symbolism of Columbia: “Hail Columbia” and “Columbia the Gem of the Ocean,” respectively. Philadelphia offered up the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and although it wasn’t yet the national anthem, audience members in all auditoriums stood up while it played.

For the record, the AIEE in those days took entertainment very seriously. Almost all of their conferences included a formal dinner dance, less-formal smokers, sporting competitions, and inspection field trips to local sites of engineering interest. There were even women’s committees to organize events specifically for the ladies.

I suspect no one in attendance would have predicted that in the 21st century, people groan at the thought of another virtual meeting.

After the music, Michael Pupin delivered an address on “The Engineering Profession,” a topic that was commonly discussed in the Proceedings of the AIEE in those days. Remember that electrical engineering was still a fairly new academic discipline, only a few decades old, and working engineers were looking to more established professions, such as medical doctors, to see how they might fit into society. Pupin had made a number of advancements in the efficiency of transmission over long-distance telephone, and in 1925 he served as the president of the AIEE.

The meeting concluded with resolutions, amendments, acceptances, and seconding, following Robert’s Rules of Order. (IEEE meetings still adhere to the rules.) In the last resolution, the participants patted themselves on the back for hosting this first-of-its-kind meeting and acknowledging their own genius that made it possible.

The Proceedings of the AIEE covered the meeting in great detail. Local press accounts offered less detail. I’ve found no evidence that they ever tried to replicate the meeting. They did try another experiment in which a member read the same paper at meetings in three different cities so that there could be a joint discussion about the contents. But it seems they returned to their normal schedule of annual and section meetings with technical paper sessions and discussion.

And nowhere have I found answers to some of the basic questions that I, as a historian 100 years later, have about the 1916 event. First, how much did this meeting cost in long-distance fees and who paid for it? Second, what receivers did the audience members use and did they work? And finally, what did the members and guests think of this grand experiment? (My editor would also like to know why no one took a photo of the event.)

But in the moment, rarely do people think about what later historians may want to know. And I suspect no one in attendance would have predicted that in the 21st century, people groan at the thought of another virtual meeting.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is increasing his political footprint as he joins the Trump orbit for days at Mar-a-Lago and traveled with President-elect Trump to Washington, D.C.

Just a week after former President Trump won back the presidency, the new administration is quickly forming, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is asking ordinary Americans to make suggestions about what policies and people should be put in place.

President Joe Biden's Environmental Protection Agency finalized a new rule Tuesday taxing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, but critics argue the move is "irrelevant" and will serve to boost Big Oil and stifle innovation.

The EPA on Tuesday announced a final rule to charge oil and gas companies for emissions, but opponents say it could face obstacles under the incoming GOP administration.

President-elect Trump plans to "disband" or cut the Department of Education's power, likely through "block granting" to shift school control and funding to local communities, says an expert.

A case report on a woman who fell sick after eating a zucchini has highlighted the importance of getting an accurate medical history and the role of nurses in making a diagnosis. A 54-year-old woman with a history of epilepsy was admitted to an emergency department due to suspected gastrointestinal bleeding. She complained... Continue Reading

Assassin's Creed turns 17 years old today, so we're taking a blood-spattered walk down memory as we check out some of its most infamous fictional kills of real people

Call of Duty Black Ops 6 is here, and players can start gearing up for a mammoth Season 1 drop that's free of charge. Here's when the action kicks off this week

EA FC 25 players have a whole new Team of the Week to find in packs, with amazing upgrades for Jude Bellingham, Mo Salah, and Marie-Antoinette Katoto

EXCLUSIVE: World of Warcraft is one of the most popular games in the world on PC, but could it come to console eventually? We asked executive producer Holly Longdale at the game's 20th Anniversary

EXCLUSIVE: World of Warcraft will finally add player housing next year, and we got to speak to Executive Producer Holly Longdale about how long fans have been asking for it

Interest rate policy divergence is a re-emerging threat for the Canadian dollar

Special counsel Jack Smith has asked a federal appeals court to pause his appeals of the documents-mishandling case against President-elect Donald Trump.

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday won a unanimous closed-door vote for his first, full term as Speaker despite rumblings of a possible rebellion against him, after he received a full-throated endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump.

Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was detained by police at an airport near Washington, D.C. earlier this month.

The 22nd Amendment already states that presidents can only be elected twice, but that's not enough for Rep. Dan Goldman, New York Democrat, who plans to file the resolution Thursday.

The teen had no clear exposures to animals. No contacts have tested positive.